Flash Gordon making friends (custom updated with Part III)

Part I


For Part II, see here.


For Part III, see here.


I picked up a bunch of the pieces from the Big Chief Studios Flash Gordon set that was released recently. To be honest, I am not the biggest fan of the 1980 film, and the oft-cited attraction of the Queen soundtrack (isn't it just that one song?) does little to impress me (they have done so much better). I suppose I am not a fan of camp. But it is still a fun, vibrant film, stunning visuals (even if my feelings about Art Deco have always been a little ambivalent), cool villains, likable protagonists (even if Flash himself is understated and dubbed, he does have the winning attitude of a friendly Lab or Golden Retriever); and, thankfully, the production does not take itself too seriously. And Ted made such loving references to the film and its leading actor. But I digress.



Discovering that the Flash (Sam Jones) head is (for once) a perfect skin tone match for TBLeague's male suntan bodies, I decided to try to outfit one of those with the fairly basic Flash costume. Originally I had tried the head on M34 (here), and liked it, but these clothes had little chance of fitting on that, which was too bulky for Flash's onscreen look anyway. So I went to M33 (which is also a little too bulky in places), and it worked, more or less. The top works well, the belt even has some leeway, the boots work (and are quite difficult to remove, once in place), but the pants were very difficult to get on. They did not impede some wide stances, but they did make sitting or kneeling almost impossible (trying to come off in the process). Since they are black and their features are not too obvious, they could arguably be replaced by a different similar-looking garment. Here are several shots of the recreated figure looking more or less as intended by the Big Chief set (a benefit of the body swap is that the head does not sit ridiculously high on the neck).





I didn't pick up the Hawkmen firearms, because they didn't look exactly like the prop I was looking at, so I borrowed something very remotely similar from elsewhere. I improvised similarly with other accessories.









Some of the images I had found while doing research appear to have been promotional shots that did not have a direct counterpart in the film (which I rewatched), but apparently tried to tie-in Sam Jones' portrayal of Flash Gordon with the cartoon series. Here are some recreations and adaptations of these.











Back to the film for the execution scene... but here only the head is Big Chief's.



Some more fun with the sword.





Overall, the clothing worked well, perhaps surprisingly so. Only the pants (partly) failed me, but that was only to be expected. The clothing and the head sculpt are a decent portrayal of the character's appearance, without being perfect. Perhaps the hardest thing to get right is the hair, which would be a challenge even with "real hair," given that it was dyed for the movie, and the darker roots need to be showing. A partial bonus is the fact that the molded hair appears to be easily removable from the rest of the head sculpt, which might allow for a rehairing. Thicker and darker eyebrows might help the likeness. And I need to get a plain red wife beater.

As always, what do you think?

For Part II, see here.


For Part III, see here.

#bigchief #flashgordon #samjones #tbleague #m33 #scifi #fantasy #male #custom #kitbash #movie #film

Interesting take on the character, Ian. I like the more fully clothed version best. I’m more of a fan of the old Buster Krabbe serial myself, and the 70s (?) animated series. I thought the 80s movie was just god-awful, myself, so you’re not alone there (I felt bad for Max Avon Sydow appearing in that movie, despite making an excellent Ming the Merciless).

Stryker2011 wrote:Interesting take on the character, Ian. I like the more fully clothed version best. I’m more of a fan of the old Buster Krabbe serial myself, and the 70s (?) animated series. I thought the 80s movie was just god-awful, myself, so you’re not alone there (I felt bad for Max Avon Sydow appearing in that movie, despite making an excellent Ming the Merciless).

Thank you, Mark. To be honest, I have exercised very little creativity here, just following the design of the 1980 movie, partly replicated by the Big Chief set (with a different version yet to be released). I am actually so little familiar with Flash Gordon, that it is a good day when I can differentiate him from He-Man. I don't have the perspective of having seen the older iterations (although when doing research I came across references to them, and to a racy parody called Flesh Gordon, which is only slightly worse).

The more dressed-up look makes more sense to me too; it was part (not all) of a stolen Ming security force uniform. (Although it is not particularly striking, I look forward to the white t-shirt and khaki pants set.) I was actually worried that the clothing and especially the belt and boots might stain, so I did not want to keep them long on the body. However, nothing stained! The super tight pants were not going back for a couple more photos, however.

The less clothed looks appear to be truer to the original (?) printed cartoon series (and that is said to equate alien with exotic with naked and sensual or something like that, in common with, e.g., John Carter of Mars, according to an artsy review I came across), and some of them intentionally reference that (an actual Flash Gordon expert can probably explain this far better than me). For example,



Is reflected in these (which are not seen that way in the existing 1980 film) --

  and

Nice job! He definitely looks like someone from the 80s! Interestingly, I've always known the Flash Gordon theme song, and yet I don't remember being able to watch a single episode. But still I've seen him, just not the show lol!

Adeno wrote:Nice job! He definitely looks like someone from the 80s! Interestingly, I've always known the Flash Gordon theme song, and yet I don't remember being able to watch a single episode. But still I've seen him, just not the show lol!

Thank you very much. Not too complicated, but some of it is a bit tedious. You're right, there is a certain late 70s-early 80s look to him, as there should be. If you are thinking of the Flash Gordon theme by Queen, I think it is was only for this film. Other films and series did not include it as far as I know. But I think it has gotten to be a recognizable cultural reference, whether one has watched the thing or not.

GubernatorFan wrote:... and to a racy parody called Flesh Gordon, which is only slightly worse.

Somewhat surprisingly, the "racy parody" Flesh Gordon is, beneath the softcore surface, an impressively accurate homage to the 1930s movie serials on which it was based. I liked it more than I did the 1980 film.

Still, the 1980 film had elements I genuinely enjoyed, particularly the visuals, and you have done an excellent job recreating the 1980s-inspired look of the Sam J. Jones incarnation of the character! I'm always happy to see Flash Gordon getting some appreciation in action figure form!

Very cool looking custom. It reminds a lot the real pictures.

I am not much of a fan either , but you done a brilliant job replicating him .

Thanks for another childhood memory, Gube. I can see him in this sculpt. I think the eyes could be little bigger. The body is perfect for this figure. I´m not sure, but i think Flash Gordon was my first action figure. Something like 1:12 ?
OMG, Friends. Flesh Gordon ? I saw it right now on Youtube. This must be a kind of art. . Thanks for the laugh.

He´s a charming Actor. A friendly Lab or Golden Retriever.  . That really works on him . I´m a little sad to read he don´t got another role offers, after they gave the Golden Raspberry to him for the flash movie.

Ephiane wrote:He´s a charming Actor. A friendly Lab or Golden Retriever.  . That really works on him . I´m a little sad to read he don´t got another role offers, after they gave the Golden Raspberry to him for the flash movie.

He was in both “Ted” movies (playing himself) — hilarious films.

Isn't the Flash Gordon movie just so bad it's like, iconically bad?? I mean, no one is really taking it seriously.

This is a fun figure, nice to see what you did with it. Though I'm with Stryker in preferring the more clothed version, even if the others mimic some of the comics. I just think the almost-underwear look is a tad distracting.  

As always, great presentation, I think the choice of the red nebulae and barren planet surfaces is quite atmospheric. Has that pulpy vibe. If you ever try to put your hairing magic on him, I think you might make something similar to that lost in time Paul Walker you made.

But I have to say, the outfit design it's based on looks so...basic, the patch looks so cheap. And as accurate as the sword is to the source, it looks rather uninspired and boring. The red circle on that sword looks like you marked something on the photo. But it's more about showing off that biceps, the tbleauge body saves the figure.
The boots look good. But the best Prop is probably that Star Wars blaster. Now I try to imagine if the stories of Star Wars and Flash Gordon were swapped. Flash Gordon with Star Wars costumes, visuals and music. And Star Wars with the campy atmosphere of FLASH. STAR WARS! AAAH-AAHHH! Now we see how important the surroundings are.

But the again it's retro retro.

I remember watching the Flash Movie with my dad and brother when I had a one digit age. I found it rather dark and brutal, especially the intro were some space lord starts tsunamis and earthquakes on earth with some mouseclicks for fun. There was also torture and someone impaled by a star ship. There were those birdpersons who launched an aerial attack which impressed me. Don't remember how self aware of the campiness the movie was, but for me it felt very serious then.

Many years later for some reason I rediscovered that intro or trailer and had to smile at those aged visuals and enormous adorable campiness.

So I think Flash Gordon is a great Dark Sci Fantasy experience for kids.

Speaking of Campiness, this is pure campiness gold. Yor, Hunter from the Future

Btw. : the movie Flash Gordon is maybe not a piece of art. But remember all the space movies from the 80 ´. is Buck Rodgers better ? Barbarella ? The Black Hole ?

davidd wrote:Somewhat surprisingly, the "racy parody" Flesh Gordon is, beneath the softcore surface, an impressively accurate homage to the 1930s movie serials on which it was based. I liked it more than I did the 1980 film.

Still, the 1980 film had elements I genuinely enjoyed, particularly the visuals, and you have done an excellent job recreating the 1980s-inspired look of the Sam J. Jones incarnation of the character! I'm always happy to see Flash Gordon getting some appreciation in action figure form!

That seems to be the opinion of some reviews that I came across while researching. Whatever my qualified appreciation for the 1980 film, the visuals were impressive and in some cases iconic (like Ming, for example), so when I came across this and noticed a decent likeness, I couldn't resist trying it out. I'm very glad you enjoyed it.

muscledog wrote:Very cool looking custom. It reminds a lot the real pictures.      

Chip wrote:I am not much of a fan either , but you done a brilliant job replicating him .

Thank you both very much, I appreciate it, and it sounds like my purpose was fulfilled!

Ephiane wrote:Thanks for another childhood memory, Gube. I can see him in this sculpt. I think the eyes could be little bigger. The body is perfect for this figure. I´m not sure, but i think Flash Gordon was my first action figure. Something like 1:12 ?
OMG, Friends. Flesh Gordon ? I saw it right now on Youtube. This must be a kind of art. . Thanks for the laugh.

He´s a charming Actor. A friendly Lab or Golden Retriever.  . That really works on him . I´m a little sad to read he don´t got another role offers, after they gave the Golden Raspberry to him for the flash movie.

You are very welcome, and thank you for the kind words. I agree, the likeness is not perfect, and eye size might be part of it, as well as coloring (as with the eyebrows and hair). My friendly Lab or Golden Retriever comments were not, by the way a put down, I love those, even if audiences nowadays generally want more "edge" to their protagonists. I don't know that his acting was that bad, it is just that the writers and directors underutilized the protagonist in the movie. And, given it does not take itself completely seriously, one cannot really evaluate it very objectively. Moreover, due to creative differences, the actor left the production before the film was finalized, which meant that a lot of his lines were re-dubbed by another actor!

Stryker2011 wrote:He was in both “Ted” movies (playing himself) — hilarious films.

Yes, I loved that about Ted. I'm not always a complete Seth Macfarlane fan, but I found this one of the most endearing aspects of these fun comedies.

skywalkersaga wrote:Isn't the Flash Gordon movie just so bad it's like, iconically bad?? I mean, no one is really taking it seriously.

This is a fun figure, nice to see what you did with it. Though I'm with Stryker in preferring the more clothed version, even if the others mimic some of the comics. I just think the almost-underwear look is a tad distracting.  

Yes, indeed, one of the hallmarks of a cult classic! I think it is more artsy and campy, so it seems even worse than it actually is when compared to more serious sci fi drama.

Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And if you found some of this... distracting... then maybe it did its job! I almost started the topic with "And now, one for the ladies..." I think that was one of the intentions of the original film casting and design.

Ovy wrote:As always, great presentation, I think the choice of the red nebulae and barren planet surfaces is quite atmospheric. Has that pulpy vibe. If you ever try to put your hairing magic on him, I think you might make something similar to that lost in time Paul Walker you made.

But I have to say, the outfit design it's based on looks so...basic, the patch looks so cheap. And as accurate as the sword is to the source, it looks rather uninspired and boring. The red circle on that sword looks like you marked something on the photo. But it's more about showing off that biceps, the tbleauge body saves the figure.
The boots look good. But the best Prop is probably that Star Wars blaster. Now I try to imagine if the stories of Star Wars and Flash Gordon were swapped. Flash Gordon with Star Wars costumes, visuals and music. And Star Wars with the campy atmosphere of FLASH. STAR WARS! AAAH-AAHHH! Now we see how important the surroundings are.

But the again it's retro retro.

I remember watching the Flash Movie with my dad and brother when I had a one digit age. I found it rather dark and brutal, especially the intro were some space lord starts tsunamis and earthquakes on earth with some mouseclicks for fun. There was also torture and someone impaled by a star ship. There were those birdpersons who launched an aerial attack which impressed me. Don't remember how self aware of the campiness the movie was, but for me it felt very serious then.

Many years later for some reason I rediscovered that intro or trailer and had to smile at those aged visuals and enormous adorable campiness.

So I think Flash Gordon is a great Dark Sci Fantasy experience for kids.

Speaking of Campiness, this is pure campiness gold. Yor, Hunter from the Future.

Thank you very much, I'm very glad you liked it. Including my choice of backgrounds -- I confess I had to dial up the saturation in some cases. But looks like I succeeded in my aim to make references to the film's look.

Hairing might happen, like I mentioned, the sculpted/molded hair seems easy to remove (though I have not actually done so yet).

The outfit is very basic, and I agree about the patch and the sword. But I think there are several things at play here, besides replicating the film's design so far. The original Flash Gordon comic strip was published at the start of 1934! It and subsequent movies and series developed from that, and went through the 50s and 60s rather lackluster sci fi design stage. The film, and not just its promotional materials (which I illustrated in my response to Stryker), makes references to that, despite adopting a visually impressive colorful Art Deco style -- and Art Deco itself is, I think, a somewhat odd combination of simple and ornate. Set next to Star Wars and "modern" sci fi, this does not compete very well visually, and the artsy and campy elements to design, plot, and acting, do not help in that respect either. But let's remember that the original Star Wars itself was just departing from the older, simpler, cleaner, sci fi design.

The head works remarkably well with not one but at least two TBLeague bodies, so recreating the figure on one of them was the natural next step for me. I purposefully picked a more obscure (i.e., Prequel) Star Wars weapon -- but I didn't have the heart to break off the foldable stock for just a few silly photos). But there was no fooling you, of course.

Judging by the reviews, your reaction to the film was not an isolated one. Young audiences were horrified by various aspects. I don't think I was that young when I first saw it.

I am familiar with and enjoyed Yor. It is cheesy but fun, and it does have a nice twist.

Some other films that bear some comparison that you might like -- of course you might already know them:

Zardoz (1974) -- which I originally expected to be a reference to Zarathustra! (The trailer is horrible.)



Black Hole (1979) (Another iffy trailer.)



Mom and Dad Save the World (1992) -- a spoof of Flash Gordon (1980)

Ephiane wrote:Btw. : the movie Flash Gordon is maybe not a piece of art. But remember all the space movies from the 80 ´. is Buck Rodgers better ? Barbarella ? The Black Hole ?

We cross posted. And I share the sentiment. Even mentioned Black Hole! Anyway, agree completely.

Ovy wrote:Now I try to imagine if the stories of Star Wars and Flash Gordon were swapped. Flash Gordon with Star Wars costumes, visuals and music. And Star Wars with the campy atmosphere of FLASH. STAR WARS! AAAH-AAHHH! Now we see how important the surroundings are.

I meant to comment on this, but my memory is not what it used to be. I'm sure this is well known to some people (I suspect MBAM can tell us much more about it if he deigns to comment in the General Talk section, for example), but Star Wars was almost... Flash Gordon! Lucas wanted to do Flash Gordon (well before the 1980 movie, of course) but couldn't buy the rights from Dino de Laurentiis (of Conan the Barbarian fame). Not surprisingly, there are some (now relatively mild and largely obscured) parallelisms in plot and ideas. In fact, the character of Flash Gordon has been identified by some as a major source of inspiration for Han Solo and (since the protagonist in Star Wars is subdivided) Luke Skywalker.

Yes, Flash Gordon was indeed an inspo for Star Wars, it was mentioned extensively in one of the 'official' books I owned back in the day about the influences on the Original Trilogy.

Inspiration for Leia's famous buns:

Haha yeah, everything is connected. I think I saw it on some Bonus material docu VHS. Glad it went how it went though, if Lucas made that Flash Gordon movie we might not be here at all. This forum might not exist.
And I won't mention anything about any 'Jodorowsky Dune' influences on the Flash Gordon movie.

Since we started to post old Sci Fi trailers and I think it's a great distraction, so I will just continue. Zardos was kinda weird fun, much more serious from what I thought from the ridiculous outfit. I wondered once if anyone ever made a 1/6 figure of him. The outfit might be easier than getting all that hair on the body.

Speaking of Connery, Outland is a really great movie from what I remember, love the look and atmosphere. Might give it a rewatch since I don't remember much of the plot anymore, likewise with Silent running and Darkstar.


By the way,
The Japanese Star Wars (War in Space?)


And of course this deep French arthouse film, although even it's trailer is so intellectually challenging it's hard to sit through. (The music even reminds me of Flash's Queens song. Or Queen's Flash song)

skywalkersaga wrote:Yes, Flash Gordon was indeed an inspo for Star Wars, it was mentioned extensively in one of the 'official' books I owned back in the day about the influences on the OT.

Inspiration for Leia's famous buns

Oh yes, I had forgotten about that! Leia's buns, so quintessentially Star Wars are... Flash Gordon!

Ovy wrote:Haha yeah, everything is connected. I think I saw it on some Bonus material docu VHS. Glad it went how it went though, if Lucas made that Flash Gordon movie we might not be here at all. This forum might not exist.
And I won't mention anything about any 'Jodorowsky Dune' influences on the Flash Gordon movie.

Since we started to post old Sci Fi trailers and I think it's a great distraction, so I will just continue. Zardos was kinda weird fun, much more serious from what I thought from the ridiculous outfit. I wondered once if anyone ever made a 1/6 figure of him. The outfit might be easier than getting all that hair on the body.

Speaking of Connery, Outland is a really great movie from what I remember, love the look and atmosphere. Might give it a rewatch since I don't remember much of the plot anymore, likewise with Silent running and Darkstar.


By the way,
The Japanese Star Wars (War in Space?)

LOL Yes, indeed, we are lucky Lucas didn't get Flash Gordon. He couldn't possibly have created Star Wars then... and Flash Gordon is still around to be redone (as in the recent TV series).

I saw Outland (this or some newer version) advertised when I was looking for trailer links, might have to check it out.

Don't make me show you what has been called "Turkish Star Wars" but might in fact be "Turkish Flash Gordon"

Ahh, Outland. A si-fi remake of High Noon.

Great work on giving Flash a new body! Love the pics!

Flash Gordon is one of those movies that were so cheesy that they became entertaining again. I remember well that I was really hyped to see it in the cinema when it initially came out, but I was too young to actually get in. Of course, by today's standards, the movie is near unwatchable -- but it is also charming for all its stupidity.

Oh, speaking of 80's Scifi movies, I actually loved Disney's "The Black Hole" as a child...

Ovy wrote:And of course this deep French arthouse film, although even it's trailer is so intellectually challenging it's hard to sit through. (The music even reminds me of Flash's Queens song. Or Queen's Flash song)

Oh, i loved that Louis de funes movie.  

Randam Hajile wrote:Great work on giving Flash a new body! Love the pics!

Flash Gordon is one of those movies that were so cheesy that they became entertaining again. I remember well that I was really hyped to see it in the cinema when it initially came out, but I was too young to actually get in. Of course, by today's standards, the movie is near unwatchable -- but it is also charming for all its stupidity.

Oh, speaking of 80's Scifi movies, I actually loved Disney's "The Black Hole" as a child...

I could not sleep some nights after seeing maximillian ( the robot, not the actor Maximilian Schell )  killing the doctor.

Off topic now, but let´s forget no Piece of Movie Art.  






Intresting is... Star Wars, Buck Rodgers, Krull, Flash.... there´s always a Princess to rescue. The Alien Creature was in the first movie not 100%. But this Space movie from the 80´ is definitly not trash to me.

Randam Hajile wrote:Great work on giving Flash a new body! Love the pics!

Flash Gordon is one of those movies that were so cheesy that they became entertaining again. I remember well that I was really hyped to see it in the cinema when it initially came out, but I was too young to actually get in. Of course, by today's standards, the movie is near unwatchable -- but it is also charming for all its stupidity.

Oh, speaking of 80's Scifi movies, I actually loved Disney's "The Black Hole" as a child...

Thank you very much, Ralf, I'm glad you enjoyed them! And the movie -- I agree with your comments. Interesting... I did not realize (or had forgotten) that The Black Hole was by Disney! At first I thought you meant some other movie with the same name (and was going to offer up Titan, A.E., as another cool sci fi cartoon), but lo and behold, that was Disney!

Ephiane wrote:Off topic now, but let´s forget no Piece of Movie Art.  




Intresting is... Star Wars, Buck Rodgers, Krull, Flash.... there´s always a Princess to rescue. The Alien Creature was in the first movie not 100%. But this Space movie from the 80´ is definitly not trash to me.

I loved Krull... and in a way it is a little sci fi, isn't it?

This series you showed, apparently it is called Space: 1999 in English. How odd that it looks so retro for the 1990s, yet was more advanced than the 1990s in terms of space exploration. Actually, not that surprising. Anyway, for some reason it reminded me of my old Lego Space Classic sets, like this one:

Ha, I think my husband has shown me some scenes from that Space: 1999 series.  He is also a huge fan of the original Battlestar Galactica tv series, which definitely has great nostalgic charm.  

But to stay on topic, I bet your new Flash figure will be so fun to play around with in various humorous sci-fi photo shoots and scenes. :')