Tuesday 31 January 2012

Tuesday Update?

Hello, finally read through your comments and will attempt to answer some of them....

Future Extensions

No official word from EM Towers as yet. But rest assured I will announce the decision as soon as I know it.

...and yes I will consider Thundra in the "next extension"! and Selene will make a compelling argument too.

Big shout goes out to Rob @ classicmarvels.tumblr.com - I like what your doing, plus any promotion for us is appreciated.

SPECIALS NEWS


Possible dates and order for the next specials are.....
Mojo- May
Terrax- August
Giant-Man has not been scheduled yet.
PS Giant-Man antennae!!!! yes I think black or dark blue would be an improvement.

Lockjaw would be cool - As Giant Man is yet to be scheduled, I would hold back on any future specials speculation at this point.


OTHER STUFF

Firelord
Yes we are hoping to address some of the issues with him. The neck is a main priority for me, and I will also try and get the flames on head and shoulders returned to the early version. Thanks for your comments regarding this.....

SinisterVenom - Forge has a number on his issue it's just moved over to the left side just for one issue. Again your feedback was important as I wanted to remove it completely from future issues, but your views persuaded me not to do it!

Constrictor: 2 coils considered? we honestly just went with the handbook image, so we were happy to only have one coil fully extended.

LAWay wanted to know if we commission turnaround art for the figurines - the answer is no, we have existing turnaround style guides for the majority of characters or we plough through tons of comics to find appropriate art that shows the back, sides etc....

Hela and Deathbird aren't started yet - Dene Mason who is in line to do Deathbird is still working on Spidey 2099, and Pete Hutchins is working on Wiccan before he hopefully starts Hela. These guys are traditionally slower than the other sculptors we use, due to various reasons - so we tend to give them less work knowing they are slower - but their work is off an excellent standard so we allow them extra time to produce their masterpieces!

I think I covered most of the queries that I could give an answer to.


Anyway here is the early CG mock up of Moonstone:



We thought she looked to symmetrical and flat, so we made adjustments to her stance, head angle and arm position, which I think improved it:






We're still not 100% happy with her - we feel her fingers are to crab-like and maybe she looks a tad angry/older than she should. Also we want her hair more toussled and 'blonde looking'. Obviously costume detail will come after we get the basic figure right. So we are awaiting the next stage of changes, which we should get in fairly soon. Any constructive comments at this stage would be appreciated and may help us improve what we have already - as she is a CG construct it's easier to keep going back to the sculptor and make changes before he starts on the 'real' sculpt.

Anyway, must dash - toodle pip.

Friday 27 January 2012

NO SHOW SPECIAL!

Sorry, ran out of time today - will address your comments and questions on monday, also I have early stages Moonstone to preview.

Have a great weekend.

Monday 23 January 2012

Better late than never!

Sorry for no-show on friday, I've got a rather nasty flu/chest infection, so things have been slow going. Never fear I will struggle on with my duties like a trooper.


Let's see now what have we got ready to preview... (back in a second)....



...Oh yeah I've got a painted Giant-Man for you:




I'm really pleased with the final outcome - Still a shame about the building rubble :( but I went with the overall consensus and I'm happy with the result. As you can see next to Spidey his height is not super-massive (I think he's a bit smaller than our usual mega-specials), He's a size changer and we didn't feel he was in the same league as Galactus and Sentinel so we made him a tad smaller to keep the human element of his character. Not sure how he will cost up, will have to wait and see.



Constrictor stages:




more refined:


We went with the strong classic pose here - think the sculptor nailed it - I feel the eyes are not quite right and have asked for changes.



The story of Firelord (Part one):


The basic frame stage by Joni Higgins








Joni had followed Andi Tong's drawing closely and we were happy to proceed to the next stage










We were pretty happy with it at this stage, although we were unsure about the head/neck shape and position, also we wanted some of the muscle definition to be smoothed out.











Joni took in our 'criticisms' and presented a very nicely finished piece. As with any amporphous shape rendered in solid form - the fire was always going to be a challenge, I think the flames are excellent, particularly on the flames wrapping around the base of the staff are especially well done. My only criticism remaining is the neck looks a bit thin compared to rest of body - so hopefully we can make an amend there.
Part Two coming soon!



The next two figurines we are focusing on are Moonstone and Moonstar (Danielle, aka Mirage), Andi Tong is quickly becoming our go to guy when we struggle to find the ideal existing drawings and he hasn't let us down this time:



We had long decided on the her modern look, but found it really hard to nail a solid pose for her - I think we've got it now thanks to Andi.



Going with the majority (forum poll and blog) we went for latest costume with bow-in-motion look. there were plenty available but we needed to hone them into one workable image - again I think we have it here. Ideally she'd have a wide stance - but as you can see base restrictions have to be considered and her gait was reduced accordingly.

Anyway, I'm off to cough up my lungs now. bye-------------

Friday 13 January 2012

CMFC BLOG Vol.3 #2

Hello to one and all!

A quick-fire update this week...

Werewolf By Night physical paint:










Tiger Shark final painted cover:





Shaman painted:



Wolfsbane sculpt stage:



Stingray sculpt stage:



Have a good weekend (Sorry Firelord next week)....

Friday 6 January 2012

CMFC BLOG Vol.3 #1 (2012)

Welcome back!

It's the new year, so let's get cracking with some new eye candy for you...

First up, Gamora. A controversial costume choice for most, but I think the sculpt speaks for itself. (NB ignore the lean, as it's not attached properly to the base, as the painters need to take off for obvious reasons).








Tiger Shark cover rough:
(John Royle pencil layout - looking forward to the Joe Rubinstein inks!)




Avalanche final cover:
(Courtesy of Kev Hopgood)



On Sale soon:




NEXT WEEK in issue #2: Firelord & Wolfsbane (The early stages!)