Ever watched pleather disintegrate in front of your eyes over 48 hours?

yea I saw the Power of Valkyrie one had flaked on some pictures as well. I had been actively looking for a copy of it only because it was based on a comic I worked on many years ago. I gave that up cause it looks like the figure doesn't really hold up anymore as it was one of tbleague's first figure.

I wish they had held off for a few years and were doing those indie comic characters now as opposed to the “historical” stuff they’ve been trotting out. I would have bought pretty much all of them.

What did you do on the book?

Xavion2004 wrote:I wish they had held off for a few years and were doing those indie comic characters now as opposed to the “historical” stuff they’ve been trotting out.  I would have bought pretty much all of them.

What did you do on the book?  

I drew the first two issues =D.





I didn't design the costume though, they gave that to me. I'm not sure if they ever used that digital image though for anything. The tbleague version came out a bit bustier than I had drawn it. (to no one's surprise).

I was just waiting for you to tell me you designed the costume after I made that “the funky looking one” comment. I have a rare gift for sticking my foot in my mouth like that.

That book just went to the top of my reading list.

Haha, no worries. I'm pretty sure whoever designed it was very 90's inspired. It was a long time ago too, so my art wasn't very good lol. 2005ish?

Gorgeous work, Craig! I had no idea.

@Xavion2004
You must be tough as nails to go through the same thing again with a second Robyn Hood. I'm sorry that it turned out so bad again. Personally, I think that all pleather will eventually degrade after a few years and should not be used in premium-priced collectibles. Of course, you may slow down deterioration unter optimal storage conditions in the box, but at one point you might encounter accelerated aging of the material, which is a nightmare to me.

@csyeung
I didn't know that you are a comic artist. Very cool!

[quote="Randam Hajile"]@Xavion2004
You must be tough as nails to go through the same thing again with a second Robyn Hood. I'm sorry that it turned out so bad again. Personally, I think that all pleather will eventually degrade after a few years and should not be used in premium-priced collectibles. Of course, you may slow down deterioration unter optimal storage conditions in the box, but at one point you might encounter accelerated aging of the material, which is a nightmare to me.[\quote]

Thanks, RH. This was more of an experiment than anything else. Every time I saw an older figure with pleather clothing or accessories that piqued my interest, I thought of the first Robyn.

Every time I thought of the first Robyn, I was playing that card that all disappointed collectors play at one point or another: “What if I just got a ‘bad’ one?”

So, I thought I’d find out when the right opportunity presented itself, and the sad truth is that most Phicen figures from this era are half great and half trash. They’re like beautifully designed homes that were built with substandard materials. It’s really a shame, because a lot of these characters will likely never be made again in any scale.

Oh, well. At least one of my favorites, Nancy from Hell, was at the end of the run after Phicen/TBLeague had resolved a lot of their issues, She turned out great.

I also got a promising lead from a good friend on someone that may be able to replace Robyn’s crappy pleather with a higher quality alternative. If that doesn’t work, I may just get a sewing machine and revisit an old skill set of mine. That would open up a whole new world of options.

GubernatorFan wrote:Gorgeous work, Craig! I had no idea.

Thanks Ian!

Randam Hajile wrote:
@csyeung
I didn't know that you are a comic artist. Very cool!  

Yea, I did a bit of pencilling, but mostly inking for the big two.

Xavion2004 wrote:

Thanks, RH.  This was more of an experiment than anything else.  Every time I saw an older figure with pleather clothing or accessories that piqued my interest, I thought of the first Robyn.

Every time I thought of the first Robyn, I was playing that card that all disappointed collectors play at one point or another:  “What if I just got a ‘bad’ one?”

So, I thought I’d find out when the right opportunity presented itself, and the sad truth is that most Phicen figures from this era are half great and half trash.   They’re like beautifully designed homes that were built with substandard materials.   It’s really a shame, because a lot of these characters will likely never be made again in any scale.

Oh, well.  At least one of my favorites, Nancy from Hell, was at the end of the run after Phicen/TBLeague had resolved a lot of their issues,  She turned out great.

I also got a promising lead from a good friend on someone that may be able to replace Robyn’s crappy pleather with a higher quality alternative.  If that doesn’t work, I may just get a sewing machine and revisit an old skill set of mine.  That would open up a whole new world of options.

I hope you find a good replacement. I've seen people use angelus leather paint or some acrylic paint to restore the leather. I believe you have to be careful though to make sure that it's applied smoothly though. I think getting a sewing machine would be a great idea, probably easier to source and make the replacements. Also handy for future uses. Plus it's always more satisfying making cutomized pieces yourself I think!

I am dumbstruck by how my second experience with this figure was exactly like the first, right down to the timing and order in which each individual piece began cracking.  You would think with two different “copies” from two different parts of the world, there would have been at least some differences.  Ah, well.  I didn’t ruin her head or break her bow this time, and that’s what really makes her Robyn.  When the right outfit comes along, I’ll know it. Right now, I have her in exactly the same outfit as the last pic I posted. At least until the boots start peeling tomorrow.

So I read Power of the Valkyrie issues 0, 1, and half of 2 before I hit a pay wall.  I really liked your art, Craig.  I appreciated how much thought you put into capturing Susan’s facial expressions, and the action sequences were great.

Do you still get royalties on the book?  If so, I’ll pick up one of the collected editions.

Xavion2004 wrote:I am dumbstruck by how my second experience with this figure was exactly like the first, right down to the timing and order in which each individual piece began cracking.  You would think with two different “copies” from two different parts of the world, there would have been at least some differences.  Ah, well.  I didn’t ruin her head or break her bow this time, and that’s what really makes her Robyn.  When the right outfit comes along, I’ll know it.  Right now, I have her in exactly the same outfit as the last pic I posted.  At least until the boots start peeling tomorrow.  

So I read Power of the Valkyrie issues 0, 1, and half of 2 before I hit a pay wall.  I really liked your art, Craig.  I appreciated how much thought you put into capturing Susan’s facial expressions, and the action sequences were great.

Do you still get royalties on the book?  If so, I’ll pick up one of the collected editions.

Nah, I don't get anything from that book. Feel free to obtain from other methods haha. I only did issue 1 and 2 as well so that's all you really need to see haha. I do get royalties still from my Marvel and DC stuff , I suggest the the early issues of Runaways, that's a good series to read regardless. BKV does some brilliant writing.

That’s pretty cool, Craig. I’m going to have to check my comic book inventory, as I’m pretty sure I have the first few issues of that series. Too bad about the lack of royalties.

Stryker2011 wrote:That’s pretty cool, Craig. I’m going to have to check my comic book inventory, as I’m pretty sure I have the first few issues of that series. Too bad about the lack of royalties.

Thanks Mark. Yea, there's a reason why I stopped working on it after the second issue. Anyway, chalk that up to experience.