DONATELLO
(SAILOR)
PROJECT# 478
CLASSIFICATION: REPAINT/CUSTOM
BASE FIGURE: MIDSHIPMAN MIKE
MATERIALS USED: HOBBY KNIFE, ACRYLIC PAINTS
FIRST APPEARANCE: "GREEN WITH JEALOUSY"
"And so our city is playing host to the navy's
largest nuclear-powered submarine. This remarkable craft can stay
underwater indefinitely, thanks to its supply of nuclear
energy..."
Preamble: The third-season Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles epsiode "Green With Jealousy" was one of the rare
instances in which the Turtles wear a disguise other than their private eye
get-ups. Maybe their trench coats were being dry cleaned, or maybe
they just wanted to mix things up and got tired of wearing the same clothes
all the time (they're not April O'Neil, after all), but whatever the case,
in this episode they all wear matching sailor uniforms for a short time.
The Turtles would go through many more disguises over the years, but
the sailor suits left an impression on meperhaps specifically because
it was so unusual to see them finally wearing alternate costumes. After
I finished action figure versions of all four private eye Turtles, I decided
I wanted to create versions of them in their sailor suits, so I hunted down
four Midshipman Mike action figures and went to work.
Construction: Like many of the Ninja
Turtles actions figures from this era, the original Midshipman Mike was sculpted
with lots of extra detailshe had fish perched on his shoulder (all
wearing eyepatches, of course), barnacles growing on his clothing (?!), and
a sailor hat that was inexplicably filled with water. This certainly
wasn't as weird or gross as some of the other TMNT toys from the same time
period, but the Turtles as seen in the cartoon series didn't have any
creatures growing on them or living in their clothing, so I cut all these
parts away. The original action figure was wearing an eyepatch, so
I had to carve away at it and try to redo the head sculpt with my hobby knife
to give him two regular eyes. One minor difference between the
toy version and the sailor suit in animation is that the Turtles
didn't wear shoes in the
cartoon episode, so I also resculpted
the boots of the toy to look more like their bare feet, carving out the
insides of the pant legs (as well as the sleeves) to give them some
depth.
Donatello needs to have one hand turned in the
opposite direction of the other in order to properly hold his bo staff, so
I had to cut the figure's hand off, turn it around, and reattach it. Super
glue alone wouldn't have been enough to properly secure it (not with me removing
and replacing his weapons to photograph him when I was done), so I cut his
forearm in half and drilled a screw through his wrist to secure his hand
in the new position. The screw head is actually embedded inside his
arm, which I glued back together afterwards. My project is carrying
a bo staff from the 2003 Donatello toy, which is factory-painted and a lot
longer than the version from the original toy line.
Comments: Yes, I felt compelled to
write three new, completely goofy character biographies as they might have
appeared on hypothetical toy packaging, following the template and style
of the official one for Midshipman Mike. Read 'em and weep.
PORTRAIT OF DECK-SWABBIN' DON
The High-Seas Hero!
Favorite Song: "In the Navy"
Favorite Saying: Water you waiting for?
Avast and ahoy and
all that other nautical talk! Here comes Deck-Swabbin' Don, and he's
the most hard-shelled helmsman of the high seas. Need your boat converted
into a submarine? Don's your guy. Got trouble with Foot Soldiers
hijacking your yacht? Don will pulverize those putrid pirates and pound
them into pulp. Come heck or high water, you can bet your barnacles
that Donatello is ready for anything. He's not afraid of hard work,
but at the end of the day, there's nothing quite like a pizza topped with
freshly-caught octopus as a reward for a job well done! |
|