Project: MACH
I’m trying to do a blog instead of a Web page because I have thoughts on a daily frequency. But I’ve also been able to do work on a daily frequency lately. Regular work increments means regular Work In Progress opportunities. So today is my first WIP, my Marvel Legends MACH-III.
It’s really great to be this far into a custom figure for the MACH-X character. First, he’s a Thunderbolt, that area of the Marvel Universe that lays untouched by professional toymakers. Second, he’s an incredible character that would be hard to make work in another book. Compared to most people, he’s smart, capable, noble, and heroic. But he's not really fit for the circles he travels in, and so fundamentally is kind of a loser. But he’s definitely the most toyetic of the Thunderbolts, as he’s a guy wearing a technological suit with all this crap on it. Well, based on that definition, Techno is the most toyetic of the Thunderbolts, but the MACH armors are a more unified design.
Anyway, I’ve wanted to make a MACH-I, II, III, or IV for years. Since I haven’t been very productive until late, that desire has manifested in the rodent-like hording of pieces, scraps, and bits that might go on a MACH armor. I’ve got a huge accessories box, and I bet a quarter of the pieces were saved because “Oh, that kind of looks like MACH-II’s helmet,” or something. So starting work on this meant going through my stores and selecting some pieces, at least to start. And finishing will be really cathartic!
But here’s the think about MACH-X’s design: it’s not as technological-bit-boxy as it seems. Thunderbolts is a new team concept compared to the Defenders or the Champions, but it’s always been defined by a classic aesthetic. Even when Kurt Busiek looks forward, he’s looking back… and though Busiek hasn’t written the team for a while, he’s still a defining influence. So the MACH armors have all these techno-bits, especially the helmet and the wings, but they’re still a comic-book spandex frame wearing that armor, similar to the classic Iron Man look. So when I would sit down with an armored base figure, say, the Metal Gear Solid Santa in-Power Armor that came out a few years ago from McFarlane, I’d see all these great details, but be forced to admit that Daredevil was a better base.
What are the design elements of the various MACH armors? I want to go through this exercise to map out future customs (a MACH corps would rule, consistently and thoroughly), but also because I think about customs at work, away from my comics library, and I can confidently state there is a famine of MACH-X reference art on the Internet. So based on the 100+ issues of Thunderbolts, here are some definitive reference shots of Abe’s armors.
MACH-1 has some great clunkiness to it, but in some parts is just standard super-hero union suit. This is a choice by Bagley and Busiek to design something outside of the Iron Man paradigm. Abe refers to his MACH-III and –IV suits as “armor,” but MACH-I wore a “flight harness.” So the technology can be boiled down to a helmet, a backpack with wings, and some gauntlets for weapons. The helmet evokes a jet pilot but has this cool asymmetry to it. There are four wings, and these armored gloves, with smooth weapons modules but big clunky elbow armor. The hands have the middle and ring finger fused, although the hands have to be splayed for it to very visible. The legs have these Bagley Bubbles on them, I don’t know what they do, but are basically spandex until the boots, which have jets on the outside calves (kind of a unique design element). The chest is this armored vest, with a nice logo display. The original Thunderbolts looked so unified! Then he’s got these Mk6 Space Marine shoulder pads with more bubbles.
Check out those weapons pods... three barrels each, one vertical to the wrist, one horizontal. That's a cool Bagely design element. I really like how rugged the MACH-1 design looks. Also, excellent Karla picture. Why, I ask myself, is Moonstone so low on my list of customs?
I’ve got a WIP for MACH-1… it’s about a year old, and I don’t know when I’ll finish it. I’ll be using a Black Widow belt for the leg bubbles, and I added some boot stuff of my own because it looked cool. I guess this mainly needs wings, but the shoulder pads have also given me pause. Nothing ruins posability like shoulderpads! The base is a Daredevil with Bullseye legs. I think that’s a Daredevil head underneath. The techno bits came from a McFarlane Manga Freak and Manga The Green Guy that was kind-of Evangelion-esque. There’s no room in my brain left for McFarlane toy names. Sometimes I can’t remember the name of a Transformer and I feel a twinge of guilt; not so with McFarlane output.
This WIP was pretty rough, and I don't think I'd show it if I weren't already knee-deep in a MACH-1 article. It looks like I slapped some Milliput on the head when it was only halfway pliable. Also, the weapons modules look like crap, I think I just put some Lego pieces on the end as barrels. So let's underline the In Progress bit and move on.
Man, looking through these old TBolts issues really makes a fellow want to make more TBolts. Also, Bagley's a great storyteller. Every panel moves the action along, and he never stops to wow you... The reference art for MACH-1 is a tad lacking because Bageley never stops and gives you "jack shots." (I think that's an Erik Larsen term.)
Uh... that is to say, Bags almost never does a jack shot.
MACH-II is also designed by Mark Bagley, so it’s a streamlined update of the original. It takes the vest from M1 and continues the armor lines down to the boots. The helmet is more symmetrical, except for the single antennae. The shoulderpads shrink, and the weapon modules look smaller. Check out those wings! They’re this weird crescent shape, like the wings from McFarlane Manga… uh, the girl. Angela? Tiffany? Anyway, I have them.
Whoops! I never got around to MACH-III, and therefore I've got no WIPs of my recent work to show! Expect that on Monday.
It’s really great to be this far into a custom figure for the MACH-X character. First, he’s a Thunderbolt, that area of the Marvel Universe that lays untouched by professional toymakers. Second, he’s an incredible character that would be hard to make work in another book. Compared to most people, he’s smart, capable, noble, and heroic. But he's not really fit for the circles he travels in, and so fundamentally is kind of a loser. But he’s definitely the most toyetic of the Thunderbolts, as he’s a guy wearing a technological suit with all this crap on it. Well, based on that definition, Techno is the most toyetic of the Thunderbolts, but the MACH armors are a more unified design.
Anyway, I’ve wanted to make a MACH-I, II, III, or IV for years. Since I haven’t been very productive until late, that desire has manifested in the rodent-like hording of pieces, scraps, and bits that might go on a MACH armor. I’ve got a huge accessories box, and I bet a quarter of the pieces were saved because “Oh, that kind of looks like MACH-II’s helmet,” or something. So starting work on this meant going through my stores and selecting some pieces, at least to start. And finishing will be really cathartic!
But here’s the think about MACH-X’s design: it’s not as technological-bit-boxy as it seems. Thunderbolts is a new team concept compared to the Defenders or the Champions, but it’s always been defined by a classic aesthetic. Even when Kurt Busiek looks forward, he’s looking back… and though Busiek hasn’t written the team for a while, he’s still a defining influence. So the MACH armors have all these techno-bits, especially the helmet and the wings, but they’re still a comic-book spandex frame wearing that armor, similar to the classic Iron Man look. So when I would sit down with an armored base figure, say, the Metal Gear Solid Santa in-Power Armor that came out a few years ago from McFarlane, I’d see all these great details, but be forced to admit that Daredevil was a better base.
What are the design elements of the various MACH armors? I want to go through this exercise to map out future customs (a MACH corps would rule, consistently and thoroughly), but also because I think about customs at work, away from my comics library, and I can confidently state there is a famine of MACH-X reference art on the Internet. So based on the 100+ issues of Thunderbolts, here are some definitive reference shots of Abe’s armors.
MACH-1 has some great clunkiness to it, but in some parts is just standard super-hero union suit. This is a choice by Bagley and Busiek to design something outside of the Iron Man paradigm. Abe refers to his MACH-III and –IV suits as “armor,” but MACH-I wore a “flight harness.” So the technology can be boiled down to a helmet, a backpack with wings, and some gauntlets for weapons. The helmet evokes a jet pilot but has this cool asymmetry to it. There are four wings, and these armored gloves, with smooth weapons modules but big clunky elbow armor. The hands have the middle and ring finger fused, although the hands have to be splayed for it to very visible. The legs have these Bagley Bubbles on them, I don’t know what they do, but are basically spandex until the boots, which have jets on the outside calves (kind of a unique design element). The chest is this armored vest, with a nice logo display. The original Thunderbolts looked so unified! Then he’s got these Mk6 Space Marine shoulder pads with more bubbles.
Check out those weapons pods... three barrels each, one vertical to the wrist, one horizontal. That's a cool Bagely design element. I really like how rugged the MACH-1 design looks. Also, excellent Karla picture. Why, I ask myself, is Moonstone so low on my list of customs?
I’ve got a WIP for MACH-1… it’s about a year old, and I don’t know when I’ll finish it. I’ll be using a Black Widow belt for the leg bubbles, and I added some boot stuff of my own because it looked cool. I guess this mainly needs wings, but the shoulder pads have also given me pause. Nothing ruins posability like shoulderpads! The base is a Daredevil with Bullseye legs. I think that’s a Daredevil head underneath. The techno bits came from a McFarlane Manga Freak and Manga The Green Guy that was kind-of Evangelion-esque. There’s no room in my brain left for McFarlane toy names. Sometimes I can’t remember the name of a Transformer and I feel a twinge of guilt; not so with McFarlane output.
This WIP was pretty rough, and I don't think I'd show it if I weren't already knee-deep in a MACH-1 article. It looks like I slapped some Milliput on the head when it was only halfway pliable. Also, the weapons modules look like crap, I think I just put some Lego pieces on the end as barrels. So let's underline the In Progress bit and move on.
Man, looking through these old TBolts issues really makes a fellow want to make more TBolts. Also, Bagley's a great storyteller. Every panel moves the action along, and he never stops to wow you... The reference art for MACH-1 is a tad lacking because Bageley never stops and gives you "jack shots." (I think that's an Erik Larsen term.)
Uh... that is to say, Bags almost never does a jack shot.MACH-II is also designed by Mark Bagley, so it’s a streamlined update of the original. It takes the vest from M1 and continues the armor lines down to the boots. The helmet is more symmetrical, except for the single antennae. The shoulderpads shrink, and the weapon modules look smaller. Check out those wings! They’re this weird crescent shape, like the wings from McFarlane Manga… uh, the girl. Angela? Tiffany? Anyway, I have them.
Whoops! I never got around to MACH-III, and therefore I've got no WIPs of my recent work to show! Expect that on Monday.
posted by Brian at
9:02 AM
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