FINAL FANTASY IV
STALEMAN PROJECT #620 CREATED: JANUARY 2019 The Staleman was an odd, unliving creation made of enchanted metallic ore. Willed into existence by powerful sorcerers, the Staleman guarded its position fiercely and would fight to the death anyone who dared oppose it. One such Staleman protected a treasure chest in the ruined castle of Eblan, and was encountered by Cecil Harvey and his traveling companions while exploring the castle ruins. The Staleman was capable of throwing punches so powerful that they could knock an opponent unconscious with a single blow. Defeating this specific Staleman netted Cecil the Slumber sword, capable of producing the same effect. Cecil's group would encounter additional Stalemen in Cave Eblana, both as wandering monsters and also protecting a treasure box containing the potent Drain spear. The Staleman's greatest weakness was a dose of fresh ice-based magic, which made its metallic body brittle and easily-broken. (It's highly probable that the name of the Staleman was mistranslated into English, and that it was almost certainly intended to be Steelman. In the Game Boy Advance remake of Final Fantasy IV, He was indeed renamed Steel Golem.) To create action figures of the Staleman (as well as the Ironman and Stoneman, who share the same game sprite design), I started with the Stone Biter action figure from the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy line. He had the right build, and already looked like he was made of rock. I changed his fingers and toes with Sculpey modeling compound, and sculpted an entirely new head for him as well. If we assume that he's really made of steel (which is blue-grey in color), then why is he reddish-purple in the game? It dawned on me that perhaps the reason he's colored red is because he's rusting. He might have been created ages ago and has been exposed to the elements for a very long time. Giving him rust spots would also help to distinguish him, visually, from my Stoneman and Ironman projects. I envision the purple color as being paint covering a raw metal alloy, so in addition to the rust spots, he's also got some bare metal visible in places. I figured he fights primarily with his fists (and with his feet, to a lesser extent), so those are the parts of him that are the most damaged. |
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