It’s Forgotten Heroes Month! This annual challenge, now in it’s 8th year, gives you the opportunity to indulge your creative side and produce a figure of a character that either has not had an official or unofficial miniature produced for it or, if it has, you’re doing your own version.
Anyone can take part – all you need to do is let me know you want to in the comments or by other means of contact and I will add you to the roster.
The rules, such as they are, are simple. During the month of June, you must a produce a fully painted figure of a character who has yet to have an official or unofficial figure produced of them or, if they have, you want your own version (which no doubt will be better). Any scale is allowed, so no restrictions there. The only real restriction is that you can’t use a figure that is an unofficial version of the character you want to produce, so repainting a Heroclix Blue Beetle as Goldbug is allowed, but using a Copplestone Castings “American Adventurer” as Indiana Jones is a no-no. I mean, if the figure you’re using is a representation of the character with the name filed off, where’s the actual challenge? Your first post should also include a picture of the character you are attempting to create, so we can see what you’re aiming for.
As Real Life has got in the way for some of our normal participants, only those below have confirmed they will be taking part this year so far.
Dave Stone of Wargamesculptor Blog, who will be creating D.R. & Quinch, along with Crazy Chrissy from 2000AD, which is pretty awesome, as they are depicted by my favourite comic book artist of all time, Alan Davis.
Keith, over at Dead Dick’s Tavern & Temporary Lodging, who has described Forgotten Heroes as “Only the single greatest painting challenge ever created,” will no doubt be pulling out an obscure comic book character or two, that no-one has ever heard of.
And joining us this year is Sabrina from Uthwulfminis, and she will posting on her Instagram feed – because here at the Buffet, we embrace ALL social media platforms, because we is L££t, whatever that means…
As for myself, I’ve dug deep into the obscure archives of ancient British superheroes and uncovered this character:
This is The Tornado, who appeared in Oh Boy! Comics published by Paget Publications in 1948. Apparently, the Tornado is Steve Storm, the 13th member of the Storm family, which meant that he was the first to escape the Curse of Grosta after 500 years. As a result, “the mighty force of the Storms thundered into the soul of Steve, that this young hero might, at will, transform into the giant superman of justice, whirlwind prince of the storms – Tornado!” He has superhuman strength and speed and, for some reason, the ability to breathe underwater.
So, a fairly cheesy origin, but he does look quite cool, as most of his appearances were illustrated by Mick Anglo. However, more interestingly, he was created by a teenager by the name of Bob Monkhouse…
Yes, THAT Bob Monkhouse, which is also pretty cool.
Anyway, I shall be using the below Heroclix Signalman figure as the basis for my Tornado conversion:
However, as this particular figure is not armed with Tornado’s pistol and has no holster, there will be some conversion work needed. And possibly some other cosmetic sculpting of boots and gloves. Not sure whether I’m going to go with the pink cape, however, but we’ll see.
So, stay tuned for more Forgotten Heroes madness and be sure to check out the other participants. And it’s not too late to throw your hat into the ring, if you want to join the craziness…
If you’ve come her expecting to see monsters, I’m afraid you will be disappointed. Whilst I DID (with the best intentions) say I’d be taking part in Keith’s annual Monster May(hem) challenge, here we are, 22 days into May, with absolutely nothing to show.
To be honest, whilst I do have a lot of unpainted figures (as do we all), not a great deal of them are ‘monsters’, so trying to find something suitable to paint proved somewhat problematic. As my eldest has just bought his first house and I’ve been drafted in to provide my minimal DIY skills, quite a lot of my ‘free’ time has been spent stripping walls, sawing wood and chiselling out cavities for new sockets, so whilst I have been doing some manual stuff, no paint brushes have touched my hands in months.
Now, there may be some out there who may be concerned that this may impact on me hosting and taking part in the annual Forgotten Heroes challenge, but rest assured, I WILL still be doing this next month.
For new readers, Forgotten Heroes is a challenge that started way back in 2016 and has, without fail, taken place every June for the last 7 years. It’s a relatively straight-forward challenge and is open to anyone who wishes to take part – all you have to do is state in the comments that you want to be involved and provide details of where you will be showcasing your work and I’ll add you to the blogroll.
The rules, such as they are, are pretty simple – during the month of June, you must produce a figure of a hero (or villain) that either has not yet had an official or unofficial figure made for it yet or, if it has, you are making your own version. This may be as simple as repainting an existing figure, such as a Heroclix Blue Beetle as Goldbug, an pretty obscure Spider-Man villain, to converting an existing figure to a completely different character or, if you talents lie in that area, sculpting a figure from scratch. If the base figure you are using is an unofficial version of the character, such as the myriad versions of Indiana Jones that exist out there, then you can’t use it. The same applies to those 3D printed figures that are obviously Marvel or DC characters, just with the names changed to prevent the big two from sending the boys round to have a word…
Other than that, you can choose whatever scale you want and whatever subject, be it a comic book hero or villain or a costumed character from a TV show or movie. Your first post should provide an image of the character you are seeking to create, with a bit of background on them, and a picture of the base figure you are intending on using, so we all know what you’re aiming for.
Over the last seven years, I’ve produced my versions of Stegron the Dinosaur Man, Rom, M.O.D.O.K. and the Spot from Marvel Comics, Super-Soldier from Amalgam Comics, Bananaman from the Dandy, the ‘Quantum Quartet’ of Mystery Incorporated from Image Comics and the 8th Doctor from Doctor Who.
I will naturally be doing another costumed superhero and as I love those obscure characters that no-one has ever heard of, I have got a character than I can almost guarantee no-one has heard of.
Now, whilst I may not have touched a paintbrush or figure for a while, this doesn’t mean that I haven’t had the opportunity to some hobby stuff.
Those who’ve been following my recent series of posts will know that I’ve been working on republishing the Golden Heroes RPG back from 1984 on a non-professional, non-profit basis – mainly for my own use, but also to allow anyone else who may be interested in trying out these rules.
Now, the game was designed to be fairly generic initially, so that it could be used for any superhero setting, but certain published scenarios for the game do add snippets of background for the ‘Golden Heroes Universe’, so whilst working on the Supervisors Book, I’ve collated as much of this information as possible to try and provide an overall coherent backstory/framework for this universe.
However, sometimes the information provided is a little sketchy, so I’ve been using my knowledge of comic books to fill in the gaps. Case in point is American Eagle. The only reference to him is the following from the scenario The American Dream – “belonged to the WWII hero American Eagle. Since his death in Korea, no one has been able to make the sceptre manifest its power.” Other than a later description of what the sceptre is capable of, that it requires a traumatic experience to ‘attune’ to it and the below picture in the hands of its current wielder Miss America/Renegade, that’s all you get:
If American Eagle is a renowned hero of WWII, then we surely should have a bit more information about him, right? And at least an image of him…
So, I got a little creative.
There have been several published heroes with the name American Eagle, including one from Marvel Comics, but the interesting one, as far as I’m concerned, is the one that appeared in America’s Best Comics #2 in September 1942, because he kind of falls into a grey area in regards to ownership. According to the Public Domain Super Heroes website, although he has been used by a number of different publishers without lawsuits from Warner Brothers, who sort of ‘own’ the rights to the character, this kind of means that anyone is free to use the character and it’s original likeness without issue.
As I can’t imagine that Warner Brothers will be coming after me, I’ve used the image below for the Golden Heroes version of American Eagle, along with the revised background below:
“In 1942, Tom Standish was assisting Dr Wolfe’s experiments with a strange device that had been recovered from the wreckage of ‘something’ shot down during the Battle of Los Angeles earlier that year. Whilst conducting a series of tests on the metallic rod, Standish realised that it appeared to have some kind of advanced (for the time) circuitry built into it and went to find Dr Wolfe to advise him of this. However, he discovered that Dr Wolfe was a fifth columnist with Nazi sympathies, who was intending on harnessing whatever properties of the rod to undermine America from within. Tearing the rod from its stand, he fled into the night, chased by Wolfe and his conspirators. The Nazis cornered Standish and opened fire. However, the trauma of the event somehow formed a mental link with the rod, allowing him to harness some of its powers. The resultant energy blast levelled the laboratory, killing everyone. However, Standish later discovered that Wolfe had survived and was continuing in his nefarious plots. Realising that Wolfe would recognise both him and the ‘star sceptre,’ Standish fashioned a patriotic costume and disguised the rod, and thus was born the American Eagle.
After fighting fifth columnists at home, the American Eagle was asked by his country to join the fight abroad, and was seen alongside the Patriot, John Bull, and Howitzer in Europe. As Standish was not formerly a soldier, unlike his allies, he was less effective in the field. However, his ego refused to recognise this, and he jumped at the chance to prove himself when the United States took part in the Korean War. Unfortunately, his overconfidence was his downfall and during the Battle of Osan, the American Eagle, along with 180 other American soldiers, was killed. While his body and eagle sceptre were recovered, no one had been able to make the sceptre manifest its power, until it was claimed by Susan Martin, who now goes by the name of Renegade.”
So, this gives a brief taste of what’s in store when the ‘new’ version of Golden Heroes is finally released.
As always, I will continue to shine a (Golden) light on those four-colour heroes lost, overlooked and forgotten. If you want to join me in this endeavour, Forgotten Heroes 2023 will launch on 1st June.
Bearing in mind that I only had to paint a single figure white, then add spots to it, you’d think it wouldn’t take very long…
Au contraire, mes amis! I failed to take into account the consistency of my white paint, which needed several coats to give a suitable solid base of white. I initially painted the whole figure and supplementary stand with GW Corax White, which as I’ve mentioned several times in the past, is actually a pale grey. I then went over the Spot’s body and disembodied fist with Docrafts Blanc and the floating “spots” with Docrafts Noir.
And then a further coat of white… and another… and another.
Once I’d finally managed to get a level of whiteness I was happy with, I then gave the white parts a wash of Corax White, to define the musculature of the figure, which wasn’t quite as successful as I’d hoped. However, it did give me a base on which to start adding spots, as shown below:
Now, there are various different interpretations of how the spots appear on the Spot, including a relatively popular version which has a single ‘spot’ in the middle of his face. However, this makes him look like the Marvel character A.D.A.M. Unit Zero, a character associated with Cable, so I decided to go with the original version from the Spot’s first appearance in Spectacular Spider-Man.
Now, you may think that adding spots of varying sizes would be slightly tedious, but it was actually quite cathartic. Although it did take slightly longer than I’d anticipated…
However, I think the time was well-spent, so I can now present my finished Spot conversion;
I have to admit, I am pretty happy with how he’s turned out and therefore decided to take several pictures of him, showing both his front, as above, and his back, as below;
And because I was particularly pleased with the expression I managed to get on his face, here’s a view of it;
The base was textured using a ball of kitchen foil, to give the look of concrete and then painted with several cost of my own mid-grey mix, which although does take several coats, does allow for a graduation of grey, which is quite handy. The white residue in the clear column is due to it being partially hollow, so when I filed the top down, it gathered in this hollow and wouldn’t bloody shift. Oh well…
Looks like Spidey has fallen afoul of the Spot;
Anyway, that’s my entry finished. As for the others;
Roger from Rantings from Under the Wargames Table has completed Captain Kremmen, Carla and Dr Gitfinger from Kenny Everett’s radio and TV shows and very good they are too.
Simon from Fantorical has used the HeroForge site to create character’s from his own Time’s Rambler graphic novels.
Keith from Dead Dick’s Tavern has completed both the obscure character Rainbow Boy and the Spidey villain Hypno-Hustler in all his 70’s Disco glory.
Dave from Wargame Sculptors Blog is working through the cast of that 80’s classic “Battle Beyond the Stars” and now has over half of these sculpted AND painted.
Matt from PM Painting has not yet posted his entry, having had to consign two attempts to the bin, but he’s still got time before the event finishes and if it’s anything like last year’s entry, it will be worth the wait.
So, another successful year of Forgotten Heroes! And you know it’ll be back next year, so you’ve got eleven months to come up with something…
So, having had to revise my initial plans, how far have I got turning this;
…into this?
Well, the initial part was lopping off limbs, so that was pretty simple. But how to replicate the Spot’s ability to throw a punch through another dimension?
My original idea was to take the plastic from a blister pack and using a hole punch, make two identical circles, then glue these to the stump on the Silver Surfer figure and the fist from the Hydra figure.
Whilst I did do this, creating a stand for the ‘floating’ fist proved somewhat challenging, so I had a bit of a rethink.
So, I had some transparent shafts from flight stands, but in order for it to be the right length so the fist was at the right height, this needed to be cut down. I then glued this to a 1 pence piece, then filed a groove in the top of the shaft.
The reason for this was that I’d decided to replace my initial plastic discs with two small black buttons from the sewing box. I glued the spare fist to one of these, then glued it into the groove.
It was then just a case of adding Milliput to the base, texturing this and then filling in the holes in the button.
So we ended up with this;
The Silver Surfer was cut from his flying stand, then cut from his board. I then reduced the part he was standing on to two platforms under his feet. After filing these down, the figure was glued to a 2 pence piece and the base built up using Milliput.
After texturing the bases, the second button was glued to his forearm and the holes in the button filled.
And this is how this part turned out;
So, the idea is that the Spot punches through one of his ‘spots’ and his fist comes out of another one, which as this on a separate base, means I can position this wherever I like – like so;
Obviously, I didn’t realise the button attached to the main body was at an angle until I’d put them together. However, it doesn’t bother me too much.
Once these are painted up in the matching colours, it should be more obvious that they are part of the same figure.
I think it works, but until it’s done, we won’t know for sure.
So, that’s my current progress. Be sure to check out the other participants;
Roger at Rantings from Under the Wargames Table is doing Captain Kremmen and crew, Simon at Fantorical is doing character’s from his own Time’s Rambler graphic novels, Keith at Dead Dick’s Tavern has completed Rainbow Boy and is intending on doing a further character, whilst Dave is working on the cast of that 80’s classic “Battle Beyond the Stars” and Matt has yet to post anything, but is beavering away behind the scenes on his entry.
That’s all for this time, but join me next time when hopefully you’ll have spits before your eyes…
I’d set aside some time Saturday night to crack on with my entry for this year’s Forgotten Heroes challenge, prepared all the bits I needed, with only my donor figure needing stripping of the various layers of paint that had been applied.
This did not go well. Having attacked the figure with various cleaning agents and tools, after an hour or so scrubbing the little git, I was left with a figure still caked with so much paint that you could hardly see any of the detail. So, after much cursing, I consigned him to the bin and then spent another hour or so searching through every box that possibly contained donor figures, which meant a visit to my garage and clambering around in the Aladdin’s Cave of Crap that I call my loft.
I could only find two figures which had possibilities, the first of which is this;
A 30mm figure of a “Steampunk female” from a game called Kaosball, which I bought a couple of years ago from Tritex Games at Salute. This is my “back-up” figure, which should my other cunning plan not work, will be painted up as Harley Quinn, as the outfit does resemble the one she wore in the Arkham Knight video game.
However, Harley is a little too… cool for Forgotten Heroes, as I generally try to do obscure (i.e. crap) characters.
The only other full donor figure I had was spare HeroScape Silver Surfer, as who needs two?
So, if we clip him off his flying stand and reduce his board down so that it fits on a 25 mm base, what can we do with him? If you ignore the coloring, he’s a generic, bald-headed chap in form-fitting costume.
My initial thought was to add some putty to his face to smooth it down a bit and make him into Lightmaster;
But, given what those who’ve posted this year so far have done AND taking into account that I did a blinding M.O.D.O.K. last year, I needed something a bit… more.
So, my revised entry will be the obscure Marvel supervillain, the Spot:
First appearing in Spectacular Spider-Man #97, Dr Jonathan Ohnn did not become the Spot until the following issue. He was attempting to replicate Cloak’s powers on behalf of the Kingpin, but ended up being able to generate “spots” that traversed another dimension, enabling him to attack at distance, as shown in the image above.
Now, rather than just repaint my spare Silver Surfer as the Spot, I’m going to attempt to replicate his ability to punch at a distance, by lopping off his right forearm and creating a separate base with his fist coming out of a “spot.”
Now, as the Silver Surfer is not actually punching, I needed a clenched fist, so I elected to take this from the figure below;
“Cut off a limb, and two more shall take its place!”
As he’s Hydra, it will supposedly grow back – not sure the Hydra goons actually believe that, of course.
I can’t quite believe that this is the seventh year running that I have hosted this month-long “community art project”, but it’s back again this year, giving you all the opportunity to create that unique figure of a character who has been overlooked by the manufacturers.
That’s right, it’s time for Forgotten Heroes!
For those of you new to Forgotten Heroes, here are the rules, such as they are…
During the month of June, you need to produce a figure of a character who has yet to have either an official or unofficial character made of them yet or create your own version of character that matches your vision of what that character should look like. Any scale, any genre, the choice is yours.
This can as simple as repainting an existing figure as a different character, such as repainting a Heroclix Blue Beetle as the obscure Marvel villain Goldbug, or converting an existing figure into something new, like re-purposing a Games Workshop Imperial Commissar as Marshal Law. Alternatively, you could create a figure from scratch, if your sculpting skills are up to it.
If you wish to take part, all you need do is comment on this post, stating you’d like to take part and providing a link to your blog or wherever you’ll be posting your progress. Your first post should inform us of the character you will be attempting to create, preferably with reference photos, so we know what you’ll be aiming for.
I’ll create a blogroll here, so we know who’s taking part and what they’ll be working towards.
But as it’s literally just been launched, there’s still time to join in, so let me know if you want to join us and I’ll add your blog to the list.
Now, not being as organised as previous years, I had to rummage through my box of figures to see what I had that could be repurposed for this year’s challenge. Luckily, I had a figure that had previously been rebased and painted, but didn’t really work for me, so got put to one side. However, I now have an idea and a purpose for this figure, so he will be stripped of his crappy paint-job and converted.
The base figure is the Dreamblade Knight of Tomorrow:
And the character I am intending on converting this in to? The Marvel hero/villain (depending on your point of view)… The Crimson Dynamo!
The Crimson Dynamo was Russia’s answer to Iron Man, and first appeared in Tale of Suspense #46 in October 1963, created by Stan Lee and Don Heck.
Over the years, just with the various iterations of the Iron Man armour, there have been 12 different suits, the only unifying feature being the name and that it’s mainly red in coloration.
So, that gives me free rein to create my own version, taking elements from all the previous versions and hopefully creating something that is familiar enough that people will realise who it’s supposed to represent.
My initial thoughts regarding my base figure is that he requires a head swap, removal of his staff and ridged shoulder pads, similar to the picture above. I’m also contemplating adding a chest piece in the shape of a star, similar to the version below:
I’ll have to admit, I was getting a little concerned that I wasn’t going to get my “monster” completed before the end of May.
I’d sat down, fully intending on making some in-roads into everything I’d previously started, then discovered that the reading glasses I use for detail painting had snapped, meaning I couldn’t use them.
My mother-in-law had given me one of those magnifier headsets, with removable lenses, so I thought this would be an ideal time to try them out…
Shouldn’t have bothered. For something supposedly designed for this exact purpose, they were remarkably crap. The lenses are too small, so you’re almost cross-eyed using them and whilst they are standard magnifications, I couldn’t find one that met my needs. I ended up going out and buying a cheap pair of 3.5 magnification reading glasses for 99p – whichnis what I should have done in the first place.
So, the only thing I’d managed to do during this debacle was give the figure and base an undercoat of Docrafts Linen.
As this is pale yellowy-white, I thought it would give me a head start on making it look like straw.
I then lined up my yellow and brown paints to see what would be the best colour to go for next. I ended up using an ancient pot of GW Swamp Brown, which is more yellow than brown.
And now we were cooking with gas!
The next stage wad to provide some depth, with a wash of brown. Viewing various images of hay bales online, I decided that probably Docrafts Chocolate Brown would be the best option, so a watery solution of this was mixed, then liberally applied to the model. I also used the same colour, but unwatered, to paint the muddy base.
Looking at the model, I thought it looked a little one note, so went back online to se how others had painted it. Unsurprisingly, the first one that came up was the one from Crooked Dice’s website, followed by one on Brummie’s Wargaming blog and Simon’s version at Fantorical.
Looking at all three, I noted that both CD’s and Simon’s had varigations in the painting, which upon closer inspection of both the pictures and the model itself, I realised were actually branches/sticks lashed into it’s body. Looking at the brown paint I had, I decided they were a bit too brown, so mixed some Chocolate Brown with some Docrafts Dark Grey until I had a colour I was happy with. All the ‘sticks’ were then painted and some of the bindings given a highlight of Linen.
As I wanted the eyes of the Straw Man to look as though they were glowing, I filled the cavities with a generous wash of GW Mithril Silver, followed by a coat of GW Bogey Green, which I also used to touch up the straw round the eye holes, to look as if the light was reflecting from within.
I then turned my attention to the base, giving the broken planks another coat of Linen, then washed the mud part of tge base with Docrafts Burnt Ochre. The planks then got a wash of mid-grey, as wood tends to go this colour if left untreated and then weathered.
I was almost going to call it done, but something was niggling at me. If you’ve ever been to a farm or anywhere that has hay or straw, it doesn’t matter how well bound it is, you always get stray strands scattered about. That’s what was missing.
Luckily, the sewing tin had a reel of cotton the right colour, so several lengths were cut, then PVA painted around the figure’s feet. I then sprinkled these about, adjusting where necessary, until it looked right.
I think it adds a little something.
So, Monster May(hem) done and with time to spare. As I had to wait for the figure to dry, I decided to crack on with AND finish my Action Man-inspired figures.
First, the finally completed Bulletman;
Next, Atomic Man;
And yes, he does have the silver piping on his sleeves;
And finally, what was originally a HeroQuest plastic Fimir, but with a little Carrion Crow magic, is now The Intruder- “Action Man’s Greatest Enemy”;
And as the three above are “Forgotten Heroes” this leads nicely into the announcement for this year’s ‘community art project.’
For those who are not aware of what this is… where have you been? We’ve only been doing this every year since 2016!
Joking aside, if you’ve not taken part before, the “rules” are simple:-
During the month of June, you must produce a recognisable figure of a character that has either not had an official or unofficial figure made of them or has, but you want your own version.
Any scale, any genre – your choice. You want to paint up a GW Imperial Commissar as Marshal Law? Go ahead! You want to sculpt the ultimate version of Venom? Go for it! You want to use a discarded Hulk action figure head to make a 28mm version of M.O.D.O.K.? Um… I may have beaten you to it…
If you want to take part, just drop a comment on here and I’ll add you to the blogroll. Your first post should introduce the character, as if it’s a touch obscure (like when I did Bananaman) people may not know who it is.
Any questions regarding this, feel free to ask. At the end of the day, it’s all about having fun, so no need to take it too seriously and, if you do rake part, at the end of June, you’ll have a unique figure that no one else has.
As Fatboy Slim has stated “we’ve come a long, long way together”, but we are finally at the end of Forgotten Heroes 2021!
And just like M.O.D.O.K., the Crow does NOT compromise either, so paints were duly retrieved and Monday night saw the initial base coats added to my version of M.O.D.O.K.
At the end of that evening, this was the result;
I had a few issues with my ancient pot of GW Shining Gold, which meant that the majority of his Doomsday Chair received a base coat of GW Orc Brown to get at least a reasonable base for the Docrafts Gold I was intending on using, as unlike GW paints, Docrafts metallics are a little thinner and don’t cover as well.
Observant readers will note that a further figure also received some paint whilst I was waiting for M.O.D.O.K. to dry between coats.
Readers of a certain age will recognise this figure as a version of the Action Man/G.I. Joe Bulletman figure from 1979.
On Tuesday, he received a little more attention, but as M.O.D.O.K. required finishing, this is as far as I got;
M.O.D.O.K., however, is finished.
And is… AWESOME!!
Don’t believe me? Judge for yourself;
Pretty cool, no?
I was not alone in my endeavours this year.
Dave from Wargamessculptors Blog sculpted almost the entire cast of the Star Wars prequel Solo, showing off his awesome sculpting skills.
Simon from Fantorical went small, painting up some 15mm Alternative Armies Ion Age figures as Warhammer 40K Horus Heresy era Blood Angels.
Roger from Rantings from Under the Wargaming Table, not only sculpted Dick Spanner from scratch, but also provided us with some much-needed eye candy with Mary Death and her ride from the movie Bounty Killer.
Harry from War Across the Ages, has completed that able sidekick to Indiana Jones, Sallah.
Matt from PM Painting, a newcomer, has continued with his penchant for painting ‘orrible monsters, by creating a mini-diorama from John Carpenter’s The Thing.
And Tom from The Good Ground, gave us his interpretation of DC’s Unknown Soldier.
I thank everyone who took part and hope those who took part (and those who watched our progress) enjoyed themselves.
Remember, 11 months may seem like a long time, but the seventh annual Forgotten Heroes event will be here before you know it, so get planning now!
Whilst everyone else has been beavering away on their Forgotten Heroes entries, regular visitors may have noticed that I have been somewhat quiet.
A change of job, a weekend away and some more home-brewing resulted in less time to crack on with entry.
But, it did result in this..
A 4.8% treacle stout that a confirmed Guinness drinker stated that they actually preferred to the black stuff…
Anyway, when we last saw my version MODOK he looked like this;
Now, as MODOK’s doomsday chair hovers, I needed a suitable base, as at the moment he looks like he’s in a child’s car seat.
Quite a lot of the models of MODOK have him rising on a pillar of flame, but this is not really accurate and the only flying bases I had were black.
However, I discovered that the hole in the transparent plastic washer I’d used for his hover-jet was the same diameter as a some old metal shelf supports I’d saved. This meant I had a solid shaft to support him, I just needed a base.
Realising that if I removed the bottom ‘cup’ that holds the peg on the flying base, I could then make the hole in the top big enough to take the new metal shaft. As this was cast with a small ring midway down the shaft, this would prevent the shaft just going straight through, giving MODOK the apoearance of hovering, like so;
I’ll probably just paint the shaft black, but may try some kind of funky ‘heat haze’ effect, If I can work out how to do that.
Examing the model, I realised there were a couple of cavities at the rear of the armrests, which didn’t look right.
A quick rummage and a length of cable tie was cut down, the ends trimmed and then glued into place as further detailing. (NB: If you scatch-building any kind of tracked vehicle, cable ties are your friends. Uniform, textured, flexible and come in a variety of sizes. Ideal replacements if your model tank has lost its tread).
The final stage before painting was to get out the Milliput and give MODOK his distinctive hair. A suitable blob of grey Milliput was mixed up and slapped on top of his head, then smoothed down into a dome, ensuring that the ‘hair’ did not overhang the main structureof his chair.
Using an old dental probe, lines were then scribed in a radial pattern on this dome, to represent MODOK’s frankly awful hairstyle.
Further putty was used to fill in some gaps around his face and repair some damage done by some over-zealous filing, like so;
Now, I need to wait for the putty to set and I can paint him up – hopefully before next Wednesday.
I have, on occasion, been known to blow my own trumpet. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I do usually feel it is justified.
This may be one of those times.
As mentioned in my previous post, for this year’s Forgotten Heroes, I will be creating my own version of MODOK…
Yes, I know that there are a couple of Heroclix versions AND the Crisis Protocol one, but my version cost me nothing, rather than the £35 that FFG want.
Anyway, first order of the day was to prepare the donor head. My initial thought was to file down the hair on the sides and back, just leaving the top intact.
However, I discovered that the hair was actually a separate piece. The head itself is hard plastic, whereas the hair is more of a rubbery plastic.
So, I scalped him.
This was after I’d already cut off the Hulk’s ears and filed down his forehead.
Now that I’d got a better idea of the diameter of the Hulk’s skull, I could test the various tubes I’d been collecting for this project.
None of which were the right size… naturally. So out came by bits box (GW aficionados, note the spelling – not a Z in sight) and a rummage produced a fluorescent tube motor actuator, from which the guts were removed.
I then cut (carefully, as it’s quite brittle plastic) a panel out of one side to insert the head.
After a fair bit of trimming shaving and filing, the base of the “Doomsday Chair” was filled with hot glue and the head stuck in place.
The following day, out came the bits box again, supplemented by some spare sprues from the Distant Stars project.
Not a great deal of WIP shots, so I’ll just list what I used.
The actuator was glued onto a 2 pence piece, as I needed a solid disc greater than the diameter of the actuator and this was the simplest option. A small transparent plastic washer was glued below this as the hover jet that allows the chair to fly. The armrests are Void 1.1 Junker backpacks, which also provided the legs. The arms are from a Void 1.1 Viridian space marine. The tech gizmo beneath his chin is a Mantic Forge Fathers backpack and the head gem (mounted on a strip of cardboard) is the head of a hammer from the same sprue.
The cavity around the top of his head was filled with hot glue, to act as a base for the hair I will be sculpting on as the final stage before painting.
Carrion Crow's Buffet 