How to Make Your Own Vinyl Toy

Create custom figures of family members for your kids to play with.

Vinyl action figures are not just for children. For many adults, they bring back nostalgic images of days gone by. You may be inspired by your favorite figures to create a toy of your own but are unsure of how to begin. You may even mistakenly believe that only major toy corporations can create these toy figurines. While it is nearly impossible to complete every step from start to finish yourself without complete dedication and a very expensive investment, you can create a prototype that many companies would be pleased to reproduce for you in vinyl relatively inexpensively.

Things You'll Need

• Air-dry polymer clay
• Artists' sculpting tools
• Dental tools
• Acrylic paints
• Paint brushes
• Computer
• Internet access

Instructions

1. Sculpt a model figure from air-dry polymer clay. Shape the clay exactly how you wish your toy to look, down to the size and details. Work the clay with artists' tools or dental tools.

2. Allow the clay figure to dry completely. Paint your figure with acrylic paints to show exactly how the finished figures should look. Let the paint dry for several hours.

3. Contact a toy manufacturer that accepts custom orders. There are many, and you can select the one most suited to you and contact them with a bit of Internet research. Follow their specific directions to send your prototype to the company and receive back your vinyl toy.

References

• MNArtists.org; How To: Make Your Own Vinyl Toy/Sculptures; Sol Nte