Wes Custom: When teh ebil Shreddar attax! (WIP)
 

So I've finally amassed all of the components necessary to do my zany Shredder custom! Preview pics follow:

http://www.wesoteric.com/toyimg/shredwip/shred01.jpeg

http://www.wesoteric.com/toyimg/shredwip/shred02.jpeg

I went with the Wonder Man base because a) the arms are flesh-colored, saving me the trouble of painting them, b) the head can kinda pass for a Japanese guy in this scale (kinda reminds me of the Silver Samurai, actually) and the red eyes give him a cyborg vibe (since I intend for him to be an "upgraded" Shredder of sorts, a la Cyber Shredder), and c)...

http://www.wesoteric.com/toyimg/shredwip/shred03.jpeg

The head is pretty much small enough to work with any of the removable 2K3 Shredder helmets! Of course, the style of the movie Shredder's head means that his eyes are way higher on the head (hence WM's forehead staring out), so I actually intend to use the Feudal Shredder helmet. It's actually a bit tight, so I've dremeled the back of it out to provide him with more room -- should look pretty good.

Of course, right now I'm in the process of trying to get the smoke smell out of that helmet, so it's unavailable at the moment. :sick:

Originally I was planning to paint the suit pink a la Tournament Fighters, but now I'm not sure I want to do that given that I fully intend for him to retain his poseability and don't particularly want to put in the effort required to protect the joints. I'll probably just end up painting the body black to cover up the blue highlights (the base plastic is black and isn't highlighted at the joints, so no problems there) and giving him a pink cloth... human billboard type shirt. (I have no idea what those are actually called!) The original figure's bracelets and boots will probably end up silver, unless I decide to do some silver/black combo for the former.

I also plan to make him a new purple cape (plenty of fabric left over from when I made a cape for my Kong-to-Grodd repaint) -- this loaner from 1987 Shredder is just a placeholder. The new cape will attach to the Super Shredder shoulderpads, into which I may also dremel indentations underneath so that they can sit more upright on the body. I'll probably end up gluing the rest of the armor in place, but, like Piccolo's shoulderpads/cape combo, I want the shoulderpad ensemble to be easily removable.

http://www.wesoteric.com/toyimg/shredwip/shred04.jpeg

Comments? Suggestions? Do share! That said, keep in mind that I'm not really looking to make this a terribly involved project and that I'm obviously not going for a direct interpretation of any one version of Shredder. This is just my take on the character given the level of effort I'm willing to exert and the parts available to me. :D

thats real good. i would buy that if they sold it at stores. you should keep on making customs.

I'll give you your due praise if you give me your Mystic Fury Mike. :lol:

I like it. Can't wait to see the finished figure :D

Thanks, guys! :D

Lil G: Oh, I'm too lazy to do customs that often -- I've still got two on the table that I've been working on since about this time last year. Painting just saps my will to finish anything, so I'm hoping that minimizing it will keep me interested!

Ninjinister: Ha! I was actually quite glad that I remembered I have him. I was all sad after I mangled my Battle Nexus Mikey because my 2K3 Turtles were without a Mike... and then I found one of his weapons and was like WAITAMINUTE!!! My 2K3 Turtles are four once again. :)

BR: Hopefully that'll happen sometime before 2010!

thats an interesting custom. i usually don't like marvel legends-type stuff, but that's a good base and it goes well with the cape and super shredder armor.
i like the blue/black costume. i would somehow get rid of the w...
anyway, very promising.

Oh, it looks nice, but why don't you try a paint wash in the "metal" areas to give it a rusty look.

aden: I actually dislike the blue highlights, so I'm planning to go over those (including the W) in straight black. :) Also, I'm curious -- what is it that you don't like about ML-type stuff? I'm really only doing this for the articulation (well, and for fun, since the NECA Shredder will be coming soon enough), as I'd be satisfied with one of the 2K3 Shredders otherwise!

cynic-al: Oh, it's hardly finished -- this is just the test fit phase (hence the clear bands holding the pieces on and the 1987 cape). I'm not sure I'll do any washes, as I'm absolutely terrible with them, but I do plan to paint the metal pieces silver! I might paint the central part of the belt black as well; I'm not quite sure.

This looks most promising, Wes! I can't wait to see your completed figure. I've seen what you're capable of considering how awesome your custom Gorilla Grodd is. Though, you also "finished" that one a few hundred times. :lol:

(Not that there's anything wrong with going back to something several times, of course. ;))

Ha! Yeah, that Grodd... the only custom I ever actually finished, and you rightly note that it took me forever to be satisfied with that! Grodd is the reason I'm trying to minimize painting -- 'cause if I start painting I know I'll just keep painting and painting and painting and painting. Argh.

http://www.wesoteric.com/toyimg/shredwip/shred05.jpeg

Minor update -- I dremeled some indents into the shoulder armor so that it can sit properly now. I also think I might swap the legs out from the thigh down (assuming I can find a Black Panther figure), which would completely save me the trouble of painting them. Gotta love those bootleg tactics, eh? :D

Also, long ago, I had an idea that involved using Super Shredder armor with a Raphael figure -- given how well the armor works on Wonder Man, I'm now convinced that this would result in pure awesome. I now need to acquire another Super Shredder... and a B/W NECA Raphael. :lol:

eh, i guess it's just the style. while they have top-notch articulation, i've never been too big on the whole marvel/dc costumed superheroes thing, aside from a casual interest in a few characters.

I say who cares what other customizers tastes are, as long as you or the people your making them for are happy that's all that should matter.
Everyone's got a vision of what a character should look like, so your not going to please everyone.
Me it's not my ideal version of Shredder, heck the NECA one isn't even my fave version, that would look more like Tournament Fighter Shredder or Later Mirage Shredder.
But that's besides the point keep up the fun work and I'd like to see more in the style.
I for one love Marvel Legends and am completely obsessed with the best toy line on shelves right now DC Universe.

aden: Ah, I see -- so you're not so much into the ML/DC character lines in general as opposed to harboring any specific issues with ML-based customs. Gotcha. :)

Vaughn: Well, I care what other customizers' tastes are! I mean, I'm not going to let them determine what I ultimately do, but others' input/insights/suggestions/etc. are always welcome.

The Tournament Fighters Shredder is my ideal version of Shredder too, but I'm much too lazy (and OC when it comes to painting) to even want to attempt a straight up replication of his in-game appearance. I also suck at sculpting, and the Super Shredder armor is conveniently oversized enough to fit a ML figure. :)

Besides, I kinda want to make something that, while based on other interpretations of Shredder, is ultimately unique. It's entirely possible that a Jin Saotome or Loosecollector will come along and do a wicked Tournament Fighters Shredder... and then I'll be left feeling more/less like mine is inadequate. But if I do a largely unique version, anyone who one-ups it will be copying me. :D

That said, I have an interesting idea for how to proceed -- which will take this custom in a slightly different and more, say, demonic direction... -- but I'll need to acquire another figure before I can proceed. I'll keep y'all posted. ;)

eh don't mind me I'm just sick of people being overly opinionated over things that aren't made for them.
It's one thing to give an opinion or share your own ideas but I've grown tired of the down talking, it makes me not want to share the things I'm doing.
But that could be why they're doing it, wanting to be the only ones making customs. This is why I think some go to the level of doing nothing but talking down someone elses work.
If I don't like something I just tend to keep my thoughts to myself and move on (you know if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all and all that...)

Def. cool idea, and looking forward to seeing what way you go with it.

Wonder Man (never would have thought anyone would use him as a base) actually makes a pretty good Shredder figure--nice job! The "W" symbol is kind of distracting, but other than that, your custom is a mighty fine take on Shredhead.

thats a great base to start with, doesnt hav to be an exact universe of shredder, original creations are always cool too. and ya super shredder's armor goes great on any figure. personally i would paint the whole helmet silver or gray, to eliminate that new age black/silvery-blue look that theyve been giving shredder toys since 2k3 not my favorite color scheme. what else hav u got planned for this custom? im still working on my 3rd shredder custom, progress has been slow lately.

he looks awesome!

You need to go ahead and paint this guy up and do it right. It could be incredible.

Thanks for the compliments and encouragement, all! Here's another WIP pic... please, no jokes about what the exposed pegs might look like.

http://www.wesoteric.com/toyimg/shredwip/shred06.jpeg

Nothing fancy -- I'm just going over stuff in black. I'm planning to swap out the boots, so I haven't touched the lower legs yet in case I need to break out the hot water down there. Hard to tell, but the shoulder armor has also gotten a coat of silver paint.

Also, note Wolverine in the background -- I've been "working" on him since at least November. Yeah. And Alex and Mallah, if you can see them back there? Even longer than that.

Anyway, here's a goofy mockup of what the finished product may look like!

http://www.wesoteric.com/toyimg/shredwip/shredmock.gif

Almost has a Next Mutation flavor to it...

Finally, Vaughn, I forgot to point out that this statement is factually incorrect. Not because DCUC figures aren't cool, but because Mattel's crappy distribution means that they can hardly be called "on shelves right now." ;)

I didn't even see DCUC at retail until less than a month ago. I was starting to think they were comic shop only like DC Direct.

I like the mock up. Think it will look great once finished!