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Post by aburabusimbutu on Jul 28, 2006 22:28:13 GMT -5
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Post by aburabusimbutu on Sept 1, 2006 1:01:44 GMT -5
Okay, well looks like I'll kick this thing off...  [glow=red,2,300]The Original 1981 Ad…[/glow] [glow=red,2,300] What might have been in 1981…[/glow]  [glow=red,2,300] What might have been in 2006 to commemorate what might have been in 1981…[/glow]         PROJECT NOTES: Because the “challenge” of this project was really sort of what I normally do- obscure characters- I thought I owed it to this event to try something outside of my “Atomic Age Classics” mold which is overflowing with characters who would naturally apply to this theme. Otherwise, it would be like submitting whatever my next normal project would have been anyway. So I hope you like what I came up with as I had a lot of fun executing it. Batman’s head is from a “Half Mask” head by Austin Hough which I added the bat-ears to using Sculpey. A cloth “collar” has been glued to the neck and the cape has been sewn onto that collar in an attempt to blend the cowl and cape into one piece. The jumpsuit, shorts, and gauntlets were all crafted for me by our own Jason (I added the fins to the gauntlets). Jason’s work is truly amazing- the seams are all perfect as if sewn on a machine, the suit has a nice snug fit and he hand-dyed the blue colors to get them looking so bright and brilliant. Not enough I can say in thanks for his help! I made the bat-emblem on the chest using a color copier. The body is from Dr. Mego. The cape I made out of cloth and wire so that it has the ribbing on Batman’s cape and can be bent into “action poses”. It is not as dark as it photographed and is much bluer than seen here. The boots and belt were both standard Mego issue- I trimmed and painted the boots. The belt was contributed to me by Martin – don’t know what I’d do without his generosity, thanks Mart! K-9’s suit and mask were all made from scratch and hand sewn and fitted over a Doc Mego body. The whistle is made out of Crayola Modeling Compound, painted, notched, and threaded. The head under the mask was a Mego Superman head which I altered with Sculpey by plumping out his cheeks and chin and changing his hair with bangs and adding more on top to achieve a more “scruffy” look. I re-painted the entire head and the eyes came out looking a little big I guess but whatcha gonna do? The box is a brilliant piece of engineering and design by Anthony. The top flap works just like an original Twinkie box, in addition it has little “shelves” for the Play Twinkies (which I got from eBay), a complex series of inner supports on the figures and the inserts that give everything nice display quality and were clearly a lot of planning and time to achieve. Besides creating a box that looks professional and cleverly illustrates the “Twinkie/Mego” concept I think it should be noted what some of the effort to do this project took. The original ad on the back had to be COMPLETELY re-colored by hand! Also, finding clear camera-ready pictures of vintage Twinkie packaging was in fact impossible so Anthony had to REALLY re-work all of those images to make them as sharp and slick as you see here. Amazing work that pulls this whole thing together- thanks a million Anthony!! |
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Post by glorbes on Sept 1, 2006 3:38:58 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300] Killer Moth[/glow]  This custom was born from a failed project...one that I may revisit, but ultimately was abandoned from its original purpose and reborn as the dreaded Killer Moth. The combination of parts struck me as odd in a good way, and I have been dying to make a custom of this character for some time. So, inspiration was struck, and I proceeded with glee.   The base figure is a ML Silver Surfer. The gauntlets are from a Ringwraith, and the shin guards are from a Narnia "Peter" figure. The large jet propulsion thing is a Ruby Quartz Cyclops accessory, with wings cut from a blister card attached. The usual leather and fabric treatment has been applied as well, with a few odds and ends from the fodder bucket added to finish him off.  The helmet turned out to be a cross between General Grievous and Sam the Eagle...which is not an entirely bad thing in my opinion  It was sculpted over the Surfer head with epoxy putty.  I really wanted him to seem like an insane engineer/scientist with the rough, homemade technology. I figured an edge of madness would lend an explanation to the rather garrish colors of the outfit (though quite subdued in comparison to his actual comic book incarnations).   Oh, and this one's dedicated to Scott Rogers  |
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Post by martingb on Sept 1, 2006 16:28:50 GMT -5
THE WIZARD:1949 BATMAN MOVIE SERIAL VILLAIN    Here is my entry fellas! From the 1949 BATMAN AND ROBIN serial the villain of the piece The Wizard. Played by Leonard Penn the character was created for the serial and many people disregard him as he was not a true Kane/Finger/Robinson creation. Of course this is true but he is in fact very much in the same style as many of those early comic book villains. An electronics and scientific genius, a master of hynotism and mind control, perhaps the Black Arts, and of course evil through and through! His outfit too is not unlike that of The Monk an early comic enemy of Batman so for me I have always kinda accepted him but I think for most people he is a 'forgotten' character. Anyway the figure itself. The body is a re-strung Classic TV Toy Mego type body. They tend to stand awkward or not at all so I took him apart and worked on him and he looks OK I guess. The black trousers and sweater are from a classic Mego Action Jackson set. The shoes are Dr Mego repros. The rest I made and sewed. The belt was simple as was the buckle. The cape however proved a pain. It has the double layer with the second shorter and around the shoulders. That upturned collar thing too was a real task for me as a non sewing type of fella. I got there OK in the end I think and used a circular card pattern for the collar gluing the black fabric around it and then fitting it around the neck. The hood is fabric which is of course not Mego style. I wanted however to get a real 'Hangman' look to him which is what the guy has in the serial. The eyes were a little bit of artistic licence on my part I will admit. Cut out slits just didn't show up at all and you need some point of reference on the mask. In the serial itself The Wizard is a master of mind control and when he exerts his powers on the weak his eyes glow so I figured a bright comic book look would at least add definition to a generally bland head. Some of the poster art for the serials show him with the bright eyes too so I didn't feel I was pushing the boundary of authenticity too far. Finally adding a much needed bit of colour to the figure is The Wizard's invisibility device around his neck. With the serial being filmed in black and white I did kinda guess at colours but the main pendant is clearly a metal and when I found a suitably sized gold button the deal was done in my mind!! The transmitter 'thingy' is made up of odds and ends but pretty much replicates the device from the serial. Anyhow guys another Mego kinda deal with a bit extra I hope. Thanks for checking him out. |
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Post by Figuremaster Les on Sept 1, 2006 17:10:54 GMT -5
I spent a long time trying to decide what to do here, and all the while, I was like, what in hell do I follow last event’s Mr. Freeze with? The following mayhem is what resulted. Enjoy my friends. This one's for you! ;D Cover page  Page 1  Page 2  Page 3  Page 4  Page 5  Page 6  The End? I explained a good bit about the figures in there, but I wanted to mention several things I left out. I got the notion of this in part from that one photo of Bruce’s Mr Freeze where Batman is leaping onto him in that incredibly dramatic image. That stuck with me and helped me to visualize his figures better as real combatants in a real story. Thanks Bruce for that inspiration. And thanks again to Roy by influencing me with his awesome Batman figure that is in his avatar. That one figure gave me the idea of a visual style and a reference of sorts, and gave me impetus to make a Batman at all. To be a bit different than the usual, I went with a narrower, simpler belt, but it does have working attachments and some larger pouches in the back for more supplies. And it stayed yellow! I could hear Scot in my head saying “Yellow! Not gold!” So I stayed on track for that one, and I am glad I did. Oh, and I know Batman didn’t have the Batarang yet, but I couldn’t for the life of me solve how to surprise Crawdad in the corridor without some “distance device” and that was the most obvious. SO, I broke timeline and gave him more than just his lasso. I do know better, but for the sake of drama, a few minor comics continuity rules were willingly broken. Here and there… I hope you enjoyed the show! |
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Post by batlaw on Sept 1, 2006 19:51:25 GMT -5
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Post by thetoyroom on Sept 1, 2006 21:29:36 GMT -5
Four of my favorite "gimmick" villains of yesteryear: Firefly...often confused with Killer Moth. Firefly has been reinterpreted in recent years as an arsonist type character but I think they've got him confused with Firebug (another obscure Bat Baddy). This version is inspired by Ditko's rendition of the character when he fought The Creeper in "1st Issue Special" No. 7.  Calendar Man...this is the Walt Simonson version, although CM has had different guises over the years depending on the modus operandi he's using (days, months, seasons, etc.). The cape gave me some problems and I'm not totally happy with the way it turned out.   Signal Man...wore this costume in his 80s appearances, including time spent as a member of the Secret Society of Super Villlains. I paid special attention to the signs/signals/emblems on his cape and ran real close to the wire in not finishing the next guy...   The Zodiac Master...He was literally thrown together over the last 2 nights...I'll have to revisit him and his tiny Zodiac emblems at a later date...right now I'm tired from cutting the little buggers out.  I had these all planned for a while but I ordered my parts for the last two a little late and cut myself short on time. Lesson learned though for future endeavors. Special thanks to a "non-sewing man's" friend.....our very own lovable Jason Roberts! J sewed the costume/sash for Calendar Man, Firefly's costume/cape, Signalman's cape, and Zodiac Master's baby blue jumpsuit. He was very accomodating (and speedy!) and did them perfectly! No complaints! Group shots! (Had to sneak Killer Moth i there somewhere!)   |
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Post by BlackKnight on Sept 1, 2006 22:23:31 GMT -5
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Post by aburabusimbutu on Sept 1, 2006 22:46:50 GMT -5
 You guys figure out where everything came from... Historical addendum: Gunhawk- First appearance: Detective #708, 1997 KGBeast- First appearance: Batman #417 , 1988 NKVDemon- First appearance: Batman #445, 1990  |
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Post by Wild Willy on Sept 1, 2006 23:33:50 GMT -5
While not really "forgotten" but rather luking in the backs of all our minds. My entry goes way back as far as you can possibly go. The man who started it all [glow=red,2,300]Mr. Bob Kane.[/glow]  Born in 1916, Kane studied art at Cooper Union and ultimately got his first job in animation with Joe Fleischer studios in 1934. His first comic books included "Hiram Hick in Wow" and "Peter Pupp in Wags," the latter, debuting in 1937, being his first project to feature a "supervillain." After working on these and other minor projects, Kane got his glimpse of glory when in 1939 he created Batman for Detective Comics. The character caught on quick and Kane ended up working almost exclusively on Batman books for years to come. In the later years of his career, Kane returned to television and created characters like Courageous Cat and Cool McCool. When many of his projects failed to catch on, Kane returned to his more successful endeavors with Batman and became a quasi-official Batman scholar, rarely actually doing any writing or art for DC, but ultimately advising many future projects and donating his skills for years to come.   Original head sulpt (modified mego). Paintings are printed. Collage & bio was borrowed from a tribute site. Will |
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Post by faithfulbutler on Sept 2, 2006 22:18:20 GMT -5
Well,better late then never. Here's my forgettable character from the more modern age of Gotham: [glow=red,2,300]ANARKY[/glow]Anarky for a basic rundown is a College Student trying to make a difference in the world by fighting crime his way.Only drama is,and this was highlighted in the Knightfall saga,that he blames Batman for attracting all the weird and wonderful villains to Gotham.So he declares war in all directions,kind of suits his name really.   Anarky was born of a LOTR Gandalf the Grey figure for the body and a DC Deadman head.Everything else was manufactured by me.  Had to sculpt in additional folds to his under-Cloak[for want of a better term]as the original Cloak was cinched in at several points.Also his Hat Brim was flat styrene and his Shock Staff which is like a super-powered electric Cattle Prod was Styrene Rod with a top piece found in the Fodder Bin.  His outer Cloak is Cloth soaked in diluted White Glue to hold the folds.I was originally going to use Leather but couldn't find any suitable thin leather in time.This allows the freedom of movement for the articulation which was what i hoped forThen paint in my 2 most hated colours to work in,Red and Gold lol. Hope you like! |
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It was sculpted over the Surfer head with epoxy putty.
- J 