Basement Toys

Marvel Legends Showdown (aka Superhero Showdown)

2011-11-21T10:04:00.004-06:00

I would occasionally use the Wikipedia article on ToyBiz's SHS - Super Hero Showdown - Marvel Legends Showdown line of 4-inch sized action figures. There was a great checklist for both the figures and the cards that were packed in with them. Recently some Wikieditor decided that he didn't like the checklist in the article and deleted it. I'm still trying to work it out but I don't know what will come of it. Regardless of the final outcome, I'm posting the content here so that it will not be lost entirely. Feel free to check out the entry on Wikipedia ("Marvel Legends Showdown") and post on the discussion page for it support for keeping the information intact. Thanks. Also, please note - I am NOT the author of the following content, rather it is from the good contributors of the original SHS Wikipedia article.

Marvel Legends Showdown
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marvel Legends Showdown (initially named Marvel Superhero Showdown) is a collectible tabletop game in which the primary component is action figures and cards. It was a collaboration between Upper Deck Entertainment and Toy Biz (Now known as Marvel Toys).

The was played on at least a 3x4 grid of Panel cards. Panel cards broke into two categories; Locations (Places in the Marvel Universe) and Plot Twist (Special events that occurred on that space) The goal was to move around the Panel card grid and knock out your opponents character with Punches, Kicks, or shooting them with an included projectile launchers. Once you did three damage to a character he/she was out. The more characters on each side, the larger the Panel grid had to be. (2 on 2 a 4x4 grid, 3 on 3 a 5x5 grid, 4 on 4 and 6x6 grid and so on)

It was released in 2005 with two starters and two waves of five boosters each. The set was renamed Legends Showdown to tie it in to the popular Marvel Legends figures. The first two starters and booster sets were re-released with the new name, plus 2 new starters, 3 rider packs, and two new waves of boosters (Though these two waves 3 and 4 had limited release, seen in comic shops and KayBee Toys shelves rarely). Toy Biz changed its name to Marvel Toys and then sold the rights to all Marvel action figure properties to Hasbro. Marvel Legends Showdown was not one of the product lines that transferred over.

The Starters included 2 figures, 2 projectile launchers, 3 power cards for each figure, 12 Panel cards, and 2 dice.

Boosters included a figure, a projectile launcher, 3 power cards for that character, 3 random power cards for other characters in the set, and 1 panel card.

All characters had at least 6 Power Cards, but some may have had up to 10 or 12! (Spider-Man had 3 different figures, starter Spider-Man had cards 1-3, Black Costume Spider-Man from the Booster had cards 4-6, and sometimes had cards found only in the boosters.)

Checklist

Figures
Starter Wave 1

Spider-Man vs. Thing
Hulk vs. Wolverine

Booster Wave 1

Berserker Wolverine (chase)
Black Costume Spider-Man
Doctor Octopus
Ghost Rider
The Punisher
Booster Wave 2
Captain America
Dr. Doom
Human Torch
Iron Man
Spider-sense Spider-Man (chase)
Rider Wave 1
Ghost Rider on Motorcycle
Namor on Hammerhead Shark
Wolverine on Chopper

Starter Wave 2

Magneto vs. Colossus
Mole Man vs. Mr. Fantastic
Booster Wave 3
Beast
Elektra
Green Goblin
Juggernaut
Silver Surfer

Booster Wave 4

Cyclops
Daredevil
Invisible Woman
Thor
Venom

Repaints and Variants

Beast's standard fur colour is blue, but the figure has a grey fur chase variant.
Daredevil's standard outfit is red, but the figure has a yellow and black chase variant.
Elektra's standard outfit is red, but the figure has a white costume chase variant.
Invisible Woman's standard outfit is blue and black, but the figure has a blue and white costume chase variant, as well as a semi-transparent variant.
Mr. Fantastic's standard outfit is blue and white in the starter set, but the figure has a blue and black costume chase variant.

Panel Cards

Wave 1 (Starter Wave 1 and Booster Waves 1 and 2)

P-01 360 Degree Vision
P-02 Acrobatic Dodge
P-03 Armory
P-04 Asgard
P-05 Base of Operation
P-06 Baxter Building
P-07 Blind Alley
P-08 Blindsided
P-09 Burning Mad
P-10 Cerebro
P-11 Daily Bugle
P-12 Danger Room
P-13 Dark Alley
P-14 Doc Ock's Lab
P-15 Earthquake!
P-16 Find Weakness
P-17 Flurry of Blows
P-18 Graveyard
P-19 Gust of Wind
P-20 Handy Weapon
P-21 Huge Target
P-22 Leg Sweep
P-23 Medical Attention
P-24 Mindless Attack
P-25 Muir Island
P-26 Mystical Transformation
P-27 Not So Fast
P-28 Outnumbered
P-29 Rejuvenation
P-30 Revenge Strike
P-31 Road Block
P-32 Stop Time
P-33 Super Punch
P-34 Teleportation
P-35 Victory Stance
P-36 War Room

Wave 2 (Starter wave 2, Rider sets, Booster Waves 3 and 4)

P-37 Absent Friends
P-38 All in Due Time
P-39 Armed to the Teeth
P-40 Avalon Space Station
P-41 Body Blow
P-42 Boulder Toss
P-43 Caught Off-Guard
P-44 Come to Me!
P-45 Desperate Measures
P-46 Double Trouble
P-47 Field Dressing
P-48 Genosha
P-49 Hostage Situation
P-50 Meditation
P-51 Mega Punch
P-52 Nerve Center
P-53 New Fantastic Four Building
P-54 Parry
P-55 Phoenix Rising
P-56 Pride
P-57 Reed's Underwater Lab
P-58 S.H.I.E.L.D. Base
P-59 Sabotage
P-60 Sanctuary
P-61 Smash!
P-62 Strength in Numbers
P-63 Surge of Power
P-64 Surprise Attack
P-65 Knee Strike
P-66 The Dojo
P-67 The Maelstrom
P-68 Uncontrollable Rage
P-69 Underground Base
P-70 Underwater Arena
P-71 Brute Force Attack
P-72 Weapons Locker

Power Cards

Beast

BST-01 Acrobat
BST-02 Feral Rage
BST-03 Super-Leap
BST-04 Genius
BST-05 New Perspective
BST-06 True Blue Friend

Captain America

CAP-01 Retrieve
CAP-02 Ricochet
CAP-03 Shield Bash
CAP-04 Leadership
CAP-05 Shield Defense
CAP-06 Tactics

Colossus

COL-01 Organic Steel
COL-02 Stand Firm
COL-03 Strength of Character
COL-04 Fastball Special
COL-05 Self-Sacrifice
COL-06 Transformation

Cyclops

CYC-01 Defensive Blast
CYC-02 Optic Blast
CYC-03 Surprise Attack
CYC-04 Leadership
CYC-05 Overload
CYC-06 Revenge

Daredevil

DAD-01 Baton Strike
DAD-02 Heightened Senses
DAD-03 Sonar
DAD-04 Amazing Agility
DAD-05 Man Without Fear
DAD-06 Swing Line
DAD-07 Blind Luck

Doc Ock

DOK-01 Dangerous Experiment
DOK-02 Tentacles of Fury
DOK-03 What are the Odds?
DOK-04 Easy Eight
DOK-05 Four-way Attack
DOK-06 Idle Hands

Dr. Doom

DRD-01 Plan B
DRD-02 The Power Cosmic
DRD-03 Reign of Terror
DRD-04 Decoy Program
DRD-05 Mystical Confusion
DRD-06 Mystical Fog

Elektra

ELK-01 Crossed Blades
ELK-02 Double Sai Strike
ELK-03 Waiting in Ambush
ELK-04 Concentration
ELK-05 Mystical Training
ELK-06 Group Tactics
ELK-07 Contract
ELK-08 Counterstrike

Ghost Rider

GHR-01 Chain Attack
GHR-02 Relentless Assault
GHR-03 Revenge
GHR-04 Burn Rubber
GHR-05 Penance Stare
GHR-06 Vengeance
GHR-07 Burning Mad
GHR-08 Road Warrior
GHR-09 Spirit of Vengeance
GHR-10 (Unconfirmed)

Green Goblin

GRG-01 Strike From Above
GRG-02 Flight
GRG-03 Pumpkin Bomb
GRG-04 Hostile Takeover
GRG-05 Inner Struggle
GRG-06 Paranoia

Hulk

HLK-01 Crushing Blow
HLK-02 Getting Angry
HLK-03 Super-Leap
HLK-04 Hulking Out
HLK-05 Hulk Smash!
HLK-06 Rush of Adrenaline

Human Torch

HMT-01 Flight
HMT-02 Heat Wave
HMT-03 Nova Flame
HMT-04 Cosmic Radiation
HMT-05 Flaming Aura
HMT-06 Nova Burst

Invisible Woman

IVW-01 Force Bubble
IVW-02 Flight
IVW-03 Enraged
IVW-04 Stealth Strike
IVW-05 Force Field
IVW-06 Invisibility
IVW-07 Shockwave
IVW-08 Psionic Blast

Iron Man

IRM-01 Focused Blast
IRM-02 Jet Boots
IRM-03 Power Strike
IRM-04 Recharge
IRM-05 Energy Shield
IRM-06 Wide Beam

Juggernaut

JUG-01 Flying Tackle
JUG-02 Mystical Energy
JUG-03 Smash!
JUG-04 Appetite for Destruction
JUG-05 Steamroller
JUG-06 Unmasked
JUG-07 Invasion
JUG-08 Reckless Charge

Magneto

MAG-01 Flight
MAG-02 Magnetic Personality
MAG-03 Magnetic Force
MAG-04 Entangle
MAG-05 Leadership
MAG-06 Twisted Metal

Mole Man

MOM-01 Bojutsu Strike
MOM-02 Burrowing
MOM-03 High Ground
MOM-04 Sewer Surprise
MOM-05 Sinkhole
MOM-06 Summon Monster

Mr. Fantastic

MRF-01 Brilliant Mind
MRF-02 Framistat
MRF-03 Stretch Attack
MRF-04 Far-Reaching Plans
MRF-05 Long-Range Grab
MRF-06 Twisted Dodge

Namor

NAM-01 Flight
NAM-02 Force of Will
NAM-03 Shark
NAM-04 (Unconfirmed)
NAM-05 (Unconfirmed)
NAM-06 (Unconfirmed)

Punisher

PUN-01 Extra Ammo
PUN-02 Outgunned
PUN-03 Punishment
PUN-04 Cover Fire
PUN-05 Dual Sidearms
PUN-06 Fully Loaded

Silver Surfer

SIS-01 High-Speed Turn
SIS-02 The Power Cosmic
SIS-03 Surf's Up
SIS-04 Cosmic Awareness
SIS-05 Molecular Control
SIS-06 Tireless Warrior

Spider-Man

SPM-01 Spider Strength
SPM-02 Web Shooter
SPM-03 Web Slinging
SPM-04 Alien Symbiote
SPM-05 Come To Me!
SPM-06 Spider Reflexes
SPM-07 Sticky Situation
SPM-08 Altered Genetics
SPM-09 Spider Senses
SPM-10 Wall Crawling

Thing

THG-01 Batter Up!
THG-02 It's Clobberin' Time!
THG-03 One-Two Punch
THG-04 Charge!
THG-05 Rock Solid
THG-06 Stomp!

Thor

THR-01 Divine Protector
THR-02 Hammer Time
THR-03 Mjolnir
THR-04 Flight
THR-05 God of Thunder
THR-06 Retrieve

Venom

VNM-01 Keen Senses
VNM-02 Rage
VNM-03 Web Slinging
VNM-04 Fear
VNM-05 The Symbiote
VNM-06 Tongue Lashing

Wolverine

WLV-01 Combat Reflexes
WLV-02 Healing Factor
WLV-03 Snikt!
WLV-04 Berserker Rage
WLV-05 Deep Wound
WLV-06 Nasty Surprise
WLV-07 Heightened Senses
WLV-08 Intense Training
WLV-09 Chopper
WLV-10 In One Swing
WLV-11 Shrug It Off
WLV-12 (Unconfirmed)

Quick Guide to Listing on eBay (Sept 2011)

2011-09-16T09:59:00.000-05:00

My cousin asked for some information about listing on eBay. I just wrote up the following for him and thought that someone else out there may also find it useful. Of course, I'd love any feedback - not just to this entry but also to eBay listing, selling, buying, etc.

Listing an auction:

General thoughts. I do a large volume of sales so I tend to make my listings generic and then put the specific information in the title and with the picture/s of course. Then, when I list the next item I can choose "list a similar item" and all of my previous information is already saved. When I do a round of listing, then a few days later list more, I can either choose an active listing or a completed listing and select "sell a similar item" from that as well. That way I rarely have to re-enter all the following crap every time.

Auction vs fixed price. I generally like to list at a "fixed price" and then allow bidders to make an offer. I'm surprised at how many people simply buy out-right rather than make an offer first and try to save a buck or two. Oh well, works out for me. Auctions work better for very rare, very popular, or unique (custom) items. There's little to go on to form an idea of a good price for those items as they vary so wildly or there's no comparison available. With my fixed price listings, I can easily search completed items of the thing I'm selling, sort by Highest first, then use a dollar amount usually just under the highest completed auction. That's typically a good starting point for haggling. Haggling is a fine art and I'll let you figure out how do it so that it works for you, but if I have time I'll make some notes about it later on.

__________________
The listing itself:

Pick a category. You can pick an additional category, for an additional charge, but I never have. People that want what I'm selling know how to put an adequete search together.
If I'm listing something simple and popular - ie GI Joe, well it's not a problem to pick the right category. If I'm selling something not quite as popular, I'll search completed auctions for the same or similar item and see what they were listed under.

Title. We now have some extra characters available so we can be a little wordy, but I still find it best to clearly state the name/title of the item and the line it comes from in addition to keywords someone searching for it might use. Additionally, I put the item name itself in CAPS to draw attention.
Good: "GI Joe Pursuit of Cobra ROCK VIPER moc POC 25th"
Bad: "rock viper carded"
I don't recall a time that I've used a subtitle - same as additional category.

Condition. People actually use this, but I'm old-school and expect all information I need in the description. Anyway, I ran into some problems and learned - only use New if it is literally new in a box or on a card. Whenever in doubt, just put used as a default.

UPC. only use this if you're selling media - CDs, DVDs, books, etc.

Item Specifics. I don't use this. Some customers might, but with the number of auctions I list I'm not taking the time to change this setting for every listing.

Pictures. I typically post only one picture (free) for the vast majority of my items. I'll post a second picture (0.15) if I'm posting a custom or special item. Generally, for me, that first picture is a very bare-bones picture. It shows the item with all accessories, cardback, box, whatever that it will come with. I usually through in a ruler or tape measure so that idiots don't constantly ask me how fucking tall it is! (sorry, I used to get that question all the damn time). Anyway - the second picture shows the item in comparison to other, similar items. So if I'm selling a custom GI Joe, I'll put him in an action pose with normal figures so the buyer can get a feel of how it will look in their displays. NOTE: it's very important to state in the auction description what is included/not included. Even with that I've had idiots buy a custom thinking they were getting the five figures AND the custom figure in the first picture. Still happens once in a while.

Item description.

This is an example from one of mine:
This auction is for the DC Direct figure shown here. The figure is in good, non-played with condition.

This figure is fits in with other DC Direct 6 inch figures as well as Mattel's DC Superhero Classics and DC Universe Classics figures.

Shipping for this auction is $8.00. I will combine shipping - please wait for invoice.

NOTE: I will take a dollar off of shipping if you don't want the card shipped, just let me know after purchase and I'll send out an updated invoice.

Payment is due in 3 days of auction's end. Note: in accordance with new eBay rules I can only accept Paypal for payment. Only US bidders please - no international bids. If you have any questions, please ask and be sure to check out my other auctions for more action figures!
________________________
I occasionally get people asking if they can pay with cashier's checks or money orders because it's not actually against the rules to accept them, but it messes with my business process so I don't. You can if you're cool with that, but it takes more time and opens you up to potential fraud.
I do a general one- or two-line description of the batch of figures I'm listing. I imagine you'll want to be more descript with your stuff. It's up to you. Certainly with a custom you'll want to describe it quite a bit.
Listing the shipping charge is redundant, but I like to do it anyway. Mention that you'll combine shipping and so on.
In this batch I had loose figures that I saved the cardbacks for and was including it by default. If the buyer didn't want it I'd charge less shipping because it is easier and often slightly cheaper to ship without the cardback.
According to eBay you can file a "non-paying bidder alert" 4 days after payment hasn't been received. Do this as soon as you can. If the deadbeat hasn't paid right away, this MIGHT get them to make good sooner. I don't accept non-US bidders because frankly it's a huge pain in the ass to get international shipping done right and estimated correctly. I get flak for this, but it's my business and I try to make it as easy to run as possible.

Listing Designer. I ignore that flashy stuff, but if you want to play with it, I don't think it hurts your listings... much.

"Choose how you'd like to sell your item"
This is where you select auction vs fixed price and time periods. I'm a power-seller and top-rated seller so I get a few discounts in different ways. You'll have to find a good mix of settings and starting prices that meet your comfort level and yet still are profitable.
Like I said I do about 80% fixed price and allow best offers. I don't typically put in automatic thresholds for accepting/denying.

Duration. Go for as long as possible. for fixed, do 30 days, auctions, do 7 if you can. I think that auctions ending on a weekend do better than those on a week day so you can do 5 or 7 based on when you list so that the end falls on a weekend. for the fixed it doesn't matter when it ends because people can just buy it any time. I think there's an extra fee for 10 days so I don't do that. I just list it 3 days later. I'll occasionally use a scheduled start time but mostly just as a place-holder for an auction. If I have time to write up an auction on Friday, I'll put in a scheduled start time of late sunday, then when I have a moment Sunday morning or Saturday afternoon or whatever, I edit the "pending" auction for an immediate start and don't get charged the scheduling fee. It's a little trick to save an auction for later and not pay for it. At least I think this still works.

Payment. I accept paypal only. You click the box and put in your paypal email address. I don't currently use the "immediate payment required" for the buy it now, but with all the deadbeat bidders/buyers I've been thinking about it. I'm not sure the best way to go about combined shipping discounts then, but oh well - it's in-development for me for now.

Shipping details. This is where you set up the shipping rates. If you can give a sure-fire weight then you can use this to estimate exact shipping fees. I like to just put a flat shipping rate out there. Sometimes I pay more, some less, but it usually works out in the end. Be sure to put a handling time in. I put two days, but I'm experienced and know I have all the materials I could possibly need to ship an item readily at hand. I suggest you put down 4 days probably until you get the hang of it. Oh, you can put in rules for shipping discounts, but I always do that manually. It might help get a little more business if I did it automatically as the customers can see exactly what will happen, but my customers seem happy enough without it.

International shipping. I put "none" and recommend you do too, at least at first until you get the hang of the whole process.

Buyer requirements. I put the most restrictive stuff on there as possible as far as buyers with unpaid item strikes, negative feedback, and countries that I don't ship to.

Return Policy. Put what you're comfortable with in here. Be aware that people are awfully creative with returns though. I sold a mint comic, guy returned another comic of lesser condition in its place but I couldn't prove it and had to refund the original amount. I don't refund the original shipping charge unless it's my mistake and I don't pay for return shipping.

Additional Checkout instructions. This gets sent with the invoice so I put in the whole "Payment is due within three days of auction's end." and Paypal only stuff.

Wizard World Chicago (2011)

2011-08-19T16:13:00.003-05:00

Last weekend I made it back to Wizard World Chicago for the first time in four years. It was actually a really great time with lots of friends and excitement. I was struck immediately though by the absence of any of the major comic book companies as well as no Mattel and no Hasbro. I guess a lot has changed since the last time I was there.

Fortunately I was able to buy up all the SDCC exclusives that I wanted from Hasbro directly from HTS.com. They arrived a couple of days before I left for WWC. Additionally on the way back from WWC I scored the mass market version of the Sentinel, which is great.

It's good that I was lucky with my toys before and immediately after the show because just about every vendor at the con had only stuff that was currently (and readily) available at retail and/or strictly had eBay-level price points. When I normally can expect to fill many holes in my various collections I was only able to score a hand full of items direct at the con. Mostly that was out of boredom with the selection to be honest. Fortunately I don't only go down for the toys!

Orange Lantern Constructs

2011-06-24T15:47:00.004-05:00

I just have to share this picture with you. It is the first and probably only time all my custom Orange Lantern Constructs will be united for a picture. I'm selling all these off soon, but I never got them into a nice display so I had to do it at least once.

Okay, so I put all three pictures I took up there on the off chance that a slightly different angle gives you any added value.

I like 'em, but not enough to keep my six-inch figure collections.

For funsies, here are my Sinestro Corps:

Re-Working My Collecting

2011-06-03T10:30:00.003-05:00

Hey all,

Just a little update for anyone that cares enough to pay attention. The conversion of my collecting habits from six- to four-inch figures is about 50% complete. I've sold through nearly all my Marvel six-inch and have gotten a foothold on selling my DC six-inch stuff. My miscellaneous six-inch stuff has been moving pretty well too.

With that, I've gotten nearly all the Marvel Universe figures I'm looking for and have started into the Thor and Captain America lines. The four-inch Spider-Man and Iron Man lines are pretty well covered too. It's crazy that you can walk into the toy department at your local retail store and see Marvel line after Marvel line - Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man, Captain America, Marvel Universe, and I suppose the argument could be made for Transformers and GI Joe too as they spent most of the life of their property at Marvel Comics. It's a good time to be a collector - bad time to be a wallet.

Once I get most of the six-inch stuff cleared out and some space freed up I plan to get some nice displays and dioramas set up. At least you've got that to look forward to!

Until then...

DREADNOKS! (I found some old pics)

2011-03-28T16:35:00.006-05:00

A few years ago, after I took down my USS Flagg, I put out all my Dreadnoks - well all the 'noks I had up to that point. This is just a table that I had in my basement, so no background shots or diorama stages yet.

Here is my custom firebat. I think I'll likely give it a better paint job - ie something like how the 'noks would paint it up. The story is that as part of their pay for doing jobs for Cobra, they got to raid the junked vehicles and spare parts. This thing still has some power, but not enough for sustained flight - just enough to go cruising through swamps and short hops to get the surprise on the Joes. I added a fixed cannon for some added firepower. In my old notes I called it the Dreadnok Wombat - but since wombats are particularly well known for their ability to fly I should probably change it. Dreadnok Swamp-Turkey? Flying Squirrel?

I think that I have 18 or 24 of the Dreadhead figures. For a while there these guys were going dirt-cheap. I'd buy the set for a fairly low price, then sell off the other figures and usually end spending just a few bucks per. I also created a custom using the same parts as a squad leader or whatever. I've got these guys as crew on vehicles and performing whatever tasks around the 'Nok camps and bases.

Copperhead always struck me more as a Dreadnok than a Cobra. Everything from his color-scheme to his vehicle choice to his filecard bio. So I gave him an even more Dreadnok-ish paint job and a new position on the 'Noks.

I turned some spare parts into a new Dreadnok vehicle. In this case, the vamp was a badly painted custom I got in a lot of other junk. I cleaned it up a little, added some guns and threw together a new driver. Bam. Done. I called this vehicle the Gun-runner as it apparently is used to run guns as that's evil the Dreadnoks are bad guys. Sure, makes sense. Though the vamp isn't well known for it's cargo space. I should re-think that. The driver's name is Nitro.
Yes - that is a Jason custom in the background. He is cool. He even has a disfigured head under the goalie mask. I'll probably get around to posting about him someday.

Here are my Dreadnok versions of the HISS and Snow Cat. I call them the Dragon and the Swamp Masher (II). The HISS was rather fun to do, I added some accessory pack missile launchers and gave it a sold paint job. Eventually I think I might re-do the guns into flame-throwers as that was the original inspiration for the name. The Snow Cat didn't get much modification - just a paint job and replacement missiles. I left the canopy off as I figured that in a swamp they wouldn't need it.

This wolverine vehicle (and similar deco'd Ferret) were purchased off of ebay, pretty much as is. The original owner made them as custom Warhammer vehicles, but I think they look great as Dreadnok stuff. I called the Wolverine the Warhammer in honor of that. I think that I'll paint all the missiles with that spiral paint-job as it's pretty cool looking.

Just another shot of my Dreadheads.

And finally a ground-level shot.

I'm looking forward to setting up a massive display for these guys. Since these pictures were taken I've added quite a few more pieces. I got a few guys with dirt bikes, the Convention Dreadnok STUN and two Convention Cycles. There's also a few more motorcycles and diorama pieces.

In addition, I've added a few more figures - several custom figures, but also the Viper (version 4) got added to the rank. The story on that is Cobra Commander insisted that a few of his Vipers accompany Zartan and the noks on a particular mission. In response to being forced to have these outsiders around, Zartan made them wear these ridiculous uniforms as punishment.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

More Custom Six-Inch Marvels

2011-03-04T14:10:00.006-06:00

Here are some additional customs that I made and/or sold on eBay lately.

This is "Truth". He was just a skin-job. I took the classic Cap figure out of the package, gave him a darker skin tone = done. He sold - well.

Skrull Colossus and Skrull Cyclops. I'm keeping the Colossus for use with my Marvel Universe figures - his six inch height will make him a Giant-Man/Colossus hybrid as seen during the Secret Invasion event. Cyke is for sale, but not moving fast as of yet. Colossus is a Mr. Sinister with Skrull head + paint. Cyke is a Skrull body + modded Cyclops head.

Nick Fury, of SHIELD, in business suit. Clark Kent from DCSH with the Nick Fury head from the recent 2-pack + a little sculpy for the neck post. Listed but not moving mast.

SHIELD group-shot. Jet-pack soldier, Modern Nick Fury, Black Widow LMD (Battle Damaged), and others. The Modern Nick Fury was an Ultimate Nick Fury with headswap from the 2-pack and a harness (from the Jet-pack soldier). The Black Widow LMD was originally a battle-damaged Terminator X that my old friend Snake-Eggs from Mexico made. I believe there was a post about Snake Eggs so I won't bore you with the details. Needless to say he won't be getting anything from this sale as he has owed me money for years now. Modern Nick and the JetPack soldier both sold, but the LMD is not moving fast.

Jocasta! I took FF box-set Invisible Woman body and gave her a modded Mystique head. Then I painted it all white, then all silver. Easy-peasy, and sold! Yes - I am basically using whatever parts from my parts bin to make sale-able customs. It makes more financial sense than just selling a box of parts!

Skrull Wolverine, Skrull Mr. F and Spider-Woman. She sold before I could Skrullify her. The other two have not yet sold. I don't think I've sold a six-inch Skrull custom yet. Perhaps I'm looking for too much. I did sell two 4-inch Skrull customs (thing and human torch) that I'll have to put pictures up of sometime soon.

This is my normal Hasbro Fantastic Four Classics Mr. Fantastic. I used a Torch body and elongated Mr. F head to make this appearance. He's not my best work. The paint job is sub-par and I should have smoothed out the "flames" better. Regardless - he sold!

Emma Frost head fix. Sold.

Iron Lantern - from the Amalgam Universe! I had the GL Hal Jordan head and actually a Magneto body left over (from making the Red Lantern Hal Jordan custom!). I painted him to more or less match the actual Amalgam Universe appearance (minus the helmet of course). He hasn't sold yet - but I'm not surprised. How many people even remember the Amalgam Universe?

That's it for now! I'm down to the home stretch of about 30 to 40 figures left to sell.

Selling [almost] all of my Marvel Legends 6 Inch Figures!

2010-11-05T10:53:00.007-05:00

I've decided recently to sell off nearly all of my Marvel Legends, Marvel Select, X-Men Classics, Fantastic Four Classics, Hasbro Hulk line, and pretty much all of the rest.

In addition to the normal retail figures, I'm selling off a lot of my custom pieces too. In fact I took the opportunity to finish up or flat-out make some customs to sell along with all the other figures. I started off with about 300+ figures to sell and so far I've sold 100 or so.

Following are a few of the customs I've sold that I hadn't previously posted - I don't think all these have been posted. Apologies if there are some duplicates.

Alpha Flight Puck:

I'm actually very happy with how this Puck custom turned out. He's made from a Super-Hero Showdown Juggernaut body and a Marvel Legends X-Men Boxset Wolverine head. I gave him a haircut, then cover the head with some scuplting material and added paint. The parts went together with a little bit of trimming and there you have it!

I would have pictured him with my Guardian, Sasquatch or even my US Agent custom but they all sold already!

Red Hulk:

Basically I used the Hasbro Marvel Legends Build-a-Figure Red Hulk head on a Marvel Legends grey Hulk body. I really didn't want to buy all the figures to assemble the actual Red Hulk figure so I made my own! Originally the red paint on the figure was intended to be a rough coat for subsequent coats of paint. I liked the un-even look enough I left it as is.
He sold pretty quickly too, so fortunately I'm not the only one that likes it.

Bobby Drake Ice Man:

Basically I did a thorough dry-brushing on him to make him more "frosty."

Isaiah Bradley from Truth:

This was criminally easy - I basically painted a classic Captain America in black face. I did feel conflicted about that when I was doing it - but the end result was a new character so I got over it. Again this guy sold quickly so I guess he was well-received.

I'll post more soon! If you're interested in my auctions, you should be able to follow this link to check them out:

Iron Grenadiers - Some Quick Shots

2010-06-09T15:58:00.007-05:00

I mentioned to Don that I had posted a blog about my Iron Grenadier stuff, but turns out I didn't! Here are the pics - hopefully I'll have some time to dress this post up with some information. For now - the pics.

Group shot - showing the individuals and the army-builders. I've been fortunate to grab up a few con sets fairly cheaply. They make for a nice IG force!

Destro looking over the troops and their vehicles. I use the Iron Anvils as vehicle crewmen.

I really do need to dust off the vehicles and mock up a nice display area for these, but this is the best I can do for now. I've repainted a couple of IG figures, but haven't gotten to the Annihilators yet. They'll be black where they are current purple, red where orange, and - wait for it - gold where gold!

Destro and General Mayhem check out the newest MARS Industries Battle Mech

This is a custom "Kestrel" inspired by someone's work on Joecustoms.com

My take on the Rowdy Roddy Piper convention figure.

Repaint of the dreadful Voltar figure.

Yeah, I use the Star Vipers for the IGs - perfect deco for it!

Black Lantern - Scar and Cyborg?

2009-12-15T13:51:00.005-06:00

Well here are two Black Lantern customs. Scar you'll probably be familiar with already, but probably not with Cyborg here.

Scar was created from my botched dye-job experiment on painted figures. The product of that experiment was not only ghastly ugly, but resisted most attempts at repainting. The dye would seep back out of the plastic and discolor the paint. I finally was successful in painting it after a few layers of oil-based enamel and just accepting the discolored blue for his skin tone. Scar was thus born.

Here's a little bit of fan-fiction. What happened was I had an extra Cyborg body and thought that it would be neat if he became a Black Lantern since his strictly biological life was over when he became mostly machine. I used the head and right hand from a Deathlok figure (the Cyborg was the Sonic Hand variant). I should probably figure out a way to put a Black Lantern symbol somewhere on there. For now, it's pretty good though.

A Few Marvel Customs

2009-11-20T10:38:00.007-06:00

It's been a while so I'll just quickly throw up a few Marvel Customs I've done recently.

Destroyer:

I knew that I'd have to pay through the teeth to get one of the ToyBiz figures, so I took my Thor-Buster Iron Man and re-deco'd him a bit. He's got some sculpy, then a black-wash, then a slight silver coat with blue-highlights.

Then up is my Fearsome Four ally, the Iron Maniac!

He was inspired by Robert Kirkman's Iron Maniac from the Marvel Team-Up series. I wanted to expand my Fearsome Four group and he came to mind. He's a First Appearance Iron Man with a War Machine gun, and a few sculpting bits.

He's not a very nice guy.

Oh and here's a nice blurry pic of his face without mask (and before the black-wash).

Tombstone:

I basically got the idea for this from a few custom projects posted on-line. Sandman body with a Mr. Sinister head and cape part. I pitted the head to match the body, then painted the whole thing black and put the finishing touches on top.

Nick Fury - the Life Model Decoy:

Quick and easy - Terminator body with a Nick Fury head. Can't get easier than that.

Some Joe Customs

2009-09-11T13:54:00.004-05:00

First up is my take on Doctor Venom from the Marvel Comics - 25th Anniversary style.

He's made using a Cobra Commander body, Cobra Soldier arms, and a modified Destro head. I actually cobbled most of this together from spare parts I didn't have any other use for otherwise. I added some hair to the Destro head to make it more of a actual head rather than the metal mask. I think he turned out pretty well.

I picked up a 25th Anniversary Arctic HISS on-line. I wanted it to have the normal armament while the missile rack would look great on a mainline HISS. Here's the frosty HISS (stickers not yet applied):

Here's the mainline HISS with missile weapons package:

Cobra Soldier: "Uh, Mr. Destro, Sir? I don't think- maybe being up here isn't a good idea..."

Destro: "Shuddap! Next time you won't make eyes at the Baroness!"

Last up is my Oktober Guard group-shot. I haven't made any customs for the Oktober Guard yet, though I do have a few on my list. Here's my current team:

Elongated Man - Black Lantern

2009-07-27T13:13:00.005-05:00

Here's my take on the Black Lantern form of Elongated Man:

He stands there with his more living form. Here he is with Black Hand:

I made him from the body of the Marvel Legends Fantastic Four Classics Mr. Fantastic body, the neck from a movie-line Mr. Fantastic, the head from a different movie-line Mr. Fantastic head, and some of the cape material from a Marvel Legends Mr. Sinister.

I cut the cape material to fit the shape of the symbols and super-glued them on. Then came the paint. On the head I drilled out the eyes and mouth, then cut off the nose and used a heated paper clip to make the nasal cavity.

I'm happy with how he turned out but I realize now I missed his armbands. I'll probably comeback and do those sometime.

Here are a couple of other Green Lantern customs:

Sinestro as a Green Lantern in DCUC style:

He's just a headswap - Sinestro Corps variant Sinestro on an Abin Sur GL body.

Here's a Kreon figure. I made him using the ML/FFC Torch head on a GL boxset Tomar Re body. He's got a golden prosthetic arm and eye-patch.

Young Avengers - ASSEMBLE!

2009-07-14T11:29:00.005-05:00

I'm a big fan of the Young Avengers. I know that a lot of the hard-core comics fans out there viewed the Young Avengers as rip-offs or lame - whatever - they're fun.

Here's my group-shot of the original line-up:

That's Patriot, Asqardian, Iron Lad, Hulkling, Hawkeye (II), and Stature

Here's the most recent group:

That's Patriot, Hawkeye (II), Wiccan, Speed, Hulkling, Vision, and Stature

I'll showcase a the customs figures from those shots. Up first is Hawkeye (II):

She's a movie Jean Gray with the spare head from Elektra, the glasses from a Doc Ock, and the bow and arrow from a Chronicles of Narnia figure. I'm not set on the bow/arrow, but before I paint it I'm going to see if I can track down a better set.

Hulkling here just got his hair done:

Basically he just got some blonde hair to better match his comic appearance.

Here comes Speed:

He's a heavily modified Wiccan figure. I cut off all the extra padding and bits of armor and then smoothed him out a bit with the dremel.

Last up is my pair of Vision and Stature:

He is a repainted Iron Lad with a cape from a Black Panther. She's made from a 12-inch Fantastic Four movie line Invisible Woman (clear version).

Here's a close-up of just Vision:

That's that. I need a better bow for my Hawkeye, perhaps a Stature that isn't quite so endowed to better represent an early teens girl, and some touch-ups here and there. Oh, goggles for Speed. Other than that I like these quite a bit. How about you?

Dyeing Some Figures

2009-07-13T11:58:00.008-05:00

Over the years I've read about a few people using fabric dye to change the color of action figures. This has an advantage over painting as the joints and other contact points wouldn't wear off the paint. The disadvantages include the mess and the possibility of ruining a figure.

I've considering trying this method a number of times, but finally decided to give it a whirl after seeing the new figures for the DC Blackest Night line. The Orange Lantern figures are all translucent orange. I had a clear figure and thought it would make a good addition to the Orange Lantern Corps and the best way to make the clear-orange finish would be to use fabric dye.

I found a few resources on-line, but this link is probably the most informative:

Dyeing

In a nutshell: I picked up some orange ("sunshine") Rit dye, a cheap metal strainer, and gathered a few supplies I already had - a stainless steel pot and the figures.

Here are the figures I'm starting with:

That's the clear variant Judge Death from the Legendary Comic Book Heroes line with pads and various other bits taken off, two 25th Anniversary GI Joe Timbers, and a modified Guardian from the Green Lantern series. Oh, also a bat creature thing that I cut off of Judge Death.

Judge Death will become an Orange Lantern construct (along with the bat creature), the Guardian will become either a Controller construct (or just a Controller if the dyeing doesn't take), and the wolves are just an experiment.

Here are the supplies:

It's a good idea to make sure everything's going to fit (the waist on the Death figure broke, but it's cool - I'll fix it in the end):

Bring the water to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, add the dye, and carefully stir. Then add the figures (in the strainer):

I let it sit for a few minutes, but after about five to ten minutes, the clear parts had already taken on a good color:

The Death figure got taken out and rinsed in a clear, cool bath:

Here are all the parts post-dyeing. I let the painted and solid color plastic parts sit in the simmering dye-bath for about thirty to forty minutes.

The wolves are pretty much a write-off, but that's no big whoop since I got about seven of them in a lot recently. The Guardian figure I'm going to paint and make into a normal Controller figure. The Judge Death and Bat-creature figures were perfect though.

Judge Death is getting all up in Hal's face - "MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE!"

Finally comes the little bat-creature.

I think I'll work up a clear plastic stand to support the bat coming out of Death's back.

In the end the clear plastic pieces took the dye really well. Painted plastic parts didn't take the dye too well. The modified parts of the Guardian figure did, which means unpainted parts take the dye well. If I happen to score more clear figures I'll probably dye them up to increase my Orange Lantern Corps!

Once I get the "official" construct that's packed in with the Larfleeze Blackest Night figure I'll put some finishing touches on these figures. For example, it looks like the teeth are actually painted.

The Blackest Night - More Meat for the Grinder!

2009-07-02T14:53:00.005-05:00

I'm a big fan of the Green Lantern characters, so I've been very excited about the upcoming "event" from DC Comics. Normally, I'm not a fan at all of these things. In fact, these over-blown crossover events really piss me off most of the time. I guess now that it's finally a character, or group, that I actually care about it's different.

My customs-to-be-made list is dominated with Green Lanterns and related figures. Here are a few I was able to do recently.

First up is my Green Man Green Lantern figure.

I used a DC Classics Hal Jordan, and in retrospect should probably have used a different head. I cut off Hal's hair and smoothed his head a bit. I added some white sculpting material to the hands to change him from having five digits to just the three. I painted his head to match the limited reference pictures I have and done.

Next up is a member of the Sinestro Corps - Romat Ru.

The Sinestro Corps variant Sinestro figure from Mattel's DCUC line isn't very impressive. The figure is much too short and generally doesn't resemble Sinestro's body type. Fortunately, I have the much better DC Direct Sinestro Corps Sinestro figure coming in the mail. I popped off DCUC Sinestro's head and then frankenstein'd Tomar Re's head on from the Green Lantern box set of figures. I then painted the hands to match the orange skin and his mask to match the yellow uniform.

I saved my favorite for last, Red Lantern Hal Jordan.

I popped the head off of a DCUC Green Lantern Hal, and plopped on a Magneto head from the X-Mens Marvel Legends boxset figure. I was going to scupt an eye mask on, but decided to paint one on instead.

Here's a comparison picture of my Red and Green Lantern Hal Jordan figures.

Here's in-progress picture:

GI Joe SWAT Team

2009-06-23T15:37:00.003-05:00

Who do the Joes call when they need help? They call their SWAT division!

Here's my little group of Bullhorn, Shockwave, and Surefire (with added goatee):

Here come the reinforcements!

Here's the group shot of my custom figures. That's my counterfeit convention Long Arm, Shockblast, fan-fic Ram, and Low-Light.

There's no way that I can afford these particular club exclusives. To create Ram, I used the Low-Light torso and Shockwave legs that I had left over making Shockblast and the head from Salvo.

Here's the whole gang all together. That's the V1 Surefire figure there in the middle, I renamed him Breach. He drives the SWAT Hammer.

I picked up the SWAT accessories pack from the Gunrunners at Marauders, Inc. Great stuff!

A Few GI Joe Customs

2009-06-18T11:40:00.005-05:00

Here are a few GI Joe custom figures I've put together over the past couple of years:

First up is Agent Deming. This is truly a LBC or lazy-bastard-custom, HISS Driver legs and waist, Baroness arms and torso, with a Bombstrike head. I was going to match the red portions of the legs and waist to the blue of the torso but then I either decided I liked it this way or I got lazy. Probably I just got lazy. Perhaps I'll revisit this one later on.

Cadet Deming was the ill-fated Cobra trainee from the Sunbow cartoon series. I figured she got herself some head-shrinkage and got back to work.

Next up is a figure that I'm not entirely sure I'm keeping. I call him Cast Iron and have him as the Commander of the Viper units. He's made with the body of a Cobra Officer V2, the head from a Skull Squad Trooper, and a hollowed-out cast of a Viper head. In retrospect I should go back and hollow-out the helmet more and match the color better.

Cast Iron is a Viper that rose through the ranks and served with distinction (mostly he didn't get his ass killed). Cobra Commander rewarded him with a new post as Commander of the Viper units.

Here's a quick little Cesspool tweak - a head-swap to give this character a bit more dignity. Cesspool head on a Cobra Commander body.

This is my counterfeit or "tribute" figure of the Cobra d Aco figure. That's a Snake Eyes head on a Flash body. I really need to get a Cobra Sigil sticker.

Finally comes my Skystriker figure with new helmet. I always thought it was weird that while the original Skystriker figure has Wild Weasel's body that he's got a combat helmet instead of a flight helmet! I fixed that and added some cute whiskers to boot. Well, cute or French - you decide!

SDCC Hal Jordan DCD Lantern Exclusive figures

2009-06-17T10:50:00.004-05:00

I don't usually feel bad when I can't make it to conventions - if I did I'd feel bad year-round! However, this year I'm bummed that I won't make it to the San Diego Comic-Con. This is partially because I'll actually be in San Diego right around that time, but I'll miss it by a few days. Mostly though it's a pair of exclusive deals that I'm going to miss out on - the Hal Jordan figures as different Lanterns and the 30-inch Anti-Monitor figure from Mattel.

Here's a look at the Hal Jordan DC Direct figures:

That's the normal Hal Jordan as Green Lantern figure in front, then from left to right - Red Lantern, Agent Orange, Blue Lantern, and finally Sinestro Corps. Each day at the Graphitti booth a different figure will be available (limit two per person). Each figure comes with a wearable replica ring. I have no idea what the price point is on each of these, but I'm betting the eBay price will be around $60 to $80. I'm planning to make custom versions of some of these figures - definitely the Red Lantern, I'm not entirely sure on when/how exactly I'll do the others. Of course if anyone can hook me up with these figures, let me know. :)

The second deal is the Anti-Monitor figure:

Now, this appears to be a picture of the smaller version that will be available as a mail-order later on, but you get the idea. A 30-inch Anti-Monitor would tower over my six inch DC related figures in a really pleasing manner. So much so that I will likely pick up one of those Batman or Superman giant figures and customize one of my own.

The 30-inch figures will be raffled off at least one per day during the convention. I'd pay $100 at retail for one of these but there's no chance of seeing that happen.

On a side note I'm elated that Mattel will make a Wonder Twins 2-pack of figures available to the general public after SDCC but they will not include the Gleek figure that is an SDCC exclusive.

UPDATE on the Green Lantern figures: I have to admit that I've been tempted at some of the pre-order auctions on eBay, but even the cheapest one is going for about 50 to 60 bucks PER figure! I decided that instead of spending that kind of money that I'll just customize a few of my own. The cost of 4 DCUC Green Lantern figures = $56. The Sinestro Corps variant Sinestro is going for about $35 so a headswap with that figure for the Sinestro Corps Hal Jordan wouldn't be out of the question. Better articulation this route for less than a third of the overall cost.

Group-shots and Backgrounds (Part 3)

2009-06-01T12:07:00.006-05:00

I haven't done any backgrounds for a while, but I had a few minutes and figured that I'd do some "real-world" backgrounds. Here is my New York City Skyline at night:

I didn't add anything to this shelf as it really doesn't need it. Also I didn't want to tie this in to any one particular group of characters since New York City is basically a character in itself. This shelf is really a work-in-progress. I originally intended it to be a straight-up Spider-Man Shelf, but then I decided to go down the Dark Avengers/New Avengers route.

I've got Captain Marvel (standing in for Marvel Boy), then Hawkeye/Bullseye, Sinister Spider-Man/Venom (Gargan), Iron Patriot, Ms. Marvel standing in for the current Ms. Marvel, Sentry, and Ares. I'd really like to make a classic Ms. Marvel but that'll have to wait for another day. I'm on the look-out for a brown-suited Wolverine but I figure I'll have to chop off his hands, boots, and head to put on a different figure to stand in for "Dark Wolverine."

On the right I've got Luke Cage, Wolverine, Spider-Woman, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, Captain America, and Ronin. Obviously I need to flesh out my Avengers, but it's good enough for now.

Next up is my X-Mansion. This actually is the same building used in the X-Men movies for the exterior shots. Oddly enough it's also Lex Luthor's house from the Smallville series.

I added the little X-Jet on this one for a bit of whimsy I suppose. I populated this shelf with a few of my current favorite X-characters.

Sabretooth (classic), Blob, Yuriko, Magneto, Mr. Sinister, Mystique, Juggernaut, Pyro, Emma Frost, Kitty Pryde, Colossus, Wolverine, Angel, Professor X, Beast, Ice Man, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, and finally Jean Gray.

My last new group for the day is my Hulk collection. I didn't make a background for these guys as really this is just temporary. I'm planning on selling off about half of these figures sooner or later. They're just taking up some space right now.

Hercules, She-Hulk, Abomination, shorty She-Hulk, Spider-Hulk, The End Hulk, Wendigo, Wolverine (1st App), Bi-Beast, Hulk, Leader, Grey Hulk, Red Hulk, King Hulk, Iron Clad (mostly hidden), Other Hulk, and Absorbing Man.

Here are some updated (and much larger) pictures of my earlier group-shots:

Batman:

Superman:

Green Lantern:

Hall of Justice (Justice League of America):

The Bad Guys:

James Bond - 007 for Two Eras

2009-05-22T14:12:00.004-05:00

Like most living males (and females for that matter), I'm a fan of James Bond and most of the James Bond movies. I grew up watching these movies at home, at Grandma and Grandpa's, with my dad, on my own, with my wife, etc. They're good for all purposes. Sean Connery was always my favorite Bond. When Daniel Craig came along, I still like Connery, but Craig was more a Bond for my generation - wahoo!

Here's my GI Joe 25th Anniversary style homage to Daniel Craig's Bond:

He's got a Snake Eyes Commando figure base with a Daniel Craig head from the Golden Compass's ill-fated toy line. The head seems a touch over-sized for the body, but whatever - it still works in my opinion.

The Real American Hero line of Joes is now and always will be my favorite line of GI Joe figures so I just had to make a similar Bond figure in RAH style. I had the body of a Snake Eyes and the head of a Flash left over from another custom figure, so I pulled a LBC (lazy-bastard custom) and threw them together:

I actually consider the RAH Bond to be a Roger Moore inspired figure. He most closely resembles the figure anyway.

Steel Brigade Rolls into Town

2009-05-21T16:14:00.005-05:00

In the Hey-Day of GI Joe, Hasbro offered a mail-in exclusive action figure that came with a customized file card. You filled in the name, specialty, and whatnot. It was really cool and a fun figure. The figure had a number of variations but basically he looks like this:

Steel Brigade 1987 on YoJoe.com

[Thanks to YoJoe.com for compiling and disseminating this and TONS of very helpful informaiton]

The GI Joe Fan Club produced a number of additional members of the Steel Brigade sub-team as souvenir items for the 2005 GI Joe Convention. I wasn't able to attend the convention, but over the past couple of years I've been able to score some really fantastic deals and put together my only little group. They needed a ride so I gave them the DTC R.H.I.N.O. and off they go!

In my Joeverse the Steel Brigade provide site security for high risk locations in embattled zones. The RHINO rolls in:

The RHINO land and air vehicles are both operated by a Steel Brigade Squad Leader (Steel Brigade Commander as named by Hasbro). The Unit Commander is Ironhide (Gung-Ho v17). The crazy tail-gunner there is Dragon Fire (Dragonsky).

The helicopter deploys very smoothly and is ready for take-off.

Once the copter is clear the troops pile out to secure the scene.

When the action's done, the unit gets together for a group photo:

I equipped all the members of my Steel Brigade with this fine weapon from the great folks over at Marauder's Gun-runners:

NCM Rifle

I likely won't be adding any custom figures or additional troops as this works rather well. I might equip them with a transport, but that's definitely a low priority as this unit is great the way it is.

Matt Tracker and the Thunderhawk

2009-05-21T14:16:00.006-05:00

Hasbro released a 25th Anniversary GI Joe figure in tribute to the M.A.S.K. line of toys and action figures. The character they chose was the main hero - Matt Tracker. They re-used some parts from existing figures and re-envisioned him with a helicopter backpack instead of a transforming vehicle. Fortunately they did supply him with a helmet:

Here's the original figure with the Thunderhawk vehicle:

and transformed:

I took off the helicopter backpack - I'll probably use that for a Brad Turner custom since he had a motorcycle that transforms into a helicopter AND the backpack is already the correct color. The harness, chest armor, and shoulder pads all came off too. I wanted a more basic appearance for the figure. Since my Matt Tracker is going to be enclosed in a vehicle I'll save the armor for Brad Turner as well.

Here's my Matt Tracker with the transforming car from the Dark Knight movie line of toys.

and transformed:

I'm pleased that the figure fits in the driver's seat in both modes rather well:

I thought about repainting the car to closer resemble the original Thunderhawk, but for now time constraints force me to leave it as is. I'll likely leave the current paint scheme rather than go with red/purple though there will be some cosmetic changes. The copper parts will either be silver or light gray. I'll replace the missile launcher with either a gatling-type gun or an air-to-air missile. Additionally, I'll fit an extra piece of plastic to cover the massive sunroof.

So far in my MASK/GI Joe cross-over figures I have: Matt Tracker with Thunderhawk and Sly Rax with Piranha. I've got plans for Brad Turner, Gloria Baker, Miles Mayhem, and Cliff Dagger. Now all I need is time - sweet time!

She's really Wonderful, Woman!

2009-05-20T15:23:00.004-05:00

Here are my Wonder Woman figures:

From left to right: Cheetah, Ares, Wonder Woman, Circe, Artemis, White Gorilla, Wonder Girl, and Kingdom Come Wonder Woman standing in for WW's mom - Hippolyta.

Here's a close-up of the custom White Gorilla that I made. The character appears in the earlier issues of the current volume Wonder Woman comic series. Wonder Woman is in Africa and encounters the tribe of intelligent gorillas that Grogg once sought to lead. A group of the gorillas follow Wonder Woman back to the US where they hope to prove useful to her. They have in some fairly funny ways. The figure was made on a King Kong movie figure with some lame action feature. I painted several coats of white with various tinting to give it some depth. I painted the fleshy bits and then painted his nails. He actually turned out all right I think.

For Hippolyta I'd like to make her appear like she does in the Amazon Attack series. I think she's already close so it shouldn't be hard - I just need the time.

I don't have a shelf for these guys so they have to hang out in a plastic bin for now. Perhaps I'll rotate out some other characters someday and clear these a place.

Marvel Select She-Hulk in Fantastic Four Uniform

2009-05-12T12:37:00.003-05:00

When the Marvel Select She-Hulk first came out I grabbed her up to place with my Fantastic Four figures. I thought that the scale was great, and the figure was a good fit for my Fantastic Four shelf.

I never read any of the modern She-Hulk comics so I didn't really care about her factory appearance. I started off with a few coats of blue on her swimsuit in varying tones of blue. I then put several coats of white on her gloves and boots. I then did some light dry-brushing on her suit to add some depth. Finally came the detail work. Then that's all she wrote!

Unfortunately the time has come to part with her. She's on eBay here:

Fantastic Four She-Hulk

Wings of Silver, Nerves of Steel... SILVERHAWKS!

2009-05-08T10:28:00.003-05:00

When I was about 11 or 12 years old I was totally obsessed with the Silverhawks. I even designed and submitted ides for new vehicles and characters. I was so thrilled and yet bummed at the same time when I got my rejection letter - on Silverhawks letterhead if I recall correctly!

All the toys that I originally had were either completely destroyed from excessive play and/or were sold off at garage sales (curse you rummage sales!) Recently I've managed to score some really cheap lots and have collected several of the figures. I'm still looking for these:

Stargazer with Sly-bird
Steelheart with Rayzor
Condor
Hardware
Windhammer
Moon Stryker
Quicksilver in Ultrasonic suit
Steelwill in Ultrasonic Suit
The Maraj
Skyrunner
Sprinthawk

Recently I spotted an auction for a foreign version of Mon Star and unfortunately was out-bid on it.

Mon Star here still has the ability to switch heads and presumably retains the same articulation as the US release. Additionally he comes with a solid set of wings which along with his torso are plated in a metallic gold finish. He also comes with a recolored Airshock.

I have been unable to find any additional information regarding this figure. The seller describes it as Korean but I have not been able to confirm that. I don't know if any additional figures were made as part of the line. If you have any information on this figure, please let me know.

Welcome to the new toy blog!

2009-05-05T14:16:00.002-05:00

All of these posts were brought over from my Why, Commander Y blog. This will be the new home of all things toy related. Please feel free to still check out my Why blog for various ramblings and whatnot, but stay tuned to this channel for all things toy related.

Star Trek: The Next Generation and Dr. Crusher

2009-04-22T16:28:00.003-05:00

Around the time that Star Trek: The Next Generation started airing back in 1987 or so, Playmate got the toy license and started producing four inch figures in the vein of Kenner (now Hasbro) Star Wars figures. They were about eight years behind on the technology - but whatevs.

Here's my little group shot:

Here we have the six inch Shuttlecraft (fits in better than the four inch one IMO), the main characters in their Season One appearance, and my custom made Dr. Crusher. I find it amusing that of the female characters Playmates picked to make, they went with the chick that gets killed in the first season. Oh well.

Dr. Crusher is made from the body of a Tasha Yar figure, the head off some Medieval looking chick, and a scrap of cloth. I need to trim off some of the threads, but the overall effect is good I think. I planned on making Deanna Troi first but I found the head better matched Crusher and I wouldn't have to paint the hair. I put the "pregnancy-hiding" lab coat on to make her stand out a bit more.

In the future I plan on making a Deanna Troi, putting a beard on Riker, and probably a Barclay.

The Original Joes

2009-04-22T15:27:00.003-05:00

Here's another shelf display I put together for my '82-'83 GI Joe action figures. I added some of the '84 that I particularly enjoy.

Most of the figures are complete and in good condition. Zap though has two broken thumbs AND is missing the figures on his left hand. I guess that's what you get when you work with explosives all day. Grand Slam in the background has a replacement waist.

Here's a custom figure I made of Ace.

I took the head from the V1 flightsuit version with the body of a badly tortured Hawk V1 figure. The arms came from Cobra Commander V1. I had to repair the sculpt a bit on the torso as a previous owner had engaged in some rigorous interrogation methods.

Group-shots and Backgrounds (Part 2)

2009-04-15T10:32:00.003-05:00

As promised, I'm back with more. Today I'll start off with Metropolis:

This one I created by using buildings from several different cities again, just like Gotham. I added in an artistic fence to give the impression of being on a rooftop. I'm most happy with my Brianiac though. I used some dome from an ice rink or something, some cartoon tentacles, and the skull from the Punisher. Like the Bat-Signal in Gotham, I wanted something that really stood out of just a normal backdrop.

Here's Metropolis over-crowded with the super-folk.

You'll notice that I added a side-image to this shelf:

I made this basically the same way as I did the background except I added the "Daily Planet" symbol. This was accomplished by cutting the plastic bubble from a DC Direct Jimmy Olsen figure and painting the inside. I first painted the letters black. Then I painted several coats of gold before putting on a thicker coat of white-yellow mix. Basically it's the reverse process of painting you'd do anywhere else because the first layer of paint you put on is shown on top - so letters (details) first, then gold ("top layer") next, and finally the primer coat.

Here's the original side image:

This one you've already seen, but I don't think I showed the original background - the Green Lantern Space Scene. (I know - catchy title)

This is actually the first background image I did. The various parts of the space scene have wildly varying resolutions. I probably would change that if I were re-doing this one. Regardless I still like it.

Here's the groupshot - battle-damaged Manhunter, new Abin Sur, and new Tomar Re from the recent DC Direct box-set are all added.

Here's my first venture into the Star Wars universe: Yavin.

Yeah, I like it too. I used a couple of different ruins for the main temple and the larger temple in the background. Images of Saturn and Neptune make up the sky. I tinted everything slightly pink to make it appear like an alien world. Fog made the larger temple in the background seem more distant. I cobbled together some antenna and radar dishes to add a technological contrast with the Mayan temple.

I haven't set this shelf up yet - but it will be New Jedi Order Era on one side, with a little space on the other for the Young Jedi Academy-ish period.

That does it for now. If I suddenly come into a lot more free time I'd like to start in on some Marvel backgrounds. Well, until next time.

Group-shots and Backgrounds (Part 1)

2009-04-14T14:31:00.002-05:00

Here are a few group-shots of figures I currently have on display. I usually don't have the shelves so crowded, but recently I've been getting figures faster than I've had time to really enjoy them or store them as orderly as I'd like. Originally, I had the figures on the plain black bookcases but that got to be boring. Everybody's doing the plain black bookcases these days! Using photoshop I created some backgrounds and via my super-secret access to a plotter I printed them out.

First up, alphabetically I suppose, is my Batman shelf. Welcome to Gotham!

I created this image by combing a nature scene of a night sky with a few layers of cityscape. The buildings are actually from a number of cities and usually with daylight. I combined them and then darkened all the layers to look more like night. I tried to defocus some of the buildings in the background, but with varying degrees of success. The Bat-signal effect was from some poster or some such. It didn't have the beam, so I had to create that. There are a few mistakes, but this was one of my earlier pieces.

Here's the image with my Batman-related figures:

Next up - Hell and Hades!

I wanted a display for my bad guys of the DC Universe, but I couldn't figure out a co-hesive concept that worked for most of them. I opted instead to go with a cosmic background on one side and a destopian concept for the other. The "Hell" side is mostly untouched by me. I think it was an artist conception of a super-nova or something. The "Hades" side is a still from the classic silent film, "Metropolis." I thought it was suitably menacing in appearance.

Here's the image printed out with my Sinestro Corps on the left and a few of the more terrestrial villains on the right.

Welcome to the Hall of Justice - tours leaving on the hour. Do not stray from the designated tour route, please sign in with your tour guide before departure...

The Hall of Justice from the Super-Friends cartoon was based on Union Terminal of Cincinnati. I found it fitting then to find some reference photos and go to work on that material. I added some clouds and did some creative remodeling on the facade. I tweaked the color in places, but unfortunately it's not exactly what I had in mind.

Up until a couple of weeks ago, I had my Justice League figures on the left and my Justice Society figures on the right. I got too many to fit on the shelf so the JSA took a holiday to Storage-Land. I hear the weather's nice there. The Bizzaro gang moved into the vacant space, though just for now.

That's enough for now, kiddies. I'll post some more shortly.

Three Marvel Customs and a Tweak

2009-04-03T14:53:00.004-05:00

When Toybiz created their dog-faced Ultron for the Legendary Riders wave of figures, initially I was very excited. That is I was excited until I saw the monstrosity - and I call it that not in a good way. That figure was horrid. I needed an Ultron though so I took a XMC Ruby Laser Cyclops or whatever he was called and sculpted a new head for him. Initially I tried to retain the red light feature from the Cyclops figure, but there was no way to harden the sculpting material without wrecking the electronics. I used some plastic tree parts from a model kit to finish off the head and I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I painted him with a gray primer coat on the metallic red, then used a liberal coat of silver paint on top. I put a few spots of red on the eyes and mouth to finish him off. He's supplied with the glider from the Toybiz Ultron figure.

Next is my take on the US Agent character. I used an extra Cyclops figure from the ML9 wave of figures and the head and shield from ML1 Captain America (I got him for like $3 from a junk shop). He was pretty straight-forward after that - red parts, black parts, and then "flag" pattern on his torso.

I'm surprised that there's no recent Crimson Dynamo figure either from ToyBiz, Hasbro Marvel Legends, or even the Iron Man movie line. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before one comes out. I'll demote my Crimson Dynamo down to a proto-type version or something if it's a good version.

Back when KB Toys was still around they'd have figures from obscure toylines that I had never seen nor heard of anywhere else. I picked up this base figure from some video game line or something. I stripped off some superfluous parts, then created a new head from sculpting material. I chopped up the chain-gun/blaster thing he came with and created his jetpack/backpack from it. It worked out rather well.

Last up is just a tweak - I wanted a Sentry figure that actually resembles the character as he appears in the comics. I put on some long hair, cured it, then painted it with a few different colors to give it more life.

Beast Wars and Stargate

2009-04-02T14:08:00.003-05:00

The '90's brought us many great things - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hyper-color, and grunge. Lost to many folks however was the fantastic CGI TV series Beast Wars. This was the follow-up so many Transformers fans had been looking for since the end of the Generation 1 cartoon. The Beast Wars took place centuries after the Generation One series ended. The Autobots and Decepticons have evolved into the Maximals and Predacons. The two races have been living in relative peace on Cybertron until a young Predacon took up the mantle and mission of the original Megatron. The new Megatron gathers a band of like-minded Predacons and the embark to create havoc in the Universe. Optimus Primal and a group of Maximals take off in pursuit. They get lost in time and end up on prehistoric Earth. Forced to take on the form of indigenous lifeforms to protect themselves from electric discharges, they began the Beast Wars!

Oh man did I love the Beast Wars series. It's actually what got me into collecting toys as an adult. the first one I picked up was a Transmetal Megatron. Over the years I completed my set of figures - at least all the characters that appeared on the series. Here's my group shot of the original group of characters:

I threw in an updated version of Black Arachnia from the TF: Animated series. There are new versions of Dinobot and Cheetor that I'd like to get, but I haven't had the extra cash when I've spotted them in the stores yet.

My first full custom Beast Wars figure is Slimius Maximus here:

I created him in the image of one of my cats, named Slim. He's made from a Cheetor base with a vintage G1 Opimus head and a modified blaster rifle from a Voltron figure.

I got a couple of junked Optimus Primes from a lot of TF parts on eBay. I snapped the head off of one of the ones in worst condition. I then popped the head off the Cheetor figure and super-glued Optimus's in place of it. After ensuring that he could still transform, I began the long process of applying paint. I began with some primer coats for the sliver and red portions. I got deep into all the grooves and joints that would be visible in robot mode. I transformed him into beast mode and liberally applied a black base coat. I figured that I would want the beast mode to be the more realistic appearing of the two modes. The robot mode could show potions of the beast in keeping with the other figures in the line. Back in robot mode, I applied a couple of coats both red and silver in order to get the kind of coverage I wanted.

After I was satisfied with the interior I transformed him back into Beast mode and began dry-brushing him with various colors to achieve a pattern that resembled my cat's fur pattern. He won't hold up to many transformations so before displaying him I put him back in robot mode and touched him up. Done.

Eventually, I'd like to touch up the paint on all my Beast Wars figures to be more accurate to their TV appearance. Man, I've got a lot of projects planned.

My local comic shop had a special on some Stargate SG-1 figures a while back so I picked up three of the Serpent Guard figures. They come with alternate heads so I made one into an Apophis figure. It was a very easy custom - painted it gold.

That's all for now - more later.

A few more customs for money...

2009-04-01T15:58:00.003-05:00

...I guess that makes me a customs whore. Oh well.

First up is a figure I made years ago - I had the extra Wolverine from the Legendary Riders wave of Marvel Legends figures. There was a comic a while ago that showed Wolvey here on the cover wearing a skull shirt popularized by the ol' Frank Castle.

Here's a comparison shot with the Astonishing Wolverine and Classic Punisher figures.

Here he is on the 'Bay:
Wolverine as Punisher

Next up is my take on the Juggernaut:

He's made from the World War Hulk or Planet Hulk or whatever the eff that first Hulk in the Hasbro Marvel Legends wave was called. I wasn't reading that series at the time so I didn't have much interest in the figure. Also I missed out on the "monkey arms" Juggernaut made by Toy Biz so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and make a proper Juggernaut. I used a bit of sculpting material to cover his bare feet and give him some arm bands. I tried twice making a helmet for him and neither one turned out well. My Juggernaut morphed into a Cain Marko custom then.

The arm bands didn't hold up as well as I thought they would, as you can see here:

Still he fits in well with the other folks, as you can see here with Cyclops and his step-brother, Charlie Xavier:

I made him a while ago, but now that the Spider-man Classics version came out I decided to go with him and try to make a buck with the custom on eBay. Here's a comp shot between the SM and custom versions:

Here he is on the 'Bay:
Juggernaut, aka Cain Marko

The Fearsome Four!

2009-03-23T13:26:00.003-05:00

I'm a big fan of the Fantastic Four, their allies and their enemies. I have a number of incarnations of the core characters in action figure form. While I do enjoy the recent Fantastic Four movies - not the greatest, but entertaining - I'm not a big fan of the movie-based figures... as the Fantastic Four. The figures do provide some interesting custom fodder however. I turned a movie Thing into a Green Lantern for example.

Given Marvel's frequent use of alternate universes I decided that I'd make evil versions of the Fantastic Four. I couldn't let them run around with the same names as their goodie-good counterparts so I present to you the Fearsome Four!

They are Mr. Fearsome, The Invincible Woman, The Inhuman Torch, and It.

Mr. Fearsome here is a normal human - scratch that. Mr. Fearsome doesn't have super-powers. What makes him formidable? His amazing intellect for one, but more important is his complete lack of a conscious and compassion for others. He wears a protective, shock-absorbing suit of his own design. It can stop bullets and deaden the impact of most physical and energy attacks. He holsters a Luger pistol he picked up off of a fallen hero - Victor Von Hope - as a symbol of Hope's defeat. He is suspected to have a larger body count than even the Iron Maniac.

I created Mr. Fearsome off of a movie Mr. Fantastic and classic Mr. Fantastic head. Oh yeah - I cut the holster off of a Doom figure - the original Marvel Legends release. I had to put some sculpting material on the neck post but didn't have to cure it at all. Of course I just set him on a shelf, so that's probably why he hasn't broken.

The Invincible Woman is nearly as ruthless as her sometimes-lover, Mr. Fearsome. Her skin is unbreakable and she has the strength of many humans. She also has the power of flight. While she doesn't require a protective uniform, she wears a few scraps of fabric regardless. She likes the attention her look gets her. Mr. Fearsome considers her the applied force of the team - he sends her into situations that require muscle and the intelligent application of that muscle.

I made the Invincible Woman from a translucent movie Invisible Woman figure. I have to admit that I felt a little creepy giving this figure the base flesh-tone coat of paint that I put on as a primer. She appeared a little too naked. While I do love the naked ladies - I feel a little creepy making a naked action figure. I painted the boots, some pads, and a few parts of her uniform to give an impression that she's wearing a little something. Finding no appropriate demarcations on her waist or torso, I added some trimed-to-fit electrical tape. She came out a little paler than I'd like ideally, but overall she's pretty good.

Next up is the Inhuman Torch. He's a pyro-kinetic that particularly enjoys manifesting his flames in the form of frightening monsters. He has many uses to Mr. Fearsome, but typically he is employed as a rear-guard and as It's keeper. He is able to withstand the high temperatures he creates though he does not typically wrap himself in flames.

The Inhuman Torch is actually two figures - the first is made from a movie Mr. Fantastic with the Classic Fantastic Four's Johnny Storm head stuck on. I had to make some alterations to the neck of the figure to make his head fit, but I applied some scuplting material and painted it to match. I like the effect of the flamed-out eyeballs the original Johnny figure came with. The House of M Inhuman Torch is displayed alongside him in the group shot as a manifestation of his fire-powers.

Here's a great entry on the Inhuman Torch figure, from TNI's Marvelous News:

House of M: Inhuman Torch

The final figure of this little group is It. He's from the House of M boxset and seemed perfect just as he came. In my group he's similarly mindless and easily manipulated just like in the House of M comics. However, in my take on the character, he actually enjoys being deployed. He's worked up into a frenzy by the Inhuman Torch and then sent when Mr. Fearsome is looking for complete distruction. It is nearly indestructable and possesses great strength equal only perhaps to his rage.

Here's a great entry on the It figure, from TNI's Marvelous News:

House of M: It

In the future I plan to make my version of the Iron Maniac (created by Robert Kirkman for his MTU comic series) and Victor Von Hope.

Some X-Men

2009-03-16T14:17:00.003-05:00

Prior to the ninth wave of Marvel Legends I only collected Star Wars and GI Joe in the 1:18 scale. I bought the ninth wave figures to collect the Galactus Build-A-Figure. This was after the announcement that Toy Biz was going to release their own 4-inch sized action figures, Super Hero Showdown. I figured that I'd sell off the figures, keep the Galactus, and then use him to throw-down with the combined forces of my Star Wars, GI Joe, and SHS armies. Well, SHS has long fallen by the way-side and here I am still collecting six inch figures with gusto.

Here are my X-Men. I've had to put a few in storage and probably should put a few more as the shelf has gotten crowded to the point where I can't pose them differently and whatnot.

On the right side I've got the good guys:

On the left side I put the baddies:

I tweaked out my Iceman figure. I wanted him to have a more "frosty" look. The base figures is the Bobby that was released in the X-Men Classics line. Basically I just put on a thick dry-brushing of white.

The version of Yuriko, or Lady Deathstrike, or Lady Deathstryke, that was released was pretty good. However I added some better sleeves after cutting off the fragments of sleeves she came with. Then - I had to "take off" her shirt. I just painted her chest in a similar flesh tone and touched up some of the pinker parts of her hands with a more realistic coloring.

Here's a reference shot from the fine folks at Wikipedia:

Here's my Dark Iceman from the eXcalibur book by Chris Clairemont. He introduced a team of Dark X-Men from another world. Before I had a Silver Surfer figure I actually made a custom from an X-Men Classics Iceman figure. I had just painted him with a glossy silver - done. I eventually got an authentic Silver Surfer and had this guy laying around. I cut off the tip of his nose and lips - that's how he appeared in one of the comics, then applied a thorough coat of the funky blue followed by a frosty dry-brushing.

I eventually plan to make the rest of the Dark X-men, but they're not terribly high on my to-do list. Here's another reference picture from the wikipedia entry:

A Trio of DC Custom Figures

2009-03-10T15:57:00.003-05:00

Here are just a few customs I made a while ago. I was able to score several Superman/Clark Kent 2-packs and even a Batman/Batgirl 2-pack on clearance at Target for a ridiculously cheap price. I've used the Superman figures for my Yellow Lantern and Reverse Flash customs and my Batman as my Batzarro custom. My Clark Kents and the Batgirl figure did not escape my notice .

My Lex Luthor was made using a Clark Kent. I took an exacto knife and gave him a hair cut and some plastic surgery. A coat of paint and done.

Bruce Wayne here got a little trim and chin-job like Lex, followed with a paint job and Clark Kent got a lot richer.

My final presentation today is my repaint of the Batgirl figure. I wanted her to look more like she did in her initial appearances. I added a waist bag and then gave her several coats of paint. The yellow on the inside of her cape took several coats. I first painted it white as a primer and then did three full coats of yellow before I got good enough coverage.

Me Am Hate Bizarro World!

2009-03-06T13:31:00.003-06:00

This are not my customs of Non-DC characters... okay okay, enough of that.

I'm a big fan of the Bizarro World guys - mostly because the whole concept is completely absurd. Here's the group shot:

First up is my version of the original, Bizarro himself:

I created him using a Marvel Legends Frankenstein figure, some paint, and a scrap of cloth from the fabric joint. I have the Mattel DCU version of this character and it's pretty good. I also wanted a version to have with my other Bizarro figures and the idea of creating a Bizarro off the Frankenstein base seems rather fitting. Some versions of the character have him come from an alternate reality while other versions have him created by Luthor, cloned from Superman's DNA.

Next up is my take on Batzarro:

There's a fairly good version of this character from DC Direct's Superman/Batman series, however it's just not my cup of tea. I made this from an extra DCU Batman I had collecting dust. I cut off the utility belt and put it back on upside down after I cut the lids of the pouches open. I added some sculpting material to the cowl to cover the eyeholes. Some hobby chain and several coats of paint completed the figure.

Next up, the Slowest Man Alive, Bizarro Flash (aka the Reverse Flash):

He's made from a DCU Superman body and the alternate head from the DC Direct Crisis on Infinite Earth Barry Allen figure. I used the same scheme as Professor Zoom, even though that's a different character from this one. I want to add some chains and weights to this figure but I haven't stumbled upon the ideal weights yet. The torso is a bit more muscular than I would like for a perfect figure, but oh well.

Finally, my favorite of the bunch - I am fan of the Green Lantern Corps after all - is the Man Afraid of Everything - the Yellow Lantern:

He's made from a DCU Superman figure and some scuply. I created a solid mask without eyeholes in the vein of Batzarro and a ring out of sculpting material. I put the ring on his left hand and tipped the lantern symbol on his side.

I plan on making a Wonder Woman Bizarro but I haven't found the appropriate base figure. She'll come along someday.

Mandie, Oh Mandie!

2009-03-04T14:16:00.003-06:00

Here are a few Mandaloreans I've made in the past several years.

First up is one of the first custom figures I ever made. He was created to be the main character in a short story I was writing. I never got around to finishing the story, so until then, he remains nameless. He was created using a POTF2 Boba Fett (the deluxe rocket-pack version I believe), Obi-Wan head, and a Darth Vader cape.

Here is a Mandie Jedi Hunter. I never named him... I guess that's a theme with me. He's got a few trophies on his belt. I figured that his armor is made from that material that blocks light sabers... the name escapes me at the moment. That fact coupled with his natural ability with swordplay make nearly a match for a Jedi. Add in all the dirty tricks he's packed in to his armor and he's more than a match - he's a threat.

I feel like this guy isn't quite finished. I'd like to add a spool of silver chain and some additional paint apps. I made this figure probably seven years ago. I suppose it's about time I revisited him.

I picked up the Entertainment Earth exclusive Elite Forces of the Republic multipacks. I intended to pick up a second set and figured I'd make some customs out of these. Well I never got the second set though I did use the helmet from one figure to transform one clone into a Mandelorean warrior.

I believe he was the Clone AT TE Driver or some such. I scuplted over the armor and gave him a paint job similar to the highlight color on the helmet. I dremeled a hole in his back for the backpack and added what's-her-bucket's helmet.

Speaking of What's-her-bucket - I gave her the AT TE Driver's helmet and Endor Han's coat since I took her normal helmet and backpack. It was the least I could do.

Man - I gotta take better pictures, the prospective on these is ass. Thanks for bearing with me.

A couple of figs to pay the bills...

2009-03-03T11:36:00.003-06:00

I created some figures and am selling them on eBay to hopefully pay for some of the stuff I buy.

Here's the first one - the Iron Grenadier Heavy Weapons Specialist. He's basically the Destro from the Ultimate Battle Pack with an Iron Grenadier head and a big ol' honkin' gun.

Here's a little group shot for the folks back home:

The rest of the figures are a 4-man team that I threw together to penetrate enemy territory and extract a hostage. Yeah, I've got a pile of Sgt. Stalker figures from the UBP and a few heads. So, you get Stalker, Kamakura, Snake Eyes, and Duke. All equipped with kick-ass accessories from Marauder, Inc.

The mug shots:

These are all up on eBay - we'll see what happens. Hopefully I'll make some bank and buy more goodies!

UPDATE: The auctions ended - not as stellar as I hoped, but I managed to make a meager profit off of them. I made about enough to buy a new figure... So, I'll probably not make more of the 4-man team, but I am going to release the other 4 IG HW guys I made. The first one's ending price is now going to be the benchmark for the fixed price listing I'll have on the rest of him. Each sale will net me about $6.00. I'm not going to get rich, but that'll pay for the parts I used and the other extra parts plus give me a little something for my time.

Sly Rax - the MASK tribute custom

2009-02-27T13:00:00.004-06:00

Several weeks ago I saw a really cool custom figure go up on eBay - it was a GI Joe 25th Anniversary style Sly Rax custom. I knew I had the parts and so I had a go at it. Here he is:

In my Joeverse I put him in with the Dreadnoks since he's a motorcycle-driving n'er-do-well. Yeah, I don't know of many of bikers that tuck in their shirt and button all they way up to the collar, but hey what the heck. He's made from the legs of Torch, Cobra Soldier torso and upper arms, Cobra Commander lower arms, Mutt Williams coat and head, with some slight modifications all around.

Here he is with his Stiletto mask:

I bought a large lot of "crap" figures that somebody had painted over several times as a child. There were quite a few jems in the lot - among them was Countdown's helmet. Which was used to create the Stiletto mask.

Finally, here is with his Piranha Motorcycle:

Yeah - it doesn't transform and has little in common with the original motorcycle. Truth is I just got it off eBay with a very good price and decided it'd make a great 'Nok vehicle. Turns out it was the best fit with ol' Sly here. I tweaked it a little bit, but mostly this is how I got it from the package. It is made from the Silver Mirage motorcycle with paint and some decals.

Next up on my MASK tribute tour is Miles Mayhem. I don't have the vehicle I want to stand in for his Switchblade helicopter but thanks to a suggestion from a friend I know what I want to get for it.

The Green Lantern Corps

2009-02-19T13:08:00.003-06:00

Here's my little group of Green Lantern Corps. I created the backdrop in photoshop and added my own version of MOGO. I neglected to take a pic of my growing Sinestro Corps, so they'll have to come later. Additionally, I just got the Green Lantern 4-pack with the battle damaged Manhunter and I'm looking for the G'Nort figure. They'll have to be in a GLC part 2 blog I suppose.

While I really like the look of the sculpts, I'm not in love with the pearlescent paint job. I repainted Kilowaq here with white gloves and a better green (IMO).

Eventually I'd like to create a large army of Green Lantern Corpsmen. Here's my first addition - Honnu - sometimes "Hannu." Here's a bio on him: Hannu. I made him from a Fantastic Four Movie Thing base with some sculpy. I painted him accordingly and then added about three or four layers of dry-brushing to give him a slate/stone look.

In the the current Green Lantern comic series Hal's former girlfriend gets hunted down by the Star Sapphire entity since she's viewed as competition for Hal's affection. Hal, ever the gentleman, lends her some of his Green Lantern power and creates a uniform on her inspired by the classic Star Sapphire appearance. Basically with the new Star Sapphire figure I didn't want to let my classic figure to go to waste. Just a simple re-paint.

Also in the current GL series, Batman tries on the ring and takes on his appearance. This is a repaint on a DCU Batman figure I got in a 2-pack with Batgirl and him. I call this the Bat-Lantern.

I don't remember a specific spot in the comics where Supes takes on this appearance, but I thought it would be cool and I had an extra Superman figure so...

UPDATE: One of my friends pointed out that he appeared this way in The Last Son of Earth.

This is my first complete Fan-Fiction Green Lantern. I call him Dex Derhan. There are a few examples of Green Lanterns that aren't your typical size and since I got this little dude out of my parts box I figured why not him. I don't have a bio for him yet - maybe I'll get to it some day.

One of my good friends' daughter got this in a happy meal and decided she didn't want it and thought it would be good in my collection. How could I refuse something so sweet? I painted Kung Fu Panda here up like a GL. Not a real serious member of my Corps, but hey - it's fun.

That's it for my tweaked or customized Green Lantern figures. I'll take shots of my new Lanterns and the Sinestro Corps probably once I get the G'Nort figure.

GI Joe movie toys

2009-02-12T09:27:00.003-06:00

Images of the action figures and toys related to the new GI Joe: Rise of Cobra movie have started to surface. The action figures bear a good likeness to the actors playing the roles, but look more like Godzilla themed figure rather than Joe figures. Completely gone are the campy uniforms of days past. I'm saddened to think that the phenomenal 25th line of figures will be replaced by the movie line. I hope that after a few waves of these "realistic" figures are completed that we will see a return of classic-inspired beauties. We still need a Zap figure after all.

Figures

Vehicles

Insert

That Night Raven looks pretty awesome - probably the best offering of the lot. The Mobile Command Center I'll need to see more of, but for now looks like the equivalent of a transforming batmobile/batcave monstrosity.

I hope we'll see better offerings than these over time.

UPDATE: I'm excited to see that the line will become GI Joe Movie and GI Joe Classic with a very impressive offering for the Classic line in the Assault on Cobra Island and Defense of Cobra Island 7-packs coming this July:

7-packs

GI Joe: The Coil!

2009-01-27T12:46:00.003-06:00

For the 2006 GI Joe Convention, the Club released the Cobra's Most Wanted set, including Serpentor's private army - the COIL! Not being satisfied with the few characters provided by the Club, I created some of my own. First, here's the group shot:

The first addition was an Officer to lead my Coil Troops, named, well, "Coil Officer." He shares the same recipe as the Coil Trooper - Decimater head with TARGAT body. He is painted in the same colors with black and green flipped.

Next up is the Coil Techno Viper - Techno-Viper head on a Coil Trooper body.

I had several Snake Eyes v14 bodies and Storm Shadow v14 heads so I made a few of these guys that I'm calling Coil Neo-Ninjas.

Here is a character I call Virus - or the Coil Biological Trooper. He is made from a Vapor head on a Sludge Viper body - with Techno-Viper arms. I used a blowtorch backpack and some sort of Corps! pistol to create his weapon.

Not as much members of COIL, but rather associates of Serpentor - at least as described by the Devils Due comic series - are the next three figures. Hannibal I changed the arms out on as I really didn't like the look of the coat he was wearing. (I'm using that for a future custom anyway).

These next two are from a former "business associate" with whom I have long ago had a falling out. I'll refer to him as Snake Eggs from now on. Maybe I'll write up a blog about ol' Snake Eggs someday, but for now I'll just say that while he is talented he does not have that measure of integrity or loyalty. First up is Firefly as he appeared in the early issue of the DDP series. I'm not entirely sure what parts were used as he sculpted quite a bit on him. He has most of his articulation, but can't bend at the waist. I really hope his rubber band never breaks!

Finally comes Zandar. He fell out with his brother Zartan and ran off to join Serpentor in his ultimately doomed attempt to conquer the world. Again, I'm not certain what parts were used and the figure doesn't retain much articulation, but its appearance is really great. As much as I resent our dealings, I am happy with Snake Eggs' work.

Cobra's Black Ice and Black Ice Viper

2009-01-26T15:16:00.003-06:00

Not to be left out of the exclusive figure racket - Joe Canuck - the Canadian GI Joe Club - created a few of their own convention exclusive figures. As opposed to the 800 to 1000 sets made by the US group, Joe Canuck made I think 25 to 35 of these bad boys. There's little to no chance that I would ever get my hands on an authentic version, so I did what I do and created my own counterfeit version. Additionally, as I was looking for reference information I stumbled on a Black Ice Viper created by Scramble over on JoeCustoms.com. I created Black Ice as close to the official version as possible aside from upping the contrast on the gray bits. I created this version of the Black Ice Viper to serve as his driver/retrieval expert. Eventually I'll do up a version of the Cobra WOLF for them sometime. I won't make it black, rather I'll keep it white since it is an arctic vehicle after all, but I will make some other modifications to make it unique.

GI Joe: Headhunters!

2009-01-26T12:40:00.003-06:00

Every year the GI Joe Collector Club, Master Collector, releases a set of action figures exclusive to the annual GI Joe Convention. In 2008, their set was based on the Cobra Headhunters. I never had any of the Headhunters, Stormtroopers, or Headman figures the first time around. (I refer to my childhood years playing with toys to be my "first time around.") I didn't have much nostalgia or fondness for this group as they were released after I had stopped playing with toys.
However, the BATs I am rather interested in having. When I saw that BATs were included with this set I started paying a lot more attention. I preorderd the boxed and loose sets - figuring that I would sell off most of the Headhunter figures to cover the cost of my glorious BATs.
Once I got the figures I was immediately impressed and decided to keep several of them. Furthermore, I created several new members for this set in the new deco of the Headhunters.
The picture here shows my Headhunters as they are currently composed.

First off, I wanted to display the leader of the Headhunters - Headman himself! Of course in the comic continuity he is deceased, but whatevs. He is a straight-up repaint of the Headman V1 figure.

In addition to the 15 figure set the club makes additional sets that are originally available only to convention attendees and if there are any remaining afterward they are made available on-line. None of the attendee-only Headhunter Driver figures were made available on-line so I had to counterfeit my own version. He is a repaint of the Headhunter V1 figure.

Here is my first fan-fiction addition to the set, Needles. I created him as an assassin that specializes in poison and close-quarters kills. He is created from the body of Metal-Head V2 and the head of Snake Eyes V4.

Next is a transferee, Decimator. I re-created him as Sniper/Assassin for the Headhunters. He has Decimator V1's arms, torso, and helmet; Dr. Mindbender V1's waist and legs; and comic pack General Hawk's head.

Here he is with helmet off.

Finally, since I had the parts available, I created an additional BAT figure. Unable, really unwilling, to take the time I painted him up as a prototype BAT. Eventually he'll hang in the BAT laboratory with wires hanging out and whatnot. Until then he'll hang out with the Headhunters.

Over two and a half years?!?!?!

2009-01-23T15:47:00.003-06:00

Wow - I'm a super writer. Just look at all that I've accomplished here in the last two and a half years! I think that pretty much speaks for itself.

Some of you may know that I'm an avid toy collector and have been for nearly a decade now. Additionally, I like to customize or "kit-bash" my toys (as the cool kids say). My cousin, Don, recently started a blog to post some of his work and he suggested that I do the same. I have to give Don credit for starting me down the dark path of action figure customizing. It was a stormy night back in naught-1 or so. Don called me up on the land-line (that's how cellphones used to be back then). He told me that I should run down to the local Toys R Us (TRU to the cool kids) and grab up a bunch of clearance action figures. I told him that it was quite all right since I had the ones available there already. He wondered if I had enough fodder. I said that I wasn't planning a land war in Russia and therefore don't need much in the way of fodder. He then suggested that I stop drinking so much and pick some up for making custom figures. After thoroughly cussing him out for suggesting such a vulgar thing, I asked for clarification on the customizing thing. Don't worry, he said, I'll come pick you up in a minute.

The rest is history. About 500 customs later I sit here - in my basement - despondent, drunk, balding, and over-weight - wondering why I can make toys but I can't make them happy! Well that's another matter I suppose.

Soon, I promise, soon I will have some pictures and discussion up here of my lovelies and the voices in my head can then only congratulate me on a job well attempted rather than berate me for dreams crappily done.