ToyBiz Marvel figures facelift/renovation?
 

I noticed that several collectors incorporate older ToyBiz Marvel figures into their collections. I do it not only with BAF Legends but also with older figures like Warstar, Mondo, Holocaust, Strong Guy etc. However, as some of those figures are really old, they are made from glossier type of plastic, oftentimes are painted in very bright colors with no shading or details. In result they do not fit among MU figures very well.

I would like to use this topic to get and share various ideas on how to renovate or "face-lift" these older figures.

Do you display older figures amongst newer MU figures?
Do you display them in their original state?
Do you repaint them or seal with matte varnish?
Have you tried to add points of articulation to older figures or it is easier to create brand new custom figure?

I am very interested in your opinions guys and gals. :)

i picked up the old toybiz mojo for 2 bucks at frank and sons a while back but haven't gotten around to updating it. if i could get one, i'd fix up MODOK as well. prolly replace the arms and legs with articulated MU ones (either from ultron or classic ironman) and repaint.

As an example, this is how I repainted Strong Guy. I had this figure standing on my table for two months, wondering what to do to it to better fit among my other figures. I even thought about using just upper torso and head to create custom figure, but considering my skills, I settled for just an easy repaint and X-Man badge sculpt. Outcome is not great (I officially hate yellow color) but I think it is closer to visage of newer MU figures.

i just collect marvel legends my self but most of mine are toybiz rathar than hasbro simply because i like the detail that they put in each figure and my dad gave me a tip saying " once the best one comes out they will not be able to produce a better one" its kinda like films normally the pre-quels are sh1t comapred to the original film. but that sometimes happens. I have only 4 hasbro figures in my marvel legends collection but thats the movie figures also one comic like figure but i will be getting more movie ones
(the avengers) as seeing toybiz has died :(. but i personally are very rare to get the comic figures simply becasue i prefer the costumes they produce in the movies.

I've got a repainted Mojo in my customs thread. The key is Testor's Dullcoat. It takes the shine off of the figures.

I also display an old MODOK with my AIM agents that I haven't even bothered to repaint yet.

Yeah, some of the Toybiz figures are the best choices to fill in holes in the X-men and other line-ups. Somewhere on here is a long list of all the various figures and vehicles that work well with MU but came from earlier lines. Some of the choices can be a stretch, but most are perfect - like the Strong Guy seen above. Onslaught is much better in the Toybiz line than the BAF because of the head. I agree that if shine is a concern, buy some dullcoat and that will reduce it. I don't mind the difference, personally, and if it got to bothering me I would use dullcoat. (Now that you said that it probably will start bothering me - thanks!)

I display Toybiz figs that match scale-wise and look good- Satachsquatch, and Warstar in particular kick ass as part of the MU line.
Strong Guy and Mojo also look right on, but I dont really care about those characters, so have not bought them.

A fig really overlooked and SO worth getting is Terrax from the FF line!
He's MU scale! Almost the exact same height as Thanos, but wider because of the shoulder pads.
I'm repainting mine now...hopefully pics soon for you all...but I'd like your opinions- should I use Fleckstone paint on his exposed parts? He's supposed to be made of stone (at least looking).


You did a great job! Very nice!

Ditto on the only display certain ones. Pretty much only if they fit scale do I let them go near my collection.

Stuff like Nimrod, Strong Guy, warstar, Mastermold, and some other odds and ends look great with MU.

Terrax is really a great MU-scaled figure. Much better than the new BAF which is just huge. I also have the Sasquatch and Warstar and Strong Guy. I picked up a Spider Slayer as well because that seemed about the right scale. Sauran from Ka-Zar works well too. Kingpin is a stand in until I can find something better. Also, the Toybiz Avengers set has a nice medium height Giant Man and half sized Ant man and Wasp, as well as a pretty nice original Hulk.

I would go with straight grey and some drybrush - to look like Legends BAF version.

Another unappreciated figure that goes well with MU colleciton is Holocaust - that piece does not need any facelift or renovation - he is IMHO perfect in both scale and execution.

This could almost be its own thread, but having seen all these good examples(FF Terrax, Toybiz Holocaust etc.) what other older figures work with MU scale? One good one that's already been brought up is the Marvel Select Watcher

Yeah, there's a really old thread that pretty much listed them all too, but it's so old no clue how deep to look.

yellowjacket works fine as well as sasquatch

as does man-thing if i could ever get my hands on that toy.

I figured as much, don't wanna dig through all the oldies, if someone remembers which one, bring it up.

He's cheap and easy to find on eBay. I thought about picking it up myself just because of how awesome the character is.

here's my opinion and answer buddy

Do you display older figures amongst newer MU figures?
---- yes, i display it along with the newest one, but not in the same place, i have 2 big drawer for all my collection, one for my oldiest one for the MU
Do you display them in their original state?
---- sorry i confuse what do u mean original state ??? i usually display my toys just standing in normal position and not put them in other position
Do you repaint them or seal with matte varnish?
---- im not like to repaint or refurnish my collection even originally i hate too see some of them in bad condition or ugly sculpting, just want to keep them originally
Have you tried to add points of articulation to older figures or it is easier to create brand new custom figure?
---- Nope, same answer for question above, im not really like to custom original figure

Thank you for your answers, all of you. I am thinking about updating original post to list all MU compatible toys so the info is not scattered amongst many posts and threads.

It's not that old. ;)

The Marvel Universe/3.75 Compatability Thread - Toy Discussion at Toyark.com

Heh, that one too. xD

I meant the supplements thread linked in there. Marvel Universe Supplements - Toy Discussion at Toyark.com

But this way we've both referenced now too. =D

I also made a thread semi similiar, " Anything that works well with MU."

Yeah, I know about these threads - in fact they inspired me to buy many of these ToyBiz figures. ;)

I started this thread mainly to discuss whether and how people modify their old figures to better fit in their collection, but it seems that such threads quickly evolve into another "list of things that go well with MU" thread...

I agree with ya, well the old 90's toybiz figures can be incorportated well, but only certain figures, mainly baf type figures, brood queen,modok,mojo, they can work well with MU, and look 100x better when repainted, but they're no substitue for the real baf imo. Skrulls also work as they very in size so having MU scale, toybiz marvel legends and gigantic battles scale looks awesome!

I don't know if there's many parts that are worth swapping like limbs.

But accessories and bases are epic to swap.
Like I use the toybiz iceman slide for my Amazign friends iceman.