Nebula

Here is Nebula, a nebula custom.

Nebula was commissioned by Brightglowpony, for delivery at the Fair.  She wanted a custom similar to my Starscape custom, but done on a G3.  She chose the Orion nebula as the pony's symbol.

Nebula began as a Sunny Daze.  She was fully repainted by hand, including eyes and symbol.  Her mane symbol is the Orion nebula, while a Space Shuttle is also visible on her display side.  She was rehaired mainly in Dollyhair black magick, with hints of virgin snow, amethyst, bobby blue, apricot, mulberry crush, and fairy's breath.

I'm very happy with how the pony turned out, and so was Brightglowpony.

Elf

G4 Firefly - adventures in reposing

I briefly posted this girl on the weekend of the Fair, as she was my contest entry for this year.  For a change I entered the Hasbro-inspired category, and very nearly bit off more than I could chew.

Firefly started as a regular-sized brushable Rainbow Dash.  My plan was to make her look as close to G1 Firefly as possible while still leaving her with a strongly G4 look.  I started by cutting the pony apart, basically severing her wings, head, and three legs and cut into the fourth to reposition it.  I rehaired her, then got to work on the sculpting.  First I did the basic sculpting to reconnect the bits I'd removed.  Then I began to fill in the joins trying to get a smooth finish.  A lot of sanding followed, then painting, then more sanding, and finally the finished painting and sealing.

Specifically, the front leg on the NDS was cut in two places, but remained attached.  It was bent at the elbow and knee to give it the bend that matched G1 Firefly.  The front DS leg was wholy removed and cut in half.  The lower half was reattached with clay, giving it the tight bend.  (Incidentally, the other half of that leg ended up inside the neck to support the join there.  Both back legs were completely removed and reattached at the haunches.  The ankles were also cut to give them an angle down to the ground and the edge that is found on the back of G1 Firefly's leg was recreated using clay.  Both wings were removed and reattached at a different angle.  The neck was elongated and the head tilted backward.  The mouth was resculpted to be open.

She was fully repainted, including the eyes, although I did leave the original eyes on as a template.  The symbols were done with metalic paint.  She even has blush on her cheeks just like the original.

It all sounds easy enough, but I learned a lot from working on this custom.  For example: the regular-sized G4s are not the best repose candidates because the legs are solid.  It's much easier with the larger-sized ponies with hollow legs that allow you to create an armature to help secure the sculpting.  One of the issues I came to when it came to sanding was that, although the sculpting wasn't as smooth as I'd wanted, I had to stop sanding or risk having the leg fall off at the join - there needed to be enough clay left to hold everything together.  They're also so small that it's difficult to get in between the legs to do the sculpting and sanding.

If I were a smarter person, I'd have chosen a much less intense repose for my first attempt.  Still, despite her flaws, I'm proud that I was able to complete this custom in time for the Fair.  It will probably be awhile before I try another repose, but I'm sure I will give it another shot.

Elf

MLP Fair Review

I'm still a bit sad that the Fair is over for another year.  As usual, I had a wonderful time, got to see some friends I only see once a year, and got to do some shopping - most of my vintage Pony shopping for the year.

The Fair started with a new event on Friday night this year: the Hall of Fame Dinner.  The first human to be inducted was Bonnie Zacherle, the creator of MLP.  I can't think of a more fitting initial inductee, since we all owe Bonnie a great vote of thanks for the beginnings of our fandom.  Two Ponies (Firefly and G4 Pinkie Pie) were inducted into the Hall of Fame as well.  I really hope this will become an annual part of the Fair, we all had such a good time.

Hall of Fame presentation

Saturday morning we were up early to set up the booth and prep for the main event.  My booth was right in front of the doors into the vendor room, so we were well set up to see a lot of the action.  The theme I chose this year was a birthday party theme, since it was both the 30th anniversary of MLP and the 10th anniversary of the Fair itself.

My booth, with Stormrave and Roomy in attendance

There were lots of panels this year, including a Petites panel and a Nirvana Venezuela panel, both by Roogna, an Enterplay panel, and a talk by Bonnie Zacharele.  There were also lots of games and activities, all of which were kid friendly, but that many of us older collectors also took part in.

Roogna's Vennie Panel - soo many rare Ponies!

Trivia Finals

The contest entries were also especially good this year.  Our fandom is so creative, it's always fun and inspiring to see what everyone comes up with for the contests.  It was hard to chose who to vote for in each category.

Naturally, I also did a fair bit of shopping while I was there.  I'm quite happy with the Ponies I got.  I was also lucky enough to be gifted with an Elfpony plush by Roogna, and to have had a chance to commission another one from Dizziness.  I was also able to have my Collection Photo autographed by Bonnie, which was a real treat.  It's going to have a special place in the Geek Cave.

Many thanks are due to the Fair staff and volunteers, who put so much effort into making this event bigger, better, and special every year!  We are so lucky to have people who are passionate about this event and give their all on the Fair weekend and throughout the year.

All of my pictures can be found in my Pony Fair 2013 Photobucket.  I'm already looking forward to next year!

Elf

Off to the Fair, 2013 edition!

It's MLP Fair weekend, 2013 edition!  It's the 30th anniversary of the My Little Pony brand and the 10th anniversary of the Fair!  It's going to be an amazing weekend!

My review of the Fair will be up next weekend, but in the meantime, here's a sneak peek at my custom contest entry for this year:

Say hello to reposed G4 Firefly.  More details and pictures coming later.  Hope to see you at the Fair!

Elf