And now... London Calling!

Another Red Hulk Wave Fix Up Job -

<b>Union Jack</b>

I feel like I've come full circle with this Custom. When I first started collecting MLs a couple years ago I came across one of DarthLeon's Union Jack Customs on a website and thought it was the cat's meow. It was the thing that really lit my spark for customizing. I tried to make one about a year ago and it was an abysmal failure. But now Hasbro has offered me a chance to make the Union Jack I wanted!

Recipe:

ML Moon Knight Head, Legs & Boots
HML RH Wave Union Jack Body
DCUC Black Manta Arms
Wristbands sculpted from Fixit
Replaced the Pistol and Holster with one from the FO Punisher
Replaced Knife and Sheath with one from FO Jigsaw

When I found the RH Wave UJ I almost passed on him but then I went back and looked at him a little longer and the customizer side of my brain kicked in and made me go - I can work with this!

When I got home I dug out the Moon Knight legs and boots that I was going to use on my earlier Union Jack job, DLC had used the similiar parts from a Bullseye and I loved that the boots looked more "military" than the "bootie" look of the UJ from the comics. Just seemed more realistic and cooler to me. MK's legs don't just go right on, I had to clip off the pegs on the UJ's hip balls and replace with tiny screws to get the MK legs on. I also had to do the same with his neck peg - always a dicey move and not for the faint of heart! The Manta arms went right on like they were made for him. I tried a couple other sets of arms from the FO Punisher (looked weird) and ML4 Punisher (wouldn't work without doing the screw mod to the shoulders so I opted not too) and I came back to the Manta arms. The original UJ arms are a little on the scrawny side I think and the Manta arms just seem to match his sculpt and fit his look best. Sculpted the wristbands and he's good to go.

I thought about trying to paint the big eyeholes for his mask but I prefer the look of the full mask - again just looks tougher to me. Also the sculpt of the MK head doesn't lend itself to that look. It's not accurate but I like it.

Painted his wristbands Citadel Gore Red which matched up close with the factory red. Next big task was matching his shade of blue. I tried a lot of combinations and finally hit upon a mix of Citadel Regal Blue and a drop of Model Masters Dark Ocean Blue. I think I got pretty close. His boots had been done a year ago and were layered Citadel Scorched Brown, Drybrushed Bestial Brown and then lightly Drybrushed Snakebite Leather Brown around the bottom edges.

I wanted to give him some better weapons because the ones Hasbro included are small, weak and rubbery. Unfortunately I don't have a better version of a Webley so I opted for something close but more modern - the pistol from the FO Punisher. Had to use the holster for it too because it wouldn't fit the holster on the UJ belt. Snip, snip, some glue and it's on. One bad thing about the FO Punny's holster is the tab to hold the flap down doesn't work. Tried a couple different fixes and the one that worked was using a tiny nail that I clipped real short. I carefully drilled into the holster and then glued the shortened shaft of the nail into it. I widened the hole on the flap and so far it works like a dream. I robbed the knife and sheath from the FO Jigsaw; snip, snip, some glue and presto! The weapons were a little loose in his hands so I got some heat shrink tubing, wrapped it around the grips of both weapons and used the hairdryer to shrink it. Perfecto. Shot the belt with Black Vinyl Dye then drybrushed with Citadel Beastial Brown and Snakebite Leather. Did the buckle and little buttons with Boltgun Metal. The belt is a little bulky and seems a little weird with his design. I dug out my Union Jack TPB by Raab & Cassady and was reminded about the really ugly belt he's depicted with in the funny books. They need to rethink that design and give him something streamlined like the design of the New Capt America suit. If I get a wild hair I may redo the belt but right now I'm OK with it.

Thanx for looking and let me know what y'all think!