FINAL FANTASY IV
BIG CHOCOBO PROJECT #647 CREATED: APRIL 2020 The Big Chocobo is one of the more unusual creatures from Final Fantasy IV. A legendary being with a huge appetite, Cecil Harvey learned quickly that the Big Chocobo could be summoned with a simple Carrot, and proceeded to voraciously gobble up anything he offered to it. This includes not just food or consumable potions, but weapons, armor, and anything else he happened to be carrying. Thankfully, the Big Chocobo didn't actually digest any of these items, and would gleefully regurgitate them (yuck!) upon request. Whether or not Cecil still wanted them after they had been liberally slathered in Chocobo slobber and stomach acid was anyone's guess, of course! (The in-game function of the Big Chocobo was to temporarily hold inventory items that you'd acquired, which you didn't want to necessarily sell off, but which still took up precious slots in your main inventory. You usually had to hunt down the Big Chocobo at specific spots within the game, though eventually you could find one on board the Big Whale, your main mode of transportation. You could also summon the Big Chocobo at any time using a Whistle, if you happened to find one.) To build a figure of the Big Chocobo, I started with a toy of Ducky from Toy Story 4. He was roughly the right size and proportions that I was looking for. I had to build new wings to replace his hands, sculpted all-new clawed feet, made him a new beak, and I also added some feather tufts to his tail and the back of his head. (I sculpted the parts separately and glued them to the toy, so I wouldn't have to bake the entire toy in the oven.) I repainted the toy completely, using an airbrush to create the white-to-yellow gradient on his belly and face. The toy remains articulated at the legs and shoulders, though he makes the most sense in a seated position. I also gave him a carrot toy to hold, slicing a piece of it open and carving out enough plastic to stuff a tiny neodymium magnet into it. I did the same with his wing, so he can "hold" the carrot without needing actual working fingers. |
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