I've been naughty this year and started writing some of the Advent Calendar entries far earlier, since last time it was a hassle due to scheduling conflicts. Throughout this year, I've been getting props for dioramas. Ringside Collectibles and Wrestling Superstore have been a godsend for accessories... and to an extent, a cheaper alternative to eBay and Amazon.
Still, eBay and Amazon have some unique things that can be harder to find anywhere else. Y'all know about my "China Wars" Casey Jones that I was working on to make into the official TMNTU styled Nefty-kun. You might have seen some cameos of him, due to the timeline being tampered with recklessly. But before I deal with Nefty-kun, here's the stuff I got from Wrestling Superstore:
Bent Lead pipe
Fire Hydrant
Megaphone
Taser
Trashcan
TV tray
Traffic Cone
Aside the Taser, TV Tray, and Megaphone, the rest of the items are themed: Background Items that you could find on a street diorama... or a beat-em up game diorama.
The TV Tray is just that, a TV Tray. Sadly it's not accurate to my classic ICFTTC TV tray. But just for kicks I used the items of a past upcoming Advent Calendar item.
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| The Belt is in progress. This is a recreation of what I do for the ICFTTCs. |
The Taser unfortunately has a tiny grip and none of the Super 7 MALE figures can hold it.
I'm gonna use the official pic from Wrestling Superstore so you can see it better.
The handle is too thick for MOTUC, McFarlane and some Marvel Legends. April can only use it with her gun hand... if Irma is made, she might get to use it... or the next one I buy.
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| I kick ass... Shocking!! |
The Megaphone has a bit of a wider grip that can be used on big guys like Rocksteady... and I got it as a pre-emptive buy for Burne, or if I can find Policemen in that scale... that aren't too realistic. Or Super7 should just make Police Academy animated series toys and incorporate movie characters in the animated style. Like say Nogata... (yes I want him for a Xenogears reference)
Sadly, I'll probably have to customize cops when I suck at customizing. I mean it's a megaphone, what else can I say about it?
And then there's the rest:
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| Rocksteady: Alright Robots, kick his ass! He ain't no Toitle nor sports dude... Nefty: I'm the Game Dude... the most hardcore videogamer in the world... and you fools are in my playground... *E1M1 intensifies* Rocksteady: I'm gonna look for Bebop... Foot Soldiers ATTACK!! |
Traffic Cone:
A Beaten up Traffic cone that has seen better days. Seems like a bad driver (I swear it wasn't me) ran over the cone. It lacks reflective tape, but that can be solved via tape or paint. I don't think I'll paint/tape Cone #1, but if I get Multiples, some might get the reflective treatment to differentiate them.
Bent Lead pipe:
The pipe looks far too shiny to be a lead pipe. The girth is a bit too much for Nefty or the Foot Soldiers to hold. With some muscle Rocksteady and Bebop could hold it by the tip. But the I'm gonna call it steel pipe is such an iconic weapon in beat-em up games like Final Fight and Streets of Rage. Curiously enough, Double Dragon has no pipes as weapons... on the arcade entries. IIRC in one of the NES games there was a pipe. Even River City Ransom has a pipe weapon. Basically a pipe that has cracked a few skulls and seem better days.
The Fire Hydrant is just that, a red fire hydrant. No removable pieces, no missile firing action, just a plain old red fire hydrant. I might need to make some research to repaint it based on NYC code.
The Trash Can:
Normal Residential style Metal Trash can with lid. The lid size is good but Bebop can't hold the handle, unfortunately. You can fill it up with stuff. (They also have dumpsters and plastic square bins... great for alley dioramas.)
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| Nefty: They no longer make henchmen like they used to. To be fair they landed a blow or two... A trash can? Perfect!! Nothing puts me in the mood like Garbage Can Pizza... OK maybe wall meat that isn't from an adult reference. Wait... why do I hear Boss music? |
From eBay:
Jakks Pacific TV with broken screen (you slam a Wrestler's head through it.) It looks like a 70s TV with wood paneling and stuff. The screen is soft and cracked, which allows to display a figure knocked out with their head inside the TV. If you have a TMNTU display and the background is inside Second Time Around Antiques store, using a GITD Foot Soldier with its head through this TV, it could look like it's being electrocuted. (It's ok, it's a robot). If someone would make a third party cast of it with an intact screen, it would be awesomesauce!
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| 3D Printed to the left and jakks Pacific to the right. |
I also got a 3D Printed TV. It's similar to the Jakks TV but not identical... guess I'll have to find a VCR or two for them.
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| Unpainted as it was sold to me. |
Well. Here's Nefty-kun in all his glory, though he prefers the codename GameDude... He even has a bio:
Statistics:
Birthplace:
Green Hill Hospital Room 1-1
Height:
5'7" without Mushroom Power-ups
Weight:
230 when fully equipped.
Favorite move:
The Konami Code
Favorite Power-Up:
Invincibility or Extra Lives.
Description: As a college-aged slacker who is an eternal disappointment to his father, Nefty spends most of his free time playing videogames. One day while he was playing at an arcade, a scuffle between the Foot Clan and the Tuetles ensured. During the encounter a flying ooze canister knocked Nefty into a Japanese tabletop arcade game triggering a mutation. Now Nefty is a half-man, half-videogame, evil fighting machine. Using "videogame logic" Nefty can pull out various videogame power ups and use them in the real world. He can even use cheat codes with his tubular Game Gauntlet. Now calling himself the GameDude, he wants to ensure it's Game Over for the foot!
Design and Concept:
Remember the rant about creating characters? One of the Concepts that I didn't mention back then was a character named: Nicholas Raymond Cade, aka Nick R Cade... yes, the name is a reference to Nickelodeon's Nick Arcade gameshow. Visually, he'd be a mix of old parts and new parts. The old parts would be mostly from Casey Jones. Mainly the lower Body. The Head, Torso, and arms would be new. The torso would be a red shirt with the Red Jaguars from Legends of the Hidden Temple (another Nickelodeon reference) a Blue sleeveless vest with a round pin with P1 written on it. A splat of orange GAK is stuck to the back of his chest. For his arms his shoulders would be covered by the short sleeved shirt and he's wearing orange fingerless gloves. He should look a bit like a young Jack Black with MacGyver's Mullet, light brown hair. If he was made in the late 80s-early 90s he'd get for accessories:
-Championship Belt:
A Fighter's belt that boosts the user's strength
-Hermes Sandals:
Sandals from a fantasy game that allow double jump and air dash (similar to Kala's boots in plug in function)
-Gamer Gauntlet:
It clips on his left arm and can allow Nick/Nefty the use of cheat codes and other powers like firing energy blasts.
-Wall Hot Dog:
It's a Hot Dog that Nicm/Nefty found by punching a wall. It restores Health. It's not an adult joke/reference... I should've gone with a burger.
-1Up:
Touching this gives Nick/Nefty an extra life.
-Space Sword:
Futuristic Sword from a platforming game used to destroy evil robots.
Of course, all these would be in Nickelodeon orange.
Like stated in Nefty-kun's bio, Nick, would be a slacker who'd rather spend his time playing videogames, much to his father's (Nicholas Cade Sr.) dismay. There would have been a reference to Nick R. Cade hating being called Nick jr. and he's mostly a love letter to pre-200s Nickelodeon. (And a bit of a joke as how other mega entertainment corporations love to cross promote brands in blatantly obvious plugs but using TMNT's new corporate overlords.)
His outfit is a slight nod to SNK's Terry Bogard but in a Mario inspired color scheme. I removed a red Double Dare hat to avoid making it too obvious. That's also why I made the Power Glove ersatz a left handed item. The Blaster functionality is a nod to most run and gun games (Megaman, Contra, Metroid). The Hermes sandals are a nod to Kid Icarus and the Pegasus Boots from Legend of Zelda. The wall Hot Dog is a reference to Castlevania. The 1Up is self explanatory. The Space Sword is a nod to Strider. The idea that Nick kinda looks like Jack Black is a nod to the Pitfall ad with Jack Black. So yeah, while there is a lot of Nickelodeon references, I also tried to add a lot of "generic looking" nods to other games.
Since my customizing skills are poor and there aren't enough base bodies in the TMNTU style, I had to improvise, adapt, and overcome.
With me being unable to remove the Shoulderpad from Casey's left shoulder, I had to tweak my design... if only there was some sort of Videogame character with a left shoulderpad... but I didn't want to make it so obvious... with Casey having a Hoodie, I only needed to extend it closer to his waist and add some more hoodie jacket elements. I also added a red undershirt to keep some of the Mario Red and Blue. The shoulderpad is badly painted on purpose. You can see the orange from underneath, since Nefty only painted it gunmetal and silver to "look badass" but at the same time keeping a Low Budget Cosplay feel to it. The hair is painted in color shifting paints because when it looks golden, Nefty is using videogame logic powers. When it's black, hes not using his powers. When somewhere in between, he's using passive powers, like visual novel mode. (Including those types of games like Classmates: End of Summer).
The Championship Belt was a Revelation... Trap Jaw belt I saw on eBay... The Space Sword is a cast of another Space Sword specifically from He-Man. The Nefty head is a repaint of a Mo-Larr cast.
The point of these addendums is that throughout the year, I've found more stuff to use as props, but despite the decent amount, there needs to be more... outside of Dollhouse stuff...
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