Lobster Johnson
- Thread starter The 48th Ronin
- Start date
Totally awkward photo, but you get the idea...
Also got the epaulettes stuck down. Not too shabby!
Also got the epaulettes stuck down. Not too shabby!
So I had a bit of a setback... it never occurred to me to measure the thickness of the belt. Turns out it's a whopping 1/4 inch thick 
It's beefy! Unfortunately, the clips on the grenade plate are just barely 1/4 inch deep at the bends. But with the nubs of the pop rivets intruding into that space, the belt gets hung up on them. And leather doesn't compress. Thankfully I *did* have the foresight to check this *before* I attached the grenades.
Anyway, I found some clips online that are allegedly 1/2 inch deep at the bends and they're arriving tomorrow. I also pulled a new styrene plate and got it trimmed down and marked for drilling.
In the meantime I tackled the claw electrode for the left glove. I hadn't really thought much about it and was simply going to make it out of styrene. But when I *did* start to consider it, and began thinking about how I would paint it and how I might achieve a burnt metal effect, it occurred to me (duh!) that I could just cut it out of metal and burn THAT with a torch. Which is exactly what I did. After zeroing in on the proper size with a few print-outs, I transferred the shape to a sheet of .030 inch thick steel and cut it out with a jeweler's saw - took all of about 5 minutes. After said torch burning, I brought back a bit of metallic shine by buffing it with steel wool. I cut a backing plate out of styrene and added some stand-offs - just to add a bit of visual interest by raising the metal plate off the surface - and painted it flat black. I then glued the two together with a bit of JB Kwik epoxy.
And then I attached it to the glove with Barge.
I also tricked out my 1911 with some custom grips. The gun is a solid resin casting that I bought from Matsuo years ago.
I had been thinking for a while that I wanted some unique grips for The Lobster's gun. A couple years ago I bought some faux ivory grips with the Masonic symbol on them - I thought that could imbue the character's background with a little bit of mystery. But I was never completely sold on the Masonic symbol... and the grips were a bit plasticky looking (they weren't that expensive).
I decided to take another look online recently, to see what might be available, and found these at Wicked Grips. I thought they were perfect for what I was going for. The Death card from a Tarot deck in scrimshawed ivory (actually laser-etched resin). What could be better? Definitely lends a supernatural vibe to the character.
It's beefy! Unfortunately, the clips on the grenade plate are just barely 1/4 inch deep at the bends. But with the nubs of the pop rivets intruding into that space, the belt gets hung up on them. And leather doesn't compress. Thankfully I *did* have the foresight to check this *before* I attached the grenades.Anyway, I found some clips online that are allegedly 1/2 inch deep at the bends and they're arriving tomorrow. I also pulled a new styrene plate and got it trimmed down and marked for drilling.
In the meantime I tackled the claw electrode for the left glove. I hadn't really thought much about it and was simply going to make it out of styrene. But when I *did* start to consider it, and began thinking about how I would paint it and how I might achieve a burnt metal effect, it occurred to me (duh!) that I could just cut it out of metal and burn THAT with a torch. Which is exactly what I did. After zeroing in on the proper size with a few print-outs, I transferred the shape to a sheet of .030 inch thick steel and cut it out with a jeweler's saw - took all of about 5 minutes. After said torch burning, I brought back a bit of metallic shine by buffing it with steel wool. I cut a backing plate out of styrene and added some stand-offs - just to add a bit of visual interest by raising the metal plate off the surface - and painted it flat black. I then glued the two together with a bit of JB Kwik epoxy.
And then I attached it to the glove with Barge.
I also tricked out my 1911 with some custom grips. The gun is a solid resin casting that I bought from Matsuo years ago.
I had been thinking for a while that I wanted some unique grips for The Lobster's gun. A couple years ago I bought some faux ivory grips with the Masonic symbol on them - I thought that could imbue the character's background with a little bit of mystery. But I was never completely sold on the Masonic symbol... and the grips were a bit plasticky looking (they weren't that expensive).
I decided to take another look online recently, to see what might be available, and found these at Wicked Grips. I thought they were perfect for what I was going for. The Death card from a Tarot deck in scrimshawed ivory (actually laser-etched resin). What could be better? Definitely lends a supernatural vibe to the character.
Thanks!
Yeah, I'm basically done - I just have to assemble the grenade unit and that will be it. I got the new clips and they're actually about 3/8 inch deep at the bends - should be plenty of room. I got them trimmed down to fit on the plate and all that's left is to drill them and drill the plate and assemble everything.
Will you be adding the gas mask canister?
No, I've decided against it. I actually bought a reproduction WW II canister... I didn't realize how big they were. It's gigantic and unwieldy. Plus, with all of the other belt pouches that I've collected to use, there's not much room on the belt for it.
In addition, it seems like with every other statue and action figure of the Lobster that I have, no two are exactly alike when it comes to the belt stuff. So this will be my version.
Success!
The clips are crazy strong, so it was a bit of a challenge to get them started on the belt. But once those initial pinch points were on, they slid right on with no trouble
So that was the last task - the belt is now complete.
The clips are crazy strong, so it was a bit of a challenge to get them started on the belt. But once those initial pinch points were on, they slid right on with no trouble
So that was the last task - the belt is now complete.
In lieu of actual decent pics to be taken this weekend, here's a mediocre snap with my phone...
Thanks! I'm pretty happy with it.
Unfortunately there was some minor cracking, peeling, and spots of paint loss in the claw on the jacket bib simply from transporting it in a box to work this morning. Not sure if I should just leave it, or be fussy about it and fix it.
UPDATE: I fixed it
Unfortunately there was some minor cracking, peeling, and spots of paint loss in the claw on the jacket bib simply from transporting it in a box to work this morning.
Not sure if I should just leave it, or be fussy about it and fix it. UPDATE: I fixed it
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OK, got some pics...
I look like an action figure in this first one
I look like an action figure in this first one
Thanks! I think that's my favorite shot. It *is* very graphic in nature, particularly with the red stripe lined up perfectly with the claw. Seems like it could be a cover image.
Had a little fun with Photoshop...
