Glorbesworld

Let there be light!

2011-12-04T22:40:00.004-04:00

I'm part of a great model club here in NS, and one of the members was kind enough to walk me through the basics of adding LEDs to models. Such things as positive, negative, 3 volts, and and the dangers of soldering irons were learned very quickly by me...its amazing how quickly something is demystified when you're shown how its done. Anyway, this is my first foray into actually rigging up custom lighting...and I'm reallly excited by the potential of it here. The cove lighting was purposely designed to be translucent in case I decided to do this, and I'm glad I had at least that amount of foresight. I may add the wacky colors as a clear coat to the light panels, but for now I'll leave them clear.

Bridge Update - breaking it to make it better!

2011-11-27T23:29:00.002-04:00

I had attached a bunch of the sections together, and in theory they should have all fit like a puzzle. But that is not what happened. There were massive gaps between the viewscreen, weapons checkout station, and navigation and Spock's station (see first picture in above sequence). I realized the only way to fix this was to essentially crack open some of my work very carefully, and separate the consoles from the walk way. I held my breath during the operation, but I'm glad I did this...the fit will be much tighter, and the continuous walk way looks MUCH better. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and do something drastic to fix a project like this.

A note on the use of the Internet in a project like the Bridge

2011-11-25T11:20:00.003-04:00

Hi there! I just wanted to draw attention to a few items. First off, the Bridge model I'm working on is loaded with images and graphics that I have converted into custom decals. These images did not spring forth from the ether, nor did I design and create them all. They are culled from photographs, as well as from custom design graphics that were created by artists scattered around the Internet, which I have had no hand in creating.

First up, I want to direct you all to the Star Trek Prop Authority, an amazing resource that catalogues thousands of great images of Star Trek props, costumes, models, and everything else. The images he has amassed of the various small readout screens of the Bridge provided the backbone of my decaling, which to me is all the more authentic because they are actual pictures of the original props.

Next up is LIBRCOMP, a user on deviantART who created some very crisp and hard to find images I needed to complete the effect of an authentic Enterpise. Of particulat interest are the 'Condition Alert' screen, the black field with multicolord lines that was so frequently seen on the overhead viewers during the show, and a few unique smaller readout displays.

One decal/image that I cannot find the creator of is the astrogator display. I found it here and it was a huge coup, because I was not having any luck pulling a nice clean image to make it a decent looking detail.

Last but not least, the master of the bridge display, Feek61, who has actually created animated displays from scratch. I didn't knowingly use his images for my bridge, but his work has been pilferred by others because of how accurate and awesome it is, and his forum did provide a lot of helpful information.

The Internet would not exist without people providing content...it can be easy to simply ignore the work that goes into something and not give credit. There are no doubt images that I have used that still need a proper credit (overheard viewer displays, viewscreen images), but I wanted to acknowledge these guys...without them, my Bridge would be pretty sad looking (or look even more sad than it does, if you take my meaning).

Bridge Progress

2011-11-14T23:29:00.004-04:00

The Bridge couldn't stay down! I've been alternating between a couple of projects, and have been sitting on my bridge progress for a while, but the work I did on the viewscreen was too exciting for me not to post. I printed a bunch of images from the Original Series show onto card stock, resized and printed them, and stuck them to the outer shell of the bridge. And voila! Instant viewscreen images! The cool thing is that when the viewscreen pictures are not in place, it offers a peep hole into the completed diorama. Gotta love low-tech!

Steve Neill's Enterprise

2011-10-15T08:31:00.002-03:00

This Enterprise model is a scratch-build by an extremely talented modeler named Steve Neill. He has extensive experience in the film industry, and is a professional modeler, but this project was a tru labour of love for him...and boy does it show. Link to his blog is HERE, and the build thread on the Replica Prop Forum is HERE. He built a master, then casted and molded kits from it. This is his kit nearly complete...and boy am I blown away. Awesome, awe inspiring work.

The Bridge: Phase 1 Complete

2011-10-02T18:00:00.003-03:00

This is what I have in me to complete at the moment. All of the stations of the major characters are included, and it should make for a great display. Lots of work, custom decaling (thanks to lots of Google searches...there is a lot of uncredited contributors to this thing). I will eventually complete the final five stations and the viewscreen...but I have other projects to do. This was a great deal of fun.

Bridge Update

2011-09-06T08:26:00.004-03:00

The bridge crawls forward. Time is at a premium these days, and I am wanting my projects to be purely recreational. That being said, I seem to have less fortitude than I did earlier this year...where did it go? Anyway, I finished up the captain's chair (see my little Shatner...he's proud as punch). I also detailed the helm and navigation console (I had fun making Sulu's targeting scope dealie). I also roughed out some pretty 2-D Burke chairs...not accurate, but they cut the right silhoutte. I actuall have the helm/navigation painted, but haven't had time to photograph them...I'll get on that soon.

The Bridge

2011-08-22T20:15:00.002-03:00

Oh yeah. The Diamond Select figures are awesome...they're what I wanted the Playmates and Mego figures to be, but never were. I snagged three of the two-packs, meaning that the only regular crew member I don't have is Chekov. The reason...I wanted to build The Bridge. I will be doing this project in a modular fashion, since the overall bridge is going to be over 2 1/2 feet wide, and that is friggin' huge when you're taking into account a basically circular object. The build is all styrene so far. I may even try to squeeze in a few blinking lights for good measure.

The Enterprise and Photediting!

2011-06-17T22:04:00.002-03:00

My low-level skillz with GIMP photo-editing software!

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701

2011-06-12T14:50:00.005-03:00

Every build should up your skill and challenge you. This model is the very essence of all of those things. Lord knows it isn't accurate...B and C deck section's too tall...the sensor array is made from a dollar store wine glass base, and is totally innaccurate, and the thickness of the primary hull is about 1/8 of an inch too thick. The shuttle bay section is definitely not accurate. But you know what? I am pretty proud of this ship...I'd have to say that having this model is like fulfilling one of those life-long ambitions (as stupid as that sounds). I would have lost my mind if I had this when I was ten or eleven...and like so many other things that I do, I'm motivated by what I imagined was possible when I was a kid. This thing is lumpy in places, and far from uniform and perfect...but I'm really glad that I have it.

Star Destroyer

2011-06-04T10:07:00.006-03:00

The Enterprise is coming along (first decals have been laid, still more work to do), but I wanted to mention my next planned project before I began the preparations. I plan on maing a Kenner/Hasbro style Star Destroyer. I haven't settled on the scale, but I want it to be big, but manageable for a kid to play with. The main challenges will be to make it sturdy, have a respectable amount of detail without taking me years to make it, and be modular for storage or shipping. I have no idea how I'm going to do any of these things.

I'm imagining hinged access panels with play set-like sections, rotating gun turrets, and a bridge superstructure that contains a bridge that is at the very least kind of reminiscent of the one from The Empire Strikes Back (including a big window for Darthy to grumpily pace in front of and strangle people and junk).

The angular profile and design will; be a nice change of pace from the dangerous curves of the Enterprise...but beyond that, I'm a little scared of this build. Which makes it exciting.

Almost there...

2011-06-02T11:16:00.005-03:00

Decals, weathering, and some masking and painting are left (as well as some nice pictures...these ones are not the best), but the Enterprise is almost there.

A few added notes:

The overall grey color is a Krylon Spray Bomb called Pewter Grey...it has a nice, green-blue hint to it that I think is perfect for the Enterprise...perhaps not studio model accurate, but pretty darn sharp looking.

I may revisit the work on the windows...I base-coated the ship silver, masked off the windows with Tamiya tape, and the top-coated. The windows look great when light is glancing off of them, but they all but disappear into the grey hull otherwise. My solution will probably be to cut a large number of rectangles from very thin styrene and glue them to the surface of the hull.

The sensor array/dish is made from a dollar store wine glass...I removed the base of the pedestal, cut it down, and built up the middle with plumbers epoxy. The little pin/nub/tip is styrene tubing. It is by far one of the rougher aspects of the model, and I may re-visit it in the future.

One of the aspects of the model that is really bugging me is the phaser emitter base, and the conical part of the primary hull. The emitter/dome should be sitting on a plateau of sorts, instead of tapering directly into the emitter.

Having said that, I'm quite pleased with the results thus far. It was a real bastard of a build, but also a lot of fun.

The launch date approaches...but not yet

2011-05-26T16:44:00.004-03:00

I've traded sleep for working on the Enterpise, and I don't regret it! She's coming along fast and furious now...hoping to have the ship fully painted by the end of next week. The ship is lumpy in a few places, but the overall feel and profile rings true for me. Any ideas on how I should display the final model? I'd like to come up with a novel base, but I don't want to drill any holes in the finished model.

More progress on the 'Prise!

2011-05-24T12:44:00.007-03:00

Bussard Ramscoop!! Those two words alone are enough to make me love Star Trek. Anyway, more progress on this beast...this build is beginning to border on obsession...when I am not working on it, I am thinking about working on it, and I have lost a considerable amount of sleep as sacrifice to this build (the other lovely people in my life are more sane and sleep what is required, which is the time I use to build really big paperweights like this). More puttying and sanding awaits me, but at least I am beginning to work on the funner and finer details. I have a bit more done on this than what is pictured here, but the basic progress as shown in these pictures is pretty close. Many more hours await me, but I must admit that this really is a blast to make...it really is a dream come true. I actually have a distinct memory of making little Enterprises out of bristol board or cereal box cardboard when I was ten (when I initially really got into Star Trek...a time when I thought "Encounter at Farpoint" was sheer genius, though even I knew there was something amiss with Star Trek V). Anyway, more to come.

A rare post about work

2011-05-19T13:36:00.002-03:00

Check THIS out.

Working in a public library can be a strange adventure. As time passes, I realize how important and challenging the library realm really is, and how poorly that was reflected in my formal education. What was lacking in the classroom is beautifully summed up and elegantly illustrated in the above link. If you are a lover of the library, you will no doubt recognize so much of what is touched upon by this series of illustrations. If you feel the library is a relic of the past, and a useless leech upon the public purse...well...I don't know what to tell you other than you're dead wrong. And the above link is proof of how wrong you are.

Enterprise Update

2011-05-16T08:28:00.004-03:00

Another day, another few pictures of this great white whale slooowly coming together. The way I see it, if I can make this thing not look like a piece of crap when all is said and done, I'll feel prepared to take on a lot of different modeling subjects. This has been a very challenging build. As you can see, the nacelles and primary saucer hull are starting to fill in and take shape.

More work in the shipyards...

2011-05-02T12:13:00.003-03:00

Slowly, the Great Bird's great bird is coming together. The hangar bay, sensor dish housing, and initial surfacing of the secondary hull are in place. This build is far more ambitious than I initially thought...and I'm a little scared. The last picture is for scale...that's the AMT Enterprise that I built in preparation for this big scratchbuild...the kit has an overall length of about 18", and mine is double that.

Where No One Has Gone Before....

2011-04-26T12:07:00.004-03:00

Forgive the irony of the title, because I think the Enterprise is the most modelled fictional creation around. This here is my progress on a scratchbuilt "Big E"...I actually built the AMT re-issued kit from 2009 to use as a scale reference...I bascially took the proportions of the AMT version and multiplied it by two. This thing is friggin' sturdy too...it's built like a tank! Slow progress at this point, but I like how it's coming.

John Carter of Mars....where art thou?

2011-03-29T12:25:00.006-03:00

Alright...enough is enough.

First off, I can't help but love Edgar Rice Burroughs Martian tales. I read the stuff when I was eleven or twelve, and it made an indelible mark on me. I re-read them a few years ago, and despite the supposed sophistication that accompanies 'growing up', the books still have a hold over my imagination. Retrofitted flying ships that once sailed the vast oceans of a dying world, four-armed green martians that are considered short when they're twelve feet tall, and everybody is naked all the time...all of this is prepubescent junk that should be shooed away by the grind of real life. But the love persists. Burroughs can't help but dump his own dated worldviews into his work, and race and gender relations in these books are, to put it mildly, less than modern. But it is the sheer imagination of his Barsoomian tales that holds me in thrall. Reading more reasoned science fiction of today, or consuming the Star Wars variety of space opera seems to pale in comparison to the force and madness of John Carter's insane exploits. They are violent, overwrought, and utterly unmatched in terms of unbridled imaginitiveness. And besides, it's pretty hard to shake a crush on Dejah Thoris...lord knows Carter has killed thousands of beings that stood between him and the love of his life.

What is this post about? It's about the Disney film that is currently in post-production. We're now less than a year away from its release, principal photography has been wrapped for some time...and that's all I or anyone else seems to know. The talent involved makes me very excited about what they can pull off (Stanton and Andrews are Pixar people, and Pixar is about as reliably excellent as a Hollywood production company can be), Michael Chabon had a go at the script, and they have Willem Dafoe playing friggin' Tars Tarkas! But...where's the news? Where's the buzz? John Carter is a century-old property, but most people on the street have never heard of the character. It seems to me that, if you want a film to be a monster hit, shouldn't there be more to sink your teeth into with regard to news? Maybe some concept art? A picture of Willem Dafoe in pajamas with ping pong balls glued to him? Something...anything for goodness sake.

So, Disney...I've given you a sliver of the blogosphere...howsabout you give us a picture or two of what's going on with John Carter of Mars?

Biplane Complete

2011-03-23T12:29:00.004-03:00

Here's the completed plane. Glad this build is over, and despite the fact that it's not very accurate, it was a lot of work and I learned a great deal from its construction. It's a real confidence building piece in many respects.

Last Crusade Biplane in Styrene

2011-03-09T12:44:00.004-04:00

I applied the principles I used in the cardboard test to styrene. Lots of sanding and puttying, trimming and problem solving. I find that as I go, I am running more and more into the limitations of styrene as a material. I posted this on a few forums, and a number of people suggested perhaps transitioning into balsa wood or basswood. That may be the next frontier for me, but for now, styrene will do. Lots more work to do (cockpit detailing, gunner station, landing gear, etc.), but I am enjoying this project...and learning a whole heck of a lot of new tricks. It's certainly been a challenging build thus far.

Last Crusade Biplane in Cardboard?

2011-03-09T12:38:00.005-04:00

I will return to figure customizing one of these days, but while I was in the mood, I wanted to tackle another Indy project. This time, I settled on making the Last Crusade Biplane. Before I scored my first piece of styrene, I did a quick n' dirty test run using cardboard. The best part is that it took, like, two hours to make this! It's ugly, but it helped me get my head around how I was going to make the final product. The best part is that I think this sort of thing will come in handy as my son gets older...I really look forward to making him things like this to totally destroy. More to come shortly!

The Third Indy Tank

2011-02-03T16:09:00.005-04:00

The blog weirdness continues.

This is not only my third Indy tank, but it is in fact from the third movie. Crazy, eh? I spent about a month or so picking away at this, and managed to incorporate some nifty features. The sponson side guns actually rotate, there is a working periscope, and I managed to incorporate my very own hinge for the turret hatch. This is waaay better than my previous tanks, and as always I learned even more about the subject I was constructing (like the fact that while this tank never existed before it was built for this film, it's actually similar to the Mk. VIII 'international' of which there were only 15 built at the end of the First World War). I also learned that Hatay was indeed a short-lived republic between 1938-39, and that it's depiction in the film is (of course) quite innacurate (it did not have a sultan, as is suggested in the movie). Incidentally, I am selling this tank if anyone is interested.

Rocket Ship Battlefish

2011-01-09T15:01:00.005-04:00

The Battlefish is finished! Garish, old-timey colors and a heavy weathering job...this was a big project, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I see my Blogger settings are still wonky, and my attempts to fix the layout have not yielded desired results. Arggh.

Work Posters

2011-01-05T21:40:00.006-04:00

First off, I have no idea what the hell is going on with my blogger settings. I changed NOTHING and now my images are being dumped into the post at random. Anyway, these are a handful of posters I did for my work (I'm a librarian who will take the occasion to produce artwork in my sparetime...but when the opportunity presents itself to merge the two, I will do so without hesitation). I really enjoyed working on these...the booksale ones were my attempt at capturing a lurid pulp style, whereas the northern critters are for a winter reading program promotion. I'm sure that there are a lot of issues with these from a technical point of view, but when someone is okay with paying me to paint pictures, I'm not going to turn them down.

Rocket Ship Update

2011-01-03T23:39:00.004-04:00

Slooow progress on the rocket ship. The rivets took me well over a month, and the interior was just as tedious. Being able to work on this in slivers of time has actually really made me appreciate detailing...it's not a bad thing to have to slow down. The design is really blocky for this, but I'm kind of going for a cross breed of Apollo command module with Flash Gordon and steampunk aesthetic thrown into the mix. I used the same design for the main hatch that I used on my AT-AT model...I love this hatch. More to come (hopefully) soon.

Work in Porgress - Rocket Ship

2010-11-19T09:57:00.004-04:00

It has been a goodly amount of time since I've worked on a project. Partly because of time, and partly because of a lack of ideas and inspiration. But the idea eventually came, and I had a few hours to myself (very rare)...and I hammered out the basic structure shown in the first image. I knew I wanted to make some sort of crazy steampunkish monstrosity, and after a few dead ends and false starts, I wound up making the skeletal framework into a rocket ship. I plan on making it so that it can work in either a straight up launch configuration, or resting on its belly. I have visions of all kinds of retro-futuristic gobbledygook on the interior, and a butt-load of rivets all over the place. The fun part for me was using some hardware store hinges for the lid to access the interior. I also had fun working out the cone-shaped nose of the spacecraft...lots of trial and error, since I suck at math. The main structure is the easy part...the time and difficulty comes from the detailing (it's also the funnest part). You'll notice an action figure in one of the pictures...he's roughly the size of a GI Joe or Star Wars figure. So yeah...this thing's pretty friggin' big.

Stay Tuned.

A long absence...

2010-08-15T09:49:00.003-03:00

Just thought I'd quickly check in.

If you're wondering why there haven't been any custom updates in a million years, it's because I simply haven't had the space, and all of my work materials have been in storage...my wife and I are in the process of buying a house, so my customizing and modeling projects have been in a state of limbo for months. That being said, I have a number of things I'm chomping at the bit to get started on...hopefully sooner rather than later.

Stay tuned....

"Originals" - Jen Finity and Tusket Ford

2010-05-16T12:21:00.005-03:00

Here are a couple of 'original' characters I made a while back (2008 or thereabouts). The hero is Jen Finity, a space pilot of some sort who runs afoul of the evil pirate Tusket Ford (villain+skull=cool). The name 'Tusket Ford" was lifted from a Ford car dealership in Southwest Nova Scotia...probably one of the coolest names ever. Frazetta's Buck Rogers illustrations very much inspired Jen's outfit and color scheme, and the master's passing this last week reminded me of these customs...I figured now was as good a time as any to post them. Call it my own little tip of the hat to the defining fantasy and sci fi artist of the last half-century.

Small-scale Indiana Jones Projects

2010-04-25T21:50:00.006-03:00

Not every custom project has to be an ambitious undertaking. Small-scale modifications can be just as satisfying as a full original sculpt or scratch-build. The frustratingly limited amount of product made for Hasbro's Indiana Jones line was more than I ever dreamed of, but sadly fell short of the line's potential. That being said, there were some solid pieces produced, and just needed a little nudge to make them more to my liking.

Colonel Vogel was repainted from head to toe in acrylics, and I made him a pair of goggles from blister card plastic. Indy's poseable whip was made from cotton covered floral wire.

Cairo dig Indy incorporates the same cloth robe that came with the figure, but I soaked it in watered down white glue and painted and weathered the fabric. I also carved out the portion of the head wrapping under his chin, and made him a headpiece to the staff of Ra and staff from styrene sheet and rod.

The Ark Crate is scratchbuilt from styrene card that I sanded with rough sandpaper to give a wood-grain texture, then painted with spray and acrylic wash, with some serious drybrushing. The Nazi label on the crate was hand painted (I forgot the 'c' in "Deutschen").

The Cargo Truck was good old fashioned dry brushing.

All of these projects were fun, and completed in relatively little time.

Hobgoblin 2006

2010-04-01T19:35:00.002-03:00

Another Oldie! Hobgoblin here was a commissioned piece that I completed in early '06. Looking at him now, I can still appreciate a few things about him...I'm particularly pleased with the junkpile of a glider I managed to kitbash. A movie Spider-Man is the base figure, and what looks like a Marvel Legends Bullseye head (heavily modified of course).

A Quick Note

2010-03-29T00:45:00.003-03:00

I feel a little guilty posting my older customs...I always feel like I should being creating new output to share. But inspiration has been a bit sparse lately. In a way, looking through the old folders of custom photos on my computer has allowed me to re-evaluate my older custom figures, and I'm finding much that I enjoy. The large scale vehicle projects really do a number on me...the AT-AT being my second most ambitious (second only to the Indiana Jones flying wing), and it totally tapped me of all my resolve. You really have to be committed to a project of that scale to see it through...if you don't, then it sits there on your workbench taunting you (believe me, I know how crazy that sounds...but its true). The figures are shorter projects though...but I mined my favorite subjects years ago, and never really could bring myself to return to many of them for a second go around. A few figures and character have been revisited multiple times (stormtroopers, Batman, and a few others), but usually when I burn through a character, that's it. Also, custom figure making for me became almost automatic...the challenge of the process sort of disappeared, and I was spinning my wheels with the same techniques. I think I may need to reset my approach in some way to see if I can make it fun again.

Mr. Freeze 2006

2010-03-29T00:17:00.004-03:00

Back to 2006 for this one. Mr. Freeze is one of those characters that just begs to be redisigned again and again. Added a great deal of gravitas by Paul Dini in the Batman Animated Series, Freeze became one of Batman's best and most tragic foes. My version here was truly an exercise in absurdity...the boots just had to be used, and this seemed like an interesting opportunity. The parts list is long...mostly Marvel Legends and a few random accessories (the giant Ice Pak on his back is from a KISS psycho circus figure). The dome is from a Krazy Glue canister...I loved the way the glue frosted the top of the dome...it photographed beautifully. I think I still have this one kicking around in a box somewhere. One of my favorites.

Batman Serial

2010-03-26T13:35:00.003-03:00

The Columbia Pictures Batman serials are awful. That being said, I've always loved the weird, dumpy look to the Lewis Wilson Batman costume...if Bats was real in the forties, I have no doubt that is precisely what he'd look like. This custom was made three years ago as a commissioned piece, around the same time I made many of my other pulp fiction and serial inspired customs. I love that stuff, and Batman has always been my favorite costumed comic book hero, so it was loads of fun to make him. The base figure was a Marvel Legends Bullseye, and the head is a Professor Xavier with an epoxy sculpted mask. The outfit was fabric...I liked the thicker, baggier look to it...almost like rough canvas that was used for military belts and tarps. The shape of the ears and cowl are actually pretty off-model to the old Wilson costume, but otherwise I like how this one turned out. The Joker in the last picture is one of my oldest surviving customs, and predates my use of fabric and leather.

V-35 Speeder

2010-02-27T21:50:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe that there is any corner of the Star Wars galaxy that hasn't already been turned into a piece of merchandise. But, there still are a few details that Hasbro haven't covered...one of which is this vehicle here. Just as Luke, Ben and the Droids are entering Mos Eisley, this speeder is seen whizzing by the camera. The design is big, chunky, and a perfect example of the the used, utilitarian universe that Lucas imagined for the first Star Wars film...an aesthetic that was never really recaptured in the other films. Looking at this speeder is kind of like looking at a Detroit-made car from 1986...there's little in the way of attractive design, and it looks completely functional...and it looks like it probably spews some nasty gas fumes as it trundles along the streets of that hive of scum and villainy. It's for this reason that, while the design isn't exciting, it's also inspired as a background vehicle: you totally buy into this fictional environment because of how believable this speeder is as a piece of worn-out hardware. This scratch build is just the exterior that you see...I did it as a favor to a friend, who wanted to fill out a display. He wasn't interested in anything elaborate...just the basic design to add some more authenticity to the background. Much like the original prop, I suppose.

McQuarrie Snowspeeder Revisited

2010-02-06T21:09:00.005-04:00

This one was constructed over a year ago, but I was never satisfied with my original paint job. Since I completed the 'concept' AT-AT, it only seemed appropriate that I revisit this one and make it more to my liking. I masked off the windows, reprimed it, and gave it a rough 'white wash' akin to German tanks during the Second World War...so, quick and dirty camoflage for a snowy environment. The cockpit is by far my favorite interior that I've done. The last image is for scale...the Wes Janson figure is 3 3/4".

AT-AT Complete!

2010-01-28T08:41:00.005-04:00

McQuarrie/Johnston-Inspired AT-AT Walker

2010-01-22T10:46:00.006-04:00

First off, I heard a couple of days ago that Hasbro are pretty much assured of making a Big AT-AT. If I have the means at the time, I will purchase said item. However...I'm also slightly crestfallen that I've spent the better part of a month working on this thing, only to find out that there will be a bigger and fancier version of this beast available within the year. Still...I've been having a lot of obsessive fun picking away at this when baby and wife are asleep...and I should be asleep too. The slow process may also be helping me really develop my skills, picking a mini-project with each two-hour session and giving it my attention. I should like to point out that I'm also exhausted from this process...I'll admit that I want the bloody thing finished so I can get it off my mind. Anyway, my favorite part of this project is squeezing in my own features and creative flourishes, and taking cues from earlier designs and concept sketches. The most obvious inspiration for the profile of my Walker here is Joe Johnston's sketch above...the back turret and shape of the top of the 'body' is definitely his. The two-eyed face of the head/cockpit is lifted from McQuarrie's production paintings. Also, I wanted to include the aspects of toys that I liked the most when I was a kid...storage space. I never had much use for launching missles or electronics...I liked the space to store figures, weapons, and equipment, so that's been my emphasis here. The interior has a few compartments that have unique features, and will be quite accessible. Still lots more work to do, but the banner image should give you a preview of what the final product will look like.

A little speeder bike from the Outer Rim

2010-01-22T10:26:00.003-04:00

This was a little commission that took ages to complete. Lotsa fun though. The fellow who requested it wanted an old junker speeder bike that was being used by an underfunded and forgotten Imperial outpost, perhaps on some backwards planet (like Tatooine...before it became obvious that every important event in the galaxy happened there). Styrene sheet and tube is what you see...a nifty little project. This was completed around mid-December.

Work Space Redux

2009-12-11T22:55:00.005-04:00

Moving into a house is expensive. We're still renting, but we had to buy a bunch of other things to keep a whole house running. That being said, the benefit is space...like this dank basement. It ain't pretty, but I can be as messy as I want without disturbing a soul. Two whole table surfaces are often covered in piles of action figure parts, chopped up styrene, paint, model kit bits, and other bric-a-brac. I decided to take a few minutes today and tidy the place up. This, believe it or not, is what it looks like when I spruce up the joint. I'm gonna miss this basement when we move again.

Imperial Speeder

2009-12-02T08:19:00.003-04:00

This little machine has been in the works for a couple of months. Twenty minutes here and there, and then a good solid chunk of time this past Sunday meant I managed to get it all together and painted. Think of it as the compact car of Imperial military armament. Styrene sheet is the medium, with some plumbers pipe fittings used for the engines. The blaster cannon swivels 360 degrees, and has a joint that allows it to move up and down. It sort of reminds me of a vintage Kenner toy...not as detailed as some of my past models, but I kind of like the design.

The Killer Moth Strikes!

2009-11-20T18:41:00.004-04:00

Customizer Scott Rogers was the first person who really brought Killer Moth to my attention, as was no doubt the case with many customizers. A second string Batman villain, Killer Moth has had many wacky incarnations of his costume. I really wanted to capture a gritty feel, while also retaining the Silver Age insanity and foolish nature of the character. The result still stands as one of my most disturbing Batman villain customs. This fellow was made a few years ago.

PS - This custom was actually prepared for a CustomCon entry...check out the other amazing customs here.

Nazi Deathbot

2009-11-13T20:54:00.004-04:00

Add this to the pile of old beloved customs that got detsroyed by a half-dozen moves in the past four years. Also, I wanted to post something so that I could get rid of that damn dirty ape as my blog banner image. This custom was based on a pin-up Mike Mignola did for Rocketeer Adventure Magazine, the title of the Rocketeer comic when it shifted to Dark Horse. It's made from a Spider-Man Buzzing Beetle figure, witha peroxide container slapped on and some doo-dads glued here and there. Who doesn't love a giant, killer Nazi Robot? Expect to see small projects and old customs from me for quite a while, as time for tanks and apes is rather scarce these days.

Ape Painting

2009-09-27T18:20:00.002-03:00

While waiting for the inevitable, between household business and naps, I decided to tackle a painting this weekend. Nothing spectacular, but it was about time for me to try out the ol' paint brushes and make a feeble attempt at practice. Since the Ape thing won't get out of my head, I figured it would make a decent subject. If any prestigious art galleries are looking for a crude amateur painting of a rifle-wielding Ape, feel free to email me.

Hail Caesar!!

2009-09-23T20:03:00.003-03:00

Did you know that humans suck? Just ask this guy! This'll be my last Ape for a while, but I really enjoyed making these customs. Plus, it finally prompted me to pick up the Planet of the Apes box set, and watch the really strange TV show from 1974. After the first film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is by far the best of the series. And it's mainly because of Caesar as played by Roddy McDowell. Conquest is without a doubt one of the craziest films I've ever seen from a major studio...watching it really is a revelation of how different the world is today than in 1972...we've become so coddled and sheltered in so many ways. I've heard that Fox is looking to make a film based on Caesar's story...it would be interesting to see if they could match the madness and potency of J. Lee Thompson's no-budget direction and the driving political commentary of Paul Dehn's script. With the exception of the "Cat and Dog Plague of 1983" bit, Conquest is a worthy bit of hard sci-fi cinema. Hail Caesar!

Death Dealer

2009-09-21T23:04:00.004-03:00

Cue the death metal! I made this sweet fella two years ago...I was on one of many Frank Frazetta kicks at the time, and thought it would be a lot of fun to create an action figure of his iconic creation. Marvel Legends Sabertooth is the base (I think), and the armour is styrene and vinyl. The helmet is epoxy putty, and the horns are from a Marvel Legends Maestro (now that I look at them, they kind of look like big croissants stuck to his head). The axe is kebab stick and styrene, and the shield is styrene as well. Lots of fun, this one.

Crossroads and Hellhounds

2009-09-14T19:23:00.006-03:00

Thought it was time for something a little different. This is another oldie...I made this three or four years ago for a 12 year old kid who loved Robert Johnson...I thought it would be a neat project that would mix things up from the usual superhero fare that I was mostly making at the time. He wasn't time-consuming, but the resculpting of the head was tricky, and the cloth work was a challenge for me at the time (I hadn't yet figured out a good method for making pants). One thing making this custom did do was prompt me to pick up a collection of Johnson's songs to get me in the right frame of mind while making him. Not a bad thing. The figure I used is beyond memory. The head is a heavily modified Professor X (the Patrick Stewart version, believe it or not). The guitar is from a McFarlane Toys Elvis...I wish I would have made it from scratch, but this was before I started utilizing styrene in my customizing, which would have been my material of choice.

Dr. Zira

2009-09-13T15:28:00.004-03:00

Dr. Zira is a great character. Smart, resourceful, courageous, and principled, and given considerable warmth and life by Kim Hunter's performance, she really is the heart of the Apes films. For my custom, I didn't want to try to make a 'sexy' Ape (since that creeps me out), but more wanted to suggest her gender through gesture, expression, and (primarily) through the eyes. I used a Marvel Legends Mystique as a base, with other parts thrown in. The headsculpt was built on top of Mystique's head, so as to utilize the eyes (almost like I was applying Ape prosthetic). So, what you see is mostly original sculpt, with the exception of the shape of the eyes. I wanted her to be wearing a similar outfit to Cornelius, but with her own added accessories. The jacket was a fun departure, and her red medical bag added a touch of color.

General Ursus

2009-09-07T15:40:00.005-03:00

According to the Internet Movie Database, the role of General Ursus was offered to Orson Welles, who declined it. I guess I see this custom as a "What If?" opportunity, because Welles was the basis of inspiration for my take on Ursus. I love the good General's design, so I didn't really get all that creative with the headgear and armour. The base figure is a Doctor Octopus from a few years back, with extended legs to add height, lots of epoxy putty added to the shoulders, chest, and gut, Punisher gloves (to match the Gorilla Soldier's) and Marvel Legends Cable's boots (because they rock). The head and helmet were sculpted in Apoxie Sculpt and Epoxy Putty, with leather and styrene details making up the armour. Ursus's arsenal was my variation on a double barreled shot gun and a really nasty pistol...I wanted them to look like hunting weapons. This one was a lot of fun.

Cornelius

2009-09-04T22:59:00.005-03:00

I needed to get an Ape in goggles, and Cornelius seemed like the best choice. The way I figure it, he's a scientist, anthropologist, and archaeologist, and this outfit that I have him in is what he'd wear while digging up ancient artifacts in the Forbidden Zone. The goggles are useful when he's travelling through the desert terrain (sandstorms, you see). I wanted to echo the chest/shoulder piece that Zaius is wearing, because I figure both him and Cornelius are employed by the Ministry of Science...maybe it's some kind of standard issue uniform. With Cornelius's headsculpt, I wanted him to seem a little friendlier than my first two Apes, so I softened his expression and risked baring his teeth...which is always tricky with a headsculpt. I liked the way it turned out, even if it's on the edge of being goofy. The base figure is a Marvel Legends Gambit with Banshee hands and feet spliced together to make for Chimp feet. I kind of like the way the outfit and goggles look on him, and I sort of imagine him and Zira riding in some sort of rusty hover bike into the desert, looking for evidence of missing links between Ape and Man. I guess I like the idea of pulling in Rod Serling and Pierre Boulle's vision of advanced technology into Ape society. I imagine the Apes living in vast, metallic cities that are built around and between lush jungle foliage...it seems to me that an Ape would not want to cut down trees to use for wood (except for the Gorilla of course, who's rifle stock is made of wood).

Dr. Zaius

2009-09-01T22:36:00.004-03:00

Dr. Zaius really is one of the greatest cinematic characters ever. I try not to say this from the perspective of a fanboy, or a sci-fi fan...but from a genuine place of admiration for the people who wrote the screenplay. Zaius is a villain, but also something of a misguided hero. His convictions and values run counter to my own, being that he is ultra-conservative in his outlook, and yet his motivations have a very real and reasonable basis. He seeks to supress truth and subject a population of creatures to slavery, and yet he does so because be believes these creatures will inevitably destroy everything in a wave of violence and death. In many respects, Dr. Zaius sees the worst of humanity because, in the universe of Planet of the Apes, it is our worst impulses that triumph over our own survival as a species. And yet...we can't love Dr. Zaius because he ignores all that is potentially good about humanity. What a brilliant character...his ambiguity makes him a classic in so many respects. Anyway, here's my take on the good Doctor. The head is an original sculpt using Aves...I tried to capture more Orangutan than John Chambers make-up, but I also wanted to make the character unmistakable, thus incorporating the beard and haircut. I wanted to capture a pedantic, smug, and academic look, but also have something of a sinister intent in the eyes and facial features. The base figure uses a Spider-Man from many years ago, and the feet are Marvel Legends Magento hands (all the way back from series 2). The suit is the usual fabric and leather. He stands about 6" tall (1:12 scale).

"The only good human is a dead human!"

2009-08-30T22:40:00.005-03:00

I have no idea why I'm suddenly on a Planet of the Apes kick. Sometimes this happens to me...I'll be going on my merry way and I'm hit by this intense desire to watch a movie. I think this was spurned on by Michael Crawford's review of Hot Toys amazing Gorilla Soldier figure. Since I don't currently have a couple of hundred dollars to spend on plastic apes, I thought I'd take a crack at sculpting some simian myself. I really didn't have any vision or idea in mind...I just sort of started sculpting the head, and followed from there. The base figure is a bunch of Marvel Legends junk thrown together (mainly a series 4 Punisher that was used as a previous custom many years ago). I bulked up the shoulders, chest, and gut with plumbers epoxy, sculpted the head with Aves Apoxie Sculpt, and made the uniform from fabric, leather, and vinyl squares. The rifle is styrene all the way. I've only ever seen the first POTA movie, though I know the quote above is General Ursus from Beneath the Planet of the Apes...I really want to check out the rest of them someday. I'm working on a Dr. Zaius at the moment, so keep your eyes peeled for that soon.

Spacehunter 3D!!!!

2009-08-26T17:30:00.002-03:00

Spacehunter 3D: Into the Forbidden Zone is the ultimate sci-fi cheesefest. It also has some nifty hardware...among which is the main character's salvage ship. Someone requested that I make this...I accepted, and it proved to be a very challenging project. Styrene, PVC pipe, and some other odds and ends were cobbled together. My favorite part is the claw arm.

Gollum: 2006

2009-08-06T22:59:00.004-03:00

The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit don't really require me to preface or explain anything. They're pretty well established as masterpieces of 20th century fantasy literature, and there aren't too many people who haven't at least heard of Peter Jackson's films. I sculpted this bust from Super Sculpey about three years ago, and I consider it one of my better attempts at sculpture. Sure the pose leaves a question mark as to what Smeagol's intentions are, which is never a good thing when it comes to developing a pose for a static work like this...but I'm proud of the expression, the work on the hands, and the fish. The anatomy is probably iffy as well, but as an early attempt at this sort of thing, I'm still pleased with the result (which signals to me that I need to practice more). He's really small...about 2 1/2 inches tall...and I really enjoyed incorporating the thread for his hair.

Flash Gordon: 2007

2009-08-02T11:56:00.005-03:00

Flash Gordon is the prototype for modern science fantasy. Buck Rogers came before him, but Alex Raymond's classically trained artwork and tight, cliffhanger endings made his Flash Gordon strip a cut above, and laid the groundwork for so much of what we consider to be conventional in sci fi and comic book storytelling. The inspiration of Edgar Rice Burroughs is certainly obvious in Flash's story (earthman finds himself stranded on a strange planet (in this case, Mongo), finds that he is an exceptional individual among the natives, and travels the whole planet and encounters exotic people, places, and beasts. The fact that Flash Gordon was also translated into one of the better movie serials doesn't hurt either...Buster Crabbe made the perfect bland hero, and Charles Middleton was fantastic as the devilish Emperor Ming. Michael Hodges' 1980 cheesefest was not without it's charm (Max Von Sydow was awesome as Ming), but wasn't quite as fun as it should have been, obviously making fun of the source material.

These customs were made two years ago. Ming is my favorite out of the bunch, and the rocketship was sort of my first full fledged foray into making a vehicle...it's made from two huge juice bottles, a funnel, and some styrene. In the last picture, you can see that I painted the fins red to jazz it up a bit. Unfortunately, the rocket did not survive my cross-country move. Not my best customs, but I enjoyed making them, and I wanted to include them here for completeness sake.

Old John Carter of Mars Stuff

2009-07-22T23:50:00.005-03:00

This set of customs went through quite an evolution. I began them in 2006, and sort of picked away at them ever since. In many respects, they are some of my favorites. I did eventually part with them (I had a very persuasive reason for doing so), and have every intention of recreating all of these characters again. I've already redone Tars Tarkas and John Carter, but not to my satisfaction yet. To me, the Magneto head I used on this custom of Carter is perfect for the character...the face is chiseled, gentlemanly, and distinguished...and he looks like he could be a man of thirty or of a very lean and healthy fifty. Both the White Ape and Tars Tarkas where (at the time) my most involved and complex customs at this scale (my General Grievous surpassed them shortly afterwards), and while Tarkas is still a high point for me, the White Ape was one I was less enamoured with...aside from the headsculpt, which I'm still very proud of. The Incomparable Dejah Thoris went through many changes over two years...this version here is the latest and last before I shipped her off to her new owner. The hair was achieved by using thread soaked in glue...a trick that I borrow from British customizing master Zombihamma. The John Carter series is (and always will be) one of my favorite things in this world.

The Last Doc Savage

2009-07-10T09:11:00.003-03:00

This will no doubt be the last Doc Savage I make (or maybe not...I dunno). I think this one's an improvement over my original Bama-styled torn shirt Doc in some subtle ways, but they are basically the same idea. The laced up boots were a fun variation, and the yellow ochre colored shirt kind of sets this one apart as more comic book-like. Apparently I can't get enough of making this character! Here's a very interesting blog post I found about James Bama, and a look at the man he used as his model for Doc Savage:
http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/james-bama-american-realist-first-trek-publicity-artist/

Tank Update!

2009-07-04T13:25:00.003-03:00

Well, I went back and did some more work to the ol' tank. I masked off and repainted the treads with some Krylon Nickel, weathered them with a dark wash and some drybrushed rusting...and then went to town with some plaster of paris-based muck. I may have liked it better before the muck, but I still like the way it turned out.

British Tank (WWI)

2009-07-02T08:45:00.005-03:00

What can I say? I love World War I tanks. They look so sci-fi...so alien...and yet they're antique! The shape of the them is what really attracts me. The rhomboid design of the treads was developed to cross trenches with ease, and yet (to me) added this really unusual aesthetic that is missing from later tanks. Anyway, this beastie was made from scratch using styrene sheet for the structure and many of the details. Rivets were sliced from thin styrene rod. This was a lot of fun.

Saber-Dart Starfighter

2009-06-05T16:19:00.006-03:00

Next up is a starfighter design...I wanted it to be very much familiar, but also semi-original. Combining a snowspeeder, a Y-Wing, and a Warren Fu concept design, I came up with the Saber-Dart. With the exception of the main thrusters (plumbing parts) everything is scratch-built from styrene, and took a looong time to build. I'm much happier with this one than with the hover tank.

Imperial Battle Tank

2009-05-16T10:59:00.004-03:00

Inspired by Joe Johnston and Ralph McQuarrie's unused designs, I decided to create a Star Wars-ish vehicle of my own. Borrowing very much from established design elements (AT-AT and some of the expanded univerese stuff), I did some sketches to develop a basic battle tank/hover troop transport vehicle. Styrene (sheet, rod, and tube) some plumbing parts, and a big dumb cannon from a cheapo toy were used to make this beast. While perhaps not revolutionary in its design, I had fun making something that is sort of an original from conception to final product. I also want to advance from this point with slightly more challenging shapes, as well as greater and smaller scaled detailing to the interiors and exteriors.

Another Doc Savage?

2009-05-01T21:33:00.004-03:00

Doc Savage...I know thee well. This was done as a request, and I really enjoyed it. Rather than torn shirt, I went with a version of the Man of Bronze before being beaten and maimed by some agent of evil. He's sporting a snazzy action vest, and a scratch-built multi-purpose pistol. Doc always makes for a fun subject.

Owen Driscoll: Master of Star Wars Dioramas

2009-04-05T10:48:00.004-03:00

Owen Driscoll (http://www.owenscustoms.com/) is one of my favorite customizers. Predominantly working in the Star Wars universe, his stuff appeals to the little kid in me, wishing that I had the stuff he makes to play with in the backyard dirt pile. I often use his site as a source of inspiration, generating ideas or modifying his techniques to my own evil objectives. His attention to detail, his clean and precise engineering, his prolific output, and the grand scale of his projects make him unmatched in my opinion. Be sure to have a few moments set aside to visit his site...if you enjoy viewing customs, and are a fan of Star Wars, it will be hard not to go through every page in one enthusiastic sitting.

Lobo

2009-03-23T22:51:00.005-03:00

I'm not a huge Lobo fan by any means, but my sister's man is...and I did this as a birthday present for him a couple of years ago. I have to say that I'm still very happy with the result. I wanted to capture a certain Simon Bisley-esque quality to the texture and proportions, and the effect was achieved by combining a Marvel Legends Omega Red with a Venom figure...and lots of epoxy putty for sculpting. 2006 saw my most significant output of customs, and the sharpest development of my skills because of it...and while the assembly of this guy was pretty conventional, I doubt that I could do a better job of it now. I'm particularly proud of the wierd hairdo, and the blood spatter was a darkly enjoyable effect that I never tried before. He's not without his flaws and roughs spots...but I like him.

Blade

2009-03-23T21:47:00.003-03:00

What if Hammer Horror made a Blade film? That was the basic conceit behind my making this custom just over three years ago. He's still around in my collection, simply because he's one of my favorites. The head is from a Candyman figure...I like the idea of Tony Todd in this role, but I think Tony Todd is great in everything he's done. The base figure is a heavily modified Dr. Octopus, with a Samurai Spawn's hands. Lots of knick-knacks make up the various weapons, and his outfit is mainly composed of leather. The goggles are from a Spike figure. The pictures are a bit grainy, but I'm too lazy to take new ones.

Art: Vintage 2007

2009-03-12T22:05:00.005-03:00

Yep...here are a few more pieces of 'art.' All are from 2007...I liked the Darth Vader because of the old-timey chest box. I was briefly considering making customs of Yoshimi and the Pink Robot, and the above sketch was the concept. The moody painting in the middle is Flash Gordon (I like this one for some reason). Next up is a Fairey Swordfish...the rickety old stringbag that sank the mighty Bismarck...this was painted when I worked at the Shearwater Aviation Museum, which has one of these magnificent beasts on display...if you're in Eastern Passage, drop in and check it out. The last is the incomparable Dejah Thoris...it is cropped to remove a really weak and silly looking Green Martian. I like the distant skyline of Helium in this one, though I think my shortcomings as a painter are evident.

New Gods

2009-03-02T21:38:00.003-04:00

New Gods...perhaps the craziest and most inventive mainstream comic ever. A couple of years ago, Joshua Izzo and I put together a fake toy line based on a fake mega-budget movie adaptation of Kirby's wild masterpiece. The idea was to make movie-styled versions of the characters, trying to maintain as much of the color and original design while also making the designs seem plausible for a live action film. I chose to make a Parademon, Big Barda, and Mister Miracle. Izzo made Metron, Darkseid, and Orion...I personally think Metron is by far the best of the six figures, and quite possibly Joshua's best custom to date. You can see the full Custom Con entry (including Joshua's figures) at this link:

http://www.thefwoosh.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=524&Itemid=105

Adam Strange of Rann

2009-02-25T20:59:00.005-04:00

I don't know a blessed thing about Adam Strange...aside from what I read on Wikipedia. As that great pot of knowledge indicates, Strange is basically a thinly veiled riff on John Carter of Mars (as pretty much half of Sci-Fi and comic books are)...a heroic man is being pursued by a group of natives in Peru, whereby he's mysteriously transported to a far away planet called Rann. He's championed as a hero by the people of this strange world, falls in love with a beautiful member of their race, and goes on to have a wide array of wacky exploits. Despite my ignorance of the character's comic history, I have always loved his design. Obviously inspired by Buck Rogers, he has such a classic retro feel that I've always kept him on the back of my mind as a potential custom project. And so here he is. As is often the case, I try to imagine the costume as it might appear in real life, removed from the tights and defined musculature through said tights. I also try to think of what the character would have looked like if Columbia or Republic Pictures made a serial of the character, but slightly more 'big budget.' The head is a really friggin' old Razor Ramone sculpt (I thought the expression and lantern jaw were perfect for a serial actor), the body is a Marvel Legends Banshee, the hands are from a Kaneda figure (from Akira), and the boots are Marvel Legends Bullseye. Cloth, some styrene, leather, a Magneto helmet, and epoxy putty round out the materials. The retro ray gun's my favorite part...it's made from two sizes of styrene rod/tube, and some styrene sheet.

Rocketeer Redux

2009-02-16T18:43:00.005-04:00

These alterations have been a long time coming. The head that I used for my Rocketeer custom was a cast from a Bend-Ems figure that was released in 1991. The rudder/fin of the figure was too short and stubby, but I was always afraid that I'd ruin the helmet if I altered it. Also, the resin cast was obviously made from a mold of a figure who had been chewed by a dog...not good, and as you can see from the first image above (the unaltered original custom), he really needed a new rudder/fin. I very carefully removed the inaccurate rudder with my dremel, and carved a shallow channel into the helmet. I then crafted a new rudder from styrene, glued it into the channel I had made, and filled the gap with Apoxie Sculpt. I also revisited the sculpt on the pants, making the thigh section much more pronounced and added some more realistic folds in the fabric. The boots and arms were smoothed out as well. I sprayed the helmet with some gold paint, weathering it with a mixture of brown and black, then wiping away the excess to leave behind a natural patina. I painted the lenses black, then clearcoated them with Tamiya Clear Gloss Green. The paint job on the Rocket Pack was spiffed up as well...I sprayed it with silver lacquer and cleaned up the paint around the nozzles. This was one of the custom projects that prompted me to make figures in the first place, and my recent reading of the Dave Stevens book inspired me to clean up my original work. I think he looks a lot better.

The League of Marvels and Joshua Izzo

2009-02-11T20:55:00.006-04:00

The most satisfying project I've ever taken part in was my collaboration with Joshua Izzo. The two of us elaborated upon an idea that Joshua had...combining steampunk/victorian aesthetic with Marvel superheroes, and developing a massive, epic story that spans the globe. Over two years (2005-2007), the two of us contributed a suite of custom action figures and background stories to fill out the concept, and these combined efforts were presented during the on-line Custom-Con events that take place a few times a year. What you see above are my contributions. Why am I posting these now? Well, to celebrate the launching of Joshua's fancy new site at http://www.joshuaizzo.com/ ...he's among my favorite customziers, and an early influence on my style and interest in customizing. Be sure to explore his website in it's entirety...he has some great illustration work, and the site design is extremely attractive and easy to navigate. Also, to check out the Custom Con entries, follow the links below:

Part 1

http://www.toymania.com/customcorner/cc14/marvels.shtml

Part 2

http://www.joeacevedo.com/docs/customzone/customcon/customcon15/d10izzo1.htm

Part 3

http://www.toymania.com/customcorner/cc16/marvels.shtml

The Escapist!

2009-02-11T20:34:00.005-04:00

This will probably be the oldest custom I'm willing to post on this blog...he was made in April of 2005. I just recently re-read Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay for a book club I run. The first time I read it was in 2002, and I thought it was fantastic. It was even breezier the second time around. The Escapist here is not without his lumps and bumps, but I still really think this recipe worked well. I gave it to my friend shortly after I made it (he was the one who actually recommended the book to me), so I may one day make one for my own collection. The head is a DC Direct Aquaman, and the body combines Aquaman's body with some Namor parts as well. The key logo and mask are made from vinyl.

Pirates of the Carribean

2009-02-05T22:48:00.003-04:00

In 2006, I was blindsided by how much I enjoyed Dead Man's Chest. I was very lukewarm on the first Pirates movie, thinking that it was okay, but overrated. Dead Man's Chest though...it had this strange, offbeat humour, and was unlike anything I'd ever seen. The visual effects are incredible, and the art direction and design in the film is just fantastic. The crew of the Flying Dutchman is probably one of the best and niftiest group of villains I've ever seen in an adventure film, and Bill Nighy's wierd performance as Davy Jones is a wonder to behold. The third film, while visually stunning, did little for me in terms of drawing the series to a satisfying conclusion...but to be honest I wasn't expecting it to. Dead Man's Chest does have some bland performances from the leads, and really doesn't make much sense, but there's a boldness to it that I can't help but admire. And, since the design was so important to the film's success in my eyes, I felt compelled to make some customs. Captain Jack, Davy Jones, Maccus, Conjoined Twin Pirate (which I saw as a concept drawing, but have yet to spot him in the film), and the guy with the big iron balls (don't know his name) all got the Marvel Legends treatment. Fabric, epoxy putty, on top a variety of Marvel Legends parts are what make up this handsome group. They're older customs, but I think they hold up okay.

Brush With Passion: The Life and Art of Dave Stevens

2009-02-03T15:40:00.004-04:00

I don't intend to make a habit of posting reviews, but I felt compelled to give this book some free publicity. I received this wonderful volume in the mail yesterday, and finished reading the text sometime this morning. Stevens was in the process of writing the text when he tragically passed away last March. What was completed has been pieced together by Arnie and Cathy Fenner (who are responsible for the amazing Frazetta collections), as well as some thoughts and reflections from those that knew Stevens. The finished product is marvelous. There are many gaps and unanswered questions, but that was primarily due to the fact that the book was unfinished, and the Fenners opted not to include some information at their disposal for fear of disrespecting Stevens and some of the people in his life (mainly his friendship with Bettie Page). What we do have here is a volume that is lighthearted, amusing, and conversational, but also sad and bittersweet. The people involved with making this book are obviously coping with the loss of such a young and gifted man, and their pain can't help but come through. That being said,the book is no doubt a celebration of this quietly important artist...a man that left his modest but influential mark on the comic book medium, and always struggled for his craft. I don't want to reveal any of his story, because I think the book has some surprises for even the most devoted of fans. All I can do is recommend it, and lament the loss of one of my all time favorite comic book artists.

Clone Wars!!!

2009-01-25T22:35:00.002-04:00

These are a few older ones, made just under two years ago now. I'm resurrecting them here because they're some of my favourite Star Wars customs. I created these as sort of an alternate version of the Clone Wars, something perhaps more in line with how I imagined them before the Prequels came along, but incorporating certain elements from what the final story ended up being (hence the inclusion of Plo Koon and Grievous). First off, I imagined Kenobi as being older. I also imagined the Jedi wearing battle armour (which was certainly used by the Tartakovsky cartoons, and now in the current CGI series). My armour is older and rougher looking, and I liked the idea of each set of armour being unique to each Jedi, almost like they have to craft and forge it themselves (as they do with their lightsabers)...sort of a Medieval rite of passage. Anakin was a character that I imagined as being akin to T.E. Lawrence...a brave and noble figure, romanticized as a Jedi hero but succumbing to his darker urges and bloodlust in battle. The Mandalorian Warrior...well, let's just say that before the Prequels, I imagined armies of these guys being involved in the Clone Wars, but perhaps not quite in the way that was depicted in Episode II. Plo Koon I included because I love his design, and I thought his head woud provide a great sculpting challenge...and he'd be a lot more interesting of a character to make as opposed to another human Jedi. I aim to add to these soon...I want to make a prototype Vader, as well as some long-brewing Clone concepts (along with a few other ideas). I wanted these to have the same antiquated feel that one sees when they look at war technology from WWII and WWI...you can see the relation to modern technology, but the designs and concepts are rougher and the kinks haven't been worked out yet.

Vader Redux

2009-01-25T01:17:00.003-04:00

Man, I've got to stop making the same characters over and over again. After my Stormtrooper redo, I knew Vader had to be next. A completely new headsculpt, new shoulder armour and chest box thingy, new cloaks (which look purplish in the images for some reason), and a considerable amount of plastic removed from the arms and legs ('plaining down the thighs...plaining down the thighs'), and the revamp is complete. This headsculpt is a massive pain in the ass...this thing combines Sculpey, Epoxy Putty, Apoxie Sculpt, Styrene, and vinyl to get it as close as I could manage.

Sketchbook Selections

2009-01-21T23:38:00.005-04:00

A variety of sketches from my...uh...sketchbook.

1. Battlefish (inspired by a Tom Waits lyric)

2. Man Astrounaut (or frogman of the future)

3. Retro Sci-Fi Lady Astronaut

4. Ming the Merciless 1

5. Ming the Merciless 2

6. Robot and Boy

7. Burroughs Martian Flyer

8. Martian Tripod Designs

Stormtroopers Through the Ages

2009-01-20T19:49:00.004-04:00

Here's a retrospective of my Stormtrooper customs. I really had no idea that I'd made this many variations until I decided to round up images of my attempts...this may border on obsession. The first image was...my first attempt, around May of 2006. The three in the middle were spread over 2007, and the last one was from this year (which I refitted as the Sandtrooper...see a few posts below this one). Not sure if you can see a progression of ideas or not...but the helmet sculpts are varied and at different levels of refinement (the earliest definitely being the crudest). My favorite of the bunch is the third one...I made it as part of a Custom Con entry with brilliant 'Steampunk' customizer Sillof. Just thought this would make a neat post.

Stormtrooper

2009-01-20T19:29:00.008-04:00

Believe it or not, this custom is the final culmination of years...that's right....years of experimentation. Refining techniques with various materials, and combining them together to make this exact figure began in 2006, when I sculpted my first stormtrooper helmet from scratch (I'll be posting a 'retrospective' of the evolution of my previous attempts shortly). It was lumpy, ugly, and off model in every way, but it got me started on the desire to make a convincing 1:12 scale stormtrooper, complete with separate armour, cloth-covered joints, and accurate weaponry. I can't say that this guy is perfect...because clearly he isn't (I see many lumps and uneven surfaces...amazing what a digital camera can reveal), but the general effect is precisely what I was going for. Epoxy putty, Apoxie Sculpt, and vinyl were used to make the helmet. Styrene and vinyl make up the armour. The rifle is styrene tubing and sheet, and the body suit is stretchy black fabric from a woman's shirt I picked up at a thrift store. Of course, I now have to revamp my Darth Vader custom.

Toht (Ron Cobb Concept)

2009-01-18T20:11:00.003-04:00

I've already professed my love for Raiders of the Lost Ark, and my utter glee at the Hasbro figures that were released last year. I wanted to make a custom for this line, but wanted to do something kinda different...and this is what I made. Like Star Wars, there was a lot of preproduction art produced during the scripting phase of the movie. Ron Cobb was the most prolific artists that worked on the film, and one of the cooler ideas that was discarded (thankfully) was the Nazi agent with mechanical arm and bionic eye. The character eventually morphed into Toht, and while the art design and concept tickles my sensibilities, I think Raiders was the wrong movie for such a Sci-Fi element. But...he'd make a great action figure, which is what I did. Using a Colonel Vogel figure as a base, and some parts from a C-3P0 arm, I engineered this creepy fella. The bionic eye and wierd attachments are styrene, the straps are leather, and the articulation in the robotic arm was harvested from Vogel's original arm. It was a tricky little project, but I think it makes for an interesting addition to my Indy display. He was made this past September.

'Look sir, droids!'

2009-01-14T15:36:00.004-04:00

Sideshow Toys are awesome...but I have a serious problem with paying over $100 US for an action figure, no matter how nice. So, after seeing their Sandtrooper, I decided to make my own scaled-down, 6" version. I'd like to point out that this custom is both old and new. It is old in that the Stormtrooper custom is from about 3 months ago...as he was, I had some issues. Namely, the clunky attachments of the armour, the slightly off-model helmet detailing, and a rough chest plate. But, I decided to alter him by adding the Sandtrooper details (rifle, backpack, pauldron), thus transforming a slightly rough custom into something that could stand to be rougher. The helmet is an original sculpt, the body suit is fabric, and the armour is styrene. The newly added accessories are scratchbuilt with styrene and miscellaneous bits. Who's beneath all of that fabric, epoxy putty, and styrene? Marvel Legends Longshot.

Darth Vader

2009-01-13T22:18:00.003-04:00

Well, here he is! I've made a few customs of ol' Derth Nadir here, but this is my most recent...and (technically) my most polished. He's from this past summer, and was quite labour intensive. The helmet is a 100% original sculpt. The flare/skirt of the helmet (made from styrene) could use to be a bit more pronounced, and some of the details could be sharper, but I'm happy with it for the most part. The sculpting compound was epoxy putty, and was hard to get as smooth as it turned out. The armour on the shoulder/chest and boots is styrene as well, as are the dial switchy chest box thingy (somewhere a nerd is raging at me), belt buckle, and belt doodad box thingys. My favorite part of this custom is the fact that he's wearing corduroy...that's right...corduroy. It was the perfect match for the texture of his suit. Leather belts and straps, and various capes from an old black t-shirt round out the Dark Lord's ensemble. As for the figure underneath...some Spawn parts, some Marvel Legends parts...all fused together for the height, bulk and articulation I desired. The recipe is kind of irrelevant though...you could pretty much use any figure so long as it's tall and you can get some decent poses from him. The lightsaber uses metal tubing, duct tape, and the blade is made from this kick-ass acrylic dowel I buy from Maritime Hobbies and Crafts...it comes in blue, green, and red, and there are various thicknesses...perfect for lightsabers.

Betty

2009-01-13T15:36:00.004-04:00

My apologies for once again dipping into my 'back catalogue', but this is in fact a very important custom to me. First off, The Rocketeer is (as I have stated numerous times before) one of, if not my absolute, favorite comic. I've loved the character ever since I saw the movie in 1991 (I was nine going on ten, and it blew me away). I still love the movie...it has the feeling of an old serial without being sarcastic or self-conscious about it, and it totally captures the spirit of the comic. But the comic itself...is something to behold. The characters are frustrating, especially the relationship between Cliff Secord and the love of his life, Betty. He's a barn-storming pilot, a total goof with little direction, and he's too immature and hot-tempered to know how to handle the woman in his life. For her part, Betty places career over Cliff, and is driven nuts by his attempts to control her. But, her ambition and inexperience make her the target of a sleazy photographer. Will these two grow up enough to realize that they've got all they need in each other? Sadly, there are no more stories to read, and with the tragic passing of Dave Stevens last year, we'll never know.

Betty is famously based on Bettie Page, a controversial figure only because of what others have projected onto her brief career in the Fifties as a model. Page came to represent both positive and negative aspects of the depiction of women in the media, both lauded as a pioneer in sexual liberation and condemned as a proponent of negative and degrading roles for women in the porn industry. To Stevens, Page was an icon...a woman who seemed to embody some very basic, adolescent ideal. There is no doubt that his drawings of Betty are sexually charged, but it's also obvious that he has a deep love and reverence for what she represents to him personally. It's his strange mixture of pubescent longing, nostalgia, pacing, and an undeniably beautiful and refined artistic style that make The Rocketeer special.

This custom uses a Tekken figure for the body, and the head is from a Bettie Page figure that was released many years ago. The head was given to me by a guy on the Fwoosh who used the handle Timokay...a very nice and generous person who stopped posting regularly a long time ago...he was always very supportive of mine and other customizers' work. With this custom, the paint and the cleanliness of the finished piece were extremely important. It was not complex to make, but it's a sentimental favorite of mine.

A Painting?

2009-01-11T16:55:00.005-04:00

I'm not much of an artist...when it comes to painting, my skills are atrophied from under-use/lack of practice. But, once in a while, I'll give an acrylic painting a go. Since I had already done a sketch for this subject, I thought to myself 'hey, half the work is over!' My main problem is composition (as well as proportion, anatomy, lighting, etc...), but I had fun with this. I tried to shoot for something in the style of a rough propaganda poster, except that this image turned out rather somber in tone (whereas propaganda posters were usually very bright and energetic). I dunno...for what it is, I'm sorta happy with it. Maybe it'll inspire me to practice more. Thoughts and critiques are welcome...seriously!

The Work Space

2009-01-10T19:48:00.004-04:00

Very much inspired by Eric Orchard's post of his workspace, I figured I'd snap a few of my own. I have a pretty cheap work table that I picked up at Canadian Tire...it's pretty sturdy, actually. The first image shows it being semi-tidy (my working area is usually only about 6" square, so this is exceptionally clean in this picture). I have a lot of toys...too many to display, so I tend to keep my favorites out. My latest customs, my Hellboy figures (both from the comic and movie lines by Mezco), the Muppets, and some older customs are what I currently have on display. I have a few Star Wars vehicles and figures displayed as well. I just spent most of the day tidying up this room, so I wanted to capture it in such a rare state (it tends to get pretty messy in short order).

More Pulp/Serial Madness!!

2009-01-09T22:24:00.005-04:00

A few more oldies. First up is Doc Savage, as depicted by the late Dave Stevens in his comic The Rocketeer. This custom is just under three years old, and is one that I may revisit. I am quite happy with the sculpt work and the goggles, but I'd like to give it a try with newer methods. Next up is Spy Smasher, which was based entirely on Les Walker's brilliant take on the serial/comic book hero. Les avoided the forest green and red of the posters, and opted for a more muted, almost military style color scheme for the costume, which I shamelessly borrowed. The sculpting on the pants is a bit iffy, but I was happy with the shirt and the scratch-built goggles. The final custom is Blackhawk...which is a costume design that I absolutely love. The Blackhawk organization, a crack team of fighter pilots with a secret island base (how cool is that?) were brilliantly used in Darwyn Cooke's The New Frontier, which is one of the most fun comic series in recent years. The Blackhawk serial starred Kirk Alyn, who for a time was second only to Tom Tyler as king of the serials. Alyn also played Superman and defined the character for a generation before George Reeves made the role his own on television.

God, listen to me! Not a poetic sentence in that paragraph.

Older Works: Yellowjacket

2009-01-08T22:20:00.004-04:00

I'm dippin' into some oldies here. This guy was made over three years ago, and I'm afraid no longer exists...which I regret tremendously. While I'm much happier with the technical aspects of my customizing nowadays, I look at pieces like this and lament the prolific pace of my customs from this time. I was literally making customs every day it seemed, and I was always having lots of fun fiddling about with designs, and trying to adapt crazy superhero mumbo jumbo into something that looks functional and realistic. And the ideas kept on coming. Because of the volume of work I was making, I burned through a lot of characters (like Hank Pym here), and exhausted the potential for myself to interpret and have fun with them. It's almost as if the product is less important to me than the process, yet I work at such a feverish pace sometimes, which seems to be contradictory. But anyway, he was made using a Marvel Legends Bullseye body, a Marvel Legends Ice Man head, the insides of a pen, blister card plastic (for the wings), and some funky boots from a hideous anime figure...the boots really tickled my fancy at the time. The work on the costume is pretty rough and unrefined, but the design is something that I may try to resurrect in a new figure. I like this one alot.

A Machine Gun...and some works in progress

2009-01-07T22:20:00.003-04:00

My apologies for wringing more mileage from this project, but I made a small addition to the big monster. The reason why I made that nifty little platform on the back was for a gunner station...but I ran out of steam to actually build the machine gun! But, with some of my resolve restored, I whipped up a rough version of a Browning, glued it to the beast's shoulder, and now Bucky has something to shoot with. Also notice that Mr. Barnes is sporting a new red scarfe...someone on The Fwoosh suggested it might punch up the look and reintroduce the classic color scheme in a subtle way. I like the way it looks. I also included two work in progress pictures to give a sense of the construction process.

1944: Project "Iron Man"

2009-01-05T06:39:00.003-04:00

Here's Iron Man complete (for now). He turned out okay...I think he captures some of the ideas I was going for. The addition of the lights was a decision I made about half way through construction, and it meant that the detailed cockpit interior didn't happen. I think he's pretty fun...he sort of looks like a retro robot toy, which was a big part of what I had in mind. I have to say that I spent way too many consecutive hours on this thing...normally a project like this would take about two weeks, and I finished it in four days. That's not an impressive number...it just means that I probably should have slowed down and slept more instead. Maybe one of these days I'll make a Tony Stark in military fatigues to stand beside him on the shelf.

Concept Sketches

2009-01-04T01:04:00.004-04:00

It isn't often that I draw up plans or concepts for customs. For me, customizing tends to be more about spur of the moment inspiration, making unrelated junk work as a cohesive whole, and engaging in problem-solving. On occasion, I'll have a very specific idea in mind, and rather than let it slip from memory, I'll do a quick sketch for later reference. The first one is of Captain America...it's almost the basis of a thumbnail for a completed work of art, but really was more about getting the specific elements of the costume that I wanted in my completed custom out of my head. The second image is what I'm currently working on...a massive WW II-styled Iron Man exoskeleton. The idea for this has been gestating for a while, long before I went on the Captain America kick, but only recently formed into a specific image/idea. Since a project like this requires construction completely from scratch, a drawing is a must (I did the same for all of my vehicles). The things that I processed for this concept ran from Iron Monger to a walking Sherman Tank to the Iron Giant...the funny part is that the final product won't necessarily look like these concepts exactly, but will certainly have elements from them.

Arnim Zola

2009-01-01T11:47:00.004-04:00

Another Captain America villain! Mad scientist and biochemist Arnim Zola was contracted by the Nazis to develop an elite squad of genetically engineered soldiers, and to aid in the development of various other fiendish and evil deeds. Another Kirby character, Zola is one of my favorite designs of all time. Equipped with a holographic projection of himself inside of a biomechanically engineered body, Zola is also equipped with a sophisticated thought control device in place of his head. Truly wierd stuff. Anyway, this figure uses a Wolverine figure, some styrene, and a photoshopped and doctored photograph for the holographic image in his torso. I wanted to make the technology look harsh and old fashioned, almost like something you'd see in a James Whale movie crossed with an element of realism. The electronics surrounding the hologram screen (made to look like a rudimentary television monitor), are made from styrene.

Bucky

2008-12-30T22:30:00.003-04:00

Bucky, the orphaned sidekick of Captain America, isn't really a personal favorite character of mine, but I wanted to give him a shot. Keeping with the style of my Cap, I envisioned Bucky as a young GI who dons an ill-fitting jacket similar to his hero's, fighting alongside him against the Nazis and watching his back at every turn. I tossed the red pants and pirate boots in favor of a more realistic costume, with the jacket being made to look too big for the young and smaller-framed Bucky...he idolizes Cap, and wants to be like him despite his diminunitive appearance. One of the funnest parts of this custom was the scratch-built Tommy gun...made from styrene, this mini-project was quite satisfying.

Pulp in your Serial?

2008-12-29T13:04:00.006-04:00

Pulp and serial characters are fascinating...both influential and contemporary to comic book characters, many of the elements of these heroes of a bygone era have been incorportated into popular culture in a deep-seeded way. Their stories are simplistic, violent, sexist, and racist by today's standards, but there is an element of adventure and wonder that transcends many of the unfortunate and dated elements. There's a reason why names such as Doc Savage and The Shadow are still known to so many today...these characters still have an appeal, and the now historical nature they hold and the context of their time make them fascinating. I myself just enjoy learning about these characters, and reading their often poorly written but always entertaining exploits. The figures above were all commissioned pieces, but the reason why I chose to do the commissions was because I wanted to make the figures. The first is Commando Cody, or King of the Rocketmen, who was a character featured in a a few serials from the forties and fifties. He was the primary inspiration for Dave Stevens when he developed The Rocketeer (which happens to be among my favorite comic books), thougn Stevens removed most of the Sci-Fi elements from his interpretation of a rocket-clad hero. The second image is that of Doc Savage, a brilliant and grim defender of justice who uses his tremendous intellect and inherited fortune to stop fiendish villains from achieving world domination. My figure is very much based on James Bama's interpretation of the character...Bama painted a series of covers for reprints of Savage's adventures in the sixties, and defined the look of the character ever since. The last image is my custom of The Shadow. The Shadow is well-known in numerous media, but started out as a pulp magazine favorite. My take on the character is heavily influenced my Michael WM Kaluta's depiction of the character in the comics he illustrated first for DC in the seventies, then later with Marvel in the story Hitler's Astrologer.

General Grievous

2008-12-29T12:43:00.004-04:00

Say what you will about the Star Wars Prequels (lord knows I have), but one aspect that has never been lacking in quality is the Lucasfilm Art Department. Some of the designs generated for the three films are simply fantastic, and my personal favorite is that of General Grievous. Warren Fu's design is elegant, frightening, and downright cool. In many respects, I think Fu's work on Grievous is equal to that of Darth Vader and Boba Fett in terms of capturing an original and yet instantly iconic character. This custom is going on three years old, but I consider it to be my best action figure custom to date. It's imperfect and lumpy in parts, but it's also far more ambitious than anything I've attempted in a while (in terms of action figures anyway), and the end result came out far better than I imagined. The last image posted above is the basic structure I used...basically, there are parts from a Spiderman figure, as well as Marvel Legends Elektra legs for the four arms. The torso is from a Daredevil figure, and the head sculpt was grafted onto a Scorpion head. The sculpting compound was epoxy putty...a quick curing and tricky substance that has many drawbacks but sets very quickly and sands to a lovely finish. The exterior plating is very thin styrene sheet, and the light-sabers are acrylic rod with metal tubing hilts. He stands about 9" tall when at full height.

Captain America!!

2008-12-23T10:00:00.005-04:00

My word! Who is this patriotic fellow, leading the charge against the Axis forces? Why it's none other than the intrepid Captain America! Young Steve Rogers volunteers himself to be injected with an experimental 'super serum' that enhances his physique, speed, and mental capacity to battle Hitler and his unstoppable blitkrieg...and a whole host of masked supermen and wierd mutants, apparently.

Anyway, this fellow was made with a crappy Wolverine figure from a few years back, and a Lord of the Rings figure's head (a ceremonial guard, I believe). The outfit was crafted from fabric and leather, the mask was sculpted from Apoxie Sculpt, and the shield was made from styrene. An interesting note: Captain America, the invention of Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, was fighting the Nazis before the US even entered the war...Kirby's cover of Cap punching Hitler in the face caused quite a stir when it first appeared.

Red Skull

2008-12-20T19:04:00.002-04:00

A Nazi with a skull for a face...what's not to love! This dastardly jerk is one of Jack Kirby's most iconic creations...the Red Skull was and always will be Captain America's most notorious foe. There wasn't much to this custom, really...the only major element that I constructed here was the uniform and trenchcoat...the rest is a Marvel Legends Bullseye body, a really icky Spawn figure head, and some miscellaneous hands from the fodder bucket. Though I must say that I'm pretty happy with the paint job on the head...it's the perfect balance of malicious evil (as if there was any other sort!), disgustingness (which is definitely a word), and glossy shine. Now I just have to make a new custom of the Star-Spangled Patriot to knock ol' Skully here in the jaw.

More Star Wars!

2008-12-16T20:40:00.004-04:00

Artoo and Threepio are the most brilliant aspect of the original Star Wars. Think about how unusual these two characters would have seemed in 1977...they're the ones who take the audience into the action, and they're not even human! In many respects, the droids are the lowest order of sentient life in the Star Wars universe, treated as servants and slaves, yet when left to their own devices begin to develop intelligence and personalities that are the equal of their masters. Artoo in particular stands as one of the best characters of Lucas's creation...he's likable and endearing, and considered cute without being irritating. Anway, these figures are in 1/12 scale (Threepio is 6" tall). Artoo is made from a krazy glue bottle, a vending machine dome, styrene, and vinyl. Threepio is made from a heavily modified Marvel Legends Gambit figure...the body was stripped down witha dremel, than completely resculpted. These two are among my favorites.

A new head for Tars Tarkas

2008-12-14T22:05:00.004-04:00

My Tars Tarkas version 2 felt a little...lacking. I think what was bothering me was that the head sculpt I did was very relaxed and undynamic...I wanted to push it further, perhaps making the head seem more 'alien' rather than conforming to the basic shape of a human head. The configuration of the tusks was borrowed from Kevin O'Neill's design from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen...the rest was an amalgam of dozens of familiar sculptures and illustrations of the massive Thark's mug. I wanted him to be fearsome, yelling a battle cry or perhaps laughing without mirth at the pain and misfortune of others (as is customary among green martians). The sculpt was rendered in Super Sculpey and planted on the neck post (I kept the first headsculpt just in case I wasn't happy with how this one turned out). This worked out okay...I think I managed to make him look angry and ready to kill as opposed to constipated or yawning (which is always a danger when bared fangs and open mouths are featured in a head sculpt).

Go Joe!

2008-12-08T21:54:00.003-04:00

"Eh wot!? Another GI Joe custom? My goodness...he's gone made with childhood nostalgia!" Yep, another Joe...but this time, it's one of the good guys...the ultra cool Snake Eyes! Using ML parts, cloth, epoxy putty, and some leather, I whipped up this guy relatively quickly. I doubt this Joe kick will last too long, but it's pretty fun!