Head, chest/back, hands, legs: Adventure People- Jeff (TV News Crew)
Arms: Star Wars- Han Solo in Endor uniform


Design/Sculpting & Modifying:

Remember growing up in the cold war when there was a Soviet Union?

Clearly inspired by then-real-world-but-recently-dead Soviet Union leader Leonid Brezhnev, Premier Ivan Valenkof was introduced in Sunbow's The MASS Device miniseries. Captured by Cobra's teleporter, he and his monster eyebrows were later freed by the GI Joe team, and with no help from the Soviet Army!

The AP News Crew Guy, sadly named Jeff, is a wonderful example of a "civilian" action figure . But its short legs and stubby arms had to be corrected to be used for a custom. The longer but appropriately bulky and crumpled Han Solo arms replaced the itty bitty AP ones. It was important to keep as much of the AP figure as possible, even the hands. I didn't replace the short legs, but extended them. I chopped them at knee level. After chopping them I spaced them for length, adding wire "bones" in between. The gaps were filled with epoxy to correct the proportions. There's also a bit of mass added at the front of the hairline.

Valenkof wore a suit jacket in the cartoon. Adding one would have required obscuring the great detail Fisher-Price put into the sculpt. The open collar, shirt crumples, and crooked tie all would have been lost. This is Valenkof without his jacket- probably after pounding down some vodka.

Colors & Paint:

Based on the cartoon. The skin is old man pale. It's weathered with age lines, blemishes, and dark circles around the eyes.

Thanks for looking.

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