| CECIL
(PALADIN)
PROJECT #10
CLASSIFICATION: KITBASH
BASE FIGURE: MYSTIC KNIGHTS OF TY RA NOG ROHAN
PARTS USED: METAL GEAR SOLID LIQUID SNAKE (HEAD)
MATERIALS USED: HOBBY KNIFE, SUPER GLUE, PAPER CLIPS, MODELING PUTTY;
ACRYLIC PAINTS
"That Light...it called me...my son..."
Preamble: Cecil was always haunted
by the terrible things he was commanded to do as a Dark Knight, which eventually
caught up with him when he was shunned by the people of Mysidia. In
his quest to grow beyond his status as a Dark Knight, Cecil traveled to Mt.
Ordeals, where he quite literally confronted his dark side. He proved
victorious, demonstrating his true inner strength and was aptly rewarded.
He emerged as a Paladin, no longer able to rely on his old equipment
and weapons, which were tainted by Darkness, but he emerged more powerful
and pure than ever before.
This project was a challenge for me because, unlike
previous kitbashes I'd worked on, I wasn't referring to one single canonical
character design. Which version of him is correct? The one seen
on the world map? During battles? His portrait on the character
menu? What about the computer-generated model I found in a Japanese
gaming magazine? Which one represents the "true" Cecil? (There's
also the fact that, while his physical appearance goes unchanged, he actually
goes through about a dozen sets of armor throughout the course of the game.)
In the end, I selected the most distinctive elements of all these designs
in an attempt to produce the most recognizable likeness of him.
Construction: Cecil doesn't wear
as much armor as the
Rohan figure I used
as the basis for this project, so my first task was disassembling the figure
and removing some of the extra armor plates. I had to putty over the
holes where his knee plates used to be. (I must say, I was impressed
with how well-made these Mystic Knights figures are.) I'll probably
use at least a few of these extra pieces for Rosa whenever I get around to
building her.
The head swap between the two toys was difficult,
in part because the Metal
Gear Solid toy's head refused to budge, even after soaking it
in boiling water. Also, his neck assembly was too long for the Rohan
figure's body, so I had to lop off about a quarter-inch from the peg and
then glue the stopper back on. For the sword, I whittled down Rohan's
ornately-decorated weapon into a reasonable facsimile of Cecil's blade, as
depicted in the gaming magazine. (Which of his many swords is this,
exactly? Uh, I don't know. Let's say it's his Legend sword.)
His headband, which is visible in his battle screen appearance, was
made from a sheet of plastic that I tucked behind his hair.
Painting the figure was also difficult, partly
due to my rather dim decision to change color schemes in mid-project.
(This is why I strongly suggest a game plan before starting on something
like this. It saves a lot of headaches later on.) In the end,
I went with the creamy-purple from the CGI model, though I did keep the gold
boots and yellow-and-red cape from the actual video game. (I borrowed
the cape from the Ice Lord, another Mystic Knights figure.) Also,
when I painted this figure, I wasn't yet aware of what enamel paints do to
soft vinyl plastic, like the stuff his hair is made from. It was sticky
for months before it finally dried out.
Comments: I'm very pleased with the
way Cecil turned out. He'll look really good standing on display with
the other Final Fantasy II figures, uh, whenever I get around to actually
finishing them. |
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