This week’s custom POP figure is strong to the finich ’cause he eats his spinach, he’s Popeye the Sailor Man (toot toot)! Created by Gino Roberto, the POP styling gives this beefy sailor just the right amount of cuteness and humor balanced with his tough exterior and wisecracking personality, providing an effortless transition from the comic pages to vinyl form.
I yam what I yam and tha’s all what I yam. – Popeye
Roberto started customizing Hot Toys 1/6 scale figures, moving on to POP vinyls when he tried to improve an Iron Man vinyl in his collection. After trying out several color combinations, Roberto was hooked on creating customs. Starting with research and a sketch, Roberto reduces the original POP figure to a blank canvas before moving forward with sculpting and painting. “I think the secret to making your Pop look sharp and clean is on how well you can do the eyes. It looks simple yet it’s so difficult to do,” Roberto noted on the construction of the piece.
The painting in particular is very well done on this piece, with it’s clean, smooth lines and surface from head to toe – the thin anchor tattoos on Popeye’s arms especially are impeccable. This figure faultlessly mimics Funko’s POP style with no detail out of place, from his smoothly sculpted pipe to his signature wink, finished with a bit of rustic flair that can only be achieved by a deft artist’s hand that almost nods to the newsprint in which Popeye had originally been published. With such skill animating the figure, this sailor man with the spinach can is surely ready to take us all on, one at a time.
To see more custom vinyls by Roberto, visit the links below:
Facebook: Gino Roberto Custom Figures
Instagram: @ginongtataymo
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