Sooo how many years have I been on these good forums and never made a figure for someone to add to their collection?
I guess procrastination and timing are everything.
This project has been on the burner since 2009. Sersly..2009.
I dunno...seems after a MegoMeet trip and re-reading tutorials from our good Pal James Brady, I finally bought one of those silicone & resin starter kits from Smooth-On.
Calibos all starts with a CTVT Devil head. I re-tooled his horns and added hair. Final paintjob is yet to be determined. I like the how Gentle Giant's paint scheme, but I also like a darker theme for his eyes and lips.
While at Mego Meet 2010 (I think) my son found the perfect tail. (If you haven't figured out yet, I cannot sculpt for crap). It was from one of those 10"-12" Lizard figures; popular at KB Toys in the late 90's. A little modding and it would suit me.
For the longest time, I pondered the cloven right foot. I tried in vain to build something from the knee down and keep articulation. Umm, did I say I cannot sculpt for crap?
I would go to Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and farm supply stores looking at any toy that might have a donor leg. Somewhere along the line, one of our own, DocDrako sent me a couple cloven feet he canibalized from something..I don't remember. I tried (again in vain) to use that foot...no dice.
Fast forward a solid year and a half...and I find a horse at Walmart..merely on accident. Goofball kid of mine snuck a Mego leg into the Wife's purse and we pulled it out to compare while in the store...yeah, she was none to impressed LOL. $5 horse..fit the bill. perfect.
So I get this horse and dremil off the best, appropriate leg. Come to find out, the inner leg was hollow enough, that it almost fit the Mego leg (well, CTVT leg I had on hand at the time) like a prosthetic. Hmm...the gears still spin...
I get it to fit the way I like with a little hot glue inside. Once sturdy, I caked that sucker in with Bondo. Sand and fill, sand and fill...and I start to decide the cloven foot is too small. I go dig out DocDrako's feet and a little chop chop, hot glue, squint my eyes...and yup. Custom right leg. Bingo.
So as time moved forward, molds are built, my mind is racing on accessories and clothing. In the 1981 movie, he sports none of the stuff the Mattel action figure got. Armbands, black toga, sword...it's like Mattel tried to make him a pirate instead of Lord of the Marsh LOL.
I really wanted a particular Cast-a-ways body. Dave had two, super dark brown bodies at Mego Meet 2009, err, might have been 2010. He may have told me then and I chose not to listen, but I think they might have been leftovers from a factory error - this color of body never returned to stock.
So I ordered a dozen or so of brown bodies from the Doc and CTVT. Doc bodies are quality, but too light in color for me. I thought of dying the parts, but feared color differences between the limbs and torso. CTVT brown however is almost spot on to my original vision...but their bodies are really lightweight and strung really tight.
Hearing something the Doc said at a past Mego Meet, he gave me the idea to mix Tester's Model paint (enamel) to my resin for tinting purposes. A bottle of that stuff is $1.50 at the only store in town who sells it...and that is only for something like a quarter of an ounce. Well, it worked fine, but was gawd awful expensive for this project. I'm no resin expert...browsed over Smooth-On's website...guess I could have called them for help but I went another route.
We have a local automotive paint store - the guys who sell to all the car repair shops. I got the color matched, got three TIMES the amount of paint for a FRACTION of the Tester's cost...and it mixed with the resin faaarrr better and went much further.
i was able to create heads, legs, and tails that look as if CTVT factory pushed em out themselves. I even (on purpose) left some flashing here and there to match the quality of a CTVT body LOL. I really hoped to achieve this goal to prevent painting the entire body. Paint would just rub off in the limb joint and look like crap.
Another item I had to tackle was the CTVT body. I removed all their bands and stuff and re-strung the bodies as I assembled the figure. They stand much better now and since I used elastic strap stuff...should last a good long while.
He is still much a work in progress - can't say in all my years here or searching Google that I have ever seen another one.
Items on the plate thus far are:
1) Artwork. I plan to have him come with his own acrylic display case. our very own Farley gave me the idea with his awesome displays at the Mego Meets. Inside that case, I really want something snazzy, but not too over the top. I pondered a window box...in the style of the kenner Alien box...but I think it will not be cost effective and too over the top. The figure should be the center piece in the case, not the packaging..so I still brainstorm.
2) I really want a detachable left hand. You can have either his normal hand, or the trident thing he dons after getting his hand chopped off in the movie. I am working on a hidden seam, magnet system for quick change out.
3) Whip accessory. I wanted to make a whip from the very start...but did not like the idea of just whipping (no pun intended) up a quick accessory out of cord or something. I stumbled across some nice braided wire..for picture frame hanging. Make a handle and walla - a pose-able whip.
4) I originally was going to use a Conan-style belt. I might design a new belt, cast it in black and give it a bronz-ish brush brushing. Something I have found interesting is this - for thin, flat resin pieces; I can pull those out of the mold ask they kick, but not fully cure. they are still fairly warm to the touch, but solid enough to handle. Take those pieces and carefully drape over something round (if that is your desired shape) and the resin will reshape. I'm gonna try that for my custom belt..but still brainstorming.
I have about twelve of these guys built - all are going to the 2012 Meet this year. Price is TBD.
here's a teaser since I don't have his accessories or clothing done yet
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WANTED: Boxed, Carded and Kresge Carded WGSH
