Custom: Skeletor's Armory (Part 1)
As always, I'll start with a diatribe about how much I dislike He-Man. I hate He-Man so much, I spent $70 to pick up a pair of MotU Vs. DC Universe packs, then dropped another fifteen bucks to buy toys I could tear apart and customize into accessories for He-Man and Skeletor.
Also, while I sit typing this, I'm also attempting to win an Ebay auction, which may provide me with MORE ACCESSORIES for Skeletor.
You should see what I do when I actually LIKE a property....
Okay, I haven't actually hated He-Man in years. I really couldn't stand the show or figures as a kid (and, honestly, having watched a few episodes recently, I think that's a testament to my taste at the time). However, the 2002 Cartoon Network relaunch was something else. Playing up the superhero aspects of the premise, the show integrated long-term, intelligent story lines, while updating the character designs into something that was at once reminiscent of the originals while somehow being cool.
Suddenly, the property began appealing to me. I'd missed the 200X toy line ten years ago, but the (relatively) new MotU Classics were certainly appealing... though there just too many hoops to jump through to get them. When I had a chance to get some figures at Toys R Us (as opposed to the infamous Matty Collector website), I leapt.
But... there was a price. Because they were re-released, and because they were ostensibly based on a pair of comics no one could actually remember, some very iconic accessories were neglected. He-Man was packaged without a sword, a situation I remedied.
Also, while I sit typing this, I'm also attempting to win an Ebay auction, which may provide me with MORE ACCESSORIES for Skeletor.
You should see what I do when I actually LIKE a property....
Okay, I haven't actually hated He-Man in years. I really couldn't stand the show or figures as a kid (and, honestly, having watched a few episodes recently, I think that's a testament to my taste at the time). However, the 2002 Cartoon Network relaunch was something else. Playing up the superhero aspects of the premise, the show integrated long-term, intelligent story lines, while updating the character designs into something that was at once reminiscent of the originals while somehow being cool.
Suddenly, the property began appealing to me. I'd missed the 200X toy line ten years ago, but the (relatively) new MotU Classics were certainly appealing... though there just too many hoops to jump through to get them. When I had a chance to get some figures at Toys R Us (as opposed to the infamous Matty Collector website), I leapt.
But... there was a price. Because they were re-released, and because they were ostensibly based on a pair of comics no one could actually remember, some very iconic accessories were neglected. He-Man was packaged without a sword, a situation I remedied.
|
I also (somehow) fast-talked my wife into sewing Skeletor a cape. He wore one in the relaunch, and if you don't think it was a design improvement, than you watched WAY too much TV in the eighties. Incidentally, if you haven't seen Lindsay's customs yet, you'll want to do so. She's ten times the customizer I am, at least. Skeletor actually did come with a sword, but it was sort of a translucent yellow, which wouldn't have been my first choice. I considered painting that, actually, but couldn't bring myself to do it. It's a really nice sword (though a tad on the small side), and I didn't want to permanently alter it. Besides, I found something a bit more to my liking for both He-Man and Skeletor. I already went over He-Man's new sword in a separate article, so I won't repeat that here. |
 |
Skeletor's sword started life as an accessory which came with a "Medieval Batman" I found for five bucks at Lots Less. I bought it for the sword, which has a nice, frightening shaped blade, along with a bat motif. Seeing as that's Hordak's (or Hordak Prime's, if you prefer the original series) symbol as well as Wayne's, I figured it would work here (as always, if you have no idea what I'm talking about, just smile and nod).
 |
Of course, a sword is really Skeletor's secondary weapon. More sorcery than sword, he's better known for relying on his Havoc Staff, and that's a little harder to fabricate.
At any rate, hard or not, I wanted to try. So I got to work on a Havoc staff. Well, actually, I got to work on three Havoc staves. The staves are wooden dowels: nothing complicated, but they work well enough. I wanted some options. The one on the right is the closest to a "classic" version with a ram's skull. I sculpted that from scratch, though, so... it looks a bit "homemade." The other two are accessories from figures I picket up for the skulls. The dragon skull in the center was from a McFarlane Fantasy action figure (Tyr, if memory serves), while the one of the left was from... er... some figure who came out years ago. It's supposed to be a "wolf skull," but it looks more like it came from a snakeman to me. |
Of the three, I like the dragon skull best, with the snakeman coming in a close second. I like the one I made, but it's nowhere near as cool as the staff that came with the 200X Skeletor which was part of the aforementioned Ebay auction... that I just LOST. Curse you, Fate!
Hmmm.... You know what's missing? A shield. And maybe some bases. I get the feeling I'm not done here....
 |
 |
 |
 |
