Stan Sakai style Leonardo custom action figure

[Plasticplayhouse]

I’ve been a fan of Usagi Yojimbo and Stan’s rendition of the TMNT ever since their first crossover. That crossover was also my introduction to the Usagi character and I grew to really like him. By no means was I diehard fan like I was with the TMNT. In all honesty the availability of the Usagi Yojimbo comics at my local comic shops was random at best and I didn’t go out of my way to get them. But when I saw a copy on the comic rack I would buy it and it always proved to be an enjoyable read.

Over the years my appreciation for the character and Stan’s story telling has grown tremendously. TMNT, UY, and a few choice issues of Cerebus are the ONLY comics that I keep in my small but prized collection. Lol, I guess I have a thing for talking animals… I’m hoping that Stan will do an alternate cover for the new IDW TMNT series. That would be too cool. I can’t say that’s very likely but it’s always possible. At any rate, here is a custom figure that I was inspired to do to show my love and appreciation for Stan’s contribution to the TMNT world and all of his amazing art

Initially I went with a standard aggressive kind of facial expression, but while I liked it, I wasn’t getting the full fledged Stan Sakai vibe, so I came up with head sculpt #2 which is much more reflective of Stan’s personalized style. Art is like water; ever changing and adapting. Stan’s rendition of his characters has changed over the years. Most of the differences have been minor, such as the shell pattern, the plasteron design, and the heel of the foot. It was tuff to chose, but I went with his Mirage rendition. I know he didn’t color the issue (that was done by Tom Luth if I remember correctly) but I liked how clean and vivid the colors were and it just seemed to fit well.

[Plasticplayhouse]

Here are some reference and work in progress pics

[Zarana-X]

Each one of these you do is more amazing than the last This looks like an unproduced Neca variant. The sculpting you do is fantastic, I can't sculpt very good, and have only been sucsessful with hair and minor body mods.
The only thing that gives it away as being hand made is the leather-ish belts and straps not being plasticy.

[Master Splinter]

Very nice. I like the expression you did on the second head. I hope you keep making these.

-ms

[Drose18]

Great job!

[Discogod]

Perfect. I think this is my favourite of your turtles so far. From the sculpting to the paints to the colour choices, everything is spot-on.

[Lordmylar06]

Holy crap dude. This is awesome. NEVER QUIT DOING THESE... EVER.

[TurtleTitan97]

Nice custom, dude.

[Powder]

Gotta say I like the second head best. Really cool as always.

[HotJuicyBurgers]

That is awesome man! I envy your skill!

[Plasticplayhouse]

Zarana-x- thank you keep practicing and working on your sculpting! And never be afraid to try something new. That’s the best way to improve. I remember when I first began customizing, I wasn’t a very good sculptor at all. At first I barley had the ability to sculpt minor additions or details on a figure to change the look of its body/clothing. After a while I tried hair and other types of head wear. Over the years I’ve progressively gotten better. My biggest weakness is human faces. I can’t draw them or sculpt them AT ALL. I’ve gotten ok at making small modifications to them but that’s about it. At some point I would like to take a formal sculpting class to learn some real technique.

Master Splinter-thanks! I’m still having a blast with these so yes, I am planning to make more I have two others in mind at the moment. Both of them are very different, so I’m not sure which one I will do first. Either way, I believe they will be well received because I remember their issues were pretty popular ones.

Donnie Dberg-thanks man!

Discogod-thanks for the high praise bro! your candid opinion is much appreciated from a fellow customizer

Lordmylar-thanks man! As I mentioned before, these are insanely fun and I am planning a few more.

Turtletitan-thanks dude!

Powder-thanks man. Yeah, the second head actually made me laugh once I painted it. It always amazes me just how much different the figure looks before and after it’s painted. It’s incredible what a little paint can do.

HotJuicyBurgers- dude, every time I read your name I crack up. Not to mention I think of Five Guys (one of the absolute very best burgers I’ve ever eaten and I’ve been ALLLLLL OVER the US) and then I get hungry where the heck did you come up with that name? thanks for the praise man



i just got word back from Stan Sakai himself! he said that it looks great and he really likes my sense of coloring and details wow, thats a feel-good compliment coming from a master artist/story teller such as himself!

[marcelangelo]

plasticplayhouse, you are the man!you...you're good you!!
from one usagi admirer to another, wow!really great to see such a project come to fruition!
keep on, your work always manages to make me smile.

[Plasticplayhouse]

Originally Posted by marcelangelo

plasticplayhouse, you are the man!you...you're good you!!
from one usagi admirer to another, wow!really great to see such a project come to fruition!
keep on, your work always manages to make me smile.

thanks marcelangelo! its nice to get confirmation from another usagi fan. it lets me know that i was able to hit my mark

[Topsu]

It's great, altho Ibursted into laughter when I saw that second head, didn't see that coming. It's very good interpretation of Sakai turtles, keep up the good work!

[TheCanadiandrome]

very cool custom

[Jester]

Great as always Playhouse. I agree with Powder, the "shocked" head really hit me and I loved it.

[HotJuicyBurgers]

Originally Posted by Plasticplayhouse

HotJuicyBurgers- dude, every time I read your name I crack up. Not to mention I think of Five Guys (one of the absolute very best burgers I’ve ever eaten and I’ve been ALLLLLL OVER the US) and then I get hungry where the heck did you come up with that name? thanks for the praise man

It's actually a pretty long story lol

I used to play counterstrike a lot, and for some reason the default name on there was george. Now, most people would change it, but for some reason I just kind of left it. It's not my real name nor is it even remotely close. After a while I thought it would be funny to change it to George Foreman, (Boxer/guy with those grills). Anyways I was playing one day, and some guy asked me to make him some Hot, and Juicy Burgers. I changed my name to that and it kind of stuck lol. And I have had five guys before, and they are indeed delicious

And please continue making customs lol. Everytime I see a new one from you I am literally amazed at what you have created

Also, what was your base? the original action figure you started with?

[Mr.Turtle]

looks more like raph and the comic style shade on his plastron looks cheap...

[TurtleTitan97]

Originally Posted by Mr.Turtle

looks more like raph and the comic style shade on his plastron looks cheap...

The turtles all had read masks back when they appeared in the Mirage comics. And the plastron looks fine, that's how he's suppose to look.

[Mr.Turtle]

no no not the red mask... leo is still leo even in red mask. but this is raph!