Before I start, I want to make one thing absolutely clear-- I love the Distinctive Dummies dolls. Love them unequivocally. I hesitated to post this because I didn't want it to be perceived as a dig at them.
The thing is, I am a toy customizer, and I am NEVER satisfied with my figures-- neither the ones I make or anyone else's. I always go back and tinker with them, modifying them, sometimes even years later. I have already done alterations to a number of the DD figures, but this is the first one I am publishing here.
So when I got the DD "Dracula: POD" 12 inch figure, I instantly recognized it as among the best things they've done (THE best, btw, is their Hammer Reptile figure. It is the only thing they've made with which I can't find a single flaw. It is is 12 inches of pure plastic perfection). But, like a number of the DD figures, Dracula had some issues. Christopher Lee always looked tall and magisterial, but the clothes on the POD figure were a little over-sized. He looked like a little kid playing in his parent's clothes. I applauded their attempt at screen accuracy with the clothes, going for the 3-piece Edwardian suit with full sleeves and vest. The gorgeous lined cape looked a little puffy. This can be a problem when doing clothes for figures-- what looks good on a real person, may not lay right when translated to a 12" doll.
So, I knew some tailoring was in order. To make matters worse, my Dracula arrived with a bum knee joint and split-open lower leg on the right, and a broken shoe on the left. So that was going to need repairs.
So then I figured, "Well-- if I'm going to all this trouble, no point in just making him the same figure, only better tailored-- let's take him all the way. I've wanted a 12" Sideshow scale 'Dracula Has Risen from the Grave' figure. Let's make that!"
But--How to go from this:
To this?
Here's how! :
FROM "PRINCE" TO "RISEN"
First I had to go digging through the bottom of my resin boxes, as I was pretty sure I had an old "Risen from the Grave" gold cross in there. I had scalped it from the resin kit put out by Gothic Arts Limited back in 2005.
Having found that, I disrobed my DD Dracula figure to see what I was dealing with. Not only what I had top repair, but if I would able to drill through the body to allow the cross to pass through.
Pretty much right off the bat, I discover that if I was to dremel a hole big enough for the cross to pass through without alteration, the doll body would be destroyed and fall apart. Oh well, there's no shrinking violets in toy customizing!
I cut the upper part off the cross and use a piece of scrap wood to extend it. It has screw-on pins on both ends. The wood part is small enough to pass through the center of the body and then be joined to the cross tip on the other side.
I then set about repairing the legs on each side. The right leg just needs superglue and some electrical tape while the superglue sets. The left show needs to be re-sculpted using sculpting epoxy:
While those are setting up, I have to alter his clothes to allow the cross/stake to pass through them. Fortunately, there is a center seam running through the back of the DD Dracula coat. I just split the seam a little with an X-acto knife. I take both ends of the seam so that it doesn't open further.
For the shirt, I place a clear 1" x1" patch of shelf liner on the inside of the shirt. Then I puncture a small hole in it with the X-acto blade. The tape keeps it from further fraying. I hedge my best by putting a little "fray strop" on the edges of the seam.
I dress both these things on to see how they're gonna work. So far so good!
With regards to the front of the jacket, I figure I will just have the tip of the cross protrude out between the left and right fronts of the jacket. Therefore I add more snaps, knowing the jacket will remain closed, and I move all the buttons to the left flap frontspiece of the jacket.
Next, I decide to add a top-stitch to the edging of the cape. Black thread on the black side, red thread on the red. This will help the cape lay down and not be so puffy.
Then I cut the sleeves off the shirt. This will prevent the arms from having such a full, body-builder appearance. Christopher Lee's arms need to look long and lanky, like a spider in repose. I fold the rough ends of the sleeves under and hem them. Some fray check is applied too. The cuffs of the sleeves are glued onto DD doll's wrists. That way they will always extend beyond the jacket's sleeves.
Some grue is added to the cross.
Next, the pants are tailored on my sewing machine. I shorten the cuffs to make him seem taller, narrow the legs, and press a tight crease on them. This picture shows the detailing at the cuffs. You can also see me painting the repair in the shoe/foot
Time to dress him up and see how he looks! The altered pants look way better. I touch up the gray in his hair to make it more accurate to the wig he wore in "Risen"
The DD tie pin was just a regular sewing pin with a metal tip that they bent and stuck through the cravat. Since Chris Lee wore a pearl tie pin in "Risen from the Grave", I found a pearl-tipped pin in my sewing box and stuck that in.
Now to see what he looks like with the altered cape:
So, in the end, not a lot of changes. But they add up, I think. Its a stronger looking figure now.
Now for the part I really wanted to get to-- posing him like a pinned insect on that fantastic cross!!
A couple days later I found the resin base that came with the cross. It will make a perfect display for this tableau. But it needs some work. I'll get around to it one of these days.
For now, I hope you've enjoyed this little bit of frivolity. Don't be afraid to tweak and customize your own toys. You'll enjoy them more. Trust me.
Sorry for the late reply. I made the trip to Imagineering heaven aka my brothers collection. His loose tube has the red cap and the tip is definately not cut, nor does it have a hole. He also owns a full color order catalog that shows the counter display of loose tubes, identified by the 39 cents logo.....Hope this helps, Larry
Recent Posts
