FINAL FANTASY IV
SAND MAN PROJECT #653 CREATED: JULY 2020 The Sand Man was a creature which, true to its name, preferred the arid climates of the realm. With a pair of eyes with a come-hither gleam, the Sand Man was frequently found within the Kaipo desert as well as the sandy dunes surrounding Damcyan. It was not uncommon to find them traveling with the Sandpede, another desert-dweller. Despite their fearsome appearance, Mr. Sand Man was not a difficult monster to destroy. Early in his adventures, Cecil Harvey and his companin Kain had little trouble putting these monsters to sleep for good. (In the Game Boy Advance remake of Final Fantasy IV, the Sand Man was renamed Desert Sahagin. Those who have played Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest may also recall the Desert Hag, another creature similar in appearance. All of them are based on the Sahuagin, a humanoid fish creature from Dungeons & Dragons.) To build an action figure of the Sand Man (and the WaterHag, who is identical in design), I wanted to start with a fish-like toy. I stumbled upon the existence of the Phibious character from a Great Britain franchise, Matt Hatter Chronicles. As an American, I was totally unfamiliar with the series or toy line, but I recognized how perfect the Phibious toy was for this project. I really didn't have to make too many physical modifications; I built some new dorsal fins for his back out of Sculpey, and gave him some new, puffy fish lips, but that was about it. The paint job was accomplished with a combination of drybrushing and airbrushing. |
|