Vicki the Biker project

[rocketeer]

This is my latest project, Vicki the Biker; I took it up as a quick break from an ambitious spaceman project that ran into aesthetic problems with the helmets. Vicki is the alter ego of the title character from the “Rose is Rose” newspaper comic strip; whenever Rose feels a little feisty, Vicki is apt to emerge.

www.nightswimming.com/rose/vicki/vicki5.html

The basic figure is the horrid and asymmetrical ToyBiz Storm kit , which has one more-or-less redeeming virtue: The legs are great. ;D Vicki’s head is a resin copy of a master I made while doing my Space Gal conversion; the face is pretty much a direct steal from a Solarwind kit. The torso is also a resin casting—the Storm kit’s torso is unusable (believe it or not, the ahem, hooters are too big). Everything’s pinned together with 1/16 brass rod.

To help get the clothing folds right, and because it’s more fun, I’m building her unclothed form first, and then I’ll be adding Vicki’s denim miniskirt and black leather jacket. Her cycle is going to be a straight-from-the box Revell Bone Daddy chopper, with some dechroming and maybe some added detail.

So here are some in-progress shots. Now, this is after the first coat of primer, so everything is really really really rough. (This is the first really good look I’ve gotten at surface textures and smoothness--so right now I'm fighting off a severe case of post-primer depression )





Here’s the torso and legs, no miniskirt yet. As a concession to modesty and to riding comfort , Vicki will be wearing cycling shorts under her miniskirt; you can maybe see the line where the shorts end on each inner thigh. The sunglasses are going to be solid; I’ll probably cover them with Bare-Metal tinted with one of theTamiya clears. All the putty work is various colors of Milliput.





Her arms are 1/16 brass rod, bulked up with Milliput. The curled hand is Storm’s; the extended hand is Milliput over a 0.040 brass wire-and-styrene armature. Vicki will be admiring a butterfly, which I’ll probably just make out of paper.

[rocketeer]

One more thing: You can see that I'm adhering to the fine old tradition of doing all the work in a postcard-sized clear area at the very front of my workbench. It adds to the challenge. ;D

[vwcamperman]

Cool little project! ;D

I Love working like that, in a space most people would consider too small for anything

[oldhermitsgarage]

Ahem, looks like thats about all the room you've got left. heh heh heh.

PS, nice fem.

[smartresins]

Boy hermit, I never know what you are gonna do next!LOL. JOdy

[bellyofthewhale]

Can you grind her gut into some abs? ;D ;D ;D

[dbash2006]

Dec 4, 2008 19:34:12 GMT -6 bellyofthewhale said:

Can you grind her gut into some abs? ;D ;D ;D

...no way!! she look s healthy now!! ...maby threw back a few cold ones

[RatRod]

Man that's awesome!!! Are you going to sell any? I would much rather have the one with the big hooters, but I'll take whatever you do!!! Nice work man!!!

[rocketeer]

Dec 4, 2008 20:55:16 GMT -6 RatRod said:

Man that's awesome!!! Are you going to sell any?

I don't think so, for two reasons:

Vicki the Biker I'm sure belongs to Pat Brady, the Rose is Rose author, and I'd be dumb to infringe on his copyright; and

My last foray into (extremely) small-scale manufacture (the exhaust flames, like on the Auburn Aircar) was a sh*tload of work and expense, with no very good results: I couldn't get the epoxy to harden, I had a massive number of short-shots and wastage, and everyone I had promised flames had to wait an unsatisfactorily long time.

[A.J.]

I'm sure from seeing your work in the past that this will be a really awesome build. It's looking great already.

As for the flames, I think they were great and I didn't mind the wait at all. The project I'm using them on is still sitting stagnant on my bench.

[Dr. Kerry]

More, more ,more!! ;D

[gfgcollects]

Nice work thus far Rocketeer. ;D Your gorgeous babe creations are always impressive. Ever read The Watchmen (soon to be a major movie)? Or maybe Flash Gordon... right up your alley I'd say.

Gerry G

[fredmellini]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....................Vicki!!!!!!!............Now this is going to be interesting!!!!!!.................Please, Please keep us posted!!!!!!!

[TheMadModeler]

Wow you are just puttin' this one together.. Kinda like Frankenbride... Thanks for showin' us how it's done..
BiLL..

[rocketeer]

Just want you guys to know that I haven't stalled out yet; here are pics of progress as it stands tonight. Still have to do one arm and one boot and a whole lotta hair, but it's coming right along:







...amazing how much worse stuff looks in close-up photos, expanded to eight inches wide...

The blob of putty on her upper back is just some extra putty I had, slapped on there to help build bulk for the upcoming hair.

[Psychotic Hillbilly]

That is looking good. Great work. Is that all putty? Or did you use sheet for the Jacket flaps? Real good work. Keep it coming.


Ken...

[Tim Nolan]

That's art man. Nice work. Keep posting your progress!

[rocketeer]

Dec 17, 2008 22:44:55 GMT -6 Psychotic Hillbilly said:

Is that all putty? Or did you use sheet for the Jacket flaps?

It's all Milliput except the visor and skull emblem on her cap. Her lapels and all the various straps and cuffs are rolled-out Milliput. You can roll out Milliput between two sheets of Ziploc bag plastic, and if you wait about an hour, it's stiff enough not to tear but still soft enough to conform to surfaces.

The wrinkles and folds and seams are done with a toothpick or paintbrush handle; then smoothed by brushing with water (uncured Milliput is water-soluble).

I arrive at work early every morning to beat the rush, and fiddle around with her before I start work--thirty minutes is just about enough time to do an arm or a boot and clean up afterward. This morning it's Snow City here in Seattle, so I was late--and I'm just dweebing on the Internet instead of doing creative work.

[rocketeer]

Dec 7, 2008 1:43:59 GMT -6 gfgcollects said:

...Ever read The Watchmen (soon to be a major movie)? Or maybe Flash Gordon... .

I read Watchmen when it was first issued as a monthly comic. It was the longest year of my life--I'd feverishly await the next issue, dash home, devour it, and then it'd be another whole month before another.

I also dabble in sci-fi models (no Star trek or Star Wars, though; those guys are just obsessive ) (not like car modellers ;D), and here's a link to a model I built of the Moon Tank from the Commando Cody serial:

www.galaxyhobby.com/Contest/scifan2008photos/DSC01285.JPG

[Bert]

That is fantastic work! I will have to find some of this milliput. Can you get it a hobby lobby? If so, what section?

Vicki looks great! I'd give her a ride on my bike. ;D

[RatRod]

Man she's looking great!!! Your work is outstanding, and Tim is right, this is amazing artwork..... I didn't realize you lived so close, I'm only about 300 miles down the road......How do you like this weather we're having?

[rocketeer]

Dec 18, 2008 9:29:31 GMT -6 Bert said:

I will have to find some of this milliput. Can you get it a hobby lobby? If so, what section?

I dunno; we don't have Hobby Lobby stores here. I get mine at Skyway Model Shop; Emil stocks it with the other putties. I think I'm his best customer for the stuff...

[rocketeer]

Dec 18, 2008 9:56:19 GMT -6 RatRod said:

I didn't realize you lived so close, I'm only about 300 miles down the road......How do you like this weather we're having?

Ah, c'mon now; you knew I was local-ish; you'd seen my Space Girl in progress at the PSAMA show in Puyallup a couple years ago. ;D

This weather is a bit irksome. Rain doesn't faze us Seattle drivers, but let it snow a bit, and everybody loses their mind.

[RatRod]

Dec 18, 2008 10:03:51 GMT -6 rocketeer said:

Ah, c'mon now; you knew I was local-ish; you'd seen my Space Girl in progress at the PSAMA show in Puyallup a couple years ago. ;D

Okay Steve......now I know......

[carnutz]

Dec 18, 2008 7:23:01 GMT -6 Tim Nolan said:

That's art man. Nice work. Keep posting your progress!

this is a great build!
killer job so far lots of work there for sure looks great..

that looks like fun stuff

[rocketeer]

I'm still plugging along. I paint the fleshtones, wait for them to dry, paint the blacks, wait... The oil paint I'm using to paint Vicki takes forever to dry; I can help it along a bit by setting her on top of our furnace:



... and I've been working on the bike. Here's a shot of the license plate being glued into place. I've been using five-minute epoxy, because it doesn't attack paint, you have some time to adjust things, and I don't have to scrape away the chrome or paint to get a good bond:




I am a bit stumped on how to do Rose's tattoo; she has a rose tattooed on her thigh. If I use a decal on the rather rough oil paint surface, I'll probably get silvering (not to mention the problem of finding an appropriate decal). I suppose if I was stark raving mad, I could try to paint it by hand... Or I could just skip it. Hmmm.

[TheMadModeler]

Lookin' Good.. But she looks so dirty with all the plumbing behind her..lol..
BiLL..

[keith]

That spike on the seat is gonna' hurt :POUCH!!That is looking very good - and if I say more I'll get into trouble!! ;DThank's Keith

[Psychotic Hillbilly]

Now that is art. She is looking good. I will have to show this to my woman. It is an awesome job.


Ken...

[RatRod]

Steve, she is looking truly incredible!!! That's an art form that takes great talent, and you definitely have it.... Man, I wish I had one of these to sit on one of my bikes!!!