Tomato's Mad Experiments 05-14-2013

[Tomato]

So, In order to deal with the problem of not having all the armor permutations I wanted for my RVB customs until AT LEAST midway through next year (and really, who wants to wait that long?) I decided to skip the middle man. And now, after weeks of assembling materials, I give you the first step in my evil plan to make custom MB Halo helmets!



Now, I can hear you guys already... "Really Tomato, I know you is crazy, but green blobs ≠ Halo helmets" and... you'd be right. They are, in fact, molds of existing Halo helmets.



You see, by making a mold of pre-existing helmets, I can fill, or "cast" the molds with another chemical, called "Hydroshrink" which will, over time, shrink to approximately half the size of the original object. With a little bit of luck and experimentation, I'll be able to get proper sized helmets finished in a month or so.

[Cyber Burn]

That is an impressive concept 'Mato.

[Tomato]

So, most of the work done so far one these has been shown primarily on another board (one for MB enthusiasts), but I thought I'd post the images of the post-shrinkage head hear (this is the Mark V helmet, compared to the Mark IV helmet the normal MB figs use.

[Tomato]

K, so, long story short, the shrink thing had issues... not with the shrinking, but with the mold making and nonsense. I might eventually come back to it, but I've moved on for the moment. I'll spare you all the craziness with Ponies (Blind Bag Fluttershy = not acceptable) and move this thread to my latest project, my first real custom.



Excuse cell phone quality camera on this, my real camera is lost atm. Still verrrrry early phase here (I haven't even really gotten started as far as the sculpt) and I'd be very surprised if anyone could tell which Marvel Universe figure I'm creating, though the fact that I'm using a DCUC fig to create him might be a clue.

[UnkoMan]

I'm going to go ahead and just guess the Sentry, on account of your clue.

But, I can't be sure. And Starman seems like an odd base choice if that's who you are going with.

[Tomato]

Heh, tis a two-part clue Unko my man... You're missing the other half. (Hint: In this case, all Universes are not created equal)

[Cyber Burn]

Hyper ion?

[Tomato]

*sigh* Guys, the hint wasn't that it's a DC figure... it's that it's a DC UNIVERSE figure being used to compliment the Marvel UNIVERSE line. There's a very big reason that the two don't go together, and it's not the Marvel/DC thing.



If no one can guess it now, I'm disowning you all as comic fans. Especially with the references I'm using displayed on my laptop like that.

[doctorchallenger]

Giant Man in his Avenger Academy costume?

[UnkoMan]

Ahhh... Now I get it. I had to look up Marvel Universe line and found that they are smaller scale. Suddenly it made sense!

Well, and you have Hank's head thingies. Wait, is this version Hank Pym? I thought he was still in Yellowjacket mode or something. I can't keep up.

[Tomato]

Well, and you have Hank's head thingies. Wait, is this version Hank Pym? I thought he was still in Yellowjacket mode or something. I can't keep up.

Heh, I more or less said the same thing a few days ago. Apparently he was Wasp for awhile, then finally realized it was creepy to be using his dead GF's identity. Actually, the main book he's in right now (Academy) is very well written... almost makes me regret not touching an Avengers book since the end of Civil War  .

Don't have my paints atm to finish him up(in another state, meh), but he's looking good so far. I went ahead and Assembled the rest of my "core" Avengers for a group shot, mainly so I could explain where I'm going with it.



Long story short, I wanted to build a "Modern" team of Avengers that wasn't bogged down in all the Quesada-ness of Marvel right now. An... Avengers According to Tomato, if you like. I'm going to explain my choices a bit, as well as list a few figures I have but didn't add or want to add but don't have.

Captain America- This one was both the easiest and hardest decision for me, and I've only more recently made up my mind on it. Having a CA on the team was obvious, but I was torn between whether I should have bucky instead, or have both, or what. Truthfully, I thought Bucky was a more interesting and modern character than Steve, if for no other reason then he's only recently come back to the forefront. However, when it comes right down to it, I cannot see Bucky leading the Avengers the same way as Steve does, and I didn't want to include both for the sake of having both

Iron Man- I chose to use Tony's Extremis Armor here, even though his more modern armor had been released, because I feel like it's a better representation of a "Modern" Iron man... his current look seems goofy to me.

Thor- Coipel design is Boss. next.

Wolverine- I'm among those that make fun of Wolverine's being on EVERY Avengers and X-men and whatever else book out there, but I do feel like Wolverine represents a necessary balance of morality to the Idealism of Cap and Thor. Plus, if the Avengers are supposed to be the A-list of Superheroes, they should have Marvel's number one cash cow.

Spider Man- Long before Bendis started killing people just to restructure the team, I always used to wonder why Spider-man was never an Avenger... it's not like he didn't routinely team up with everyone and their grandmother anyway, so why not make him an official Avenger and be done with it? As for the suit... I happen to like that costume, so STFU.

Luke Cage- One of the biggest problems we're starting to discover is that whenever you try to make a team like this, it's very hard to include legitimate Black heroes... either they're obligatory Black versions of existing heroes (John Stewart) or they're lame characters obviously pulled from the writer's nether regions just to have a black character (Falcon). Cage is probably one of the very very few heroes that can believably hang with guys like Iron Man and Thor, but doesn't come off as an excuse character (Well... when someone other than Bendis is writing him I mean).

Giant Man- While I would by no means remove the character from the Academy series (again, well written book) Hank was one of the founding members of the Avengers, and he's a great character when writers aren't trying to shoe-horn him into some stupid psychosis of one kind or another.

Reserves (didn't make the core team)

Sentry- Do I have to explain? Didn't think so.
Bucky Cap, US Agent- Much as I like Bucky Cap, there doesn't need to be 20 shield slingers (or for that matter, size manipulators... Sorry Lang and O'Grady, but know that I'll be buying you anyway)
Spider-Woman- I need more legitimate females, and I know Bendis pushes her like a $2 murs, but I just do not see what, if anything, she brings to the Avengers other then Drama.
Wonder Man- Wonder Man's always been kind of a one-note character... he's only ever been interesting for the drama between him, Vision, and Wanda.

DO WANT!

Ms Marvel- In a genre dominated by male characters, Ms Marvel is a hero on par with the best the Avengers has to offer. Too expensive atm, waiting for re-release
Wasp- Like Hank, Wasp is one of the founding Avengers, making her the first female member of the team and her flight and stingers make her unique among the 50,000 shrinking heroes. Unsure what direction to go, open for discussion.
She-Hulk While I feel like she might be pushing it with Hulk on the same team, She-Hulk is a strong Heroine in her own right, and more than deserves a spot on the team. Haven't gotten around to ordering her yet.
Tigra- Again, strong female, unique powers, cool look. Why has Hasbro not made her!?!
Black Panther- Like Luke, T'Challa is a black character who can stand as a Hero in his own right. I mean really, he's like a mix of Batman and Aquaman. What's not to love? Haven't ordered yet, expecting a re-release.
Hulk- I've made no secret of the fact that I love how Hulk has been handled in Avengers EMH, and I've long wanted a smarter Hulk to rejoin the ranks of the team he helped found. Can't justify ordering the old one with new hotness coming out next year.
Hawkeye- Because he's Hawkeye. Expecting cheaper re-release
Vision- He's a robot with MM-like density powers. Hoping for re-release.

If anyone's interested, feel free to discuss who you feel should be on the team, who shouldn't, and generally feel free to call me crazy on some of my choices. Specifically I'm trying to figure out a few things:

- I am desperately trying to include more Avengers females who don't feel shoe-horned in... like, y'know, Spider Woman.
- I don't know what I want to do as far as Wasp... I'm not a fan of either of the released Wasps (Original Avengers and Secret War, neither fit on a Modern team) and even if I do break down and go custom, which costume do I use? Hank has the benefit of having a spiffy new Modern Giant Man look, but Wasp has been dead for awhile now, limiting me to her pre-death costumes.

[Cyber Burn]

I always thought that Beast made a great Avenger, but that's just me.

As for female members, what about the Scarlet Witch? Once upon a time, she was a solid member of the team (besides, you can't have the Vision without the Scarlet Witch).

[Tomato]

I always thought that Beast made a great Avenger, but that's just me.

As for female members, what about the Scarlet Witch? Once upon a time, she was a solid member of the team (besides, you can't have the Vision without the Scarlet Witch).

Blah, yeah, Beast was another one I wanted... I'm just depressed that this monstrosity is the only beast coming out in the near future... Why no classic Beast Hasbro!?!

As far as Wanda goes... I'm still torn on whether to include her. Not only am I kinda sick of the nonsense with her that's been around ever since Bendis touched her, I'd already planned to include a version of her with my X-men. Not a huge deal (Wolverine and Beast, natch) but there's only one Wanda in the works right now, and I'm not buying the same exact figure twice.

[Cyber Burn]

Do you plan on putting together villain teams as well?

[Tomato]

Do you plan on putting together villain teams as well?

I've made certain purchases in that direction (Doom, Ultron, I think maybe one or two more), but I'm still more or less trying to get a core Avengers team down before I move over to the MoE. Updated pic:



Ignore the paint on Hank for now, waiting on real paints later next week. The biggie here is that the Wasp problem I was having is now solved... more or less. I want to repaint it to match the modern look, but it's fine for now.

Right now I'm looking at a 20 man team of Avengers, since that seems to be about where I'm sitting anyway. Still looking at who to finish the team up with.

• Captain America
• Iron Man
• Thor
• Spider-Man
• Wolverine
• Giant Man
• Hulk
• Luke Cage
• Black Panther
• Hawkeye
• Vision
• Beast
• Wasp
• She-Hulk
• Black Widow
• Scarlet Witch
• Tigra
• Ms Marvel

[Cyber Burn]

What about Hercules? Though not one of my favorite Avengers, his arrogance was always amusing.

And since you have Vision and the Scarlet Witch, I'd say either Quicksilver or Wonder Man...get the drama rolling.

[Tomato]

Hank still isn't what I'd consider "done" (I want to touch up the paint job over the weekend, this was somewhat rushed) but I can't do anything more really until I get some superglue to get his freaking antenna to stay where they belong. Wasp IS done however, unless someone magically discovers a way to do her eyes at such a tiny scale (she's small by heroclix standards. Wasp be TIIIINNNNYYYY)

-I've both considered Hercules and had him suggested by other people (prem loves the character, and he's right to... Herc is funny, has a personality and powerset that provides a nice contrast to Thor, and generally is one of the more underrated characters in Marvel) but I already have a ridiculous number of heavy hitters on this team, including everyone from Hulk to Thor to Luke Cage. He just doesn't add anything to the team I've set up here.

-By that same token, Wonder Man's power set adds VERY little to the team, and I've never really liked the character... he always felt like a very forced add-on to the SW/Vision relationship, like somehow the fact that Visions relationships and accomplishments should all obviously belong to Wonder Man since Vision is an android. Just because they have the same inclinations does NOT mean that both of them should instantly be madly in love with Wanda despite the fact that WM never interacted with her the way Vision did.

-Quicksilver... I dunno. It's a unique powerset for the team, and he does have enough history with them... but I dunno. Maybe it's just me, but I've never associated Quicksilver with the Avengers directly... sure, he's been on the team, but it's usually because either A. Wanda made him or B. He had some agenda of his own (redemption, currently).

[Podmark]

Wow, thats pretty cool. I like the new costume too.

[Glitch Girl]

I'm really liking this group you're doing.  (except for Iron Spider, only because I've always hated that costume)

re: Wasp's eyes.
If I were closer, I'd offer to tru (I used to paint D&D figs), but seeing as that's probably not feasible.  In lieu of that,  have you considered doing a light wash of a dark color in her face to at least make her features stand out a bit?

re: teammembers
I'm partial to Photon (Monica Rambeau) 'cos she's got a cool powerset and I like her costumes.  I know she does have a history with the Avengers, though I confess I don't know it very well, haven't read much of that era.  She completely rocked in Next Wave though.  Downside, she is going to require a custom figure, since I think they have yet to make one of her.

[Tomato]

I'm really liking this group you're doing.  (except for Iron Spider, only because I've always hated that costume)

re: Wasp's eyes.
If I were closer, I'd offer to tru (I used to paint D&D figs), but seeing as that's probably not feasible.  In lieu of that,  have you considered doing a light wash of a dark color in her face to at least make her features stand out a bit?

re: teammembers
I'm partial to Photon (Monica Rambeau) 'cos she's got a cool powerset and I like her costumes.  I know she does have a history with the Avengers, though I confess I don't know it very well, haven't read much of that era.  She completely rocked in Next Wave though.  Downside, she is going to require a custom figure, since I think they have yet to make one of her.

Thanks, I appreciated it *shrug* For now I just feel like that outfit just looks better in the team, in much the same way Brown Wolverine is my favorite look but I prefer Astonishing for the lineup. It might well lose it's novelty later, in which case I have like, 3 other versions to pull from.

-I've got a few ideas for wasp, but they'll have to wait until potentially after the holiday season when I can get out and scout out some hobby and gaming stores without being killed over a $2 saving on pencils or something. Most of the brushes and supplies I have right now are ones that haven't been packed up and taken home, so I'm verrry limited on what I can do... I am honestly surprised I was able to do wasp's chest details.

-You're the second person to suggest Photon (poor prem has been driven crazy by my antics on this)... and I actually might be doing some serious research on her this weekend, because while she's more obscure, what little I've seen as far as her powers compliment the team.

[Amazo Version 2.2]

i may have blinked and misssed something, but what about mocking bird?

[Tomato]

I was unsure whether to include Mockingbird because to me she always felt like kind of a blah female Hawkeye, but Prem has since... educated me on the inaccuracy in my perception. Now I think she's a good candidate to round out the last of my Avengers team.

I got a few more figures to add to the collection, but as most are at my parent's home now (preparing to move out of my current military dorm to my next base) and I'm missing my camera, I don't have pics for you guys. HOWEVER! I did finally finish something I've wanted to do for a looooong time.


(Left: Mattel's Arkham City fig, Center: My custom, Right: DCD's Arkham Asylum fig)

So, I've been super excited by the current Mattel Arkham City figure line... I love the games, I love batman, and I love Mattel's figures. The whole situation should be a win for me... and to be fair, I have been happy with most of the figures released so far. The DC Direct Arkham Asylum/City figures, while consistently pretty, had articulation that rarely exceeded that of your standard Marvel figure from the 90s, and as such always fell short of perfect with me.

Joker however, seemed determined to annoy me. Putting aside the fact that he's intended to be "about to die" Joker, with the decaying flower, black bow tie, and disfigured face (which leaves a very blah looking paint job... I've included the mattel figure on left, but no pic I've found does justice to how muddy the colors look in person without the brighter yellow, green bow tie, and white-ish flower to break it up) his head has just been fugly ever since the very first pics surfaced from one of the comic cons. It's not the sculpt or anything... again, this is supposed to be dying joker, so the near-dead look of it more or less works on it's own (in fact, I'd say it's better than DC Direct's dying joker head, which looks like he's covered in boils) it's that, and it's worse in person then it is here... the head looks kinda like the goomba heads from the live action Super Mario movie. It's like they made it for a five inch scale, and then remembered the figure was supposed to be seven inch and just stuck it on the bigger body.

So yeah, well before the figure came out, I began making plans to fix it. Months before the figure came out, I purchased the DC direct Joker (which had the added bonus of netting me a Scarface figure... limited articulation means very little on a wooden dummy after all) and made plans to swap heads... which turned out to be a lot more troubled then I'd have thought. In order to fit the DCD head in, I had to essentially cut away the back half of Joker's neck, sculpt a new back, fit the head inside, and then glue everything down for good measure. The head still has some limited range of motion, but it's mostly side to side now.

And, since I was at it anyway, I repainted the non-purple areas. I love how the flower turned out, but I might still touch up the bow tie... it's almost too light now.

[Podmark]

You're right that Mattel head was just too small. How could they release something like that?

[Tomato]

The same way they could release midget Sinestro. The sad thing is, it came out in 2008, and the corrected SC Sinestro is only just coming out this month.

[cmdrkoenig67]

That is a great looking Giant Man custom, T.

Dana

[MJB]

I tried to make custom figures way back in the day & found I didn't have the talent or the patience to do a quality job. Good job on Giant-Man, Tomato. Looking good.

[Tomato]

This isn't really anything "new," but I just picked up the Batwing set and, well... I got the idea for this.

[Tomato]

Working on a proper pony collection... You would not believe how long Luna took me to get that far. Hasbro put stupid little glitter crud all over her.

[Reepicheep]

When I look back over the previous two posts of this thread, I feel like I've made some weird dimensional shift...

[Tomato]

DEATH TO THE FOURTH WALL!!!!!!!