Commando Cody AKA Rocketman

[aburabusimbutu]

This last Wednesday (July 27th) the actor who portrayed Commando Cody AKA Rocketman in the old movie serial Radar Men From The Moon passed away.

Ironically, I have just completed my Commando Cody action figure which I had begun many months ago. This project bore more frustration and difficulty than any other I've attempted and I am still unhappy with many of the crude elements, but its time to move on.

I now offer this as a tribute to the late George Wallace.

[BlackKnight]

Fantastic figure Bro, & great job on the helmet!! Ausome likeness & great detail, congrats on your figure!

[martingb]

Kevin this figure is just fantastic!! I know the character from the serial KING OF THE ROCKET MEN starring Tristram Coffin and House Peters. The influence is clear on THE ROCKETEER and Bob Burns' character Major Mars too. You have put together a most fitting tribute to an important hero of the serial era. I love the jacket and detailing of the belt. The helmet is perfect in my eyes and almost 'too good' to be Mego style which is kinda the look I know you were going for. I like the fact that he has the baggy pants and looks of the period of the serial. A bang up job mate. Very, very impressed. You pull these characters in from left field and I can't wait to see what the next one will be. How about another serial hero like The Phantom or Captain Marvel as played by Tom Tyler. (Or maybe a Lewis Wilson or Robert Lowery Batman!!??)

[Figuremaster Les]

That figure RULES!

Man! I want one!

I got the Medicom Rocketeer and reworked him and have two sidebar characters in production as we speak, but to make another of THE classic rocketmen of days gone by!...Man!

I salute you!

Excellent work all around! Love every detail! Even the attention to the slightly baggy pants! Looks terrific!

[casimir]

Sorry to hear about the actor's passing, but man oh man what a beautiful custom! You've inspired me to make Timm-animated version.

C.

[faithfulbutler]

I'm very impressed with the effort gone into this figure.What did you make the Helmet out of?

[aburabusimbutu]

Hey Guys!
I appreciate the comments, this was a tough one and I'm still none too happy with the helmet actually. I made about 6 or 7 of them before I finally gave in and used this one.

The helmet is made from a plastic Easter egg, an index card and putty. The face mask is a curved piece of plastic with a label over the front. I guess you can't tell in the picture but the faceplate has actual lenses in the eyes and a wire mesh covering the mouth area, as in the original mask. There are also tiny rivets on the surface but they are feint (again like the actual).

I anticipate trying my hand at both serial Batman portrayals in time, and the Tyler Captain Marvel which is one of the greatest serials of all time. I think I need a bit more figure-building experience before I tackle those.

I would be tickled to see a "Timm-design" Cody figure!! That would be too cool.

[radioscooter]

Excellent work on the Commander Cody doll.
-S

[Wild Willy]

Kevin, you are just so modest man You talk like yer strugglin to make certain customs then you pop out stuff like this.


Your custom looks exactly like the reference photos which you used.
Your attention to details are unmatched, and your original custom ideas are always fun and intriquing to see.
I'm glad to see you settled on the helmet, I know that part gave you much trouble but you aced it dude, your patience is indeed a gift for being able to keep trying until you get it right.

Congrats.

Will

Will

[radioscooter]

Yeah, what Will said. I agee completely. What's the base figure under there again?
-S

[aburabusimbutu]

Thanks Will and Scot for the flattering (and encouraging)comments. If only he DID look like the photo!
I actually started working on that dangblasted helmet about the same time I started the Starman figure. Well before Easter, which is why I found the nice small-sized plastic eggs to work with.

The base figure is an original 8" 70's Mego body.

I'd like to mention that much of making this figure involved time spent staring at objects in stores and at home for their shapes. The rockets for instance were made from flair pen caps and I had to look at A LOT of pens to find the correct Rocketman rocket shapes and size- which these are!

[captainmego]

dude thats a fantastic looking figure, you nailed the likeness of the charactor dead on. the deatils are amazing. i love this kind of stuff. any figure with a jet pack wins my votes. great job . look forward to seeing more of your work.

[aburabusimbutu]

Thanks for the compliments Cap- it is encouraging to hear praise from you given the height that you personally have raised the Mego format to.
Speaking of jetpacks- when are we going to see the "Captain Mego" figure?

[BlackKnight]

aburabusimbutu said:

Speaking of jetpacks- when are we going to see the "Captain Mego" figure?

You know I drew a :CAPTAIN MEGO: figure a while back. I wanted to make him in to a custom figure, just have not got around to it yet. He does not have a jetpack thought, just a cowl, cape, large AX, & a CM logo, like the mego one.

[glorbes]

I love old pulp and serial characters, and Commando Cody is definitely no exception. I see no crude elements here...he looks like an officially produced collectable. The details of the chest plate and rocket pack are very clean, and look accurate to the source material to me. The helmet is the best aspect though, and the most important to get right. The scale is dead-on, and has the clunky but cool feel of the actual costume. Seems to me he needs his gun, though

Superb.