4 Versions of Gary Speed!

First post of the new year! Hope you're all keeping well, and are ready for 4 very different iterations of Gary Speed!

First up, Funko Gary Speed. I'm not sure if I've written about it at any length before (and I don't really intend to now!) but Funko figures are much easier to use as 'lookalikes' than corinthians! Essentially, if the hair is the right style, its good to go. 

Added bonus is the eyebrows are right!! They can change the character of a figure considerably!

Anyway, the 1991-92 kit was chosen for Speed on a Twitter poll... also because I wanted to do it, and thought it would be easier to sell on afterwards!!

A somewhat unusual one next, but one that I like a lot. In case you can't tell, this is the training top in which Leeds were presented the League trophy in 1991-92. I've only done it a couple of times before, and this was the first time on a microstar.

Love this kit. I still own it, with 11 and Speed on the back, no less. This was the first time I've done it on a Speed figure, having done it on Yeboah a few times before.

 Last but not least, a Vivid Imaginations figure. Not the best 'lookalike' for my  money, but it's what the buyer wanted. I was happy with how the kit ended up looking anyway! I've done Vivid Imaginations repaints of Speed before, but from his floppy, boyband hair era, using a figure of another Welshman...

Tenuous Euro 2020 post 6

 Well everyone, my supply of figures that just barely relate to Euro 2020 is running low. But yesterday's highlights show gave me another one!

Dion Dublin! He may've been on all through the Euros; I don't know!! Last night was the first time I caught a bit of one of the highlights shows... even though I had already watched both of the games!

And here's Cantona again, making his second appearance on one of these posts, just because he's on a Sports Direct advert!

For those of you unfamiliar, this is a Vivid Imaginations Figure. There were a few Premier League players made, at a similar time that corinthians first came out. These are much bigger. I don't have any in my own collection, but I can see why people like them.

And that's your lot for today. I've decided (without doing any actual planning) that to stand any chance of getting to the end of the Euros with these, I'm gonna have to cut down to 2 pics per post!

Speed 92-93 Vivid Imaginations figures

Full disclosure: I have pretty much no idea which Leeds figures I have posted to this blog before!!

I have done so many over the years that, even though they are my own team, they're probably the hardest for me to keep track of. There are certainly more Leeds figures in my repaints folder than any other team, which, in turn, puts me off blogging them!

But with all that said, here are 3 that I'm fairly sure haven't appeared here before:

Vivid Imaginations figures! No Gary Speed figures were made so (whisper it) these were originally... Ryan Giggs!!

Anyway, I was delighted with how they turned out- particularly the 2 away kits! The shirts were a bit of a challenge, but one that I relished once I got started!

Something I found interesting is that there is very little that matches about these kits. These days, there is something that makes kits 'a set' be that similar trim around the cuffs, the same style of collar; that sort of thing. These just seem pretty randomised.

OK, the 2 away shirts are the same pattern, but look at the shorts; different from each other, and from the home kit! Completely different collar on the home kit too! Only the socks have any kind of uniformity!! Maybe that's why we didn't win away in the league all season...

Leeds' Class of '92, Vivid Imaginations Figures

Well, I haven't posted any of these here for a long time! It's been so long, in fact, that I can't remember if I explained that someone was using 'lookalike figures' to put together Leeds 1-11 of the 1991-92 Title winning team.

Anyway, here's the central midfield:

And after saying they were lookalikes, of course I've gone and posted the only one who actually wasn't!! David Batty was produced in Newcastle kit, in this style of figure, so he was a straightforward repaint.

McAllister was too, really- just needed a change of hair colour to go with his new kit. Any guesses as to which figure was used?

2 Versions of Ferdinand, Bolton

I was going to do this post on Saturday, but never got round to it. 

The reason I was going to do this on Saturday was that I've noticed something of a trend that, when I post pics of s team the day they are playing, they tend to go on and lose.

Fortunately, they lost anyway, and my beloved Leeds made it 5 wins in a row!

But I thought I wouldn't deprive you of these Bolton Ferdinands any longer anyway!

A fairly straightforward kit! I added a few more details to the VI figure, such as the Reebok logo, and BWFC on the socks.

I tend to leave some of these details off the corinthians for a few reasons- it makes them more similar to the originals, and the shirt can look a bit overcrowded with them all on being the main ones.

I have added them in the past when requested tho!

Harris, Charlton Villa

Today seems as good a day as any for a snazzy 1990s goalkeeper kit repaint!!

This is Harris, of park team Charlton Villa! At some point in the early-to-mid 90s, this kit, as worn by Leeds United in 92-93, was their choice.

I loved painting this! Click on it to enlarge- you know you want to!

Anyway, being a park team, funnily enough, Vivid Imaginations did not manufacture a figure of Harris in his heyday. We chose this lookalike figure, then we discussed details such as the kit, shirt number, hair colour etc. We even adjusted the skin tone on this one.

If you want a figure of a friend or family member, use the contact box below, or message me on Twitter or through my Facebook page. Or even Instagram! If you're quick, I could even get it to you in time for Christmas!

Leeds 1992 Fullbacks, Vivid Imaginations

I haven't posted any of the Leeds Vivid Imaginations figures in a long while!

I had to make fairly liberal use of lookalikes when putting together the Leeds United title winning XI using this variety of figure, as many of the players, including these 2, were never manufactured.

On adding the figures, I've realised that the Sterland figure is actually wearing 1990-91 kit; it was the same shirt, just a different sponsor!

This is a kit I know so well, it's one of the few I don't need to look at pictures of to repaint! The hardest part is probably the design on the top of the socks!!

Rebrand, links... and a Vivid imaginations figure to hold your interest!

Hi all! I hope you like the new layout! I thought it was about time I made this blog layout look a bit more similar to my Facebook page! Brand-building, an' all that!

Speaking of which... I've just started an Instagram; if you're on there, I'd love a follow! Click here to find me!

The observant among you will have also noticed a slight change to the header: I'm now going under the moniker of "Marc's Corinthians + More"!

The reason for the 'more'? I realised, while I still do a lot of Corinthians, I've also done a really wide variety of figures now... including:

Soccerstarz, Tonkas, Vivid Imaginations, Fanaticos, Subbuteo XLs, Keymen, SoccerSerie figures and more!!

So... I thought I'd put one of the 'more' figures in this post!

This is a vivid imaginations figure of a Charlton Villa stalwart, in the kit from their Inter Milan away kit phase!

He picked a suitable lookalike figure, as well as the kit, name, number and caption for the oval on the base.

If you want something similar, contact me!

Davies, Crewe

Here's another Vivid Imaginations figure, that someone requested to be repainted as one of his mates!

It was also my first (and so far only!) Crewe figure:

I liked the 80s style kit, and felt the Adidas stripes looked pretty smart!

If you'd like a figure done as one of your friends, be that a Vivid Imaginations figure, a regular Corinthian, a Soccerstarz or a Tonka figure or any other kind of figure for that matter, please get in touch.

You can do that via Twitter or Facebook. 

Coleman, England

I thought I hadn't posted a Vivid Imaginations Figure for a while, so here's one that someone asked me to do as a present for a mate.

This is 'Coleman', and the kit requested was England's World Cup Italia '90 strip.

I've done it several times before on Prostar figures, but this was the first time on one this size. That certainly made for the details round the collar and cuffs to be a bit easier!

I've still got more VI repaint photos queued up in my repaints folder, so maybe you'll see some more soon!

If you'd like a similar service, please contact me, via facebook or twitter.

Gary Speed, Bolton Vivid Imaginations figure

The fact that the facial likenesses on Vivid Imaginations figures aren't perfect always gives a bit of leeway with finding 'lookalikes'!

A Bolton fan asked me to do this one as Gary Speed, and I was happy to oblige.

RIP Gary xxx

Charlton Villa, Part 4 (Newcastle kits)

Here's the latest installment of the Charlton Villa set of figures I did for a returning customer.

Charlton Villa were his Park team, meaning they wore  few different kits over the years! The players are all 'lookalike' figures of his teammates! 

(Click to enlarge)

If you'd like a 'lookalike' of yourself, or a friend, get in touch via my facebook page or on twitter.

Sheringham away set!

Spurs 1991-94 yellow away kit was pretty memorable. It certainly is for me now, as I have painted it onto several different figures, not least 3 different varieties of Sheringham figure!

You can find the first here (along with Razor Ruddock)

Here are the next 2:

The first of these was my first ever Corinthian XL repaint, while if you follow my blog or Facebook page, you'll see I've had plenty of practice with the Vivid Imaginations figures!

I enjoy painting the larger figures! While the area takes a bit longer to cover, some aspects of the detail work are actually easier to do, because of the size! 

Speed, Leeds Vivid Imaginations Figures

I already posted some pics of early '90s Leeds figures... well there are plenty more where they came from!

Here are 2 I was asked to do as Gary Speed.

(Click to enlarge)

This first one was a bit different. This is the tracksuit top Leeds had for the 1991-92 season, and also what they were wearing when presented with the trophy at the end of the season. 

I was very pleased with how it came out, in terms of both the detail, and the fact that I had to do a minor remodel, as the original figure was short sleeved.

 I've got to say, I was even more delighted with this one! A shirt that I think of as "One of the nicest ugly shirts we've ever had"!

Obviously there was plenty of intricate details to add, and I think this makes it one of the best I've done!

The guy who bought it was very pleased too! A fitting tribute to a shirt that we won 2 games in!!

Leeds United Early 90s Vivid Imaginations Figures (part one!)

This has been a pretty big project!

As well as getting figures of loads of his mates in their Sunday League hey day(!) one of my regulars wanted Leeds' famous 1-11 from the title season in various kits from that era!

Here are a the first few! Being as many successful teams are built from the back, here's the goalie and 2 centre halves!

Choosing to start with these three figures also gave me the chance to show 3 different kits!

Interestingly, he chose the goalie kit from the following season (the first ever Premier League campaign) for John Lukic, which I didn't mind, as it was a nice challenge to paint.

The other 2, Chris Fairclough and Chris Whyte, were both in kits from the title winning campaign of 1992. They were chosen on the suitability of the collars on the figures!

Al three of these had to be 'lookalike' figures- in fact the only Leeds players of this era produced in this style of figure were Batty and Cantona.

I had to change the hair colour for Lukic, and add a moustache, and hairless patches for Whyte!

Jim Rollo, Vivid Imaginations figure

For a player who's spent the majority of his career in non-league, Jim Rollo has a higher than expected number of repaints!

Having done home and away Prostar versions of him, here is the latest:

While these figures do take a lot more work to finish, they do allow for a lot of detail to be added with a bit more ease.

I particularly liked the second sponsor on the back, and the Errea captain's band!

More Vivid Imaginations figures coming soon!

Charlton Villa, Part 3

Here are the next two Charlton Villa figures!

Back to the Lazio kit this time!

In case you missed the backstory on these and were wondering who Carlyle and Anderson are, a customer has been getting Vivid Imaginations Figures done of all his old teammates from his Sunday League team!

They've had a few kits over the years, including the above Lazio one, a Newcastle one, a Sheff Weds one and (to be posted soon!) an Inter away kit!

All the figures have been customised with the right hair colour, customers choice of kit, and the right name and shirt number.

Contact me if you'd like something similar!

Robbie Fowler, Leeds Vivid Imaginations figures

Robbie Fowler was ok for Leeds.

We'd have been better off investing in a left back at the time, and he had some bad spells with injury. We also sold him on at a big loss. I think all of these factors explain why he isn't all that popular with Leeds fans.

He was our top scorer in the league in his first season tho... and he's proved popular enough for a few people to request Vivid Imaginations figures of him in Leeds colours:

One in home kit; one in away. I think I'm right in saying these kits were chosen because the figure has a collared shirt!

More Leeds Vivid Imaginations figures to come!

Charlton Villa, Part 2!

Here are the next few Charlton Villa repaints, in one customer's one man mission to seemingly get a figure of all of his team mates over the years!

As you can see, Charlton Villa had swapped to a pretty iconic Newcastle kit by this stage!

Robbie Fowler, or should I say 'Hawtree', arrived with me with that injury! The customer was happy to repair him himself upon return.

As you can see a fair bit of customisation had to go on with these guys, including stubble, changing hair colour... and for the top one, an all over skin colour change!! Believe it or not, that figure used to be Ian Wright!

Cranford, Vivid Imaginations Figures

I can't tell you much about the team: Cranford, if I'm honest.

What I can tell you is that one of their players loves Vivid Imaginations figures, and is very generous!!

Here are three figures he asked me to do:

(Click to enlarge)

I'm enjoying doing the Vivid Imaginations figures, tho they do take longer!