Minimate Customs: New Gods

Jack Kirby made his name, and reputation, with his work at Marvel in the '60s.  But, personally, I've always preferred his later DC work, which is crazy and colorful and pure Kirby.  And the highlight from that period is undoubtedly the Fourth World Saga, which ran through Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, Mister Miracle, The Forever People, and the flagship New Gods.  DC has released some fairly lovely hardcovers collecting the whole Fourth World saga, and you should buy them.  Anyway, I've made some New Gods Minimates, so let's get to them!

These photos were taken with our IPad, because the family camera is broken.  They came out with a soft glow, like they were taken by an arty nude photographer.

Metron

Metron's probably my favorite of the group, because that decal was so hard to do, and I pulled it off pretty well, I think.  He's going to be my submission in the Best Decal category in the Minimate Multiverse Best Customs of 2012 contest, in fact.  Other then the decal, there's not much to him, just a dark blue Minimate.

Oh, and there's his chair, which is a '90s Professor X hoverchair painted lime green.  It's actually pretty on-model, which is nice.  He's also my submission for the Best Vehicle, Playset, or Accessory category, for which he has no shot.  But it's just an honor to be nominated!

Kalibak

Another favorite of mine, Kalibak the Cruel is my submission for Best Quick Custom this year.  He's one of those projects that popped into my head late one night, forcing me out of bed to put him together so that I could get some sleep (this happens to me distressingly often).  His chest comes from Mike Hagger,  his head from Old Man Logan, and his hair from an Atlantean Soldier.  I think the crotch cap came from the Blob, and the big hands and feet are most likely from X-Factor Beast.  I may yet tweak him, since I now have some extra thigh and upper arm covers, but I'm pretty happy with him as is.

Lightray

 
I'm going to blow through these guys pretty quickly, since this there's still five to go (sigh).  Lightray here has an Angel hairpiece, painted gold, and some spiffy gold wristbands and boots courtesy of AvX Cyclops.

Desaad

Not much to say here, as he's basically just Bride of Frankenstein's robe and the Spectre's hood painted magenta.  Next!

Kanto

One of the more obscure of the New Gods, but one for which I've always had a certain affinity.  Kanto only became possible recently, with the release of Rolento in the otherwise unuseful Street Fighter vs Tekken line, and the inclusion of the holy grail of Minimate hairpieces: the beret.  Believe me, I'll be snapping those up like crazy once they hit clearance prices!

Forager

Again, a somewhat minor New God for which I inexplicably like.  Kirby's designs for these guys were just crazy good.  I should note that this is classic Forager, as the character received a spiffy makeover (replacing all the white bits of his costume with black) courtesy of Batman and Mike Mignola in the pages of the great Cosmic Odyssey... before dying a heroes death.  Bummer.  Maybe I'll make a second custom of that outfit someday.  Anyway, this one's mostly decals and paint.

Lashina

Not gonna lie, Lashina here's pretty weak.  The picture I took isn't even in focus, and I didn't bother to take another one, that's how little I think of her.  This is an older custom, back before I was doing decals, and it shows.  Her chest was drawn with a silver paint marker, and is just another shining example of how I can't paint details to save my life.  I should really fix her.  Everything else comes from Black Bolt, if memory serves.

Orion

Last but not least, the son of Darkseid himself.  Orion is another older custom that actually went through quite a bit of modification before settling into the version you see here.  The main bits to know are that his helmet comes from the Stilt-Man, and his chest from AoA Magneto.  He's actually one of the few customs I've made where I've really bothered to think about his unmasked version, but I didn't snap a picture of that.  You'll just have to use your imagination.

So there you go.  The New Gods.  Here's another group shot, including the officially released Darkseid, and a couple customs I commishioned from my buddy Luke Porter, Mister Miracle and Big Barda.  The former I commishioned before I really knew what I was doing, and I now think I could pull off myself; the latter I knew I had no shot at, and I'm glad I got a master like Luke to do her right.  Oh, and all my decals are after the photo.  Enjoy!