Space Ranger Spaceship

I like to have accessories to go with my action figures. You know, things like cars, airplanes, power boats and - oh yes - spaceships. I had done a figure of the DC character from the late 1950's/early 1960's named Space Ranger and had wanted a spaceship to go with him. I liked the attached design, a sort of aerodynamic spaceship with wings, but hadn't found a similar ship anywhere until recently. Again I found it on Shapeways and painted it similarly to the Space Ranger version. Now, the question is, have I ever posted the Space Ranger figure? I don't think so. Stay tuned.

Zeppelin Tales

It's nice to know that I can still learn about things that I already thought I knew about. You see, I always thought Zeppelins were painted silvery, which was what some of the famous ones like Hindenburg and the Akron and Macon were. So when Shapeways (I've posted about them previously) offered a German World War I Zeppelin called L48 in 1:2400 scale I thought it would be great to have one - or maybe a few. So I ordered it and then I did a little research and turns out the WWI Zeppelins were not painted silver. Early war versions were more often than not a canvas color, sometimes with camouflage schemes, but the late war versions were typically painted black on the bottoms. Apparently the black didn't show up very well in searchlights, which is why nightfighters of WWII were also painted black. L48 and some of its sisters were black with a blue or gray section on top. So when I got my L48 I painted it accordingly. Actually I think it's a lot better than silver. I may try some of the other versions later.... Stay tuned.

Uli Algor

Uli Algor?? You're probably scratching your head and wondering who the heck is Uli Algor?? Well, she's a crook who hasn't been born yet. She's a crook in the 30th Century who was imprisoned but the jailers thought their advanced rehabilitation methods had reformed her. Well, it's nice to know they aren't any better at that then they are now. Uli has a grudge against the Legion and sets up a series of confrontations with them and knocks them all out until, of course, she presses her luck and they defeat her. Once again, the criminals never learn, just like the jailers never do. Uli had a belt which could make the Legionaire's powers backfire and go awry. I rather liked the look of her and I just happened to have a Black Widow head, which I thought would fit quite nicely on a spare Psylocke body. It was actually a fairly complicated paint job but I'm pleased with the end result. I'm really not sure if Uli ever made another appearance but I liked the look of her even if she was a one-shot villainess.

Disguised Legionaires

The picture is from Superboy starring the Legion of Superheroes No. 203 from July-August 1974 and shows four costumed figures with numbers on their chests, three male and one female, breaking into the headquarters of the Legion. As it turns out they are actually members of the Legion testing the defenses of their headquarters. It is revealed that they are, by the numbers: I is Karate Kid, II is Element Lad, III is Phantom Girl and IV is Lightning Lad. When I was making them I used Secret Wars figures for the males, with Spiderman for I, Wolverine with a Captain America head for II, and Daredevil for IV while I used a Happy Meal Catwoman for III. I painted their chests white, traced out the number and painted the rest of them black. This was the only comic I'm aware of that they appeared this way. I like those one-off opportunities.

Karate Kid

Val Armorr was born to a super-villain called the Black Dragon, but ended up being raised by someone called Sensei, who defeated his dad. Val was trained in every martial art known to man - or to Sensei at any rate - and mastered them all. By the time he was a teenager he decided to apply his fighting skills for good and applied to the Legion of Superheroes for membership as the Karate Kid. Despite the fact that he really didn't have any super powers he was accepted at the same time the girl who called herself Projectra also joined. They developed a relationship but she was royalty from the Planet Orando and her dad the king didn't think too much of her prospective suitor. Karate Kid went on a quest to prove himself, even spending some time in the 20th Century. When the king died and Projectra became queen they were married and left the Legion to rule Orando. The Legion of Super Villains moved in to take over the planet but were defeated by the Hero Legion. In the battle Karate Kid sacrificed his life and Projectra was left a widow. I used a Marvel Secret Wars Captain America for the body and a head from a sports figure (I think). I used plastic sheet for the collar and some T-shirt material for the belt.

Crimson Avenger and Wing

In my last post I featured the original appearance of the DC Comics hero the Crimson Avenger, who started life as a pulp-style character. As the superhero craze really caught on in comics the Avenger morphed into more of the style of the times and drug his side-kick Wing along with him. Wing had come from the Hankow area of China, which was by 1938 overrun by the Japanese. Wing, who, like a lot of side-kicks of the period, used the same name in both his civilian and costumed identities, sensitized his employer to the problems in China. Crimson and his side-kick Wing were active in various groups during the period leading up to and during the war, including the Law's Legionnaires, the All-Star Squadron and the Seven Soldiers of Victory. The picture shows the pair in their superhero style costumes. For the Avenger I used the body and head from a Toy Biz Daredevil, the legs from a Silver Surfer and the arms from a Superman. Wing was created using the body, arms and head from a Marvel Secret Wars Captain America and the legs from a Toy Biz Robin figure. The top-knots were cut from plastic sheet.

Crimson Avenger

Lee Travis was the young, crusading publisher of the Globe-Leader newspaper in a big metropolitan American city. As with so many overachievers, especially in comics, one full-time job is never enough, so Lee decides to adopt a costumed identity as the Crimson Avenger. One of the origin stories goes that he's attending a charity costume party one night when it's held up by a bunch of crooks. Lee is dressed like some kind of highway-man and, taking his costumed role to heart, pursues the crooks along with his valet and driver, an Asian named Wing. They take out the bad guys and Lee decides to continue his costumed activities as the Crimson Avenger. If this all sounds a lot like the Green Hornet and Kato you shouldn't be surprised. Crimson was sort of DC Comics answer to the Hornet and Kato. Since he first appeared in 1938 it was more reasonable for his creators to be inspired by pulp characters. Later the Avenger and Wing would get caught up in the superhero craze, but that's a story for a future post. I did the Crimson Avenger using the body from a Two-Face figure and the head from a Playmates Star Trek Dixon Hill. Then I fashioned a cloak of T-shirt material, with slits in the sleeves for his arms. Two-Face already had a weapon in one hand and I put a second one in the other so Crimson can really come out blazing away.