Adding Hair to Headsculpt

Thanks, GF!

And I also need to get back to my many unfinished re-hairing projects. Sigh. Hopefully soon....

skywalkersaga wrote:Thanks, GF!

And I also need to get back to my many unfinished re-hairing projects. Sigh. Hopefully soon....

You're welcome and good luck. I know there is a lot going on in real life, and a queue of projects.
Funny, I have been struggling with a hair job these last few days. Not technically, it actually turned out fine. But I have only one of these heads (it was actually a blank cast of the real thing), and I wanted to have two different looks, but didn't look into swappable wigs (even if I haven't figured out a way to make them myself) by the time I started. So I've experimented with all sorts of add-on partial "toupee" pieces (some of them with the hairs glued to bendy wires for packaging), but nothing seems to both work and look right at the same time. So I've resigned myself to trying to achieve some partial compromise between the two looks I wanted by just adding a bit more hair to the one I already had completed. Still not completely done with the character though...

I thought I'd add a few examples of earlier rehairing attempts using the same general technique, all from various earlier posts on this site. Keep in mind, some go back quite a long way...

















Some links:
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2126-converting-arnold-schwarzenegger-kp-conan-head
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2335-converting-sebastian-stan-ht-bucky-barnes-head-updated
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2006-converting-jason-momoa-ht-aquaman-head
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t668-customized-famke-janssen-jean-grey-phoenix-head
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2854-converting-eric-bana-hector-head-from-pangaea
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3379-converting-christ-hemsworth-fat-viking-head-from-woo-toys-updated
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1854-new-superhero-revealed-fire-man-nsfw-updated-with-part-ii-july-2019


https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2471-converting-bernard-hill-asmus-king-theoden-head

Those are some awesome rootings. I'm impressed. I still have problems with a good fron hairline on some hairstyles. For Aquaman and Bucky you left some molded hair to help with that?

Especially like your Eric Bana. Bot most of them are pretty great. I jost love real hair on figs

Valiarde wrote:Those are some awesome rootings. I'm impressed. I still have problems with a good fron hairline on some hairstyles. For Aquaman and Bucky you left some molded hair to help with that?

Especially like your Eric Bana. Bot most of them are pretty great. I jost love real hair on figs

Thank you very much. You can check out the links for more details, wherever I tried to write them up to one extent or another.
Yes, as a rule, if there is a partial molded hairline, I tend to leave it in place, unless it is too problematic or exceedingly obvious/intrusive (of course, one can modify that as needed, or just remove it altogether).
I've left it in in more instances than just the Aquaman and Bucky head sculpts. No such luck with Eric Bana, where the molded hairpiece was (conveniently) detachable, meant to be swapped for the helmet -- but that also means no pre-existing hairline. Here is another look, I did this for Ephiane ... speaking of which, will you or some of our German friends track her down and bring her back? Come on, it can be a quest or something...

You are right that having a partially molded hairline at the front is helpful to give it 'body'.

One of my faves is the Sebastian Stan hair, that turned out sooo gorgeous.

Thanks for the indepth tuturial Gubernator! Very informative. I've never done rehairing, what is the purpose of the 3 interlocking strands that you do at the end? Is it to keep the shape? I think I've seen people say to make a parting line in the scalp and hair out from that?

I read somewhere that the curlier hair will be more matte than straight hair so if you comb it out it will be shinier, I think it has something to do with how light will catch on the hair. I dunno.

Very facinating stuff. Thanks again!

csyeung wrote:Thanks for the indepth tuturial Gubernator! Very informative. I've never done rehairing, what is the purpose of the 3 interlocking strands that you do at the end? Is it to keep the shape? I think I've seen people say to make a parting line in the scalp and hair out from that?

I read somewhere that the curlier hair will be more matte than straight hair so if you comb it out it will be shinier, I think it has something to do with how light will catch on the hair. I dunno.

Very facinating stuff. Thanks again!

Thank you for the kind words, Craig, I'm glad it was informative.

The purpose of the three crisscrossing strands at the end is to ensure a fuller head of hair, with less potential for a bald spot. There are ways around it, but you would have to work hard to make sure everything is covered, and might need to have the right paint to cover up anything showing through. I have done that on occasion, and it helps to have a bit of an indent/groove for the parting line in scalp to begin with (which is easy to do if you have reconstructed/built-up the scalp like I did in the tutorial). There is a way to do a parting line even with the crisscrossing strands. Once you place them in their final position, before the glue cures, you can press through the parting line with (e.g.) the non-cutting edge of an X-acto knife (I used a toothpick). Of course, you don't want to really linger doing that if you are using superglue (like I do). That is how I did it here in the tutorial, although it could have been done better.

Perhaps you are right about the shiny/matte effect depending on combing. There is also the issue of hair product and how much one uses it (it works well on natural fibers like this -- lamb hair). I didn't want things to get too clumpy (which creates a wet look), so I used fairly little.

Yeah, certain hair products can dull the shine. It does really just depend. Also I've noticed some tibetan lamb hair is shinier than others, this might depend on how it's been treated by the seller prior to being sold. There is a seller I know who dyes her own tibetan lamb hair in big batches prior to cutting it up and then selling the individual pieces. For some reason her lamb hair is much shinier than others that I've purchased. I suspect it could be due to the type of dye she uses.

Do you have a link to the seller, Sky?

Stryker2012 wrote:Do you have a link to the seller, Sky?

Yes, sure! I had to double check that she was still on Etsy, but here you go:

FantasyDolls on Etsy

Just be aware that sometimes the photos don't always show the hair colour as it actually appears in person and/or in different types of lighting. But I can vouch that the quality is very good.

MoreZMore also has good quality lamb hair, but they ran out of stock of certain colours nearly two or three years ago and never seem to have replenished it.

Thanks. Yeah, I sort of gave up on Morezmore for that very reason. Usually use eBay and sometimes Etsy. I’ll check out her store. Thanks again.

Thank you, Sky, I'm sure this can come in handy.

Great work! I just have a question about the Tiara. Does the Tiara stuck in the head, or was it just glued?

Ileg01 wrote:Great work! I just have a question about the Tiara. Does the Tiara stuck in the head, or was it just glued?

Thank you. If you are asking about the tiara on the Angelina Jolie head sculpt, and if I remember correctly, I had no problem prying it loose from where it reached the sides of the hairline and it wasn't glued or anchored to the forehead except at the center on its bottom. There, it was anchored into an indent on the head that I had to fill and then paint over (with more of the forehead around it to make sure it wasn't easily detectable). You can see the filled-in spot in a progress photo. Slicing the "root" of the tiara would have been another way to go, but it still would have involved possibly a little filling in (in case fine gap lines showed around it) and certainly some painting to obscure the difference in color.

GubernatorFan wrote:

Ileg01 wrote:Great work! I just have a question about the Tiara. Does the Tiara stuck in the head, or was it just glued?

Thank you. If you are asking about the tiara on the Angelina Jolie head sculpt, and if I remember correctly, I had no problem prying it loose from where it reached the sides of the hairline and it wasn't glued or anchored to the forehead except at the center on its bottom. There, it was anchored into an indent on the head that I had to fill and then paint over (with more of the forehead around it to make sure it wasn't easily detectable). You can see the filled-in spot in a progress photo. Slicing the "root" of the tiara would have been another way to go, but it still would have involved possibly a little filling in (in case fine gap lines showed around it) and certainly some painting to obscure the difference in color.

Thank you! I want to recreat a A. Jolie head sculpt. I plan to remove the sculpted hair and the tiara. Repaint the hair brown. I hope it will be fine.

Ileg01 wrote:

GubernatorFan wrote:

Ileg01 wrote:Great work! I just have a question about the Tiara. Does the Tiara stuck in the head, or was it just glued?

Thank you. If you are asking about the tiara on the Angelina Jolie head sculpt, and if I remember correctly, I had no problem prying it loose from where it reached the sides of the hairline and it wasn't glued or anchored to the forehead except at the center on its bottom. There, it was anchored into an indent on the head that I had to fill and then paint over (with more of the forehead around it to make sure it wasn't easily detectable). You can see the filled-in spot in a progress photo. Slicing the "root" of the tiara would have been another way to go, but it still would have involved possibly a little filling in (in case fine gap lines showed around it) and certainly some painting to obscure the difference in color.

Thank you! I want to recreat a A. Jolie head sculpt. I plan to remove the sculpted hair and the tiara. Repaint the hair brown. I hope it will be fine.

If I can do it, I think so can you. The hardest part is matching the skin tone precisely when you are repairing the forehead.
Good luck!

GubernatorFan wrote:

Ileg01 wrote:

GubernatorFan wrote:

Ileg01 wrote:Great work! I just have a question about the Tiara. Does the Tiara stuck in the head, or was it just glued?

Thank you. If you are asking about the tiara on the Angelina Jolie head sculpt, and if I remember correctly, I had no problem prying it loose from where it reached the sides of the hairline and it wasn't glued or anchored to the forehead except at the center on its bottom. There, it was anchored into an indent on the head that I had to fill and then paint over (with more of the forehead around it to make sure it wasn't easily detectable). You can see the filled-in spot in a progress photo. Slicing the "root" of the tiara would have been another way to go, but it still would have involved possibly a little filling in (in case fine gap lines showed around it) and certainly some painting to obscure the difference in color.

Thank you! I want to recreat a A. Jolie head sculpt. I plan to remove the sculpted hair and the tiara. Repaint the hair brown. I hope it will be fine.

If I can do it, I think so can you. The hardest part is matching the skin tone precisely when you are repairing the forehead.
Good luck!

Thanks! I just removed the tiara. It was very easy. What for a product did you use to fill the hole?

Are marks of the hole still visible on your head sculpt after repainting?

Ileg01 wrote:

GubernatorFan wrote:

Ileg01 wrote:

GubernatorFan wrote:

Ileg01 wrote:Great work! I just have a question about the Tiara. Does the Tiara stuck in the head, or was it just glued?

Thank you. If you are asking about the tiara on the Angelina Jolie head sculpt, and if I remember correctly, I had no problem prying it loose from where it reached the sides of the hairline and it wasn't glued or anchored to the forehead except at the center on its bottom. There, it was anchored into an indent on the head that I had to fill and then paint over (with more of the forehead around it to make sure it wasn't easily detectable). You can see the filled-in spot in a progress photo. Slicing the "root" of the tiara would have been another way to go, but it still would have involved possibly a little filling in (in case fine gap lines showed around it) and certainly some painting to obscure the difference in color.

Thank you! I want to recreat a A. Jolie head sculpt. I plan to remove the sculpted hair and the tiara. Repaint the hair brown. I hope it will be fine.

If I can do it, I think so can you. The hardest part is matching the skin tone precisely when you are repairing the forehead.
Good luck!

Thanks! I just removed the tiara. It was very easy. What for a product did you use to fill the hole?

Are marks of the hole still visible on your head sculpt after repainting?

If I recall, I used Vallejo plastic putty (or maybe Air Drying clay), because I don't think Vallejo plastic putty works great, but I didn't feel like opening a sealed bag of air-drying Sculpey for just that tiny bit of material. Green Stuff would likely bulge out a bit as it cures, so I wouldn't recommend it for that specific role -- though I used it to build up the cranium. I didn't want to mess much with the head sculpt, which was already so perfect. After the partial repaint, it's pretty much undetectable.