RESTYLE REVISIT: Invisi Billy

I kind of suspected there would be the occasional RESTYLE ICONS project that would bear a second pass. And wouldn't ya know, it's my first RESTYLE that's the first retake!

In the initial post about Billy, I reviewed the doll as sold and turned him from a dated 2000s emo boy with little referencing his film progenitor...

...into an artsier alternative kid with more costuming derived from his dad (by way of a Mego figure directly licensed from the 1943 picture and a Barbie Extra Mini).

...but this still wasn't it for me. The primary issue I was having with Billy was the hair. I'd made it short and messy to reference the weird hair that the Invisible Man, Jack Griffin, had when bandaged up, but this hairstyle was a little too tidy (and too Slo Mo), plus it really didn't flatter his face. I discovered when taking couple photos with my Scarah that Billy really didn't look too good at all, to detrimental effect. His face is odd and possibly not printed correctly, but surely there was something better than this:

No, the hood being large enough to truly fit over his head wouldn't help here.

Most of the couple photos I took with them had Billy in his glasses, and I already knew keenly from that Scarah post that a doll that only looks presentable with shades has some issues. 

I realized when thinking about the Jack Griffin hairdo reference I posted, that the hair seen in it was vaguely like the popular (quite bizarrely so) nineties center-part haircut worn by many young men, and which has seen a resurgence thanks to K-pop idols wearing it. If I could get Billy's hair into that silhouette, he'd be much closer to Dad. And maybe it'd make him look good without shades. 

No process photos for this, but dumping boiling water on his trimmed hair to flatten it down and invert its shape worked pretty easily. It's not at all thick on top, so he's best viewed head-on, but a bit of trimming gave him the right look. Here he is back in his original hoodie.

!!! His face works for me now!

And embracing the more glamorous idol look, I decided to try him in my generic unlicensed Mego Invisible Man's shirt and pants for a cool casual-formal artsy rebel look. 

He looks like an actual model.

I'd thought about this shirt for Billy before, but it just wouldn't have been as strong. The hair totally changes the vibe and makes it work. Even though the shirt is a little too short and the tie is small, I really like this look and I'm keeping it in the rotation for him. It also just looks nice as a casual outfit for him. 

And of course, the main outfit I created. It's even better now.

He just feels so much more. He doesn't feel flat now. He feels intense, stylish, weird. He feels like the son of a mad scientist that he is! I can display his face now because his hair works with it and he matches his inspiration character, and he's way more interesting.

So that's the Invisi Billy that I'm happy with. The change of hair and new outfit option had made him more appealing and now completely satisfying. This is the best possible take on Billy in my eyes, capturing a visual and personal tone that truly makes him the next generation's Invisible Man.

And this is a far better couple photo than what I had before.