Head: 25A Cobra Commander (hooded)
Unmasked head: Walking Dead- Governor (custom sculpt by ????)
All else: Indiana Jones- Toht
Design:
When Cobra Commander's backstory was revealed in Marvel continuity, we saw that he had been a frustrated used car salesman. Angry at the government and disillusioned with life, he formed Cobra to change (some might say conquer) the world. A hate-mongering-but-inspiring public speaker, Cobra Commander still wore a suit, but hid behind the hood. This custom shows CC as he transitions from frustrated civilian to fledgling terrorist militia Commander-in-Chief.
As a kid, there were only two real suited figures, one was an Adventure People guy (but with no jacket) and the second was Raiders of the Lost Ark's Toht. I wanted to make a figure that could've almost existed in the early 80's. I opted for the better sculpted 25A head instead of the ARAH hooded CC head, though.
As a bonus, I've added in an alternate/unmasked head. It's a Walking Dead Governor head. I'm not sure if it's an original design or a scaled-down one from an existing line. But its hairline is a good match for the '94 Cobra Commander (as well as the Hall of Fame one, too).
Colors & Paint:
The best way to disguise the Toht body is to split it into two colors. Brown over khaki is simple. The warm colors don't read as "Cobra". They also contrast with a dark blue or black suit one might expect to see Cobra Commander wearing, marking this as starting point of his evolution.
Whoever sculpted the head, based on actor David Morrissey, nailed it. The trick here was to make it NOT look like him. Making the hair black get that about 75% done. The other 25% is done by painting the eyes larger than they actually are. The eyes were sculpted into a "heightened staring" expressing, making them squinty. I expanded the whites of the eyes onto the lower eyelids, which resized and reshaped them.
Sculpting & Modifying:
The neck stem was shortened just a smidge for a better fit. The knee pins were epoxy filled and smoothed.
Thanks for looking.
