Marvel Reborn: X-Misc

Customs by

Luke Thompson

e-mail

itiscertain@hotmail.com

Web Address

none

Recipes:

X-Factor Sabretooth	Dazzler	Cannonball

X-Factor Sabretooth: With virtually every member of X-Factor having their own figure, something had to be done about Sabretooth. None of his figures matched the costume he wore when he was part of that team. The Ninja Sabretooth mold was closest, and with a good blue repaint, it's even better. This was actually a reissue of the Ninja mold; I thought the white boots went better with the blue.

Dazzler: With all the X-Men characters that got released over the run of Toy Biz's X-Men line, I find it very difficult to believe that the only Dazzler figure was an exclusive She-Force figure, in her silver disco suit with Jubilee's rollerblades as accessories. Really now, what did her fans do to deserve something like that? She only had that costume for a short time, but my figure is meant to show off her blue bodysuit with accompanying leather jacket, which was much better looking, and which she had for well over a decade. It's made from the first Rogue figure, with a right hand from Wild Thing (who was a remolded Deathbird). I think it looks much better than the actual Dazzler figure, and works great in most X-Men lineups. At the very least, I can stand her next to Longshot without imagining him wanting to uncontrollably cringe.

Cannonball: Pink costume, purple costume... who cares?! Cannonball is one ugly figure in any color! When I finally got my hands on one, I couldn't believe how hideous he was. I had to do something about it, and even though this still isn't ideal, it's a step up. Cannonball looks much better in the classic gold and blue.

Siryn	Feryl

Siryn: Like I said before, it's an injustice that X-Force didn't have more females. With the first Storm figure being issued about a dozen times, it was a virtual given that I'd end up with a few extra ones. I'm not entirely happy with this repaint, but it does make me wonder- why, in all the times this figure was released, was it never attempted to pass it off as another Marvel female? They had no problem doing that with all the other female molds. Of course, the repaint does sometimes show off how much the Storm mold looks like some sort of blow-up doll...
Siryn is a completely repainted Storm 1, most likely the silver one.

Feryl: The only female 'X-Forcer' that the X-Force line actually produced was Domino. In my mind, this is a great injustice, as the comic had some visually interesting female characters. Feryl was eventually made as an exclusive, but I took a good look at it and realized I could make virtually the same thing with the spare parts I had lying around, so I did. I think I actually improved on the design.
Feryl's arms and legs are Black Cat's, while her torso, head, and outfit are from Deathbird. Her tail is a hose from a Spawn figure.

M	Husk	Refrax

M: By far the member of Generation X who most deserved a figure and didn't get one, Ms. St Croix is highlighted in a sort of tribute to the costume she wore toward the end of the Gen-X run, but without those silly tails. The hair could have used a little work, but hey, it's still more effort then Toy Biz put into making a figure of her.
M used to be a Rogue figure from the X-Men movie line. With the right paint job, it's actually a little scary how close her costume is to M's.

Husk: One of my favorite characters in the Generation X comic, I made this custom over a year before I ever heard that there was a canceled third Gen-X wave that would have included her. It was several months more before I found a picture. Previously, I had wondered if I should have made her costume more 'traditional', but it turns out the prototype's costume looks eerily similar to my figure. Her hairstyle isn't correct, but since I was going for a 'mid-husk' look, I think it works. I'll probably add some black highlights to add to that effect.
Husk was a Wild Thing figure, with a Mutant X Goblin Queen head. She has been augmented with a right hand from Witchblade. Her collar and zipper were once a belt from Bloodstorm, if I recall correctly.

Refrax: "Who?" If you didn't ask that, congratulations- you're as big a geek as I am. For those who did ask, there was a Generation X TV-movie years back. It was junk, but some (like myself) thought it was at least a good try at being entertaining. Frankly, it's probably one of the best superhero TV-movies ever made, but that's not saying much.
Anywhoo, Refrax was a character in the TV-movie. Pending the success of said movie, he and the other character introduced (a superstrong girl named Buff) were possibilities to be introduced into the comic. When the movie was not a hit, not a flop, but barely even a blip, it was quickly buried and forgotten, along with the new characters.
I, however, forget virtually nothing, especially if it has to do with comics and toys. I imagine that with Refrax's powers being similar to Cyclops', he would have been taken under wing, but with his attitude being similar to Iceman, it would have been quite the experience for both of them.
Refrax is a repainted Battle Blasters Cyclops, who was a remolded Meanstreak. I figured if the 'Biz is going to give us a Cyclops that looks like a teenager, I may as well make him into one. I like the way he turned out, and I think it does make sense- if Refrax had Cyclops as a mentor, it only makes sense that there would be a similarity or two, like the visor.

Douglock	Phoenix (Rachel Summers)	Hepzibah

Douglock: I'll be honest: I was never a big fan of Excalibur, and didn't miss it when the book was canceled. I especially wasn't fond of Douglock. However, I was on a custom addiction, and a friend caught me at the right time and said "Hey, how about fleshing out Excalibur for me?" So I came to find myself making a Rachel Summers Phoenix, Douglock, and Cerise. Shortly after, he turned around and sold me his entire collection, including customs. I decided to keep the first two, and recycled Cerise (she was only a modified and repainted Deathbird anyway). I took advantage of the fact that Douglock's a shapeshifter and a Phalanx, never appearing the same way twice. Even so, for not really liking the character, I do like how his figure turned out.
This one started out as one of the myriad animated Batman figures, topped off with a Robin head. His neck could use a little more work, but it'll have to wait until I care enough (or I'm just plain bored enough) to play with it.

Phoenix: Rachel Summers never received enough respect in the comics. She has abilities rivaling Jean Grey at her peak, augmented by Phoenix 'residue'- and yet she spent 149 issues of Excalibur getting her butt handed to her much more often than not. She could have been a strong, important character to the Marvel Universe if used correctly, instead she's a footnote. I made this custom for a friend, who promptly gave it back when he sold his collection to me. I like the way the body looks- I'm not as thrilled about how the head looks, but there isn't a lot of selection in her hairstyle, and I lack the motivation to make my own.
Phoenix was a Vindicator figure, with a head from Impa (Legend of Zelda). On a side note, the 'studs' on her outfit were never set down. While looking for reference, I saw about 5 different patterns, ranging from spots, to studs, to spikes. Weird things you note while you make a custom figure...

Hepzibah: I've always had a thing for the Starjammers, and I'm not sure why. I do know that I thought it just plain silly that of the four 'classic' members (Corsair, Raza, Ch'od, and Hepzibah), only the first three (all males) were made, leaving them one short. I decided to fix that, and as a bonus, I found a use for that hideous Wasp body. My white paint got a little clumpy, which is incredibly apparent in person. I'm glad I made her, but she looks fairly ugly- I've thought about stripping her down and starting over more than once.
Poor Hepzibah was a Spider Force Wasp, with Black Cat's head, and a tail from an Animorphs Cassie/Wolf. I think the only thing stopping me from doing her over is the lack of a better tail.