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Re-Visiting Custom BATMAN!!

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  • darklord1967
    Persistent Member
    • Mar 27, 2008
    • 1550

    Re-Visiting Custom BATMAN!!

    11 years ago, I jumped into MEGO customizing with classic versions of The Batman and Robin and some of their supporting characters.

    Slowly, I've been re-visiting that entire group of Gotham City denizens (based on their comic book appearances).

    The Batman / Bruce Wayne is always fun to create as a custom MEGO figure, and MANY customizers have done so.

    Now, I'll go into MUCH, MUCH greater detail tomorrow and in the coming days... with many, many more photos. But for now, here is the direction that my re-visit of The Caped Crusader is currently proceeding in...


    An all-new, more anatomically- balanced, and more poseable "hero" body. It is an actual 8.25 inches in height while nude (not 7-3/4 inches like a nude MEGO male). At 1:9 scale, 8 inches equals a 74 inch real-life height (6 feet 2 inches). As with my other custom developed bodies, this one follows a much more accurate comparative scale with other characters in the series.






    A preliminary sculpt of the all-new removable Bat-Cowl...

    Last edited by darklord1967; Apr 3, '17, 9:36 AM.
    I... am an action figure customizer
  • BlackKnight
    The DarkSide Customizer
    • Apr 16, 2005
    • 14622

    #2
    Porbably thr best removable cowl I have scene.
    Kuddo's Bud.
    ... The Original Knight ..., Often Imitated, However Never Duplicated. The 1st Knight in Customs.


    always trading for Hot Toys Figures .

    Comment

    • Timothy2251
      Jerks beef with Ten Bears
      • Mar 15, 2008
      • 1959

      #3
      I love seeing these kit-bashes/Frankenstein modifications - really shows off the talent and skill, as well as the creativity, of some of the customizers here. Great stuff, Darklord! Let me know if you mass-produce these bad boys!
      "It's sad that governments are chiefed by the double tongues. There is iron in your words of death for all Comanche to see, and so there is iron in your words of life. No signed paper can hold the iron. It must come from men. The words of Ten Bears carries the same iron of life and death. It is good that warriors such as we meet in the struggle of life... or death. It shall be life."

      Comment

      • Cmonster
        Banned
        • Feb 6, 2010
        • 1877

        #4
        Wow! That looks fantastic. That torso is gorgeous. Love the removable cowl.

        SC

        Comment

        • CaptainTrenchcoat
          Career Member
          • Jul 6, 2006
          • 858

          #5
          Totally cool cowl. Can't wait to see more in process pix.

          Comment

          • madmarva
            Talkative Member
            • Jul 7, 2007
            • 6445

            #6
            That removable cowl is fantastic. Wish you worked for mattel.

            Comment

            • jessica
              fortune favors the bold
              • Nov 5, 2007
              • 4587

              #7
              Roberto he looks fabulous!
              Those who look outside dream. Those who look within awake.
              Samples of my work are found here: Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness

              To do list:
              1:6 boots for Mathilda, 1:1 Romulan Commander outfit, Ursus helmet; Cornelius appliance
              1:9 scale ape's new suit for Cornelius;

              Comment

              • thunderbolt
                Hi Ernie!!!
                • Feb 15, 2004
                • 34211

                #8
                Can't wait to see him finished, and would love to see him driving around that Batmobile you were working on.
                You must try to generate happiness within yourself. If you aren't happy in one place, chances are you won't be happy anyplace. -Ernie Banks

                Comment

                • darklord1967
                  Persistent Member
                  • Mar 27, 2008
                  • 1550

                  #9
                  Originally posted by thunderbolt
                  Can't wait to see him finished, and would love to see him driving around that Batmobile you were working on.

                  Me too!!

                  This DARN recession!! I'm forced to work on less costly projects (like these custom action figure re-visits), and much less so on the expensive Batmobile.



                  Originally posted by madmarva
                  Wish you worked for mattel.
                  So do I. From the inside, I'd have gotten my beloved BATMOBILE project produced long ago. THEY obviously have a licence to produce toys based on the 1966 TV Batmobile. And their 1/18 scale car was INCREDIBLE!





                  But I doubt that they'll ever go there for their new line of 8 inch action figures. And even if they did, it would probably be approached with the same "retro" MEGO style that the current figures are being produced in (tiny, off-scale car with minimal detail, and minimal features). That's just NOT what I'm going for.
                  Last edited by darklord1967; Apr 24, '11, 4:36 AM.
                  I... am an action figure customizer

                  Comment

                  • darklord1967
                    Persistent Member
                    • Mar 27, 2008
                    • 1550

                    #10
                    As a boy and avid Batman fan, growing up in the early 1970’s, I obsessed over owning a MEGO action figure of my favorite character.

                    Yes, I was fully aware of the campy Adam West TV show, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the TV adventures every afternoon after school.

                    But it was the dark, grim, mysterious character from the COMIC BOOKS that most intrigued me.

                    There was something about the HUGE cape (much, much bigger than Adam West’s), the long ears and the blank eye slits on the Bat-Cowl, that really spoke to me. This Batman stalked around at night on Gotham City’s rooftops and scared the bejeesus out of criminals by crashing through skylights and beating them to a pulp.

                    No corny, campy jokes. No ridiculously convenient gadgets pulled out of his utility belt for just the right situation. No “fully deputized agent of the law”.

                    This was a masked manhunter… an unstoppable, vigilante creature of the night.

                    Last edited by darklord1967; Apr 3, '17, 9:26 AM.
                    I... am an action figure customizer

                    Comment

                    • bizzaro megomauler
                      WANTED for card bending
                      • Apr 26, 2008
                      • 1052

                      #11
                      mmmmm hmmm

                      Originally posted by darklord1967
                      Me too!!

                      This DARN recession!! I'm forced to work on less costly projects (like these custom action figure re-visits), and much less so on the expensive Batmobile.





                      So do I. From the inside, I'd have gotten my beloved BATMOBILE project produced long ago. THEY obviously have a licence to produce toys based on the 1966 TV Batmobile. And their 1/18 scale car was INCREDIBLE!






                      But I doubt that they'll ever go there for their new line of 8 inch action figures. And even if they did, it would probably be approached with the same "retro" MEGO style that the current figures are being produced in (tiny, off-scale car with minimal detail, and minimal features). That's just NOT what I'm going for.
                      dude, never underestimate mattel, two words MATTY COLLECTOR. Whilst not very economical to release as a toy, it may do them well to release a collector's edition.

                      Comment

                      • starhunter
                        where the LEDYS at
                        • Jan 15, 2010
                        • 245

                        #12
                        im with you

                        Originally posted by darklord1967
                        As a boy and avid Batman fan, growing up in the early 1970’s, I obsessed over owning a MEGO action figure of my favorite character.

                        Yes, I was fully aware of the campy Adam West TV show, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the TV adventures every afternoon after school.

                        But it was the dark, grim, mysterious character from the COMIC BOOKS that most intrigued me.

                        There was something about the HUGE cape (much, much bigger than Adam West’s), the long ears and the blank eye slits on the Bat-Cowl, that really spoke to me. This Batman stalked around at night on Gotham City’s rooftops and scared the bejeesus out of criminals by crashing through skylights and beating them to a pulp.

                        No corny, campy jokes. No ridiculously convenient gadgets pulled out of his utility belt for just the right situation. No “fully deputized agent of the law”.
                        This was a masked manhunter… an unstoppable, vigilante creature of the night.


                        http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...DrewBatman.jpg
                        im with you thats why i always loved batman

                        Comment

                        • darklord1967
                          Persistent Member
                          • Mar 27, 2008
                          • 1550

                          #13
                          Even at the age of 7 (back in 1974), I recognized that MEGO’s version of the character was NOT the one that I admired most.




                          Over the next 30 years, I never lost my passion for MEGO Superhero action figures. And I certainly never let go of my obsession to own a “spooky” 8 inch MEGO Batman in my collection.

                          As I began experimenting with action figure customizing in the late 1990’s, I started to imagine what details should be featured on my ideal MEGO Batman figure: A big, shiny bat-cape that could spread into wings… a detailed utility belt… leathery boots and gloves… cool accessories like a Bat-A-Rang and Batrope…

                          But no detail of the figure was more critical to me than the mask/cowl, which I wanted to be removable (just like on MEGO’s original Batman figure).


                          Last edited by darklord1967; Apr 24, '11, 4:49 AM.
                          I... am an action figure customizer

                          Comment

                          • vulcan2074
                            Live Long and Prosper
                            • Mar 23, 2008
                            • 7811

                            #14
                            I Love the way your Cowl looks. Great stuff and I can't wait to see more
                            Sammy

                            Comment

                            • darklord1967
                              Persistent Member
                              • Mar 27, 2008
                              • 1550

                              #15
                              As far as I was concerned, the design of The Batman’s headgear was going to define the entire look and tone of the figure. I really didn’t want the cowl to fit like an enormous, ill-fitting football helmet. And I really didn’t want any visual associations with the look of Adam West’s mask.

                              In the end, this custom-made cowl/mask proved to be the greatest challenge in the (already difficult) creation of my custom Action figure, and pushed my sculpting / model-making abilities to the max.

                              A PROPER “WAYNE-FOUNDATION” FOR A BAT FACE

                              When it came to designing The Batman’s overall masked face, I first needed to come up with a face sculpt for Bruce Wayne that suited the character, and that would look properly grim when wearing a mask cowl.

                              The various lines of MEGO 8 inch scale action figures were full of dozens of interesting male face sculpts. Ultimately, it was my hope that with some minor cosmetic changes, a suitable sculpt would present itself to become my Bruce Wayne.

                              In the end, it was the Mr. Fantastic sculpt from the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes line that most excited me. I thought it was a ruggedly handsome sculpt with beautiful detail, that required very little in the way of re-design to become a proper Bruce Wayne. A simple hair re-sculpt would suffice. Best of all, the sculpt featured one of the very BEST heroic square chins and sunken cheeks that I had ever seen on ANY action figure anywhere! I imagined that those lower face details would look great framed by a Bat-Cowl.





                              HEAD GEAR, AND COWLS, AND MASKS… OH MY!

                              Well… I certainly wish that creating The Batman’s mask/cowl for this figure would have been as simple and painless as my selection of MEGO’s Reed Richard sculpt to double as Bruce Wayne.

                              No such luck.

                              I had so many specific criteria in mind for The Batman’s mask cowl, that integrating them all into a single head garment was going to be a colossal challenge... beginning with my Bruce Wayne head sculpt foundation:

                              For the sake of an action figure that wears a removable cowl mask, a (flexible) vinyl head and / or cowl was going to be preferable.

                              And for the sake of sharpness of facial detail, and overall seamlessness, it was clear to me that my custom MEGO Batman action figure was going to have to wear a tough, rigidly-sculpted cowl.

                              It would have to be made out of a more rigid plastic than MEGO’s original “rubbery” removable cowl. BUT the lower portion of the bat mask / cowl (neck and front closure portion) would still have to be soft enough to allow for the Action figure’s head movement, form-fitted closure of the mask (along the sides of the face and under the chin), and seamless integration with the planned leathery bat wing-cape.

                              That’s a tall order.

                              Somehow, I was going to have to invent a way to combine a rigidly sculpted (but flexible) plastic mask /cowl with a soft fabric neck in a way that was totally seamless, strong, and permanent.
                              Last edited by darklord1967; Apr 3, '17, 9:34 AM.
                              I... am an action figure customizer

                              Comment

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