Flavio

First off thank you for all the wonderful comments on my Flavio toy! I really appreciate them all!

Some of you were wondering how I made my Flavio Bendanimal and suggested that I show you a bit more about the process… so here goes.

Above is some of the materials I used to make this and other Bendanimals.

The first step is to create a wire armature and get a basic idea about the height of your character and the length of their arms. Most hobby shops sell armature wire. I tend to use a thinner guage and double up on it when making Bendanimals because the thicker it is the tougher it is to bend after all the clothes etc. are put on the doll. the doubling up helps to minimize fatigue when all your friends keep bending the arms up and down saying:
“Wow, this is cool! So it bends huh? Wow! Look at that! It bends!”

After the armature is finished I mold the head, hands and feet. I use Sculpey but Fimo works well too. Mostly what you need is something that bakes in the oven. Both products come in colors and I have found more professional looking results using the pre-colored clay as opposed to painting it later.

In my case I was lucky that Flavio was already grey because Basic Sculpey comes in three basic colors. White, Grey and Peach and it’s cheaper than the pre-colored stuff.

After I am done sculpting the clazy parts, sometimes I will put them in the fridge and let them harden a bit to prepare for the next step which is to push them on the armature. Then I take them off the armature but keep the holes that were created by the wires.

After that I put the pieces in the oven at 275 degrees for about a half hour. Depending on the thickness of the clay the time may vary.

After THAT, I let them cool off and grab either some guaze or some sort of Sport tape (If the character is just wearing clothes) and wrap up the wire making it all pack in nicely. This will help make the character feel softer under the clothes. If I have a fatter character then I use Quilt Batting and slice up strips wrapping it around the wire first, THEN wrap it in guaze.

After that come the clothes which I will not bother to explain, as it’s pretty obvious how clothes are made. Mostly what I do is look at my own clothes and try to match it. If the character is covered in fur then I buy some Fun Fur which you can get at either at a Fabric store and proceed to sew it on to the gauze. Now you know why I use guaze!
Most times I do not find the right color fur I need and so then I will use Rit Dye to dye white fur to the necessary color.

Finally when the clothes are all made I put the head, hands and feet back on the armature and use a Glue Gun to adhere the Sculpy pieces to the armature wire.

Anything else I add by either using Friendly Plastic, Foamies or basic felt (as in the case of Flavio’s ears.)

Well that’s about it, I have more models I’ve made ove rthe years and if I find them I will post them here as well. I hope all of this makes sense! thanks again for all the mind comments! I thrive on them!