Wanchope, Vivid Imaginations figure

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A bit different this one, but one I was excited to paint, and am excited to share with you!

It's obviously different from the figures I normally paint- it's a different brand first off; a 'Vivid Imaginations' figure. It is also huge compared to what I normally paint.

See?!

So, yeah, it started life as Ian Wright, but at the request of a loyal, and highly valued customer, it joined the long list of Costa Rica figures I've done, becoming another iteration of Paulo Wanchope!

The chosen kit was World Cup 2002, where Wanchope bagged a goal against Brazil!

Other than the size, the major difference with this figure was the finish; it's original shininess meaning that it needed extra coats of paint.

Another point of interest was that I had to paint it bald!!

Here's a closer look at some of the details.

I enjoyed this one, and would definitely do more int he future, given the opportunity!

Kennedy, Man City

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When I found out that I had a Man City enthusiast as a returning customer, I decided to try and research which Corinthian figures had played for City but not been released in City kit. 

I came up with a pretty long list... and naturally, this figure, one of the first that he sent, was not on the list I had thought of!

Mark Kennedy played for City between 1999 and 2001, and was promoted and relegated, before being sold to Wolves... where he was promoted and relegated again!

Here he is playing for City:

DJ Campbell, Blackpool

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So... to those of you that have been following carefully; this is not the Blackpool icon that I promised a while back!

This is DJ Campbell, who was pretty decent for Blackpool in the Premier League, to be fair! He managed 13 goals in his first season in the top flight, which is no mean feat.

This figure included the usual badges, sponsors and numbers, but is also the first figure on which I have attempted tattoos. If you look closely, you'll also see Premier League sleeve patches.

I was pretty happy with this one overall!

I have had a look at tweeting him, but for some reason, he hasn't been on twitter for a while...

Chapman, Leeds

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I mentioned in a previous post that a recent project of mine has been painting a 1-11 of Leeds' 1992 League Title winning side.

Here's number 9!

I think Lee Chapman is underestimated by a lot of people; maybe even some Leeds fans.

He wasn't to everyone's taste, but he certainly was effective; 31 goals in the 90-91 campaign, and 20 in the League triumph a year later. Of course this all came after he'd played a key part in promotion in the first place!

After all the practice, I feel like I could do this kit in my sleep now!

Oscar, Chelsea

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Not really in a talkative mood, to be honest.

I made this for ebay, and no-one bought it.

If you want it, send me a message on twitter or facebook.

Oh yeah, it's a lookalike figure, to make Oscar, of Chelsea, just in case you weren't sure.

Gallas, Spurs

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Hard to believe that I finished these Spurs figures pretty much a year ago... and that due to my habit of only posting one picture every other day, or so, and varying the teams, I still have loads of them left that I haven't shared on here!

This one is of London wanderer William Gallas. I'm pretty sure that this is the only time I painted this kit, but I quite like it.

Here it is in real life:

Stuart Pearce, City

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Another from my recent batch of Man City orders.

Pearce enjoyed a career swansong at City, captaining them to promotion from the old first division... or the old old second division. The second tier, let's say.

According to Wiki, Pearce played 38 league games for City, and scored thrice, including a free kick on his debut.

I've also learnt from his Wiki page that he ended his career on 99 goals... having missed a penalty in his last game for City. Gutted!

Regarding the repaint itself... I really like the boots!

Danny Mills, Leeds

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This is my second Danny Mills repaint. I did the first in the yellow away kit from the 2000-01 season, mainly because it was early in my repainting journey, and I wanted to paint a different kit.

Now that my collecting itch has to be scratched by getting all the different sculpts of Leeds players, I got myself this Fan Favourite figure of Mills. 

Being as I'd already done one Mills, and that I'm now pretty close to completing the whole Leeds 2000-01 Champions League squad, I thought I'd do him in this kit. It also matches the Woodgate FF figure that I've done!

Here's a pic to compare the repaint to:

Ormerod, Blackpool

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I've had a few more Blackpool figures to do recently; including lookalikes, such as this one, but also, possibly the most iconic repaint I've done!

I can't post pics of it yet, as I haven't sent it to the customer, and I always want them to see first, so, for now, you'll have to settle for Brett Ormerod!

A Blackpool away kit was chosen (possibly their play-off final one?!) for this repaint.

Ormerod himself favourited a pic of this repaint o twitter:

Kempes, Spurs

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This repaint proves one thing... there are other collectors as thorough (sad) as me!!

As you know, I have painted a few Leeds trialists in my time (players who never played a competitive game for Leeds)

Well, the customer who ordered several Spurs figures from me decided to do the same with this one. 

Mario Kempes never played a competitive game for Spurs... but the friendly/ trial game he played in was of particular interest to me.

It was against Enfield FC! When I lived down south, I filled my Saturday afternoons watching Enfield! It has even led to a few EFC repaints!

In case you wondered (or even didn't notice!) I really like the subtle stripes on this repaint!

Anyway, here's a rare pic of Kempes' Spurs career:

And if you want to read the article the above picture came from, click here!

3 More Costa Ricans!

Cristian Gamboa:

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Yeltsin Tejeda:

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Roy Miller:

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Home kit and away kit on display in these pics! I've nearly finished posting the Costa Rica pics now... but I do have a fairly big surprise incoming! Keep a lookout for it!

I got messages back from two of these 3 on Twitter! Gamboa had this to say...

... while this was Tejeda's response:

Anyone any good at Spanish?!

Man U, Cantona away

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I have an admission to make; one not becoming of a Leeds United fan... as a child, I loved this kit!! I don't think I ever admitted it at school though!

This was recently requested by a customer, and my first reaction was of being quite pleased to be able to paint a different, and fairly unique kit.

I was pleased with how it turned out. It was also one of those times where I fancied doing the boots too!

I've also done a Giggs in this kit. Keep your eyes peeled, and I'll post it soon!

Graham, Leeds Soccerstarz

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My Leeds United Soccerstarz collection is growing!

To be honest, I wouldn't expect many people to know that Danny Graham played for Leeds; he made just 3 appearances in a brief loan spell in 2006, without scoring a goal.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed painting this. At the time, it was the most challenging kit I'd done on a Soccerstarz figure... it probably still is, come to think of it. The pinstripes look pretty decent, bearing in mind that Soccerstarz are considerably smaller than my usual Prostars!

Here's a fresh faced Danny Graham in the above kit:

More Leeds Soccerstarz to come!

Foe, Man City.

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Marc-Vivien Foe.

RIP

Durie, Spurs

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Gordon Durie, who I didn't even remember played for Spurs, to be honest!

Quick wiki says 58 games and 11 goals, between 1991 and 1993.

I'm not in a typing at length kind of mood, tbh!

Here's a pic to compare the repaint to:

'Claessens', Netherlands

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Here's another figure that I know was given as a present.

A regular customer asked me to use paint this lookalike figure into Netherlands kit, as a gift for a relative!

If you'd like to give a similar gift to someone in your life, get in touch, with a comment on this blog, or on Facebook or Twitter. 

You can choose the kit, the name and number on the shirt and the name on the base. I've even changed hair and eye colour before!

And don't worry if you don't know much about the figures; I've also helped people to choose suitable lookalikes; all I need is to see a photo of the subject!

Ideal for Birthdays, weddings, bar mitzvahs... !

Leeds Trialists!

Here we have a trio of Leeds United repaints that require a little explaining! These 3 talented Scandinavians are all what-could-have-beens for LUFC!

Jari Litmanen:

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According to Leeds Will Make You Dance on Tumblr, in a stat taken from the Leeds United handbook volume 3, Jari Litmanen wore the number 7 shirt for Leeds reserves on 19th March, 1991.

It was his only appearance, so it is assumed that he just didn't do enough to impress Wilko. 

Litmanen went on to have a reasonable career...

Sami Hyypia:

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In the same article (written by Moscowhite) it is pointed out that Sami Hyypia also turned out for Leeds reserves. 

He played against Bolton reserves in October 1993, wearing the number 5 shirt, before leaving never to be seen again... until he won loads of trophies with Liverpool.

John Arne Riise

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As for Riise... well, I can't find anything online about an actual trial game, but I'm pretty sure I found out that he did play for us from a Norwegian fan on Twitter. Being as I think we were trying to sign him as a Left back, rather than left midfielder, I put a number 3 on his shirt, rather than his usual number 6, tho I don't know he wore this for certain.

And there you have it. Three great players we missed out on... but they did wear the shirt, and that's enough to make me repaint them, apparently!