Walter Puppet

[Walter]

Thanks! I'll be careful with the mouth..

 

[Herry Grail]

Here's an amateur modification of the Walter puppet beyond the basic unstuffing and mouth-insert trimming I had already done. It looked like a real Muppet to me, except for the puffy eyeballs and embroidered pupils, so I carefully removed them, leaving the lids (the lash lines came out too as they were stitched between the lids and eyeballs).

I picked up some fabric cement, a sheet of tacky-back felt, and found a couple of plastic spoons. I trimmed the spoons and glued them into the "sockets," trying to set them in a bit rather than just laying them on top of the face. Then I glued the lids down in place, and cut out two strips of lashes and two pupils that were about the same size as the embroidered ones, using a button to trace around. Luckily that stuff is really sticky, so it was easy to stick them in place, and fortunately there was enough play in the felt lash strips not to have to pre-cut them into a curve.

I didn't use the actual Walter as a model, and I realize the spoons sort of look like...spoons. But I really liked the plush when I saw it, and thought he had a genuine retro-Muppet/ventriloquist dummy vibe. He reminded me of early Sesame Street, even more than Walter himself. So I can't pretend I was making him more like "Walter," but rather taking a base figure that had a lot of potential and adapting it into something that looked like it could be a real Muppet...sort of.

One of the things that impressed me seeing the real Muppets in that museum tour a few years ago was that the parts looked very hand-made up close, especially the imperfectly round pupils. So this little guy is my own pretend Muppet, rescued from an early Sesame Street skit from my childhood. He doesn't fit over my hand, but he looks smart on a water bottle.

 

[Walter]

...and thats the magic of The Muppets! The most real of characters don't have to look "real" lol

 

[Herry Grail]

Over the weekend I saw the awesome blue and orange Whatnot Muppets at Toys R Us for the first time. The top eyes in the orange one's selection (round and lidded) would look great on this Walter "puppet." I passed at the time but plan to get it next time I see it. Since I think those are the same ones I have on the they-make-it-for-you Whatnot I have, I might use them on my other Walter if it looks promising. That would be very close to a real Muppet!

 

[Walter]

Over the weekend I saw the awesome blue and orange Whatnot Muppets at Toys R Us for the first time. The top eyes in the orange one's selection (round and lidded) would look great on this Walter "puppet." I passed at the time but plan to get it next time I see it. Since I think those are the same ones I have on the they-make-it-for-you Whatnot I have, I might use them on my other Walter if it looks promising. That would be very close to a real Muppet!

I think the ones in the kit are flatter than FAO's... Although the blue whatnot body is VERY close to walter's puppet design( Just the neck is not obscured) and I always thought the oval eyes would look great with some lid customization.. Also, there is a method to getting just the eyes..might save you some money, but it hasn't worked for some people...here's my tutorial just for the heck of it..

http://www.muppetcentral.com/forum/threads/how-to-order-blank-fao-whatnot.49558/

Hope it works! Good luck Herry!

 

[Superstarseven]

Walter looks like a little anything Muppet with ears.
He'd fit in well on Sesame Street.