Katie from Horton Hears a Who

[thorssoli]

This is probably in the wrong place, but oh well.

When the movie came out my wife fell in love with this little pig-footed gerbil thing and we were disappointed that there's no officially licensed toy version. After poking around online for quite a while I decided I didn't like the looks of any of the Katie plush toys (all fan-made) that I've been able to find, so I went ahead and sculpted the hard parts.

Here's the reference:

And here's my sculpts all boxed up in preparation for moldmaking:

Now I've got the first successful casting out of the mold:

Next step: painting.

EDIT: before anyone asks, I've scaled her so that her body will be about the size of a softball.

 

[rollerboi]

Very nice! I like the translation from screen to actual item.

 

[Yodajammies]

great work thori !

What are you going to use for the body fluff?

 

[thorssoli]

great work thori !

What are you going to use for the body fluff?

I haven't really gotten that part figured out yet. I figure when I get a chance to go to a fabric store I should be able to find some fine yellow fur for the body and some nappy orange fur for that tuft on top of her head. Then I just stuff it with polyester fluff of some sort and it's done.

For now I'm still deployed, so I'm going to paint up these bits and mail them to my wife so she can figure it out. I'll probably do a run of these when I get back.

 

[NakedMoleRat]

How about a yellow lambs wool duster. The housekeepers use them at the hospital all the time.
A quick google search found this.

http://www.ostrich.com/duster/dust-lamb-20-dye.html

 

[thorssoli]

Quick update. I've just finished painting the first casting for the Katie project. Once again, here's the reference:

and here's my first painted casting:

In this shot I just set the face and ears on a yellow t-shirt. I'm expecting some sample fur swatches in the mail from www.mendels.com sometime soon. Then it'll be time to do some stuffing.

Meanwhile, I've got more to do on my Halo costume.

 

[Laffo]

Maybe use Marabou as the fur. Cheap really lightweight, easy to glue.
http://cgi.ebay.com/D6267-~-YELLOW-...M-36"-CUT_W0QQitemZ220280066454QQcmdZViewItem
Always happy to see a Seuss project, no matter what generation Seuss.

Mendel's is so-so. I've gotten Good and Bad stuff from them.
Laffo.

 

[neosporing]

howdy, did you ever finish this? we fell in love with Katie as well. love to see it finished!