Legion of Super-Heroes Flight Ring Collection

[brainiacfive]

Inspired by evilrocketeer's recent post of his screen-name appropriate collection, I decided I should stop stalling and post my own.

I've been meaning to since I joined, but... I finally decided I would start the thread, post some group shots, and then do follow-up posts of the individual rings, since I wanted to make this post something prospective buyers could use as a reference when they look out to eBay (or elsewhere) for Legion Ring Replicas.

Also, I'm organizing a Legion costume group for this year's Dragoncon, and I can point to this thread in case anyone signing up needs help finding one.

This display is actually a little out of date now. I managed to pick up a very nice gold ring recently, one which I am attempting to verify the pedigree of. I'll include that in a later post. And yes, I collect Legion figures as well - but that is for another topic.

A close up view of the rings:

From left to right we have:

In box: 1998 DC Direct Replica Ring

Front Row:

Hong Kong Gold-Plated Brass from cosplayying on eBay
Bravo Jewelry Silver Replica Ring from eBay
Arroba Silver Replica Ring from eBay
Resin Animated Legion Ring from comic-props.com


Middle Row:

4 plastic rings from DC Direct Legion Figures
Resin Animated Legion Ring from comic-props.com

Back Row:

Homemade Sculpy Rings (one finished, one prototype)

 

[Djinn]

Nice collection,

I recognize most of what you have here. There's one or two I haven't seen before. But good job.

I think I have one Legion ring, and it one of the vinyl ones that came with the figures years ago. I mostly collect green lantern rings.

 

[Dave Porter]

I keep meaning to make a Legion Flight ring, but never have.

I should really rectify that.

 

[brainiacfive]

Nice collection,

I recognize most of what you have here. There's one or two I haven't seen before. But good job.

I think I have one Legion ring, and it one of the vinyl ones that came with the figures years ago. I mostly collect green lantern rings.

Thanks! I collect Green Lantern Rings, too.

Given the relative popularity of the GL rings, though, they are made much more frequently in fan circles, so I tend to stick to the 'official' rings. I don't limit myself the same way with Legion rings, when I can find them.

 

[brainiacfive]

I keep meaning to make a Legion Flight ring, but never have.

I should really rectify that.

My first Legion ring was the sculpy version I made about 1996. If you make one, post it here! And if you make two, let me know! :lol

 

[Djinn]

Impressive GL ring collection. I can identify just about every one of those.

I posted a lot of my collection in this thread
http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=30862

I never did collect the statues myself, I was just after the rings.

 

[brainiacfive]

And speaking of my sculpy ring, here are a few more details.

The first attempt was the larger, unpainted white ring in this picture (it's a little hard to make out, but the pencil outline on the face is visible in the group shot in the first post above).

It was my first time playing with Sculpy, back in 1995, and I didn't know how much baking would change the shape/size, and made it way too large. A friend calls it my 'Blok-sized' ring.

After that 'prototype', I tried again, and got it right, making a smaller model that baked with just enough room to fit comfortably on my finger.

After some detail work with small tools, painting and sealing with clearcoat, it's worked fine for almost 15 years. I've worn it once or twice as an actual ring, but usually it stays on display except when I'm doing a Legion costume (so, rarely), first in 1998 and more recently at Chicago Comicon 2009.

My next sculpy ring was a replica of the GA Green Lantern Ring, as seen in the miniseries "The Golden Age". I was quite happy that the handle-loop came out so well, but I made it in two parts, and the ring band itself collapsed slightly during baking, so it was never worn. Unfortunately I gave it away to a friend who was a HUGE Alan Scott fan, and it got damaged in a move. I never took photos of it, so I'll just have to recreate it some day.

 

[brainiacfive]

I never did collect the statues myself, I was just after the rings.

Same here, though at the time I had to get the statues to get the rings. I only realized last year they had come out with a set of the 5 rings (shown on top of the center Power Battery in the photo). Other than the two PVC figure sets in back (and the Justice League sets on top of them I got on clearance on a whim), all of those figures or statues came with rings.

 

[brainiacfive]

My favorite 'unofficial replica' ring comes from Arroba Silver. I got this from an eBay auction before they got the license to do their current run of official DC rings.

Rather than filling the recessed area around the "L" and star with a black enamel, they've used a rough texture in the silver to achieve that effect.

The ring is an open back, as you can see in this picture.

Though it doesn't have the 'buttons' that the official versions have on the side, I really like the Legion Logo along the sides.

Arroba doesn't seem to offer these anymore, since they got licensed by DC, but I have seen an eBay seller from Israel offer the same design periodically for between $35 and $48 (depending on if it was an auction or a Buy It Now) which isn't too bad, considering I got mine for about $50.

 

[brainiacfive]

I got this silver replica ring from Bravo Jewelry, a Canadian jeweler selling on eBay. They have offered a GL ring with green enamel for some time, and started periodically offering a Legion Ring during the summer of 2009.

As you can see, they use a shiny black enamel in the spaces around the L and star symbol, to generally good effect (though there is a little bleed over in one or two spots), though the star detail is not very sharp.

This is an open backed ring, as you can see in the following shots (you should just be able to make out the back on the L and star in the first one):

The seller was offering various specials for multiple rings last summer, as well as the option to get the ring gold plated to match the comics. The base price was around $60 for one Legion ring, and between $10-$15 for gold plating. I opted for the gold plating, since there weren't any other metal "gold" replica rings available at the time, and I wanted to get a feel for the quality in case I needed to recommend rings to fellow costumers.

As you can see, the ring I got wasn't gold plated, due to a mix-up. The seller offered to plate it for me if I sent it back to Canada, but I decided to go for the refund of the plating fees, which was promptly paid.

 

[brainiacfive]

One of the few 'gold' colored metal Legion rings available currently, I picked up this ring from an eBay seller from Hong Kong called cosplayying. It's gold plated brass. Though it was touted as an exact replica of the one used in the Smallville episodes (yeah, right!), the design appears to be more based off of the plastic/vinyl rings that came with the Legion figures.

I like the three dimensional quality of the star symbol, with the raised center and lower 'rays'. The L seems a bit thin, though. The black enamel is expertly applied. The ring itself is 'fatter' than the others, with a wider, more circular band.

The gold plating is thin and scratches very easily. I wore it once, and it got one serious scratch after less than an hour.

As with most of the unofficial rings, this one is open backed.

The ring is sold in only 3 sizes: 9, 10, 11.

Though originally sold for $40, or less in bulk, this design is popping up constantly on eBay now from sellers in Hong Kong and Singapore for auction starting at $0.99, or Buy It Now prices starting at around $20 and up.

 

[Djinn]

Nice, I have messaged those guys in the past asking for some more pics of that ring, but no one replied to me. I assumed it would have been made of cheaper material. Or would green the finger pretty badly. Either way it is still a decent ring for it's price. It just needs a layer or two of clear coat to keep the gold from rubbing off too easily.

 

[brainiacfive]

Nice, I have messaged those guys in the past asking for some more pics of that ring, but no one replied to me. I assumed it would have been made of cheaper material. Or would green the finger pretty badly. Either way it is still a decent ring for it's price. It just needs a layer or two of clear coat to keep the gold from rubbing off too easily.

That's a good idea.

And I think only the original listings mentioned the gold-plated brass. Either they stopped advertising the fact, changed the material, or the new ones are knock offs of the knock offs and you could be getting anything.

I don't think the gold plating is done especially well - it's not noticeable unless looking very closely, but there are some minor tarnish marks on my ring as well. Though nothing like the ones in the thread here specifically about a tarnished ring. So thin, and perhaps not uniform.

I wish my camera would pick up the details a little better. I had to work at it to get them as clear as I did. I've got a 'new' (for me) actual gold replica ring but all of my shots so far have been too blurry to post. This is the one I mentioned in an earlier post that is supposedly one of a run of 15 that were done in 1994 by a dedicated fan. The best crafted of all of my rings, to be sure.

 

[troopermatthew]

Thanks for all those comparison images Brainiacfive Very impressive collection!

 

[brainiacfive]

Old School Ring Designs

Since I put this together for another post, I thought I'd duplicate it here, so all of my Legion rings refs were in one place.

It's been awhile since I looked through my pre-reboot Legion issues, so it took awhile to find a good reference, but here are the old, single-color rings:

Hard to tell in that shot (or the others, really, since there are always shadows and reflected light from the 'gold'), but it's a single gold colored ring with a raised, stylized 'L'. The orientation of the 'L' seems to change, because these old-style rings could have the face twisted to set off an alarm and homing signal.

Some colored versions:

Of course, if you wanted to go REALLY old school, there's always this :lol (excuse the rude gesture):

 

[brainiacfive]

The vinyl/plastic rings that came with the first three DC Direct Legion Figures (the founders - Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad) are probably the most common 'official' Legion Flight Ring you'll run into. And the cheapest. Unless the current postcard campaign to get DC to release a promo ring (similar to their GL and Flash rings of recent years) celebrating Paul Levitz's new Legion comic pans out, of course.

Notice that the ring is normal backed, and has a split, one-size fits all band. Unlike the earlier GL rings that came with figures, which were generally on the small size and had to squeeze on most adult male fingers, the Legion plastic rings start out around a size 8 1/2 or 9, and are pretty easy to fit over thin gloves.

Also, as an official replica, the ring has a DC trademark on the interior surface.

Notice that like the metal DC Direct replica, the plastic ones here have indent outlines for two buttons on the side of either band, as well as around the face above and below the logo.

As noted, these came with the first three Legion figures, but they show up from time to time for sale on eBay 'loose'. The auctions typically run from $5-$20. The figures w/rings originally cost $15, and can run up to $30-$40 depending on the auction.

 

[brainiacfive]

Here is the metal DC Direct Ring that was offered in 1998. The ones that came in a slip-cased box with the disclaimer, "Warning: The ring does not allow the wearer to Fly!".

As you see, the design is very similar to the plastic action figure rings. With the normal closed back, and the buttons on the sides.

I'm not sure what the metal is, but it seems to be a yellow gold color all the way through, as I've worn this extensively and the few scratches I've gotten on it haven't changed the color. Nor has the surface tarnished.

I was skeptical about the black on the front, as it appears to be a sticker or printed on somehow, but it has never faded or scratched yet.

The one issue I have had is that the thin part of the band at the back. The thin part has been scratched and worn more than the rest of the ring, which finally convinced me not to wear it regularly, as I worried it might actually wear significantly.

These originally cost $55, and you'll be lucky to find odd sizes for less than $150 on eBay. Popular sizes usually go for over $200.

 

[brainiacfive]

These animated style Legion rings I got for free during a sale from comic-props.com.

I say animated style, as it uses the diamond-star used in the Legion animated series, rather than the usual starburst/comet. And the 'L' looks like a Pac-Man with a WIDE open mouth.

These are resin rings, cast in a single size (11?) and painted.

I like some of the detailing on the rings, such as the ring around the face. The casting and paint jobs are a little rough, especially on the interior of the bands (which generally can't be seen, of course).

They are perfectly acceptable for costuming, and would work well over a glove. I would probably do a repaint at some point. While they came a single yellow color (to match the Legion Belts I got in the order), the cartoon usually had the rings colored black around the diamond and a thin ring around the face.

 

[brainiacfive]

Nice, I have messaged those guys in the past asking for some more pics of that ring, but no one replied to me. I assumed it would have been made of cheaper material. Or would green the finger pretty badly. Either way it is still a decent ring for it's price. It just needs a layer or two of clear coat to keep the gold from rubbing off too easily.

FYI-

The Hong Kong Vendor for these rings is now advertising an 'upgraded' version of the ring, for about $19. They say it has a gold plating that won't rub off 'for a long time'. They still have the old auctions for 'pre-upgraded' rings, too, so read carefully.

The photos look the same, and it's still available in the 3 sizes (9,10,11). I don't think I'll spring for another one at this point, but if someone else does, I'd appreciate feedback here as to whether the plating issue is any better.

Thanks!

 

[EvilRocketeer]

awesome collection...I never heard of the legion. It looks very interesting..Great Green Lantern collection as well..I cant wait for the new movie..Hopefully, some-one will do a run of the movie version of the ring