Tomato's Mad Experiments 05-14-2013

[Tomato]

Much happier with the paint job on this one.

Edit: a bit more detail on V1 and V2

[Deaths Jester]

...

I don't even know how to respond to that DJ.

The design I used is based on the original costume by Jack Kirby, with some minor updates based on personal preference or my own laziness. The color palette is also based on the design in his earliest appearances in the X-men comic.

Ahhh...okay.  That makes more senses then.

[Tomato]

So, speaking of X-men... I've got my X-men collection split into groups of 8 at the moment (Original, Second Gen., etc) and I'm in the process of splitting the third group (which was just kind of "everything else") into two distinct sections... 90s X-men and Modern X-men. My current issue is just figuring out who goes where... Some characters are obvious (Rogue and Gambit in 90s, X23 and Fantomex in modern). I'd be interested in hearing everyone's opinion on the subject,  especially on who belongs in the "modern" category.

Here's a rough idea of who I have so far:

90s X-men-

Rogue
Gambit
Jubilee
Cable
Psylocke
Bishop
Marvel Girl II (rachel)
Forge

Modern Xmen

Warpath-xforce
X23-xforce
Deadpool-xforce
Fantomex-xforce
Emma Frost
Magik

[Cyber Burn]

Going by what you have there, the only change would be to move Marvel Girl II into the Modern section, I don't really consider her a "90's" X-Man.


Maybe Cable too, since he was an X-Force character in the 90's, if I remember correctly.

[Tomato]

Well, by "X-force" I'm actually referring to the modern X-force run with the black-gray costumes... and I already have X-23, Warpath, and Deadpool in those outfits.

Marvel Girl is the character I'm most shaky on (which is odd, because she joined the team back in the 80s)... well, her and Bishop, I guess. I'm back and forth on whether Bishop should be one of the X-men, or if he should be on the side of the villains. His actions since M-day have made him very difficult for me to place... I want to remember him as the hero he was in the 90s cartoon and comics, but his current portrayal is even more super-villainy than Cyclops' is.

That said, the issue I have with moving any of them around is who do I replace them with. If the intent is to keep to 8 man teams, I'd need to find someone else who fits the criteria better... and I can't think of anyone offhand.

Back to the Modern X-men though, I like the idea of having it broken down into the 4 members of X-force, and 4 members of the "Extinction Team" (Emma Frost and Magik are easy choices, and there is a Namor figure too), but I'm not 100% on that since Magik doesn't have a figure and I'd have no idea who else to use.

[Podmark]

I'm assuming you don't want to double up on characters, so in terms of the extinction team you're left with Danger and Namor. Magneto would be a good one but I'd assume you already have him with your villains. Moonstar might make sense as a modern character. It's funny, despite the army of characters that have been X-Men in the modern era, I having a lot of difficulty thinking of characters that don't double up with your other groups, and that I know have figures.

Rachel definitely makes more sense as a modern X-Men than a 90's one (depending on how strict you're being with that term). She spent the 90's on X-Calibur and limbo. Then again she spent half the modern era in space.

[Tomato]

Yeah, magneto's kind of set in his position opposite Xavier, but the rest of the villains require some serious thought and I'm terrified of getting into that... I had problems filling up the villain ranks BEFORE making a whole other section of x-men for them to fight against.

But anyway, my biggest problem right now seems to be replacing some of the 90s characters. I'm fine with moving Marvel Girl to the Modern team, and I'm considering moving both Bishop and the Extinction team to the side of the villains just because there are so few notable villains compared to X-men. Filling the Modern X-men is relatively easy (Hope, Moonstar, etc.) but replacing those 90s slots is very difficult... I'm getting to the point where I'm considering Marrow, for goodness sake.

Edit: *slaps forehead* Domino for the 90s side. Yeah, she wasn't technically an X-man at the time, but I associate her with the 90s much more than Rachel.

[Tomato]

Here's what I've mapped out so far. I decided that I liked the idea of expanding the villains side of the "Modern" team to include the X-tinction team, despite including duplicates of Cyclops, Magneto, and Colossus. Added Domino and Morph to 90s (Morph was a tough call, but I was considering getting/making a morph anyway out of nostalgia for the old toy biz toy, and he WAS a product of the 90s in AoA and in the TV show), and am trying to fill in the remaining gaps on the villain side.

[Tomato]

I don't post most of my Mega Blok stuff anymore, but I'm proud of these and I'm about to post something more appropriate as soon as the paint on it dries.



Each of these is a custom 3d print painted with clear paints. Also, they're all less than .5" high.

[Tomato]

So among the MANY ongoing figure collections I have going right now is my Titans collection, which will eventually consist of 11 of my favorite Titans members from various incarnations of the team. Now, I'm not all that fond of Mattel's Starfire (I could list about 3 good reasons for this, but just google it for yourselves) but in the end, the biggest crime in the line has to be their "Beast Boy." Like their first Sinestro figure, their Beast Boy looks ok... until he stands next to practically any other figure in the line. For some stupid reason, Mattel decided to make a modern/2008 version of Gar Logan, but put him on a body designed for 12 year old males.

So I've made/am making my own. I still want to spend a bit more time cleaning up (I've got the core of it done, just need to clean the edges) but I'm really happy with how he turned out... I used the YJ Superboy body, meaning he's still shorter than the other adult Titans, but not so much that he looks comical next to them. I'd be surprised if anyone recognized the head though (hair is sculpted, so no help there).

[Tomato]

After spending a couple hours today putzing around different stores, I finally came across the new Man of Steel figures. Now my Avengers/JLA movie figures almost have a fair fight.

[naitvalis]

nice collection 'mato! 

"very explicit subliminal message": i must not customize my ponies to look like marvel and dc heroes...  i must not customize my ponies to look like marvel and dc heroes...  i must not customize my ponies to look like marvel and dc heroes...  i must not customize my ponies to look like marvel and dc heroes... i must not customize my ponies to look like marvel and dc heroes... i must not customize my ponies to look like marvel and dc heroes...    

[Cyber Burn]

Beast Boy looks really good 'Mato. I wish my old custums looked even half as nice as yours.

[Deaths Jester]

*shakes head in shame* You really do have too much money...and I blame you for that too!!

[Tomato]

Er... this one's actually pretty cheap. I found a target exclusive pack that had all the Avengers characters + Loki for $40 bucks or something, so I'd say all of those figures together cost me $75 max, and probably less because I bought most of them in stores and at least one was on clearance (War Machine, IM2 line).

To put that in perspective, I budget $100 per paycheck for figures, and usually end up with 3-5 figures. The new two-pack Arkham City Bane comes in costs $50(The old Arkham Asylum one still runs over $150).

[Deaths Jester]

Er... this one's actually pretty cheap. I found a target exclusive pack that had all the Avengers characters + Loki for $40 bucks or something, so I'd say all of those figures together cost me $75 max, and probably less because I bought most of them in stores and at least one was on clearance (War Machine, IM2 line).

To put that in perspective, I budget $100 per paycheck for figures, and usually end up with 3-5 figures. The new two-pack Arkham City Bane comes in costs $50(The old Arkham Asylum one still runs over $150).

And yet I still blame you for wasting cash! Send that extra money to me...I command you!!!

[Tomato]

Lego Scarface custom. I have a Movie-style Red Hood to show off as well, but I don't have pics yet.

[BentonGrey]

Ha!  That's quite clever.  Very nice.

[Tomato]

[Cyber Burn]

Other than the legs looking a bit off, it looks pretty cool. Nice job on the jacket.

Side note: I was reading your Tumblr account, are you going to make a Red X figure as well? I really liked that character design from the Teen Titans cartoon.

[Tomato]

Other than the legs looking a bit off, it looks pretty cool. Nice job on the jacket.

Side note: I was reading your Tumblr account, are you going to make a Red X figure as well? I really liked that character design from the Teen Titans cartoon.

Depends. I just ordered a Red X figure from the teen titans figure line, and I want to see how well it fits alongside the other animated figures.

[Cyber Burn]

Other than the legs looking a bit off, it looks pretty cool. Nice job on the jacket.

Side note: I was reading your Tumblr account, are you going to make a Red X figure as well? I really liked that character design from the Teen Titans cartoon.

Depends. I just ordered a Red X figure from the teen titans figure line, and I want to see how well it fits alongside the other animated figures.

I would definitely like to see a pic of Red X when you get him.

[Deaths Jester]

'Mato, you do know that one of these days I'm going to break into your house, steal all your figures and sell them on the black market, right?

[naitvalis]

i represent a famous company wich is high specialized in secure action figures, it will cost you only a  small amount of money x month...we have the traps for any kind of jester and suchs  .

[Deaths Jester]

i represent a famous company wich is high specialized in secure action figures, it will cost you only a  small amount of money x month...we have the traps for any kind of jester and suchs  .

As if those traps could really keep on such as I from swiping these figures and selling them on the black market...please, I invented those traps to keep other such swipers from edging in on my business.

[Tomato]

Plz, like I'm worried about DJ stealing my figures. I just keep a case of beer dosed with sleeping medication in front of the door, and when he inevitably drinks it I cart him back outside and call the cops.

Anyway, just Red X yesterday (its been at my parent's house for about a week, didn't have time to get it until yesterday) and since Cyber wanted a pic:



It's a bit smaller than I'd like (TT line was a smaller scale than the Mattel JLU/Batman line, so he's actually smaller than my tim drake robin) but he looks fine on the shelf so... eh.

Edit: I feel I should point out that although I'm happy with Red X, the real showstopper this time around was Arkham City* Killer Croc. I was terrified when I was looking at the specs on him, because I actually made the Arkham shelf 9 inches high (because there's no POSSIBLE way I'd need more than that, right?) and then I found out Croc was 9.5 inches tall. The thing is massive, and thankfully I was able to hunch him over enough so that he can fit on the shelf without looking off. I've heard the arms have a very prominent design flaw (apparently the pegs are not really strong enough to handle the weight, so they sometimes tear off) but otherwise the figure is absolutely amazing and absolutely steals the entire shelf.

*Yes, he's more prevalent in Asylum, but his figure was released under the "Arkham City" banner.

[Cyber Burn]

I have always loved the simplicity of the design of Red X, a visually stunning character that I would love to see in FF.

[Deaths Jester]

Plz, like I'm worried about DJ stealing my figures. I just keep a case of beer dosed with sleeping medication in front of the door, and when he inevitably drinks it I cart him back outside and call the cops.

MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!  You don't understand the DJ too much then because the DJ doesn't drink beer!!  MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

[naitvalis]

now is the case, we have a special offer for a minibar with an hidden six barrel machinegun!
(bullets are sold separately)

[Tomato]

Dude, I think everyone here is truly overestimating how worried I am about DJ breaking into my apartment.

For one thing, it's DJ. It's not like I'm being invaded by "the A team" here. I'd be more worried if a fruit fly was threatening to come in and knock down one of my displays. For another, in order to even GET to my room, he has to pass by my roommate's room... and DJ, if you can accomplish that without him just sitting on you and crushing your zombie bones, you can have my action figures.

Anyway, I've posted some updates to my figure tumblr (which I juuuust added to my signature) but the cliff notes are: I got some clayface figures, and I made a custom TNBA style Killer Croc from a cast someone made of an original sculpt.