I'm a big fan of Pokemon. It's one of my favorite things in the world, hands down. However the action figures have been pretty lacking for the last 18 or so years since Red and Blue first came out. There is, as far as I know only 1 actual figure for Red, the character from the games that Ash is based on and frankly, I think it leaves a lot to be desired.

There are a few Ash Ketchem figures though, and the recent X&Y figure ain't bad. He's got great articulation and is pretty well scaled for Marvel Legends figures, compared to how tall you'd imagine a 12 year old is compared to, say, Captain America. When I saw him hanging in Target I snatched him up right away, however it took me a solid year to actually begin this project, mainly out of fear of ruining one of my favorite video game characters of all time.

I started by sanding him down completely and then cutting off the little crop of hair on Ash's forehead. Then I painted him up to match the Pokemon Trainer's clothing as close as possible. Ash's current anime outfit actually matches up pretty well, which I was surprised to see. It's not exact, but it's very close. The backpack attaches with a magnet. I attached some pouches to the sides from a Bucky Cap belt and then used some painted leather straps which just stick into the back of the pack itself. The little Poke... thing on his left strap I crafted and painted from some scrap parts I had laying around.

Personally, I love it. I've wanted a figure of Red since he first appeared in the Fire Red and Leaf Green remakes about 10 years ago and I'm quite happy with how he came out. Now all I need is for them to make that son of a gun Gary to create a rival to go with him.