Weapon H (Raymond S.T.)

This has been a blast!!! Not to mention that it’s really gotten me back into miniatures & motivated me to work on/complete some other projects that have been on the back burners for years.

I wasn’t really sure what my final submission was going to be as I wanted to add to my avengers & x-men/ xforce. While pondering this dilemma my son gave my an idea so I decided to go with it. This really isn’t a forgotten hero but a new one. So for the last few days I worked on my final submission for Forgotten Heroes. I give you Weapon H

For this I used two minis/clix, the Incredible Hulk & a giant scarecrow.

Once again I made the mistake of thinking this was going to be easy. First I used green stuff for his backpack & adamantium protrusions. What a pain that was, the green stuff kept sticking to my fingers when I tried to add it onto the Hulk. That of course resulted in the protrusions being slightly different sizes. Not to mention I crushed them a few times while applying other ones.

I then cut the claws from the scarecrow to use as his adamantium claws. For his pouches I used bits from WH40k space marines.

All that was left to do was paint him up. Not the best but my son thought it was the coolest thing since Infinity Wars so I’m happy enough with it.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments along the way. This has been a great experience & I can’t wait until next years event! I’ve already got two in mind. A special thanks to Roger for all his help!! I truly appreciated it! Can’t wait to see everyone’s finished projects.

Ray

Ice Zombies Update (Simon Moore)

I am currently making some slow progress on my test piece for this year’s “Forgotten Heroes” challenge, as organised by Dick Garrison and Carrion Crow. Having already done a fair bit of chopping on the five Solomon Grundy “Wizkids” miniatures I aim to ‘convert’ into some ice zombies for Mister Freeze to use as mindless minions (as per the plot to the February 1979 edition of “Batman” by “DC Comics”, I’m now just slowly ‘picking out all the “Vallejo” Dead White flesh on the frozen corpses…

http://fantorical.blogspot.com/2018/06/im-part-of-new-frightful-four.html

“Forgotten Heroes 2018”

Well the madness that is “Forgotten Heroes” is set to start again next month, so I thought I post up a first reminder (and see if the old site still works, well if I can remember how to work it!). There are just under three weeks to go to the start of June, so it’s time to get your thinking caps on and come up with that hero you’ve always wanted, but the manufacturers just seem to ignore.

Anyway I thought it would be a good idea to run through the rules again in case anyone who hasn’t entered before and who is thinking of joining us on our voyage of “unrecognised heroism” can see what it’s all about as well as jogging the memories of those recurring recruits. (There has also been a slight update to the rules so they are well worth a perusal).

Luckily for me being the lazy “so and so” that I am, Jez has already posted these updated rules over on his own excellent blog (see link at the end of this post), so I shall hand you over to “mon Capitan”…

For those of you not familiar with this ‘community art project’, this now annual event is where a group of like, minded gamers create one or more gaming miniatures of characters who have yet to have an official or unofficial figure made of them. In essence, they have been “forgotten.”

Or at least that’s what it started out as…

However, as with most of these types of challenges, these things do have a tendency to evolve over time. As one of the questions we regularly get asked is “I know it’s a little outside the rules, but can I do this character?” I think it’s time to redefine the rules somewhat…

Don’t worry though, whilst the rules have now evolved, they’re actually broadening the scope, so should make deciding which character(s) you’re going to create a bit easier.

1. The character or characters you create must have a definitive look or image. In other words, we should be able to recognise the character from the original source material.
2. The base figure used for your creation must not be an official or unofficial sculpt of the character. Repainting a DC Heroclix Blue Beetle as the obscure Marvel villain Goldbug is acceptable, painting the Copplestone Castings ‘Kentucky Davis’ as Indiana Jones is not.
3. The figure must be in the 28mms to 32mm range. This takes into account those manufacturers whose scale is slightly larger, so if you want to create a hero or villain to fit in with your existing Knight Models or Warlord Doctor Who collection, you can.
4. The figure must be completed during the month of June 2018.
5. In your first post, you should provide a bit of background detail in the character you’ve chosen, ideally with an illustration, so we know what you’re aiming for and this should be posted as close too but not before the fist of June.

Other than that, the choice of character is entirely up to you. In previous years we’ve had Masters of the Universe, Transformers, costumed heroes and villains from comic books, and characters from both the small and big screens.

For details of previous year’s entries, please take a look around the official Forgotten Heroes site, which can be found in previous posts on this site.

(Right back to me “Roger” now) I shall be trawling the net checking all the participants blogs and re-posting any posts pertaining to “Forgotten Heroes” entries each day (hopefully!). You can also enter if you do not currently have a blog on which to post your figures, in this case you can E-mail me your posts and they can be posted up on the Forgotten Heroes site by me (so you have no excuse not to enter).

I have tried to E-mail all of last year participants already, but if I have missed you (and there are a couple who’s E-mail addresses I don’t appear to have, please let me know if you intend to join us again this year in the comment section below, and of course the same applies to anyone hoping to join us for the first time (We’re a pretty friendly bunch, and most of us don’t bite!). So why not give it a go it’s good fun and everyone is really supportive, and if you still don’t think it’s for you please lend your support to those who do (a “like” or better still a comment is always appreciated). Let’s make this year even better than the last!

Cheers Roger and Jez (By the way I am cross posting this on both the Forgotten Heroes site, and my own blog, two for one as they say).

https://carrioncrowsbuffet.wordpress.com/2018/05/09/the-road-to-forgotten-heroes-2018/

Forgotten Heroes 2017, the Epilogue (Jez Winstanley)

“The calendar has been flipped from June to July, signifying that what passes for Summer here in the UK is upon us but, more importantly, that this year’s Forgotten Heroes event is over.

When I came up with this crackpot idea last year, I was expecting maybe three or four participants, drawn from my immediate blogging circle, creating a single character each. 2016 saw 8 participants from three continents producing 22 figures during the month of June. But that was last year…

The dynamic Roger Webb, who has been ably scouring the blogs of those taking part this year and reposting their ‘works in progress’ to the main Forgotten Heroes site, has also kindly provided me with the overall stats for 2017 – this year we had 14 participants, from 7 different countries, with a total of 32 figures created. And what creations they were! We’ve had robots, both ‘in disguise” and otherwise, Masters of the Universe, a whole slew of obscure comic book characters, including Judges, vigilantes, patriots and cat-themed heroes, and not forgetting a certain floronic alien invader with a penchant for the odd song or two.

The enthusiasm and sheer inventiveness of everyone who took part should be applauded, as whilst I may have come up with the initial idea, its the people taking part that make Forgotten Heroes such a fun and memorable event. Thank you all for your participation and the support you extended to your fellow creators.

And, of course, special thanks must go to Roger for the ‘admin’ side, as without him there wouldn’t be a central location where you can see everyone’s creations in one place.

Forgotten Heroes will return in 2018 and it would appear that the majority of those who took part this year are already planning NEXT year’s entries…certainly I’ve got a few ideas buzzing around in my head already.

Best wishes to you all,

              Jez’

Forgotten Heroes Challenge 2017 – Intro (Bryan Scott)

So, it’s June and that means it’s time for the Forgotten Heroes challenge, which is run by fellow bloggers, Jez and Roger. I very nearly gave it a miss this year because the figure I was planning on converting (a Twilight Knight) by Soda Pop Miniatures into a Chibi Lady Death was discontinued earlier this year before I could buy her. But having greatly enjoyed the challenge last year, I decided to take a totally different tack and a one that no one could possibly envisage.

I’m currently heavily into sci-fi gaming. So I have decided to make a couple of 28mm scale sci-fi figures. Yes, make them. They will not be conversions but rather will be sculpted by me from scratch. The two figures I’m going to make are the two human heroes from the old comic strip, The Bug Hunters, Melissa Ravenflame and Jackson T. Kalliber. Already I can hear everyone saying, “Huh! The Bug Hunters? Never heard of them!” Understandable! Let me give you some background info on them taken from the Comics Corner section of the Weird Retro website.

“Back in October 1985 a serialised comic began to appear in the pages in Computer and Video Games (C+VG) magazine. The series ran almost every month until February 1987. For any teenage computer geek growing up in the 80s, C+VG was the must buy computing and gaming magazine, and the addition of The Bug Hunters only made the magazine all the more worth buying. The sight of Melissa Ravenflame on that first panel, set many an adolescent comic book/computer geek’s heart a flutter. (As sad as that is!) See the picture to the left.

The Bug Hunters was scripted by Jerry Paris, whose early work was for Marvel UK on titles such as Freefall Warriors; drawn by Pedro Henry (the pseudonym of renowned British comic book artist, Steve Moore), who gave Alan Moore his leg-up as a comic book artist; and inked by Garry Leach, who worked on the seminal British comic book 2000 AD, and also collaborated with Alan Moore. Both Steve Moore and Garry Leach worked on the regular feature in 2000 AD Tharg’s Future Shocks. During the period of The Bug Hunters appearing in C+VG, Leach also worked on Judge Dredd. For a comic strip series appearing in a computing magazine, The Bug Hunters was exquisitely pencilled by Paris and inked by Leach, creating some of the most memorable images of comic book art in the mid-80s UK.

Computer and Video Games was first published in November 1981, and was the world’s first dedicated video gaming magazine. The first issue featured an article on the arcade game Space Invaders. The magazine ceased appearing in a printed format in 2004, but continues as an online magazine format as it has since 1999. In the 1980s, C+VG was the multi-format magazine of choice for all gamers and computer geeks. It featured news, reviews, as well as hints, tips, game maps and long list of programming code for readers to laboriously type into their home computers to create games.

However, in 1985 when The Bug Hunters first appeared it was a shift for the magazine, as they used the images and characters from the comic series to promote various sections of the magazine. Set in 23rd Century London, the aforementioned Melissa Ravenflame was working on a new project for IDEAS Corp. (Institute for the Development and Expansion of Advanced Systems). Three years earlier they had created the most addictive computer game ever, called GOD. She teams up with Jackson T. Kalliber, an ex-military man who looks like a cross between Burt Reynolds and Charles Bronson. He’s put a team together of robots, that include OTISS (Overt Technical Information Suburban System), Big Red (Relocation of Explosives for Demolition), B-Con a security droid who helped with a prison break, and X a “fascism” droid who can pirate anything. Thus a rag-tag team of robots.

Over their time in C+VG, The Bug Hunters went through a darkly comic series of adventures. Beautifully illustrated, told with a quintessentially British sense of humour. An almost forgotten gem of a comic book series, that stands as an example of the genius of comic book artists working in the UK at the time. Especially those that went through the 2000 AD stables. It was one of the greatest multi-serialised story, multi-artist comic books in the world.”

I’m just happy that due to copies of C+VG now being in the public domain on www.archive.org I was able to download all 15 episodes of this series to keep as a permanent reminder of one of my secret pleasures of the 1980’s. My brother used to subscribe to C+VG and whilst I had no interest in computer gaming (I still don’t) I absolutely adored The Bug Hunters comic series.

So, I plan on making Melissa Ravenflame and Jackson T. Kalliber as my entries for this year’s challenge. I would love to make/convert the four robots but that can keep for another day. Perhaps they might be next year’s challenge.

https://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/forgotten-heroes-challenge-2017-intro.html?showComment=1496658347790#c2850477334544471456

 

Vigilante Hero conversion now complete (Roy Williamson)

I’ve now completed my first entry and I’m hoping to get another completed before the end of the month deadline. As far as I’m aware my other heroine is a ‘super’, who has powers and abilities (I may be wrong, however!). The masked vigilante shown here has to make do with her athletic ability, martial arts skills and her feminine wiles to aid her in her fight against crime – a deadly combo!

Best of all, I had great fun working on her … I just need to think of a name for the character.

A Hentai of Justice!

I’ve kept my work on this blog event separate from the normal blog posts due to the content [don’t Google search hentai, it means pervert in Japanese and you’ll end up with links and image of pornography], but I will now include a link to the post which features my finished miniature as it is quite safe to view, and features no backstory information.

Yes, the vigilante hero is wearing underpants as a mask to hide their identity. As you do, obviously!

http://nevermindthejankers.blogspot.co.uk/p/forgotten-heroes-entry-3rd-june-2017.htmlThere’s more photos on this blog post, it has the link to the Forgotten Heroes blog event, and readers can also leave comments should they wish.

Thanks for looking

http://nevermindthejankers.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/vigilante-hero-conversion-now-complete.html

“Beastly Beginnings” (Roger Webb)

 

Well as you can imagine as I only posted my intentions on Thursday, I haven’t really got very far with progress on the figures themselves (though some participants have now finished there first submissions!! Yes Roy I’m looking at you). Anyway back in the slow lane, first job was to do a bit of planning (yes I do plan how I do these things believe it or not!), and the first thing I noticed was that neither figure would currently fit onto the two pence pieces I use to base all my 28mm figures, this along with the fact that as everyone who knows me is aware that I dislike figures stood with their feet ridiculously far apart meant that a trip to the garage and some major base “surgery” was called for. Now the bases on the “Bronze age” dollies are a) Pretty thick and b) made of really good quality metal, neither of which was exactly conducive to making this an easy job. I began by trying to cut through them with my junior hacksaw, but discovered there was no way to hold them really stable without damaging the figures themselves, so after a bit of head scratching I decided to try and sand down the thickness of the bases a bit with my power sander. This is a Bosch circular version and the best way I’ve found to use it to do this is to kneel on the floor (not the most comfortable thing to do at my age), then hold the sander upside-down between my knees and run the bases of the figures over the surface of the spinning sanding disk. You have to swop between figure every now and again as the soon start to build up heat from all the friction.

Anyway after doing this for a while and removing a thin layer from the bottom of the bases (a really thin layer, these figure metal is TOUGH!), I then took my large wire snippers and just about managed to cut through the bases (nearly breaking my thumb in the process!). After this it was a case of easing the legs together, leveling out the bases again then sanding them slightly again to the bottom flat and level again. After this it was a case of checking they now fitted onto a “tuppence”, and with a bit more snipping and filing around the outer edges of the bases they now did, so I could now glue them onto the coins. I added two layers of card beneath the bases to add height, but looking at them now I think that might be too much, but I can always “snap” them off and remove a layer later on if I decide too.

So that’s where I’m up to so far, early days, but at least I can start to add some “greenstuff” to them now (last year I spent the whole of the first week filing down one of my figures so I’m already ahead of that). Hopefully in my next post I’ll have something a bit more interesting to show you.

So till next weekend, Excelsior!! Roger.

https://rantingsfromunderthewargamestable.wordpress.com/2017/06/03/beastly-beginnings/

 

Slaymaster – Part 1 (Kaptain Kobold)

Those of you who follow this blog will remember that last June I took part in an event called Forgotten Heroes in which a number of us committed to producing a 25mm superhero/villain miniature for a character that doesn’t currently have a figure. This could be either through conversion, or scratch-building. The link above will take you to the blog in which our efforts were recorded.

I produced two figures: Captain UK and Jenny Everywhere.

Having now done Heroclix conversions for two of the characters from the 1980s UK run of Captain Britain, (I made a figure for The Fury a few years ago) I felt fired up to try a third. This time I decided to do what another of the Captain’s nemeses – Slaymaster

Slaymaster actually first appeared during the US-style run in the 1970s, when the Captain had the staff and amulets and a lion on his chest, but was basically a US-style character with UK backgrounds. He was a mercenary/assassin, and pretty similar to a whole range of Marvel characters of the time. However he was reinvented during the Alan Moore/Alan Davis era, and appeared three times. This version was a more sophisticated character; cunning and cruel to the point of sadistic, but with a certain degree of honour. It’s this version I have decided to create a figure for, specifically based on his first appearance when he battles Captain Britain in the Denmark Street branch of Forbidden Planet.

I do like the claw device he has in this costume.

For the record here are his other look. This is his 1970s appearance

And here he has just emerged from his disguise as Alice in Wonderland’s Caterpillar. I prefer the hair of this version, so will probably model it like this.

 And this is his final appearence, where her wore a costume which amplified his abilities to superhuman levels and fought Betsy Braddock (the X-Men’s Psylocke) during her brief appearance as Captain Britain.

And if you ever wondered why she had artificial eyes …

My base figure is this one of Daredevil, mostly because it’s a duplicate in my collection and the pose is relatively interesting.

To be honest I haven’t entirely decided how I will approach this conversion yet. One advantage I have is that Slaymaster doesn’t really have a set costume during the era I’m covering, so I can afford myself some artistic licence, so long as I capture the essence of the character. I’m as interested in seeing where this goes as you are.

If I manage to finish Slaymaster by the end of the month, then a have a couple of possible bonus characters to try. But let’s get one done, shall we?

http://hordesofthethings.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/forgotten-heroes-slaymaster-part-1.html

Forgotten Heroes 2017 the return (Jez Winstanley)

It’s the 1st of June, which means that most people’s thoughts are turning to a hopeful change in the weather and the possibility of enjoying the sunshine, either here or Abroad.

However, here at the Buffet, June means it’s time for the creative madness that we like to call Forgotten Heroes! Yes, that’s right, it proved so popular last year, that we’re doing it again!

So, for the next 30 days, we will be taking a break here at the Buffet from the ongoing Doctor Who project to concentrate on creating at least one 28mm figure of a comic book character who has not yet had a figure created for them or, if it has, it was a bit pants. Full details of the ‘rules’ (such as they are), can be found on the official Forgotten Heroes website.

So, last year I created models of Super-Soldier, Bananaman and Stegron, the Dinosuar Man, as can be seen both on the Forgotten Heroes site and on this post. This year, I’m going one better, with FOUR figures! And the reason I’m doing this, is because this year, I’m doing a team…

Back in 1993, Alan Moore had developed a working relationship with Image Comics and had effectively been given free rein to create whatever he wanted. So, he drafted some of his comic book pals and came up with the 6 issue miniseries called 1963. This was an affectionate parody of the early Marvel comics of that era, with each issue featuring a different take on a famous title or character. We had Horus, Lord of Light an Egyptian-themed Thor analogue, Tales From Beyond featuring the Unbelievable N-Man (Hulk) and Johnny Beyond (Dr. Strange), Tales of the Uncanny featuring the Ultimate Secret Agent (Captain America) and the Hypernaut (Iron Man), No-one Escapes the Fury! which was the 1963 version of Spider-Man and The Tomorrow Syndicate which teamed up Horus, U.S.A., Hypernaut and N-Man with additional characters Infra-Man and Infra-Girl to form the 1963 version of the Avengers.

However, the team I’m going to do is the 1963 version of the Fantastic Four, who are known as Mystery Incorporated!

The ‘Quantum Quartet’ are made up of Crystal Man, Kid Dynamo, Neon Queen and the Planet, with a similar origin and power sets to Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch, the Invisible Girl and the Thing, although with a few cosmetic differences – although Neon Queen transforms into gas, rather than becoming invisible.

So, four characters may seem like a tall order, but the thing I’ve learned about doing conversions over the years is – keep things simple. In other words, pick a base figure that is as near as damn it to the finished result you want. Why give yourself extra work? So, with this in mind, it was off to Blue Rat Games to see which singles would be suitable for my nefarious plans.

And the results were these four:

So, from left to right we have Veil, the Living Lightning, Prism and Blood Brother, all of which are Marvel characters. So, as you can see, there won’t be a great deal of conversion work before these are ready to be painted. Veil will need adjusting to bring her more upright and possibly a re-sculpt of her hair to make it more 60’s, the Living Lightning just needs basing, Prism needs his head ‘fins’ trimmed and Blood Brother may need a slight re-sculpt of his head. Other than that, it will just be a case of painting them the appropriate colours.

And the best thing about my ‘Quantum Quartet’ is that the total cost of all four figures was just £1.36! Bargain!

So, now I’ve given you a taster, join me next time to see how far I’ve progressed.

https://carrioncrowsbuffet.wordpress.com/2017/06/01/forgotten-heroes-2017-the-return/

Putting down roots. (Michael Awdry)

Forgotten Heroes, the brainchild of Messrs. Webb and Winstanley, is an opportunity to indulge in a spot of converting/scratch building to plug those unsightly gaps in your Superhero or Super Villain collection.  Now I had initially thought that I might give this themed month a miss this year.  The encyclopaedic knowledge of my fellow contributors, when it came to the comic universe, was truly staggering and I have to say that I felt a little out of my depth.  Although I enjoyed conceiving and putting together ‘Bouncing Boy’, I wasn’t sure to what purpose I would then employ his services?

 However regular readers of this humble weblog will have no doubt realised that I am fickle sort of chap when it comes to sticking by a decision and it was during a particularly distracting bout of web based research that I stumbled across a kernel of an idea that was to take root and sprout into my planned entry for this month’s event.  Yes, I was back in the running and this time with an idea that could, possibly, actually be used in a gaming scenario!  Bizarre as it may seem, I had been consumed with the notion that what I needed in my collection was a mean, green, carnivorous plant from outer space – I give you ‘Audrey II’.

A quick check of the rules was required to see if I could shoehorn my idea into the format:

1. The character you create must not yet have had an official or unofficial miniature made for it.

A cursory search didn’t unearth anything too damning; there were certainly carnivorous plants out there, but nothing obviously ‘Audrey II’.

2. The figure must be in 28mm scale.

That would be fine, admittedly the plant grows throughout the story, but I should be able to stick to this one.

3. The figure must be completed during the month of June.

In the interest of total transparency I need to confess that ‘Audrey II’ was started before June, but only to see if I could actually achieve what I had envisaged.  The plan is most definitely to finish her during the month of June.

4. In your first post, you should provide a bit of detail on the character you’ve chosen and why.

Considered yourself invited to the following longwinded introduction!

To many ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ is a rather brash, musical from 1986 staring Rick Moranis as the hapless flower shop assistant Seymour Krelborn who discovers the blood drinking plant after a meteor storm.  Perhaps what is less well known is that there was another celluloid version that gave a budding young actor, by the name of Jack Nicholson, one of his earliest rolls.  It was this film, released in 1960, that would form the basis for the comic book series ‘Welcome to the Little Shop of Horrors’.  The comic book, serialised into three episodes, is beautifully explored in a wonderful article by Matthew Hurwitz for ‘Cinemachine’, certainly well worth a read.

The ‘detail’, then, is straightforward, but the ‘why?’ is a little more problematical.  The idea of carnivorous plants have always fascinated young Master Awdry and more recently, I have been toying with several ideas as to how to use them in a gaming capacity, undeniably inspired by Simon Moore’s ‘Seeds of Doom’ project.*  These have included a Wyndhamesque Triffid game using a zombie ruleset, or creating a greenhouse for Poison Ivy, filled with all sorts of mysterious plants, that could be employed in a Batman Miniatures Game.  There is also the idea of fearsome ferns in a Pulp Jungle adventure or even a bloodthirsty bloom forgotten in the depths of some haunted house – so many ideas, so little time!  So having been made into two films, a couple of comic book serialisations and a Broadway Musical ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ certainly seemed fair game.  Now it was my turn, could I take this vile, ‘Super Villain’, intent on taking over the planet, one drop of blood at a time, and recreate it as a unique 28mm miniature?  That, good reader, is what we are about to find out.

 I’m just a mean green mother from outer space and I’m bad!

http://28mmvictorianwarfare.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/putting-down-roots.html