Most of the Paladin Knights have adopted Knighthawk's model of assembling a support team to back them in most of their missions. Knighthawk himself has a Paladin trainee, a pilot, a mechanic/tech, a heavy-gunner/bodyguard, and at any given point 1-3 EXCAL foot soldiers to help carry out his missions.

Steel Rain's team is a sharp contrast. First, she is the only Paladin to have never had a Paladin Knight - In Training accompany her. She seems to understand full-well what her limitations are, one of them being the inability to patiently teach another. Second, she really doesn't trust anyone, save for Bruce Wayne, and a begrudging trust that is growing of Knighthawk, and perhaps other Paladin knights as well, if she has went to battle with them. While that is tenuous at best, it does explain why she either operates alone, or with select few other Paladins, when possible.

But, even a loner needs a support team. In the case of Steel Rain, her support "team" is encompassed within a lone man named Mason. Mason is a jack of all trades. He is a combat support soldier, pilot, tech, driver and armorer, all rolled into one. If only he had social skills, he might rival Alfred as the most indispensable man-behind-a-hero in the industry. But Mason isn't employed to serve mimosa - hell, it's reasonably uncertain how often he even bathes - his job is to get Steel Rain in and out of hot spots on queue, and to make things go "boom" when they need to. With Mason in place as her support, Steel Rain's operation is truly lean and mean.

Mason's own background is shady at best. It's a given that Mason is not his real name. Some suspect he's a former CIA man, but his skills are almost too diverse for that. SHIELD? Perhaps, but that organization is thought to be as much myth as reality. If Steel Rain knows his background, she's not letting on. But it is accepted that if she trusts him, no further questions need be asked.

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I can dig it. Nice simple and easy.
That's one of my favorite heads but I've never used it on any of my customs. It works real well on this one.

Anyone named "Mason" *has* to have a sword to cut people in half with.

I'd tell you why, but then I'd turn up dead...

- R

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Yeah, I know. I originally had that head targeted for a flight deck chief type of character, but I didn't like where the rest of the figure was headed, so I started over. I'll admit to having to ad-lib along the way too, as I poked the dremel straight through his right eye while making it 25th ready. lol. So he truly needs to tech installed over his right eye. lol.

I thought the Resolute Duke arm pads went well with the Clutch body, and I was really torn on whether to make him a tougher looking Clutch or not. I usually defer to the side of original character when I can though. I did mod the Clutch holster to be a working version, and I had to modify the upper arms to make the elbow pads cohesive between upper and lower arms. I also added one of my new upgraded EXCAL logo patches to his left arm, but otherwise LBC all the way.



lol - ok, I'll work on that. Since he's responsible for keeping all of Steel Rain's weapons in working order, I think it's fair to say he usually has a blade nearby, and that proper use of one is clearly within his job decription.

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LOL So he only looks simple and easy. A testement to the skill used to make him.

No, no. This one was simple and easy. I just made small tweaks only. Glad you like him though Joey.

The fun part about the EXCAL thing, for me, is that I can have really fantastical over the top type of figures and characters, but then have the support soldiers be very much based in a realistic military style, or a Joe-esque military style. It really lets me combine different genres that interest me. Hopefully it means I won't get bored with the verse.

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You hit another one out of the ballpark. Good job. What head is that anyway? It looks familiar, I just can't place it.

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Hmm, thats a crafty quote, but hes more likely to use a knife or dagger than a sword

I love this fig, nice and simple and as a result very, very effective.

I love the whole head- the hat, the technology addition, the shades, everything.

Im another who would like to know what teh head sculpt is.

Oh, and just a personal preference rather than a suggestion, some ink would tie him to Steel Rain better IMO.

I do have a couple of wee critiques tho- the forearms would tie in better if you painted the uniform part the same shade of green as the upper arms- minus the elbow pads of course.

Also, this is being very nitpicky, but it did draw my eye. The edges of the gloves, where they meet the flesh could possibly do with getting tidied up a wee bit.

oooh. Good idea. Will have to be subtle with the limited canvas, but this I will definitely look into.



Thanks man. I should give the full recipe list, simple as it is:

Head: BBI (this guy: http://store.foxholetoys.com/1scbbielfous5.html)
Base figure: Clutch
Lower Arms: Resolute Duke
Gear: Res. Duke/Clutch
Eye Tech - PTE Scuba diver.

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I thought that was the head. I have one floating around in one of my fodder boxes.

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he looks good with the duke resolute lower arms and head but it says clutch too much I beleive.

Well that is what he started out as. I even think the head could be sold to a certain extent as a Clutch head. It's really the vest alone that makes him one or the other. I might try to paint some details that alter the look a bit, but in the end, it's also the vest that helped make the head fit so well.

I think I submitted this one to the gallery this morning, but maybe I should have waited. I can see a few tweaks that will take it a step further. I'll post an update if I can put it together. Thanks for looking Tim, and the critique is appreciated.

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