Challengers 12-Inch Action FiguresClick the
picture for a large portrait of 12-inch Challengers action figures!
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Challengers of the Unknown
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Challengers 12-Inch Action FiguresClick the
picture for a large portrait of 12-inch Challengers action figures!
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OK, they're handmade. But as DC continues to issue obscure characters in their DC Direct line of action figures, they'll have to get around to casting our four friends in plastic some day. For now, these four figures are conversions. Interestingly, three are real people. Ace is a GI Joe edition of Jean Claude Van Damme as Colonel Guile from the movie "Street Fighter". Jean Claude's authoritative stare and the broad sloping shoulders make him look like a leader. I painted his blonde hair and eyebrows blonder. Prof is Tony Hawk
of skateboarding fame. Tony's skinny build and long face give
him a harmless quizzical look. I shortened his neck, which was
ridicuously long. And I added an extension to his hair, which
was thin, to create Prof's trademark forelock, then painted it
brown. |
Rocky is Hugh Jackman with heavy mods. He started as the 13" Wolverine movie edition. The extra inch makes Rocky tower over his buddies. The scowl, forward-leaning stance, and clenched fists make Rocky look ready to charge certain death. I cut off Wolverine's hair-horns and glued one on as Rocky's spiral forelock. I then carved a part in his hair and painted it black. After consulting Gray's Anatomy, I built up the jaw extensively with green stuff. The head had to be glued in place and the neck muscles built up. I sanded flat the piping on Wolverine's uniform, which was cast on the body. Wolverine's exaggerated twisty crouch meant one leg was actually longer than the other. I sawed his boots off, evened the legs, and reset the boots on thick dowels. Removing the boots was required anyway to get his pants on. |
Red is a standard-issue GI Joe who came with red hair and an intense scowl. The Challs wear Cotswold Collectible clothes. The shirts are white mock turtlenecks with the necks stitched down. Their pants are French Foreign legion issue, old-fashioned and high-waisted and baggy, good for blousing into boots. Both were dyed with Rit purple, but the color refused to set deep and rinsed out to magenta. The boots are replica GI Joe boots in white, though I had to cut Rocky's into gaiters to snug over his extra-big feet. The belts are GI Joe replicas. For gloves, I dunked their hands repeatedly in white oil paint to gain the thickness of gloves, then wrapped white electrical tape for cuffs. The one-size-fits-all clothes worked well. Rocky's clothes are skin-tight while Prof's are baggy. For extra gear,
Ace wears an Army Military Police white holster with .45. Red
carries a scaled 100' length of nylon cord from the hardware
store. Prof's gadget, a Kirbyesque tricorder, is a Star Wars
console with a spacey gun glued on as an antenna, the whole painted
silver. Except the paint-on-plastic never properly dried and
gunked up Prof's gloves, so I had to pitch it. |
Yes, it was a lot of planning, work, and fuss. And no, it doesn't make a lot of sense. But hobbies aren't supposed to make sense, they're supposed to be fun. In the future, I hope to convert 5" figures to make a Challs diorama. I could then stick them in some slimy hell-hole infested with sucker-bogies and load them with all kinds of electronic gear, heavy weapons, rope, flashlights, and other fun stuff. But maybe DC will
beat me to it. Let's hope. |
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