It's my birthday and I'll Grind if i waaaant to.*

You know someone loves you when they figure out something you've been wanting and needing before you even realized you wanted or needed it. I got a Flexible (Flex) Shaft from el Capitan for my birthday!...Now now, settle down. It sounds dirty but it's probably one of the more geeky presents out there. For those who don't know a Foredom Flex Shaft is basically like a Dremel but more powerful (more horsepower) and maneuverable (less weight on your hand). It has higher and lower RPM capabilities and a foot pedal controller that works much like those on a sewing a machine. I've actually never used a Dremel, but I have used a flex shaft so to be honest, I don't know from experience that a flex shaft is better than a Dremel or other similar tools. From what I've heard though, a Dremel can be fairly similar to a flex shaft if you get the flex shaft attachment and a foot pedal if you are working on small items. Once you move to bigger sculpts a Dremel won't do.

Here's a pic of my new baby! I haven't opened him up yet. I'm going to have to set up a space and make sure he doesn't get ruined.

My other present is TA-DA! Mini food jellies. My friend got them for me because my first initial is W. Pretty cute. I also have a terrible sweet tooth and yes I did eat them.

Yes, I was pretty excited about both presents. I get excited easily but I was blown away by the flex shaft. The project I'll be popping my Foredom's cherry on is a scratchbuild of Montblanc. He is about 1/7th to 1/6th scale. I don't know the actual height so I'm guessing since the game shows them to be about thigh height. I've only played a FFVIII and Chrono Trigger so I chose the character because I liked the design. He's a simple shape but there is a lot of nuance. The bunny ears were a big plus because I wanted to try making animal ears. Here are some WIP shots.

It's taking a while to work on him because I have a lot of interruptions and because I haven't sculpted in five years. This is also my first project sculpting in pieces and my second project using Magic Sculpt.  I don't have a lot of experience sculpting but I am familiar with Sculpey. My friend David (a sculptor but we have very different styles and he has also never used Magic Sculpt) and I both agree that if I had made him out of Sculpey I would have finished him in a snap. I would also have made him as one piece but I approached this as a learning experience. I almost swore off Magic Sculpt after my first project for my Halloween costume and that was something very simple. (I made hooves for myself)

When he is done, I will be casting him. It will be my third time casting since I made very simple casts a long time ago. Hopefully I can get some good results! Please stay tuned for his progress. I will also posts pics in the near future of my previous sculpts and casts. The casts are really simple so it's just to show I'm just learning along with everyone else.

* Grinding refers to grinding a sculpture with a tool to either add detail or smooth out and area etc.....Though it can also refer to other things......  >:)