Heroclix Sunday: Making Customs

Many's the DCU character that's been made into a Heroclix figure, despite obscurity. The Chef at the Themysciran Embassy; Roland Desmond; The Weird; Baby Doll; all made~

Many's the DCU character NOT made, however.  Depending on who it is I may just may (im)patiently, if it seems it's a character there will get around to.  But Heroclix has been around 20 years, so I no longer blindly sit in hope that they are still working on getting to get just the right dial for the Human Flame or Joe Coyne.  

The gods help those who help themselves, it's said, so if a character I covet doesn't have a Heroclix figure yet, I will often make one myself. 

Sometimes, it "backfires" and, right after I've gone to the trouble, effort, and expense of making a custom figure for a character (like Wonder Woman's brother, Jason), Wizkids will surprise me by coming out with their own:

Mine

Theirs.

Ah, well.  Usually, though, I am delighted when I create a custom figure. But how?  It's essentially a three-part process: 

1. finding (and acquiring) an appropriate dial to represent the character and its abilities;
2. creating (somehow) an appropriate sculpt to represent the character visually and putting on the chosen dial; and
3. creating a character card to describe the character (especially any special powers or traits, which are not explicated on the dials).

For example: The Wind Pirate (whom Wizkids will NOT be making any time in the foreseeable future, unless he's the villain in the next Aquaman movie), whom we met so memorably in the "Jean Loring's Brain" storyline.

The Wind Pirate's "powers" are the weather-controlling abilities from his Ditko-class spaceship, so I looked for an appropriate "Storm" dial; whenever possible I choose dials from Marvel figures so that the custom figure's dial doesn't duplicate and existing one in my (DC) Heroclix collection.

Sure enough, one was easy to find:

I won't bore you with all the specifics of what the colors etc. mean, but suffice it to say this Storm figure has some key abilities that I thought made it the best choice for representing the Wind Pirate.  Naturally, all Storm figures are going to have abilities to represent weather control. But this one also has the ability to carry several figures along with her (which captures the fact the Wind Pirate has a spaceship) and has a 'leadership' power (which captures the fact that WP is the captain of that spaceship).

Of course, there's no fun having the Wind Pirate on the game board without BOSUN by his side to take abuse, so I looked for a complementary 25 point dial that would make for a 100 point "Wind Pirate & Co." team (or segment of a larger team).  Oddly, I found it in the form of someone named "Lila Cheney":

She has no really aggressive attack powers, but she is designed to move far and carry a lot of other figures; putting Bosun on this dial basically represents the Wind Pirate's ship and crew.  That's perfect, since the Bosun the character has no powers (other than the ability to put up with abuse from his unrequited beloved).

As for creating a sculpt, I could have looked for some appropriately sized pirate figures, but... this is the Wind Pirate and Bosun we're talking about, here!  I felt they deserved something bespoke,  so I designed and ordered some figures from Heroforge.com. It's better for D&Dish figures than comic book characters, but it was all over "pirates".

I was happy to have been able to capture Bosun's "you do realize what we're doing is stupid right?" attitude with this design.  Since I made this figure, Heroforge added scarfs, so an updated version could actually have that jaunty orange neckerchief he's sporting in that panel.

He could use it to wipe away those tears of rejection.

With the dials and sculpts on the way, I used this site to design character cards for each of them:

Making up "flavorful" titles for their powers is the fun part; I'm fond of using appropriate quotes from the characters, if possible.  Usually, I bundle a whole bunch of such cards and get them printed professionally by the nice folks at Print & Play, but I could also just print them out on cardstock at home.

Some of the customs I've made with this process more recently have included:

Nuidis Vulko of Atlantis

Do NOT call him fat.

Aquaman foe The Eel

So stylish!

The Faceless Hunter

They all look alike to me.

and CW Arrow's Wild Dog

*SWOON*

Heroclix Sunday: The Mystery of Prof. Barnes

Prof. Barnes.

P R O F E S S O R   B A R N E S

Who IS Professor Barnes? Only Dennis Marks knew for sure, and it's too late to ask him.

Professor Barnes is a scientist, certainly. He works in a Vast Lab Complex outside Midway City.

I like to imagine that "Vast" is brandname, like "S.T.A.R.".

He has not only lab coat but a COLLARED LAB JACKET. That's the sign of a SERIOUS scientist.  He's not labcoat Aquaman.

He's Doctor Sivana.

He's not the pharmacy tech.  He's the actual PHARMACIST.

Is he merely Carter Hall's colleague? Or is there something more Carter Hall requires of him?

"I sure he would."
"And I'M sure he DOES!"

He knows Carter's secret identity as Hawkman, so clearly it's something more.

Hawkman is a man of needs. Strong ones. Sudden ones.

Is Prof. Barnes The Alfred?

"You may need to look at this, Carter."

Is Prof. Barnes The Commissioner Gordon?

"Well, you DEFINITELY need to look at this, Professor Barnes."

There is no Hawkgirl. So, in her absence, is Prof. Barnes The Vicki Vale?

"Oh, Carter! Did you import that one from Thanagar or buy it here...?"

I am not entirely certain what role he serves in the Filmationverse. But I know what role he must serve in Heroclix.  Like any vague scientist who backs up a superhero, Professor Barnes goes on a S.T.A.R. Labs Scientist dial.

S.T.A.R. Labs Scientist are potentially powerful but unreliable support figures in Heroclix; they work better in pairs, since whatever ability they temporarily gain is held by all of them at the same time, and since if you don't get the ability you want from the first one's roll, you can always try the second one's roll.  

Since no one else seems to work in the Vast Lab Complex (just Carter and Professor Barnes; alone; all day), I had to draw from other versions of Hawkman for a companion scientist: Mavis Trent.

Not the Marvel universe "Mavis Trent"; I refuse to comment on the absurdity that BOTH Marvel and DC have a character improbably named "Mavis Trent".  

I mean Mavis Trent of Midway Museum, the shameless hussy who constantly hit on Carter Hall, even though he was married and his wife was RIGHT THERE working in the museum with them.

Seen here trying to remember how to keep at least one strap up.

Hawkman isn't the only person with strong sudden needs.  

Mavis Trent made Vicki Vale look like a nun.  

This is from the time she decided to move in with Carter, like, the week after Shayera left him.  

But, although it wasn't much emphasized after her first few appearances. she was indeed a scientist, specifically a naturalist.  

Which may explain why she had such trouble keeping her clothes on.

Heroclix Sunday: The Pension Building

There's an exciting new set of Heroclix figures coming out this month in honor of the 80th Anniversary of Wonder Woman.  The figures are more detailed than ever (thanks to SCIENCE!), there's a neat new mechanic for empowering sidekicks, and lots of characters are being made for the first time (e.g., Angle Man, Ferdinand the Chef, and Wonder Woman's brother Jason). If you are new to Heroclix, there's even a Wonder Woman-themed starter set to help you learn.

In preparation, I created a new map of Washington DC indoor location: The Pension Building.

The exhibit rooms are empty so you can put object tokens in there for the characters to throw at each other.

Build in the 1880s, the Pension Building is an imposing building inside and out. 

It's monumental. Even for DC.

Even if you ignore the exhibits, the building itself is a thing to be seen.

Originally a government office, it's housed the National Building Museum since 1980.  I call it The Guy Museum, because male visitors who aren't keen on art or history still eat up exhibits on architecture, city planning, and building construction.  

Although it's too large to accurately represent on a Heroclix map, my scaled down version comes close (although it doesn't capture the second story).  The bespoke element is the rug which is a scanned version of the ACTUAL iconic rug at the museum (and I almost fell off the balcony!).  

The Pension Building is known for holding prestigious events, like the Presidential Inaugural Ball, in its Great Hall, or wacky large-scale interactive art projects:

The Beach

The Hive

The Maze

The Lawn

In fact, it was at the National Building Museum's indoor kite exhibition that I got the idea for the Flying Robot Zombie Shark of Christmas Future. But that's a story for another time.

Heroclix Sunday: CCPD HQ

Astonishingly, Heroclix is still going strong 19 years later (despite every single change, evolution, or improvement to the game being trumpeted by Gabriels of doom as "the end of Heroclix").  And there are lots of new rule and power changes that, frankly, were overdue and make it much easier to play (and which, of course, are being trumpeted as "the end of Heroclix", but aren't).

Making maps for the game (as alternatives to the officials ones, which are often not to my liking) is one of my hobbies, and I'd like to share one of my latest efforts:  Central City Police Headquarters (as seen on the CW show "The Flash").

The real one is 2ftx3ft.

The structure of the actual set on the CW show is hard to capture; properly the Squad Room (in the center) would be UNDER Barry's lab.  But 2D Heroclix maps aren't really designed for that, so on this map it's just walled terrain in front of Barry's Lab, which is up on the upper floor, accessed through the same sets of stairs we see on the show.

Ever wonder why CCPD has a two-story lobby that's NOT on the ground floor (as proven by the elevators)? Never quite figured that one out myself.  Central City likes it's grand Art Deco flair, I suppose.  Set designers love elevators because, unlike doors, they don't require having another set BEHIND them.

Most of the decor is standard but there are two bespoke elements: the CCPD logo used on the show and, at the very bottom, the bas relief wall hanging of JUSTICE that's on the show.

You know, this one, that the villains are always standing ironically in front of when they attack the Detective Division.

For obvious reasons, I start Team Flash figures at the north end of the map at the windows of Barry's Lab (assuming there's no thunderstorm, of course), and the villains in the elevators (although I like to force them to move in front of the JUSTICE mural before they are allowed to attack, because presentation is important).

In memoriam: Dale Roberts

Dale Roberts, a devoted DC comics fan and longtime reader and commenter here at the Absorbascon, passed away this week after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.  

Dale was a huge fan of obscure, even one-time characters from the Golden and Silver Ages of DC, a love he often expressed through his sterling work making custom Heroclix figures.  Even if you just look at the work he's done for me over the last ten years, it's amazing.

Joe Coyne the Penny Plunder

The Rainbow Raider

Dr. Domino and his Dominominions

Silken Spider, Tiger Moth, and Dragon Fly

Jimmy Olsen

Prof Radium

Vibe (regular AND breakdance fighting versions)

The Human Flying Fish and Sardine

Argus

Cal Durham

Hal Jordan with Space Owl Head-Hitting Action

The Sportsmaster and Huntress/Tigress

The Human Flame

 plus Sonar; the Blue Snowman; Paula Von Gunther; Dr. Poison; Eviless; Hypnota; Queen Clea; Zara, Priestess of the Crimson Flame; the Ocean Master, Max Mercury; Black Hand; Dr. Polaris; Angle Man; Etta Candy and the Holliday Girls, Golden Age Two-Face, Ace The Bathound, the Cavalier, Golden Age Clayface, Joker goons, Penguin goons, Two-Face goons, Catwoman goons, Riddler goons, King Tut goons, Hugo Strange, the Weeper,  Aquagirl; Koryak; the Fadeaway Man; the Crime Doctor; Rocky Grimes; the Prankster; the Octopus, Admiral Trafalgo, Seawolf, Nereus, Mephisto the Sea Satan, Scavenger, The Fisherman, the Sea Devils, the Shark, the Eel, Blackjack the Pirate, Vulko, Storm and Imp, Neptune Perkins; Black Condor; Northwind; Torpedo, Magneto, and Claw; Bullseye the Clown; Giant Turtle Boy, Iris West; and probably about 30 more that I can't even remember off the top of my head.  And that was just for me; Dale had many other loyal customers, too.

Dale's dedication to helping OTHERS enjoy comics as much as he did was unflagging and unstinting and his joy in doing so was effusive and palpable.  Dale's life was about making others happy and his spirit will be missed.