Thursday, August 16, 2012

Tiny Tim Gunn

Mattel came out with a line of Barbies styled by Tim Gunn of Project Runway fame.  While I do intend to buy the mattel dolls as money permits, I couldn't imagine having Barbies styled by Tim but no Tim!  So I decided to make one. 
First I looked through EVERY listing for an action figure head on Ebay to find one that would be suitable.  I think I really lucked out when I found this guy:

 

It's hard to find an action figure head that isn't scowling (because wars and action and stuff are serious business) so this guy's almost near half smile was a great find.

Next, Tiny Tim Gunn needed a body.  Luckily, I have a lot of headless bodies around.  This one was, I believe, a Hannah Montana character, long ago beheaded. 


 
The existing neck on the body was actually too long for the action head, and I didn't want to take a blade to the head since it was new, so I used my dremel to shave the body's neck down to shoulder level.  Very quick and easy.
 I needed a way to attach the two, so I formed a neck post out of some Billy Mays' power putty (it's a two part putty that you blend and then shape and it hardens.  I cut off a glob, blended it, crammed half of it in the neck hole and shaped the top part into a shaft.  I put the action head on top of it to mold it into the correct shape then removed the head and let the new post dry).

While waiting for the new post to dry, I painted the action head's hair greyish-white.  I may need to go slightly darker, but will see at the end. 

Next I added some glasses I had made previously,

And suddenly he's starting to take on a real Tim Gunn feel! 

Now he had to borrow some ill-fitting Ken clothes, but I'm going to do some shopping for him as soon as I can, so for now he's just going to Make It Work. 

I already feel like he's judging what I'm wearing. 

13 comments:

  1. He looks fantastic! Great job!

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  2. What a transformation! You did a wonderful job. Tim always wears a suit but I bet he's just as buff under his clothing as well. ^_^

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  3. Thanks for showing how to attach the head to the body. I didn't know about Billy Mays power putty.

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    1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuReA-AGa8
      It's called "mighty putty" and apparently it's not a new thing (epoxy putty), but Billy Mays did an ad for it and put his own speed-addled spin on it. I have used it a few different times for doll related things since it dries rock hard and doesn't have to be baked like a clay would.

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  4. You made it work, ;-D

    Your Tim Gunn looks great. Thanks for the tutorial on how to overcome the neck attachment. Will inspire me to make similar change for some of my figures.

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  5. I agree with the others, great tutorial on how to overcome the neck attachment. I alway like learning something new. Wonderful Job!

    And I was LMAF reading Muff's comment on the real Tim Gun body!
    Thanks for the post!

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  7. You've done a fantastic job replicating Tim Gunn in 1:6 scale.

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  8. Great job Miss Lola 77! He makes a nice Tim Gunn.

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  9. Hi you have a lovely blog,I followed you :) I would appreciate it very much if you could follow me back at:http://dollsvalley.blogspot.in/ thanks!

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  10. Hello from Spain: I am amazed at the great work. Great job. Gorgeous!!. Keep in touch

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