Matt Jaycox Customs Click on a link to see a picture.For weekly updates, information and more please visit the Custom Mego Blog Batman and Robin: I got the ideas for these customs one day when I was washing my hair. As a gag gift, people at work had gotten me Batman shampoo for my birthday. The head was approximately the right size, so I lopped it off and made a recast of it. I like the Animated series look so much on him that I decided he needed a partner. Robin's head is an original Super Sculpey work, and he was modeled after the most recent animated series version (Tim Drake). The body is a Lion Rock 7". Batman's pouch belt came from a Lion Rock soldier as well. (I'm not sure which one). Bat insignia on his chest is black Contact paper. I have no idea why the lining of Robin's cape came out white in the scan It's yellow in real life. Boxes were designed by me and have a wrap-around cityscape on them. Pic 1 Pic 2 (boxed) Two Face: This unfortunately is the best scan I have of this guy at this point. I 'm ambivalent about this, one of my earliest customs. His suit is great, but I don't like the head anymore. I'm working on a new head. This one is from a candy dispenser (not Pez). Shoes are one Penguin shoe, one Boss Hog shoe. Pic Flash: Completed this guy shortly after Batman and Robin. Tried to get him in the animated Series style as well, because I liked how he had looked on the cartoon. Head is an original sculpt. Wings on the head came from grappling prongs on a BTAS Batman grappling hook gun (In the Batman/2-Face 2-pack I believe). Suit is handsewn, lightning and decals are yellow contact paper and white electrical tape. Shazam boots of course. Pic 1 Pic 2 (boxed w/boxed Spectre) Spectre: Though not my first custom, this was the first I ever did with my own sculpt for the head. I tried something easy because I knew that hood would hide alot. He's basically just a bald guy with no ears (shhhh, don't tell him). I like the idea of the white body suit because I think it's what Mego would have done. The idea for Spectre's box is a blatant rip-off of Scott Arendsen's Spectre box (as is the Flash). But I didn't know you guys when I made it, and consequently never thought I'd even come in contact with you. (Don't sue me Scott) Pic Dr. Strange: This was the first ever custom I did. I have since improved the tailoring on his clothes several times as my sewing skills have improved over the past few years. The head is a recast modified Kraven the Hunter from Toy Biz's 10-inch line. Works rather well in my opinion. The Eye of Amagaddo amulet is just a fancy button from Mystic Plains of So-Fro Fabrics. Pic Red Skull: Red Skull came from a Human torch head which I cast. While the Sculpey which I pressed into the mold was still soft, I pressed in the nose and eyes. I sculpted the teeth separately and then glued them in. Costume is an original sewing job with boots from a Rookies figure. Medallions ad buttons came from Super Sculpey. Pic 1 Pic 2 (boxed) Namor: One of the easiest and most favorite customs of mine. Namor's body is an LJN Rookies body to make him look more buff, the head is a recast modified sculpture of Will Scarlet with Spock ears. Ankle wings are vinyl and posable, attached to a wire that passes through the lower leg. Article coming soon. Pic La Tarantula: One of my favorite Spidey villians. I've always thought he was underated, but apparently some people didn't because they ressurected him in the late 80's after killing him off about 10 years earlier. And he even made it onto the animated series. I made the spider design on his suit using fabric markers and his mask is just a pullover spandex mask that I made and fitted onto the head of a repainted Klingon. This box is a perfect example of what I talk about in my article where, for authenticity's sake, I purposely weather my boxes to make them look real. I also put a price sticker on this one. I like the garish colors of th box. Reminds me of the color scheme for the Green Goblin. Pic Batman: This Batman was made as a commsioned work for Todd Capriotti. I gave the figure a meaner looking face than my previous version and the modern version of the costume. The cape opens up into full Bat-Wing glory and comes with a Grappling Hook batarang. The Mego Bat symbol was later replaced for a more modern version of the insignia (shown in the picture in which Batman is boxed). I love this figure. I almost hate the fact that I made it to sell. Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 (boxed) Universal Studios Wolfman: "The Wolfman" (1941) was the first movie I ever remember seeing. Still one of my favorites. Still, in the 8-inch category, they've never really captured him, Not Remco, not AHI, and Mego didn't have the license to do so, so I can't fault them there. So I took it upon myself. The head is from a vinyl Wolfman figure made by Imperial (?) ca. 1986 as are the feet. Clothes are sewn by me. I know, I know, the shirt's a little small... but I kinda like it. For now. Pic Creature from the Black Lagoon: I have to thank Lou Melograna for hooking me up with the head here. Thanks Lou. Pic Green Lantern and Green Arrow J'Onn J'onnz: Next to Batman, he is my favorite character in the D.C. Universe. The head is an original sculpt, the body is Hulk's upper body and the legs are from a Green Goblin (Who now has flesh colored legs). The medallions on his cape and belt are upholstery tacks, and his red straps are red vinyl. Pic 1 Pic 2 Doctor Doom Union Jack Union Jack (boxed) Chekov: I have to Thank Phil Noble for giving me the idea to use John Boy's head for Chekov. Works pretty damn well, Phil! Pic Kirk in Formal Starfleet Uniform: I Made Kirk this shirt from a tailored-down Playmates 9-inch Kirk b/c Chekov needed some clothes. I like this better than the shirt he normally wears, and it adds some color to my Star Trek line-up. I borrowed the inspiration for these backdrops from Scott Carroll. Pic Mr. Sulu: This was my third attempt to sculpt this head, and I am satisfied with it for now, even though it is slightly large. Pic The Shadow: This is my all time favorite custom. I don't think I will ever top this work. I modeled the weird avenger in black more after the Pulp novel covers than any of his comic incarnations, which is why his hands are not gloved. The costume is entirely sewn by me, Black shoes courtesy Dr. Mego. The hat is a Dollhouse-Doll hat from Michael's arts and crafts store. I warped it under hot water to give it that slouched look. Guns ironically are from a Kenner Shadow figure. I think they look better on my guy. Figure can quickly remove his cloak and hat to reveal the tuxedo of the urbane Lamont Cranston. Head is a recast modified Will Scarlet. Shadow Box -- This box is a gatefold and the inside cover has the image of the Shadow crossing a darkly lit room (inner sanctum?). Back cover has similar image. All art was by me. Pic 1 Pic 2 Zorro: One of my favorite customs. He was made with a Star Trek body as this is how, according to Tony Gray who owns one, they came on these type of bodies with short pants. Suit is handsewn, and the hat is from the incomparable Paul (Dr. mego) Clarke. He made this hat for me upon request by recasting Wild Bill Hickock's hat in Black (which was exactly what Mego did). And the head is a recast of a Will Scarlet head done by me since Zorro, Will Scarlet, Sir Galahad (and many, many customs by me) share the same head. The sword is from a Legends of the Dark Knight Crusader Batman figure. It doesn't have the yellow hilt, but it works for me for now. Pic Zorro Box This was my ham-fisted attempt to recreate the box art to Zorro since no one who owned one would post the art. I painted the image myself using the images in John Bonavita's book as a guide. By the time I was done, though. I didn't want to give Palitoy the credit, so I called it "Matitoy." Notice I said I made it in East Lansing Michigan and mispelled "Lansing" as "Laning" ! Sheesh! Pic Captain America: When I saw Charlee Flatt's Captain at the Dearborn, MI comic show, I knew I had to have one like it. I loved his figure's look, but I wasn't too hot on the head sculpt. I wanted mine to look more like Jack Kirby Cap., right down to the color scheme. I modeled his look after the cover of Captain America #100 (the one where he's busting through the cover of the newspaper). Which is why he has that half-open smile. The head is an original sculpt and I took a page out of Flatt's book by giving him a rounded neck so he could look up and down as well as rotate (the head is attached via elastic to a post that goes through the pelvis). I gave him cloth boots b/c I wanted him to be more posable. The stripes are pirated from a beat-up captain outfit by mego, but the rest is completely original. Notice that I sewed the upper half of the costume with shiny material to simulate Cap's chain mail, but I sewed the legs with dull blue material. The shield is from a Toy Biz Captain and Bucky 2-pack, which is miraculously in scale. Everyone head out right now and replace that crappy one Mego made. Finally I gave him more muscular arms and red leather gloves. To achieve the tight fit of the costume, I sewed a seam up the back like Charlee Flatt does, as opposed to Mego snaps. It is just a simple over-hand stitch though, so it slits easily if I need to get the costume off. This may be my most intricate custom ever. He is my favorite Marvel custom. Pic Dr. Doom (newer version): I made this guy after Nancy asked if she could have my previous version and remarked that "I like him-- he's cute." Cute?!? he's not cute! He's a world dictator! This is all Richard's fault! Richaaaaards......! Oh well-- she ended up getting him, so I had to make another for myself, and I decided to correct my mistakes. This Doom has the same head as the last, a Mego torso and pelvis, but the arms and legs of that great new line, "Mystic Knights of Tir-na-Nog." (Anyone interested in how I did this can e-mail me for instructions). I used putty to cover up the designs of the armor, then spray painted it chrome. Then I reseamed the suit using this really cool fabric called "Chintz." Man does this stuff rock in terms of look and texture. Pic Dark Knight Returns Batman: I wanted to achieve the look of Batman as he appeared in the second chapter of the Dark Knight Returns: "The Dark Knight Triumphant." In particular, I was going for his look where he comes out of the tank to fight the Mutant Leader (still one of the all-time great comic book images). I am very proud of the head sculpt and the pouched utility belt. Cape opens into full batwing. As with Captain America, Flash, and Phantom, I made his head like Charlee Flatt's, in that it can look up and down as well (and cock to the side quizzically, great for my revamped Michael Myers custom). I gave him more muscular arms and achieved the tight fit of the suit by sewing it closed up the back (suit was entirely original, no mego pieces, except the boots). Of the four Batman customs I've done, this is my favorite. The next one planned will be a Batman a la the cover of Detective Comics #27. I have also made a Carrie Kelly Robin to go along with this figure, but she is being reworked due to my being unsatisfied with part of her look. Pic The Flash (comic version): I made this figure shortly after Captain America by retooling the Captain's mold. I love my animated series version of Flash, but wanted one that looked more realistic as well. As usual recently, I added some Flatt touches in that I gave him muscular arms, a tighter fitting suit, and that great Flatt innovation-- the rounded neck that allows the figure to look in all directions (see most recent article on how to accomplish this little innovation). I should repaint the head though, as those eyes look a little buggy to me. I gave him cloth boots to be more posable. I may eventually do this to all of my Megos. Pic The Phantom: The ghost who walks was the second custom I ever did, but I have obviously revamped him a few times. This figure is the reason I won't be buying the FWF version. Mines' not nearly as good, but I like it quite a bit. I sculpted the head with the Flatt innovation, sewed the costume up the back for the tight fit and gave him muscular arms. The belt buckle is sculpey and the guns are recasts of the Shadow's guns. He is on a Star Trek body with short pants because I like the look of their black boots. I will redo the packaging art sometime soon. Pic 1 Pic 2 (head detail) Pic 3 (boxed) Cyberman: Last summer, I picked up a MIB Dr. Who in a great trade as an anniversary gift for Nancy, my fiance', as she's a huge Dr. Who fan (I really never got the show). I only just gave it to her recently for the occasion, but I wanted her to have a villain as well to battle. But all of the villains they made are very rare and extremely expensive (read buku bucks), and penniless grad student that I am, I could never afford one for her. So I decided to make one for her instead. The head is an original sculpt with coat hanger wire for the handlebars (I dunno, what else would you call them?). The suit is sewn from silver lame', and he's on a 9-inch playmates body to be in scale with the Doctor. I sculpted and hand cast the hoses on his arms and legs and give him free hands instead of Mittens like on Mego's version. I made the ventilator by spray painting over a Barbie portable radio and attaching to his chest with velcro. Packaging art coming soon. All my thanks to Brian Heiler for providing me with images to use as control art. NOTE:I recently watched an episode of Dr. Who with these guys in it to make sure I go the look right, and boy did I pick the right villain to do. These guys were bad asses. Pic Green Hornet: Green Hornet was a commissioned work that I am very proud of. Head is a modified sculpt of another head with removable hat. The entire suit was sewn by me. The tie and scarf are silk, and the lapels of the jacket are faux suede. I took some license with this one, while still allowing it to be faithful to the character. His stinger gun is a recast modified Klingon phaser from Playmates. Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 (boxed) The Phantom: The Ghost who Walks probably looks a little different to you than the last version I did. Truth is, I couldn't stand that old sculpt... not after I saw Charlee's. Plus, I wanted to redeco the packaging art. Head is an original sculpt. I am very proud of this sculpt as I was really trying to capture the look of the Phantom from the old Charlton Comics (early 70s) days. These were the first comics I ever remember reading (my Mom brought a whole box of them home for me from the Holy Cross Church Rummage Sale one summer when I was around 4 or 5). The back packaging art comes from the cover of an old Charlton issue. I think the bar code is nice touch, don't you? (I got the idea from Scott Arendsen's boxes). Suit is entirely sewn by me. Pic 1 Pic 2 (boxed) The Riddler: When I saw Scott Metzger's custom Riddler, or rather, his Riddler in a custom suit, I decided to do the same and get him out of his old, loose P.J.s. Normally, I wouldn't do this save for the fact that I feel a tight-fitting suit on Riddler is a MUST. The bulky arms may have been overkill, but I think it gives him a distinct Neal Adams look. Question Mark staff coming soon. Pic Peter Parker/Spider-Man: "Wallopin' Web-Snappers!" This is my favorite phrase from any superhero ever. It's well known that it wasn't the comics, but rather, the Fliescher studios cartoons that gave Superman the immortal tag line: "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive...." If only the Ralph Bakshi directed cartoons of Spiderman could have done the same for this great phrase... sigh. I painted Shazam's head over to make Petey, but I gave him lighter brown hair b/c I noticed that, when I did, he vaguely resembled Nicholas Hammond who played Spidey on the live-action 70s series. He carries his mask around in his backpack (kinldy provided by the love of my life, from her Barbie collection), and when his Spider Sense starts to tingle, he can quickly shuck his outer garments to reveal the Spidey suit underneath! Pic The Keeper: Not sure this counts as a custom per se' but I decided to list it anyway. I found the body a year ago without the head or costume, and bought it for $8. Then, just about 2 weeks ago, I found the head in a box of parts and bought it for $5. I then went to the fabric store, picked up some remnants, went home and sewed the robe from scratch. I think very few people can tell the difference, so basically I got a Keeper for about $15! Thaty ranks up ther with my custom where basically I put a Starskey head on a Scotty body, and he suddenly became "Red Shirt on the Away Team Guy who always dies." Pic The Mummy: This is actually kind of funny... I hate the orginal figure of this so much because he looks like he's wearing jammies. So after I bought him a a few yaers ago, I gave him to my two little nephew's in disgust, saying "here, play with this!." After about a half year, I began to regret this decision, because, jammies or no, I still needed him to complete my Monster collection. Therefore rather than be an Indian giver, I bought another one. Funny thing was, I grew to despise him again! But before I could get rid of him, I went over to my nephew's house and I was lookign through his toys, and by chance I came across this Mummy again, and CRAP! Did he ever play with this thing to death! I finally realized what was wrong with this figure originally... it was too pristine! Too clean! But in this child's hands, he had been severly beat up and finally looked as if he had spent 1500 years in a Tomb devoid of air! The costume all over was soiled, it had taers and rips, split seams, and what looked like Kool-Aid and Marker stains. So when my nephew came back, I produced my brand new, pristine Mummy, held it out to him, with the beat-up one in the other hand, and said, "Trade ya!" My Monster collection has been happier ever since.... I added some more bandages as well. Pic The Wolf Man II: You all know the history of me and The Wolf Man if you saw my first custom of him. When I saw this figure in the store about a week ago, I nearly wept with happiness. Finally.... someone had captured this figure beautifully, perfectly.... flawlessly. And he was in 8-inch scale. And best of all, he came with a bear trap and the silver cane that was used to kill him in the movie (1941). The name of the company was Sideshow Toys, and I'll expect that, after these little works of art, we'll be hearing great things from them. In order to make him into a Mego however, I sewed him a shirt in white cotton and some blue jeans, both of which I promptly dyed grey. Pic I grabbed a POTA ape body and set to work. To fit the head on the body, I gave the neck a rounded base with miliput and attached it via elastic to the pelvic post (A). I pulled the soldier ape hands out and simply popped the Wolfman hands in the sockets. They fit quite nicely (B). For the feet, I popped the ape feet off the ankle, used a coping saw to saw the feet off of the Wolfman, then used my drill to hollow them out, so that they simply slip on like a boot. This way, they can fit on the display stand (C). While this may have required the least amount of original work by me, and though it only took me about 1.5 hours to do, this has since become my favorite custom (replacing the Shadow). It may be my favorite action figure. Pic 1940s Animated Series Superman: I've been wanting this figure for a long time as I feel the Max Fleischer cartoons of the early 40s blessed Superman with his greatest look ever. Indeed, even Alex Ross admits using this version of Superman as the inspiration for his Kingdom Come Man of Steel. This is probably my most Flattworld-like custom. After meeting Cal Weaver of Flattworld a week ago and being allowed to look at some Flatt originals, I picked up a few tips and made this figure shortly after. I gave him arms from an LJN SWAT figure so that he could swivel at the bicep and allow him to pose with his hands on the hips. I built up the standard Mego feet using Miliput to make them more like boots when the fabric was stretched over them. The boot tops are cut out of red leather and simply glued on. I designed the insignia on my computer, printed it out on nice graphics stock, and then laminated it with packaging tape to get that glossy look. The Kirk head looked so much like the Fleischer Superman that I didn't even need to do any sculpting save modifying the neck plug so that it can look up and down now. I made the cape from a very lightweight silk so that it catches the slightest breeze. Pic 1 Pic 2 Phantom Stranger Phantom Stranger (boxed) Samaritan: The Superman of Astro City just kind of came together one day when I had nothing better to do. The Kirk head is only a mock-up. I have since replaced it with my own head sculpt for Samaritan. I had hoped to scoop Flattworld with this, but alas... Pic Nova: I always thought Nova is the definition of an Unsung Superhero, and hence why I made him. The helmet is un-removable. Notice that his left hand is in a fist. For a description of how I accomplished this, see my article on "Customizing Hands." He has fabric boots (set afire with some half-assed digital wizardry) for greater poseability. Pic 1 Pic 2 Savage Sub-Mariner: In order to put Namor in the costume he wore for a brief time in the late 60s, I had to rework his head sculpt to make him more, well, savage. My previous sculpt was more in the vein of early Jack Kirby, and simply wouldn't have worked here. Pic 1 Pic 2 (boxed) Wolverine: This may be my most intricate custom ever. Though I can't take credit for many of the ideas. I got the inspiration for this one when I saw Charlee Flatt's in the most recent issue of Toyfare. The hing I like best about his Wolverine was that it was in scale with the other heroes. Looking at his, I figured out a way I could make mine, which I'll recount for you here. 1) I knew he would have to go on a 7" Teen Titan's body, but I still wanted him to have Muscular Arms. So then I got my hands on an LJN SWAT body and swapped arms. 2) yet when I did this, the rest of the body was horribly out of proportion. I intended Wolverine to be a shorter version of the 8-inch heroes, not a miniature adult (like the Lion Rock Soldiers). So I got out my Plumber's epoxy putty (Miliput for you brand-namers out there) and started out by building up the thighs first to the desired fullness. Once I had them where I wanted them, I had to adjust the build of the torso to match. 3) But after I did that, I had to beef up the calves. And while I was at it, I added putty to the feet so that it would look like a boot when the fabric was stretched over it (see my animated Superman). Yet after all of this, the forearms still looked wrong. So I got normal Mego body type II forearms and swapped them in place of the LJN forearms. 4) The head is part original sculpt, part plastic model. I got one of those Marvel Superheroes models at TR'U and took the face plate of Wolverine and made a mold of it. I produced a copy and then added the crown of the head and the neck using Epoxy Putty. I made the neck base rounded and attached it to the body using elastic that was looped around an eye-hook which I threaded to the inside of his pelvis (the 7" Lion Rock bodies don't have the pelvic post that the 8"ers do). 5) Then I sewed this costume using new patterns. I got the tiger stripe pattern on the suit using fabric markers and masked the area of the fabric to be colored with masking tape. The boot tops and shoulder pads are black and blue leather that were glued on with fabric glue. Finally, the clwas came from the model kit and I glued them to the back of the (LJN) hands using contact cement. Now I can toss that crappy Famous Covers version of Wolvie out the window! Pic Robert Smith of THE CURE: This was made as a present to my fiance' who is a huge CURE fan (as am I). "Catch," a song off the album, "Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me" (1987), is one of my favorite love songs of all time, so I reprinted it behind the image of Robert Smith. As Eric Cartman would say, "Robert Smith Kicks Ass!" The long hair is from fake black shag fur which I glued onto the original head sculpt. I recessed the area which the hair is glued into however, so it doesn't stand out. Costume is entirely original, and in addtion to it, I sewed him several accessory outfits (far too numerous to show here) and topped off the picture with custom packaging for the figure and, seen here, some of the custom outfits. Robert meeting with Spidey is a CURE-fan in-joke. I couldn't resist. Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 4 Abominable Snowman (Yeti): This is both a custom Mego and a custom Tomland figure. In the late 70s, Tomland put out 4 generic monsters, of which the Yeti was one. However, he unfortunately wore these white pajamas that were meant to look like fur, but ended up looking like nothing other than pajamas. So, borrowing some inspiration from an idea I had to make a corrected Mugato, I sewed him an outfit from fake fur and placed the head on a Mego body. Replicating the card art took days as all I had to work from was an image from a monster toy website where the figure was still on the card. To complete this card, I had to reconstruct the area that was obscured behind the image of the monster himself. I did this using Photoshop 5.0. What I basically did was alot of color matching, airbrushing out old lettering and typing in new lettering. I imported lettering in from other Tomland cards to get the best possible look, and finally borrowed colors and sections of art from other portions of the card that were still intact. For instance, to make Yeti's right arm which was obscured, I made a copy of the image, flipped it horizontally, copied the mirror image of the left arm, and imported it into the final picture. The final card may not be 100% accurate, but it was alot of fun to make. There is still some minor pixelation, but I don't care. The blister on the card has a top layer that can be removed easily so the figure can be taken out and played with. Pic 1 Pic 2 (card) Phantom of the Opera: Once I made the Creature F.T.Bl.L., I wanted to make figures for the AHI line that had never been made, like Phantom and Mr. Hyde and Quasimodo and Igor etc... So, this guy's head came from a Monogram reissue of the old Aurora model kit (as did the hands and mask). I have already written articles on converting hands and heads to be Mego-compatible, so I won't reprint the instructions here. The pants are sewn by me. The Tuxedo is from an EPT Dracula figure whose sleeves I extended using some white fabric to make ornamental cuffs. The cape was also sewn by me and has a plush red velvet lining. I made the card art to mirror AHI's again. To make the lettering, I simply borrowed individual letters from other AHI cards and manipulated them in Photoshop. The back of the card image is borrowed from the Aurora box, which is exactly what AHI did with their figures. Pic 1 Pic 2 (card) Frankenstein (Karloff): I so loved the AHI Frankenstein that I didn't want to make anything that would compete for its affection. So when the time came to convert the Sideshow Toys Frankie over to be a Mego, I looked for a way to make it a little different. So I made a greenish-brown pullover fleece for him so that the Monster would look the way he had in "The Son of Frankenstein" (1938). I fit the boots on him in much the same way I converted my Wolf Man figure; I sawed the originals off of the figure, hollowed them out with a drill and a dremel, popped the feet off the Mego body, and then slipped these on like a boot. Costume is sewn by me, but could easily be replicated using a Wizard suit jacket, AJ spy pants, and an AHI Frankenstein shirt with the sleeves and turtleneck cut off. Pic The Mummy (Karloff): I made this guy by converting a Sideshow toy's Mummy to be Mego compatible. The wrap was made by me. Pic Captain Marvel: I am more proud of the box art than anything else on this figure. It was my first box that I assembled entirely within a computer program. As for the figure itself, what you can't quite see is that he has fabric gloves into which I sewed a separate thumb pocket, so they fit on like mittens. I also like the surfer hair style. Pic 1 Pic 2 Daredevil: I don't prefer this suit of Daredevil's to his all-red one, but, when your action figure shelf has on it Spiderman, Tarantual, Samaritan, Shazam, and Flash, you start looking for ways to add color to the line-up. Plus, painting the head yellow would not make it so recognizable as a FC DD head. I waited a long time to make this figure because I wanted to find just the right shade of reddish-brown fabric for the gloves, boots and tunic. Head and belt are obviously from the FC version, and I think the head, though over-stylized, works nicely here. I think the yellow color tones it down a bit. Pic 1 (boxed) Pic 2 Yellowjacket: I now have two versions of Henry Pym. This, and a 12 inch Giant Man figure that I made off of a Spiderman body. The antennae on his head are simply sewing pins. Pic The Vision: When people say they hate the Famous Covers figures, I show them this. Yeah they are not Megos. But many are readily convertible. What more could you ask for? My Avengers line, for example, couldn't be happier. I kept the FC hands for some reason, though I did trim the fingers down a bit. I don't know... I just kind of like them. Pic Hawkeye: For this Hawkeye conversion, I gave him muscular arms to fill out the FC suit more. But I retooled the mold of my custom arms in order to incorporate a swivel joint on the shoulder that is similar to the 7" Teen Titan arms. This allows him to hold his bow and arrow more properly. As with the Vision, I kept the FC hands (For practical reasons here rather than aesthetic ones: no Mego hands could ever hold that bow). I increased the size of his feet with some epoxy putty so they would fill out the FC boots. Pic Bizarro Mr. Freeze: This one was really easy to make. I like him. I think he looks alot like the Mr. Freeze from the Adam West T.V. show. Pic Creature from the Black Lagoon: This figure was made to replicate the figure AHI made of the Creature back in 1973. He was made on a Tomland body with AHI legs. I got the head from Lou Melograna. Then I started laying strips of epoxy putty on the body, and pressing dimples into it to simulate reptilian flesh. When it dried, I spray painted the whole thing a base coat of black. Then I higlighted it with light green while the black was still damp. Finally, I finished the highlights off with some bright flourescent yellow. I masked off the areas to be sprayed using paper napkins. The card art was meant to mimic the cards made by AHI for the World Famous Super Monsters! line they did. They were Kresge style and used the "World Famous" slogan to echo Mego's own "World's Greatest..." I changed the card art slighty by giving it my own logo. using new images for the monsters on the front of the card (borrowed from Aurora model kit boxes) and retyped all of the lettering (God I love Photoshop 5.0). I also made the blister with a top layer that is removable so he can easily be removed from the card. Pic 1 Pic 2 (card) Dr. Jekyll as Mister Hyde: With this monster, I tried to get the look of Frederic March in the 1931 version of the famous story by Robert Louis Stevenson. The suit jacket is from the Wizard of Oz, as are the shirt and vest. I sewed the balck pants onto the shirt and vest after discarding the striped pants and bow-tie. I sewed the watch fob to the front and made the red silk tie with a rhinestone for the jewel. The cape was sewn with a grey lining just to vary the color scheme of my monsters (and grey was a common color for lining an opera cape). The hands are pirated from an Imperial (ca. 1986) Wolf man figure. The head was originally a mego head. I cut the top of the head off, used Epoxy to resculpt the scalp. I then cut out the teeth and re-sculpted them. I then made the hair from brown faux shag fur which I glued to his head and cut short. A good paint job can hide alot. No one to date has correctly pegged the base head I used. Card art was once again made to mimic the AHI monster line. Pic 1 Pic 2 (card) Bride of Frankenstein Playset: This playset is simply a converted Aurora re-issue model set. It was made by Polar Lights (get it?) (a division of that great company, Playing Mantis). Sorry about the graininess of the photo. A photographer I am not (scanner boy, that's me). Instead of using the plastic brackets that come with the model set, I cut a few strips of leather and attached Velcro to them, and then attached them to the lab table as restraints. So now I can basically strap any monster to the table that I want. The Bride's head is straight from the kit and was given a Mego style neck using Epoxy putty. I wrapped bandages around her arms and sewed the gown that goes over her. Frankie is quite happy. Little does he know the disappointment he is soon in for.... Pic

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