Batman
DC Superhero – grey and black costume

Spin Master has done a ridiculous number of Batman figures in a short period of time, which is fine by me since it means they’re cheap and plentiful. This one represents the grey and black outfit. This one needed the least work of the three Batmen I did at the same time. It has a new cape, some extra painted detail on the elbows and knees, and touched up paint all over, including going over the Batsymbol.

All body parts: Batman (Spin Master – Batman series – grey and black version)
Cape: vinyl

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Batman
DC Superhero – grey and blue costume

Spin Master has done a ridiculous number of Batman figures in a short period of time, which is fine by me since it means they’re cheap and plentiful. This one represents the classic grey and blue outfit. I had to replace the lower legs with those from the grey and black version of the figure, since the knee connector and the grey and blue is blue rather than grey, and there was no way to avoid paint rub. The grey and black version has a grey knee connector. No big deal since I was repainting the blue bits on the figure to make it a deeper colour anyway.

Lower legs: Batman (Spin Master – grey and black version)
All other body parts: Batman (Spin Master – Batman series – grey and blue version)
Cape: vinyl

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Zartan
Dreadnok Master of Disguise

I never intended to buy any of the Classified line. When it was announced, I was happy that new GI Joe product was being made, but I wasn’t interested in the scale so was prepared to ignore them. Then one day, when shopping for some Transformers, I happened upon a Classified Zartan, and noticed that the accessories were modern updates of his original kit, and that was enough to grab me. Had to have it. But also had to make it more like the original, so painted the pants and hood, whited out his eyes (and painted eyes on the mask), touched up his face paint, and moved the knife from the back of the belt to his right boot. Chromed bits of the chest and thigh armour since I couldn’t make them transparent. Tried to do a mottled effect for the snakeskin on his hood, and some other detail painting as well.

All parts and accessories: Zartan

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Lord Death-Man
DC Supervillain (manga version)

Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008-2011) was known for using a number of very obscure references and characters from Batman’s history. One of the most obscure characters appeared in a season 2 episode: Lord Death-Man. This character first appeared in a single 1966 comic as Death-Man, a villain who appeared to be able to cheat death. This issue was later adapted into a manga by Jiro Kuwata, and this manga formed the basis for The Brave and the Bold episode. This custom is based on the cartoon/mange appearance of the character.

All body parts: Shadow Demon (DC Infinite Heroes)
Cape: vinyl

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Lord Death-Man
DC Supervillain (comics version)

Not long after appearing on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the character of Lord Death-Man was revived (hah) in American comics, by Grant Morrison. This version is less stylized than the manga version, but the basic appearance is similar, and the same base figure was used. Black, white and grey paint, and the addition of a cape made on adhesive vinyl is all that was needed. I’d say this version looks a little more menacing than the manga version, though I think I prefer the manga version overall.

All body parts: Shadow Demon (DC Infinite Heroes)
Cape: vinyl

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those are a lot of fun. i've never seen the character before so it's nice you added the history and source pics. did you hand paint all the white bones? the comic version is most impressive!

eta you could back them up with some fortnite skull guys/gals as a crew.

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Thank you, yes everything is hand-painted. The comic version was actually easier in that regard, since the bones are supposed to be a bit rough while the manga version required clean lines on the stylized designs, so it was a lot more fiddly.

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Crosscut
Decepticon Scout

Transformers #18 (“The Bridge to Nowhere!”) was the first Transfomers comic I ever bought, back in 1986. This issue was chock-full of original characters not based on the toyline, including Corkscrew, Borebit, Straxus, Crosscut and another unnamed one who looked very much like Crosscut, all of who bite the dust during the story. This gave me a distorted idea of what the comic series was like, because other than this issue (and the previous one, which I didn’t read until many years later), non-toy characters were few and far between. Regardless, this custom represents Crosscut, the unfortunate Decepticon who appeared in two panels before getting blowed up by the space bridge. In recent fan service appearances, he has been interpreted as being yellow in colour, but that was just the explosion he found himself in, and I went with a nice grey instead.

Tech Specs:

DECEPTICON - CROSSCUT

“The first step is a doozy.”

CROSSCUT loves danger. It really makes his fluids flow. Fears no challenge and charges into any fight. Leads Decepticons into the fray without checking to see if anyone is actually following. Carries a flash-bang rifle and hydrothermic grenade launcher capable of melting almost any material. His boastfulness and arrogance get him into trouble, leaping before he looks.

Strength 7, Intelligence 4, Speed 5, Endurance 6, Rank 3, Courage 8, Firepower 5, Skill 6

Transformers Universe Profile:

CROSSCUT

Allegiance: Decepticons
Function: Scout

“The first step is a doozy.”

Profile: Crosscut loves danger. Nothing makes his fluids flow like leaping into a situation with no knowledge of what he might be up against. He claims to fear nothing, and charges headlong into any fight without considering either his own safety or that of his allies. He loves leading Decepticons into battle, though sometime they might not be ready to follow him. While he believes himself to be the epitome of courage, most of his allies think he actually has a death wish. Crosscut might be willing to throw his life away, but it doesn’t mean the rest of the Decepticons will do the same.

Abilities: Crosscut’s alternate mode is a Cybertronian hovercraft, which allows him to traverse most types of terrain at a maximum speed of 150 mph. He has an advanced sensor suite which sends reconnaissance information back to home base in real time. In combat he carries a double-barrelled flash-bang cannon, designed to stun and confuse his targets, and a hydrothermic grenade launcher which throws projectiles using a chemical process to eat through nearly any type of material. Both weapons have relatively short ranges.

Weaknesses: Crosscut’s habit of leaping before he looks often gets him into trouble. He doesn’t waste time with things like discretion or planning, preferring to jump into the situation. This often catches the enemy off-guard, but also does the same to his allies. If the mission requires precision and timing, Crosscut is not the Decepticon for the job.

Head: Black Manta (Imaginext DC Super Friends) modified
All other body parts: Scourge (Titans Return)
Guns: Scourge (Titans Return) modified
Labels: Toyhax.com

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Ripsaw
Decepticon Pathfinder

After Crosscut was exploded by the space bridge in Transformers #18, Straxus “volunteered” another Decepticon, a green one, to be next. That poor bugger was never referred to by name, but he did appear to be the same model as Crosscut, with the addition of a head cannon. This custom is Ripsaw, intended to represent that character. Both bots in the comic seemed to have guns in place of both hands, but I have interpreted one of them to be a carried weapon instead, so they can have one useful hand.

Tech Specs:

DECEPTICON - RIPSAW

“Discretion is the better part of valour.”

RIPSAW is something of a robot chicken. Role is to go into unknown territory and prepare it for arrival of Decepticon allies. Hates every minute of it, often needs forceful encouragement to do his job. Uses an electro-pulse disruptor and a smokescreen gun, and head-mounted explosive pellet launcher. Other Decepticons have no respect for him and treat him like a nuisance rather than an ally.

Strength 7, Intelligence 6, Speed 5, Endurance 6, Rank 2, Courage 3, Firepower 5, Skill 6

Transformers Universe Profile:

RIPSAW

Allegiance: Decepticons
Function: Pathfinder

“Discretion is the better part of valour.”

Profile: Ripsaw has a reputation as a mechanical game fowl – a robot chicken. His role in the Decepticon forces is to act as a pathfinder, going into unknown territory in order to prepare it for the arrival of the invading forces by finding landing sites and scouting the local resistance. Ripsaw hates every minute of this work. He prefers to know what is going on in any situation before he gets involved. His commanding officers usually need to strongarm him into actually doing his job, with implies or over threats as necessary.

Abilities: In Ripsaw’s alternate mode of a Cybertronian hovercraft, he can travel across most any terrain with little difficulty at a speed of up to 150 mph. His telescopic visual abilities allow him to see great distances to detect enemies or find clear terrain to occupy. In battle he uses an electro-pulse disruptor which short-circuits his enemies at close range, and a smokescreen gun which lays down a thick layer of covering mist when needed. His head-mounted cannon launches low-yield explosive pellets with an effective range of 500 yards.

Weaknesses: Ripsaw does not have the confidence of his allies due to his reluctance to do his job without being coerced. They don’t trust him, and he doesn’t really trust them either. Most Decepticons find him to be an irritant rather than a resource, because it takes more effort to get him to his job than his job is really worth.

Head – Black Manta (Imaginext DC Super Friends) modified
All other body parts – Scourge (Legends)
Head cannon – Bombshell (G1) modified
Guns – Scourge (Titans Return) modified
Labels: Toyhax.com

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Great work. They look just like the source characters.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Thanks, the day I realized the head looks just like Black Manta in one of the panels was the day I realized I could do these customs.

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Runabout
Decepticon Shock Trooper

One of the Battlechargers, a pair of super-simple auto-transforming toys with pull-back motors. The Earthrise version of the character is nicely comic-accurate, though it does use a faux car roof on the chest, and faux back wheels on the feet when in robot mode. This is a simple paint upgrade of the toy, painting the rims of the faux wheels white, the bits around his shoulders light grey to match the G1 version, and some details on the back of the legs the same colour for the same reason. A red stripe along the top of his chest was also added to match the original toy.

All parts and accessories: Runabout (Earthrise)

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Runamuck
Decepticon Shock Trooper

One of the Battlechargers, a pair of super-simple auto-transforming toys with pull-back motors. The Earthrise version of the character is nicely comic-accurate, though it does use a faux car roof on the chest, and faux back wheels on the feet when in robot mode. This is a simple paint upgrade of the toy, painting the rims of the faux wheels white, the bits around his shoulders orange to match the G1 version, and some details on the back of the legs the same colour for the same reason.

All parts and accessories: Runamuck (Earthrise)

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Firefly
Cobra Saboteur

Despite my initial lack of interest in the Classified series, once I had Zartan I figured that assembling a Cobra Command group, say from 1982 to 1984, would be aa nice thing to have in my collection. Joining Zartan from 1984 here is Firefly, who needed a lot more work than the master of disguise. Accessories inspired from his iconic vintage gear are from Etsy shops. The Classified head sculpt had to go, it’s just way too intense and angry. So the head from the Fortnite “totally not Firefly” figure is in its place. Stripped off the body armour and replaced the torso with Duke’s to approximate Firefly’s vintage look with two criss-crossed bandoliers. Camo pattern is modeled after the ARAH figure. The result is one of my favourite pieces I’ve done in some time.

Head and neck: Havoc (McFarlane Toys Fortnite series)
Chest, waist: Duke
Arms, legs: Firefly

Belt, binoculars, sidearm: Duke
Bandoliers: Snake-Eyes (grenades) and Duke (pouches)
Submachine gun: Mark2Design
Backpack: TGCcustoms

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Seeing that FF is my favorite Cobra, I absolutely love this. Great work.

How hard was it to to the neck and arm swap?

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