Zen Thunder!
Put simply, Champions (tm) is a role-playing game, where all the players are comic book superheroes. The game system is very flexible, and can incorporate characters from other genres, too. While I have played other role-playing games, like Dungeons & Dragons(tm), I prefer Champions because you aren't always out to kill the bad guys (at least not the way we play it - I don't care for "dark" gaming). You can simply pummel them senseless and lock them up. (Until they escape, of course, then you get to fight them again!)
In Champions terms, Zen Thunder! is a "brick". That generally means he's big, strong, and tough, with not much room left over for speed, magic/psychic powers, or brains. He does have some super-powers that are based on sonics (that's the "Thunder" part). The story is that he went to the far east to study Zen so that he could master his sonic powers, but he only got as far as "make your mind a complete blank". I like to play him as silly and distracted, and have a lot of fun with it. This also allows me to read, paint, and take naps during gaming sessions. Zen Thunder!'s main attack, besides punching, hugging ("all this villain needs is a little love"), and throwing things (like teammates), is the Zen Thunderclap!, where he claps his hands really hard and it causes a large explosion. Rumors that he has destroyed three Atlas bases doing this are entirely unfounded. It's not more than two.
In our ongoing Champions game, Zen Thunder! is a member of a UN-sponsored superhero team called Atlas. (They figured they could minimize the damage if they made him a member.) For more about Champions and the adventures of Atlas, you can visit my friend Paul Cain's website. Click here.
The basic Zen Thunder! figure was based on a commercial metal figure (I think it was Soldiers and Sword's "Captain Australia", from the "Champions" series.), with head and details removed using a jeweler's saw, hobby knives, and files. I carved a new head from a small block of 1/4"x1/4" strip styrene and pinned it onto the body, filling any gaps in the neck with epoxy putty. Then I made rubber molds from this master, and cast the figure with 2-part epoxy. (It's easier than it sounds, and with a little patience, can be done using stuff you can find in any Wal-Mart!) The lightning bolts on either side of his head are brass wire, crimped in a pair of pliers for a zig-zag effect, then glued on with epoxy.
The problem with making a mold to cast a figure is: what do you do with the flawed castings, and why go to all the bother for only one figure? And then there was the whole action figure market to poke fun at. So I started making special limited edition (limited to one, thank goodness) Zen Thunder! figures.
This is Vacation Zen Thunder!, or Arctic Survival Gear Zen Thunder!, in an aloha shirt and swim fins. In one of Atlas' adventures, Zen Thunder! did wear an aloha shirt and swim fins in Siberia (I never said he was entirely bright). Actually, the swim fins paid off when all the snow melted, but that's a long story...
The shirt and swim fins are epoxy putty, added on top of the basic figure.
Here's Secret Identity Zen Thunder!, or Secret Mission Zen Thunder, complete with attache case, communicator wristwatch, glasses, and a tie. No one will recognize him - he's wearing glasses and a tie. Well, it works for Superman.
The tie and wristwatch are more epoxy putty. The glasses are bent wire, the attache case is a piece of sheet plastic with a wire handle.
Okay, this one's not for the weak of stomach. In The Tick TV episode "The Uncommon Cold", an evil clone of The Tick is made from a dirty Kleenex (the baddies were looking for a "tissue sample"). It was pretty gross. Soon afterwards, a clear plastic version of The Tick action figure was issued as "Mucus Tick". So here's my response: Phlegm Thunder!
Still reading this? Well, the figure was made by mixing a little clear green acrylic paint in with the epoxy resin. The lightning bolts are stretched clear plastic, crimped in a pair of pliers, glued on with epoxy, and painted with more of the clear green paint.
The next action figures that just seemed too silly for me were the Batman (tm) "Legend of the Dark Knight" figures. Medieval Batman, Samurai Batman, etc. So here, from the "Legend of the Dark Nut" series, is Zen Plunder!, the barbarian superhero.
The breastplate is epoxy putty, pressed into the figure mold to get chest details, then added on top of the regular figure. The kilt and fur trim on the boots are more putty. The sword is from a metal weapons set for fantasy gaming figures. The helmet is a piece of scrap plastic that I turned in my Dremel, with epoxy headband and styrene noseguard. The shield is real wood (from a popsickle stick), with strip styrene details. The helmet was intended to have lightning bolt "wings", but I kind of like the "steel beanie" look.