Making a budget Kermit the Frog: Need advice

[Flanman]

Im sure in not the only one around here, but I've been in love with the muppets since I was a little kid. So for the longest time I've wanted a replica of my favorite muppet Kermit the Frog. Ive seen the master replica's one and its way far out of my price range. Ive also seen some pretty well done hand made ones on eBay. These are also out of my price range so Ive decided the best thing to do is to get a 18inch plush doll and convert it to a puppet. Heres kermit the muppet movie



and from disneys the muppets


The best two I have found is this one from 1976


and this one from the disney store



The disney store on has a much better body and shaped mouth I feel than the vintage one. However the vintage one looks like it has a more realistic felt covering, and plastic eyes also with the individual fingers it would make it easier to make it into a puppet. So what do you all think? Which Kermit fits the bill?

 

[Apollo]

1976 looks better to me

 

[mugatu]

Are they the same size? The body on the vintage one appears much smaller in relation to Kermit's head than it does in the newer one.
I think the newer one might fit an arm better.

 

[ultraman]

i have an 18 inch nanco kermit i bought at a second hand store for $2

you can find these guys 22 inches and bigger some times for cheap if you catch a good auction.
you could either use one of these to convert or reverse engineer it by spliting the seams and using the pieces as a pattern on a higher quality felt.
just an idea.:cool

 

[LuciousFox]

In my opinion it's easier to build a Kermit from scratch,I'm a first time beginner and found it easy

 

[LuciousFox]

Sorry only have pictures of my first attempt







Sorry all The pictures I can find

 

[Flanman]

Wow that looks amazing! You've got way more skills than I do. Unfortunately I don't know how to sew and wouldn't have much time at the moment to build a proper one from scratch. (I hate college) but I'm gonna keep that tucked back for this summer.

The two dolls are both 18inchs. On the vintage one the body is really small and mishapen compared to the head which is why I just can't pull the trigger on it. But then the disney store one has more of a kid plush look and feel than the actual Kermit.

Also budget for all of this is $50 and under or the wife will probably kill me. She hates the muppets already, especially kermit's voice.

 

[Gixxerfool]

She hates the muppets already, especially kermit's voice.

All due respect to your wife, this is the craziest thing I have ever read. Who doesn't like the Muppets especially Kermit?

 

[Flanman]

Dude I have no idea why, it makes no sense to me. Just no one tell her that Yoda is basically a muppet. If she starts to hate Star Wars I may have to divorce her.

 

[ahoudini]

One key is the fabric. You want "Muppet fleece" or, more properly, Antron fleece. That way you can blend the fuzz across the seams and they become invisible. There are some very nice puppet making tutorials that will teach you this on YouTube. I used them to make this puppet for a local production of "The Cat in the Hat" with no prior experience.




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[ahoudini]

They will teach you how to do the "Jim Henson stitch" by hand. You can do this. Hollowing out a doll to make a puppet will be harder in the long run…


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[ultraman]

wow that's a killer carlos k krinklebein ahoudini!!!!
do i get 10 points for knowing his name lol:cool
you should do a junkyard run on those little guys

One key is the fabric. You want "Muppet fleece" or, more properly, Antron fleece. That way you can blend the fuzz across the seams and they become invisible. There are some very nice puppet making tutorials that will teach you this on YouTube. I used them to make this puppet for a local production of "The Cat in the Hat" with no prior experience.

View attachment 430284


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[ahoudini]

Indeed.! 10 points awarded!


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[Flanman]

Im defiantly going to try my hand at making a kermit this summer. However for the time being I've found a good budget Kermit plush for a temporary stand in. He's a vintage Eden toys from 93 for Macy's I think.




The likeness is fairly spot on for a stuffed plush, obviously this is no MR Kermit or even a good made puppet but I think is a very good 3rd (especially for only $10).



Height comparison, the shield is 24inches tall, so I'm guessing Kermit here is about 20 inches tall?

 

[DocNewborn]

If you've got no confidence in your skills at making one from scratch, I recommend trying to find an existing puppet of Kermit.

Here's a photo from the MuppetWiki of one made by Applause in the early 90's, I believe this is the same one I've got.

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Kermit_puppet_(Applause)

It's a bit small for my hand-- and my hands are not large-- so it was likely aimed more at kids than adult collectors, but I think something like this would be the perfect compromise between gutting a doll and making the entire thing from scratch.

If you want to see it in motion, here's a video that I shot of mine a couple years ago...

It was pretty satisfying to just buy it off the shelf and be able to put it on my arm right away.

Alex

 

[DocNewborn]

Browsing around the web, I found out there's a Kermit puppet currently available from Toys R Us for about $20 plus shipping... but he's got no legs.

Looks like they also offer a Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, and Animal in this same line.

I also found hits for a similar legless series of Muppet puppets by Madame Alexander. Again, they offer Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, and Animal (didn't see a Gonzo) but the eBay listings have them approximately twice the price of the TRU offerings.

And remember, the puppet doesn't necessarily need legs.

Not all of the real Kermits had them.

Alex

 

[Funky]

Browsing around the web, I found out there's a Kermit puppet currently available from Toys R Us for about $20 plus shipping... but he's got no legs.

http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-17060196enh-z6.jpg

Looks like they also offer a Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, and Animal in this same line.

I also found hits for a similar legless series of Muppet puppets by Madame Alexander. Again, they offer Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, and Animal (didn't see a Gonzo) but the eBay listings have them approximately twice the price of the TRU offerings.

And remember, the puppet doesn't necessarily need legs.

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111128170845/muppet/images/c/cc/Performing_Kermit_copy.jpg

Not all of the real Kermits had them.

Alex

Yup, I saw these recently. Trust me, they look WAY better in the pictures than they do in person. The begin with, it is very undersized and the hand hole is sized more for children than adults. It doesn't hold it's shape and the mouth is so hard and stiff you can barely make him talk, forget about making facial expressions...and Kermit looks the best by far, the others are far more disaponting. If you're just using it to entertain toddlers, this will work. Otherwise, you may be better off exploring other options.

 

[practicecactus]

If you want to make one from scratch, the only real expense would be material. I mean, his eyes were ping pong balls, so for what it's worth, this is from someone who pulled apart a Master Replicas one, which takes a lot of the guess work out of the patterns, and I'm sure they were allowed access to the real patterns or at the very least the real puppets.


Also, don't use the official press photos for reference. They're posers, like the Master Replicas one. They're not puppets and never were. They make them with armatures and the head is always horribly padded up for some reason.