the lost continent: July 2014

Friday, July 25, 2014

comic book stash #125

more pick-ups from amazon...

deadly class volume one (TPB) - rick remender might be my favorite writer in comics right now

seconds (HC) - i've never read scott pilgrim but i loved the movie and this one sounds great. fingers crossed.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

DIY Pop! #2 - Gearhead

i'm happy to present my second custom pop! creation... Gearhead!

this guy took less time to make but was definitely more of a workout. at times there was some frustration and there was also a good amount of trial and error. originally i was trying to have a gear sticking out of his right arm but as i was attempting to cut the slit for the gear to fit into, i quickly realized that it wasn't going to work. at that point his arm was almost half gone anyway, so off it came! as i learned from my first pop!, mistakes can actually be a blessing. i would never have thought to take his arm off but i ended up absolutely loving it and am so glad it worked out the way it did.

here are a few more shots. originally i just worked on the front part of the pop! but after some advice from a friend, i decided to add some stuff to the back as well.

the only thing i knew from the beginning was that i wanted to have a big gear sticking out of the side of his head. the other things i just decided on as i was working on him. i ended up picking a different gear than what's pictured below, but that and the spray paint were the first steps. the paint worked out really well, it was a little more expensive but i loved the way it turned out. it looks a little too bronze in this picture because of the lighting.

the head of the pop! was really easy to work with considering it was hollow. i used a very small screwdriver to poke the holes and just screwed the pieces in. the slit for the big gear was cut with a x-acto knife. the body was a lot harder to work with. every time i tried to add a new piece i ended up chipping off some of the paint. so once i had everything in place like i wanted it, i took him completely apart to add a final coat of spray paint. once the paint was dry i put him back together and was really happy with how everything came together.

i don't really have any process shots but here are a few photos with all of the pieces removed. he's looking pretty rough!

all of the gears and screws and chains came from michaels. i originally wanted to have some type of base like i had on my first pop! but i couldn't come up with anything i was happy with. i might revisit the idea later.

stay tuned for pop! #3. thanks for reading!

Sunday, July 13, 2014

DIY Pop! #1 - Keeper of the Forest

in an attempt to unleash some creativity, i decided to take a stab at customizing my first pop! vinyl figure. among the many different things i collect, pop!s are one of my favorites. i have way too many but i'm not showing any signs of slowing down. funko recently released their DIY pop!s to make customizations easy, especially for beginners like me who might be intimidated by trying to rework a completed figure.

being a perfectionist, i didn't want to try and create a pop! based on a character from comics, tv, or movies. i knew that if i didn't get it just right, i would be too hard on my self. i found inspiration from other customs posted online that weren't based on anything at all, they were just unique, creative ideas. i knew that was the route for me to go. without a particular idea in mind, i decided to go to michaels and walk up and down the aisles until something caught my eye. well that definitely worked because i walked out with everything i needed for my first pop!, plus a ton of ideas for future pop!s.

i didn't think about taking any in process photos, so here is the finished project, Keeper of the Forest!

i spray painted a base layer of forest green. the body is covered in plants and bushes intended for miniature dioramas. his staff is a small stick i broke off outside of my apartment. the real wood base and little birds are from michaels.

it was a pretty time consuming process. my patience was definitely tested. it was a learning experience, but a very positive one. i know things always turn out better when you take your time, and don't rush. mistakes aren't the end of the world and can even sometimes be a good thing.

i'm ready to get started on my second pop! look out for that soon! thanks for reading!

Sunday, July 6, 2014

the best of 2013

i don't know about everyone else, but my year end best of lists always look different six months down the road than they did at the end of the calendar year. there's always a ton of movies i wanted to see but hadn't had the chance to that squeeze their way into the top ten. and with music, releases that drop towards the end of the year might make an awesome first impression but don't age well or maybe i needed to spend more time with an album before it really hits me and finds a place in my top five. so my goal in the future is to post a timely best of list in the first week of the new year and then follow up in the first week of july with an adjusted best of list that is hopefully a better representation of the previous year. considering i never posted lists for last year at all, the following is my definitive best of 2013 lists. thanks for reading.

best of 2013 - movies
20 - kick-ass 2
19 - 2 guns
18 - ender's game
17 - machete kills
16 - despicable me 2
15 - elysium
14 - oblivion
13 - world war z
12 - the wolverine
11 - thor: the dark world
10 - the wolf of wall street
9 - the hobbit: the desolation of smaug
8 - gravity
7 - pacific rim
6 - rush
5 - captain phillips
4 - prisoners
3 - star trek into darkness
2 - the hunger games: catching fire
1 - the world's end

best of 2013 - music
14 - frank turner - tape deck heart
13 - a wilhelm scream - partycrasher
12 - john mayer - paradise valley
11 - the wonder years - the greatest generation
10 - the dangerous summer - golden record
9 - kanye west - yeezus
8 - balance and composure - the things we think we're missing
7 - the swellers - the light under closed doors
6 - queens of the stone age - ...like clockwork
5 - foxing - the albatross
4 - the joy formidable - wolf's law
3 - crash of rhinos - knots
2 - touche amore - is survived by
1 - the national - trouble will find me

best of 2013 - comics
- these are my favorite series from the world of comics, in no particular order...
the wake - scott snyder / sean murphy
saga - brian k. vaughan / fiona staples
infinity - jonathan hickman / various artists
thor: god of thunder - jason aaron / esad ribic
uncanny avengers - rick remender / various artists
avengers - jonathan hickman / various artists
new avengers - jonathan hickman / various artists
batman - scott snyder / greg capullo