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DARKLORD1967

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About DARKLORD1967

  • Birthday 08/06/1967

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  • Country
    United States
  • eBay ID
    darklord1967

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Brooklyn, NY
  • Interests
    Batman, STAR WARS, Toy Collecting, Singing, Reading

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  1. Fellow MEGO fans, collectors, and customizers, I proudly present THE BATMAN: Masked Manhunter of Gotham City from 9Art Custom Creations! The Dark Knight (and several of his friends... and arch enemies) will be displayed at MEGO MEET '17 to be viewed up close and personal! This 1:9 scale Custom Caped Crusader stands 8- 3/8" tall. He comes in a custom window box, and features a removable cowl, 27 points of articulation, Bat-A-Rang, Batrope, 9Art Certificate of Authenticity, and Character File Card!
  2. Laid out some temporary sticker eyes for The Batman to establish size, shape, and placement. Here is the nearly compete Batman figure standing beside my pending custom 9Art Robin The Boy Wonder figure
  3. Using the same black pleather material, I fashioned The Batman's massive scalloped bat-winged cape from a pattern I devised. I then temporarily placed the leathery bat-cape on the figure to check all colors and textures, and to make sure everything worked cohesively together. I also wanted to ensure appropriate harmony between the removable cowl and the cape. At this stage, there were still some key details still pending on this custom figure (uniform flesh colored air brushing of face and body, lenses on the bat cowl, bat-gauntlets, final machine-sewn grey bodysuit, etc). But for the most part, I was okay with how the figure was progressing.
  4. At this stage, it was a relatively simple matter to stitch together some grey milliskin stretch tights, and a pair of black pleather shorts. I next turned my attention to completing the final bat-boots for this custom figure. I preferred to create boots that are removable (like the original MEGO boots). However, I also wanted the boots to be flexible (unlike rigid MEGO plastic boots) in order to preserve the ankle articulation of the figure. To accomplish this, my strategy was to select an existing boot sculpt that has a foot portion that I find appropriate for the character, and then I re-create the shin extension of the boot in pleather fabric. I give the shin extension a laminated backing of very thin plastic sheet to give the boot its form.
  5. Update: I had cause to completely re-fabricate and upgrade the utility belt for my custom Batman action figure. To my eyes, my first belt attempt simply did not have the “hefty” look I wanted it to have. I believe the reason for this was the lack of adequate size of the (Hasbro-based) belt buckle that I originally used. As I mentioned before, I am of the belief that The Batman's utility belt (specifically his large belt buckle) simply does not get adequate attention when created for production and custom action figures. The utility belt (and the big buckle) is the all- important visual center balance on any Batman figure, as far as I am concerned. It is one of perhaps 3 major visual focal points on the figure, so it has to be right. The belt design and execution determines the mood and aura of the final Batman figure... It's level of professionalism, elegance, and presentation. also, when re-visiting construction of The Batman's utility belt, I discovered a simulated leather textured yellow ribbon strip that would serve to make a much more convincing belt strap than the one I originally created. Since I determined that MEGO's approach to Batman utility belts tended to be a bit under-sized, I decided that a belt buckle in a slightly larger scale than 1/9 would appear more suitably prominent on my custom figure. I wanted a buckle that was slightly wider than the width of the belt strap, (unlike my first attempt where the buckle and strap had the same width measurement). I liked the classic traditional styling (and the size) of the Mego Magnetic Batman belt buckle, but I could not locate one for an affordable price on ebay. There was another problem too: Original MEGO Magnetic Batman utility belts (even if I did manage to locate an inexpensive one) would likely still be unsuitable for my needs since MEGO's rubbery plastics tend to not accept paint very well. After a search through the MEGO customizing community, I was fortunate enough to have Paul "Doctor Mego" Clarke sell me a resin re-cast of the belt. Unfortunately, the buckle on this re-cast was a little bit warped and useless for my needs. In the end, I used the resin casting as a reference to scratch-build my own razor sharp and straight buckle with styrene sheet and strip.
  6. Here is a size comparison of the 9Art "Athletic Boy Hero" body (developed for Dick Grayson / Robin The Boy Wonder) with the 9Art "Heroic Adult Male" body (developed for Bruce Wayne / The Batman)
  7. Simultaneously while doing this work, I was developing my own 1:9 scale character body archetypes in order to crate these characters of Gotham City. He went through many incarnations... many different experimental body part combinations. But this is the final Bruce Wayne "heroic male" base body that I have developed for my 9Art custom action figures: STATS: Height:. 8.25" tall (nude) translates to a real life man of 6'2" in height in true 1:9 scale. Construction: Tight, solid, All ball-joint construction (no outdated bungee circuit tension assembly) makes for superior posing integrity and standng stability. 29 points of articulation provide endless options for posing. Torso and all limbs on this figure are solid (not hollow) resulting in a hefty, weighted figure of increased density. Careful attention to proper body proportions makes for a figure of remarkable anatomical accuracy.
  8. With the buckle secured firmly to the band's hold out area with super glue, I next began to carefully map out the positioning of the utility vials by mathematically dividing the length of the band by the 12 vials I planned to attach. That gave me the exact spacing between them. Using my handy digital caliper measuring tool (no customizer should be without one!), I lightly penciled out where the vials should be attached on the belt. Finally, one by one, I permanently attached my pre-painted vials to the band.
  9. Next came the selection of the all-important belt buckle. Again, my preference was for The Batman's "Bronze Age" rectangular buckle with raised borders and large side latch. Hasbro's 9 inch Batman action figure (released in the early 2000's, I believe), provided me with what I wanted in terms of this buckle. Of course, in order to make the buckle compatible with the custom Bat Utility Belt I was fabricating, I would need to paint it in the same deep golden yellow as the rest of the belt. After carefully cutting the buckle off the Hasbro belt, I built up several layers of air brushed white primer... ... and several layers of golden yellow gloss...
  10. ...and then used an X-Acto blade to cut the fabric from the buckle and fastening hold-out areas. I laid golden yellow satin ribbon the the backside of the band to finish off the fabric work.
  11. With the back of the band carefully sprayed with more adhesive, the fold-over flaps were tacked down. I cleanly trimmed the ends...
  12. I pressed the fabric onto the band firmly through a clean plastic sheet (minimal contact of the fabric with human fingers is highly recommended to keep it looking cleanly pristine. I flipped the band over to its backside, and mapped out the trim areas for fold-over on the fabric... ... and carefully cut them.
  13. I next turned my attention to the utility belt's BAND being sure to fashion it to be slightly wider than MEGO's belt (which I always considered to be too narrow for The Batman). I began with a flexible styrene strip in the appropriate width cut to an appropriate length... I very carefully mapped out and masked off the ends of the belt band to create a clean hold-out area for the belt buckle and its fastening point. I sprayed the band with 3M adhesive and let it set tacky... ... and then I carefully draped the golden yellow silk fabric over the very sticky band.
  14. Using hobby Styrene Rods... ... I cut twelve equal lengths to serve as the Utility Belt's vials... I rounded the ends of each vial by hand with sandpaper and then primered and spray painted them all with golden yellow paint.
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