Got the itch to make a Hercules after reading a bunch of "Incredible Hercules" comics online and watching a History Channel show about Herc the other night. Just one problem -- I never really liked the way Marvel portrayed Herc. He was always the drunkard, the brawler, the simpleton -- basically comic relief. But then again, the Hercules/Herakles of myth was a drunkard and a murderer, so even the original source material isn't exactly ideal.

I decided to go my own route - borrowing different elements from various depictions of Herc. Honestly, the way he was portrayed in the 1983 flick with Lou Ferrigno (you should watch it - it's so horrible that it's cool) was my first real exposure to the character, and despite the "LASER BLAST" movie, I liked him as a pure hero - not the town joke.

Anyway, for his look, I ditched the Marvel S&M leggings and headband and went with a Steve Reeves-ish look (but with pants!) Tell me what you think:






Body: MU Warpath
Hands/wristbands: MU Thor
Head: BnB Chris Jericho
Sword: DTC Hannibal/Serpentor
Shield: DCU 6" Hawkman
Belt: MU Hawkeye


Then I went and fixed my MLS Thor -- I gave him MU Thor's cape (the only good thing about that figure) and painted his leg wrappings to be more comic accurate -- I think he's pretty much done (until I make a cloth cape for him.)



So after reading so many Hulk comics, I decided to finally make a Rick Jones -



He's a Logan fig with a SW pilot head.


Then after snagging a couple extra Hawkeye sets, I figured I'd give my Black Knight some proper boots:




And finally, there's this guy:



MU Rulk head on a Movie Hulk body. The gun is a ROC lolhuge cannon -- knew I'd find some use for those things


Anyway, that's all for now - the rest will probably have to wait until NJC #50

Cheers!

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Awesome! Herc is all win!! great parts choice!!

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good stuff all the way, herc is good this way, the marvel version look is goofy anyways. Great choice for base figure and parts and the flesh paint apps looks perfect.
good update to thor, saw the MU one and you are right looks pretty bad, SHS all the way and Jones looks good and the Knight as well.
Red hulk don't care for or not interested but the paints are really good so like I said good stuff all the way
Tim

i am so demoralized now. I have my Herc completed and he is no way as good as yours. You really did a great job on all of these guys. I really do enjoy seeing your work. It really inspires me.

some really AWESOME stuff in this thread!

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i was perusing this thread, all nonchalant and 'yep, another good round o' chief' and then stopped on Black Knight.

DAMN i love that figure!

singled out!!

// also, your hercules looks like steve reeves.
never knew you were into the TimeWarp, buddy!


also: NJC #50!

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I'm a fan of the marvel Herc and his goofy look ,but I gotta say this herc is pretty darn cool. The firgure does looks like Reeves. What's really impressive is the skin tone painting---perfect.

Black Knight is really good

My favorite is the Rick Jones he's just right.

Thanks everyone -- glad the Steve Reeves look translated well - I'm pretty happy with him.

Lance - your Herc rocked - I don't know what you were worried about. Wish I'd thought to use the Katarn head.


Here's a guy that I put together today. I didn't plan on finishing it for a couple more days, but couldn't sleep so I came down to the Man Cave and slapped some paint on him:



X-Men: First Class



And something you probably thought you'd never see - The Champions!



I actually got the inspiration to make Angel when I realized that I had all the original X-men, and (once Herc was complete) all the original Champions sans the Angel. So I cannibalized my Hawkman custom for the wings that GIJoey sent me (wish I could find more of those things.) But don't cry for Hawkman, because 1) He's a dick; and 2) He'll get re-made with some non-posable wings until I can find some suitable replacements.

Rest of the figure is just a re-painted Johnny Storm with a modded JvC Blowtorch head. I'm really pleased with how quickly he came together and how I was able to paint relatively straight lines despite being sleepy.

Thanks again for all the kind words, guys!

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Very Nice! Very Clean!

although Warren will always wear red in my 'verse (New Defenders) -- you've done right by him!

thanks for choosing him over Hawkman!

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Herc is very cool Dan. Joe hit the nail on the head - it's the flesh tone which once again steals the show. But I really like that it is so clearly Hercules, even while it is also of your own design.

JM called it right on the Angel - clean and downright perfect actually.

Black Knight = a nice upgrade too. I'm going to borrow that recipe heavily for version 857 of Knighthawk someday (how many more until I catch up to your Moonknight total?) Seriously though, I am stealing it. lol

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Thanks guys --

Dennis - the flesh tone is just regular old Citadel Dwarf Flesh - nothing special - just 2 or 3 coats slapped on. I guess it really does do wonders - wish they had a decent lighter shade (the closest is "Elf Flesh", which is too light.)

JM - I'm not a fan of red, but I did consider it. Finally I went with the scheme based on the Toy Biz Archangel fig that I've had forever:



I may make a "Death" version later - but I prefer feathery Warren


Here's a better snap of the Black Knight - in the first pic, the flash washes out a lot of color. Even here, you can see where he needs some touch-ups, but I do play with my customs, so that's to be expected..




Time for bed - thanks again!

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Dan.... There goes my hopes of a decent Warren. I love those wings you got from Joey.

Really good work on Angel. To make him Death, all you need is swappable wings and head.

As for a highlight color for your flesh, have you tried the Golden flesh. That is what I used on Herc, it gives him the 'godly glow' and then used Dwarf flesh for the highlights. There is alos the darker tanned flesh that i sometimes use for the muscle highlights.

Again... you are one of my idols when it comes to Superhero Customs.

Which head did you use for Angel?

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The work is good on Herc, but I love the MU take on him too much to accept yours. Plus, all the MST3K episodes tearing Reeves a new one . . .

Rick is simple, well done, and very cool. I wouldn't have thought that head would work for him, but there it is. I dig it.

Honestly, switch the torso on Dane, that Cap torso is too obvious in it's current state. I like the rest of him. I've been seeing some winged horses on clearance at Target lately, too small for ML, but might be the right size for MU . . .


Great work on Angel, and don't worry about making Death/Archangel, since one is coming in MU . . . along with Kitty, Havok, Colossus, and an AIM Agent . . .

Agrred I also like the Black Knight as well. they are all very good customs.

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