Tintin & Snowy

I've been a Tintin fan since my first visit to the library when I was about 5 or 6 years old. I was a pretty avid reader anyway, but once I entered the section of the library with oversize hardback books, and discovered Tintin (and Asterix, and Oompa the Indian, and Lucky Luke etc) I was hooked. Hergé's unique style, the subject matter, the characters, the exotic settings - I read, and re-read them over and over again.

We're fast approaching Tintin's 100 year anniversary as his first appearance was in 1929, he's not looking bad for a nonagenarian!

I've wanted to make a Tintin MOC for a while, although there's already some sublime examples on IDEAS, with a few even hitting the 10k goal I think. Rather than recreating another Destination Moon rocketship, or the fabulous shark submarine from Red Rackham's Treasure (A project I saw and supported recently), so I decided to build Tintin himself.

Having shared a work-in-progress version with a few people, the question that came up the most was "But where is Snowy?" So, I had to add him in as well - although his original name is of course Milou.

I chose the well known 'running in a spotlight pose' as Tintin is an adventurer as much as he is a world-famous journalist. I think he's often seen in a different outfit in this pose, but I decided to stick with his more famous outfit of the white shirt, blue jumper and iconic plus-fours.

I've used joints to make the character pose-able, and I might try and create an animation with the model at some point, but getting a proper run-cycle is going to be a little time consuming.

The model has 812 parts, and would require some new colours for hinges and joints, but I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting some recolours for those elements! :D

I've added some stickers/prints for Tintin and Snowy's eyes, eyebrows and mouths. Getting the exact proportions of Herge's design, is NOT easy. It's incredible how just a couple of millimetres can distinguish a Hergé original from even the best fan art out there. The same is true of Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts strips and Bill Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes... the proportions and line weights are EVERYTHING! :D

The number of Tintin-inspired MOCs that I've seen, both on IDEAS and at conventions convinces me that there is definitely an audience for this project, and the anniversary's approach could be a wonderful opportunity for The Lego Group to join in the celebrations.