Lucius and the DB10 Party Bus

So. It was near the end of Desert Bus 9 (of course) when I decided that I wanted to push further for something a little... more for DB10. I mean, the tenth Desert Bus for Hope! It's a party! A celebration! And then I thought, well, why not make something of a chocobo-drawn bus-coach thing? Because. Apparently that's how my brain works.

So let's talk about Lucius the chocobo first, yes? He’s my biggest poseable chocobo to date, all 1 pound, 5 ounces of heavy stainless steel wire armature, yarn and polyfil. I was inspired mainly by FFXV chocobos this time around, but I'm sure the other influences can be seen. Each feather of his tail and crest are individually wired. Along with his top and bottom jaw/beak, neck, wings, first four primary feathers on each wing, legs and toes (which I'd really wanted to make "traditional", hence huge claws). Fully extended, he has a wingspan of 15 inches, which also happens to be about how tall he is with a “relaxed crest”. He likes dancing, greens, and going maybe a little faster than he ought to when pulling the party bus. You didn't hear that from me, though.

And then matters got a little more complicated. This is kind of a concept piece, so hang with me here folks. What I'd actually wanted to do was make this with real working wheels and bike chains for tractor treads with optional flip-out "rockets". Yes, honestly. And I'd gone about testing how to get that to happen, but. Admittedly, a whole bunch of real life things got in the way. It just wasn't going to be possible to see through the way I really wanted, not in the time I'd allowed myself to devote entirely to the Craft-Along project. So, I gave myself another challenge. I'm an old. I remember the '80s. Specifically, I remember action figures and playsets from the '80s. And how we couldn't really afford them, so I made my own out of cardboard and paper.

This started out as cardboard and paper! Then foam, more cardboard, layers of things and fabric and finally a top coat of glossy acrylic medium to give it a plastic-y look. I, uh. Kind of went all out. I suppose. I've been working for years on combining lightweight materials and techniques to allow them to be flexible and sturdy while still being reasonably lightweight. Success! I even managed to experiment with texture so that it looks a little like the rough papery cardboard that some of the commercial playsets used to come with, long long ago. I'm... not sure who would ever actually pick up on that besides me, but that's not the point. While I was working on the initial base for this, right as I was cutting things and evening them out, I suddenly had this delightful image in my head of someone who found an old piece of junk bus abandoned in the desert and just decided to slap on a new coat of paint, re-upholster the interior, and let a chocobo pull it. The image clearly stuck with me, because uneven (but alarmingly strongly reinforced) surfaces abound.

As for the interior itself, it was partly inspired by real Arizona buses. But mostly I had the fabric laying around and I thought it was hilariously "party bus-like", hence. The seats are even cushioned, by the way. Only the best for the toys. Plenty of room for luggage too, I'll have you know.

Then of course I am me, so that couldn't be the end of it. I made real silk velvet curtains in dark blue, then decided what I really needed for the back wind was an assortment of Desert Bus shift flags! All hand-painted with a slight sparkly sheen, to be expected from me. Both the curtains and the shift flags all attach to the bus via magnets. I then added a little makeshift pine tree air freshener insignia to the front, with the tree obviously covered in glitter (sorry Tally!)... and then somewhat painstakingly made a harness for Lucius. I mean. This is my life now. I may as well embrace it.

Sold at Desert Bus 10 for $499! Thank you for your generosity Geisterkarle!

Lady Abigail

Lady Abigail (or just Abby to her friends) is still a little new at this.  Oh, she knows how to march, knows every whistle and command, can walk in step or run ahead and around.  It's the whole armor thing that she has yet to get used to.  Her handler thought it might be a good idea to get her started with something custom-made, something unique and personal.  Hey, even chocobos like to feel special.

I'd been thinking about making a fully-wired, completely poseable chocobo for some time now.  I just hadn't actually given in to such insane ideas until now.  The reception to my Desert Bus chocobos was just so good that I felt I should really push myself and rise to the ridiculously complicated challenge.  But I'm glad I did!  The result is lovely Abby with a wired beak, head and neck, legs, toes, wings (all of her primary feathers are also wired) and tail.  And she has claws!  I've been wanting to put claws on a chocobo for years!

And then, after all that, I decided she needed armor.  (Because I'm kind of unsmart.)  So... I went right for some scrap leather I've had for years and started cutting.  Well that was a learning experience, but seeing as how the result makes me extremely happy, it was worth the work.  Stylized forget-me-nots are the flowers that grace Abby's armor, and once I figured out how to firmly secure rhinestones to leather, I couldn't resist having some "flower buds" on her helmet/mask.  Both pieces of armor attach easily with little handmade hook and eye findings and chain, and it's really easier than it looks.

She also needed that lovely blue velvet blanket.  Yes, real silk velvet.  Yes, it attracts light colored fuzzies like crazy, but it's SO SOFT and shimmery and yes.

And of course she's my chocobo, so she needed a touch of bling.  I beaded her a couple of wired "anklets" and then decided her wings needed a little sparkle, so I made her some "wingbands" too.  She seems to like them.

Abby's a big girl.  In her "natural" pose, she stands 12 inches high to the very top of her crest.  With her tail up, she's 6 inches from her chest to her tail, but with her tail extended out that measurement jumps to just over 10 inches.  Fully extended, her wingspan is 15.5 inches.  She can quite solidly support a Square-Enix action figure bareback, and can easily support the lighter ones with full armor on.

She's playful, sweet and loves her greens.  But she won't turn down a slice of cheesecake.  Just so you know.

(Sold.)

Kuro

Having just emerged from his egg days ago, Kuro is looking for a warm spot to curl up in, the safety provided by a dedicated guardian, and maybe some sweets if they happen to be laying around.  You couldn't deny him sweets, could you?

I had this gorgeous scrap of the most beautiful deep, dark crimson silk velvet, and naturally my first thought is "dragon wings".  I don't know, I can't help it.  Kuro is fully poseable, though his wire skeleton is comprised of thinner wire.  This allows for slightly easier movement than the larger crocheted dragons, but he's a touch more delicate.  (Well of course he is--he's just a baby!)  Even so, he's got a great range of motion.

His belly and the bottoms of his feet are all sparkly too, thanks to fabric paint medium and iridescent pigment; so it's not going to rub off.  He's also got a few beaded accents along his back, tail, ears and toes.  The gemstone beads used for his eyes seem to be jasper, but don't quote me on that one.

("Kuro" is "black" in Japanese, by the way.)

(Sold.)

Muse Dragon Hatchlings

Taken from The Care and Feeding of Your Muse Dragon: "Muse Dragons are drawn to 'creative types' of all kinds. They communicate through thoughts to inspire ideas, and in turn are fed by the things those ideas create, establishing a deep relationship who whoever they imprint on."

Each individual Muse Dragon hatchling was made entirely by hand out of real silk velvet, satin brocade, and gemstone beads. I had a basic outline for the wings, but everything else is completely freehand. And they are all SO VERY SHINY, which the camera decided it didn't really want to deal with on that close-up picture there. Oh well, you get the idea.

(There are still a couple remaining in my Etsy shop, but more can be commissioned.)

Skexy

In a very clinical, very technical way, Skexy is a medley of failure. A prototype of prototypes, where nearly everything that I did was definitely learned from as what not to do. But I learned so very, very much. And, as you can see, a medley of failure actually turns out absolutely stunning--therefore Skexy has the last laugh here. I'm pleased. I am very pleased. But he took at least eight times longer than he should have. It was a learning experience, and I am grateful.

And the wings? Rich, dark chocolate velvet. Oh yes. Only the best for my failures. *grin* Also, gave an internal wire spine a shot. I definitely learned how to do that better next time.

(Sold)