Several years ago, my good MEGO buddy Scott Arendson was kind, and generous enough to do me a HUGE favor:
You see, I wanted to create a nice, pristine repro box for my loose Mego BATCAVE PLAYSET, and I needed a decent looking original box specimen that I could scan into Photoshop. Scott came to my rescue.
He kindly packaged and mailed me his own MEGO Batcave Box (large version) so that I could perform the operation.
Considering its age, the box was in VERY nice condition, but it had the usual wear and roughness that is typical of toy packaging that was over 30 years old.
Anyhow, I scanned the box, mailed the original back to Scott, and stored away the digital files to work on later .
Well a couple of months ago I finally began the Photoshop restoration work… cleaning up all the nicks, gouges, image rubouts, etc. Some parts of the photo image were re-colored (Robin on the Batpole), or replaced altogether because of poor photography (MEGO Joker’s head replaced).
Of course being a customizer, I was simply incapable of restoring the look of this box without some MAJOR custom tweak. I just couldn’t help myself…
My main issue was with the artwork. I felt like the main Batman and Robin artwork needed A LOT of help, and some updating to make it a bit more polished.
Even as a kid, I never really understood why MEGO felt the need to make Batman’s tights so lavender in color in some of their packaging artwork. Additionally, his cape was virtually non-existent, and the utility belt was a bit messy in appearence. Most offensive of all was the goofy facial expression that the artist put on him… even if the eyes weren’t crooked… which they were! Full head replacement required there.
As for the Robin artwork, there were most certainly some detailing issues that needed to be addressed, and parts of his costume were colored incorrectly. He was also a bit “thick” in the way he was drawn, and needed to be slimmed a bit. But it was his original head / likeness that I did not care for. Again, a full head replacement required.
I decided I wanted the emblem on the Batsignal to be the more modern version, so that too was updated.
The small images of the villains were replaced with more modern more detailed artwork, properly de-resed to match the original box’s soft imagery.
I had a little fun replacing most of the written text on his box, including the copyright info, which now reads “DC Comics” rather than National Periodicals Publication (the way it originally did). And as usual, I added my little collector in-joke regarding age recommendation for the product.
This image measures 26” X 16.5”. When laser printed, it will be carefully aligned and spray mounted onto the face of a custom-sized corrugated carboard box,.
Presto! Brand new custom Box for my MEGO Batcave!
You see, I wanted to create a nice, pristine repro box for my loose Mego BATCAVE PLAYSET, and I needed a decent looking original box specimen that I could scan into Photoshop. Scott came to my rescue.
He kindly packaged and mailed me his own MEGO Batcave Box (large version) so that I could perform the operation.
Considering its age, the box was in VERY nice condition, but it had the usual wear and roughness that is typical of toy packaging that was over 30 years old.
Anyhow, I scanned the box, mailed the original back to Scott, and stored away the digital files to work on later .
Well a couple of months ago I finally began the Photoshop restoration work… cleaning up all the nicks, gouges, image rubouts, etc. Some parts of the photo image were re-colored (Robin on the Batpole), or replaced altogether because of poor photography (MEGO Joker’s head replaced).
Of course being a customizer, I was simply incapable of restoring the look of this box without some MAJOR custom tweak. I just couldn’t help myself…
My main issue was with the artwork. I felt like the main Batman and Robin artwork needed A LOT of help, and some updating to make it a bit more polished.
Even as a kid, I never really understood why MEGO felt the need to make Batman’s tights so lavender in color in some of their packaging artwork. Additionally, his cape was virtually non-existent, and the utility belt was a bit messy in appearence. Most offensive of all was the goofy facial expression that the artist put on him… even if the eyes weren’t crooked… which they were! Full head replacement required there.
As for the Robin artwork, there were most certainly some detailing issues that needed to be addressed, and parts of his costume were colored incorrectly. He was also a bit “thick” in the way he was drawn, and needed to be slimmed a bit. But it was his original head / likeness that I did not care for. Again, a full head replacement required.
I decided I wanted the emblem on the Batsignal to be the more modern version, so that too was updated.
The small images of the villains were replaced with more modern more detailed artwork, properly de-resed to match the original box’s soft imagery.
I had a little fun replacing most of the written text on his box, including the copyright info, which now reads “DC Comics” rather than National Periodicals Publication (the way it originally did). And as usual, I added my little collector in-joke regarding age recommendation for the product.
This image measures 26” X 16.5”. When laser printed, it will be carefully aligned and spray mounted onto the face of a custom-sized corrugated carboard box,.
Presto! Brand new custom Box for my MEGO Batcave!
Comment