A munny is a blank vinyl figure from collectible toy manufactures Kidrobot. They come in three sizes – 4 inches and 8 inches and a mega munny which is the size of a small child (18 inches). As well as they have small blind boxed versions of Munny that can be used as zipper pulls or key chains. Recently kidrobot has also released some new members to the 4″ munny family. Bub (hippo), Rooz (baby kangaroo), Raffy (giraffe), and Trikky (cat). They sometimes release them in different colorways or you can dye them to make your own, as I will explain later. Aside from the mega Munny, the mini comes with one random accessory, marker and a sticker, the 8 inch comes with four random accessories, and a coloring book. Later I will also explain how you can make accessories or add detail to the body.
Theres really no wrong way to decorate a Munny, as the packaging says “Use crayons, pencils, finger paint, ketchup, or anything else you can think of.” But this article will give you some ideas to help you get started.
You can custom dye your munny any color by using Rit Fabric dye, which can be found at most stores. Either the powder mix or liquid works equally well. Fill a large pot with water and mix in the dye and bring it to a boil (you do not need to add salt to the mix as the directions say). Remove the head from the body as the body will swell up a little with the heat if you do not. I recommend plugging up the holes in the munny’s neck and head with something, I use blue tack that is used for hanging posters, so the water does not get inside the parts. The dying process goes very quick so I also recommend to remove the pieces frequently and rinse with cold water till you reach the desired color. Dry with a old towel or something you dont mind a little dye getting on. And its ready to decorate.
I usually do a rough sketch with the provided sticker that is in the package to get an idea of what I’m going to do. Then I will take a pencil and put a light outline on the body before I paint in the details so theres less chance of a mistake. If you sketch on the body very lightly mistakes usually can be erased off with a standard eraser no problem (even after the body had been dyed).
If I’m going to paint a munny I usually use acrylic paint. Its inexpensive and can be bought almost anywhere. occasionally I will use paint markers or spray paint depending on the desired effect I want. If you use spray paint I recommend a quality brand like Montana, it costs a little more but has smooth coverage, good selection of colors and does not drip like your hardware store brands.
The best way to make your own accessories as well as adding to the body is with sculpey clay. I recommend using Premo! sculpey as it has some elasticity after baking and doesn’t break easily (the finished product should still be handled with care!). Its also easier to manipulate and hold shape then regular sculpey. It’s a bit more in ost than the regular sculpey, but is well worth the extra. Its usually about $.50 more per brick of clay. And depending on what your doing, one brick gives you a pretty decent amount of clay. When altering the munny you can attach sculpey directly to its body. Once you have the desired effect sculpey requires it be baked at 275F for 30 minutes per 1/4″ thickness to harden. Munny can withstand this temperature so it can be placed directly into the oven with no problems. Although just like with the dying, I also recommend to remove the head from the body and bake separately if possible. I have baked a whole munny but I took a small drill and put a tiny hole where it would not be noticeable to allow the pressure to release while baking. Note on the dyed munnys, if you dye them and decide to sculpt and bake them the color will slightly fade.
Upon finishing if you have decided to go with painting the munny, you should use some type of sealer to protect the finish. If you dyed the munny I definitely recommend some sort of sealer, again the color will fade a bit if not. I figured this out as I have customized about ten so far. I like using a matte spray to finish it off. Try different things and see what works for you.
