Mark Hoppus (Blink 182)

Whats up everyone? Sorry for the lengthy wait between reveals. I have been putting this one off because I was planning on using it to launch my upcoming YouTube channel. However, I am still ironing out a few things with the rollout of the channel, so I decided to continue my custom reveals with all these words (but it will be changing soon!!) Anyways, thanks for stopping by for a new custom figure reveal. This one is a bit different, in that it is not a mutant or a superhero, a villain or a mercenary. This guy is the bassist and vocalist for the most influential band in my life. This guy, is Mark Hoppus from Blink 182. 

Ok so, some backstory here. I have been planning on making a set of custom Blink 182 figures with a small stage and flaming fuck sign diorama for the last few years. Blink 182 is my favourite band ever and I still listen to them all the time. Their music influenced me in so many ways that still makes me the person I am to this very day. 

Back in the summer (2021), Mark announced on social media that he was undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. As someone who has been personally affected by cancer (I lost my father to a long winded battle with cancer that spanned almost a decade), I wondered if there was anything I could do to show Mark support and appreciation. I figured that this was the perfect time to do a trial run on my long planned Blink 182 customs so I decided to make a figure of Mark for Mark.  

About 7 years ago, my father went into the hospital for a high risk cancer related surgery. It was one of the few times I ever saw my dad scared of a potential outcome. I could tell the uncertainty of the surgery was weighing heavily on him. Because I lived across the country from him at the time, I made him a custom Funko Pop of him as a superhero ( I called him the mighty pee wee - pee wee being my dad’s nickname) as a symbol of me being ‘present’ for his surgery. My dad got through that bout with cancer (and a few more after that), and continued to bring that Funko pop with him every time he went back into the hospital for a stay, even if it was just for one night. With this thought in mind, I figured maybe it would bring Mark some sort of something, anything to take his mind off the situation, or make him happy or something.

Keep in mind, I do not know Mark Hoppus. This is all wild thoughts thinking that Mark Hoppus has any idea who I am or what I do. I can imagine he is more than inundated with love and support from his millions and millions of fans all over the globe, let alone the love and support he is likely getting from his friends, family and the music scene. However, it would make me the happiest person in the world to get this figure into his possession. Even if it just went into some pile of fan mail/art. He HAS seen it on instagram and commented on it (one of my pinnacle moments on IG), so now the goal is to somehow get it to him. 

Ok so the figure, lets talk about that now. Haha. This Mark Hoppus Figure was my first attempt at a civilian style character. His base body was a Power Ranger Lightning Collection torso, MCU Shang Chi upper legs, Pizza Spidey arms and lower legs, Spider Punk shoes and hands. The head and his signature Fender bass guitar were digitally sculpted and printed by the very talented team over at @CraniumKicker_Customs. 

Once I had this guy all kit bashed together, the sculpting was pretty straight forward. I started by removing the ab crunch by sculpting over it. I figured the diaphragm joint was more than enough articulation for this type of character and I didn’t want to break up the t-shirt sculpt with unneeded articulation. I then filled in all the musculature on the arms and legs (along with the peg holes) as I didn’t want Mark to look shredded. lol. I sculpted the neck smooth as well. 

After the muscles were all toned down it was just a bit of minor sculpting before he was ready for paint. I sculpted t-shirt sleeves and some pulled up tube socks. To convert the Shang Chi upper legs to shorts, I simply glued the upper leg joint in place and sculpted the cuff of the short at the top of the knee cap. and turned the upper legs into shorts. I was a bit bummed to loose the double knees, but I felt that the appearance of the shorts outweighed the need for the second point of articulation in the knees. 

His paint job was super simple, but I gotta say im super impressed with myself on the skin tones and details on the face. I think it all turned out really well. The face is an area im still super critical about on my own work, so I was happy that this one turned out great, on the first attempt no less!

I did play with water slide decals for the first time on this figure. My buddy Dee (aka @hostile_cc) taught me some tricks to make your own water slide decals and I think it worked like a charm here. I used them for his wrist tattoos and on the front and back of the shirt. The tattoos worked really well, and it makes me a bit less nervous about doing Travis now that I know this is an option. Very happy to now have this weapon in my arsenal. 

Overall, im so stoked with how this Mark Hoppus figure came together. I cannot wait to give Tom, Travis and another Mark (this time for me) another go. They should look wicked together, and with @CraniumKicker_Customs awesome head sculpts, I should be able to get some pretty close portraits of the guys. Now the push is on to get Mark’s attention (again). This time, I really want to get this figure to him. So please feel free to share this page or any of my pics on IG with @markhoppus and tell him that I have this figure for him. 

Thanks for stopping by. Up next, my Fwoosh Secret Santa 2021 entry for this year. Stick around!