Nice Pants, Mr. Reyes!

We've had a lot of success with off-the-rack clothes for the Lost gang, but Hurley is a special problem. His robe and pajamas cry out to be replaced, but there's not much on the way of big and tall for Megos, even if he was on a standard Mego fat body. So I contacted my friend Jessica, a Mego seamstress extraordinaire who happens to also live nearby. She makes amazing Planet of the Apes customs as well as some really nice jeans I will want to get if we ever get Jack and Sawyer. I described what I was envisioning and she really delivered. If you'd like to get a set for your own Hugo email me at lostmegoisland@gmail.com. She's asking $30 for the pants and shirt combo.

Kitbash #3, 4, and 5: John Locke

I'm a Locke guy, all the way. He made a lot of mistakes and there was some disappointment in the character's story and the way he ended up, but he's still one of my favorite characters in fiction. I've been eager to expand on the BifBangPow! figure as soon as I can get my hands on it.

These Locke kitbashes take a little bit more work than Ben Linus, but it's still not bad. The toughest part is the knife case, I will save that project for another day in it's own post. After that, it's the white button down short sleeved shirt that takes a bit of work. Here's my recipe for "Walkabout" Locke.

1 Playing Mantis WWII Ranger Vest: I thought I was going to cry when I found this thing. It's so perfect for Locke's Walkabout hunting vest. I plan to add a knife and compass to it. of course.

2-3 ClassicTvToys "Richie" shirts. $2.00 each. Why 2-3 shirts? Because this shirt comes sleeveless and you'll have to add sleeves using the same fabric.

I made mine with one extra shirt, cutting the back panel in half to make two strips of cloth, one is pre-hemmed, the other I had to hem myself. Then I sewed them into tubes and attached to the shirt. I'm a bit of a hack, but I managed pretty well.

If enough people ask I can just get a bunch made by a professional. Email me if you'd like to be on the list to have one made.

This shirt isn't a perfect match for the Walkabout costume, but getting any kind of decent pattern in this scale is pretty hard. These stripes are in the same general color scheme and weight, and I think it's just about as good as can be.

1 pair CTVT Tan Khaki Pants: CTVT sells a pair of khakis that have beltloops-this was my first choice but they were too tight to fit on the EMCE?BifBangPow body. This pair of pants is less detailed, but does the trick. $2.00.

1 CTVT white sleeveless shirt: $2.00. CTVT also sells a white t-shirt, but you'd want to get rid of the sleeves. For mine I actually cut up a white super hero jumpsuit I had lying around. It's got a very thin seam on the neckline, but that's a little pricier option.

Brown Shoes: The shoes on mine are standard Mego brown dress shoes. CTVT sells them as does Dr. Mego.

Socks are optional. You can't get those shoes on over socks very easily, but I wanted to be able to have him posed without shoes, like he just stood up after the crash. I took a black superhero female bodysuit from Dr. Mego and cut the feet off to make socks ($7.00, those are expensive socks). CTVT does make white socks for $2.00, you could dye them if you like.

The Wheelchair is a Jakks Pacific WWE wrestling accessory (see previous post). You can find them all the time on eBay in wrestling parts lots. CTVT's wrestling Super STore doesn't carry them yet, but they tell me they are working on it!

Lastly, the Corpse of Jeremy Bentham: The pictures above are photoshop comps using the BBP official picture, so we;ll have to see how this works in real life, but my plan is to remove the paint on Locke's eyes and paint them to look closed. Then put him in a Doc Mego black business suit and start working on a coffin.

Don't tell me what I can't do!

Lost Kitbash #2: Benjamin Linus in civilian attire

The rest of the Wave 1 figures are finally about to ship out, so now's the time to share some of my thoughts about customizing BifBangPow's Lost figures. Almost all of my custom projects require some work and a little skill to carry off, but I try as much as possible to offer solutions that are as simple and cost effective as possible. This is by far the easiest of them all.

I wasn't thrilled with this costume choice which was apparently pushed by ABC. It makes some sense in that it's the most "colorful" outfit for the character, and thus has more toy-like qualities that normal civilian clothing does. But he was in this outfit for exactly one scene in the Season 2 finale, so it's not totally satisfying for a Ben Linus fan like me.

Thankfully, Classic TV Toys line of Married With Children Mego-style figures are readily available. I've put Ben in Al Bundy's shirt, pants and shoes and it's a nearly perfect look for Ben. You can buy the Al Bundy figure complete on the card for $12.00 or you can actually just buy the headless body with the outfit for $8.00. He even comes with a khaki jacket that you can save for a Dharma scientist project (Pierre Change had a khaki Dharma jacket in Season 5).

The shoulder bag is a little trickier. The one pictured here is from the late 90s/early 2000s Playing Mantis Action Jackson WWII Ranger.

There are other possibilities for shoulder bags, Cotswold Toys has one that's 12 inch scale, but might work just fine. This bag for $1.00 is totally worth a try but might need a strap. This one is cool too. I'll probably do a more in depth post about bags and backpacks later. Gonna need backpacks!

The Plan B plastic solution that is also extremely MEGO is Dr. Mego's reproduction of the $3.00 Green Goblin satchel bag. If you're going to be doing some Mego customizing you'll be ordering from the good Doctor, so might as well save on shipping and get some gear.

The bunny I made myself out of white Sculpey, I didn't want to spend any money on it and I wanted it in a crouching pose. I have yet to find the perfect white plastic bunny, you'd think that'd be easy enough. The best bet on the market is the Schleich brand, but they are a bit large for Megos.

Requisitioning a Dharma Jumpsuit

If you are interested in making some Dharma folk for yourself, you'll need some jumpsuits. Where to get them?
There are a few possibilities on the market: Mego's Action Jackson Air Force outfit has a grey jumpsuit that will do in a pinch and could be dyed tan. AJ's standard dark blue jumpsuit will be a fine Dharma motor pool jumper. The recent Mattell Retro Action Ghostbusters line is a nice option but possibly pricier.

You can make your own suit, but sewing doll clothes isn't everyone's cup of tea (if you are interested let me know I can put up a pattern).

If you are looking for an easy jumpsuit that's the perfect color and has all the pockets in the right place, I recommend you get in touch with the Mego Museum's resident seamstress, the talented Theressa. She whipped up a set of super jumpsuits for me at a really great price and can do the same for you.

Check out these rave reviews and samples of her work. If you want to place an order, you can get in touch with me here (lostmegoisland@gmail.com).

Then just print out the DI Logo of your choice, some army boots, maybe a rifle, and you're all set.



For this guy above I used a Mego Peter Burke from Planet of the Apes. He's one of your more handsome 70s dudes. He hasn't been reproduced, but he and his buddy Alan Verdon (who looks very Dharma AND very Others to me) are pretty common to find on eBay or at the Mego Museum marketplace.



The other go-to seventies stud is Mego's Sir Galahad/Will Scarlett who has been duplicated by both CTVT and Doctor Mego. The Mego Planet of the Apes Astronaut is a great 70s guy, he was reproed by CTVT but came out a litle on the small side. I'll have more head suggestions later.