More new clothes for Hugo!

 

Update 4/18/11: Jessica sent me my new Hurley clothes with an added bonus. I had nixed the idea of doing the long jeans shorts Hurley usually wore on the Island because they'd look weird with his skinny legs sticky out. Jess wanted to try beefing up the calves and it turned out really cool. Here's what she says: " I just added Apoxie, a two-part air dry epoxy medium on his legs, avoiding the joints and moving parts. Just made sure both legs were even and natural-looking. Once cured (takes about 2 hours or so to cure), I sanded smooth and then painted."

I photographed him in front of the new playset artwork for the Swan station. 

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.

Review: BifBangPow! Hurley Reyes (Oceanic Six)

Hurley comes in a 2-pack with John Locke, and is in stock now at Entertainment Earth.

The BifBangPow! Hugo Reyes figure is listed as Hurley Reyes (Oceanic Six). The card art featured a posterized L.A. skyline with an Oceanic logo superimposed behind the figure's head. He comes dressed in his bathrobe and pajamas from the Santa Rosa Mental Hospital scenes in Season 4. BBP has said that ABC was in the driver's seat on costume choice, and this is a frustrating one. One challenge with Lost figures is that they are simply normal people in average civilian clothes (no disrespect to the costume department). There are no flashy uniforms or sci-fi outfits to make for a visually exciting toy (see BBP's Twilight Zone, Flash Gordon, or Venture Brothers figures). To make it jump off of a crowded toy aisle shelf the temptation is to go with the most eye-catching look possible--hence Ben in his clown-like Other's jammies and Hugo in his red robe. But these costumes were in use in only a few scenes and do not represent the characters as we commonly think of them.

For me, I'm happy to have any Hurley figure at all, and as a Mego fan I'm used to doing custom alterations to my figures to suit my tastes. In fact, that's half the fun for me. But before we go there, how did the figure turn out as it was designed? Pretty good, considering the challenges they faced. I think it's got a lot of soul.

First, the body: As Jorge Garcia hilariously discovered on the Jimmy Kimmel show, his body is a standard male "Mego" body, but his shirt and pants are stuffed in the belly and butt to give him his weight. It's a funny yet logical solution to the problem. Making a new torso would have been costly, and I've never been a fan of the Mego "fat body" anyway. The clothes themselves are well constructed, the robe actually does a smart job of disguising the pillow belly. I do think wider pant legs would have helped the illusion.

The head came out great, it's well made and perfectly in proportion, looks much better than the prototype. The eyes on my example are a little bit off, the pupils are a bit cock-eyed, but you only notice it if you look close (these large pictures I take are sometimes a little too revealing). It's definitely not "fun time" Hurley, he's got a serious expression and I find that the head sculpt has a lot of soul from certain angles. The facial details all translated into vinyl quite well. All of these male figures have beard stubble which is a combination of surface detail and paint and I'm thankful the light touch they used on it. The hair is a big challenge--in order to make a head that can turn it can't rest on his shoulders, so it has a bit of a flared look to it. It's a design compromise I can live with. The detail of the curly hair is very well done.

Here's a detail look at the belly and shoes. I was pleased to see that the slippers are removable, not molded to the feet, though I wish they'd been able to spend the money on tooling a nice hiking boot or something. (Again with the costume choice complaining....)

Here's what a Hurley in civilian clothes could look like. I'm still exploring the best options for Hurley clothes, there isn't as much available in this size. These are from an I Love Lucy Fred Mertz figure from CTVT, but he's sold out.

Barbie's friend Ken may be able to help out, I'm not sure. I can always commission some new clothes if I get enough inquiries. Let me know if you'd be interested in a custom costume. Email lostmegoisland@gmail.com.

I think it's a pretty great figure and a must have for any Lost/Hurley/Jorge Garcia fan.

Thanks, dudes!