It actually all started this past summer when I found an old Star Wars rip off action figure case that I'd been remembering from childhood but never owned until recently:
I know it's terrible, but man, I'm diggin' that artwork! I also wonder how Johnny Quest's dad in the corner got mixed up with those wacky space dudes (is that a wookiee Mama Cass holding a socket wrench?).
Fast forward to present day and I'm hunting down some of the more zany, vintage metal minis from Gamma World, Star Frontiers, and other off-brand sci-fi lines. I've been having fun coming up with bios based on them.
Here's what I've worked up so far:
Scam Zolo
King Tusken
Owing much to the figure's actual size (squarely @ 28mm) King Tusken lives up to his namesake. I'd like to think that when the raiders need to pick a chieftain, there's some sort of mystical ceremony that transforms him into a dire sand person (wookie sized with actual ram horns). KT travels across the Jundland Wastes and Dune Sea with an entourage of the toughest raiders, acting as a combination of warlord, judge, pimp, and tribal medicine man. He's also the best sharpshooter in the tribes (how do you think he got to be king?) and that bantha blaster he carries is custom made from "salvaged" Imperial tech.
Volcan Voxx
What if Darth Vader had Boba Fett's job? Volcan is an intergalactic badass of few words (much like Darth and Boba) but he's parlayed his cosmic Sith-like intuition and lifelong battle-hardened attitude into being truly worthy of "the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy". Cursed with having to wear a breathing apparatus after a job-gone-wrong, Voxx pursues his quarry with vicious vigor--as if each of them were payback for his terrible deformities. Speaking of which, this fig came without a left hand. I'm still deciding if that's backstory worthy, or if I should give him a second weapon like a screw-on bionic hand or interchangeable weapons like Trapjaw.
Xarth Raiden
I've often been amused with Kenner's gaffe in the 80s when they confused Lucasfilm's notes for 4-LOM and Zuckuss (and who hasn't really?) and swapped their names on the action figure cardbacks. Basically, Xarth is a recasting of Vader using both bounty hunters. He's an insectoid, alien, warlock, more cold and calculating than the Sith Lord ever was. His environment suit is a hefty upgrade over the "prison" Anakin Skywalker endured. Xarth's threads are customized cyborg implants with all manner of sensors to amplify his inherited insect abilities and learned psionic talents.Apologies for the craptastic photos, but you get the idea.
Those are great minis. That first one seems familiar.
ReplyDeletePics are good for me. Fun post and cool ideas - this kind of thing is what it's all about!
ReplyDeletethat brings back memories ; - )
ReplyDeleteI had TWO of those figures!
Fun post--love the character write-ups you've done for each of the minis. Gotta like insect warlock-cyborgs...
ReplyDeleteGreat work on the characters, sir. I had that "Star World" carrying case and I loved the cheesy "me too" artwork on them. As I get older I learn to appreciate the insane fun of knock offs and "plays with..." action figures.
ReplyDeleteOh my God, that case artwork is amazing. I love it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments guys! I certainly had fun with these. I've got a few more arriving soon that
ReplyDeleteI'll post next week. :)