Rankin-Bass Rudolph puppets - re-creations?

I plan to make lifesize versions of these both to stand on my roof next Christmas.
I want to start with Rudolph first and make sure I finish him before starting on Santa. One will end up standing on each side of my Chimney, and of course Rudolph will have a red, glowing nose. Still have not worked out the details since the plan is only 2 weeks old, but thanks for this picture, it helps to get everything i can. :thumbsup

I have done nothing on this yet but I think I will start. Even if I can't finish by x-mas it will get the ball rolling. The trick for lifesized ones for my roof will be figuring out the best material to use out in the winter weather:unsure
 
I was at Toysrus last night and they had some new versions of the old Memory Lane toys. They had a great looking Rudolph that was poseable with velveteen fur and a light up nose. It wasn't perfect, but looked very close to what you guys have been discussing. Of course I left my phone in the car or I would have took a picture for you.
 
I found a pic online:

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http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2730723
 
He looks good in the pics. I'll have a look at my local Toysrus.

Oh... dude...

I'm on that too!

Would love to have a rudolph that looked CLOSE to the original w/o paying out the nose for it...

The pic looks pretty close!

How was the sizing compared to the prop? Im sure the toy was smaller...
 
The velveteen toy Rudolph mentioned above has been around for a number of years, but the packaging has changed some over the years (see photo below). The toy is over-sized compared to the original puppet (the toy is about 2 or 3 inches taller), plus the head seems to be too small (and some of the proportions are off) compared to the body. Nevertheless, for a toy version it's one of the best and it talks and the nose lights up.

New this year are several Misfit Toys, including Misfit Cowboy riding an Ostrich (see photo below), Misfit BirdBear, and Misfit Scooter. All are available at Toys 'R Us. Also new this year are a line of Rankin-Bass "Little Drummer Boy" figures, also at TRU.

Pumpernickel

IMG_4234sm.jpg


IMG_4223sm.jpg
 
A couple of weeks ago we saw this set at our local wholesale club. My 7 year old HAD to have it. Me being a big softie when it comes to the old R&B Rudolph, I caved almost instantly.

pTRU1-3716637dt.jpg
 
I've Displayed the fuzzy Rudolph with a deluxe Santa figure now for 3 yrs. I think the size is correct for both of them, but I'd love it if we could get some definitive measurements for the puppets. Anyone live near Time and Space Toys???? The owner of that website/store is the owner of the real puppets. He might allow some photos and measurements if we ask nicely. :) He might do it in exchange for a set of repros.

Dave
 
I was at Toysrus last night and they had some new versions of the old Memory Lane toys. They had a great looking Rudolph that was poseable with velveteen fur and a light up nose. It wasn't perfect, but looked very close to what you guys have been discussing. Of course I left my phone in the car or I would have took a picture for you.

Thanks for the heads-up!
 
I checked the Rudolph out today.

He's cool for a 14.00 toy, but there's nothing prop like about him.

He's too big and the fur is patched together poorly. The work does run hot and cold with the different pieces though. Some looked better than others.
 
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I've been attempting to scale the santa and rudolph puppets from the photos of Mrs. Walsh restoring them............they are apparently larger than what I first believed. This means that all the existing figures and statues are smaller than the original puppets. Has anyone attempted to measure them on display?

My newest measurements which are only rough estimates from photo scaling of the lady's hand and santa's head..........gibve me 14" for Santa Top of hat to bottom of feet. That scales Rudolph to 8" head to toe.

The deluxe figures seem to be closer to correct scale to the original puppets. I believe that is the best place to start. They have rereleased rudolph "flocked" in 8" but not Santa as far as I know. At minimum Santa would be 12" like the flocked rudolph's memory lane counterpart santa.

I may have to just re-work the deluxe Santa figure. It will require adding more stuffing to his body, and adding wire to his legs and arms, plus making his hands/fingers poseable. I will have to remove the beard and mustache parts and totally replace with something more accurate. It's close, but not close enough. Plus the glue they used to stiffen the beard was immediately yellow upon opening the package. I need to contact Mrs. Walsh and find out what she used to stiffen the beard and mustache that won't yellow.

Anybody else tried to scale the figures to the behind the scenes restoration photos???

Dave
 
Okay, I just rescaled using the santa leg repair photo, I resized the pic using the round ball of the straight pin in the photo. It was resized until it was the same size as the straight pin that I was holding. This puts Santa at roughly 12" and Rudolph at roughly7". This is more like the reports I've heard in the past about relative sizes of both puppets.

The 12" Santa Figure would be pretty close in size, the rudolph should be 1" shorter than the flocked Rudolph assuming he's 8" Then again, it's quite possible that the "pose" in the pics of the real puppets restored, are off due to the position they are posed in. 1" could be easily accounted for by reposing the puppets. So in that line of thinking, Rudolph could be 8".

For my own puppets, I will work from the 12" for Santa......not counting his hat........and 7" for Rudolph. I will use that information and scale all the other dimensions using that information.

Has anyone approached this more scientifically? I'd like to see what other folks come up with.

Dave :)
 
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Yeah the toys have been out for a few years. I bought all of of them when they first hit and they have added and rehashed since then . They are all pretty nice figures. I would figure that Rick Goldsmith would have endless information about them. I have collected rudolph items for years and would be in for a studio sized set.
 

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