As a kid, I would run home if I was out so I could watch Marvel's classic series, The Incredible Hulk. Playing the title role was the legendary body builder, Lou Ferrigno. In honour of this man-monster, I really wanted to make this figure. I know people have used similar recipes to make this guy, but I hope mine is different enough to stand on its own merit.
Recipe:
jakks pacific wwe wrestler body(unknown)
jakks pacific HHH head
jakks pacific ufc figure legs (from knees down)
I used this other figure from the Jakks line of wrestlers, I don't know who he is, but his frame is different from the HHH and Batista body type, his chest is bigger and I think it matches that of Ferrigno really well!
I carved and cleaned off the HHH head's beard and hair, sculpted bigger brow ridges, and eyebrows, and the mop of hair on his head. I didn't know exactly which era or style to model it after (as it did tend to change from time to time, between the show to the t.v. movies, and in different promotional materials), so I went a little shorter to honour the mego Hulk that honestly inspired me a bit to make this figure (yeah I totally had one, and still do!). I thinks that's why I REALLY wanted this figure to have material pants too!
However, I really wasn't happy with the sculpted hair. It just didn't make me think of the mop that Ferrigno wore...I wished I had a wig for him,
then I thought, WHY DON'T I MAKE ONE?!!!
I took some fun fur and sized it up, sewed it to fit, gave it a dye job and a trim, and then attached it to the head.
Now I have a mop on my Ferrigno Hulk's head just like in the show!
I also gave it a new series of dry brushed layers, to wash out the colour like Ferrigno's paint. I think it was too bright and vibrant a green before in comparison to the show. I also noticed something in several photos. On Ferrigno's feet, when he wasn't wearing green coloured sock booties (yeah weird eh?), the paint had wiped off. So I give it some skin tones on the bottom to simulate where the costume paint had worn off, and gave him a bit of dirtiness on the balls of his feet. I mean the guy is walking around set with his bare feet. They get dirty.
I wish I could have got my hands on 2 fists, but I only had one to swap out with the original figure's open hand. The wrestler had wristbands on so I got rid of that and sculpted in the veins that should have led from the arm, through where the wrist band was to the hand. I was hoping
to easily swap out the UFC figures
legs for the wrestler's, but this wasn't a simple swap. The peg holes between the knees and legs don't align, so I had to make that work using some persuasion! I also sculpted up the bottom of the legs from the UFC figure. They were okay for size scale wise, but they needed to be waaaaay beefier to portray Ferrigno's. I painted it with initial dark green primer layers, then dry brushed the lighter green up in several layers. The pants were from another old wrestling figure, and I tore them up a bit.
And as always thanks for the views!
Okay some side notes and commentaries...
I absolutely loved this guy! Having him on my shelf was a nostalgic wet dream! This was a custom I wanted to get to for some time, and had a clear idea of the steps to get to it. I had it all planned out in my head, and it was just a matter of getting the parts. This was going to be one of those customs I was burning to have on my shelf, but fate had a different plan...
So here's the thing, this past christmas I got an email requesting a commission for this custom. Unfortunately, I had a couple things on my workbench that were commissions, and it was really too close for comfort to get another custom done. So I did the unthinkable, for the first time I sold something out of my own collection. Usually I just remake whatever the client wants if it was something from my shelf, but being so time sensitive, it just had to be done. Kind of like handing your child over to a stranger for keeps, it was tough. However, it was for a HUGE fan of the classic show, and it was their christmas present from their family. They had always wanted a Lou Ferrigno Hulk figure, and I was told in a very nice thank you email, this figure is now treasured. I can only say thanks for the commission, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did...
I guess I'm just going to have to wait again to get the parts and start again... Then again after the hassle of trying to get them the first time, we'll see.
3 comments:
This is a repost of a comment I left on the FigureRealms.com post for this figure. I wasn't sure where you'd be more likely to read it but felt it was important that you do so. -"Hey Pulpy, not sure how often (if ever) you check new comments on older posts like this but I felt compelled to write you here. When I was a little boy my older brother (by 9 years) was nuts for the Hulk and the TV show especially. He used to run around the house grunting "Hulk Smash!" among other Hulk banter and I was right along with him. My brother is a firefighter who on his own dime flew from Tucson AZ to New York as soon as flight restrictions were lifted after 9/11 and volunteered as a rescue/recovery worker at Ground Zero. He spent over 2 weeks in the rubble, chemicals and asbestos pulling bits and pieces of people's remains and the rare mutilated body that managed to stay intact from the wreckage. Needles to say this experience effected him greatly. While I was in Afghanistan at the time taking the fight to the enemy, my brother was my hero. I wore an NYFD ground zero worker's shirt that he sent me, under my uniform every day in Afghanistan to remind me why I was there. Well 4 years after 9/11 my brother was diagnosed with a tumor around his pituitary gland in his head most likely caused by his time at ground zero. Surgery to remove it was successful and after a hard 2-3 month recovery my brother was back at work saving lives. Last month we learned that a new tumor had grown around the pituitary gland. My brother had surgery to remove the tumor 2 weeks ago but complications from scar tissue made the surgery more difficult than the last time. So my brother has been suffering constant and significant pain and was unable to join the family for thanksgiving this year. Today I showed my brother the pictures of your custom Hulk and for the 1st time since the surgery I saw my brother smile. So I just wanted to write you to thank you for, however fleeting it may be, making my brother happy today. Sincerely, SansPedes"-
This is a repost of a comment I left on the FigureRealms.com post for this figure. I wasn't sure where you'd be more likely to read it but felt it was important that you do so. -"Hey Pulpy, not sure how often (if ever) you check new comments on older posts like this but I felt compelled to write you here. When I was a little boy my older brother (by 9 years) was nuts for the Hulk and the TV show especially. He used to run around the house grunting "Hulk Smash!" among other Hulk banter and I was right along with him. My brother is a firefighter who on his own dime flew from Tucson AZ to New York as soon as flight restrictions were lifted after 9/11 and volunteered as a rescue/recovery worker at Ground Zero. He spent over 2 weeks in the rubble, chemicals and asbestos pulling bits and pieces of people's remains and the rare mutilated body that managed to stay intact from the wreckage. Needles to say this experience effected him greatly. While I was in Afghanistan at the time taking the fight to the enemy, my brother was my hero. I wore an NYFD ground zero worker's shirt that he sent me, under my uniform every day in Afghanistan to remind me why I was there. Well 4 years after 9/11 my brother was diagnosed with a tumor around his pituitary gland in his head most likely caused by his time at ground zero. Surgery to remove it was successful and after a hard 2-3 month recovery my brother was back at work saving lives. Last month we learned that a new tumor had grown around the pituitary gland. My brother had surgery to remove the tumor 2 weeks ago but complications from scar tissue made the surgery more difficult than the last time. So my brother has been suffering constant and significant pain and was unable to join the family for thanksgiving this year. Today I showed my brother the pictures of your custom Hulk and for the 1st time since the surgery I saw my brother smile. So I just wanted to write you to thank you for, however fleeting it may be, making my brother happy today. Sincerely, SansPedes"-
Do you sell these???
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