Looking for help with a Sssthgar custom

[Xorr-the-God-Jewel]

I'm hoping someone can help me plan out a custom figure of Sssthgar. I know, I know..."who the hell is Sssthgar"? 😂 He's a forgotten character who first appeared in Thor #212 and then again in Thor #213 before disappearing into obscurity. But being one of my early favorite Thor villains, I really want to have a figure of him and I know I have a better chance of winning the lottery than I do of seeing Hasbro release the character. Here's a pic of him...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At first I thought of using the most recent ML Lizard as a base, but the leg sculpts have pants and the lab coat seems to be attached to the body. Then I came across this the other day, the Savage Crucible Slate Lemurian...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He's taller than the Animal Kingdom figures and therefore a tiny bit taller than the ML 80th Anniversary Thor, and he was shown in the comics being taller than Thor, so this would work. Looking back at those Thor issues, the head sculpt on the Slate is shaped closer to Sssthgar's representation in the comics than the Lizard's is. I know, he only had 3 fingers in the comics, but I can overlook that. My issues are:

1. How to create the blue armor on his arms

2. How to create the upper tunic on his torso

3. How to create boots that fit those feet and look like they do in the comics

His lower tunic I can repaint to the comic version purple. I can also attach some trimmed troll hair from a gumball machine for his hair, so that's simple. The belt is also easy. It's just the armored arms, tunic, and boots that I'm trying to figure out. I also have to find the Slate available for order, but I'll get him eventually, that's not a problem. And I would dry brush some lighter green on him, so that's pretty easy. 

So...any thoughts from the expert customizers here? I'm not that handy with customizing - I mainly do repaints on details (such as repainting Ikaris's hideous faux gold to proper comic book yellow or repainting Xemnu's eyes). But I really, really gotta have a Sssthgar figure. 

 

[MeGrimlock78]

Jin Saotome's Dangerous Toys has lots of tutorials for just this type of thing.

I'd suggest some form of Aves Sculpy.or other modellimg clay for the gauntlets and possibly tunic.

As for the boots, depending on where the joints are, I would probably cut off the lizard feet at about mid-calf, do the same with some boots from a fodder figure, and reattch them.  Jin has a tutorial for making a swivel joint with a screw and a dremel if the existing joints don't allow for reattaching.

Good luck!  Sometimes customising is the only way to get those obscure characyers.  I had to make a Quark (from Lomgshot) out of a Power Man, Stealth Beast, and a dollar store goat, as I knew Hasbro never would.

[Xorr-the-God-Jewel]

On 7/11/2024 at 8:47 PM, MeGrimlock78 said:

Jin Saotome's Dangerous Toys has lots of tutorials for just this type of thing.

I'd suggest some form of Aves Sculpy.or other modellimg clay for the gauntlets and possibly tunic.

As for the boots, depending on where the joints are, I would probably cut off the lizard feet at about mid-calf, do the same with some boots from a fodder figure, and reattch them.  Jin has a tutorial for making a swivel joint with a screw and a dremel if the existing joints don't allow for reattaching.

Good luck!  Sometimes customising is the only way to get those obscure characyers.  I had to make a Quark (from Lomgshot) out of a Power Man, Stealth Beast, and a dollar store goat, as I knew Hasbro never would.

Wow, thanks for the tips and the reference to Dangerous Toys. Lots of good info there!

I'm not sure though, how I would make that blue armor for his arms out of Sculpy. Not sure how to manage the joints. 

Any suggestions for the boots? I'm not all that confident in cutting off his legs and creating my own swivel joint but that might be the best bet. But I'd have to think of a figure that has similar boots. Hmmm. 

[MeGrimlock78]

On 7/12/2024 at 12:39 AM, Xorr-the-God-Jewel said:

Wow, thanks for the tips and the reference to Dangerous Toys. Lots of good info there!

I'm not sure though, how I would make that blue armor for his arms out of Sculpy. Not sure how to manage the joints. 

Any suggestions for the boots? I'm not all that confident in cutting off his legs and creating my own swivel joint but that might be the best bet. But I'd have to think of a figure that has similar boots. Hmmm. 

Sorry, I was just thinking the cuffs of the gauntlets.  Might be best just to replace the whole arm with like a Colossus arm or something.  If the pegs in the shoulders are the same size, you're golden (heat and pop) but if not, you may have to crack the body to get the whole shoulder joint out.  I had to do that to add the Power Man legs to Beast's body for Quark.  If you're careful you can do it without leaving marks, and then glue it back together.

Honestly though?  Some of these techniques take practice.  I would maybe suggest not working on your holy grail figure first...find some cheap action figures at a flea market or something to practice on.

[Xorr-the-God-Jewel]

On 7/12/2024 at 12:21 PM, MeGrimlock78 said:

Sorry, I was just thinking the cuffs of the gauntlets.  Might be best just to replace the whole arm with like a Colossus arm or something.  If the pegs in the shoulders are the same size, you're golden (heat and pop) but if not, you may have to crack the body to get the whole shoulder joint out.  I had to do that to add the Power Man legs to Beast's body for Quark.  If you're careful you can do it without leaving marks, and then glue it back together.

Honestly though?  Some of these techniques take practice.  I would maybe suggest not working on your holy grail figure first...find some cheap action figures at a flea market or something to practice on.

That was one of my concerns. I'm not sure of the pegs for the arms are compatible. Say if I used Colossus arms on the Slate figure. I doubt the peg would fit cross-company. But I think Colossus's arms might be too bulky for the character. I might have to find another less powerful armored character. 

Yeah, this is gonna take some mental gymnastics. Great idea about getting some cheap figures at the flea market to practice on. Thanks!