Group-shots and Backgrounds (Part 2)

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)

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.