Getting an early start on customs in the new year, leading off with a classic Marvel comics character.

Doctor Venom
Cobra Scientist

This figure resulted from a happy accident. I wasn’t looking to make a Doctor Venom custom in Classified scale, even though I had decided to do the members of Cobra Command from 1982 to 1984 as a set (Zartan, Major Bludd and Firefly were completed last year). When Christmas shopping I stumbled across a 6” figure of Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Jurassic Park and realized that with a new head it could make an excellent Doctor Venom, with the white lab coat and the tie and slacks. After removing the pinstripes from the shirt, and some extra paint they put on the lab coat for some reason, a paint job and appropriate head gives us Doctor Venom.

Head – Custom-cast (Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth)
All other parts – John Raymond Arnold (Mattel Jurassic Park Amber Collection)
Cobra sigil – Bad Mother Tattoos waterslide decal

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Not very familiar with him, but nice and clean job . That base figure is certainly awesome for all things doctor in 6"!

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It certainly is. He's a comic character from the very early days.

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Nightbat
DC Superhero

This is a take on Batman from the Batman Beyond animated series, the successor to Bruce Wayne named Terry McGinnis. To allow him to be a contemporary of Batman rather than his successor, similar to say Batwing, he is now Nightbat, a name that DC has apparently never used so it’s all mine. This is basically a Batwing figure with a new head and legs, a paint job and Styrene Batfins added to the arms. He’s less stylized than the cartoon appearance, but that lets him fit in with the other DC customs I’ve done using Spin Master figures.

Head – Batman (Spin Master Batcycle set)
Torso, arms, wings – Batwing (Spin Master)
Legs – Nightwing (Spin Master)

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Superman
Dc Superhero – Classic Appearance

This is a very simple custom, though credit for the suggestion goes to RabbitofSeville, who’s had some very kind words about my superhero figures. This is the basic Spin Master Superman figure with his shorts painted red with a yellow belt to represent Superman’s classic appearance. I have nothing against the more modern, all-blue version of Superman’s outfit, without the red trunks, but the classic look is nice as well.

All parts – Superman (Spin Master DC Heroes Unite)

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Superman
DC Superhero – Golden Anniversary

This figure results from another suggestion by RabbitofSeville, a rather brilliant one I think. In 1988, Kenner was planning a 50th Anniversary Superman figure for its Super Powers line. This figure would have Superman’s regular blue suit replaced with gold. We have some concept art and a carded figure that was mocked up by someone years ago, though the figure was never actually released. The brilliant part is that Spin Master released gold versions of a number of figures in its current DC superheroes line, including Superman. So that figure was just begging to be turned into an homage to the unproduced Kenner gold Superman.
All parts – Superman (Spin Master DC Heroes Unite – gold chase figure)

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Great job on both this and the blue with red trunks version! Thanks for the credit as well. As an addendum, Mattel, for their online exclusive line (before they eventually lost the DC license), did a ‘Super Powers anniversary wave’ that included the Golden Anniversary Superman in their lineup. Way I see it, Spin Master could do this as a SDCC exclusive. (Even though McFarlane just launched their own Super Powers tribute line.)

Beautiful work!

Sideswipe
Autobot Warrior

Working through the most recent versions of the original 1984 Autobots to give them small upgrades in deco. The War for Cybertron: Kingdom version of Sideswipe is the best (non-Masterpiece) one yet, combining significant cartoon accuracy in robot mode with a excellent articulation, solid transformation and a good vehicle mode. Sideswipe here gets chrome on his forearms and feet, and some extra painted details on his knees and feet. The gun is vintage Sideswipe, with the barrel drilled out and just a bit of tape on the handle to allow it to be gripped.

Figure: Kingdom Sideswipe
Rifle: G1 Sideswipe

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He-Man (Special Edition)
Mail-Away Warrior

For my first MOTU Origins custom, here’s a very simple version of Special Edition He-Man. This is a figure that has long been (erroneously) called Wonder Bread He-Man by many collectors. For a long time it was conjectured that this version of He-Man (brown hair) was part of a promotion by Wonder Bread. Recent research has concluded pretty soundly that this is not the case. It was actually a “buy X figures, get one free” offer that originally just sent a brown-haired He-Man without accessories. It’s possible that after a letter was sent pointing out the lack of accessories, later ones started included some of the maroon weapons that were being used for the “Special Offer” Man-E-Faces figure, which included a bunch of bonus accessories. You’ll often see this version of He-Man wearing a black version of Zodac’s armour, but that is merely a bit of accessory pack kit that got attached to the figure by misguide collectors. As a custom, this one’s dirt simple of course. Just paint where needed.

Figure: MOTU Origins He-Man
Weapon: Vintage MOTU Man-E-Faces (Special Offer)

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I'm not a Transformers collector, so I don't have the eye for knowing what the toys look like. I never would have guess that Sideswipe was a custom, and I mean that as a high compliment.

Great work.

I haven't done a whole lot of customs this year, and the ones I have done are backlogged in terms of getting them photographed and posted. So throughout this last day of the year I'll be getting as many customs posted as I can manage, starting with some classic film monsters from the black & white era.

Boris Karloff as Ardath Bey
(from The Mummy - 1932)

Boris Karloff played multiple roles in Karl Freund’s 1932 film The Mummy, including the titular monster and Ardeth Bey, depicted here. Ardeth Bey is a form taken by the mummy for much of the film. This is a repaint of the original figure, whose paint apps are unfortunately a bit messy, so there was quite a bit to clean up and improve on. A black & white shot is included in homage to the era whence it came.

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Boris Karloff as The Monster
(from Frankenstein – 1931)

One of the core Universal Monsters, the Monster originally appeared in the 1931 film Frankenstein, directed by James Whale and starting Boris Karloff in the monster role. The base ReAction figure is of course similar to the 1979 Remco Universal Mini-Monsters toy of the same character, though it’s more massive, which is certainly appropriate. This is a repaint of the original figure, in colours intended to reflect how the monster was supposed to be in colour. Posters from the original film show the monster with yellowish skin, as it was described in Mary Shelley’s writing. A black & white shot is included in homage to the era whence it came.

All parts – Frankenstein (Super7 ReAction)

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Boris Karloff as The Monster
(from Son of Frankenstein - 1939)

Son of Frankenstein is the third in Universal’s classic monster franchise. Starrring Boris Karloff once again as The Monster (his last time playing the role), it was directed by Rowland V. Lee and was followed by several more sequels in the following years. This is a repaint of the original figure, in colours intended to reflect how the monster was supposed to be in colour. Posters from the original film show the monster with yellowish skin, as it was described in Mary Shelley’s writing. A black & white shot is included in homage to the era whence it came.

All parts – Son of Frankenstein (Super7 ReAction)

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David Hedison as Andre Delambre
(from The Fly - 1958)

The first instalment of the Fly movie franchise appeared in 1958 from 20th Century Fox, directed by Kurt Neumann and starring David Hedison as the scientist who inadvertently makes himself part fly, ultimately leading to a horrific death. To keep a consistent style throughout this series, only Super7 Reaction parts are used whenever possible. Fortunately a fly-headed figure and a shabbily-dressed mad scientist are readily available. The resulting appearance isn’t exactly screen-accurate, but it’s plenty good for these purposes. A black & white shot is included in homage to the era whence it came.

Head, left hand – Baxter Stockman (Super7 ReAction - TMNT)
All other parts – Fifties Doc Brown (Super7 ReAction – Back to the Future)

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