The Plunge

 I built this late last year for a New Elementary article on Battle Droid with STAP. Primarly, I was inspired by the tan recolours of ball joint with through axle hole and the System ball socket. Thus, my character model was to have some bare tan skin visible. As the swimming pool season had just began, I built a swimmer. Having the character gliding through the water was more interesting and elegant than having one standing beside the pool. Furthermore, this side connection enabled me to benefit from the through axle hole. The figure's point of balance is near the waist, so the hip joint was a good place for this connection.

I'm very happy with this. The swimming suit's shoulder straps use the new Slope Curved 4 x 2 with Stud Notch Left/Right, which was perfect for the use. I could make the limbs less sturdy as usual, as this was going to be a static piece instead of a poseable figure, and the legs didn't need to support any weight. Furthermore, it was fun building a character that is almost upside down, as that highlighted the legs, back of the head and the back details. The head is unusual as well, as I wanted to have swimming goggles and tied hair. The ponytail adds sense of motion, especially with the flow of air bubbles. There's even a stud on the place of the mouth, representing tightly closed lips.

 The base was the biggest challenge here. First, I intended to build a normal pool wall-and-floor set as a whole background for the character. But I didn't have that much white tiles, and it didn't even feel very elegant. So I took another route, questioning the concept of "enough white tiles". I made an almost cubistic backdrop of pool tiles, fraying on the edges, with blue ornamental strip adding a sense of culture. I like how the vertical, angular backdrop contrasts with the slender, elegant and rounded human being. This model was fun to photograph.

-Eero.