Lemillion papercraft action figure ( Mirio Togata)

A customized action figure of Lemillion from My Hero Academia. I have developed a liking to the anime series and Manga and I found out that Macfarlane Toys have a line of action figures from the show. 

The sculpt and articulation is quite good for their price point and I decided to create my own action figures in the seven inch scale. There are a lot of advantages when creating figures in a smaller scale. Less materials are required, the parts are easier to assemble and it takes less time to make. 

I have a lot of projects lined up and I will make them all in the new seven inch scale. This is the first action figure in my new scale. Le Million, also known as Mirio Togata, 

I like this character for his determination and courage. He never gives up even against overwhelming odds. 

Tutorial on Sculpting an anime style head for Seven Inch scale action fi...

    

A tutorial on how to sculpt a basic anime style face. 

The Material used is foam clay. Foam clay is a very good material to use in paper craft action figures. It's light weight and when dry, it forms a rigid but flexible shape that does not shatter like ceramic clay.

I use it for the head piece of my action figures. Its much smoother than papermache head sculpt. 

In the tutorial, I documented how I shape the clay into the basic form of a generic anime style face. Painting and adding hair will be covered in a different video. 

Please check my other videos in the channel ( Gas Pusa Paper Works)

Paper Craft Action Figures 

My Paper Craft Action figures started as scrap pieces of paper. Some old elementary books that my kids have outgrown, old newspapers, grocery flyers and other paper sources that would normally end up in the trash

 Since I was very young, I always wanted to make my own action figures and experimented with paper mache way back in my high school days in the 80s. I made some action figures back then but I was always dissatisfied with the way they look. I could never get the face right or the articulation was really bad.

This hobby stuck with me and I indulged in it whenever I could off and on throughout these years until finally a few years ago, I saw some very good paper crafters on you tube and I said to myself, that I just have to give this hobby of mine another try. I went back to the very first method that I tried in high school, that of making a paper mache shell of a base figure and then molding a head sculpt out of paper of character that I wanted to make.

I then add paper joints to the paper mache shell just like in the picture on the right

 These are the legs of the model that I am making

The Paper Mache Shell to be joined
by my "Chain Link"joints

                                                                             

shoulder joints 

The upper body of the figure is shown here  with the upper arms being fitted 

left shoulder

Partially completed upper body

Waist and upper Legs 

Here, the lower torso is being assembled.

Here He Stands 

 I really like it when the figure finally stands. After the shell and joints are put together, I can get to the fun part.

Painting and Decorating....

You might have an idea
now who is the figure going to be 

Almost There 

Almost There 

the Boots Done 

Right Gauntlet attached

Helmet Done 

Close Up of the Helmet

Needs Shoulder Rings 

Left Gauntlet

Here He Stands, The Iron Avenger!

Voltes V Legacy.

I am both excited and apprehensive at the same time. What 80s guy wouldn't want a live action version of the greatest robot series of all time? (Well, for me at least) But I am worried that it won't get the treatment it deserves. The film makers today has a nasty tendency to mix identity politics and using popular brands to push agendas instead of honoring the source material.

I hope they keep the elements which made the series so memorable. The action, adventure, the family values like love for your parents and siblings and fighting for freedom and justice.

December 7, 2019.

I just finished a project I basically started when I was six years old.
Voltes V was my most favorite robot since I first saw him volt in nearly a lifetime ago. And ever since I wanted to have Voltes V that looked the way he did in the cartoon and volt in. I wasn't keen on buying the soul of Chogokin which I think costs 20,000 pesos or more nowadays so for years I tried to make him out of papercraft. And for years I failed to make one that satisfied me. Until a week ago..

It's a wonder what you can make with a little patience, foam board and super glue. . I am so happy to finally have my old friend in the foam board flesh so to speak, finally standing on my collectors shelf.

He is approximately 20 inches tall and fully poseable. He can transform into his five component parts. I will work on his weapons the next time I'm In the mood to tinker. 

December 7, 2019

I just finished my very own Kingdom Come Superman. I always wanted to have a 1/6 scale Superman but I feel so guilty just thinking of buying those 100 USD high end collectible figures like side show or Hot Toys which are even more expensive. So I turned to papercraft to make my own. It took me a long time to figure out how to make my figures the way I want them to look and now, here is one of the fruit of my labors

Here are some pictures of the source material and the finished model. It looks good for an overnight project

Genos action figure from papercraft

This is my new papercraft action figure of Genos. From one punch man. It's made from paper and cardboard and is articulated using paper joints
I feel really giddy having finished this model as I am a fan of anime and robots and cyborgs even as a kid. It's been almost a life time and I still am the same kid inside even though so many things have changed.












October 18, 2019.

I made a new more accurate looking head sculpt  The first on looks ok at first glance but the shape just didn't look right. Too square jawed. The animated Genos had a more pointed chin as most anime characters do.

It's been a life long hobby of mine to collect action figures and robots and other pop culture items. But as the prices of these collectibles suddenly grew by leaps and bounds, I slowed down buying these and started to ask myself if it's really worth it to buy something worth $100 to $200 that's going to just sit on a shelf.

I was always into building models and kit bashing as a kid but I never got to that point where I was totally satisfied with the models that I made. I always thought this model could have turned out better or I did not know the correct building techniques to make something that I wanted to make.

About a year or two ago, I decided to go pack to papercraft
modelling and made my very first complete model Golgo 13

It was a blocky thing, and the head sculpt was barely recognizable as the source material but I was happy to just finally complete a project. from there I experimented with various methods and finally I found my own way of creating the action figures I always wanted to make

In the coming weeks I will document my action figure building process step by step as a way to keep a records of the techniques and as a reference to other paper craft and action figure enthusiasts out there

October 25, 2019

This is my latest papercraft action figure. It's a character I customized from God Eater. I kind of like the Demi Human look and I call this guy Adventure Cat. He took just two days to make and it's becoming easier to make action figures as the process for me is becoming standard. Make the head, mold the body shell from a base model, then make the joints. After smoothing the cracks and crevices, you paint and decorate the figure and presto. I will make my next figure and post step by step pictures to document the process.

These are some of my newest figures. I am more of an intuitive maker. Often I will sit in desk and suddenly start a project which I didn't plan on doing. Many of my figures are spur of the moment pieces.