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I CANNOT BELIEVE I didn't post this at the beginning of summer! Seriously!! I took the pictures, I wrote the description, I had it all loaded and ready to go on the site . . . and I must have completely forgotten to submit the form!! And then I take a break, deal with the summer (and the numerous unexpected crises that ultimately arose), come back a little late, and what do I discover? No final Guardians post!! What kind of idiot am I??! Well, now here we are, at last, three and a half months late, but my More-Than-Complete Guardians of the Galaxy is finally complete. Here are Captain Marvel, Drax the Destroyer, and Rocket Raccoon. The last three custom figures are being listed together because they are, individually, barely customs. Three minor repaints, two additional accessories, and a small sculpting modification. Alone, hardly worth posting, but together, along with the final pics of the group, all customs and unmodified figures together, that makes a nice little finisher to this series! We'll start with the most basic, yet obvious of the bunch, Captain Marvel. Our dear Colonel Carol Danvers (the "Captain" in her name is actually well below her true military rank) was originally released in a shade of blue so dark, it was largely indistinguishable from black. To make the costume more accurate to the comics, and to make her blend well with the colors of the rest of the team, I repainted her a matching blue. Rocket Raccoon, likewise, was a bit dark. He too received a blue repaint, though his is more of a dry brushing to give his costume more of a durable, denim appearance, as with Star-Lord himself. Likewise, I silvered up his buttons to match the buttons on all the custom figures in the series. Additionally, I gave Rocket a second gun. Ever look at the small-scale custom Kree submachine gun that Rocket sometimes uses in the Annihilation comics? Ever notice how much it looks like Han Solo's blaster pistol? I had one lying around, and it seemed perfect, so Rocket is now even more heavily armed than he already was. Finally, we have Drax the Destroyer. At first glance, one might not even notice the changes I made, and it's true, I didn't to a lot. Unlike some, I actually like the original Hasbro release, I just felt it needed a few minor touch-ups and one design adjustment. I once again, gave his dark blue pants a lighter blue dry brushing to match the rest of the team. I also repainted his red tattoos to make them stand out a bit more, and I lightened some of his dark green skin accents to make the green-on-green variation a little less severe (he looked like he had big, black smears all over his body). The real change to the figure, however, was the small shiv knife on the back of his hand. Originally a sculpted cosmetic element, I removed it, cut it down into an actual blade shape, and resculpted the arm wrap to act as a sheath. Now Drax has yet another knife to add to his slasher arsenal. Alongside the unchanged Groot, Nova, and Deep Space Iron Man, as well as my other twelve customs, these three heroes complete one of the largest custom projects I've ever finished (MOTU and Metroid are bigger, but neither series is done, not by a long shot), and I'm really proud of the work I did here! Maybe they're not perfect (and God knows, I screwed up the posting schedule, duh!), but I'm so happy to have this massive team on my shelf, ready to face any cosmic threat Hasbro throws at me! Excelsior! ![]() |
Star Wars Storm Trooper Just Chillin | ![]() | Submission Order | ![]() | Ms Marvel - Karla Sofen Dark Avengers Mark I & II |
Deadpool Noir | ![]() | Marvel Legends Series | ![]() | Ms Marvel - Karla Sofen Dark Avengers Mark I & II |
Agent Venom | ![]() | Created by Batman1016 | ![]() | NECA Casey Jones |
So, short story? Water damage. Long story? My basement (where I had my workshop) flooded. I was making Kraid using a Fin Fang Foom figure, with a base body made of paper clay (to reduce weight) that was going to be coated in epoxy putty. Never got to the putty step. Flood, paper clay got saturated, then mildewed, then moldy . . . . His framework is still in storage, and someday, when I can properly go through all my inventory (I have BINS AND BINS full of old figures and planned projects . . . I mean the Metroid and MOTU stuff ALONE . . . .) I'll pull him out, clean him up, and finish him up.
Of course, the work I do now is WAY better than the work I was doing back in my Metroid days, so I'm going to have to go through and revisit several of my old pieces. Some are fine, but others . . . oh MAN, so shoddy! At the very least, most of them are going to need complete repaints. And Samus herself? She's a total loss. I NEED to make a new, more accurate one. Her ship is going to need MAJOR work too. As for Kraid, he'll actually be a bit easier than the others, since I didn't get very far, so he'd basically be started from scratch. So yeah, it'll be a while more, but I will get to him.
UNFORTUNATELY . . . I've planned to do that several times over the years, and real life keeps getting in the way. Since my last Metroid post . . . WTF, SIX YEARS AGO, wow . . . I've changed homes, gone through seven cars, three of which were in major accidents (only one was my fault), I've switched jobs eight times, I've had a flood, a moderate back injury, a major illness where I was hospitalized, met a woman I dated for two years and thought I would marry, discovered she was cheating on me THE WHOLE TIME, and found some small success building a side business with my art (not just figure stuff, but some murals, some restorations, some portraits, some furniture, etc). Plus, they're putting a highway through our corridor, which means they're bulldozing my house, so I'm moving AGAIN. They paid well, so I'm getting a decent place, but we're in the process of renovating, and it's a hassle to say the least.
Oh, and I $#!+ you not, today, not six hours before you posted this question, I GOT ROBBED! Memorial Day carnival, some lady in a crowd body checks me, stole my wallet. $160 CASH, man!! Thank GOD it wasn't my professional wallet, so I still have all my IDs and cards and no identity theft, but still . . . MOTHER@#$%&*!!
So . . . that's been MY life lately. How you guys been? *laughs* *stops laughing* *cries*