For my next contribution to ToyFare’s WISH LIST action figure feature, I was asked to summon the stuff of nightmares. And what’s scarier than a clown? Why, an angry, EVIL clown! (But hey, aren’t ALL clowns evil? pfffah!) Read on!
“Is there anything scarier than clowns? Of course not. And who knows scary better than Stephen King? You see where we’re going.
It puts a malevolent clown (given demented life by a powdered, red-nosed Tim Curry) front and center, as King’s fat novel gets the TV-movie treatment. Even at three hours plus, the action is condensed, but an engaging Stand by Me vibe prevails for much of the running time. The seven main characters, as adolescents, conquered a force of pure evil in their Maine hometown. Now, the cackling Pennywise is back, and they must come home to fight him–or, should we say, It–again.
Admitting the TV-movie trappings and sometimes hysterical performances, this is a genuinely gripping thriller. As so often with King, the basic idea (the bond formed during a childhood trauma) is clean and powerful, a lifeline anchored in reality that leads us to the supernatural.”
–Robert Horton
I began the Pennywise the Clown custom by reworking a “Devil’s Rejects” Captain Spaulding figure. The figure was the perfect base, but needed some fine tuning. I added arms from a “Pirates of the Caribbean” Will Turner figure while the headsculpt is a heavily modified Lon Chaney “Phantom of the Opera” piece, with a new mouth (taken from a Lucifer figure, I think?) The rest of the details were created using Magic Sculpt, rubber bands, cut vinyl, and a lot of sleepless nights.
I had a blast working on the Pennywise project, obviously. Though I always want to make people smile (hey, just like a clown!) I definitely feel more at home working on the nightmarish-type of project. Huh. Ah well, that’s what therapy is for!
Created Summer 2005
Featured in TOYFARE MAGAZINE, Issue #105, May 2006
