Rash (Battletoads - Fwoosh Secret Santa 2018)
What up everyone! Back again with a reveal that I have been wanting to share for a while now, but due to Secret Santa rules, I have had to hold off until it is officially revealed by the recipient. Well, the time has come for my Fwoosh Secret Santa entry for 2018, Rash from Battletoads.
Before we get started, I have to say that I have always wanted to make a custom Battletoad for one of these swaps. So you can imagine my excitement upon discovering Rash on my list, there was really no other option. Too bad , as there were some real gems on the list, but ya, non-negotiable. Rash was the only choice.
My mind immediately went to work, thinking of the perfect base body and how it would scale up with the other 2 toads. I opted to use a Prowler figure because I really like the build of that body (and if there was any paint rub, he is green in all the right spots). I figured, if my recipient decided to make Pimple and Zitz you could build them on the Sentry and Reaper bodies, and they would scale perfectly with Rash.
Aside from Prowler, I used a Nuke head as a base for my head sculpt (I essentially just used it for its ball joint), 3 pairs of Spider Man thwipp hands (finally found a use for them!) for the small hands and a pair of hands from the Odin BAF for the big hands. The kneepads came from a Ninja Turtle figure and the spikes are toothpicks with too many coats of glue to count.
My favourite part of the figure has to be the swappable faceplates. I decided to try something I have never done before: to utilize magnets to allow for swappable faceplates. Each faceplate fits to the face perfectly and attaches via magnets. They swap out with very little effort, yet are secure enough to not have to worry about them falling off when handling. There are 3 different expressions: gritting teeth/mean face, smiling/happy face and cool guy with a toothpick face.
Aside from the faces, I also gave him 4 sets of hands (fists, thumbs up, hang ten’s, and jumbo fists) and a giant left boot that swaps out with the left foot. Unfortunately, my execution was not well thought out, and ultimately, it ended up being pretty useless. I didn’t consider the weight of the boot or the strength that would be required to keep the boot in the air, therefore his leg (and knee) don’t really support the weight. I was able to keep them in place (as seen in pics) using a flight stands. But it’s the thought that counts, right? :)
The head and faces went through many different looks (as you can see from the WIP pics). It took multiple attempts (and loads of feedback from my friends) before I was happy with the final results.
When it came to painting, I got to try some new techniques with my airbrush, which are barely noticeable in the pictures, but i think look pretty great in person. I used my coloured primers for both the green and the yellow parts to ensure they really popped on the finished product. I ALMOST added black spots like some of the promo material for the original video game showed, but I feared he might look like a green cow, so I opted to not take my chances and ruin my sweet green shades.
Overall, I am super stoked on how Rash turned out. I think the alt hands and swappable faces allow for so many posing options that it was hard to not take a million pics of him. Although challenging, it was a lot of fun to see him come together. He was my primary work in progress custom for over 6 weeks so it was a long journey to get to the final stretch. I hope my recipient enjoys him as much as I enjoyed making him. And thank you all for stopping by to check out my secret santa reveal!
If you aren’t following along, I suggest heading over to the Fwoosh Forum to check out the Secret Santa thread to see the reveals as they roll in. Click here to start at the first reveal. There’s been some great reveals thus far. No membership needed to view. It’s definitely a fun little event, especially when the reveals start rolling in. There are over 40 participants this year so the reveals should be plentiful. Cheers!
