Prometheus Rising Studios

So, this thread has basically become a running thread on customs and such for people who don't check my site.












So I finally took the plunge and rearranged my shelves in anticipation of all the new JP-G1 Transformers I've purchased! Also got some new shots of my vinyl setup, including my customs so far:



I promised to show some pics to the wonderful people who helped me jump-start a fledgling RxH collection, so here's what I've got so far! Not pictured are another peach flesh Bigaro and my Armored Chaos, who's off-site awaiting rearmament!


Here's my mixed vinyls and RxH setup. I've got some vintage stuff, but it's all robot minis mixed in with my Chogokins.


Here's where my favorite stuff goes, right on my nightstand. Max Toy Co, Onell figs, and things that glow! Blame Sanjeev... I've realized that GID is the best feature a toy can have.


EDIT: And my latest custom! Don't let Erik see this bastardization of the classic robot icon with evil Japanese modern vinyl!

[prometheusrising.wordpress.com]

This figure is designed as a tribute to Tetsujin-28, known in the US as Gigantor, one of the original animated giant robots from way back in the late 1960’s. I love the classic muted blue of Gigantor, with its small splashes of color for trim. The yellow 28s are the arm are a nod to the later redesigned T-28, which had big yellow stenciled 28s on its forearms. I had originally airbrushed the eye, but my aim is not true enough yet, and my yellow paint was not the best mix, so I colored back over all of that and hand painted the eye area. Big thanks to my friend Sanjeev for his tip on how to ‘fake’ metallic colors with a thin silver coat over all the non-metallic colors! I had drawn up the ideas for this guy, and managed to paint the entire figure from start to finish in an evening. It still amazes me how much I can get done now with the airbrush! The ‘cape’ is painted to look like T-28’s distinctive jet-pack flame. When I was taking the photos, something dawned on me a well: the gold-mist Bigaro makes a perfect Black Ox stand-in! Watch as Bigantor copies some moves he saw in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen!







Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/2012 02:40PM by Prometheum5.

Sweet Bigaro, dude....hehe..but I think you and I are probably the only ones on TBDX who know what that is! Wonder what skullbrainers would think...

I posted it there as well... one guy said 'sweet custom, here's the same thing that I did' and showed me up, and that was the only response I got :P

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

im trying to enjoy the pics but that wallpaper above the top shelf is killing me !
make it go away ! hey, kidding ( sort of ). im liking that big sasuraiger .

What's wrong with my wallpaper? It's leafy and soothing, and my mother would be very hurt to hear otherwise :P

I like that big Sasuraiger alot as well... I haven't given it enough attention. I think I've still got a few Brog posts in the vintage vinyls I've got...

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

I want to know more about this "Gigantor"

Is he like Tranzor Z?


;-)




Nice paint job.

Actually there was also a nice Black Flame Foot Tetsujin that you could do as well. That might be fun to see.

Looks killer Ben! I love me some Tetsuin28.

Mutant Chaos is a shapeshifter, who can sample different organisms with his probe arm and take their form. I ended up with a Chaosman (Chaos head and Mutant body) blank after making a Bigaos (Chaos body, Bigaro head shroud), and event though the Bigaos was what I was after first, I ended up having an idea for what to do with the Chaosman blank first. This is Chaos after taking a zombie form… the question being, is he still Chaos inside, or has the zombie plague corrupted even Chaos and turned him into a mindless shambler???
The figure was airbrushed with Cel-Vinyl colors, and then I went in and hand painted the wrist bracelets to be rusted over, as well as adding the ichor to the head and the blood drips and splats.
More pics on my site here:
[prometheusrising.wordpress.com]




Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

I think "Daisy Dukes" are far better of a feature on a toy than GID.

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[pgaijin.blogspot.com]

Damn you, hillsy!

Ben, is Cel-Vinyl good? I know I've asked before, but I'd be REAL curious to see how it compares with V-Color.

Anyway, bitchin' custom, Ben!

Haha.... the Daisy Duke thing never occurred to me, but I think now you've ruined RxH for me!!

Sanjeev- I like the Cel-Vinyl paints ALOT and have been really happy with them so far, but they are definitely not as durable on their own as V-Color is. V-Color binds right to the vinyl from what I understand, so that most of the figs we buy (like a production RxH fig) are just straight painted with V-Color and shipped out the door... no sealer coats or anything, and the paint is plenty durable. The Cel-Vinyl dries to a dead flat finish, and untreated will still chip off the slick vinyl surface really easily... I've been applying Future coats to all of my figures both in between stages and at the end for a nice neutral durable topcoat. Straight Future can be airbrushed to a couple of finishes ranging from satin to high gloss depending on how heavily you brush the last coat, but this guy has a final topcoat of matte artist varnish to sell the undead look.

Truth be told, while V-Color seems really rugged, I almost wish figure makers would still use a topcoat sometimes. Some of the colors seem to be more durable than others, especially on some makers' vinyl rather than others. My pink Pachi Summit Drazoran, while an awesome piece that I love, has alot of dings on the yellow of the claws. The paint doesn't seem to have bonded as thoroughly to that particular vinyl. Even so, it's my mom's favorite of the figs I've picked up. She really likes the Elegab Shuttlegon I got as well.

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

Hmmm...interesting. Another thing that's weird is that V-Color isn't even a vinyl "dye". Dyes are completely different, apparently. Dax (you out there lurking, buddy?) has experimented with them quite a bit and he likes 'em.

Anyway, Matt Walker's got me topcoating everything. I still prefer your average "stock" figure's finish of *just* V-color because there's definitely a decent amount of bashing around the figure can take before you start to see paint rubs. Even Walker's automotive-grade topcoats aren't THAT durable...but they sure are purdy!

Yo, have you seen the Mutant Zone series yet? They're, like, 5-10% beefier than the OG Real x Head figures and their sculpts are more detailed. Just saw some the other day...very nice. [I can't fucking believe we're discussing RxH on TBDX!]

I actually got the Evil Bat and Kaiser Head from SDCC... still looking for the Beast Chaos tho. They are an awesome improvement on the RxH formula with really detailed sculpts.

Thought it's worth mentioning, I had someone interested in buying the Zombie Chaos! I'll bring him to the Summit to show off, and then he's gone. I'm so stoked.

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

>[I can't fucking believe we're discussing RxH on TBDX!]

Hey, this is the kinder, gentler ToysnobDX. We just hate on Vinnie, now.

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[pgaijin.blogspot.com]

Hehe...ah, Vinnie.

Anyway, yeah, the Evil Bat's pretty cool...so is Kaiser Head. Chaos Beast is interesting, but I would have preferred they just beef up the original Chaos sculpt. I mean, all it really is is a hairy Chaos, just more squarish in proportions...

Do you collect the minis at all? I don't, but did you happen to see the Onell mini debuted at Comic-Con? Holy fuck, it's cool. And more to come... ;)

New recruits...



Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

I have no problem passing on the Elegab stuff, but that painted MG2 is fucking amazing!

Sweet, I can't wait to see what you do with these.
-Mason

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Matthewalt "I actually kinda LIKE that approach! You know: let's make a TOY. Remember those? Products designed to be played with without breaking? DO YOU REMEMBER, LOVE?!"

Ah, nice. I passed up on that MechaG...kinda regretting it.

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[pgaijin.blogspot.com]

Sanjeev, you're a poop! The Elegab stuff is fantastic! I'll agree with you tho... I'm surprised how much I like the MG2. I bought the lot for the unpaints and hadn't even seen a pic of the MG, but it's outshadowing the Elegab stuff right now! I love it, and the colors really are gorgeous.

I'm already thinking about things to do with the blanks, don't worry... I know people were looking for some of these Lucky Bags, so I left the Woo, Pestar, and Titanosaurus bagged in case skullbrainers had other standard sized blanks to trade. I've got another beige Pestar on the way anyway... such a weird looking dude.

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

I wanted to try painting the figure from the inside, since I really like the figure and wanted to be able to still handle it and play with it afterward without worrying about damaging the custom paint. I kept the paint scheme simple, and found that painting figures from the inside is hugely difficult… I had some problems with the paint sticking, and then beading up, as well as running, as evident in a few places, but overall I’m happy with how the figure came out. I picked ‘friendly’ colors, similar to a Hawaii scheme. The lips and mouth and eye were painted from the outside.






Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

At the East Coast Chogokin Summit, Onell/Glyos mastermind Matt Doughty was looking some of the other customs I had brought, when he informed me that he was making another trip to Japan and China to visit some friends and his factory, and that I should paint a custom figure for Mori as a gift, as Matt and Mori are personal friends and have begun to collaborate on projects. The idea of painting a figure for the creator of one of the vinyl designs I love was daunting, and I had to really hunker down and think of something appropriate, which is where the ‘Real-type’ Head came into play. I knew he needed to be green and goblin-ey, as that’s always how I’ve see Mutant Head, and I knew that I liked the faded denim shorts look I used on my Zombie Chaosman. I still had the friendly Hawaii-esque pink from my Zagoran custom, and decided to use that as the trim/spot color to keep Head from looking scary. The last challenge was deciding what to do with the eyes, which are unique and a little weird. I wanted to avoid them looking scary without painting in some kind of goofy looking eyes in there, so I opted for a gentle orange glow. I really hope that Mori likes the figure when he gets it, and knows how much I enjoy his figures!






Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

I always liked the heavily-armored looking Bigaos combination, and made my own from beige flesh blanks. I wanted to emphasize the heavy-duty feel I get from the figure, so I painted it closer to a war-machine than a living mutant, with camouflage and weathering. This also gave me a light-weight opportunity to try free-handing camo on a figure before crossing that over to tank painting, and I’m pretty pleased with how it came out.

More pics on my site:
[prometheusrising.wordpress.com]







Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

Fuckin sweet. Great job.


...And I just noticed that Jet Jaguar in the first pic. (Jet Jaguar as Eva 01? Ha! so awesome!) Is that another of your customs? It rocks.

Thanks... the JJ is actually the Gigabrain figure, and that was a regular release. It's an awesome figure, and crazy articulated for a vinyl.

In other news... I just got a classy response to another figure on my site:
[prometheusrising.wordpress.com]

*eyeroll*

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

Hahah..."classy", huh?

More like brain-dead. Sure...a bare, unpainted vinyl figure's gonna look better than one that's got some nicely-applied subtle sprays to bring out the sculpt...AND a painted eye, the main gimmick of the figure?

Yeah, sure. Sounds like he's just pussy-hurt for missing out on getting such a R@R3 figure for himself. Fuck 'im.

Dig the Bigaos, by the way. The matte sheen makes it look like painted wood!

Thanks Sanjeev!

I was pretty impressed when that comment showed up... I'll probably delete it, since it's so pitiful, but I figured I'd share it first.
EDIT: I removed the comment... it was some butthurt motherfucker crying that I defiled an unpainted vinyl. Fuck'em.

On an aside, I still haven't been able to get the Mutant Head to Doughty so he can bring it to Mori in Japan, and he hasn't been responding to me emails... he said he was leaving on the 19th and I've been trying to get ahold of him all week. Anyone got a direct line to him or heard from him? I've been trying their phone on the Onell site and everything...

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2009 02:24PM by Prometheum5.

My friend came back? I can't think of anything I'd like more than a troll on my personal site that gets ~60 views a day.

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

Re: Bigaos- YES. I have been waiting for someone to try out a military/real-world style paint scheme on the robot character vinyls. And you definitely hit the nail on the head with this one.

Hope you can get one of your customs to Mori in Japan... think he'd dig these a lot.

Fuck balls.

Ben, I wish I'd known you were having a hard time getting ahold of Matt. I would've held onto the figure Saturday night at Josh's. Matt has been SUPER busy, but Jennileen drives by there almost everyday and sometimes stops by to hang out. She could've EASILY dropped it off for you...

:(

I noticed the guy leaving the nasty comment's email for the second message was fuckyou@yahoo.com, bitching about the fact that I deleted his criticism, which began with 'yuck... so I deleted it... where do they find these people?

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2009 08:42PM by Prometheum5.

Good workin' Ben. So great to see priorities are in order. Who needs that doofy homework when paintin's afoot! HaW! Just messing with you, dude.

Seriously, the first thing came to mind was that the Panzer Bigaos would look so cool displayed alongside the Condar, and Bushman (Dougrams of course) from the Robotech Defenders model kits. ...or some of the Machinchen Kreiger mechs. Anyways, Cool themed toy

There's a new comment on the Zudon in JAPANESE that translates in google to 'You have to mess it up. Why?'. Vinyl people are stupid.

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

>Vinyl people are stupid.

I'm surprised it took this long for you to figure that out. ;)

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[pgaijin.blogspot.com]

Oh, and the commentor's name translates to "garimpo", which is a web store that will sell limited runs of some of the Zollmen items. Looks like you're causing a ruckus, Ben!

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[pgaijin.blogspot.com]

Ha! I didn't put that connection together. I didn't buy mine directly from them anyway, so fuck'em!

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

Dude, it's classism. Simple as that.

We've talked about it before, but it bears repeating.

Somehow, the exclusivity and high price of these toys justify their elevation above toys for mere commoners. Are you fucking kidding me!? Wow.

And to think: in this case, Zollmen just pumped out yet *another* colorway of the same old Zudon sculpt...and didn't even bother PAINTING the fucking thing...and all of a sudden, it's a sacred unpainted figure. And why? Just because he decided to pump out 15 of 'em...instead of 1500!? Fuck that.

Hey, I'm all for multiple colorways for sculpts I like. I have plenty M1, Slash/Popy, Glyos, etc., toys that I have duplicates of in different colors. But they're fucking TOYS. If someone were to buy a R@R3 colorway, pour acetone all over it, and repaint it however he or she wants, who the FUCK cares? How does that affect me?

Shit, even if it's a vintage toy (which these designer vinyls are NOT), it's the right of the legitimate owner to melt the fucking thing down for scrap if they want, and we can't say shit.

Sure, we have the right to state our opinions about it...but that's all they are: opinions. And people better state them clearly, 'cause they often reflect whatever oppressive baggage you carry...

Sanjeev, I'm right behind you. I, for one, cannot wait to see if there's whining after I paint my Elegab GID blanks... those are the first GID Elegab figures AND his first blanks.

You'll also notice if you pay attention that I refer to all unpainteds as blanks... I don't buy blank figures I'm not planning on painting. Maybe if I ever got my hands on some of the RxH special releases, but they'd have to be particularly special for me to even bother.

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

Hah hah..."oppressive baggage"? You crack me up Sanjeev! I'll use your own quote: "They're fucking toys." For something to be classist, doesn't there have to be an "upper class" taking advantage of a "lower class"? Or that a group of people feel exploited by another? Neither really applies here...toy snobbery and bastard toy elitists (which some of us are in regards to vintage stuff) is just that....not "classist". Just toys.

That said, I agree with what you say...you buy it, do what you want with it.

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[pgaijin.blogspot.com]