Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Moving to Tumblr

(Technically, I already moved everything over a month ago, but...)

I'm officially moving this blog over to Tumblr, specifically: mini-ventures.tumblr.com.

I won't be updating this site anymore. All updates will be on the new Tumblr and on my DeviantArt page: herebewonder.deviantart.com.

Thanks and cheers!

-c

Friday, May 22, 2015

Link - Mechanic Program

Link is kind of the Neville Longbottom of Tron: Uprising. He's mostly there as a kind of bumbling, comic relief character. Unlike Neville though, Link never really got the chance to stand up and show what he's made of since the series only lasted one season.

The main thing I wanted for Link was a mini that showed his smaller, mild-mannered stance. So, I used the Project: Superman Heroclix and added his disk with green stuff.

Not much more to say about Link, sadly.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Paige - Tesler's Second-in-Command

I did Paige already, but after re-watching Tron: Uprising recently, I really liked her look when she was first introduced. The cloak and helmet just look cool and we don't really see them again much afterwards.

For this version of Paige, I used the same Heroclix Maria Hill that I used as the base before, but used green stuff to add her helmet and cloak. For her helmet antenna, I cut a couple of small strips from some plastic packaging.

She looks ready to kick some butt.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Tron - He Fights for the Users

I've done most of the Tron: Uprising characters, but from the original movie I've only done Flynn.

So, it's about time I do the guy the movie was named after.

What to say about Tron that I didn't already say when I did his Tron: Uprising version?

Tron is cool and Bruce Boxleitner is cool.

For Tron, I used the Northstar Heroclix and used green stuff to add his pads, helmet, and disk. I tried a few different ways of painting his circuitry, but in the end went with kind of suggesting it, rather than actually trying to follow the pattern.

The pose turned out pretty good. He looks like he's about to chuck that disk at someone. And over-sized Sark, perhaps?

Now, I need to find a good base for Sark. And Yori.



Friday, May 15, 2015

Madame Rouge - Brotherhood of Evil

In cartoons, female villains are often played as sympathetic (and possible love interests for heroes). Or, they may have some character weakness that makes them less effective. (Like the Baroness and her Jealousy.)

And then there's Madame Rouge, who seems to be 100% evil and loving it.

On my first viewing of Teen Titans Season Five, I wasn't that into the Brotherhood of Evil. They weren't as interesting as the H.I.V.E. Five in my book.

But watching again, I see they weren't meant to be sympathetic like other villains in the show. They're evil. (It's right there in the name.)

For Madame Rouge, who I keep wanting to call Madame Rogue, I used a Chameleon Girl Heroclix and tried to fashion Rouge's hairstyle with limited success.

I think the pose on this mini really sells it.



Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Raven - Teen Titan

Since I never read DC growing up, I never knew anything about Raven or her powers. I knew her name and that she was a blue cloak, but that's about it.

I thought she turned into a bird or something.

So, watching Teen Titans Go! gave me a good primer on the character before I really dug in with the original series. And  it turns out, Raven is pretty cool.

If Terra is my favorite Titan, Raven is a close second. And I did four miniatures for Terra, so you can expect at least a few more Raven minis too.

I found the Phantom Girl mini and noticed the pose lined up pretty well with Raven's teleporting from the Teen Titans intro, so I added her cloak with green stuff and then made the portal around her using paper cut from a playing card. And it matches pretty well!

Shipping Dept.
Since I already did a mini of Terra and Beast Boy, it's probably obvious I don't ship Raven and BB. Instead, I prefer a different pairing.





Monday, May 11, 2015

Aqualad - Titans East

As mentioned before, I came to the original Teen Titans cartoon by way of Teen Titans Go! so I knew Wil Wheaton voiced Aqualad in TTG, but didn't realize he did the voice in the original cartoon as well.

And I have to say, Wheaton's voice work for Aqualad may be some of my favorite stuff he's ever done. So, of course I needed an Aqualad miniature...

Sure, they make Aqualad Heroclix, but not this one. And the one that I thought was the best fit wasn't even a water-type figure, but instead was Lighting Lord. All I had to do was repaint him and boom: Aqualad.





Friday, May 8, 2015

Ghazan - Red Lotus Lavabender

Man, it's hard to say who is the coolest member of the Red Lotus group. Each one of them is a bad-ass in their own way.

However, only Ghazan has that sweet 'stache.

I like Ghazan because, compared to the rest of the Red Lotus, he's kind of upbeat. Sure, he's a crazy criminal guy, but he seems to be having fun. He even humored Bolin and let him ask questions when they had Bolin and Mako captive.

Plus, he single-handedly did something the Fire Nation wasn't able to do: take down the walls of Ba Sing Se.

The mini I picked for Ghazan was the Ares Heroclix and I didn't realize it when I ordered it, but the mini had a sword in place of a left hand, so I had to fashion a new left hand for Ghazan from green stuff.

I also added some details to his robes. Looking at it now, I think I should have continued the yellow stripes down past his belt, but at the time it looked right.

I don't think I did his mustache justice though...

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Suyin Beifong - Leader of Zaofu

One might expect my first Beifong to be Toph or Lin, but I still haven't found minis that I like for them. Suyin on the other hand I knew immediately which one I was going to use.

Since Toph was my favorite character from the original series, and Lin was my favorite from Season 1, it's probably no surprise that I like Lin as well. The contrast between her and Lin is a good story point. Even in the middle of the Season 3's high stakes plot, I'm glad they took the time to give us their back story and let them fight out their differences.

For Su, I used a Dungeons and Dragons Combat Medic mini and removed the weapon and arm shield, which is why her left hand looks a little weird. I left some of the metal parts with the original paint because I liked the effect. Due to her longer sleeves, I skipped the arm braces since it would be hard to do them justice.





Monday, May 4, 2015

Iknik Blackstone Varrick - Eccentric Businessman

The introduction of Varrick is one of the reasons I liked Season 2 more than Season 1 of Legend of Korra the first time I watched it.

Varrick is a character that Korra needed, and not just for his humor. In a world like the Avatar series takes place in, it's easy to paint everyone as either black or white,  good or bad, on the heroes side or against them.

Varrick is grey for most of the series. His interests are his own and he'll gladly help if it furthers his plans and refuse if it hinders them. Have a morally grey character who can become entangled with the other characters plans is always fun.

Plus, he's hilarious.

I used the White King Heroclix for Varrick and used green stuff to adjust his hair. The coat isn't quite an exact match...the cut is different and the collar isn't fur.

But I bet Varrick has a dozen variations on that coat anyway.