Forgotten Heroes – Final Issue! (For now…)

When I first conceived the idea of ‘Forgotten Heroes’ back in April, my initial idea was that it would be a bit of fun for people who don’t usually get involved in this sort of thing – no pressure, no ‘competition’ – just a group of like-minded individuals all having a go at making figures of characters that the commercial companies haven’t got around to yet. Little did I know it would prove so popular!

I would just like to personally thank Roger Webb of Rantings from Under the Wargames Table fame, without who we would not have had a central site to display the hard work, ingenuity and inventiveness of those who’ve taken part. If you’ve yet to visit the site, go there now and marvel at the cornucopia of characters  created!

Right, having had some additional hobby time available this week, I’ve managed to complete my three ‘Forgotten Heroes’ and a certain side project I’ve been working on…

So, my ‘Extra Credit’ Forgotten Hero was Stegron the Dinosaur Man, who I made from a Godzilla collectible miniature released to coincide with the 2014 film of the same name. All I needed to do to finish him was paint his base, so not  a lot different from last time we saw him.

Yes, it’s a big orange lizard…wearing jewelry. I think he’s come out very well and matches the most recent depictions of the character.

Not someone I’d want to meet in a dark alley…

Next was Super-Soldier, from the DC/Marvel crossover ‘company’ Amalgam Comics, who is an amalgamation of Captain America and Superman. This was originally a Heroclix Captain Atom, who I gave a belt, fancy boots and a shield to.

Whilst the conversion work was minimal, I’d forgotten that the details of his costume included painting a white star on his chest and back, red and white stripes around his mid-riff and the iconic ‘S’ shield, which took a lot of concentration and a steady hand.

I’m pretty happy that I’ve managed to capture the look of the character, but have just remembered that I failed to paint the straps on the rear of his shield, which luckily you can’t see in the photos above. Might need to get the paints back out…

Finally, we have the Man of Peel himself, Nutty comic’s Bananaman, who was created from a Heroclix Bizarro. This figure required the most conversion, as I had to shave his head, trim his cape, add banana boots and gloves and sculpt his cowl.

As you can see, he now has his red ‘B’ belt buckle and the banana skin lines on his gloves, boots and cape.

Given that I was quite worried about whether he would end up looking like he was supposed to, I think I’ve managed to pull it off and now have a one-of-a-kind Bananaman figure. Which is pretty cool.

And to finish with, here’s a group shot of all three figures.

So, my work on ‘Forgotten Heroes’ draws to a close…until next time. As this was so popular, it will definitely return at some point…I’ve still got several figures I want to do, but have other fish to fry over the next couple of months.

Talking of frying…I have also finished the Jwar Islands ‘Cupid Burgers’ franchise, which sounds more impressive than what it actually is, which is a cart and a grill.

This was a side project for Andy of da Gobbo’s Grotto, who has been beavering away at populating his gaming table with factions and terrain to play games of GCT Studios Bushido. But he hadn’t made a burger cart and grill, so I offered to make him one. And here it is:

The cart was looking a little bare, so I added some decoration along the side, and a couple of hunks of meat hanging from the cart, as the burgers have to be made from something, right? And you would also need to slice the meat, so there are a couple of knives on the cart.

Here’s another shot of the side of the cart, showing the decorations a bit more clearly;

I built the cart separately and was intending on attaching it to the scenic base, but decided it would be more useful as a separate piece. Here’s the scenic base, with completed grill:

As you can see, the flag is in place, but this is also removable, for ease of transportation and storage. The grill itself has been put into place, which unfortunately covers the work I spent on the charcoal – making sure it looked right and was the right colour – but what can you do? As you can see, we have two burgers cooking away – looking pretty much done to me – and a kama resting next to the grill, to discourage those who want a burger for free.

And when you put it all together, it looks like this:

Andy has already hired a feisty Oriental cook to man the grill, so all that needs to be done is for the above to be packaged up and sent winging its way down to him. Looks like the Jwar Islands Cupid Burger stand will be opening soon – down by the docks.

So, as the burger cart and grill is complete and my Heroes are no longer Forgotten, what’s next for the Buffet? Well, having been inspired by Andy’s Bushido posts, I shall be returning to Oriental gaming for July, but Carrion Crow style…

Like the idea of Oriental Fantasy gaming, but your budget cannot currently stretch to buying the rules and miniatures for Bushido? I will be showing you how you can still play the game without shelling out for ANY official products.

AND I will be finally revealing my own set of skirmish rules, which I will be using to run a game in which a Samurai and his retainers attempt to cross a bridge, as an alternative to using the Bushido rules…

AND there will be more Japanese-inspired goodness, as I try my hand at sculpting personalised Chibi-style figures, after some people got a bit excited (and jealous) of this…

Bring your chopsticks, as it’s an Oriental Buffet next month!