This is my custom Leonardo, made from a 2012 Donatello, like many others. I feel Don's expression, stance and just the figure overall gives off more of a Leo feel. I also wanted him to look like the original 1989 figure's skin tone.

I started off by removing the belt and belly from the figure, then sanding down the figure, paying extra attention to the joints and fingers. I used an exacto knife to scratch up the joints themselves, which really helps the paint to adhere.

After sanding is done I washed with soap and water. All paints used are acrylic. I then did one coat of the custom mixed green on the legs, arms, shoulders and head. If it should chip, the paint tends to stick really well and the original colors underneath don't come through. After the skin I painted the elbow pads regular brown, and a medium gray for the wrist and feet wraps, with an off white for the finger bandages. The shell got a very dark green coat, followed by a brick red coat on the raised portions, and his sides. I paint the bandanna white first, then blue to make it pop more, and finally I give the skin a second and final coat of green. The belly is ocra yellow.

Leo's belt doesn't fit the Donnie figure well, so I created my own from leather strips, and 2 silver rings, which I found at Michael's. I then cut up the scabbard from Leo's belt to hold his new swords.

The swords are 2 different TMNT weapons glued together. The blades and guards is from the extra sword that comes with Leo and the handles are Michelangelo's Nunchucks. I sanded the Nunchucks down a bit, then glued the blade on top. I painted all the parts, then used masking tape colored blue wrapped around the handle. To get the masking tape to really stay I used super glue. This allows the swords to come in and out of his hands without paint chipping, a common problem with these figures' weapons. I didn't have a problem with the original swords, I just wanted to try my hand at making new ones and I think they came out really well.

I use super glue to reattach the belly, attach the belt and scabbard and a super fine permanent marker for the line work on his belly. Finalize it with a clear sealant and the figure is done.