TbLeague meets Batman & The Flash by AFM

DSC08938 by A.F.M. Productions, on Flickr

DSC08939 by A.F.M. Productions, on Flickr

More Pictures coming.

Very cool. Did you get the SS version of the Flash and swapped out the body? He looks good.

Stryker2011 wrote:Very cool. Did you get the SS version of the Flash and swapped out the body? He looks good.

Thanks. No I just purchased the parts I needed to update my original Flash.
Head
Gauntlets
Hands
Belt
Boots.

I was going to ask where is the TBLeague, but I knew it was inside. And fit in seamlessly! (See what I did there?). Well done, as always! I know too little about these things to decide if the Flash looks a tad massive now (I'm only familiar with the slim movie and live action tv show versions), but he does look good, and it is impressive you are making these outfits fit on these bodies.

FYI, Guv: Comic Flash wasn’t a scrawny kid, like either of the recent live-action interpretations. Comic book heroes of the past were muscular, and manly, not these whiny metro-sexuals being portrayed in most contemporary films and TV shows. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not picking on you for not being acquainted with the original source material, I’m more bitching about the way those worthless a-holes in Hollywood have pretty much ruined many of my childhood icons with their modern, “progressive”, interpretations. My motto is, and always will be: Leave someone else’s creation alone. Don’t be lazy: come up with your own character if you want to alter essentially everything about someone else’s hard work. Sorry... rant over.

Stryker2011 wrote:FYI, Guv: Comic Flash wasn’t a scrawny kid, like either of the recent live-action interpretations. Comic book heroes of the past were muscular, and manly, not these whiny metro-sexuals being portrayed in most contemporary films and TV shows. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not picking on you for not being acquainted with the original source material, I’m more bitching about the way those worthless a-holes in Hollywood have pretty much ruined many of my childhood icons with their modern, “progressive”, interpretations. My motto is, and always will be: Leave someone else’s creation alone. Don’t be lazy: come up with your own character if you want to alter essentially everything about someone else’s hard work. Sorry... rant over.

No problem at all, like I said, I'm not familiar with the original comic-book versions, so I welcome the added knowledge. And I knew that AFM's modification would make sense in more ways than one. I also agree about leaving others' creations alone and making new ones -- in this and other contexts. Even Michelle Rodriguez was quoted in an interview along these lines, then crucified for it (I think it had something to do with the reinterpretation of classical characters for "progressive" purposes, though I forget the specific context).

Hey everyone,
All good points. I posted this same explanation at SSF:
With the CW's Flash being skinny and the 90"s TV Flash looking very much like a body builder, I think both are okay as we have been given both iterations in live action and animation (See Flash Point Paradox) and makes it a matter of choice. Not right or wrong. I choose a more buffed hero and that is a choice. I think the SS Flash is somewhere in the middle and that's cool to as we have seen that one too.
I need maximum articulation, (dong stop-motion) so I use the seamless body and I prefer the more muscular look for my heroes. Again a choice. not right or wrong. I think it's so cool to see different takes on action figure heroes. It keeps things fun and interesting. Working on a Kid Flash, kind of bases on the Young Justice one. I will be posting more picture soon.

Just for the record, I don't think you need to be bound by any of the previous iterations, necessarily. No question of right or wrong, unless you were trying to sell "hulky Flash" as modern film-based "Justice League Flash" or something like that. Like I said, he looks good; I just wasn't aware he is also accurate on the basis of some earlier source material.

GubernatorFan wrote:Just for the record, I don't think you need to be bound by any of the previous iterations, necessarily. No question of right or wrong, unless you were trying to sell "hulky Flash" as modern film-based "Justice League Flash" or something like that. Like I said, he looks good; I just wasn't aware he is also accurate on the basis of some earlier source material.

No problem, buddy. With some of those at SSF where any change is sometimes considered a foul, I want them to know it's ll a matter of choice.

I know here, all changes are welcome with zero explanation, because we are all artist here and different takes are welcome. But since Sideshow is actually selling a specific take, I can see how a different take could be a challenge to their purchase, even though that is not my purpose at all. When dealing with SSF, Some get it and some do not.

You're really on a roll with these, AFM! I gotta say I'm rather envious that you have such an amazing custom tbleague line up.  

And as for the other topic, I'm probably not qualified to comment on the specific characters in detail, since I've never been a huge comic book aficionado to begin with, nor have I seen those particular media portrayals of them. I have, however, enjoyed several comic book tv adaptations over the years, such as Daredevil, The Punisher, and Jessica Jones, and back in the day I even used to watch the cheesy as hell [but fun!] Smallville.  ;'D  All these shows brought their respective comic book characters to my attention in a way that would never have happened otherwise, so I personally feel there can be both positive and negative aspects to various comic adaptations. I've personally enjoyed the show adaptations of comic books more than the film ones in recent years, because I'm someone who likes in-depth character exploration, and there is rarely time for that in blockbuster movies.

Now, regarding the issue of Hollywood-ization of well-beloved childhood nostalgia material, I can certainly relate -- I have my own major beefs with that, obviously. My biggest issue is that a lot of the 'progressive' stuff that gets shoved into films and television these days is then seen by society as a sign of actual social/cultural progress, when really it is an illusion since it is only happening on the screen. People make a huge deal out of on-screen 'representation', when really that is just a band-aid, and doesn't actually fix underlying social ills. Sure it can make people 'feel good' when watching something, but it shouldn't be viewed as the actual be all and end all like it seems to be by some. 

But at the same time, I also have issues with the thought that there isn't at least some place for occasionally forgoing -- or even outright critiquing -- 'hypermasculinity'. Obviously it has its place in media portrayals, and I don't disagree that it does make sense for certain 'larger than life' characters to be, well, larger than life. On the other hand, as I was noting above, sometimes certain interpretations call for different takes on the characters. The Netflix marvel shows had a more 'gritty', noir-ish vibe than, say, the Marvel movies, and so the characters in those were still physically fit, but in a way that was more suited to that style.   

Of course, not everyone is going to like every interpretation or re-interpretation of their fave characters [I certainly don't!] and that's PERFECTLY understandable and justified. But I guess I can see how and why certain characters get portrayed in certain ways, and sometimes it has less to do with being outright faux-progressive and more to do with just making characters fit in with whatever context their films/tv shows are taking place in. And as much as we may not like it, sometimes the characters are also presented in a way that will appeal to current/younger audience members, and/or to appeal to a wider demographic than what has been the stereotypical audience for such things in the past.

skywalkersagaL So true and all valid points. SO what do we do? We make them the way we like, share them where we can. All while having a great time doing it.

I get what you are saying though. Daredevil on Netflix was great and I loved the story and the actions. I enjoyed the costume for what it was, but when it came time to make him, I did what I liked and it was completely different from the show.  

To be honest, whenever a new super hero show or movie comes out, I'm happy just that they did it. If I really like the costume, then I'll either buy it or make my own and give it one heck of a shot to duplicate it.  Which you have seem me do more times than I can count.  

Thanks for the tolerance and kind words.

actionfiguremovies2 wrote:skywalkersagaL So true and all valid points. SO what do we do? We make them the way we like, share them where we can. All while having a great time doing it.

Exactly! That's what we're here for. I guess because I am deeply involved with online 'fandom' in general, I'm very used to the whole idea of watching or reading something, enjoying parts of it but not others, and then taking the parts one does like and making some kind of fanfiction or fan art out of it. In other words, I don't see myself as bound by 'canon' one way or another, but can appreciate the canon of a fictional universe for what it is, while simultaneously making 'transformative fanworks' based on what appeals to me the most about it. And I can tell you do the same thing via your figures and your animation films, which is awesome.

ETA: My overall point is to say that it's ok for us, as fans, to pick and choose what we accept as canon in a story, or what we consider acceptable interpretations of existing stories and characters, vs. what we reject. And if certain portrayals of characters don't suit our tastes, it's ok to either ignore them completely and/or alter them to suit our tastes better via our own fanworks. : )

skywalkersaga Amen to that my friend.

Kid Flash and Speed Racer

DSC08945 by A.F.M. Productions, on Flickr

DSC08946 by A.F.M. Productions, on Flickr

Looks very good and make sense. At least I think so, because we have established I'm no expert on these guys.

Nice! I’m still dying to see a group pic of all your figures together ...you must have quite the convention of superheroes by now ! ;’D

I like your KF. I’m only vaguely familiar with his character, so I can’t comment on his authenticity. What I see is pretty cool.

As far as accepting canon, and fan fiction, as skywalkersaga pointed out — I’m all for people doing what they want for their own enjoyment, as well. I’ve made my own interpretations of characters myself. I’m just not a fan of revisionist “history”.

Yeah, definitely, I'm not keen on revisionist history either --  but since I wasn't familiar with the material I was giving benefit of the doubt as to whether or not in that instance it was necessarily 'revisionist', since many of the more recent comic book tv and film stuff is very overtly and unapologetically 'updated' to present day settings anyways. It seems like it's not claiming to be the old/classic version, but its own thing altogether. If that makes sense? Like I could see it being revisionist if someone was coming in and saying "we must never acknowledge the original comic book-style character ever again, and pretend like he never existed, from now on we're only allowed to view the contemporary/current/'updated' on-screen version as the 'real' and only canon one". In that case, yeah, that would definitely be revisionist in a very negative way. And perhaps some audience members may start to see the 'current' portrayal as the 'real' one, but that's on them for not being knowledgeable enough about the source material. My only point was that, however distasteful a so-called 'updated' portrayal might be, it's still just that -- a single portrayal, and we as fans shouldn't allow it to somehow 'erase' the original one -- neither from history, nor from our own minds. And if erasing or replacing the original actually turns out to be the intent of the writers/creators of whatever updated version is put out,  then that's definitely deserving of fan outcry, since of course it's understandable to be upset over that level of disrespect being shown to the source material. But if the multiple versions are just co-existing, without any claim of 'replacement', then there is a bit more grey area/wiggle room there, depending of course on the situation. 

Sorry if the above is a bit of an incoherent ramble.... I only had 2 hrs sleep. ;_;

Nicely done, AFM!
So the Sideshow belt is removable. Great to see you went with DCD classic Flash suit and not the
latest one with the lines/ piped seams which i'm not a fan of, and we have Jim Lee to blame... er... thank for that.

Are both Bats and Flash using TBL M34?

I can't remember where i got this from...

Lol, rollotomasi, love it !

I am just answering now, as I had to read your essays first. Again, that's what is great about that forum, unexpected discussions can emerge from anything.

Again, you really know how to use your tbleauges. Skintight suits on 'traditional' bodies will never look that good.
I am not familiar with comic history, but I think the minimalistic skin tight outfits look this way because the artists just had to construct a body and color it whitout too many details?

When I look at your 'superspeed' gang, I had to think of A-Train (fast as a train) from the rather grim/satirical/deconstructive superhero show 'The boys'. Did you watch that too/are you planning to make characters from that show?




Also, I think it's time for man to be the new Wonder Woman! ;P

GubernatorFan wrote:Looks very good and make sense. At least I think so, because we have established I'm no expert on these guys.

No big deal. Always appreciate the kind word buddy.

skywalkersaga wrote:Nice! I’m still dying to see a group pic of all your figures together ...you must have quite the convention of superheroes by now ! ;’D

My friend that would be impossible. I'm blessed enough that the collection would never fit in frame. An album would bet better. https://www.flickr.com/photos/144602624@N05/albums

rollotomasi wrote:Nicely done, AFM!
So the Sideshow belt is removable. Great to see you went with DCD classic Flash suit and not the
latest one with the lines/ piped seams which i'm not a fan of, and we have Jim Lee to blame... er... thank for that.

Are both Bats and Flash using TBL M34?

I can't remember where i got this from...

Thanks my friend. Yes they are all M34. Als you are right about the DCD Flash uniform. I had it already and have really been trying to salvage the cost. Great comic strip. LOL.

Hey I just got the suit for Zatana today. How are you coming with yours?

Ovy wrote:I am just answering now, as I had to read your essays first. Again, that's what is great about that forum, unexpected discussions can emerge from anything.

Again, you really know how to use your tbleauges. Skintight suits on 'traditional' bodies will never look that good.
I am not familiar with comic history, but I think the minimalistic skin tight outfits look this way because the artists just had to construct a body and color it whitout too many details?

When I look at your 'superspeed' gang, I had to think of A-Train (fast as a train) from the rather grim/satirical/deconstructive superhero show 'The boys'. Did you watch that too/are you planning to make characters from that show?
Also, I think it's time for man to be the new Wonder Woman! ;P

Thanks. To me, you just cannot beat the look or articulation of a TBL body. Can't wait to animate them.
Love The Boys and am waiting to see if a company will make them. If not, we'll see...

Thanks for the flickr link, AFM -- seeing all the pics in one place is just as good.  

Ovy wrote:Also, I think it's time for man to be the new Wonder Woman! ;P

DON'T EVEN GO THERE. 

I think i'll wait for the S35 body, and its going to be a long wait with my local supplier's late deliveries.

!annataZ ruoy ot drawrof gnikooL

skywalkersaga wrote:Thanks for the flickr link, AFM -- seeing all the pics in one place is just as good.  
And that only what I have worked on, that's not the whole collection. I told ya I'm very blesses.

Ovy wrote:Also, I think it's time for man to be the new Wonder Woman! ;P

DON'T EVEN GO THERE. 

Marvel already has a Wonder Man and he;s pretty cool but under used.

rollotomasi wrote:I think i'll wait for the S35 body, and its going to be a long wait with my local supplier's late deliveries.

!annataZ ruoy ot drawrof gnikooL

Heck I was hoping we would bet them done at the same time. But you will not have to wait long for mine. I put the clothes on. The fishnet took quite a bit on effort and putting gloves on action figure hands is a new hated chore. Still waiting on a head. My goal is to make a young Zantana to go with my young justice team.

Loved your last sentence. !annataZ ruoy ot drawrof gnikooL took a few seconds for me to get it. My son got it faster than me. I guess I'm getting slow in me old age.