What kind of figure should I get?

Well, It's been a busy week as well as a busy weekend. I am trying to catch up so i can take a break. I have about ten figures in different stages of completion. My favorite is "the Colonel. Here is a picture of his head. I also finished Deter, the cute one with the big ears, Wanda, the girl and Milton, with the Auburn hair.

I was contacted by Kate from California who has become interested in Ventriloquism from watching Ventriloquist week on Letterman. (Thank you Dave (-: ) She asked me what kind of dummy should she start with and what she can do to learn how to be a ventriloquist.

The best figure to start with is one that is economical. You don't want to spend a thousand dollars on a figure and then decide you don't like ventriloquism. The best kind of figure in my opinion is a conversion figure. I'm not just saying that because I make them. Conversion figures are the cheapest way to go to learn. The animations are professional movements and it gives you the opportunity to make it come to life. It's hard to do that with a stuffed Celebrity figure. The only animation it has is it's mouth movement. To be good, you need those animations such as the 360 degree head movement so he can look around. Eye movement so he can look at people and raising eyebrows which can be used for a multitude of different expressions.

I make all my figures with those animations.because in my opinion, they are the top three.

As for astudy course, there are a million of them out there. Ebay is full of them ranging from 5 dollars and up. BUT.... If you really want a course that will take the time to teach you properly and grade you as well as follow your progress, the Maher course for ventriloquism is without a doubt the best there is. Clinton Detweiler is the author of the new millenium addition and he sells them on ebay. You can contact him at his Blog which is newsyvents, and can also be purchased through Dummyworks.com

Of course there are other good courses out there. Rick Fisher has a basic course that he sells on ebay for under 20 dollars which I reviewed and think it is a great starter course.

I hope i have helped you Kate and if you have any further questions or anyone for that matter, you can contact me at gepettosworkshop@yahoo.com. I will help you any way I can.

Over the next couple of months i have some projects that have been trying to get started.

I purchased a cast head from Dave Boiano that I am going to bring to life. A good casting. I also was given an old Jerry Lane figure. The date inside the head was 1972. It was cast out of somew kind of rubber. The hands are the old style and it has solid legs with a shoe attached. It was in a barn and has to be completely restored. (it has a hornets nest inside the head!)

I also purchased this sad looking woman figure with ping pong ball eyes and missing a leg, I plan to give her a new lease on life. I hope you all have a great week. Keep on venting!