Having made well over 20 of these customs for collectors around the world, this marvel character, for some reason, is a fan favorite. So tried to go for a definitive gladiator for the 25th one.
in the past, have always preferred the dcsh superman figure to be an ideal base - they've got great articulation, good scale. With some simple modifications, a competent customizer can churn out an army of shi'ar imperial guards.
so far this character hasn't got his own marvel legends counterpart, so he will continually be a popular custom figure for both customizers & collectors. Personally have always liked the way john byrne drew him (especially when he was up against the ff, and ben grimm was his beeoch). So thought it'd be suitable to use the john byrne superman figure to render his likeness. Again, some minor sculpting for the mohawk, ears and around the calves to hide supes boots. For the red portion of his costume, used an underlying gold color to punch the red with a semi-metallic sheen. Found this method had a better result than going over the red with a gloss finish. The cape was from a portion of a darth vader unleashed and helped the figure look a bit more statuesque. Sculpted the collar and borrowed the oval clasps from a jla martian manhunter cape.
with this new recipe, definitely looking forward to making many more gladiators for all the fans - or at least until the legends line gets one of their own.
thanks for checking it out!