Kentucky Joe 2022 Custom Figure Entry Rasputin!

I normally tackle a custom "Joe 'N' Adversary" type adventure, but last summer my time was limited for customizing, so I decided to just give my all on one character I have been marinading on for a while... the infamous Russian mystic, Grigori Rasputin!

As with all of my goofy customs, here is a small behind-the-scenes look at how I made him!

Some true history... Grigori Rasputin was the Russian 'mystic' to Nicholas II and Alexandra during WWI. Rasputin somehow managed to stop their young hemophiliac heir from bleeding, thus gaining much political influence over the royal family. His mysticism and abilities to dodge death are still debated. With all of this lore and mystery, Rasputin serves as a great contender to be an adversary of G.I. Joe!

Before designing a new custom figure, I love conducting research by watching fun Hollywood interpretations of the character. Above is the legendary Christopher Lee playing the title character in "Rasputin the Mad Monk!"

I love rooting figures, because it makes my customs truly unique. I chose a Cotswold Pete head, because I felt his eyes would really stand out as angelically creepy with the right hair and beard! Pete's pompodor would have distorted the shape of the rooted scalp though, so I carefully dremmeled some of it off.

Here is Rasputin partially rooted with a terrible sketch I drew of the final costume. I can typically draw better, but for whatever reason I was really off that day. His hair is a combination of Chatty Brunette 86 + Silver Hi Ho Silver 18 from RestoreDoll!

The scalp and top partline was finished, and I was beginning the beard.

Hair and beard 100% rooted.

Here is a good shot of how the hair needs to be divided before a boil perm. If the hair is not separated correctly before boil perm, it will not appear to flow in the natural direction it should.

The hair is still separated but wrapped down to appear more natural once boil permed. This looks tortuous, but I imagine the real Rasputin probably enjoyed this type of fun!

A nice top view of the partline. Most fashion doll partlines start somewhere in the front and end at the crown of the head.

After boil perming, I removed the wraps a few hours later. I chose to start on his wardrobe before going any further with his hair.

This was the first draft tunic I made for him, so I did not use fabric that was crucial to the end result. My goal for Rasputin's costume was to make it look Russian, but still have Hollywood and mysticism sprinkled in. Playability was also a core factor of the clothing's design. My custom patterns are derived from patterns of basic vintage style G.I. Joe clothing.

Here is a backview of the second draft of the main robe. I made it slimmer and tamed the collar some.

I was confident on the third attempt of the costume, so I used the intended colors and added the cuffs. The front settled down after I applied the metal snaps to properly align the clothing. I was going to make a sash, but I saw Christopher Lee wear a rope belt in his interpretation of the character. I felt this option contributed better to his pseudo monk status.

I needed a break from the sewing table, so I went back to the hair. After some trimming, I decided to curl his beard. This is executed best with pipe cleaners and lots of patience!

Rasputin drying off after second boil perm. For the best curls, leave the pipe cleaners on until the hair is 100% dry. Note: Do not boil perm too many times; the hair has its limits and will spoil/frizzle from too many extremes.

Here is the finished figure. His belt got replaced by a thinner rope I found at Joann's fabric. The pentagram necklace was made from an amulet off eBay and a chain from Wal-Mart. I sewed silver beads onto the front of his tunic to simulate buttons, but sadly his beard hides all of them!

At KYJoe, I displayed Rasputin floating with some Marvel Legend Magneto hand effects! I added the G.I. Joe Man of Mysteries in an incapacitated state to show how much of a threat this villain is to the Adventure Team!

I got second place and used the prize money to help buy an exclusive Cotswold 12 inch Super Joe!

I was very satisfied with my end result of the Mad Monk. I received much applause for him at the show as well. Some folks would condemn me for making such an evil character in history, but hey, it's charlatans like this that give reasons for G.I. Joe to exist in the first place!

For coverage of the KYJoe 2022 convention, click here!

To learn more about the hair rooting process, click here!

My next big project will probably be the Midwestern Adventurer vs. the Cybernatic Mining Prospector.

Stay tuned!

-Chuck