Well . . . so it's been just about two years since I last submitted a custom to the showcase here on Figure Realm. To those out there who were fans or friends who may have wondered where I disappeared to, let's just say "life got a little too real," and leave it at that for now. If anyone would like to know more, feel free to ask, here or PM me in the forums. Assuming any of my old friends are still around. As noted, it's been a while.

Anyway, so one thing I've still been doing all this time is working on custom figures. On and off, and not the same stuff I used to, but a lot of work nonetheless. And it's my intent to finally start sharing some of that work with you folks again. So, I figured I'd start off with some of my most recent (and I personally think some of my best) creations. First up, the Asgardian god of mischief and trickery, Loki!

Most Marvel Legends collectors are less than thrilled with the available Asgardian antagonist options that have been presented thus far. There are three Legends-class Loki figures out there, and none are what we'd hoped for. Don't get me wrong, all three are excellent figures, but they aren't what you might call "iconic." The first, by ToyBiz, was an alternate universe version of Loki with old-man-face (or an even worse variant head with old-WOMAN-face) and a rather generic medieval-looking costume. The second, by Hasbro, was Loki in a much more modern look, and while he better fit the spirit of the character, his appearance was still rather less than "classic," and had the additional drawback of being really rare. And the third, also by Hasbro, was based on the Thor and Avengers films, and was thus only intended for Marvel movie collections. Meanwhile, the rest of us comic fans are still waiting for a classic green and gold version.

Well, I got tired of waiting.

Personally, I've never been a fan of the old "green spandex and gold chainmail bikini" look for the character, so I decided to take a neo-classic "Walt Simonson" approach. I'm certainly not the first to do so (my inspiration was FR user tommyx's rendition), but it was my plan to do a "definitive" version of the character, that both captured his look and his personality in one grand Marvel Legend design.

Really, all my customs should be so easy. This project was a cinch! The base figure was a ML Iron Fist I had lying around. The hands and feet came from ML Doctor Doom . . . but not the SAME Doctor Doom. Feet were from the old ToyBiz version, hands were from the Hasbro release. The head is a heavily retooled DCUC Eclipso, now with a maniacal open-mouth grin. And the gloves, boots, thigh pads, loincloth, shoulder pads, crown, cape, and ponytail are all taken from the pre-Legends ToyBiz Avengers Loki figure. Sculpted details and a full paint job with three shades of green finished out the base figure. Of minor note, I left the "V" lines from Iron Fist's costume rather than carving them off. While not accurate to the Simonson design, I felt they worked well and added to the look.

The final touches to this figure were the accessories. Loki has a staff, a scepter/wand, and a magic flame blast. The flame comes from ML Mandarin, and is painted in transparent yellow, lime, and green, with forest green and black highlights at the bottom. The scepter is simply a complete repaint of a Power Rangers weapon that I felt fit the look and feel of the Simonson costume. The staff takes this one step further: The head is a different Power Ranger staff, but the shaft was extended using plastic lollipop sticks, and resculpted to look nearly identical to the shaft of the wand. Green stick-on costume gems were added to the head to complete the weapon.

As a rule, I don't usually make custom figures of characters that have already received a good official company release. However, I really felt that ToyBiz and Hasbro dropped the ball on this one, and my collection needed a classic Loki to go with the classic Thor. Now I've got one, and make no mistake, the two look spectacular facing off on my shelf! My famously mediocre photography notwithstanding, Loki looks like a factory release, and I couldn't be happier with the results!

Excelsior!