Minimate Customs: Calvin & Hobbes

It's been a while since I've shown off any customs.  The truth is that I've been none too active for most of the year, and so, despite the fact that I still have quite a backlog of 'mates to post, I haven't really been inspired to do so.  Well, that changed this week when I realized that a project I'd had on the back burner would make for a perfect entry in a contest my buddy Luke Porter's running.  The theme? Dynamic Duos.  My entry?  Well, see for yourself:

Calvin & Hobbes

I first got the idea to do Calvin & Hobbes when I saw the Daxter figure released as part of the short-lived Sony Playstation line.  His long orange torso was strongly suggestive of Hobbes, so it seemed like a natural custom base.  In fact, almost every part used here comes from that figure.  Here's Hobbes by himself:

His torso, arms, legs, feet, and that little furry collar all come from that figure.  His tail is a modified Nightcrawler tail.  Oh, and his ears also come from Daxter, as they were lopped off his hairpiece and painted black.  Really, the hardest thing about this guy was painting on those !@#$ black stripes.

Calvin is pretty simple, just a few decals on a standard Minimate body (with some stipes painted on).  I had originally planned to sculpt hair for him, but after sticking on this hairpiece from the Spider-Man 3 Eddie Brock figure as a placeholder, I changed my mind.  It doesn't perfectly recreate Calvin's signature spikey hair, but does a good enough job to make me happy.  It probably looks better then anything I sculpt would, anyway.

My only real beef with these is that the Minimate body just doesn't accurately capture Bill Watterson's designs.  Calvin's just too darn big.  He should come up to Hobbes' waist, not look him in the eye.  Rest assured, if we ever do get parts to make smaller, child-size characters (hello, Walking Dead line), I'll update the little stinker.  I could always substitute out his feet for the smaller, slipper feet,  but I don't think they would make enough of a difference.  The problem is that Calvin's got stubby legs (and big feet, actually), so a few millimeters won't make much of a difference.  Maybe if I win that Dremel....

Anyway, it was a real thrill to work on these 'mates, and I'm very glad to have added a little bit to the world of Calvin & Hobbes fan art.  If you're a Minimate Multiverse member reading this, please vote for 'em starting December 8th!  Oh, and here's the decals I used, adapted from some papercraft templates I found: