Nightmare Before Christmas Town

I cannot believe I have never seen these till now! Hawthorne Village has come out with a limited number of houses from The Nightmare before Christmas! I love walking in those stores during Christmas time and seeing all the little towns that light up and think to myself, "gosh, those are so cool, I would really like to have a set for myself someday". However, I could never find a set that I really liked for the price. Until now. I am ordering the Christmas Town set first, then the Halloween Town, then the train set. In about two or more years and after $2000, I should have the complete set! My first and second shipment has already arrived. As far as my personal review, I would say they are really neat. They do need a little more touch up on the paint job to get it a little more accurate to the screen version. Some details are also missing here and there, plus the addition of all the wreaths, but all and all, I love it.

Wybie's Mask Part 2

Long overdue and way late for Halloween, here is my almost completed Webie mask. Here is what I did....
I removed the glass protection shield flip up part, then used a hair dryer to heat it up to form the top dent. This was taking way too long and the result was kind of icky. So, like the genius that I am, I stuck it in the oven. Now I had it in there too long and too hot, and I wasn't watching it the whole time and it got way too soft. So I quickly pulled it out using oven mitts and tried not to ruin it but instead make it work and form the mask a bit. It needs to be more 'skull' shaped than how it comes out of the box. You will have to do some freeze framing to see what I mean. The head is more rounded while the jawline comes in a bit. Once I had a shape that I liked, I went to the hardware store and picked up random parts here and there. I tried to find the cheapest PVC piping of varying lengths and diameters for his three eyes, and a ceiling fan mounting bracket to glue it all on. I used a adhesive called JB Weld that smells but holds really well. I then hand painted it. It's still missing the rivets along the forehead and the crank on the side, but it worked great for Halloween. Luckily when I purchased the mask it came with two. So, I will make a second attempt at the mask and take pictures as I go to do a more step by step.

Full size "Other" Squid

I am still loving Coraline and the world that was created that I can't help but want to make everything. The squid is no exception. There are three different squids that I have seen throughout the movie. There are two real world squids and one other squid. I do intend to make the other two, however for the Other Squid I asked a friend of mine (the same one who did my Coraline gloves) to help out. She used Joan of Dark's Squid tutorial to make this one. I really love the way it came out. I will have to sculpt the button so it is scaled proportional to the toy.

Coraline Halloween '09

My wife and I went as Coraline and Wybie this year for Halloween. Our costumes were pretty simple for the most part. We either found what we needed in our drawer or online. The orange striped shirt was on sale at Old Navy. I was able to find little nick knacks at the hardware store to make the 'eyes' of Wybie's welder mask. I spent a few hours painting it. For the jacket I found a trench coat at the Good Will that I thought was perfect. I ironed on the reflector tape that I found at the fabric store. I think it turned out really well. It was a much cheaper alternative then to purchase a fireman's turnover coat. The shoes I picked up at Kohls on sale. Coraline's light pink shoes we found at Target. See previous posts for Coraline's hat, Wybie's gloves and Welders Mask. We had fun this year at our party and got a lot of complements.

Coraline gloves full size replica

I am so excited about these gloves. Inspired by Largely Unrepeatable Blog and using her directions, I asked a friend of mine, Claire Carpenter, if she would be interested in making me a pair. She likes to crotchet so she agreed. Now she has never made gloves before so it was a learning experience. She said that she is happy with how they came out and so am I. I think they are great. They are child sized so they wont fit me, but it makes them extra cool thinking that the would fit Coraline. Original gloves were made by Althea Crome who did a outstanding job.

Coraline at Comic-Con 2009

I wish I could have attended this years Comic-Con, but just didn't have the funds or the time off. It would have been a real treat as Henry Selick was there, as well as Chris Turnham, Terri Hatcher, Neil Gaiman, Keith David and Chris Butler (who knows how many others). All these people would have been a real treat to meet and have sign my Coraline poster. But to top the cake, Neca came out with an exclusive Coraline Doll with Star Spangled Sweater as well as a limited edition lithograph. You can find both on eBay.com.

Coraline Costumes

In my wife and I's search for the most near perfect off the rack clothes for a Coraline costume, this is some of what we found...

Dragonfly Hair clip
RVCA Yellow Raincoat
Samsung Cell Phone (need to paint pink)
Pajama Pants
Orange Striped Shirt No.1
Orange Striped Shirt No.2
Star Sweater
Skeleton Hand Motorcycle Gloves
Yellow Rain Boots
Coraline's shoes
Pink skirt
Green Striped tights
Puffer Vest No.1
Puffer Vest No.2
Puffer Vest No.3
Jean Jacket No.1

I'll add more as I find them...