Granitor Preview

[Patraw]

This is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Granitor mini action figure that I started making Tuesday. He's a Stone Warrior (General Traag's right hand man). In our youth, not knowing what his real name was, my younger brother and I affectionately dubbed him "Pecker Nose", due to his huge snozz. He has sixteen joints so far [neck (2), shoulders (2), elbows (4), and fingers <8>] and I'm thinking the final count will be twenty-five points of articulation. He should stand around 2.5 inches tall when complete.

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/TMNT_granitor_fab1.jpg
http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/TMNT_granitor_fab2.jpg
http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/TMNT_granitor_fab3.jpg

For comparison purposes, below are three images of Granitor from different video game systems. The first, on the left, is Granitor as he appears in the TMNT arcade game, the second, in the middle, is Granitor's sprite from the NES port of the same game (with an obvious downgrade in graphic quality--the NES couldn't match the power of the arcade unit), and the last, on the right, is Granitor from the TMNT: Back From The Sewers Game Boy game (many of the bosses have a bit of Japanese "super deformation" going on in said game, which is why his head is so disproportionately large in this example).

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/TMNT_granitor_arcade.gif http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/TMNT_granitor_nes.gif http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/TMNT_granitor_dmg.gif

[Toonami Tom]

Ahhhhh! It's that 'blue robot' that always kills me in TMNT the arcade game!:o

Really though, this is going to be an awesome figure. I can't wait to see the finished product.:)

[gobo]

For a minute there, I thought this was going to be a thread from the twilight zone, where Playmates was planning on making a Granitor figure. ^_^ Good job!
Ahhhhh! It's that 'blue robot' that always kills me in TMNT the arcade game!:o
But, you do know he's a stone warrior and not a robot, right? And, is Frylocke really your daddy or was that just a joke?

[VaughnMichael]

awsome work, but why do you always make them so small?

[gobo]

I thought the same thing. The bigger they are, the easier they are to mold.

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

When I was a kid I remember seeing him in the game and wondering why he was never in action figure form. For a sec there I thought you had discovered that he was originally on the drawing board to be an action figure back in the day.

[Toonami Tom]

For a minute there, I thought this was going to be a thread from the twilight zone, where Playmates was planning on making a Granitor figure. ^_^ Good job!

But, you do know he's a stone warrior and not a robot, right? And, is Frylocke really your daddy or was that just a joke?

*In Thundercleese voice* That wasn't me, I tell you! It was my body double, Thunder-Randy! He mostly works the weekends.... Perhaps he is the offspring of the living box of frenchfries.

[Patraw]

I have several reasons for making figures small:

1. It saves space. I've got tons of toys, both "real" and custom, and not a lot of places to put them. I can toss these smaller figures almost anywhere, whereas the larger ones are a major annoyance to store.

2. Smaller figures makes playsets/vehicles more feasible. Had I made the Mother Mouser figure the 7-9 inch scale I had been doing prior to the mini figures, it would have been ridiculously huge.

3. Working on a smaller scale forces me to improve my small detail sculpting skills and come up with new techniques/approaches.

4. I find making something teensy is more of a "feat" that making something large because it's more challenging/difficult.

[Lady R. Santi]

Pretty neat and SO small! What are you making him out of? I see what looks like newspaper print.

[Patraw]

Well, it should have been done by now, but I bought a new GBA game Thursday, which resulted in my sculpting productivity taking a steep nosedive. Anyway, here’s what I got done yesterday. The upper body is pretty much finished, and the lower body is progressing nicely (I still need to bulk the legs up some more finish the boots). I’m considering putting a sheath for a knife on one of his boots, and a pistol holster on one of his thighs, but I haven’t decided yet—I’m thinking small accessories like that would look silly in his giant hands. At the very least, I’ll make him his trademark flamethrower.

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/TMNT_granitor_fab4.jpg

Lady R. Santi: Yes, it's primarily a paper construct. Newsprint, cardboard, Kleenex, and white glue are the main components.

[Lady R. Santi]

And a woodburner? :)

[Patraw]

After another day's work, the figure itself is pretty much complete, but I have to note that, while it's fully assembled and all 25 joints are functional, the majority of the individual pieces have not been glued together yet (i.e., it can still be easily taken apart at this point). He ended up a little bit taller than I had first envisioned (2.76 in./7.0 cm instead of 2.5 inches), but Stone Warriors are relatively large, in comparison to a human (I'd say 7 feet tall), so he's still pretty well in scale with my other TMNT mini figures. I also began work on the flamethrower. Hopefully, I'll get him finished up later this afternoon/evening--although that will largely depend on whether or not I decide to make any other accessories besides said weapon.

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/TMNT_granitor_fab5.jpg

Lady R. Santi: Aye, I use a woodburner for detail work, but I don’t consider that a material, just a tool (I use scissors, needles, and other instruments as well, and I don’t list those as materials either).

[Jester]

Schweet!! But why base him on the game...why not the show...

http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v156/Jesterangalo/Rock_Soldier.jpg

[Patraw]

Jester:

1. I couldn't find any cartoon images of Granitor when I did a search (maybe I just looked in the wrong places, I dunno), so all I had to go from were video game sprites.

2. I sculpt video game characters almost exclusively, so, for any given character, it's far more likely I'll do the video game interpretation of him/her than a version present in other media.

3. I remember him a lot more from the games that I do the TV show.

[Lady R. Santi]

I don't remember this character from either sources but I like yours better than that image from the show, definately. He has more character. Pretty cool.

[Patraw]

Finito. I had all sorts of ideas for additional accessories, but it’d take me a week to make them all, so I decided to stop with what I have here.

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/TMNT_granitor1.jpg
http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/TMNT_granitor2.jpg

Accessory Detail:

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/TMNT_granitor_acc.jpg

Last of the process photos:

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/TMNT_granitor_fab6.jpg

Webpage with more info:

http://kramwartap/fortunecity.com/granitor.html

[Slash]

Impressed as always.

I love the Krang in the helmet picture.

Just wondering, how does the paper hold up after a couple years?

[discordiatookie]

Awesome. Totally awesome.

And yep, the Krang holo-projector thing is a great touch...

[Patraw]

Slash: So far, all my paper figures have held up quite well (I've still got ones that I've made 4-5 years ago, or longer). They occasionally get broken in storage or by foolish actions on my part, but other than that, they're pretty good. Sometimes thin/fragile parts will wilt, like "real" toys over time. Water will destroy them, so I do have to avoid keeping them where they could get wet. I've read and heard that the acid in the paper will eventually destroy paper constructs, over time, but I've yet to see that happen with mine.

[Slash]

I've read and heard that the acid in the paper will eventually destroy paper constructs, over time, but I've yet to see that happen with mine.

I hope you don't have to see that. I admire your work too much.

And you are a true fan of your toys.

[Wes]

This is beautiful -- great job, Patraw. I'd love to see Granitor posed with some of the TMNT minifigs!

[Jester]

Awesome work dude. Love the micro Krang. Do you use magnifiying lenses when you make those?

[Leonardo19]

Great job. I love the accessories. I really like the scale also. I may have to try some 2" customs.

[Patraw]

Jester: No, I don’t use any magnification when I sculpt/model; it’s all done with the naked eye. I don’t think my hands would be steady enough to do super fine stuff anyway.