Here's my entry for a contest on another forum.
I've always wanted to make a new samurai-like custom, something a bit more fierce looking than Budo. The Raiden conical hat and Storm Shadow's lower legs already were in my concept box for a while. Now it was the perfect time to complete the rest of the figure and paint it. This wasn't so easy. I searched the web for the authentic samurai look and at first you'd end up using most of Budo parts. But that way, it would almost be just a repaint, and I wanted an original warrior. Storm Shadow's (V2) lower legs had this protection that looked like bamboo, I wanted this on other body parts too. Zartan's upper arms and Tripwires lower arms made this possible. Heck, even Blizzards upper legs looked kinda like armored with bamboo. Going through my parts bin, I found more and more parts suitable for my Kumite custom and several other future martial arts projects. For the head I couldn't just use Budo's, that would look just too.....Budo. Gristle was a good one too, but damn those sunglasses. Hey, why not try the original bald samurai look with some greenstuff? Salvo looked neutral enough, and the hair with knit came out just the way I wanted. I even think the head is part I like best about him. For weapons, I knew I wanted a traditional one (sword) and a new one. Going through my "edged weapons bin" I again found several more future weapon combinations. Gikan ended up with this one, I like the unique look.
Name: Gikan
Bio:
Former ninja who was able to leave his clan and changed his way of life into the samurai tradition. Because he doesn't have a master, he is a ronin. His old ninja clan tried to kill him, but Gikan successfully defended himself, killing all of his attackers. He went back to the clan's hideout to kill of the clan head and now lends his services to everyone having trouble with bandits and ninja's. He still uses his experience from the ninjitsu which is emphasized in his personal naginata. He created this weapon himself and can handle it with a deadly precision.
Fighting Style(s): Ninjitsu, samurai, kendo.
Weapon(s): Katana (Night Creeper Leader '93), personalized naginata (Jinx '87 naginata + Banzai '93 double dagger + Buzzer '85 chain axe)
Parts List:
Head: Salvo '90 (+ greenstuff)
Torso: Budo '88
Upper Arms: Zartan '05
Lower Arms: Tripwire '88
Hands: Tripwire '88
Waist: Road Pig '88
Upper Legs: Blizzard '88
Lower Legs: Storm Shadow '88
Feet: Storm Shadow '88
Accessories: Conical hat (Rayden '94), sling (shoe lace), sheath (Storm Shadow V11 '04)
Work done on the custom:
Glued a piece of rope to the conical hat, sculpted the hair with greenstuff, switched Zartan's lower arms for Tripwire's lower arms, made a sling for the sword sheath with a piece of shoe lace, shortened the sword a little to fit the sheath, cut and glued the personal naginata from three different weapons, repainted all parts and weapons.
Notes of special interest:
Gikan means "regard for justice", which I think suits his bio.
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Tim 121RVC