Vinyl Figure

To start this Steampunk Megaman figure, I used a simple Creatology vinyl penguin figure. These are similar in size to Color Blanks figures and provide a great blank canvas if you want to get really custom. These vinyl figures also have proportions much like a lot of the 8 and 16 bit video game characters which work great for recreating them.

Sculpting with Polymer Clay

I used some polymer clay to sculpt elements such as the helmet, right arm and parts of the arm cannon. I bake the clay on the figure at a slightly lower temp to prevent warping of the vinyl.

LED Powered Arm Cannon

I took a clip on light’s battery compartment and stripped it down to a very small container and wires. I then soldered on a resistor and smaller LED light. Small plastic gears and miscellaneous other spare parts were added to make the arm cannon more mechanical looking.

Spining Shaft (Power Source) in Chest

For additional effect I added a moving component in the chest of the Steampunk Megaman figure. I took a small electric motor saved from a broken printer and mounted it inside the head of the figure. The shaft of the motor goes down through the neck where I connected, offset and painted broken parts from a motherboard. It creates a great spinning effect. A wire passes through the back to cordless phone battery back, disguised as tanks, that powers the spinning chest shaft. This battery back is removable and rechargeable via a phone base.

Steampunk Megaman video

See a full rotation of the figure in the video below as well as the spinning motion of Steampunk Megaman’s chest.

Just for kicks here’s a picture of Steampunk Megaman and 8 bit Megaman vinyl figures.  Both figures started with the same basic Creatology vinyl figure.

Breath of Fire 4 Ryu Custom Creatology Vinyl Figure

I like working with RoseArt’s Color Blanks but these vinyl figures are a good alternative if you can’t get your hands on any. The Creatology penguin figure that I used from Michael’s has a comparable thickness of material to a Color Blanks vinyl and was easy to modify.

Vinyl Penguin figure from Creatology

I based my custom vinyl figure off of the incarnation of Ryu from Breath of Fire 4.  If you’re familiar with the Breath of Fire series on Nintendo and Playstation, this is the main character and each game has a different variation of him with key similarities but a different back story.

Ryu from Breath of Fire 4 on Playstation – Reference Artwork

To start my custom modification of Ryu I took the Creatology penguin figure and I modified him by removing the beak with an X-acto knife. I then added polymer clay to make a nose and ears. After finishing the resculpt of the head I baked it at a low setting; approximately 245 degrees.

The next step was to paint the base color of the skin and then start sculpting hair, clothing, and his sword. In order to make the sword more stable I inserted a piece of small metal wire into the hand and arm area before sculpting a polymer clay sword around it. After another baking of the custom vinyl Breath of Fire figure I finished it off with more paint details and added some additional touchups with my Micron pens. Check out the finished figure below!

If you have a Michaels store in your area you may consider picking up some Creatology figures there. As an alternative I would definitely consider going and getting some of Rose Art’s color blanks and doing some custom vinyl sculpts yourself!

Breath of Fire 4 Ryu Custom Creatology Vinyl Figure

Breath of Fire 4 Ryu Custom Creatology Vinyl Figure