Streex/Blades (Street Sharks)
Hey everyone. Pretty excited for this reveal as I have been keeping it a secret since I started work on it back in September and I feel its probably one of my best efforts to date. This is my entry for this years Secret Santa figure swap taking place over at the Fwoosh Forums. Here is, Streex/Blades from Street Sharks.
Streex here went to one of the pro’s of this years swap, Tony Simione from Plan B Toys. Before I get started, I have to say that Tony’s list was SO AWESOME! There were at least 3 serious contenders and I could not decide on which one I wanted to do. The top 3 choices were Tank Girl, Mutagen Man from Ninja Turtles, and a Street Shark of my choosing. Although I was never a huge Street Shark fan, I did have the action figure of Blades, which is what compelled me to take a crack at him. Nostalgia mostly, but also I always like a good challenge.
Sharky is one of my most intricate kit bash I think I have ever done, maybe even more than Jeff from last years Summer Swap. He was made using a King Shark Torso/Head and shoulders, Abomination Arms/hands (smoothed out), a Gladiator Hulk Crotch, heavily modified Ultimate Green Goblin legs and a pair of finger rollerblades I bought off of eBay for $2 lol.
While it doesn’t seem like too much of a kit bash, none of the pieces fit together at all. I had to transplant the arm peg from the Abomination arms to the King Shark Shoulders. I did this by cutting off the existing post on the King Shark arms, and screwing the abomination pegs onto the new shoulder. I did something very similar with the legs as I switched them from the thigh ball joint to the new hasbro style joint (again, transplanting the peg from Abomination’s upper thighs to Gladiator Hulk’s). The rollerblades were a huge pain in the ass too. Trying to get them from finger blades to fully articulated ankle rockers took some effort.
Lots of sculpting happening on this guy as well. Sculpted details on the legs, waist and crotch as well as the kneepads and the rollerblade boots (the part on the leg). On the upper body, just the gloves were sculpted. I also used Apoxie Sculpt to smoothen out the textured arms of Abomination. And I also altered the point of his nose and the thickness of his jaw to make him look more cartoony and less like a real shark.
The ONLY minor nitpick I have with this custom is that he scales a little too big. He’s probably closer to 7.5-8” scale where as in the cartoons, the street sharks were probably only about 6’3”. Amazing how much height rollerblades can add! But hopefully, my recipient is ok with that as a huge menacing shark will look pretty dope towering over his other figures.
Overall, i am so so happy with Blades. I got to try some new procedures (the peg transplants and fitting the roller blades to the feet) and he was lots of fun to paint. But, I hope he’s my one and only Street Shark because he was a huge pain in my ass to fit together. Haha. Thanks for stopping by and if you haven't, you really ought to check out the Fwoosh Forums Secret Santa by clicking here (This will take you to the first reveal). This year there are over 40 participants (a few professional sculptors) and you don’t need to be a member to view, so head on over and check it out.
Next reveal is another doozy, so hang tight, more 90’s goodness to come!
