Thursday, August 18, 2011

Do-it-yourself Yeti action figure; a step-by-step guide!


A while ago I went to the Pittsburgh Steel City Con, which is basically a toy and comic show that happens several times a year.  While I was there I dug though a toy bin and found a Marvel Legends Sasquatch figure for pretty cheap, so I bought it and brought it home with the intention of repainting it to look like a Yeti.

Months and months and layers of paint later, I'd say that I'm 95% finished - there are always new spots of brown that I find hidden in joints so I'm sure that touchups remain, but for most purposes the figure is done.  I'll be bringing it along to the Baltimore Comic-Con and...I don't know, probably hanging it off of something.


As this is obviously a modern artistic feat, I've decided to post a meticulous step-by-step guide to creating YOUR OWN (wow!!) Yeti figure.  Perhaps one day it can even look as good as mine (but probably not).  Let's begin!


Step One: Buy a Marvel Legends Sasquatch figure.  Assuming that Alpha Flight characters haven't suddenly and inexplicably risen in popularity (even from "not at all popular" to "moderately unpopular"), you can find one for a couple bucks or perhaps a few shiny pebbles.


Step Two: Buy paint and some paintbrushes.  I used Testors oil-based paints for two reasons: first, the name sounds somewhat dirty, and that is funny; second, I still had some in my desk from the last time I painted a model, about 20 years ago.  I did have to go out and buy some purple, though, and was happy to find that Testors (heh heh) had not gone out of business in the meantime.


Step Three: Just...paint it.  Really, how else was this going to end?  Paint one side, and when that side dries, flip it over and paint the other side, and then repeat until it's all covered.  And then you'll have your own Yeti figure, which will be cooler than all the other toys in the neighborhood.


In searching Google Images for the above picture of the unpainted Sasquatch, I came across this Marvel Legends variant figure, which features...a completely white Sasquatch.  DAMMIT!  Buying this figure instead would have cut down my workload by like 80%.  Ah crap.  Well, I suppose I still have my memories.

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