Bootleg "Vintage" Stormtrooper Figure Set: Toy Review

Here is my first toy review EVER. I founds these guys on ebay while I was searching for a HUGE 15" blow mold stormtrooper figure modeled after the vintage figure… This was a niace substitute when I lost that auction. Check these out!!

GeekSummit | Michael Keaton Batman III Movie Masters

Its been a year since I posted photos of Version II of Michael Keaton Batman. Really the recipe has not changed much but I just improved on a couple applications. For starters the cowl base has a more accurate shape to it and really makes for a nice attachment point for the cape. The head and belt buckle comes from a batman returns bubble gum dispenser… I plan on making quite a few improvements on this model since… dman I bought a case of those bastards on ebay and the gum's got a 50/50 chance of tasting like crap anyway… it is 20 years old.

ENJOY THE PHOTOS!!

I'M BATMAN!!!

SEE THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS!!! 

Man of Steel Custom Figure IV & Packaging by GeekSummit

Welcome back everybody. I've been hard at work over the last few hours pulling my latest version of the soon to be seen star of the screen; Nolan/Snyder's Man of Steel played by Henry Cavill. This is version IV of this figure. I made a couple tweaks from version III that made it easier to capture some of the new detail of this incarntion as well as attempted to pull together a tighter likeness overall.

This recipe calls for nearly the same cobination of parts. I opted for the solid torso this time as opposed to the ab-crunch articulated model. So basically you get all WWE Elite limbs on a standard upper torso. The details from the boots were completely dremelled off leaving only a smooth booted look. Boot tops were sculpted on above the cut joint. The head comes from a Texas Tornado figure with the hair completely resculpted.

The cape starts off as a bright red piece of polyester but I gave it a quick overspray with black spraypaint. Kinda like you would put on cologne if you got any class. I spray in an arc OVER the cape not directly onto it.

The wrist cuffs, body webbing, top of cape, belt buckle, and "S" sheild are all sculpted using Apoxie Sculpt. I work in thin layers pressed into place and then I sculpt with the exacto to make super clean lines. I also do my detailing with the Exacto and sometimes the dental pick.

The "S" shield is sculpted in 2 layers. First the base is pressed into place and smoothed and trimmed. Then the detail layer is pressed and cut out using an exacto in place. Once sculpted I took a small piece of fabric and pressed it over the "S" to give it that hyper detailed look the rest of the costume has in reference.

The model primed in flat gray Rustoleum

Yellow with a little white mixed in for belt and "S" details

FleshTone with a little white to fair up skin.

Pure white for eyeballs.

Red with a little black for cape top, boots and "S"

Blue Mixed with a little black and yellow. Webbing detail is painted over using spray chrome. I spray it into a stack of 3.oz mouthwash cups… (use only one and you'll see why). I use the chrome to drybrush the webbing in chrome. honestly this time I just went full on paint with it but went back over with the Blue/black/yellow mixture to mute it.

A nice proportional stature.

Details honored to the best of my ability.

The final shot… no bank vault…

MattyCollector Scale GhostBusters Fire House Facade Custom Diorama

So my daughter and I were tooling around with styrofoam like I was saying earlier and I guess Lance Cardinal's work got me thinking… Having the Kenner firehouse is cool and all but its kinda a shi##y scale… so away to HobbyLobby we went in search of better matterials since before we were just practicing with some scrap from a school project.

I picked up a sheet of 2'x3' 1/2" foamboard with the paper on both sides.  Immediately I peeled one side off…. it bowed up like a … piece of foamboard with only one side reinforced… so I peeled the other side and it layed down like a board… perfect.

So before I jumped in too deep I took out a sheet of graph paper and just quickly established my scale. I wanted the door on the first floor to have the access door be 7" so it would be to scale with the 6" figures but the door over all would be 9" to be more to scale with a old timey firehouse door. Overall it brought the entire facade to be 31" tall by 14" wide.

I cut my board to size as prescribed in the sketch.

Traced out my details in sharpie and magic marker and added some detail impressions...

Knocked out my windows and set excess aside for window measurements...

Added ledges with double sided tape...

Added… butresses??? to top ledge...

Built windows and doors out of foamboard and cardstock...

Primed all pieces individually...

Painted brick with a mixture of red and black and deepened stonework with black wash...

Attached windows and glass and then gave a final dusting of black overall.

Viola!!! Facade with scale references!! I apologize… The carpet's filthy...

Lance Cardinal - Playset Customizer

I was checking out the latest Toy Fair 2012 news when AFI's site malfunctioned and I was somehow re-directed to this particular article. This guy really pours himself into his work. I haven't seen anything more recent on his stuff but I'm about to look. I was just sitting down with my daughter the other day  making brick walls out of styrofoam… what timing!

You've GOT to check out this piece of work.

http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/features/an-interview-with-playset-customizer-lance-cardinal/

Enjoy!!