Wooden peg dolls are fun, they make great gifts, and they make wonderful additions to your collectables shelf. For those who have been following this blog for a long time, you have seen my intricate Babylon 5 peg dolls. I decided it’s time to take a minimalist approach and post a DIY for you all!
I chose Star Trek: The Original Series because their uniforms are basic, and skimping on the details won’t matter. Why? They still look great, and you can identify them as Star Trek from a mile away.
What you will need:
1 (or more) blank wooden peg
1 Pencil
2 Paint brushes – 1 tiny brush, and 1 small/medium brush
Acrylic paints – you can get a basic set fairly cheap
1 Cup of water and paper towel (to wash/dry the brushes)
1 flat surface to hold the paint – a paper plate will do just fine
The first thing you want to do is to sketch your design onto the peg(s). The trick is to emphasize characteristics unique to that character so that the minimalist approach won’t matter. For this exercise, I am doing a peg doll of Ensign Chekov and myself (hey, who hasn’t wanted to be a part of their favorite TV show?).
Chekov is known for his yellow/gold shirt and the way his brown hair is parted. Those will be the two aspects I will emphasize. I have curly brown hair…and etc!
Dot the eyes and mouth with the tiny brush and let it dry (it only takes a few minutes!). You want to do the face first because you will need to hold onto the head when you start painting the body.
Once the face dries, hold the peg between your thumb and index finger. I like to hold the base of the peg on my thumb while my forefinger presses down on the top of its head. It makes it easy for me to turn it as I paint the body because it helps keep both of my hands steady.
With that being said, be careful; you may get paint on your thumb! Keep a watchful eye and immediately wipe it off in order to prevent it from smudging a spot you’ve already painted.
Paint the large, basic areas first (ex: Chekov’s yellow shirt and black pants).
Next, paint the black collar with the tiny brush. It should look like a simple, triangular stripe as shown. Let the body dry before you start the hair (you will need to hold onto the body in order to finish the head). In this case, I grabbed the “me” doll and started painting her red dress and black shoes while I waited for Chekov to dry. By the time I finished her outfit, he was dry.
…And here we have them! Two Star Trek: The Original Series peg dolls.
Guess how long they took?
Thirty minutes!
That’s it–thirty minutes for two dolls! You can apply the minimalist technique to any show and end up painting some awesome pegs.
