I’ve written previously about my lifelong proclivity for melting army men and cowboys into new creatures. I’ve recently discovered a new twist on the theme – making molds from them, and casting new figures in plastic!

I know, I know – the world doesn’t need more plastic waste, and I won’t make a career out of this. But, it’s immensely satisfying to have single form characters, with no melted parts and weak joints.

I’ve been reading Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth again. In chapter four, he says two things that I find relevant to what I’m doing here. First, he says:

We need to honor the world of things, not despise it. Each thing has Beingness, is a temporary form that has its origin within the formless one Life, the source of all things, all bodies, all forms.

He goes on the write:

In most ancient cultures, people believed that everything, even so­ called inanimate objects, had an indwelling spirit, and in this respect they were closer to the truth than we are today.

I feel a little like Dr. Frankenstein doing Weird Science – making hosts for indwelling spirits.

I’m still getting the hang of the casting process. Below are some early efforts.

One example – I took the legs from a cowboy, and fused them with the tail of a plastic lobster.

I tried creating an anthropomorphic foot guy. Below, the one on the left is the original, and the other two were early casts.

I liked this guy so much that I took the idea further. I found the most perfect Bond-like villain figure. Meet, Dr. Stinky (and his pet, Smelly). First, the original made from several different figures and parts:

Here are smaller figures, which didn’t quite turn out as I hoped.

And here are some work in progress photos.

One of the lessons I’ve learned is, when Smooth-On says something has a 3 minute “pot life,” then I really need to get it mixed and poured in 2 minutes 45 seconds. Another lesson – make sure there are vents (made with straws or coffee stirrers) for air to escape.

Next, I’m going to try slightly larger figures.

Update: I made a trailer for the villains…