These ones are shaped like they have a little waist on them, and as luck would have it, fit the same plastic cup for the head as the other ones... Perfect!
The only significant change is that, as it's not straight sided, I need to paint it. There is no chance I can use felt to cover it with that amount of curvature, so I need a rethink on the body design. It's also slightly larger than the other ones, but not by much.
Once the label is removed, you can tell that the plastic is going to need an undercoat. This time I decided to try a brush, rather than the spray paint. I bought a small tin of paint specifically designed for plastics, and some small rollers. The roller was difficult to manoeuvre over the curves, so I used a large brush. Left to dry, it wasn't too bad.
Then, on to the paints! I have a BUNCH of acrylics in random colours, so I picked a green and a yellow to experiment with. The acrylic needs at least 3 coats to make it solid, or it's a little streaky. I used the same method on the cup, and mixed up some custom skin tone. A couple of coats, turned out not too bad ;)
So anyway, here is where I am at. I need more dowel for his arms, and painting, but so far so good. They all still need to be top coated, but I will do that once I have the arms and legs painted as well...
I have some gold buttons, which I will stitch on before I glue on the bib. Not sure if it will go on the green or the yellow body, yet.....
Update 13/9
So, I tried to add some colour at the bottom of the shirt, below the belt part. I used some tape to mark some lines, and when I pulled it off, so came the paint! Oops!! So, started again from scratch.
This time, I planned the colour change before I painted the green. I found that trying to paint the red over the green was not going to give me a vibrant colour, anyway. So, I marked the level of the belt, and pencilled in the lines, and just painted it all again.
Several coats of paint later, and I think I'm finally ready for the sealer!
Update 21/9
He is all sealed, but I think I used the wrong type of sealer ;( It took FOREVER to dry, and even now is a little sticky to touch. Oh, well, he's just a tester, so I will only used Mod Podge from now on. I only have matte finish, but this will have to do, for now...
Finally got him fully assembled, to see how he looks. I'm pretty pleased!
Still need to finish his legs and need to sort out his hat, but overall progress is good :)
Update 22/9
He is done!! Learned a lot about paint, sealer and glue with this one. Not sure if I want to add a beard - so far I'm ok with it, but can always add it later.....
Still have the yellow one to go, but, I have some ideas brewing ;)
The gold circles are from foam and a hole punch ;) His hat is craft foam, partially painted with ricrac glued on. The dome is a styrofoam egg, trimmed at the bottom, couple of coats of paint and sealer. The top ball is a plastic ball painted in gold.
