Hello Moonbasers!
Recently, Scott Kellogg deftly defined the meaning of SOFUBI, which Woodsy thought might be an acronym!
If it was, it would be Suffering Overconfident Failures Utterly Beyond Imagination!
Like fellow Moonbaser Richard Dixon, I have a self created comic story I want to build as models and bring into the real world! I wanted to make Japanese style Soft (B)Vinyl figures and my main character seemed to be a perfect subject...
Meet Peregrine Besset, a time-travelling Ancient Egyptian Astronaut! Inspired by an actual alabaster statue of a dwarf Steerswoman found in Tutankhamun's tomb. I wrote a series of self published comics about her adventures in the late 1990's and she is still forever in my thoughts!
...and yes, she actually IS a real trademark, for online comics, and animated films.
So I wanted to make Garage style vinyl toys. How difficult could that be? It turned out there wasn't a lot of hard information out there to guide me. The Japanese tend to keep their secrets closely and even the name "Sofubi" is the equivalent of French Champagne, no bloke making sparkling wine in Pontefract can use that name! The basic porcess is to have a hollow metal mould that you fill with liquid PVC and cook in an oil bath until a thin skin forms against the inside of the mould. Then you empty out the unset PVC, cook it again to set the skin completely and pop it out of the mould with a theatrical flourish.
You can see clips of a Japanese Master who has spent his entire life making these these toys here...
Eventually I worked out all the talk about "Iron" moulds was a smokescreen. The moulds may have looked like rusty old iron, but in fact they were ELECTROFORMED COPPER!!! I knew this was possible to do in your garage, so I spent several hundred dollars buying a home electroplating outfit!
Now it was time to turn my character into a toy. It took a very long time to get just the right level of stylisation on what is essentially an imaginary person! I did try sculpting a fully realistic face several times but ultimately I was happier with a Thunderbirds style than a Captain Scarlet type character!
Hold that thought about me being happy, I was about to enter a world of pain beyond anything I had attempted before! ...
To be continued
This sounds like a very complicated and mysterious process, to be sure, but worth it to create your very own designs in Soft Vinyl. Vinyl Figures are an amazing phenomenon - I want to see your finished product! SFZ
ReplyDeleteYou are a very determined, and dedicated, man. That is way beyond anything I would even dream of attempting. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteA fabulous tale of diligence and vision Looey. It's fascinating to read that the Japanese are secretive about making SOFUBI. Everything is an art form there. Best of luck on this vinyl voyage. Part 2 later today.
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