[Mordiganne]

The Universe is expanding.... (pics to follow in next post)

First batch and first new figures made since last year. I kept to my planned hiatus and only made one figure during that period out of sheer boredom. Although I hadn't made a single related character until halfway into this batch, it ended up being very 'X' heavy. Between this batch and some previous figures that were made, I can now put together any incarnation of the X-Men from the Giant-Size expansion team through until Cyclops left the X-Men - and the roster switched up quite often during that run of issues. I had not intended that to happen for this first batch back, but it worked out. Now I need to make the original team. In comic news I've been gathering omnibuses of late. I started with the Darkness (both compendiums) which I loved back in my comic collecting heyday and tried to get all the issues I could. I missed a lot, but these compendiums have just about every issues I could want and then some. From there I moved onto some other favorites I never got full runs of as a kid like Rising Stars, Crimson and the Authority - most of those in hardcover. Expensive way to read comics, but I like having full runs and enjoy the tactile sensation of actual books over reading digital scans constantly. I wish I could get more titles in large, complete volumes like this, however, It will be some time before I read all of these as it is. I won't even get to the Authority until I finish the preceding Stormwatch issues in digital format. With all the quarantining going on it looks like I'll have plenty of time for reading. I did read through the Phoenix saga issues again - looking up reference art - while making this batch. Still a great story. Thunderbird is there because I painted the tassels and gave him a quick spray to get rid of the plastic shine to help him better fit in with the rest. IMO it looks like they're wearing glossy clothing if I don't at least spray the factory produced figures. I also put a darker shade of gold on the belt and wrist bands. Captain America and U.S.Agent are there because I started painting the backsides of the shields with this batch. Seeing all the bright red discs, especially the one on Walker's back, was bothering me. So, anyway, onto the rest...


Commander Rogers (Old Man Steve) - I got bored during the hiatus and wanted to make something. That ended up being the concept Cap below. To make that figure I cannibalized the only Commander Rogers figure in my possession from my SHIELD shelf. So when I decided to replace that figure on the shelf, rather than just putting the Hasbro figure back up, I took the time to kill two birds with one stone and customize the figure and make an "Old Man Steve" at the same time. It's hard to see in the pic, but I gave him gray hair and some age spots. For the body I added a pouch, ammo pouches, a grenade and holster. Painted up all the "leather" areas leaving the chest harness as is. Started to work on some new techniques with this guy that'll expand from here. I started working on layering and shading in a small scale to add some depth and volume to the paint jobs. Not sure how well it's coming out in the pics, but it looks amazing in person. I took the ubiquitous rifle that Hasbro packs with anyone that might even look at a gun and gave it a quick gunmetal dry brush to breathe some life into it.

Blade - I had a chance to buy the Hasbro Blade many years ago at retail. I passed because of the body construction. When I finally looked at adding the figure years later it had jumped to astronomical prices. So I passed again. Eventually I got this head from Avacslab and put together my own Blade to knock the character off the list. I sculpted the chest armor, leg spikes and added a holster for his gun. I also sculpted armor onto his back as my original intention was to have the coat removable, but I nixed that idea after I'd already done the sculpting. For the sword I added a sheath to his back Until I get his Hasbro accessories I'm fine with the sword on his back. For his coat I tried a few different techniques in shading the red areas of the coat. Came out well. The paint job on the head is one of my best. All in all, I'm very please with how he turned out. Now I just need to track down the Hasbro made accessories or cast versions of them.

Dark Phoenix - Yet another character that desperately needed a redo of a crappy figure Hasbro made figure. I had the head long before I made the body - it's a shrink from Nomad. I'd had it painted and in a drawer for months now, so it was as good a time as any to pair it with a body. Other than the sash she was just a paint job. I almost said a "simple" paint job, but that'd be a lie. There's a lot of shading on this batch of figures. I'd like to get another head at some point and paint it "powered up". But that can wait. I'm just glad to get this character off the list and the figure replaced. Not many untouched Hasbro figures left on the shelves.

Captain America (stealth concept) - I made this figure mid hiatus because I was beyond bored. I got this head from Avacslab, I believe, and had started painting it. I couldn't remember what it was from at the time, so I had no point of reference and started painting it in dark colors as a base. That got me thinking about a Sideshow figure I'd seen recently and inspiration hit. I grabbed the Commander Rogers figure I had in the Shield display and started taking it apart. I put a scaled torso on from...some Captain A figure and swapped the lower arms. I painted him up in dark colors ala the costume from The Winter Soldier movie. I gave him a stealth painted shield and finished him off with some paint touches here and there including some "dirt" weathering on his boots. For something completely unplanned I really like the way it turned out.

Banshee - I've been wanting a Banshee figure for years and years now. Seeing as he lived he should have been in the boxset instead of Thunderbird, but I won't get on that tangent again. Since Hasbro wouldn't make one in this scale, it was down to custom or nothing. I wanted to make one for a while, I just never had a head that would work. I finally got the chance to pick this one up from Nomad. After leaving it half painted for months I finally decided to make the character and finished the head. The body was easy for the most part, at least in terms of design. I sculpted on the collar which was a royal pain. The wings were surprisingly easy to add but for some reason I stuck them on before I finished painting them. So I'll have to finish that at some later point. The wings are mesh. I normally go with vinyl, but I wanted total freedom of movement and vinyl only has so much give to it. Attaching the wings wasn't as smooth as I'd have liked, but it's good practice incase I decide to make him in the yellow and blue outfit or make Siryn.

Storm - As I got further into this batch and started delving into X characters, I just decided it was time to finally finish the Giant-Size team. That meant making a new Storm to go along with the rest of the customs for the team. The original figure is small and terrible. I only kept the head as I didn't feel like making the tiara from scratch or trying to pry it off the head. It was easier to just add to the hair and build it out, which is what I did. I sculpted the wrist bands, her outfit around the belly ring and the tops of her boots. A lot of sculpting, but had to be done to get the look right. When it came to the cape reality had to take over. In the comics her cape is easily able to defy the laws of physics, like the Conservation of Mass, where it can change size to fit the narrative as needed. Since I have to deal with reality, that meant picking a shape and sticking to it. I again went soft goods as I wanted the fabric flexibility for posing (not that I pose these, but that's not the point). I did add a wire across the back to allow me to make some structured shapes. Finally, I glossed all the black "leather" from her outfit. It allows it to have those comic-like highlights without putting white paint all over the figure.

Binary - This is a version of Carol Danvers that I wanted to make a long time ago but I didn't know how to make the head. I got an idea while working on this batch and started to see if it would work. Well, it didn't. But the attempt allowed me to find the right way to do it which meant going back to the green stuff for sculpting. Holy hell did I forget how hard this stuff was to use! I don't know how I made anything with this stuff, but I have to admit I love using it to sculpt flames and that's what I needed for Binary. After making the longer flames I needed to make the flame halo around her head then the flames on the arms and legs. A lot of tedious sculpt work. Fortunately the paint job was rather easy. I only did shading and blending on the flames so that went quick. At some point I need to fix up the stars on her chest. The paint bled at some point so one looks like a smudge. All-in-all, I'm glad to finally have Binary done. I think she'll hang out with the Shi'ar in the cosmic section. Only one Carol Danvers figure I still want to make of her in SHIELD gear. I'll probably wait on this until I get around to my next batch of SHIELD figures.

Phoenix - While I had thought the mini dress Jean outfit was the bookend for her tenure on the team, she really only wore it very briefly at the beginning and for a couple of panels at the end before killing herself. So that meant I needed the character in the green phoenix outfit that she spent most of her time on the team in. I'd made Dark Phoenix first, so I already knew how to lay out the paint pattern and how to put it all together. The only extra I had to do was sculpt the phoenix on her sash since I only had the one and used it for Dark Phoenix already. I'm not sure if I want to keep the current head long term or not. I wasn't planning on using it and the one I was isn't close to ready, so I just painted up an extra Dagger head as a stand in. It looks good, I think.

Cyclops - I have to admit, for a character I really can't stand, I love this custom. It came out beyond my expectations and just came together perfectly. I went with Byrne's design from and put the red band up on the mid-section so it's more like a cumber bund. I sculpted the boot tops as well. The paint job really brought this figure together. I used a few shades of blue to bring out the texture and a lighter blue to add some highlights. I never thought much of the head sculpt but Hasbro really did a decent job of putting some character into the sculpt. Not sure how well it will come out in the pics, but it looks great when properly painted. I thought about giving him "pointing" hands but then I remembered that he can shoot his optics blasts without having to physically manipulate his visor, so there's really no reason for him to have those hands. I'm not sure why Hasbro keeps making Cyclops figures with those hands, but I digress. Lame character aside this is easily one of my favorite figures made. Ever. Even with the simplicity, or maybe because of it, I would put this "Top 20" were I still maintaining that.

Colossus - I had no intention of doing as much as I ended up doing to this figure. It ended up being a full on custom when all I started out doing was painting all of the "skin" in a pure chrome silver color and getting rid of the over done blue wash they put all over him. To make him more accurate to the era I had to alter the belt buckle with some sculpt and gave the entire figure a fresh paint job.

Sunfire - Like Colossus this update was unplanned. I already touched up parts of him before, but this time around I gave him a full paint from the top down. Mostly shading to give texture and definition to the sculpt. This was a well done Hasbro figure. Just needed some touch-ups.