subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Mon, Nov 09 2009 

Resources

print this story   Print this story
  Post to del.icio.us

Photos


Danielle Palmer and her husband, Benjamin Derr, of Lewisburg, are shown with the Sarah Palin collectible doll made by their company, Boskoes Toys. See an online video report at www.dailyitem.com.
Justin Engle/The Daily Item /


Published September 27, 2008 06:02 am - She's the mother of five, a governor and the first female Republican to run for vice president of the United States. And now she's also an action figure.

Lewisburg couple create action figure


By Jerri Brouse
For The Daily Item

LEWISBURG -- She's a mother of five, a governor and the first female Republican to run for vice president of the United States. And now she's also an action figure.

Danielle Palmer and her husband, Benjamin Derr, of Lewisburg, owners of Boskoes Toys, have made hundreds of action figures in the past three years. Most, Palmer said, are modeled after popular action heroes such as Spider-Man or Captain America, but every so often someone comes along that inspires them to create something a little out of the ordinary.

"Anyone who is part of pop culture is fair game to us," Palmer said.

The couple has also done likenesses of Barack Obama, Hillary and Bill Clinton, and the "Mind Freak" -- Chris Angel. The Palin figure, though, is by far the best likeness she's done, Palmer said.

"I wasn't entirely happy with the others," she said.

It took about two days for Palmer to complete the figure, which comes with a toy gun, hockey stick, stage and microphone, as well as several other accessories a working mom and politician might need. She worked from a photograph of Palin downloaded from the Internet. Then, using some basic parts, including a base face, Palmer alters the figure as needed.

"I will file things off or add features with sculpting material, such as her hair and ears," Palmer said.

Palmer said it doesn't matter that hers isn't the only Palin doll available. The Boskoes doll is still an original and will be a valuable addition to someone's collection.

"We actually got the idea when we noticed another company was doing dolls of Sarah Palin and they were really selling," Palmer said. "In our realm of work, we all kind of get ideas from each other -- try to one-up each other -- and we thought the action figure would be different, rather than just selling her as a Barbie-type of doll."

Palmer and Derr have been making and selling their action figures full time for about three years. It was Derr's interest in collecting the figures that spurred the idea.

"We saw that people were out there customizing these figures and we've been into sculpting for a long time and thought We could do this,'" Palmer said.

And so they did. With just $300 in start-up money, the couple began creating and selling their own action figures on eBay, but soon branched out into doing commission work.

"We do a lot of commission stuff," Derr said. "People have sketches of their own items and we've made original characters."

An original is exactly what the Sarah Palin figure is. There is only one and there will be only one like this, Palmer said.

"We try to limit our pieces to one just because the people are collectors and buy them for collectible purposes," Palmer said.



print this story    email this story   





Customer Service
Free Coupons to Print


autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premium Jobs

Full Time Accountant
SEDA-COUNCIL OF
GOVERNMENTS

FT ACCOUNTANT

Primary responsibilities -
budget forecasting,
...>MORE

HVAC Engineer


Air Management Technologies, Inc.
1776 Industrial Blvd.
Lewisburg, PA 17837
EOE

HV
...>MORE

Experienced Roofers
EXP. ROOFERS: Must have own truck, equip., & crew. Ready to start. Call 570-568-0222....>MORE

Energy Consultants
A GREEN COMPANY
Now Hiring, Energy Consultants for our Lewisburg & Danville offices. Applicants must possess a high
...>MORE

Air Quality Specialist
Up to $15.60/hr to start.
Air Quality Specialist. Local outlet. 25/30 people to start immediately. No exp. nec. Com
...>MORE

See all ads


Domes and Spires book Free Coupons Circulation Updates Promises - weddings - engagements- anniversaries Photo Gallery Subscribe now - Inside PA Tv Channels Public Notices Mortgage Rates Pennsylvania Lottery

 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index