Preorder the Animal Muppet Replica

[antonydavanzo]

http://www.actionfigurecollectors.com/afc_gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=8547&g2_page=2
Some more pics

 

[Was Once Ernie]

The only potential problem with having to pin his eyebrows is what Mike Moore pointed out, you'd have to be careful not to stress the foam of his eyelids. You could stretch it or even tear it.

By the way, the best pins to use for puppets (in most cases) are T-pins. They're easy to put in and easy to remove.

 

[MuppetCaper]

This kinda scares me. If they won't use foam for Gonzo's nose, why would they use it for Animal's eyelids? Won't that deteriorate over time as well? Or is it a different type of foam?

 

[frogboy4]

I am quite pleased with the new posing of the Animal. This is one of the few pictures that makes me really want him!

It appears that people can't help messing with these posers. That's a good sign! I'm still thinking they'll increase the production number of Fozzie (by a little bit) after seeing the Animal sell. That is - if they can get a better photo on the MR site. The current one is not nearly as impressive as these.

 

[MuppetCaper]

Remember this photo of when Travis was on here talking about Animal. This was taken way, way long time ago. Before Comic Con. Gonzo has a resemblance. But I think he will get better over time.~

 

[doc hopper]

This kinda scares me. If they won't use foam for Gonzo's nose, why would they use it for Animal's eyelids? Won't that deteriorate over time as well? Or is it a different type of foam?

what about Gonzo's eyelids?

 

[Was Once Ernie]

what about Gonzo's eyelids?

Currently, Gonzo's eyelids are the same as Animal's. They move, but will not stay in place. I discussed this with Travis and he's going to see if there's some way to make them so they can be set in any position. Unfortunately, it's too late to change Animal.

 

[Bear Man]

I've long thought that the best way to do the foam parts on Gonzo would be injection-molded hard plastic, just like we saw on the Palisades action figures. The problem with that, though, is that making those molds is incredibly expensive (from memory we're talking around $10,000 here) and there would have to be a whole plastic skull created too to support the structure. Add in the additional engineering costs of getting his eyelids to move (because the outcry on here if they didn't move would be painful) and it just becomes cost prohibitive.

I do think, though, that the best approach for most of the Muppets would be to have an internal vac-formed plastic skull. Sure they wouldn't feel the same as the real thing, but it would allow for precision in actually getting the head shape 100% right. It also means that there will be little to no change in form over time (Kermit's body, for example, feels like a very dense foam, and I was under the impression that all foam will eventually start to degrade - can anyone correct me on that?) I wouldn't mind in, say, 20 years, having to restuff Fozzie's body since the shape would be fairly easy to replicate to an acceptable point. His head, however, would be much harder to get just right, and that is where (for me at least) 90% of the likeness comes from.

Then again, I'm no engineer and I'm probably thinking of things that are cost prohibitive (although I did think vac-forming was fairly economical?) or just wouldn't work construction wise. Any puppet-makers out there care to weigh in?

 

[Was Once Ernie]

Oh, one more "by the way"... some of the pictures you see posted around the net are after dozens and dozens of people manhandled the Muppets. That's why the poses are bad. I walked in to say hello to Travis Sunday morning and it looked like Kermit had two broken fingers (not literally - they were just bent into a position that no real fingers could bend). I pointed it out and Travis immediately fixed it. But he made a point that he wanted people to play with them to see how much fun they were. That's why they weren't behind glass.

 

[MuppetCaper]

What about price point. How much do you think Gonzo and Fozzie is going to cost?