Avengers Fisher Price Little People

So, like just about everybody else on the planet, I'm a little excited about the Avengers movie that's in theatres.  I've been watching Iron Man and Thor and Captain America with my boys leading up to the Big Movie, so I've had Marvel's superheroes on my mind.  Which is unusual for me, simply because I'm really more a DC Comics guy.  Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, those guys.  

Anyway, after being prompted by a friend's 5 year old son, I thought it was time to branch out and make some Avengers.

I don't show this part very often, but here are my sketches for the Avengers Fisher Price Little People.

Then the victims--the raw materials that will become the Avengers.

Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Nick Fury

Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, and Hulk.  

I decided to add the winged helmet to Thor and the little wings to Captain America's headgear.  I guess I like winged hats.  Go figure.  I think Iron Man and Captain America turned out best.  Hulk...needs some work.

All seven Avengers together.  Hope the movie doesn't suck.

G. I. Joe Fisher Price Little People

I never had any GI Joe action figure when I was a kid. I was very much a Star Wars kid, so my action figures were all Kenner, all the time. But I loved the GI Joe cartoon, up until about the time they brought in Sgt Slaughter and Serpentor and all those other characters. So really, probably only the first two seasons of the cartoon or something.

Still, GI Joe was fun. Stalwart heroes, ridiculous villains, and a nice moral at the end of each episode, so you could overlook all the guns-a-blazin' over the previous 24 minutes. This is one of those shows that, once I started making Fisher Price Little People versions, I wouldn't stop, so I decided to stick to three heroes and three villains:

Duke, Scarlett, Snake Eyes; Cobra Commander, Destro, Baroness

I like how they turned out, although Destro's collar isn't quite right; Scarlett does have a long ponytail not in view in that particular picture. Anyway. I made them. So now you know. And knowing is half the something-something.

Bear in the Big Blue House Fisher Price Little People

My very first customized Fisher Price Little People were based on Sesame Street characters. Shortly after that, I made some Muppet Show Little People, and eventually I got around to Fraggle Rock (not a series I grew up with, but fun all the same).

A production that I ended up really enjoying was Bear in the Big Blue House. Initially it ran from 1997-2007 on Playhouse Disney, and you can still find it on various channels and on DVD from time to time. Centered on a core family of characters, and developed by the Jim Henson Company, it has a lot of the same magic that Sesame Street and the Muppets in general have. By the time we had our own children, I loved Bear in the Big Blue House, and so of course I decided I had to make some Fisher Price Little People of the main characters.

More than some of the other properties that I made figures of, there are radically different body shapes and sizes, from Tutter--a small blue mouse, to Bear--an enormous full-body puppet along the lines of Big Bird, to Luna, a floating moon that sings a goodbye song with Bear every night. (Still one of my most favorite songs, and I included Luna in our Toy Room Mural.) So I had to depart from the usual Fisher Price Little People design more radically than usual, but tried to keep that same design sensibility in place. So here's the result:

(From left to right) Bear, Tutter, Treelo, Pip and Pop, Ojo, and Luna

My and My Fisher Price Little People on TV

So several years back, a friend of a friend (of a friend) of a co-worker told some other people about my weird hobby of mutilating Fisher Price Little People in the name of art. Or the name of obsession. Either way. Anyway, I ended up a human interest story at the end of a newscast. Better than being on the news for other reasons, I suppose.

"The Muppets" Fisher Price Little People

After seeing The Muppets twice last week, I realized that something was missing in my life. It was making my own Fisher Price Little People versions of some of the breakout characters. At some point, I had made Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, the Electric Mayhem, Rowlf, Scooter, and everyone else I felt was important; now with this new movie, I had to add three more characters: 80's Robot, Walter, and Uncle Deadly.

80's Robot, Walter, Uncle Deadly

80's Robot is one weird little dude, but he stole several scenes. I love his retro design, his dated offerings of Tab and New Coke, and his sweet sweet modem. It wasn't until looking more closely at his design on Muppet Wiki that I noticed some of his details, like a floppy disk drive in his torso. While perhaps not technically a Muppet, and more a remote control, since he's voiced by Muppet performer Matt Vogel, he's Muppety enough for me.

Walter is the character I was most worried about in this new movie--the biggest role in the movie, and a total newcomer. Watching him, I recognized myself over and over and over--an obsessed Muppet fan who wants to see them succeed, and is willing to do anything to make it happen. I decided to put him in his Kermit the Frog t-shirt; I would have included his Kermit watch too, but since Fisher Price Little People don't have any arms, that would have made for awkward placement.

Uncle Deadly, while not a new character, has been absent from the Muppet family for decades, and even when he was around, he was always lurking in the shadows. Another of Matt Vogel's new characters, he was a henchman to the villain in the movie, and has to decide if he's a Muppet or not. I've always loved his creepy look, and I think he turned out okay, given my elementary school sculpting skills.

If you haven't seen The Muppets yet, you really really should. It's funny, it's sweet, it's got some great new characters, and all the old ones that you've missed. It's good for your heart. Like oatmeal. But less messy. Usually.

Doctor Who Fisher Price Little People

I swore I'd never do it. But after acknowledging that friends and family members were right, and I should have been watching the British sci-fi series Doctor Who for the last five seasons, I finally got on board. And now that I have...I need to start making some good Doctors. As is fitting for a time traveling television show, I'm starting with the last Doctor first, and I'll get around to others later.

River Song, The Doctor, Amy Pond, Rory Williams

River Song is a character that's really grown on me. We first met her in a few episodes in a previous season, and each time we see her, the mystery deepens. As portrayed by Alex Kingston, she's smart, funny, and every bit a match for the Doctor. I chose to make her in a Season Six costume, partially just because I dig the Western thing she has going on. She's got a gun in a holster on one hip, and her own sonic screwdriver on the other. The biggest challenge was her hair--the insanely beautiful curliness of it, and the fact that it changes color depending n what light she's in. The Doctor (Matt Smith) was another challenge, and another hair sculpting issue. But he came out okay. I tried for a tweedy texture in his coat, but don't know if I really achieved it. In any case, bowties. Bowties are cool.

Amy and Rory were both easier in a lot of ways...Amy's short short skirt was easy enough, and I like the red scarf. Rory was another matter--I wanted his red shirt and black puffy vest from the Vampires in Venice episode, but have YOU ever tried to make a vest for a person with no arms? I have. And I might have failed. But it was either this or the Roman Legionnaire, and I didn't want to do that. Rory's Rory. His nose.

Coming soon: more Doctors. More companions. Villains. Tardises. T.A.R.D.I.S.es even.

He-Man Fisher Price Little People

"I am Adam. Prince of Eternia and defender of the secrets of Castle Grayskull. This is Cringer, my fearless friend. Fabulous secret powers were revealed to me the day I held aloft my magic sword and said, 'BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!'"

You've gotta love opening credits with plot exposition. He-Man, Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch, The Facts of Life...okay, maybe not that last one. In any case, I watched He-Man way more than I should have, especially considering I was in my upper elementary school grades when He-Man came out, and should have been past it. I used my younger brother as an excuse, but I was really the one who wanted to watch it. Swords, magic, fantasy, weird bird-people...it was sweet.

And then I decided to make some Fisher Price Little People out of them. These are very hit and miss.

He-Man, Man-at-Arms, and Teela

The Sorceress, Ram-Man, and Orko

Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, Mer-Man and Beast-Man

I've gotta say, Mer-Man might be one of my best likeness ever, and Beast-Man my worst. What's up with that guy? And who at Lou Scheimer Productions and/or Mattel gets royalties for hyphenated names? Because...wow.

Next up: LEGO something or another. Probably. Maybe socks.

A-Team Fisher Price Little People

I haven't seen the recent A-Team movie yet, and I might live the rest of my life without ever seeing it. For me, the A-Team was everything it should have been back in the 80s: action, adventure, a little bit of conspiracy, a cool van, and explosions.

Really, they could have called it the "B.A. Baracus and Murdock Team" and I still would have watched it. Mr. T was intense, awesome, and inspired one too many little boys to get unfortunate haircuts and wear gold chains, but I still loved him. More than him, I loved the one member of the A-Team I most aspired to be: the is-he-crazy-or-just-funny "Howling Mad" Murdock. Dwight Schulz was and is very entertaining, plus he got to fly the helicopters and planes and death machines that the team appropriated now and then. I didn't care much about prettyboy Face, although I did like it when a plan came together under Hannibal's leadership.

Anyway, in the interest of recreating my entire media childhood via Fisher Price Little People, here ya go:

Hannibal, B.A. Baracus, Murdock, and Face

Coming soon: more stuff. And junk.

Thundercats Fisher Price Little People

Ah, the Thundercats. Technically, the Thundercats might have been some of my first homemade toys I ever made. I was old enough when Thundercats came on tv that I was past my prime in terms of getting my parents to buy toys for me, but I liked the characters and situations on the cartoon enough that I still wanted some way to play with some toys. Not having the internet or the idea to butcher Fisher Price Little People yet, I had some salt clay that I made into very rudimentary peg-like shapes that then I declared to be Lion-O, Panthro and the rest. I even made a clay Thundertank and Lair. Man. I was a mess.

That mess has continued on into the 21st Century, where the internet does exist (thank you!) and Fisher Price Little People are being butchered right and left. Soon, unmodified FPLP will be an endangered species. Keep them safe from me.

I only made characters from the first season of Thundercats--none of the ancillary characters who came along later, like "Nasty Alley Cat-O" or "Longhaired Persianina" or whatever their names were. Just the characters I knew, and I didn't make the mutant villains or those weird Ewok-Daggit-Robot-Koala things. Rober-berbles? I do have some standards. Not many.

Lion-O, Tygra, Panthro, and Cheetara

Of this set, Panthro was always my favorite character--maybe because he was the inventor, maybe because he got to drive the Thundertank, maybe because of the nunchuks. In any case, he was baaad. I tried some color shading on the toys that was moderately successful, trying to duplicate their look from the show...then again, can anyone really duplicate the beauty that is Cheetara? I don't think so. That mullety 80's hair doesn't grow itself, you know. So. Hott.

Wily-Kit, Wily-Kat, Snarf, and Mummra

Even as I was aging out of the target demographic, I didn't like Wily-Kit and Wily-Kat. I liked their gadgets--those hoverboards they had, and little smoke bombs and all--but their voices bugged the heck out of me. And I always liked decrepit nasty Mummra better than his amped-up MUMMRA THE EVERLASTING version. And then there's Snarf. A character I was born to love. I mean, it's Snarf! I have no idea what the hell he is--lizard? Gremlin? Pekingese? But his grating, cracking voice, his nannying of Lion-O, and his Smurfy Snarfing all bring me great joy. And my FPLP version of him rocks hard.

That's it. A whole Thundercats post without me making a "HOOOOO" joke.

Lord of the Rings Fisher Price Little People

I've never been the biggest fan of Lord of the Rings. I acknowledge what a masterpiece the books by J.R.R. Tolkien are, and even the film series, but I just never fell for them the way so many other people have. Some of my bestest friends are in love with Middle Earth, and I respect them for it...I just haven't maintained my own Hobbit-hole there.

Even though I'm not huge on the world or the characters, I figured with all these Hobbitses running around, and all the spare Fisher Price Little People running around my house, it was inevitable that I at least made some foray into Lord of the Rings. When I first started, I'm sure I figured I would make sets for all three movies, but so far, it's just been Fellowship of the Ring.

Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin

Gimli and Legolas

Saruman and Gandalf

Boromir, Aragorn, and Galadriel

The whole Middle Earth Gang. Watch out for tagging in Elvish.

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends Fisher Price Little People

At some point post-SuperFriends and pre-X-Men, there was Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. The Saturday morning cartoon series starred Spider-Man, Iceman and Firestar, all college students in New York City. I think somehow all three of them lived with Aunt May and "Miss Lion," a yappy little dog that Doctor Octopus should have crushed in the third episode.

I'm usually a DC Comics guy instead of Marvel Comics, but this was a fun cartoon that featured guest appearances from the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Hulk, and every other corner of the Marvel universe. If it were available on DVD, I'd buy it, watch the heck out of it, cringe at the shoddy animation, write reviews railing about how much it sucked, and return it disappointed to FYE for them to resell to the next nostalgic sucker.

Anyway. Here are some of the few Marvel Fisher Price Little People I've made. I'm surprised at how nicely Spider-Man came out. And Firestar's hair is awesome. Iceman...well, that was his design in the cartoon. He might need some work.

"Spider-friends, go for it!"

Yes, they said that.

Pork Chops

Cartoons about a Fisher Price Family, and why that little boy is always so mad.

Winnie the Pooh Fisher Price Little People

I've been a fan of Winnie the Pooh since before I can remember. Some of the earliest pictures of me have me wearing Pooh Bear pajamas, and back when we listened to those little records and books that said "turn the page when the chimes ring," the Winnie the Pooh ones were some of my favorites.

As I got older, I learned to appreciate the original books by A.A. Milne, and I find them as charming as the Disney animated adaptations. When I was on a mission for the LDS Church in Germany, I read all of the Milne stories "auf deutsch" as a sort of language study, and whether it's in English or German, I love the words.

When I decided to make some Winnie the Pooh Fisher Price Little People, at first I was going to make them in the Disney style. Then I decided that making them in the "Classic Pooh" style of Ernest Shepard's illustrations would be more challenging, so I went down that road.

Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore

Tigger, Owl, Rabbit, Roo, and Kanga. And a blinding flash.

The whole Hundred Acre Wood Gang. They'll mess you up. And your Hunny.

Addams Family Fisher Price Little People

I must confess, I haven't ever seen much of the Addams Family television series. I first saw them on the "New Scooby-Doo Movies"...a series of hour-long Scooby-Doo episodes that had the Scooby gang solving crimes alongside media superstars like Don Knotts and Sandy Duncan. I guess the Addams Family gets haunted now and then too.

What made me really love the Addams Family was the movies starring the late Raul Julia and Angelica Huston. Macabre, morbid, but with a biting wit that I enjoyed. So I made a few Fisher Price Little People. And I know Fisher Price will never really make a set, but wow, it'd be a great playset. The mansion, with a cute little graveyard out back, a booming doorbell, some torture devices in the basement...it'd be the sweetest thing ever.

Until the Rocky Horror Picture Show playset came out. THAT would be amazing.

Pugsley, Wednesday, Lurch, Uncle Fester, Thing, Gomez, Morticia, and Cousin It.

E.T. Fisher Price Little People

This was one of the easiest little sets of Fisher Price Little People to make, partially because I figured you really only need two characters to tell the whole story. I wasn't going to make a little Drew Barrymore or anyone else for the set--I figured E.T. and Elliot pretty much do the job by themselves.

E.T. ended up being one of the Little People that I had to completely get rid of the head and start from scratch. So I gave him a squished Sculpey head that looked E.T.-ish enough. I tried to simulate his glowing "heart" with some pink and white paint. Elliot just ended up being a kid in a hoodie, so I hope no one was expecting something more than that. Now I just need a stupid little pot of geraniums, and they'll be good to go: a boy and his alien. It doesn't get sweeter than that.

Gilligan's Island Fisher Price Little People

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip...

I won't sing the whole song for you. But I could. I have. Even the closing credits "No phone! No lights! No motorcar, not a single luxury..." song. Ah, Gilligan's Island. Such a silly show, but one that's been a favorite of mine for decades. My first exposure to coconuts, to voodoo dolls, to Shakespeare, and World War II. I love Gilligan's Island. They were among the first sets of Fisher Price Little People I cobbled together, because, as with Scooby-Doo and some of the others, most of the people stranded on the island wore the same clothes every week. Sure, the Howells had all of their luggage, but Gilligan, the Skipper and Professor all had their same duds in every episode. I can only hope the Professor also built a laundromat out of coconuts to keep them staying fresh.

After I made these and they were on my first website (Quinnarama.com), Bob Denver's wife Dreama (her real name) came across them and e-mailed me, telling me she loved them, and that she was happy that Bob (Gilligan himself) had seen them too. So that was a small moment of greatness for me and my dumb little hobby. Gilligan giving you a compliment through his wife, sent through an e-mail a decade ago doesn't happen every day. Usually. Making these, I had some firsts, so some of them are more experimental than really polished. Things like giving the Skipper a paunch, which takes him out of the strict Fisher Price Little People mold, but I felt was essential to the character. I remember thinking that I wanted to find a small boat that I could blow a hole in the side of like the S.S. Minnow, but I never quite got around to it. That's fine. We all know they're stuck on the island. We don't need the wreckage to remind us.

Gilligan, The Skipper (Jonas Grumby) too.

The Millionaire (Thurston Howell III) and his Wife (Lovey Howell).

The Movie Star (Ginger Grant)

The Professor (Roy Hinkley) and Mary Ann (Summers)

Here on Gilligan's Isle!

Scooby-Doo Fisher Price Little People

Growing up, Scooby-Doo was one of my favorite cartoons. The original Scooby still is. Everything up until Scrappy-Doo came along was great. And really, even Scrappy was okay, it was just that he gave Fred, Daphne and Velma the boot so what had been Mystery, Inc. became Shaggy and two dogs. Which isn't nearly as entertaining. Or smart. Or scary.

I like the classic Scooby-Doo with the Mystery Machine and the Scooby Snax and even the random guest appearance by Sandy Duncan or Don Knotts or Mama Cass. Because who knows when you'll run into Mama Cass, right? Well, not now. But in the seventies, sure. And if she's running a haunted candy factory, all the better.

This set of Little People is just the five main characters as seen in the original Scooby-Doo series. Later on I'll show you some classic Scooby Villains I've made. Scrappy won't be among them.

Norville "Shaggy" Rogers and Scooby-Doo

Daphne Blake, Freddy Jones, and Velma Dinkley

The Mystery Machine--one of only two Fisher Price Little People vehicles I've customized from existing Fisher Price toys. The other one is the Batmobile. Personally, I think this ride is sweeter.

The whole Mystery Inc. gang. They're not like, a street gang. They used to the term "gang" more innocently back then. It was the seventies. A bunch of teenagers and a dog in a psychedelically-painted van wouldn't have caused any trouble in suburbia, right?

On their way to their next mystery...just waiting for the Mystery Machine to get a flat tire, run out of gas, or turn the wrong way down a Dead End. Zoinks!

December Poll Results!

The first ever Quinnarama poll was a close one--for most of the month it was a three-way tie for who would become the next Fisher Price Little People. I liked all five of the choices for various reasons, but it looks like comedy won out over vampires and music and frakability and more vampires.

The winner is The Office! So you can expect to see those peeps as Little Peeps in about a month or so, depending on how quickly I scrounge up some new Fisher Price Little People. I haven't made any new Little People in about seven years, so I'm a little out of practice. But they'll be coming soon. -ish.

Here are the numbers for the last poll:

The Office 29%

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 28% (1 vote!)

The Beatles 23%

Battlestar Galactica 8%

Twilight 8%

Like I said, I do like all of those options, so I can see them being shuffled back into future polls. The poll for January has five options too, and chances are you'll like at least one of them. So be sure to vote, and tell friends to vote too. I don't know why you would, but it's all for a good cause. Mindless entertainment.

Fisher Price Little People Nativity

I don't remember how long ago I made this Nativity Scene, but it's Fisher Price Little People in a Nativity Scene. Since making this, Fisher Price has made their own version with the new Little People, and it's durn cute. Still, I like this version. Enjoy!

Backdrop: a stable with an inn on the right, and the surprisingly lush hills of Judea on the left.

A blurry picture of Baby Jesus. In a manger. Which manger caused one of the few arguments between me and my wife. Because we'll fight over Sacred Farm Implements, but won't fight over things like bills and funeral arrangements.

Joseph, Mary, and Baby Jesus. You need to include the "Baby" part.

Two shepherds in from the Hills, and the biggest sheep you ever done seen.

Three Wise Men, including Mr. Hooper. And who's to say he wasn't? He was able to ease Bert and Ernie's pain on Christmas Eve with some paper clips and a rubber duck; he could bring the frankincense!

Three angels. But not Charlie's Angels. Although that's not a bad idea for an update...

The whole scene good to go. Can you hear the choirs singing? In your head? Out of your head?

Other visitors come to adore the babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Including Marge Simpson, Gilligan, a Sleestak, the Scarecrow (Wizard of Oz, not Batman Villain), the White Rabbit, Darth Maul, Bender, R2-D2, Batman and Bullwinkle. Everyone needs redemption. Even Sleestaks.

Merry Christmas!