Why does is have to be now....

After 10 years of waiting, our landlord has finally decided to replace our old falling-apart windows with new double glazing. Yay!

On one hand this is fabulous news, we've been waiting a long time for this. On the other hand It's taking 4 days of our time when we have wedding stuff to plan, but more importantly (from my point of view) I've had to take my office apart to give them access to the windows... so I have no desk, no computer, nowhere to paint, nowhere to sculpt... etc, until it's all finished. (I'm on Jane's laptop at the moment sneaking this ten minutes to let you know why I might not be answering any emails at the moment)

I'm not ignoring you on purpose.

Bear with me though, it'll be back to normal hopefully before the end of the week (and will probably take me two days to answer all the emails that have probably built up!). Then I'll get back to trying to get as many commissions as possible finished before our Wedding at the end of September.

Right... I've got to go now, the builders have started drilling again and I can barely hear myself thing!

Speak to you soon,

Darren

Never miss a new post again!

I've had a few messages from customers recently who said that they had missed some posts I made showing new customs, because they hadn't been to the website for a while. Well there is no need to ever miss a new custom or post ever again!

If you look to the right you'll see a box where you can enter your email address. Once you have gone through this (I've even done it myself), every time I make a new post on this website.. you'll be sent a short email telling you that I've made a new post. It even gives you the title of the post so you can decide whether you think it's something you may be interested in or not.

Why not give it a try... lots already have, and it will mean you are always up to date on my latest custom figures, or any other notifications (ebay auctions etc)

It's right over there >>>>

Get your orders in quick!

As many (most?) of you know, I'm getting married to the lovely Jane at the end of September (followed the day after by this amazing honeymoon), and I've decided that after this date I will not be accepting any new commissions for painting/sculpting work. (although unpainted head casts will still be available).

My reasons are this... my order books have been filling up at an incredible rate lately, and if I had to guess I'd say that my waiting list probably stands at around 8 - 12 months. I never thought I would have so many people waiting for things at one time. I love it, don't get me wrong, but I think it's time I stopped taking new orders and concentrated on clearing my books.

Another reason for this is that for some time I've wanted to do original new headsculpts, and even full figure customs of completely new characters, but my repainting and resculpting schedule has been so relentless that it hasn't allowed me the time to work on any of these ideas that are rattling around in my head.

So after the 20th September (probably the last date leading up to the wedding when I will be able to answer emails), I won't be taking any new orders for painting or sculpting work. If you want to get your name on the ever increasing waiting list for some work from me... then you've got 2 months to get your order in! (and bear in mind that whilst any orders made before that date will be met, there will probably be a fairly long wait before I can get to your work. Thankfully most people who have had custom work from me have told me that it's been worth the wait for them. )

If you've got any questions about this, or if you want to get your name down for something.... then feel free to drop me a line at this address - d.carnall@blueyonder.co.uk

....just make sure it's before the 20th September ;)

Darren

Message Board online!

After the last chat box thing decided to stop working, I've now got a brand new message board up and working. You'll find it over on the left underneath my opening paragraph.

Go ahead and leave a message!

Darren

Quick Chat not working...

For some reason the 'Quick Chat' facility on the right of the blog seems to be down. I'm not sure why, but if the actual service has stopped then I'll have to find a replacement. Bear with me while I try to sort this out for you. (will be a shame to have lost everyone's comments)

my Obi-Wan Kenobi 1/6 custom is UP FOR SALE!

I hate computers! (again)

aarghh..... I was working on my pre-order/waiting list this morning... when it crashed on me. Then it wouldn't open correctly... then I managed to get it back from a backup I'd made, only to realise that the backup was at least a week or two old.

I've lost all orders and pre-orders made during that time!!

I've gone through my emails, and I've tried to rebuild the list as best I can, but I'm sure there are still some orders missing, especially for the Anakin heads.

If anybody reading this has made any orders with me since the 1st June, could you please get in touch with me again and confirm what we discussed... It will let me confirm that I have your details on my list.

Thanks everyone

Darren

a quick update....

'morning folks.....

I've got too much on my plate this morning to do a full update to my schedule... so I'll just give you a quick heads up on what I'm working on at the moment.

I'm sculpting Ripley and Hudson, and want to get these finished as soon as I can... I wanted these finished weeks ago, so these are a priority.

I'm also painting an ESB Luke, and 2 Ben Kenobi heads. Plus a Future Reese, Daniel Craig, Neo, and a few others.

All the Terminator heads that are due to be painted will also be started this week. (maybe I'll just have to not sleep!!)

Other things I'm hoping to get a look at are a Padme bust resculpt, a Luke Premium Format resculpt, the John Lennon sculpt.... and whatever else I can get to.

Right, back to work for me

Darren

Computer problems....

Last week I had no computer access because of a damn annoying virus/piece of adware that was slowly bringing my computer to a grinding halt....

As a result, some of you have been waiting for email replies from me, or messages on forums for longer than I usually leave it. Please bear with me.

I did a full re-install of Windows over the weekend, and today am mostly back up and running. Just some programs and settings here and there to still do. But I have internet access now... so I'm slowly getting through all the emails that have built up.

Any that haven't been replied yet, will probably be done by tomorrow morning. Thanks for being patient with me...

Darren

Aragorn auction now on!!

Click on image to go to auction!


Good luck!!!

Oil Paintings reduced!

As most of you know, during the last month or so I've been selling most of my collection to fund the upcoming Dream Honeymoon that both myself and Jane have been planning for after our wedding in September.

I've decided to take things one step further. So, in the spirit of this 'sell everything I own' sale, I've decided to let my collection of oil paintings go. Some of these I actually have up in my house, and some of them are in my studio where they were painted.

They're all up on my other website pennylanepictures.com for between £200 - £300 I think, but you know what? ...if you see something you like, send me an email and make me an offer!!

(details such as canvas sizes etc are on the above website)

Most paintings will also be available as prints

Terminator casts on their way...

Good news for those waiting for a Terminator head cast. I just heard from my guy in America, and apparently the casts were sent last week... which basically means I will be getting them any time soon.

I will post out any unpainted orders within a few days, and I'll get the heads which need painting on my desk pretty much straight away, and I'll merge them in with my normal schedule.

Finally!

Anakin custom sold..... and next?

A huge thanks to everyone who was watching or who was bidding, you've helped a huge amount with my honeymoon-fund-raising. Selling this figure will pay for a few hundred miles driven across America... so thanks!

The figure will soon be flying it's way to it's happy new owner here in the UK. Thanks!










and the next figure?











........I'll tell you next time ;)

Darren

Anakin Auction now on!!

It's up!!!

(click on image to go to auction)

Good luck folks!

Legolas auction now on!!!

click the image to go to the auction!



Good luck!!!

Honeymoon funding figure sale!

Some of my online friends already know about this, but it hasn't been mentioned here on my blog yet, so....

As some of you know I'm getting married to my partner of almost 12 years (Jane) in September of this year. Woohoo! And we figured this once in a lifetime happening was the perfect occasion to try to make one of our long time dreams come true.

We've always had this dream, since we very first got together, of flying to America, hiring a 30 foot RV, and driving from New York to LA seeing as much of the country as possible in between. But we always knew it would never actually happen. Well now that we're getting married... we can't think of a better time to try to make this happen!

We've made all the plans, and put them up on a website for people to see (including a map of our planned route). This website also has a 'leading up to the wedding' blog (with some posts already made), and some links where people can 'buy us miles' for the trip. Essentially a honeymoon donation pot.

(Yes, we're being a bit shameless about this.... but you know? we don't need any normal wedding gifts having been together for 12 years, and getting to see places like New York, Monument Valley, The Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park is quite possibly the best gift anybody could give us.... ever. We've never been to The United States before, and we may never get another chance... but it looks like an incredible place. (The support we've already had with this from our online friends is beyond generous!)

Obviously we're trying to find ways to save money on the wedding, so that we can save more for the Honeymoon. So we're doing things like making our own wedding invitations, our own wedding cake, and anything else that we can do ourselves for the day.

And here's the big thing I'm doing

You know the custom figures that you've probably seen on this site? (or on YouTube) ...Anakin, Obi-Wan, Legolas and Aragorn.... the ones that have been splashed around the internet, and that I've been interviewed about here and here.? The figures that each represent the very first time I made these characters, my prototypes if you like... and part of my personal collection, to be kept forever as a record of my sculpting/painting career as it progressed, and most importantly... never to be sold! ...those figures?

Well I'm selling them!

I cannot explain strongly enough how much of a difficult decision it was to decide to sell these very personal figures of mine... but you know what, I think it's worth it to get this planned Honeymoon. There's already been a lot of interest from people who would love to own one of these, and over the weekend I'll be deciding which of the figures I'll be putting up for sale first. Hopefully I'll have decided by Monday or Tuesday. (obviously I'll let you all know when the time comes!)





...so which would you like to own?

new upcoming schedule...

recently posted on one of the forums I visit regularly:

I've just gone through my waiting list, and in an attempt to speed things up a little now that I'm back, I've created this list... which not only shows what I'll be doing and in what order... but for the first time I've given myself a deadline for each piece (or batch of pieces)

Hopefully this will get rid of the "oh my god I've got too much to do" mentality and allow me to focus on one week's work at a time... and thereby getting more done. Also it has the benefit of allowing people to see where they are on the list and when (approx) they can expect their work to be finished.

*note: I appreciate that sometimes I'll get things finished before the deadline, and sometimes after... but these are dates I've set myself that I'm aiming for*

If you've paid for work from me, then you'll probably see your pieces here on the list. If you're not sure or want confirmation then pm or email me and I'll confirm if it's your commission you can see.

(I haven't included any of the Terminator heads simply for the fact that the new batch of heads is being cast as we speak... once they get here then I will included them on the list, but for now I'm just showing things I can do right now)

Schedule

4 Terminator full figures - one with swappable neck post
(all figures being made in background whilst doing everything below)

Private commission head sculpt – Estimated finish date (EFD) 11th April

Neo repaint – in transit, to be painted ASAP

Solid Snake repaint – try to get there by 16th April (can not promise)

Victorian Soldier paint – EFD 19th April

3 Faramir repaints – EFD 19th April

Ripley sculpt – EFD 26th April

Hudson sculpt – EFD 3rd May

Padme bust resculpt/paint – EFD 10th May
Luke PF resculpt/paint – EFD 17th May

John Lennon sculpt – EFD 24th May

Legolas head paint x 4 (one full figure) – EFD 31st May

Aragorn repaint – EFD 7th June
Terminator repaint (customer’s head) – EFD 7th June

Buffy PF repaint – EFD 7th June

Anakin head x 6 (4 jedi, 2 Sith) – EFD 14th June

Aragorn figure, repaint & weathering – EFD 21st June
Reese figure, repaint & weathering – EFD 21st June

I hope this helps, and as usual if there's any questions... just shout

ok... let's get back to work!

Hello people.

My Dad's funeral was yesterday. It was a long 17 days waiting for it to happen, but it's finally happened now. It was hard and upsetting, especially carrying the coffin into the chapel with my other brothers, but it is now over. (just a few bits of paperwork to sort out)

So now I'm back to the job of replying to all the emails that have built up... again, and then sculpting and painting and building custom figures. I will work out which pieces should have been done by now, and put them all into order. Then I will email people when I'm working on their custom. I may even type out a list of what is getting done in what order, so people can see where they are on the list. Never done that before so I'll see if it's a good idea.

Anyway... I just wanted to let you all know that I'm back here at work again, all day every day as I used to be... so let's see if I can get this 6 month waiting list brought right down to a month or two.

(Also to say a big THANK YOU to everybody who sent me emails, left messages in forums, comments on this blog or got in touch with me any other way, wishing me positive and loving thoughts regarding my Dad. It all made such a difference knowing that even people I don't know were sending nice thoughts my way. So you all have my lifelong thanks.)

6 Anakins, 3 Terminators, 2 Aragorns and a Honeymoon

Last week there were a few interruptions to my working schedule (wedding and honeymoon planning stuff that I'd forgotten we had to do that week)... so the Anakin and Terminator heads didn't get finished. But I'm back on it now and the Anakin heads will be finished the early part of next week. Today (Saturday) I'm getting done two full figure Aragorn customs that I should have had finished a while ago... so I'm doing these today instead of housework. (It'll still be there tomorrow)

The Arnie heads I'll be starting the first half of next week when I'm painting the Anakin heads. I'll also be starting the next batch of Obi-Wan heads, I think it's 3 I have to paint although I can't remember off the top of my head.

On a different note however is the latest with our honeymoon plans. For those who don't know we're planning to spend 3 weeks in a 25 ft motorhome driving all around the USA, seeing as many of the places we've always wanted to see but never had the chance to. (Neither of us have ever been to America before)



Since me and Jane got together 11 years ago now, we've always fantasized about taking a full year and driving around america in a campervan... although we new it would never probably happen. When thinking about our honeymoon however we realised we could do this just this! (just a slightly shorter version!)

As it stands (and we're trying really hard to achieve this.... Jane is working all the long hours she can, and I am painting and sculpting my little fingers off) we can't afford the whole trip. But we have a cunning plan...

We realised that some people would be getting us wedding gifts, and we love them for that, but we've been together 11 years already.... we have pretty much everything we're ever going to need (let alone we don't really have any space for any more stuff!) so we don't need any more dinner service sets, kettles, toasters, vases etc. You get my point anyway.

So what we're asking everyone, is if they could put that money to better use. Instead of buying us a generic gift from some expensive department store, put that same money towards our honeymoon fund. Trust us... the memories from seeing all of the above places across America (along with the photos and videos we'll be taking) will last us a lifetime! And will be a much better gift. Quite probably the best gift anyone could ever give us.

Quite simply... they'll be giving us the trip we've dreamed about for over 11 years.

As we have friends overseas who won't be attending the wedding, and also so we can keep track of things and can plan our trip around the fund, we set up a website.

www.ouramericanhoneymoon.com

On this site site people can read about our plans for the honeymoon, see the full list of what places we hope to see, read the story of how Jane was proposed to... etc. There is also a section where people can 'buy our miles'. If someone decides they'd like to give us the gift of a ten mile section of the trip... or twenty, fifty etc, then they can do this with a few clicks of the mouse.

This can be used by friends overseas, or indeed family closer to home (the earlier we know how much our fund is, then we can plan our trip around that). Also if any generous strangers decide they like the idea so much they'd like to donate something? Then that would be greatfully received too!

On that site there's a link to the blog we set up for the wedding plans/honeymoon etc, but I'll give you the link here too.

www.ouramericanhoneymoon.blogspot.com

On this we'll be talking about the plans for the wedding as we make them. Including things we've booked (photographers etc), headaches, happiness, highs and lows. We'll take this right through until after the wedding... including the honeymoon. At which point the main website will be used for showing photos of the wedding and the honeymoon. We also hope to make blog posts while we're in America, while we're on the road, possibly with photos.

We can't wait for this.... we're so excited!!

Darren (and Jane)

Work schedule - week beginning Monday, Jan 14th

I just thought, it might help if people know what I'm working on in any given week (so they know I'm not just sitting around playing Zelda ) so each week I'll post up here what I have on my desk in front of me. I won't include any names, as I've already sent out emails on Monday to those people who's pieces I'm working on.

This week I am painting 6 Anakin heads, sculpting and painting 2 custom heads, and casting 6 Arnie heads (3 painted).

Hopefully I will get all of this finished by the end of Sunday. If not then I'll simply carry across what is left into next week. I'm hoping to make myself get more and more done in each working week, so I can work my way through the waiting list much faster. (I've never been a fast sculptor or painter... it's all about detail with me, but hopefully I can change my working practices to fit more into each day)

Anyway.... back to work