Nathanael

Here is the new wooden figure of my eldest son, Nathanael.

Harmony

Next up in my family set is my wife Harmony. As you can see, I have been working on a new style that takes these figures even further away from the original Fisher-Price little people. I am giving these figures longer, tapered legs with 'feet' instead of the short straight peg of the older figures. Ladies, like the figure seen here will have skirts with ankles and feet below. I like how they are turning out. It makes for an interesting new look.
This is the first human female figure that I have made. I was holding off for a long time because I knew that the figure would be a lot more challenging and time consuming to make if it's done right. Sure enough, it was both challenging and time consuming! The head was the most difficult part of all due to the long hair. That took a lot of carving! The head is carved separately from the body from one piece of wood, with the exception of the nose.

Me!

Here's a funny one: me!

Guy Smiley

Here's a new figure for my Sesame Street collection: Guy Smiley! He was one of the more challenging figures to make, mainly because of the hair. His hair is made from many little bits of yarn that have been glued to his head with epoxy. At first his hair looked really wild, as the strands of yarn were a lot longer while I was attaching them. I should have taken a picture! Oh well, he looks a lot better after a haircut anyway. The main parts of this figure are made from some very cheap (actually free) wood. The body (excluding the arms) was carved from the handle of a broken shovel, and the head was made from an old table leg that someone was throwing out last month. How's that for recycling?

Telly Monster

It's been a little while since there was an update, hasn't it? Well, here's something new: A brand new Telly figure that is! My first Sesame Street figure of 2009. Since it's late right now, I'm only going to put up a few pictures, but I will try to add some more soon.

New McDonaldland set

Here is what I have been working on lately. As you can see, I have made duplicates of some characters. Some I will keep and the others will likely be sold. As you can see, there is a new merry-go-round in the works too. It is made out of a beautiful piece of oak that I could just not bring myself to paint over with a coat of green paint. I think I'll be going with wood stain with this one to preserve the nice look of the wood grain.
This set is far from finished. More characters are needed, as well as more play features beside just the merry-go-round. Hopefully when it's done I can find a good home for it (if I can bear to part with it myself)!

Hamburglar

This is the first Hamburglar figure that I have ever made. He is based not on the familiar modern version, but on the version that I remember when I was growing up in the 1970's and 80's.

A Work in Progress

Here's a shot of a work in progress. It's always a dusty job, but I enjoy it. Can you guess what I'm making there?
More completed toys will be posted soon, as I am currently working on a large batch.

Rowlf the Dog

Rowlf is the third Muppet Show character that I've made (the other two being Kermit and Fozzie). Rowlf is a figure that I remember wanting when I was little. Unfortunately there was no such figure!

Fry Guy

Fry Guy's are fun little McDonaldland characters aren't they! This little fellow is my very first Fry Guy, as well as being my first full bodied character. I decided that he needed to be full bodied since the skinny legs and big shoes are such an important part of the look of the character.

Mayor McCheese

I have already made several copies of Mayor McCheese, but this time around I thought I would try something new with him. It was a lot more work and I suffered a few injuries in the process, but in the end, I'm pleased with how he looks. However, this may be the last time that I make Mayor McCheese in this style!

McDonaldland

It was time to take another crack at making a merry-go-round, so this time I chose McDonaldland as the theme (the last merry-go-roun was a Sleepy Hollow/fall theme).

Most of this merry-go-round was made on the wood lathe, with the exception of the holes which were made by my new drill press. The base is made from a thin, but hard and smooth sheet of particle board, stained a dark walnut color with red felt on the bottom. It has a small peg sticking up in the middle that the platform balances on. The two levels are not fastened together and can be separated.

The platform level is made from a pine board that was turned round and smoothed out on the lathe. I wanted the platform to be green to resemble the lush green foliage of McDonaldland. Just like the green shrubery that the hamburgers grow on! First I painted the platform with an even coat of leaf green paint, applied a wash of dark green, and then a final wash of very watered down black.

For the middle post I wanted something a little more interesting than just a plain old column sticking up out of the middle, so I came up with what you see here! The little burger guy makes a nice knob for turning the merry-go-round.

After making the merry-go-round, it was time to make a brand new Ronald McDonald. This little guy was actually very time consuming to make! Ronald is wearing the outfit that he wore back in the '70's and '80's, and his pose is based on the pose of the statue that you see in the bottom picture. As you can also see in one of the pictures, Ronald's head is able to turn.