John Constantine lives in the DC universe, although on the fringes (which is usually limited to offhand references to men in tights 'over in America'). Constantine's character is an almost arch-typical trickster-mage, set in an urban fantasy context. John strives for the good of mankind in his own manipulative way against the dark beings and machinery of the universe.

So, that preface out of the way for those who don't know the character, here's more about this custom:

I really loved the gritty, strung-out, almost 'Heavy Metal' magazine art style Bisley uses in his illustrations of Jon recently for the title HELLBLAZER. Bisley's artstyle, and how he draws John Constantine also influenced the books interior art, although not quite as extreme.

Now, that depiction in mind, take a look at the 'factory' DC Universe 'Signature' series John Constantine figure by Mattel.

Yep. Crazy long monkey arms (+ hands with long wrists, making him nearly reach his knees), overly long pelvis, legs, & shins, huge seam lines running along the figure's head... the factory version was in serious need of an overhaul. It was also strange that they tried to walk the line between the clean-cut version from the 1980's (he was modeled to look like musician 'Sting') - but tossed in newer developments like the facial scar, and loose tie.

To remake this figure in the image of Bisley's art:

-Switched the pelvis/upper legs with a Movie Masters 'Joker Goon'.
-Lower legs are modified DC Universe 'Star Man' pant legs, resculpted/modified to accept a ball-socket foot joint rather than an O-ring/cross bar version.
-Shoes/ankles came from a MEZCO Heroes figure (the homeless guy who can turn invisible, played by Eckleson).
-Forearms were cut off, and sliced with metal rebarinto the forearms from DC Direct's Constantine figure (made back in the 1990s - that one looked like Mr. Bean.) Blended the splice with Aves.
-Trimmed off the molded in hands from that, dremmeled that out, and replaced them with fist-hands (inset) from another MEZO Heroes figure. I wanted John to have more of a brawler/rough look about him, so the dual fists worked well here.
-Resculpted the head with Kneadite (Citadel Green Stuff)

-Painted the figure head to toe (including the flexable trenchcoat) using Mr. Hobby Lacquer paint + thinner with some custom color mixes. Zero paint rub or cracking on the coat - the paint flexes along with the soft-plastic trenchcoat. (I wish I could have told myself 5 years ago about MR.HOBBY paints, heh).

I did some additional work on Constantine's face with skintones (Mr. Hobby), and later with Vallejo Acrylics and Citadel Inks (black, Red, + combinations of these) to create a seriously strung out looking anti-hero, as artist Simon Bisley drew him on the covers.


Hope you like the pics.