Batman v Superman Knightmare Batman LEGO Custom Minifigure

Regardless of your feelings towards the Batman v Superman movie, I doubt anyone will argue that the nightmare/premonition sequence Desert Storm Batman has become an instant icon, and will be with us for decades to come in toys, Halloween costumes, cosplay etc etc.

So naturally I had to make a minifigure of him using LEGO and BootLEGO parts!

Honestly, making a Knightmare Batman wouldn't have even crossed my mind had I not recently gotten a BootLEGO Gambit. And I didn't even set out to own a BootLEGO Gambit; he came in a lot with a New52 Teen Titans Red Robin AND he came with an extra overcoat piece. After seeing Batman v Superman it dawned (of Justice) on me to use that overcoat piece on a modern LEGO Batman minifigure. Along with brown arms, tan legs, and a pair of goggles perched precariously on his cowl, I now have a Knightmare Batman minifigure!

The Claw Hand-Painted M.U.S.C.L.E. Figurine

I was barely paying any attention to a vendor's wares at the flea market recently, when a M.U.S.C.L.E. figure caught my eye. It LOOKED like an extra fancy M.U.S.C.L.E., like more of a keychain piece or something, not like a standard single color M.U.S.C.L.E. at all. I picked it up and noticed there were a couple more, and then I noticed they were original M.U.S.C.L.E. figures that had been hand-painted (and a damn fine job of it too!)

I was impressed, but not overly excited as I am not too crazy for M.U.S.C.L.E. figures these days. However I did dig through the pile (which also included hand-painted RPG figures) just in case somethign was extra special. Well, something in the pile WAS extra special:

The CLAAAAAWWWWWWWW!

If you collected M.U.S.C.L.E.back in the eighties, The Claw was either your favorite or in your top 5. I had an original pink Claw back in the day and always regretted getting rid of him when I got rid of all my M.U.S.C.L.E. collection. A few years back I found a green example at the flea market and he has held a spot of reverence in my collection ever since.

This hand-painted (no pun intended) example of The Claw is a thing of beauty. He was once an original pink (I at first thought about trying to remove the paint, then I realized what a great job the artists did and will be keeping him like this!) He has some points of wear but the pink showing through only serves to look like actual wrinkles or scars, so it isn't an issue.

The vendor had four or five of them and honestly I should have grabbed them all, but most were painted examples of figures I already have or could care less about, and a couple were worn from having been poorly stored and transported. But he only wanted a quarter each (ZOMG!!!) and in my ecstasy over finding The Claw (for a quarter!) I sort of glazed over and didn't think about how cool it would have been to have all of them. Oh well, maybe I'll find the guy again in the future and buy up the rest.

In the meantime I have The Claw and this guy,,,with claws. Not sure of his name but he was just too cool looking with this custom paint job to pass up. Whoever painted these guys knew what he was doing, at least until he somehow lost track of them and they ended up at the flea market for a quarter.

LEGO MOC Justice Society of America

I was thinking about The Spectre today, probably because of the new James Bond movie, and it dawned on me that I probably had (between all the LEGO and bootlego pieces I have lying around) enough bits and bobs to make an honest to goodness Spectre minifigure.

I returned home from work (because those are the thoughts I have when I am bored at work) and busted out my stash...and as it turns out I was right!

I've posted about my MOC Jay Garrick Flash and my Sandman minfigures before. As for Spectre, I pieced him together from a bootlego Green Arrow hood, a bootlego Loki cape, a LEGO ghost torso and arms, random white legs, a LEGO Toy Story army man's green hands, a random LEGO green crotch, and a LEGO Ninjago skull.

I love The Spectre, and can't believe it took me this long to piece a LEGO version together!

Ghost Rider LEGO minifigure MOC.

I pieced together this MOC Ghost Rider LEGO minifigure from parts and pieces we have lying around.

I'm not sure if there's a way to make the motorcycle tires flamey, but it would be perfect if LEGO made orange tires. All I have is a basic motorcycle for Ghost Rider to ride upon whilst doling out justice.

Penance Stare!

Ghost Rider in: Jurrasic Parking.

Playmobil Catwoman 2.0

Until the official unofficial Playmobil Catwoman comes out in Fi?ures Series 9 I have to be content with my custom Playmobil Catwoman creations. But never content, I had to update my Catwoman from her previous version to this new version upon obtaining a few new pieces I borrowed from the Fi?ures Series 8 burgler.

I changed out her hair with a piece which (along with her legs) came from Aeon Flux. Her torso is from Lara Croft, and her head is the same as the one that came with the burgler (although this one came from a previous release - some sort of space superhero somesuch. I don't remember, but I try to nab domino masked Playmobil headed figures whenever I can for my Harley Quinn customs, which is why I nabbed this one) and I gave her the burgler's jacket and bag of stolen goods/robber tools. I also gave her the lasso from a recent Cowgirl to emulate her whip. Not sure which random figure the arms or gloves come from, but who can keep track anyways?

Although I still haven't solved the riddle of how to give her cat-ears, I haven't really given it much effort either. I'm sure construction paper or something like that would work just fine if I tried. As it stands, she's a solid kitbash custom, and with the addition of the official Catwoman mask when it's released along with Series 9 (painted black of course) she'll be phenomenal!

Playmobil Housewife Harley Quinn :: Harley Qwednesday

"Time for walksies, baby!"

It may not be politically correct to call this simple custom Playmobil figure 'Housewife Harley' but I think it's funny, and I'm pretty sure Harley would appreciate the irony. 'Fifties Harley' also comes to mind but it doesn't carry the same weight. I can totally see Harley trying (and failing) to fetishize the 'domestic goddess' concept in order to impress Joker and this figure really captures that vibe.

It's taken me quite some time, but I finally got the polkadot dressed Playmobil Fi?ures Series 6 figure thanks to Alex at ShesFantastic.com. Ever since my local Playmobil resource, a neat little educational toy store, closed it's doors, I have not had half the luck I used to in getting the Fi?ures I want and need for my collection. Sadface!

Housewife Harley is the simplest of customs, just add Series 1 Geisha head and voila! (Not so) Fun Fact: I've now officially run out of Series 1 Geisha heads. More sadface! I can of course pop these figures apart and back together at a whim, but I'm pretty proud of Hip-Hop Harley, Officer Harley and now Housewife Harley, so my next concept is going to have to be pretty darn clever for me to take any of those gals apart!

Although the clothes are completely different, this is definitely the vibe I am going for with this version of Harley Quinn.

I do have two Playmobil Hyena (Bud and Lou, natch) but I only have one Playmobil leash. So for now Harley will just have to take them for a walk one at a time.

Playmobil Blackbeard's Ghost

This is a pretty light custom. Basically I just gave this ghost pirate a sweet beard to make him into Blackbeard's ghost.

Playmobil makes the wackiest stuff. Get a load of that beard with little bows in it. How cool is that?

As if everything about this guy wasn't cool enough, he also glows in the dark. Aw yeah Playmobil!

Playmobil Michonne From The Walking Dead

One of my personal favorite Playmobil custom figures I've put together is Michonne from The Walking Dead. Using a hair piece from a Fi?ures Series 6 pirate and the rest of the parts from a Series 6 zookeeper, I think the likeness is pretty good for a Playmobil custom.

Sadly I don't yet have a Playmobil katana. So in it's place I have been forced to use a pirate cutlass.

Someday I'll track down a legit katana. Until then Michonne will have to fend off the Walking Playmobil Dead with whatever we have on hand.

Playmobil Wolverine

When I found a set of Playmobil mutton chops in my Playmobil acquisitions, my first thought was of course 'I need to make a Playmobile Wolverine!'

Or at least an unmasked Wolverine aka Logan.

So I did, and it was cool, but THEN I learned that Playmobil actually makes Wolverine claws!!!

I think they are supposed to be a ninja or samurai accessory...but WOLVERINE CLAWS!!!!

So I got my hands on some and now I have an unmasked Wolverine Playmobil figure - with claws.

"I'm the best at what I do, and what I do is provide hours of imaginative playtime fun for the under-ten set."

SNIKT!

Of course I had to do an unmasked Logan, since there's nothing in the Playmobil repertoire that even resembles a Wolverine mask, but I tried to mix together clothing colors reminiscent of Wolverine's costume colors as best I could.

If I had the wherewithal, I would 3D print custom superhero masks and other accessories for Playmobil figures. I'm surprised no one is doing so already.

Playmobil Warrior Nun and Battle Angel

Playmobil's blind bagged 'Fi?ures' series ship to my area incredibly inconsistently. It can be frustrating when there is one specific figure I want for a custom, but can never find because the shelves are either bare or full of a different wave, or the wave I need has been skipped over entirely by the lone location I can find them nowadays.

But sometimes that lack of exactly what I want leads to innovation. Case in point, this Playmobil custom I cobbled together inspired by that incredibly ridiculous nineties comic creation: Warrior Nun Areala.

One of the figures in the Playmobil Fi?ures Series 7 blind bags is a Nun. I don't care if you are a religious person or not: you've got to hand it to Playmobil for making a Nun! Including a Nun in their blind bagged series is the perfect blending of 'ok, that makes sense' and 'wtf!' that Playmobil is famous for. I promise you LEGO will never make a Nun minifigure!

Regardless, I didn't really need a Nun, but I figured since it had been so long since I had copped a feel on the Playmobil blind bags that I might as well see if I can find one. Because: Nun. If nothing else I could stick a geisha head on her to make Sister Mary Harley of the Eternal Order of Chaos or something.

Then I got her home and it dawned on me: Warrior Nun! I have plenty of Knight components in my Playmobil bag, so a Warrior Nun is a unique and easy custom to cobble together. I added some armored Knight legs, a couple wrist guards reminiscent of Areala's leather and metal gloves, a sword, a belt/scabbard, and a chainmail headpiece. Then I gave her a sweet sword and a mean shield (which still needs a cross decal or painted on or something.)

THEN I remembered the Playmobil Angel from Series 4 that I picked up a few months back. Every good Knight needs a Squire, right?

Battle Angel! I just gave the Angel figure a helmet, a different hairpiece (she's a ginger now, so she's probably an angel of Nordic lineage. Also if she's a ginger and an angel perhaps gingers do have souls after all, but don't take my word for it. I'm no theologian.), a wooden shield and a brutal battle axe.

"We came to kick ass and sing hymnals, and we're all out of hymnals."

Although there are still many Playmobil figures I am searching for (and may never find due to the poor local distribution) I am very glad I decided to hunt down the Nun figure. Warrior Nun is one of my proudest Playmobil customs thus far. The concept is so utterly ridiculous, and the dichotomy of the concept in Playmobil form just makes me smile!

Oh yeah, and Battle Angel is cool too!

TMNT Rocksteady Custom LEGO Minifigure

The LEGO Chima series Rhinocerous heads are just screaming to be made into TMNT Rocksteady custom minifigures. So I tracked one down and did exactly that.

I used the cowboy torso from one of the blind bagged series releases, and some random khaki pants. The gun is from a bootleg military minifigure, and I slapped together a sewer lid 'shield' to complete the OG effect.

Rocksteady, Wingnut and Panda Khan minifigures. Now all LEGO needs to do is release a warthog with a mohawk headpiece!

Police Officer Harley Quinn Playmobil Custom

When Harley Quinn first burst onto the scene in Batman: The Animated Series, one of her most memorable premier moments was of her dressed as a police officer in order to wheel a cake into police headquarters filled with Joker stuffing.

So when I learned Playmobil was releasing a female police officer in their Fi?ures Series 5 line-up, I knew exactly what I had to do!

Unfortunately I've been suffering from a long term Playmobil drought locally. The educational store I used to acquire my Playmobil fix from closed recently, and Toys R Us is painfully unreliable. For instance: they just got in a glut of old Series 4 Fi?ures, then suddenly they got a shipment of Series 7! No sign of Series 5 or 6, both of which contain figures I am actively seeking. Sigh.

Anyways, thanks to fellow blogger and toy collector Dex of AEIOU and Sometimes Why I did get my hands on the Series 5 Police Woman Fi?ure, which I promptly transformed into Police Woman Harley Quinn. I already had a Playmobil police motorcycle on hand, so they two were brought together as destiny ordained.

The Playmobil Fi?ures Series 5 Police Woman comes with handcuffs, a handgun, and a billy-club. I changed out her head piece for the Geisha head I use for my go-to Harley Quinn head, and replaced the hair as well to more accurately represent Harley's cartoon cop-girl appearance.

In her original animated police-woman appearance, Harley sported a skirt, so this isn't as screen-accurate as it could be. but hey, where else are you going to be able to find a Police-woman Harley Quinn action figure? I just wish Playmobil made it easy to buy parts; if I could get my hands on a bucket of those Geisha heads I'd make these kinds of customs all day long!

Zoinks! LEGO / KRE-O Zombies! :: Countdown to Halloween 2014

When the Kre-o Cityville blind bags were clearanced at Target a few months back I picked up a handful, knowing the accessories were compatible with LEGO. Bonus: their heads are too!

So I slapped a few onto LEGO minifigure bodies and voila! A trio of zombies yearning to eat your braaaaiiinnnssss!

Double Bonus: the two heads on the right glow in the dark!

Squeal Like a Pig! LEGO Professor Pyg Minifigure :: Countdown to Halloween 2014

Ever since the 'Guy in a Pig Suit' LEGO minifigure was announced as part of the latest blind bag wave, I knew I had to get one in order to make a custom LEGO Professor Pyg minifigure!

Professor Pyg is a complete and utter disturbed psychotic (created by my favorite comic book author Grant Morrison) who does all sorts of chemical and physical experiments on the innocents of Gotham City - until Batman intervenes of course.

In most of his appearances, he's just a guy in a butcher's apron and a pig mask. Wielding sharp things. I had my LEGO Butcher minifigure from many waves back set aside awaiting the pig mask, as well as a couple instruments of torture: a skill-saw and a syringe! The only other modifications made are the red hands (gloves? blood?) and the black head so you can't see Professor Pyg's face. I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure we've never seen Professor Pyg's face in the comics. Making him all the more horrific.

I don't know what it is about a butcher in a pig mask, but it paints a pretty horrific image. I suppose it's the fear of revenge for all those bacon burgers that hits the human condition right in it's heart!
 
I found the newest wave of LEGO blind bagged minifigures at Toys R Us last week, and have been enjoying my completed Professor Pyg ever since. Thankfully for the rest of my minifigures, I have a LEGO Batman to keep him in line!

Unmasked! LEGO Spider-Man :: Countdown to Halloween 2014

Having used the head of a DeCool Bootleg LEGO Spider-Man to make a custom Scarlet Spider, I decided to put together an unmasked Spider-Man with the body and a spare head and hair piece from my vast stores of LEGO pieces.

Very Dr. Frankenstein of me!