Lamanda2

Very creative! I don't think in a million years I'd think to use pipe cleaners as minifig plumes. It looks very realistic, but I don't think it looks too realistic for LEGO either, it's like a happy medium. The minifigure as a whole is impressive as well, I'm loving that flag and the armor decal - did you design that yourself? ~Amanda

"Where can I get this cloth? Theres a wal~mart and a Target close. I'm in Florida, so dont have alot of stores others do. xD where'd you get yours?" "What kind of cloth should I use? I also live next to a Wal Mart, so would they have a suitable cloth?" You might be able to find it at Walmart (I haven't checked there), if not, try checking local fabric/craft store. You should be able to tell if something is suitable by the feel of it - Something with a really high thread count is best! "...This is a pretty good method, but there could be better ones." I think there are lots of ways to make capes and stuff, and your method sounds like it would turn out some very nice results! Davy Blocks - Thanks for posting the link about iron-ons! I just listed a couple new items to my shop, including this new sail: (Listed for $8.00 ea. - How does that sound?) .. And a matching flag: - Flag - Flag (With Brown Border) I've got to turn in for the night now (Very, very late (More like early) here!), but I'm hoping to get some more designing done tomorrow! Thanks again for all of your replies, I really appreciate your feedback. ~Amanda

"Depending on price, I'd buy several sets." Well, as I said in my original post, I sold a large one to that one guy for $15.00, and I think that is probably the largest sail type out there, so any of the other ones would probably be lower than that. I'm just going by the size of the things here really. But once I get a few of the other styles made, and I print some more out, I think I'll get a better understanding of just how much these take to make. That way, hopefully, I'll be able to knock a little off the price of the things.. I don't want to break peoples' budgets here! That being said, if you (or anybody else, for that matter) do want to have something made, just shoot me an email (Amanda1oo1o1ATaolDOTcom) - That way I won't forget about your request! "PS--how about black and blue? I think there's one official set like that. PPS---how about a more "realistic" skull shape?" Black and blue would be cool - I'll have to do that! Realistic Skull - I should be able to do that, too (It'll just take me longer). "so.. you use a normal printer or a special kind? and how do you get it aligned? do you print it on on the cloth and then cut it? xD I'm stupid.. thats probably what u do.. Idk why I asked it." It's a perfectly good question! I just use a normal printer myself.. I'm actually on my third printer right now (Had some really bad computer luck last year..), but this one is holding up really nice! And yes, I cut them out after printing a sheet full of them (Capes and flags that is.. I can't get more than one of these large sails on a sheet!). "And to get the print on both sides clearly. try taking the pics. and flip it over. like: | \ make it / | and print it on the back of the existing one." To date, I've tried many different ways to print both sides, including this suggestion, but no luck so far. The trouble is that the fabric need to have a paper backing to be fed through the printer, but when it comes time to flipping the fabric over, you have to peel off the backing, and it is difficult to attach it just right to the opposite side, so that when you print again it will line up perfectly to the other side.. It's a brain bender for sure! ~Amanda

"Is the cloth porous enough to allow for staining with a teabag?" Hmmm.. Should be. When I first started making these, I remember doing a test to see if soaking them in water would ruin the colors, and it faded them. but then after I changed my method, I tried another test and they were fine. I'll see if I can't do a "tea test" for you later on a test-worthy cape (I have a few that turned out badly here). "Sure thing! I'm guessing you did these current ones by tolerance filling the SES sail scan (to get uniform colours), and then changing the colours/removing the jolly roger? It shouldn't be too difficult with these." Thank you so much for that link! This is EXACTLY what I need!! Oh boy! ~Amanda

Wow, thanks for the response everybody! "Maybe next you could try some of the other shapes" Yes, I would like to get some templates made for the other official sail shapes out there, but some of the Bricklink images just won't cut it if I want to make them accurate, but I don't own any sails myself - does anyone here know where I could find scans of them? "Really nice designs. How do you transfer them to/print them on cloth? What kind of cloth do you use?" I print the designs directly onto the fabric (cotton popplin), but I have heard of others using iron-on transfers to make fabric items as well. "Those Black and Red Stripes on the sail look very good. where are you getting these paterns from?" Thanks! I was really happy with the way that one looked, myself! As for the patterns, I drew them up on my computer based on the official design. "These look great Amanda, and if they're anything like the flags/capes i'm sure they'll be awesome. Are they in production/for sale at all yet? The other thing I was wondering was if they were semi-transparent like the capes?" Thank you! They are printed the same way, and on the same type of fabric as my capes and flags, so they would also be semi-transparent I imagine (Do you mean that you can see through them when you hold them to light, or the fact that the design shows to the other side? Either way, the answer would be yes). Currently I just have the two Black Falcon sails for sail in my shop, but if anybody wants any of the ones I posted, I can make them for you. I've recently been pondering the idea of making my own site to sell my stuff, that way I can make them "on demand", and I won't have to worry about stuff not selling or whatall (Like printing sails, since they use up so much stuff). "Following Hound's suggestion of the different shapes, i'm sure ragged/ripped and holey (no, not holy!) sails would look pretty good too." That does sound pretty cool! I love making tattered things, it's fun! "The red and black striped one with the skull is amazing. How do you print onto the cloth?" The cloth has a paper-backing, which allows it to be fed through a printer. ~Amanda

"black and white striped without pirate skulls" Like this?: I also did up these different versions while I was at it: - Red Stripes - Blue Stripes - Black Stripes (With Skull) - Red Stripes (With Skull) - Blue Stripes (With Skull) - Black & Red Stripes (With Skull) ~Amanda

"It is sculpted from a modelling putty called Green Stuff." I have heard of Green Stuff before, but haven't used it myself. Is it any harder to work with something like Sculpey or Fimo clay? .. I use Sculpey myself, but the one big issue I have with it is that if I make something and attempt to spray paint it one color, or coat it in a clear spray, it never fully "sets", and the piece remains sticky and tacky forever, thus ruining it.. Have you ever tried a type of spray paint on the things you have sculpeted with Green Stuff before? Thanks! ~Amanda

So, within the past couple weeks, I've dipped into making LEGO sails.. And by "dipped in" I really mean just that - To date, I've only printed three sails (Two of which are identical)! I had been avoiding them because of the amount of fabric and ink I knew they would take up, but oh well.. The first one I made, which got me started with this, was a request from a customer of mine. He thought $20 was a good price for one, but I dunno'.. I Sold it to him for $15 instead, which still feels high to me, but do to the resources they consume, I don't know what to do about it currently. He requested this Crownie design: And the second is printed with the Black Falcon emblem: Yes, I suppose these aren't directly pirate-related. But, I was wondering if anybody here might have some suggestions of other designs to put on them. I'd love to hear you feedback. Thanks! ~Amanda

Hello, "1. Should I use laser printer or inkjet printer for waterslide decals or they yield similar result both is fine?" Well, I have no experience with laser-printed waterslide decals, but I would still recommend inkjet (Laser may make the decal a tad "thicker", but I'm not exactly sure). But, this really depends on whether or not you've purchased your waterslide decal paper already, since it comes in two types - Inkjet and Laser. So if you purchased "laser", you'll have to use your laser printer with that paper. "2. Can anyone suggest a brand of coating to use before I put my decals in the water." After printing a sheet of decals, and giving a few hours (Usually I leave the sheet overnight) for the ink to dry entirely, I spray the whole sheet with several light coats of clear Krylon spraypaint - It's non-yellowing, which is a plus, too. "3. My stickers don't stay on the mini figures too well, especially the ones on the arms. Why is that?" This is probably because you are putting the decals in places where it is easy for them to wear off, or where it's just naturally hard for them to stick. If you want to apply waterslide decals to the arms, Etc. on your minifigs, I'd recommend picking up a bottle of "Decal Softening Solution" and one of "Decal Setting Solution", which you can purchase from Micro-Mark. The softening solution does just that - it softens the decal and lets it conform to the shape of the piece you've applied it to, and the setting solution un-softens it. Once all that is dry, you can give the piece a coat of something to further protect the decals with (I use Krylon again, for example). Hope this helps you out! Good luck with the decals! ~Amanda

Spectacular! Your sculpting is excellent (Loving that armor)! ~Amanda

I couldn't possibly pass this topic without adding my two cents, Final Fantasy VII being my favorite game and all! Well done! The hair and sword look really great (Did you make the hair yourself?)! .. This reminds me that I have a half-made Cloud that's been sitting on a shelf for months and months.. Oh, and the gunblade in that first picture looks awesome, too! ~Amanda

Thanks! I actually do sell my stuff over at my Bricklink Shop, but I haven't got these designs listed yet, since I'm still working on cutting the rest of them out. ~Amanda

Hello Customizers, I've made a couple new designs for some of my capes and stuff recently, so I thought I'd share them over here. First up, these four, designed on Kevin1990's small cape template: - Knights Procession - LOTR - Crusader, Yellow - Crusader, Blue Worn/Tattered Capes: - Crownie - Crusader, Blue - Black Falcon, Black - Black Falcon, Red And also: - Black Falcon Sail, Blue And you can see all my other fabric stuff in my Flickr set. Thanks for looking! ~Amanda

"I received my order today, these new elements are fantastic! Thanks so much!" "People, these things look TEN TIMES better in real life than they do on screen, and they look amazing on screen!" Thanks for the positive reviews, guys. It really means alot! "Do you plan on releasing plain color capes?(preferrably black! ) i would love to have some more of those in single, maybe double colors. Also, do you plan on making the demon eye pattern available for a cape(or better, a pauldron?" I probably won't be doing much in the lines of solid colors, but I did come across on a BL seller the other day that only sold custom 1-color capes for 80 or 70 cents each I believe. Now, I don't remember the seller's name (It's one I have seen on eBay before.. They sell great looking SW figs with beautiful custom heads), but it's certainly something I think you should look up. I'm not sure wether or not about the custom design. I'll play around with some ideas, but as always, I can't make any promises if I can do it for sure or not. Thanks again everybody! ~Amanda

Dang! That new Wonka suite is lookin' sharp! I created my own, much more simple decal of Wonka a long while back, in hopes of making the complete fig. But like so many things, I never got around to it. If I ever do whip up the fig (When I find purple spray paint for the hat, and my waterslide decal paper), could I have permission to use this fine decal? Beautiful job on these all! ~Amanda