I'll warn you ahead of time, they aren't for sale. Sorry.
I tend to get caught up in good TV shows, fiction, and movies. My wife loves artwork, crafts, and sewing. Both of us tend to throw ourselves headfirst into whatever we're currently interested in. Last year our obsessions meshed: Teres started making me Firefly Barbies.
Each is handmade, with repainted (and, in some cases, resculpted) faces. She changed the hair on a few, and combed the Internet and the local toy shops for clothing and accessories. Next to our bed (on her side) is a massive heap of plastic weaponry, tiny little outfits, itty bitty jewelry, and assorted body parts. By this point it would be pretty much impossible to describe all the sources of the bits, but I'll add 'em if I know 'em. Here's who's finished, click the images for a closer view.
First up is our captain, Malcolm Reynolds. Basically a Ken doll with attitude, he also sports brown boots, shirt, and his familiar coat. A gun belt and holster hang below his leather suspenders, and he carries his service pistol (more or less). His hair was transplanted, trimmed, and dyed, and his nose was very slightly narrowed for that flared Fillion look.
Next to him is the lovely and lethal YoSaffBridge. Even Barbie's impressive attributes had to be augmented ("Whoa! Flesh!") and her simple shift conceals a heart of, well, flint.
Then we have the happy couple of Zoe and "Wash" Washburne. Zoe was once a Cali Girl Barbie before she joined the Independents, and is seen here with her shirt, vest, belt, holster, pants, boots, necklace, knife, and dogleg shotgun.
Once a "World Peacekeeper of the 21st Century" doll, Wash's head and hair were completely resculpted to more closely resemble our favorite pilot. He sports a jumpsuit, Hawaiian shirt, sneakers, and a tiny plastic dinosaur.
The man they call Jayne was also a World Peacekeeper doll before Teres got ahold of him and redid his face, added a handmade Blue Sun shirt, pants, boots, and enough plastic weapons to choke a My Little Pony doll (including Vera, made out of several other guns and some other parts). His cunning hat was a Maggie Burns special, bought and paid for. She's no longer making them but the patterns to make your own are available at her site.
Next to him is Kaylee. Not sure which Barbie, she was picked up in a tube of three dolls from Big Lots. Dyed and cut hair, repainted face, flowery shirt, jumpsuit, belt, boots, and a wrench completed her.
Say hello to the Tams. River, previously a generic Barbie, now has distressed and dyed hair, repainted face, homemade dress, combat boots, and a big ol' honking gun. We also have a bloody axe (from a KISS figure) to add, when appropriate.
Her brother Simon, a former Disney character of some sort, is styling with snazzy black shoes, a dress shirt and slacks from a Donald Trump doll — nothing but the best here — and a Teresa-made vest. There was a previous version but even after modifications he was a bit too swarthy and wild-haired for our doctor. He also has a stethoscope and operating apron for emergencies (not pictured).
Companion Inara Serra was once an Native American Princess Barbie before she was repainted (slightly) and reworked. Her dress came from eBay, Teres made and/or reworked her wrap, shoes, and belt. Her necklace was a thrift store find.
Inset is a pic of Inara having a heated discussion with Mal. The fact that she's holding his weapon should in no way be considered indicative of what the Firefly Barbies do when no one's looking.
Shepherd Book took the longest out of the main crew, mostly due to the Mattel Corporation's pathetic lack of any grey-haired African-American dolls with wise eyes and a moustache. No weapons, but he does have a bible ready to hand for when he walks the worlds a while.
She finally redid the hair from scratch and made do just in time for Ron Glass to see it at the FX Con. She still has hopes of making one with Exploding Hair Action (TM). Maybe the next one.
Here's Nandi from "Heart of Gold," resplendant in the finest fashions this moon has to offer; a handmade top and a reworked skirt, with added jewelry. No clue which Barbie she was originally, but she's had her hair and face redone anyway.
Teres has hopes for more guest stars — currently hunting around for a G.I. Joe-sized bowler hat for Badger, and we gotta have hands of blue guys, and then there's Early, and Monty, and Patience, and and and…
Updated 2/15: She finished the Joss doll. Life is good.
The Boss has been pretty heavily modified and comes nattily dressed in khakis, a T-shirt, and long-sleeve shirt, with on-location hiking shoes.
Barbie Joss also comes with director's chair, camera, clapboard, and the Oscar he won for Best Picture in a dream I once had.
The Hero of Canton was a happy accident.
He started out life as Jayne Mark One, but some problems with his head caused him to be set aside for parts. Then we saw some Fleck Stone stone finish spray paint, and inside our heads a hundred mudders cried for a hero.
This happens more often than you'd think.
Last Christmas she surprised me with an unexpected one: me. Complete with receding hairline, glasses, facial hair, paunch, Whedon's Bitch T-shirt, jeans, sneakers, a Palm Pilot, and a cellphone, I feel she has captured the essential me, except for one thing. No Teres doll. Plans are already afoot.
She has no plans to make these for sale; each one takes a fair bit of work and she can't really remember where she got all the bits. If you're interested in trying your own, check for customizing sites with tutorials like OOAK Fashion Dolls. We found a gun fairly close to Mal's at Marxman Armory (the 1860 Army Colt), more vintage weaponry at the Toysmith, and an excellent list to sites that sell loose G.I. Joe stuff at Six of One. Clothing, jewelry, and shoes were found in thrift stores, on eBay, or handmade.
To repaint a face, you should first remove the one that's there (either the bit you want to change or the whole thing, which looks really creeepy) with non-acetone fingernail polish remover as over time the acetone will damage the plastic. It's also more work, so Teres used acetone. Wash the faces in soapy water afterwards. Facial features can be "adjusted" with sandpaper (start with heavy grit and go finer as the doll gets smoother), X-acto knives, and Dremel tools. Scarred and horrific figures display our learning curve here. There are different types of modeling paste to use to add or build up features that will dry white, sand smooth, take a paint well, and blend nicely into the doll's skin. Teres used Sculpy modeling clay. Paint should be acrylic and mixed with thinner.
Then, it takes practice. And patience. And a good light. And steady hands. And an obsessive nature. According to Teres she has the obsessive nature and more or less faked the rest. But I have my Firefly cast (almost)!
Wow… just… wow….
Wonderful! Creative! Wacky fun!
What about using the learning curve dolls for Reavers?
Really terrific work.
Whoa!
these are all amazing.
Terrific job I must say, very shiny.
Just great stuff – can't wait to see Book. Going to show my little girl when she gets home from school and I guess we may have a go at some of our own
LOL! So COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLL. I wish I had a set like that. 10$ each lol id buy them. I WANT THEEM SOOOOOOOOOOO BAD
So happy to see these all together, and an almost full cast! They're amazing.
If Joss doesn't do a Serenity 2…well, I think your wife's Barbies might have to be put to work!
Only one thing clearly missing besides Book; a Joss doll.
Great job! Love the faces! And the costumes…and the hair… and the Hero of Canton… ! I bookmarked this so I can go back and see Joss, Book and Teres (of course!) Any plans for a Barbie/Firefly car/jumper?
Fantastic. That is amazing amount of work, and your wife is clearly talented as she is dedicated. Thanks for letting us all see the results.
Awsome Work! Can we see MORE of YoSafBridge! LOL
Great! I'm jealous! Btw, plumbers epoxy – the two part kind you knead together – is wonderful for converting plastic and metal models.
Oh my God, these are so great!! How much work that must have been… And they're so recognizable. And all those details… (that little Jayne hat is just awesome and Wash holding the dino… Oh my God, just so fantastic.)
And I love that little pic of Mal and Inara
)
Again, this is so awesome… Thanks for sharing this! Absolutely great!
oh. my. god. and i don't say that often. I LOVE THEM! oh no, you've turned me into a capslocker! oh well. I LOVE YOUR DOLLS! I MUST HAVE SOME! but i have so much stuff going on all the time i just dont have the time or patience to make them! well, thanks for showing us your lovely craftswork, and once you make the book doll, put that up too. please.
Wow. Those dolls are amazing. I'm beyond impressed. I'm also insanely envious, because I do not have the dexterity or patience to even begin to try to craft dolls like the ones you've crafted. I'm crushing the urge to pepper this comment with lots of exclamation points and caps-locked letters because this comment would look like it had been written by a thirteen-year-old fan girl who had never once done well in a writing class. It's taking a LOT of restraint to do so.
Exceptional work, both of you.
Ha ha. You have TOOO much time on your hands. No, these are wonderful and I like the great attention to the little details. Although I hope that's not supposed to be a battery-powered sonic screwdriver twixt Kaylee's nethers…
Here's a site your wife might appreciate:http://www.parabox.jp/eng/index.html
These are incredible! The Jayne one is especially impressive, from the boots to Vera to his cunning hat. Your wife really nailed Nandi's and River's facial features, too.
Just.. wow. These are just SO cool.
I vote for the Badger doll, too. Has she ever consitored turning the "scarred and horrific" dolls into Reavers?
That's really awesome. I really like the Saffron and Jayne ones the best.
This is breathtaking. She did beautiful work.
A big thanks for sharing!
I love it!! I love them!!! I want them, I'ma gonna make me some too!
Nice. I think, however, you should see this, for an improvement on Zoe:
http://sean.adventureteam.com/pages/twins/twins.htm#torres
Marlowe
Howdy fellow Browncoats. Great work! Outfits and faces are great on them all. In line with the Zoe comment I think another possible face upgrade for Inara is the "Princess of the Renassiance Barbie". Check out the eyes.
Princess of Renaissance
I think that's the coolest thing I've ever seen
Holy COW, you guys are brilliant. These are great!
Now all you need is that LEGOs 'Serenity' and….
Nice work!
That is brilliant.
Seriously, if I could do that, I would. I'd just have to bribe my little sister into letting me use her barbies.
Yee haw! These made my dad! Such a great idea and really beautifully done.
I'd say that's creapifying, but it's just too cool! Great work.
And the eyes … they sort of follow you …
wow…cool dolls
Hi! Got a question! I'm looking to alter a Wonder Woman Barbie for a friend going through chemo – lop off a breast, shave her head, give her lots of accessories like cancer-fighting weapons and a cell phone to call her friends for support. However, I've never reconstructed a Barbie before. Do you have any tips or advice? I'm particularly leery of attempting a Barbie mascectomy. I do Jayne hats *constantly* so an itty-bitty chemo cap for the doll should be no problem.
Vera looks AWESOME!! I'm putting together a cosplay with some friends, and I don't think we are going to make it look that good:) The clothes are great, too — Nandi's especially for the color. Your wife should consider doing Inara's shindig dress, as it wouldn't be too hard and it's so shiny!
Coolies! I love custom dollies!!! Kaylee looks so cute with her wrench and Jayne with his idiot hat!
Yo saff lookc sool, so do River and others! Keep up the good work!!
WOW!! I like it!
I have to say, that I could not agree with you in 100% regarding Firefly Barbies, but it's just my opinion, which could be wrong
Good Site . Nice work.
I love anything vintage, especially old toys and cars.
That is talent!! I wish you would sell them. I would buy the entire set! Thanks for sharing your creativity!
I love Firefly stuff! I was searching for Cast photos and came across this and the dolls look awesome! Your wife did an excellent job! If I cant make a few of my own dolls, maybe I"ll just make a model of Serenity out of junk model parts!
I will literally do anything for those.
No, I'm serious. Saffron!
Amazing. Uncanny, even. Your attention to (and eye for) detail impresses me no end.
Now if you could only make them move and recite lines. A Thunderbirds-Firefly mashup – wouldn't that be a thing.
udlqep
SHINY!! – now *THAT'S* what my tutorials *should* be used for!
*major grin*
Valkyrie
Hi there!
At first i must say: very beautifull done, an unique project and style wich I like a lot!
I'm from The Netherlands, and I can't stop thinking about the following… You said in the introduction above that the dolls aren't for sale….
For a long time i'm trying to find/buy a Ken wich I think is gorgeous… But nothing till now…
The Malcolm Reynolds Ken, is there any chance you would consider selling it? (With or without the outfit?)
If so: please contact me a.s.a.p!!!(I hope you can see my emailadress)
If you're not interested and if you have the original name of this Ken, please let me know!
Thank you!
Kind regards,
Annemiek.
My wife put up with my geekiness I could not imagine her helping me out with it.
This is awesome!
This is AMAZING! You don't know how much I wish I could get myself a set of these! Firefly rocks, and so do you!
You should make scared one's reavers. Also you should make 2 for the blue gloves and one for the bounty hunter. My favorite is "The hero of Canton the man they call Jayne."
oh also Stitch too