Oh Mattel! You try so hard! You really do! (And that’s more than I can say about Hasbro’s handling of the DC license.) But sometimes… Sometimes trying isn’t enough. Sometimes you really need to stop and ask yourself “Is it really appropriate to use Polly Pocket figures in the JLU line?” You might be surprised by the answer.
So, since I’m too embarrassed to put Mattel’s Stargirl figure on the shelf, I felt compelled to make my own. In Mattel’s defense, Stargirl is tough to make correctly. She’s got the usual Timm-verse female proportions, but she’s smaller than most of the other female Leaguers. She might look great made from a Hawkgirl figure, but then she’d be far too tall.
What you see here is my second attempt at the character. I initially started with Mattel’s generic female body, swapping the high heels for flat feet. The result, though, was less than what I wanted. So I started over, this time using a Jack in the Box Batgirl as the base for both the body and head. The arms were swapped out for Hawkgirl arms. The belt, gloves, and boots are shaped from Magic Sculpt. (The boots are extended on the bottom, too.)
Batgirl’s head was removed and the neck extended before the head was returned. The top of her hair is from an animated Witchblade. (Perfect part in the hair.) The rest of the hair is sculpted from Magic Sculpt.
The Star Rod is a temporary until I can find a better way to include the currently missing bend in the shaft. The hook shape at the top is shaped from Magic Sculpt, while the shaft itself is the accessory from a Starman figure.
The rest is paint and stars applied via decoupage.
Jump to the downloads section to grab Stargirl’s emblem for your own custom!
Created Spring 2007
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Easy: A simple parts swap. Little if any paint.
Basic: Some modified parts. Mostly a new paint job.
Moderate: New and modified parts.
Advanced: All of the above, plus a great deal of original sculpting.
In the description of your stargirl figure, you said you swapped out the high heels for flat feet. I’m just starting to customize JLU figures and I was wondering how I could change heels for flat feet. any advice would be very much appreciated. I love your work. Thank you so much!
Glad to hear you’re giving it a try. Good luck! As for feet swaps, the short version is just to cut the feet at the ankle, and then glue the new feet on the new body. But, it’s rarely that simple. First, even the best super glue won’t hold two PVC plastic surfaces like that together for long. I usually drill a small hole into the flat plane of the ankle on the foot and the leg, and then insert a small styrene rod, gluing it and then the foot in place. This acts as a “bone” of sorts, and gives the glue something to cling to. Secondly, it’s unlikely the feet and legs will line up properly at the ankle. You may want to add a bit of sculpting epoxy around the joint, and then Dremel/sand down until you have a seamless limb. Clear as mud?