u/ST_TD

This is my second piece of fan art; I’m happy with it, though it doesn't quite measure up to the first one.

Don't expect too much, though, because I've only just started trying to draw seriously.

😊

Before we begin, the images I'll be using are arranged in chronological order, from most recent to oldest. Hopefully, that will make it easy to understand.

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Okay, as you can see, this is the first knock-down layout I've ever done in my life, and it's made for a 60x30x35 cm aquarium, which is big, but not *that* big.

After getting the layout, I performed dry start method (DSM) for about two weeks, I think.

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The aquatic plants I used for DSM were Pearl Glass, Hairgrass Mini, and Hairgrass Mini Twist, all tissue-cultured. I also included Phoenix Moss, Whipping Moss, Flame Moss, Christmas Moss, and Spiky Moss (which wasn't a great idea because most of them have aquatic leaves), but it wasn't too bad.

After filling the aquarium with water, I immediately noticed the water was very tea-colored. This was because the tannins in the driftwood, resulting from the humidity generated in the DSM environment, had been extracted, even though I had soaked the driftwood in water until the water started to clear before doing the knock-down layout.

Then I added more aquatic plants, including Anubias nana petite and Anubias nana bonsai. I'm not sure if they're the same species.

Then I added the fern Bobitis and Hygrophila pinnatifida. Oh, I forgot to mention, I secretly added some of the other mosses I mentioned as well.

And then they added more aquatic plants, namely Rotala Green, Rotala Blood Red, and Rotala Crayons. That's a lot!

I've been changing the water for a couple of days now, and it's starting to clear up. I'm perfectly fine with it. What do you guys think? I'd really like to know.

First, for those wondering why it's shaped like an hourglass, it's because we moved house frequently before, so we couldn't find a spot with plenty of sunlight, but now it's okay. As for it drooping, it's because it's getting thirsty. Don't worry, I watered it today. Also, I'm making a support for it, you can see the wooden supports on the trunk, but they're not quite complete yet. Anyway...

It's been blooming since December and has continued to produce flowers until now. I've counted about 46 flowers so far, and tomorrow it will reach 50 because I've noticed there are still 4 that haven't bloomed yet. But I'm wondering if this kind of thing is normal for an Echinopsis orchid?

Actually, he's been around for many months now, so I thought it would be good to let him have a presence on Reddit and also in the online world (though that's unlikely).

He is approximately 27.5 cm tall, including his hat.

As for the weight, I'm not sure exactly, but it's probably heavy.

The materials used are an endoskeleton made from Lego Technic and Lego ball joints, and an outer shell made from homemade epoxy putty. The structure was molded using modeling clay, then epoxy was applied over the surface. Once hardened, the clay was scooped out to reveal the epoxy shell.

Then, use a model grinder to fill in any cracks and other imperfections.

The result is like images two and three.

Next, prime the coat with Vallejo's dark gray, as shown in the fourth image.

Then, paint yellowish-brown over the cracks to create rust, dust, or dirt effects. Next, paint dark brown over the body and lighter brown over the belly. Paint the eyes, hat, microphone, and other details. Finally, use diluted black watercolor paint to rub over the body to create dirt and stains—all using Vallejo paints.

Finally, I applied a matte finish with Mr. Topcoat's flat formula in a can, resulting in the first picture.

In terms of articulation, there are many points of articulation, including 360° eyes, ears, mouth (endo, freddy), neck, shoulders, upper arms, elbows, wrists, fingers, thighs, knees, ankles, and toes (endo). The hat and microphone are removable.

But its highlight is that the endoskeleton can be removed from the outer casing to become Endo-02, although there are no pictures to show. Even though some Lego pieces attached to the outer casing need to be removed, it means you'll need replacement parts if you want to play Endo-02.

The last picture shows that it has been played with quite a bit, to the point where the paint is chipped.

Finally, this is also my first action figure, and I made it myself, so it means a lot to me. What do you guys think of it?

As the title says, this is my first ever layout knockdown. I've learned a lot from it and hope to do better in the future. I'm curious to know what you all think of it.