It has been my pleasure the past few days including Thanksgiving day to have had a very special guest staying with me. Lee Dunn, one of the few makers who has made McElroy figure replicas, has come to visit with me. He is a terrific builder and knows so much about the mechanics in the old figures. He likes to go through the Ventriloquist Central Collection and tweek the figures mechanics that are needy and of course I don’t mind.
His first McElroy figure is a permanent part of the Ventriloquist Central collection (click here to see this figure) and it is fun to watch him pick up that Johnny figure and see his eyes sparkle as he holds his creation. He has told me he loves this particular figure because it was his first and he took care to make it so exact to the original minus a couple of the functions. Lee knows it is also one of my favorite figures.
Lee has also done some paint touch ups for me on a couple figures. He is a terrific craftsman and I really enjoy his visits. This is his second. He told me he was quite amazed at the increase in the number of figures in the collection since his last visit. I too am amazed at the increase in size. I don’t see it as much because they are here with me all the time, but Lee was having fun telling me about the figures he had not seen since his last visit. I too have had fun having him as my guest!!
Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com
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Dan Willinger is a ventriloquism enthusiast and ventriloquist figure collector. He has been collecting for over 25 years. He created the Ventriloquist Central Collection. It now has over 100 ventriloquist figures and over 50 of them are Frank Marshall figures. Because of his love for the art of ventriloquism, Mr. Willinger created the website Ventriloquist Central. For more information about the website, go to: http://www.ventriloquistcentral.com
Copyright 2010 by Dan Willinger
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LOVE those McElroy figures!!! Always have. Where do you pick up “correct McElroy Johnny Casting” head & body?
does someone sell them?
Thanks-
MR
Mike I purchased the completed figure from Lee. There is no place that I know of that you can just purchase McElroy parts. They are prised pieces and no one really lets them go. Once in a very great while you may find a casting for sale on ebay but again that is only once in a while.