Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Our Custom Funko Pop For SG:A's Rodney McKay

John and I are big Stargate:Atlantis fans, and the one actor I've most wanted to see at Dragon Con for the last several years has been David Hewlett, aka Dr. Rodney McKay.

 Or should we call him Meredith?

Needless to say I was over the moon when Hewlett announced he was finally coming to Dragon Con this year. With only had a few weeks' notice, John and I decided to revisit some slightly familiar territory, and make Hewlett his very own custom Funko Pop! doll.

John made the box, I made the doll, and here's the finished product:


McKay wears several different uniforms throughout the show. I decided to go with this one, because it's relatively simple:



In fact, it was SO simple that I decided he needed a prop of some sort.

 

Hopefully you SG:A fans can tell that's a ZPM he's holding. For you non-fans, a ZPM looks like this:



 Which I discovered is a bit tricky to capture on a 2-inch scale with paper clay. o.0
(I added a couple of coats of Mod Podge to make it extra shiny, so that helps a bit.)



Our McKay wears the world's tiniest arm patches: each is a whopping .25 inches tall.






So, how'd I do it? Well, you'll laugh, but these are the two Pops I combined:



Yep, I used a Crowley. I found it poetic. Plus the head shape was perfect.

(For you newbies; our last custom Pop figure WAS Crowley, which I'm sure is what convinced Funko to start making their own. ;)) 


I won't give you a step-by-step, but here are a few handy tips:

- A Q-tip dipped in acetone will take that beard RIGHT off.
- A Dremel is perfect for sanding off shirt pockets/cuffs.
- Thin your water-based craft paints way, WAY down to avoid brush strokes.
- You can re-position arms by slicing them off at the shoulder/elbow, & then re-attaching with epoxy.


I think you'll agree, though, that the box is what REALLY sells it. Pun (always) intended.

 

John has become the master of custom Funko boxes. Since there are no Stargate Pops at all, he had to make this entire design from scratch! He did all the adjustments in Photoshop, printed it on 2 sheets of glossy photo paper, and then used spray adhesive to attach the paper to thin poster board. From there, he assembled the box, re-using the plastic window from one of the original boxes.

Check out the sides and back:


 Isn't it perfect? And since the back usually has all the other figures in the set, John did this instead:

 
Trolling level: HIGH


We chose the number 418 because McKay's (and Hewlett's) birthday is April 18th.



And here he is, all packaged up:




We presented Hewlett with his Pop on Sunday at Dragon Con. His handlers were rushing him a bit since he had a flight to catch, but he was incredibly sweet and more than a little incredulous at our work. (He even asked if my ZPM was 3D-printed!) 

Unfortunately photos aren't allowed in DCon's signing area, but David promised us he'd tweet it, so I hope I get to add a pic of him with his Pop here sometime soon!

32 comments:

  1. THAT IS SO AWESOME!!!! I'm a big fan of SGA too - especially McKay (he's so delightfully snarky!). That's amazing. If Funko wants to make some Stargate figures, I think I'd have to buy them all. And the ZPM = perfection!

    (Psstt...the head on Mouth there looks like a certain major/lieutenant colonel if you want to continue the series...)

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    1. Yes, a hundred times yes. They should really start making these for real for those of us without mechanical talents.

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  2. It's perfect! I'm also an SGA fan, and McKay was a big part of that. And not just for me--I couldn't go to Dragon Con this year but my best friend did, and I got a rather excited text from her saying that she shared an elevator with Hewlett!

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  3. You two are so talented it just amazes the bejesus out of me :)
    Beth

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  4. I watch his youtube channel all the time :) I bet he shows that little guy on his next vid! lol

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  5. So Awesome! McKay is the most annoying and yet interesting one of the SG:A bunch. Well done John and Jen. You guys never cease to amaze me with you creativity and fun.

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  6. My hubby and I are always watching reruns of Stargate SG1 and Atlantis ( I also have most of them on DVD lol) My first cat I adopted is named Dex after Ronan Dex, second cat is Neelix after one of my other fav series. And my local con Sci Fi On the Rock has Robert Picardo coming next year!! I'm so excited I can't wait! I want to cosplay as a member of SG1

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  7. I would pay serious cash for a set of SG1 and SG:A Funko Pop! figures. Seriously (Funko... you listening??!). Stargate is my absolute favorite series. We even flew to Chicago last year for the Stargate Con. We met Hewlett and Paul McGillion. Best. Day. Ever. But, you guys are so amazing... I can't even begin to tell you how happy it makes me reading your blog and seeing all your amazing projects.

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  8. DOOD. Very cool! Y'all are just amazing, as per usual. I'm bummed about the rushing, but so pleased on your behalf that he liked it.
    I hope Funko takes the hint (again! ;-)) and makes some Stargate figures!

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  9. Tiny. Little. ZPM.
    *falls over dead*

    You guys are so great! (as is Hewlett ;)

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  10. I just creeped on his Twitter, and it sounds like he doesn't know who to thank! I don't have a Twitter account so someone needs to let him know Jen and John made that for him. Fun fact, he retweeted a vid of Jen's from DC.
    I've been a giant Hewlett fan since SG1 days, and I've been following Cake Wrecks and Epbot forEVER, so I'm loving the two together. So much so, in fact, that I'm commenting. (Gasp!)

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    Replies
    1. I just let him know on Twitter; in retrospect, I really *should* have included a card or something with the gift. ;)

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    2. Did I just Kermit flail over your reply Jen? Yes. Yes I did! I'm probably not the only one that hopes "Jen and John's Custom Funko Pops" becomes a regular feature on Epbot.

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    3. Did I just Kermit flail over your reply Jen? Yes. Yes I did! I'm probably not the only one that hopes "Jen and John's Custom Funko Pops" becomes a regular feature on Epbot.

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  11. It is amazing that you guys did this! Love everything about it! :)

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  12. I - wha - AAAAH!! That is SO COOL! I also love how you casually reference dismembering Pop figures. Visualizing that is way more entertaining to me than it should be.

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  13. I just started rewatching SGA for the umpteenth time! I miss McKay so much! I definitely squee'd when I saw that tiny little 'zed-p-m'. The whole thing is adorable!!

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  14. Don't you mean "Zed-pm"? After all, that's how McKay always pronounced it.

    Also, Funko, please take the hint. SG pop figures would be awesome.

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  15. That is awesome! One thing I've found helpful, when trying to get just that right color when painting either metallic, or shiny, or glittery, or neon, or 'glow-y' things... I dip into my nail polish supply. I admit I have a pretty vast selection, but still... sometimes the colors have just the right look, and those type of 'off' colors (not as popular on nails) can be found in disco bins and at dollar stores.

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  16. Excellent work, as always! I bet he was thrilled! You guys are so sweet and so talented! Glad you're back home safe and sound from DragonCon. Looking forward to the photos and stories!!

    KW

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  17. Awesome!!! And so fun you were able to meet him. I had a feeling you were good Stargate-loving people. ;). But no Ronan on the back of the box?? Fun fact - for the series finally of SG-1, my husband and I did our first cosplay with a bunch of friends in grad school and even has stargate themed food. Lol. That was before we even knew "cosplay" was a thing.... Hoping we can cosplay again soon at Star Wars Celebration when it comes back to Orlando and that we can actually find you this time around!

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  18. I love SGA! Rodney was my favorite character, too. David Hewlett is a tremendous actor.

    I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought, "Ah-ah-ah, you mean Zed-PM"!

    Do you think it would be a licensing issue for you to make a whole line of SGA Pop figures and sell them on Etsy? *flashing puppy-dog-eyes of longing and innocence*

    -Just Andrea

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  19. Nice! I've never gotten into SGA, but I love collecting Funko Pops, so I really love to see your custom ones. The box is amazing (and the figure too!).

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  20. You guys are so ridiculously crafty, I'm in awe! I'm sure David will treasure his new mini-me forever!

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  21. Oh my gosh the tiny shoulder patches are darling! The whole thing came out beautifully :D

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  22. Is there anyway we can purchase the box specs? I bought 4 custom SGA ones from etsy and they didnt come with boxes so I would love to have stuff that has Stargate Atlantis on it.

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    Replies
    1. No need to purchase; John can send you that for free! Just e-mail us & he'll send the file over. :)

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    2. Thanks. I sent an email over last night. Please let me know if you didnt get it. Thank you again! Happy New Year!

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    3. I couldnt find John's email only Jen@epbot.com so I took a stab at john@epbot.com Hopefully that was right! Hope you had a great new year!

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