Miniature Customization: Wonder Bread He-Man (Dollar Tree Figurine Redeco)

This being my 31 Days of Customs, not every project is going to be some big, involved production like a top-to-bottom action figure customization or a full miniature conversion. Expect a few quickies this month too and a Dollar Tree He-Man figurine provided me with the perfect fodder for that (see my article on the Dollar Tree Disco Skeletor).

The moment I picked this figurine up, I knew from the start what I wanted to do with it, and that’s redeco it as an homage to the mythical Wonder Bread He-Man figure. If you don’t know the legend behind Wonder Bread He-Man, the mysterious mail-away figure from the 1980’s, it’s probably one of toy collecting’s greatest rabbit holes. If you’re interested in the story behind Wonder Bread He-Man (aka Wundar aka Savage He-Man), I highly recommend Toy Galaxy’s video on the subject as well as the possible origin behind this collectible holy grail from Spector Creative.

Backstory aside, here’s the piece right out of the package. After washing it in warm water and dish soap to get rid of any factory chemicals/mold release coatings, I primed the figurine with Bulldog Adhesion Promoter. Unlike the spray paint primers I used up until now, Bulldog is a clear coat and while you can’t see it, you can definitely feel it as it gives the soft plastic much more “bite” (hence why it’s called an adhesion promoter). I let the figurine sit for about 20 minutes and it was ready for paint.

Instead of completely repainting every centimeter of the figurine like I typically would when I’m laying down a basecoat, I thought I would try something a little different here. Since Wonderbread He-Man is often depicted (at least from what I can tell) as having slightly darker skin than He-Man, it occurred to me that my Vallejo Flesh Wash is typically quite dark when applied to a lighter fleshtone. So I merely applied the flesh wash to the existing skin color to darken it up. I tried not to go too heavy, since I’m trying to make a Wonder Bread He-Man and not a John Blackstar, but I knew I would dry brush over it a little later on if it ended up being too dark or pooled in certain areas too much (which tends to look like dirt, which is a cool effect but not what I was going for here).

The flesh wash did exactly what I’d hoped in giving the default skin more of a tan, saving me a ton of time.

Up next were the other key aspects that make a Wonder Bread He-Man, his brown hair, black harness, black belt, and black boots. Since the bracelets are typically flesh colors on the actual figure (or one of the many recreations, if indeed there is an actual figure), I decided to leave those alone for the time being. I didn’t feel like messing with the Sword of Power either.

For the harness, belt, and boots, I used Citadel Abbadon Black (which I dare say is the finest black hobby paint I’ve ever used) and I went with Citadel Dryad Bark for his hair and furry trunks. I intentionally went with a darker brown here because again, I knew I would be dry brushing on a lighter shade of brown.

Before adding a Citadel Nuln Oil wash to certain areas of the figure (the trunks, harness, sword, and bracers), I painted the cross on his harness white (using Vallejo White). Yeah, I probably could have used some Green Stuff to go the full distance and make him a Zodak harness like the one Wonder Bread He-Man is often depicted wearing but I wanted to keep this project simple.

Similarly, I got the idea to maybe paint the base white and the Masters of the Universe logo on it blue and red as a nod to the Wonder Bread logo, but the white wasn’t covering and I just painted it with Citadel Mechanicus Standard Gray. I brushed on some Citadel Mephiston red over the Masters of the Universe logo and left it at that.

For the dry-brushing stage, I went a shade lighter on the skin by mixing up some Citadel Reikland Fleshshade with a few drops of Reaper Harvest Brown. I went over the areas of the skin that looked “dirty” due to the excess flesh wash pooling and drying and certain spots that I missed previously. For the hair and trunks, I knew I wanted something that was a midtone between something as dark as Dryad Bark and as light as Harvest Brown, and I ultimately picked some Vallejo Chocolate Brown.

Once that was out of the way, I sprayed the figurine with a flat matte finish protective clear coat/sealant and I was pleased with the end result. Just a quick and dirty project to keep my 31 Days of Customization rolling along. It’s a pretty token customization and hardly the most original idea, but the story of Wonder Bread He-Man has mystified me for years (along with the tale of the elusive Marlboro Wheeljack) and I feel like making your own Wonder Bread He-Man is a kind of rite of passage for customizers.

Here he is side-by-side with the original Dollar Tree figurine.

And to cap things off, here he is with my Disco Skeletor miniature.