Galactus

Fantastic 4: First Steps was released in the summer of 2025. This coincided with Tidewater Comicon in June 2025. Galactus was always on my wishlist of statues I wanted to make because I wanted was something to rival the 9 foot tall Thanos I did a few years earlier. I wanted to make something bigger but due to the limitations of the materials I was working with, I was only able to make this about 8.5 feet tall.

I started by cutting thin triangles down the sides of 3 cheap floor mat sheets to make a trapezoid shape. 3 more sheets with a slightly wider trapezoid shape were cut at put aside to form the top half of the head. When the 3 lower sheets are glued together, it creates a tapered cone shape. Before doubling the height of the head, I cut out the face and eyes and added a bottom neck to the cone for stability. Another layer of foam was added to fill in the holes from the eyes and face to give the illusion of a head inside the helmet. Once everything was stable, I attached the three sheets set aside from before to the head to form the top of the helmet. I was then able to cut out the crown shape and add pieces across the top to complete the helmet. Details were then added to mimic how Galactus has been drawn in the comics. I 3D printed the round ears and used a PVC pipe structure inside the head to provide support to hold the “horns” in place.

Originally I used the scrap “puzzle piece” edges from floor mats to create a rigid inner core for the horns. This was then glued and wrapped inside of a cardboard shell. My original plan was to have the horns attach to a slot in the 3D printed ears. The horns were too heavy and I discovered with the horns attached, the whole head was a few inches too wide to fit in my car.

To deal with the weight issue, I cut the horns open and removed as much of the foam as I could reach. The cardboard shell covered in 2mm foam was sturdy enough to keep it’s shape. To make the horns detachable, I 3D printed a 2 piece keyed grooved track. The male connector was attached in the empty slot in the ear and the female connector was hidden in horn. Since the groove was vertically oriented, there was no fear this would fall out during the convention.

I created a skirt to go over the hips and legs. Same techniques I use for most statue pieces. It’s a cardboard base covered in 2mm foam with details added. The opening on the top of the skirt rests over the hips. I found a 3D model of the Earth on the internet and sized it to fit in the LEGO hand. I enjoyed hand painting this model. It includes a hurricane painted just off the shore of Virginia.