Custom Wolverine X-Force bust

Last update for the day, this one is about my Wolverine replica bust turned into custom..it took a long time for me to get this one, went through a lot of trouble too..even texted the wrong number once..so after a lot of things i finally got it for P500..i was thisclose to giving up on the bust..anyway, this bust is an Alex Ross Wolverine replica..by hobbymaster, he started as someone who did replicas but now he makes his own kits..anyway, the bust arrives more or less at this condition..it's evident that there are a lot of paint chips on the bust..also not seen in the picture is a chip on the point part of the mask..if i remember correctly it's the right pointy part..it's a small chip but it's still very annoying..even before i got this bust and found out about its imperfections i already knew about what i was going to do..that's why i bought a pack of epoxy clay (didn't want to "bake" so i didn't use sculpey), the smallest paintbrush available (it was a little below the average size) and a new set of acrylic paint..even though i bought a whole set..i only needed the black, white (mix with black to form grey) and the red paint..

*the pre-edited picture came from the seller, he was also selling th Capt. America and the Hulk busts beside it.

Step 1:
I applied epoxy clay on the surrounding part of the eye, since i didn't want any skin showing around the eye, i made the mask sculpt reach up until the eyeballs..i also sculpted the chipped part of the mask..after i got the hang of it, it was very easy..all i had to do was remove the excess clay and let it dry over night. here's what it looked like after..notice that i made two lines at the dome of his head..i was planning to put two lines there after i painted it but i decided to abandon it afterwards since it wasn't really a necessary feature of the mask.

Step 2:
2nd step was simple, i painted over it..painted the black part first then i painted the gray part of the mask and finally painted over the red eyes. The only real difficulty i encountered here is the meeting point of the black and the grey parts of the mask. I had to repaint it quite a lot and just like the ML Wolverine i did, i had a hard time creating a proper gray color. After a few colors, it looked like this.
Step 3:
Notice that the eyes were still very visible, i had to let the red part dry up and repaint it again with red..did this for around three times so that the eyes won't be visible anymore..i also painted the name plaque with the same color i used with the dome part of the mask. At first i planned to write Wolverine in red paint but i couldn't do it properly so i just left it at that..i also started reapplying black paint to the base.
Step4:
I was already happy with the new paint but then i noticed that the gray part was a bit darker than the normal. I decided that i would apply a lighter shade of gray..i used around 1/3 black and 2/3 white to achieve this kind of paint.

Here's a shot of it with proper lighting..i do think that it was a success..

Kotobukiya update. Postponed Wolverine.

This will be a short one again, the Kotobukiya X-Force Wolverine is slowly starting to become a reality..though it's still far from it..i'm currently looking for a relative or any friend of my parents who is currently in california or new york. So that if there is, i can ask them to recieve the item for me and just bring it here when they go back. Another possibility is to ask fellow PTKers if they are currently there, i do think they'll agree if ever since we all share the same passion there so i guess they'll understand..i mean, i'd do the same thing if i was in their position. And oh yeah, Eric from Fourthwall told me that i might find one in Hong Kong...i have an aunt who lives in Macau so i might be able to ask her.:D man, i really want to have that bust..oh, and i saw the brown version in Maxi Collectors earlier, i might go get it on my birthday if i have the money.:D and last resort, i'm asking the shipping rates..if i find one that's relatively reasonable, i might just go and get it from them..

Oh, and i wasn't able to go to the meet-up yesterday..so i guess my 25th anniversary wolverine and my variant riders logan would have to wait..i wasn't able to go since we had a family lunch that ended at 1:45..i would not be able to go to GH in 30 mins..i need more than an hour, so i just asked the moderator and the seller for a favor..i'll just deposit the money to the seller's bank account and i'm going to get the figs on tuesday from the same place as the one where my X-23 was left..i'll probably get them on tuesday after my class..i'll probably slow down after this one, i won't get the Wolverine doll anymore since the lot was sold already..it's still available together with the other dolls but i don't think a lot of people are interested on the dolls..Oh, and as for the pre-ordered Marvel Selects, i don't know if i'll still get them..we'll see...

Right now, here's my list of to get items in the near future (w/in 5 months):
- SDCC Kotobukiya Wolverine X-Force Bust (will get if i have the chance)
- Kotobukiya Brown Wolverine Bust (will get if i have money)
- Kotobukiya Tigerstripe Wolverine Bust (will get if i have money)
- MS Brown Wolverine Masked (probably not)
- MS Brown Wolverine Unmasked (probably not)
- MU Wolverine Strike Team (sure thing)
- MU X-Force Warpath (sure thing)
- ML Astonishing Cyclops (if P250 below)

Figures i'd get when given a chance:
- ML Red Hulk Series Tigerstripe Wolverine (if P600 below)
- ML Face-off First App. Variant (if P450 below)
- ML Boxset Wolverine (if P450 below)
- ML Ultimate Wolverine (if MOC below P800)
- 13" Unmasked Wolverine Rotocast (if below P700)
- XMC Tigerstripe (if below P500)
- XMC Wolverine Astonishing/Tigerstripe from jet (if below P500)
- XMC Wolverine from mutant racer (if below P500)
- XMC Wolverine X-treme Wild Chopper (if below P700)
- MS Wolverine Days of Future Past (SRP MOC)
- MS Wolverine Origins (SRP MOC)

that's quite a lot, but who knows..i might not be able to get them w/in 5 months..oh, and i've decided that i'll try to get my hands on every figure/bust/statue that comes out that has Wolverine wearing the X-Force uniform..if anyone knows where i can get the ones i listed, do let me know.:D

Kotobukiya dreaming. X-Force Fetish. Mutilation.

Ever since my gf bought me those three busts, i have been thinking real bad about buying busts too..which is bad since that seriously costs a LOT. anything in the 4 digits are a lot for me..upwards of P500 is big for me. at first i was thinking that i should just buy the ones that are way below srp, like the three that i got. but then that still costs a lot..it got me thinking that eversince, there has only been ONE bust/statue that has caught my attention and made me say "i HAVE to get that"..and if you have been reading my past blogs you should have an idea already of what it is..Wolverine, in his X-Force uniform..specifically, the Kotobukiya bust that was released during the SDCC this year..i mean, look at that...it's not over the top, and yet it looks awesome, for me being as realistix as possible works here, it doesn't look plain though his pose isn't overwhelming like the astonighing bust. I've been looking for ways to get this bust, i asked someone over at PTK if he can get me one, i aksed someone from the US how much it costs to ship it to me..well, it costs pretty much around P7k, 2 rats used to pre-order it at P4999 only to have the Brown Wolverine instead. Plus, 2Rats still hasn't gained my trust yet, they're seriously known as sellers of overruns..yeah, maybe some of my figures MIGHT have come from them..but i wouldn't want a bust that's an overrun..nope, i wouldn't want that. Anyway, the brown one is almost as good as this one but this one is better for me because of the X-force uniform. If you (yes you, my reader) know how i can get one, please let me know. I'm actually asking my parents if we know anyone who lives in the U.S. so that we can just have this delivered to their place and just bring it here on Christmas or whenever they come back here..this would be the PERFECT Christmas gift for me, yep..though i love the gift my gf gave me, still..this one's perfect..unfortunately, it seems to be out of reach..only 500 of these beauties were released if i'm correct, and that's a small number..

I just realized that i have a fetish for the X-Force costume, i don't know why..i guess it's because it's just so practical for me, being stealthy (Black and Grey) while intimidating at the same time (red) right? I like the uniform so much i already have three figs of it, one of which is my own custom..the MU X-Force Wolverine is the reason why i'm planning to complete the MU Wolverines, the custom ML Wolverine was the first thing i planned to do when i started collecting action figures. And i don't really like the SHS line but i still bought it just because it's wearing the X-Force uniform. I actually like this so much that i wouldn't be mad at Hasbro if they ever decide to release an X-Force Wolverine using the ML6 sculpt (which has already been used on 6 figs! ML6 Brown, AoA Reg, AoA Burnt, Rulk Black, Rulk Tigerstipe, Silver), i still think that sculpt is the best Wolverine sculpt. Oh, and IF EVER Marvel Select decides to do an X-Force Wolverine, i'll surely get it no matter what..oh, and if you noticed, the MU Wolverine is holding two guns..it's because i gave the Muramasa Sword to the Secret Wars Wolverine..and the other one came from...

Remember i bought 11 Termintaor Endoskelitons? well, now there's only 10 of them..i just mutilated one of them, i guess i'm planning to make him the leader but i got tired of painting so i just did whatever i pleased to do with it, and i just gave his gun/grenade launcher/missle launcher thing to Wolverine. It Fits! though his finger isn't on the trigger, the scale is to small to be noticed..That's it for now, i'll be going to Greenhills again tomorrow for a meet-up, I'm finally going to get the 25th Silver Wolverine and the Variant Riders Logan..After that, it just leaves the FA Wolverine open mouth variant, Rulk Tigerstripe and the Blue Ultimate Wolverine as my remaining targets from the Marvel Lgends line and then i'm done..i promise, after getting all ML Wolverines, i will post a blog that is solely devoted to the ML Wolverines, i'm going to rank them from the best to the worst..and right now, 3 HML Wolverines might end up at the bottom of the list. Oh man, i suddenly can't wait to complete the line.:D

tid-bits about new hauls, upcoming meet-ups

I've been a bit busy with watching Greek lately so i haven't really been able to post a new entry lately, okay..so now that i'm home..i can give you guys a quick review of my new wolverines..but before we get to that, i'll finally get my 25th anniversary Wolverine HML! it'll come with the ML Legendary Riders Logan Variant which is good since at least i'll get something else i like instead of Emma Frost. we'll go meet-up on sunday which is also the birthday of my new friend and the moderator of the group buy. Can't wait for it, i won't get the LOC MS DoFP Wolverine anymore though..i know it's kind of rare but i was intent on keeping it MOC so i'll just look for a MOC one some other time. Plus, i don't have anymore money..haha. Okay, so i'm going to share my thoughts on my gf's birthday/christmas gifts for me..unfortunately i won't be able to take them home until december..they'll stay in her condominium for now..1. Bowen 25th anniversary Wolverine First Appearance - 3/5 ehh, it's solid but it looks too plain for me, the claws are real nice but the pose is to plain..would have been better if it had been done in a dynamic pose. But i guess if you put this one beside the others produced by Bowen, it would look real good.kinda like the other two. Unlike others, i appreciate this bust since it's done in Wolverine's first ever costume. Would also have been better if the company produced a CoA.

2. DST Astonishing Wolverine - 4.5/5 my favorite of the three! i like the way he's posing, i love the details and the sculpt! it's a perfect combination of realism and having that comic look, plus points since it's the same scale as the other Astonishing X-Men busts, i also like how the base has the claw marks..it makes it more wolverine and less generic. my only real problem with the base is that it's too small, other reviews said that they tend to fall so i better watch out..i'll probably put the sticky stuff underneath this one.

3. DST Civil War Wolverine - 4/5 best base out of the three, it says civil war..not much but if you see the explotion behind you'll see how awesome it is. Being comic accurate doesn't help for me since i didn't like the too cartoon-y approach of the artist. Other than that, i think it's great..the only problem is that i think i better be careful of the base since it might break if i'm not careful. and just like the other two, this one can be displayed beside the other civil war busts.

Having these stats got me thinking if i could get into them too, at least the mini ones that are around 6" tall, i can shell out P2k-3k every once in a while i guess, but the real bust i want to have is the Kotobukiya Wolverine bust, the X-Force one..that looks so good. I really really want to have that one. They say that it costs around P7k+ here and orders outside the Philippines cost P4k+ without the shipping which might go up to P2k..hopefully, i'll be able to get one someday..as of now, i asked a friend from PTK in Singapore if there's still that bust somewhere there, hopefully there is and i can get it from him.:D if it costs around P6k overall i can live with that..i guess..I'll just focus all my money on that for a while. I promise, if he's able to get me that one, i'll stop buying toys for a while and save up for that.

Other than those three, my only other haul for the week is the 13" X2 Wolverine Rotocast, i guess overall it's good and now i only need the unmasked Wolverine Rotocast (not the ML Icons), my only problem with this fig is that it does not have knee articulation so the knees are forever bent. So i can't pose him standing straight but instead he needs to always be in an action pose like the one in the picture..the fig was very dusty when i got it, and the owner was really lying about him having the other two rotocasts, i mean..the sample pic he showed were MOC that was covered with plastic..this one was loose and not taken care of. To solve the dust problem, i just dipped him in water for a few seconds..and shit, i think i might have forgot to throw the water..and my brother took a bath already..haha. A good problem i have with this figure is that it's actually taller than my display space, so i had to bend him down so he'd be able to fit..he's way bigger than my Masked Wolverine Rotocast. I was able to see an unmasked rotocast last saturday but the problem was it costs around P1200, i don't really want to spend that much money on a loose figure..and that it would set me back big time.

SHE BOUGHT THEM, MS Brown Wolverines

yep, she did...3 wolverine busts for P5500..supposed to be abirthday gift but it's still a month and a half away...so i can't take them home yet, can't wait to them next to my other wolverines..also sold some NBA cards today..total reached around P700 but i spent most of it for my girl's food..but at least i was able to sell some. Oh, and i'll pre-order the MS Brown Wolverines..if Fourthwall will be able to get them for me i'll order from them but if not, i'll just go with the Kramer place..they're selling them for P1590 each..i guess i can save up for that if ever..that's all.:D shortest entry i think..oh, i really want to get the rotocast X2 wolverine already..and the Wolverine doll thing is already reserved for me together with a first appearance varinat Hulk...it's one of those things that is good whether or not it works out..it's a wolverine but it's okay if i won't be the one to get it..:D

last few MLs, latest haul, possible busts

That's my entire Wolverine 6"collection..yup, right there..i started toy collecting around 2 months ago, right now i'm almost done collecting the 6" Wolverines..i only have a handful of figures left to hunt down and since MU isn't releasing Wolverines like there's no tomorrow, i can focus a bit on the remaining few while still living my life normally..i'm also not counting the Wolverines that came from the movie since i don't really like most of them..here's a list of what i still lack..
- 25th anniversary TRU Exclusive Wolverine
- Red Hulk series Tigerstripe
- Legendary Riders Logan Vaiant
- Face-off Open Mouth Variant
- Blob series Ultimate Wolverine variant
so that's just five figures left, I already have reservations for a MOC Silver Wolverine and the Riders variant which i'll be able to get for P1000 if ever, Fourthwall has one Ultimate variant that goes for P800, i saw a loose one in greenhills being sold for P350..didn't buy it because plastic felt real cheap, probably a booty..next guy bought it though..As for the tigerstripe, a MOC one goes for P900, not buying..i'd rather have a loose one..and the face-off open mouth goes for P1000 but still MOC..i'll just wait for a loose one to pop-up too..as for the XMC wolverines, i think i'm lacking just a few too..though i lack more than what i have..
- Wolverine Tigerstripe w/ Slash Attack Action
- Wolverine from Mutant Racer
- Wolverine from X-Jet
- Wolverine X-Treme Wild Chopper
okay, for this line..i saw the tigerstripe w/ Slash Attack Action MOC at around P600 in comic oddesey, The Wolverine Mutant Racer, well..i already have dibs on it if ever the price is right, the one from the jet..i have no idea how i'll get it..as for the one with the Wild Chopper, i'll only get it if it comes with the bike..the figure looks real skinny so i really won't get it alone..after those things, i'm done catching up to the 6"Wolverines..i might get a movie fig now and then but it's not my priority..

okay, i went to Greenhills last saturday and i finally got my X-23, it's good i guess, the legs seem like they're made up of a different material..it does help the stability of the fig if you "pop out" the claws on the foot. I also bought a stand for my Archangel, now he isn't lying down anymore but he's "flying". Now i can display my X-Force together without looking inadequate..if you noticed on the first pic, my Wolverine custom is missing, that's because he's now displayed with the rest of his wetworks teammates. Still looking for a Cyclops, oh..and i'm thinking bout (well, at least considering) to get a custom Deadpool worth P900, haha. But since it's that expensive, probably won't..Oh look, the Wolverine mug holder is even featured in the pic, haha. i also bought a SHS bone claws logan for P50, haha. cheap i know..but i wasn't able to get the HML Cyclops to go with my X-Force or any monster figs for my MU..but that's okay, i'll try to look for one some other time..speaking of MU, i also got the MU Secret Wars 2 Pack, it's basically a COMPLETE repaint of the X-Force Wolverine which kind of bums me out a little..but it's okay i guess..i gave him the Muramasa Sword since it fits in better with his costume compared to the X-Force Wolverine, i really don't know why they included that there..they couldvé just given him an alternate head or something..and as for the Human Torch, it looks real good and it even comes with the fire thing on his hand but i'm selling it off for P350-P400..hope someone buys it..don't want to get stuck with that thing..especially since i have no plans to collect the Fantastic 4..not really into them other than when Jessica Alba was a visible Invisible Girl..Hopefully i can sell that together with a few of my NBA cards so i can buy the Wolverine Movie Rotocast, i also placed second dibs on a Wolverine doll thing, the one that comes from the Spider-Man Origins line..

oh, as for the busts..well, there's 3 of them being sold on ebay for only P5900..and my very wonderful girlfriend offered to buy them and give them to me as birthday/christmas gifts..she knows i like it, anyone else gave me that offer i'd gladly say yes..the problem is..i don't want her to spend that much, i know she can..but still, haha. you know what i'm saying? maybe i can split the cost with her or something.:D