DIM Tom Hiddleston Discussion Thread

wrong DIM section

 

Well one of Loki's heads is of winging it's way to Indonesia again. He has to remain in Jotun form until it comes back and I kind of hope he can help keep the temperature down here as it's starting to heat up towards summer. I'm been hiding inside with dolls and my husky and the aircon on
I touched a bit of his face paint (above his hairline) with the extra msc I sprayed on it and it didn't mark so i'm thinking it may have been a sealant issue.

 

Maybe the face up artist only has to touch up the Jotun-Loki head? That would be great. Lets hope the sealant IS the issue, and it'll be solved now.

The costume arrived! I really don't care much for the armour pieces, maybe I'll have to take a deep breath and get some Worbla myself. I do like the rest of the outfit very much! The pants have red fabric, but it's not too garish a colour it's fine. It fits very well. I really like the back zipper on the jacket, but that has some weird implications, like how does he dress himself? ;p



(Teehee, I didn't Photoshop out the highlight on his chest, that's his nipple peeking XD)

(And... I have ordered some Worbla.)

 

Kavarr- I wish you all the luck and good weather possible for your Loki heads and that repaint. They shall reurn to you as beautyful as they were, even if it is one after another.

Stella- congranz on your outfit arriving. He looks dashingin it and little iron man seems very proud to be standing by his side ;P

Oh the irony.....!!!!!
I ordered mine from taobao, and it has been ready since last week. but I can't have it send out, since I don't know when I'll be home again. if there is no one home........*sigh* the parcel will be send back *sigh*
Why can't the rest of my resin crew get the door for the postofficer? S/He may flip out a little bit, but at least I would know it home and not awaiting an ok to send, somewhere in a chinese office. My bad for calculating the time wrong.....

 

Aw Stella your Loki looks so handsome in his new out fit, and I love his wig! it's so nicely styled, did you make it?
Also +100 points for frostiron and +100 for nip slip

 

Kavarr - your little beastie will be back in action before you know it! One thing to possibly ask your artist is to really clean the head up well before she bothers touching it with any more sealant or paint, though. I mentioned all these problems people are having with their faceups to someone who sculpts and has her dolls professionally cast with a couple different companies, so I have it on good authority that a potential issue might have been the jokers at DIM not removing all of the mold release (the lubricating stuff that keeps the silicone from sticking to the polyurethane during casting) on some heads. She recommended acetone or 646 (?? whatever 646 is, not too sure about chemicals lol) to get any of that crap off the resin...I know we've already beat this subject to death, but I'm just passing along some extra advice from a pro!

Stella - ahhh Lox looks awesome! 3 I think tiny Tony agrees, but he'll never admit to such a thing, right? Even though I'm sure he has the dubious pleasure of zipping up Loki's suit whenever the need arises...good thing his suit flies, since royalty doesn't dress itself (casual nipple ahoy). I feel your pain about the armor, but it's better than nothing until we find a good alternative! When you get wild and crazy with the Worbla, you should definitely post a few pictures of your progress!

Lucius - if you let Loki answer the door, I'm not sure the pitiful mortal postman would survive the experience! It's a good thing the Taobao people are able to hold it for you and not ship until you're home, that's very accommodating of them. So how much longer are you going to make your king wait?

 

Oh, that's very interesting, Psychobarfly! I didn't know about such a thing as mold release but that could really mess things up!

 

Lox looks gorgeous in his new outfit Stella. As for the back zip who needs help when you have magic but then again it's a good excuse to get someone he likes to help him Look forward to seeing your worbla creation. I have sort of slacked off with mine but should get a move on for when my boy gets back.
That's a pain about the timing Lucius. Could leave it at your local post office if you are not home? That's what our postie does and just leaves a card to let me know. If you are really brave you could have it delivered to a friend who hopefully will not tease you forever about it!
Ticuk is going to give the head a good clean for me Psychobarfly. Not sure what with though. Wonder what 646 is it sounds like some top secret chemical thingy. Will have to look it up.

 

Psychobarfly- Well, Loki is sitting at my side and not to happy with the situation, but he has to patiently (as much as this princess can, that is) wait until we arrive home, and then some more..... The info about the release stuff is very interesting. This are things we normal collectore don't think about, only if you start sculping and get into the heart of the process you see all the factors it implies, end even then, smone things just slip the mind at times. Thanks, information is power (we should know that, harbouring at least one trickster, or more, at home)

Kavarr- Oh I wish I could do that. But my postoffice only holds parcels up to 2 weeks, and I still don't know how long it will take me to get home. Perhaps at the end of next week I'll have an answer.....
Perhaps I really should ask a friend to get it for me. Most people whom I trust with my parcels know about my dolls, so no problem there^^

And thank you all for such beautyful mental images *Tony/Loki shipper here*

 

I know, right? It makes absolute sense when you think about it, though - it's like greasing a pan before baking a cake so it doesn't stick, although thankfully our little resin darlings are a bit more sturdy than most baked goods. But knowledge really IS power in this hobby! With so many technical behind the scenes stuff about the doll-making process, it's no wonder people like us are left scratching our heads and scrambling to fix things when they go awry! I'm learning something new all the time here, which is more than I can say about most other pastimes I've enjoyed over the years lol. Seriously, there needs to be a behind the scenes video of the whole process somewhere! Everything is so mysterious, even when you're actively hunting for the information. (On that note, maybe 646 is a special Hydra blend, haha...)

 

Yeah, it does make perfect sense that such an agent is used, but it never occurred to me, because I never really considered how the casting process works. Which is actually very interesting!

I LOVE the idea of tiny Tony flitting around Lox, helping him dress.

Okay, googling 646 is a pain but I found this:

The most popular 646 solvent is widely used in the production and living conditions. Solvent 646 is used as a degreaser and solvent for paints, including many car repair services.

Formulation and technology of its production have been developed in the XX century. Initially, it was made to dilute nitrovarnishes and nitrocellulose, but later its versatility.became clear to everyone. Solvent 646 was used for the dilution of various VAP materials to the working viscosity, paint cleaning equipment and tools. 646 solvent popularity relates to its excellent performance properties. A plurality of components in its composition, define broad specialization and the ability to dissolve many organic substances.

Solvent 646 is a colorless or slightly yellowish liquid with a characteristic smell. Solvent 646 is chemically a mixture of various volatile organic liquids in the following percentages: aromatic hydrocarbons, ketones, alcohols and esters (50 % toluene, 15 % ethanol, 10 % butyl acetate, 10 % butanol, ethylcellosolve 8%, 7% acetone.)

Solvent 646 is one of the most active solvents, therefore it requires accuracy in operation, for example, to avoid damage to the lower layer paint. In some cases, it is more expedient to use the weaker teams combined solvents.
(http://www.dcpt.ru/en/purchase-of-solvents.html)

Hieisfuzz, Lox' wig is a basic Monique Paige wig, with a ton of product in it. I'm forever battling strays strands and the excess volume.

 

Guys, before throwing solvents at the problem, keep in mind that a silicone based grease may not be impressed by any of them, due to the nature of silicone (not being a carbon based material and all that). And the resin might be damaged by it instead (being a carbon based material).
How's about first trying to wash it off with nice clean (and or soapy) water? Lots and lots of nice clean warm water.

 

Stella, ah yes curly synthetic wig woes lol. It looks lovely on him tho. Tiny Tony must do a good job brushing it for him ^_^

 

For straightening/restyling curly wigs, I have found info similar to this in a few places, with the hot water curl relaxer/cold water chaser method...although I haven't yet tried it myself! Has anyone experimented with doing something like this on their Monique wigs?

Also on the topic of Monique, the most accurate Loki wig I've found (that's readily available without caving and learning about the world of Taobao and agents, that is) would be the Taylor style in off-black! The backswept hairline is pretty epic in a world of parted or front-angled wigs with bangs/fringe lol. The Taylor is what my little Jotun babbu is wearing here, here and here (although it's been painstakingly trimmed since iirc it was originally longer than the babbu is tall, haha. But the bonus is that there's minimal fuss once it's cut, because the length of the hair isn't dragging itself down or sliding off the head so it stays right on the there even without a wig cap). Let's be real, the babbu always looks fabulous.

The 8-9 Taylor I have for my MNM seems as if the curls aren't quite going to cooperate and do the same cute flip at the nape of the neck as perfectly as the little 5-6 does on a Lati, however, so I can't bring myself to start hacking away at it just yet...I might buy a backup or two first in case of disaster. I bet Tiny Tony could do an awesome job of styling all these wigs, flitting to and fro!

As for the chemical squad...I would assume that anyone giving a faceup would already be giving heads a cursory wash with warm water and possibly mild dish soap or something, wouldn't they? Is that not standard practice, to get any random grime and oils from simple handling off there and start faceup work with a clean slate? If the gunk from casting is still hanging around, odds are it might be too hardcore to remove completely with plain soap and water, which is why folks are having the problems they are after the fact. :/ Maybe casting companies need to start making their mold release lube in hot pink or bright blue or something so it's obvious when there's some left behind... :P

 

That wig has potential! It looks great on the babbu, it's a perfect flip. Does the 8-9 size fit well? The Paige wig is 8-9 as well and I was thinking it could stand to be a little smaller. I'm very tempted to order the Taylor!

You're a temptress, Psychobarfly XD

On edit: I realised I actually have a 7-8 Monique wig, Ng ye's wig is a Faith. Nope, doesn't fit at all.

 

Monique make the best wigs and 8-9 fits well. My Loki's is a Ciara that I cut to how I wanted it and used some product on it for styling. Since I don't have a Tony tiny or otherwise (well except for my partner who's name is Tony) to help style Loki's locks and i'm not to sure how Thor would go with it he will have to put up with me doing it for now

 

Stella, I'll wear that temptress title with pride! I do love sourcing collections of useful things, so The Loki Project has been an excellent outlet for that.

I like Lox's wig quite a lot, too! The Paige has those sweet unruly curls like Loki did in Thor TDW, the Taylor definitely has more potential as the Avengers "sinister Christmas tree" when properly trimmed, layered and slicked up with gel...and the Ciara is a versatile happy medium. Of course, for a softer look you can just skip the gel and enjoy the cutesy soft flip like the babbu is rocking right now. I got really lucky with the lay of the hair on the 5-6, and I feel like once my 8-9 is cut, one side is going to be totally awesome...and the other side will flip in the complete wrong direction lol. Luck of the draw! Maybe the others will be less contrary.

I agree with Kavarr, the 8-9 is good for the MNM heads! It's also fine for the Whispering Grass Thomas head which is a bit smaller that the MNM overall, and the MoDoll/Natrume Tom head which seems enormous compared to both the others (lol fathead were there ever "official" measurements on record somewhere for the Tom MNM head?) The faceup on my MoDoll seems to resemble Tom IRL or Tom-as-Adam rather than Tom-as-Loki, so the Taylor wig looks a bit wrong on him anyway! (Next up, finding a wig that actually looks like Tom's hair...aka the impossible dream. I predict failure in my future, haha.) Monique wigs are definitely very stretchy and versatile with sizes, but I don't like my wigs to be too tight or I get paranoid about rubbing the paint off if I adjust any doll's wig too much - especially after recent faceup-related events around here! At least with removing the weight of the long curls, the wig should stay perfectly in place just like its smaller counterpart and not need much handling at all.

All our Lokis need to have a little pampered princess club night so they can share hair tips! No number of Taylors will make me stop pining for this, though. (I'm not the only temptress around here, this one is courtesy of hieisfuzz who finds epic stuff like this all the time!)

Ugh I've written an essay here again, but let me jump back to the Tom wigs! Does anyone have a preferred wig they're seen/bought to use for Tom rather than Loki? Tibetan lambskin ones are awesome for OLLA Adam, but...hmm. A lot of Monique's baby doll wigs are suitably curly, but they're all so similar and seeing them on top of baby faces is screwing with me lol. I think they might look really bizarre trimmed into something shorter and Tom-like, unless it's the blond fluffy cloud hair he had when he was younger.

 

Creepy Tom has a custom wig which I really like because it's proportionally thin enough and not too bulky. My friends all laugh at how committed I am to preserving Loki/Tom's massive "fivehead". It's all part of his charm.

As for Tom hair, I have a mohair wig I got years ago that I cannot remember where that I think is a decentish appromixation for his War Horse and leading up to the Hollow Crown era hair. It's not spiked like he styles his in the photo, but it can do it if I comb it that way.

 

LOL poor Tom being papped bare-faced and without his hair did. :> But hmmm! I tend to murder wigs made of that kind of mohair, so this might involve proceeding with much caution for me, haha. I think that type of wig is probably too straight for what I'm going for, but all examples are a step in the right direction! I feel you on the fivehead, haha a slight slip of the wig can throw off his whole look! I suspect that finding one with any kind of convincingly curly up-and-out Tom hairline in the baby doll section will be a fruitless task though lol ("...in a land of babyfied Soul Glo 'fros and classic permed grannies, a wild Hiddles appears..."). So did you end up putting creepy Tom's custom black wig together yourself to get what you needed, or did you owe a friend a big favor after the fact?

 

Seeing that pic makes me realize just how much the blank sculpt doesn't have a top lip. My faceup artist really worked magic on him when she painted him. I have a really low forehead and so have the opposite problem of Tom, but yeah, hairline too low and he just doesn't seem right.

I actually commissioned it from a wig maker, though I've been thinking about giving a go at making one myself. I'd like to see if I could maybe actually get some sideburn pieces in there in front of the ears. I can't really paint or sew, but I do like crafting things and have been trying to get myself to actually MAKE more things lol