Starting another commission, this time of New Avengers style Luke Cage. Drax the Destroyer provides the base figure this time. I was requested to do another simple mod adding a white muscle shirt and removing the knives from Drax here. Seems simple enough but let’s see what kind of trouble the figure gods are going to throw at us on this one!
Besides the obvious removal of the wrist wraps holding on the sculpted knife, there is also the matter of filling the old accessory and figure stand ports on the back of the figure that the client does not want to utilize. I’m definitely going to make sure I keep the same level of shading on the final figure as I really like the effect it has on Drax here. The original sculptor has done a great job with muscle tone and with a little modification an a-shirt will fit right in.
We’re doing a little disassembly this time. Again, I know I’m going to regret this project not being a large enough scale to do a full rebuild. I’m calling it now with those shoulder joints. Every figure is a learning process though, and I’m striving to be better with each project! As you can see, I’ve already done most of the work removing the knife and wraps from Drax’s right hand. I will do a little bit of resculpting to match the other hand before I paint. You can also see the guide lines I’ve put in to start sculpting the lines of the shirt, because I hate it when action figure makers get lazy and just paint lines on with no definition. Comics may show shirts and pants that look painted on, but I’m striving for a bit more realism with my work and what works in print does not always work in 3d.
Starting to fill the problem areas in the back and remove the over 9000 seamlines on the figure. Marvel Legends are some of the best lines as far as figure quality goes, but no amount of paint and shading will hide those mould imperfections. The plastic used on this figure is thankfully much more forgiving than the hard ABS of 90s toys, though I’m sure it’s horrible if inhaled.
Beginning the A-shirt definition. This will be a very long process as I have to wait for the epoxy clay to cure in multiple parts before being able to move to the next portion. Let’s save some time and jump into the future, shall we?
Here is DraxLuke (Lax? Druke?) after a rough night. Finished the lines of the shirt in most areas and now starting the cleanup. I will also have to seal the edges and make sure everything is even before going into any paint.
Druke, pull yourself together man! I had to upgrade my dust mask for this project as it was getting out of hand. Note to manufacturers: women and people who wear glasses wear dust masks too and we do not have giant faces, and also enjoy seeing. Please make different sizes.
Next time: paint woes! Thrill at the ever-present green!
