[State Trooper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zuludelta

Kicking off the weekend with a couple of favourites:

Zartan & Firefly

Design notes:

• This new Zartan image is an updated version of an early one I posted a few months ago. He's armed with a VSS Vintorez silenced sniper rifle (it's the rifle that came with the first 25th Anniversary Zartan figure), notoriously used by the Spetsnaz for covert operations. He also has a bow (the classic comic book version of Zartan is an expert in kyudo). I spent a lot of time trying to rationalize the Alice Cooper-esque facial make-up of the original. My original attempt was to simply change the make-up to eyeblack (the black stuff athletes and other outdoor-types smear under their eyes to cut down on glare). I liked it initially, but I eventually tired of it... it just looked too plain. Anyway, I remembered that in the classic comics, Zartan spent some time in Japan studying swordsmithing under Professor Onihashi (weaponsmith/armourer to the Arashikage ninja clan). So I started looking at traditional Japanese make-up.
  
  It took me a while but I finally found something appropriate for the character: Kitsune Tadanobu's kabuki make-up pattern.
  
  Actors playing the character Kitsune Tadanobu in traditional kabuki plays wear a distinct decorative make-up pattern. In the kabuki play Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura, Kitsune Tadanobu (alternatively known as Genkurō) is a fox-spirit who has the power to copy the appearance of others. I figure Zartan would have taken inspiration from the traditional story, and uses the Kitsune Tadanobu make-up pattern as a sort of warpaint-styled personal conceit.

• Firefly was pretty straightforward. The only major change I went with was to replace his submachine gun with a shotgun, as I find a shotgun a more "saboteur-y" weapon. It can be loaded with all manner of specialty shells (like Hatton rounds for disintegrating door locks and deadbolts, gas-filled rounds, etc.). You'll also notice that I used a pair of katakana symbols at the base of his filecard picture instead of the traditional Cobra sigil. The symbols spell out the word "Koga," the name of the ninja clan that allegedly adopted and raised Firefly (koga can mean "relic" or "ancient," IIRC).

To read their full filecards, click on the Filecard Project link in my signature banner. Thanks for looking!

Zartans a Panzer Cop??!!!!!

[zuludelta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loose Cannon

Wow that Red Star Update is great Zulu. He looks so good. Will Lt Gorky get that same look?

He'll have a beret, but I'll be outfitting him in colours more similar to the comic book depiction.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Master Thespian

I absolutely love Brekhov and Red Star (Randy Orton?).

Nope not Randy Orton. Just a generic Slavic male face that came up on a Google image search.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Master Thespian

I have to give extra kudos on Brekhov. His stance is really exciting and the face you used is full of battle hardened wisdom. The image really exudes a great deal of character, z.

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Master Thespian

Big Boa. WOW. Fantastic update, and I'm digging the change to MMA (my favorite sport). Based on his diverse and practical combat background, he'd have been an interesting guy to watch! I initally was put off by the spandex/lycra pants on an MMA fighter, but I remembered Shinya Aoki wears similar ring gear (as do many other fighters in Japanese promotions, especially former Dutch styled kickboxers). The only thing that's kind of off is the boxing shoes. I'd think if he wore any ring styled shoes (as opposed to going barefoot or using ankle supports) in a training situation, they'd be wrestling shoes. Just a small nit, though. You found a clever way to incorporate the chest straps (seeing as every other MMA fighter is covered in tats). Great work!

Thanks!

The boxing shoes are probably my lone concession to the original figure design. Maybe he's more comfortable as a striker, and prefers the extra traction and ankle stability afforded by boxing shoes. I was a little hesitant about using the tights, but then I remembered all those Eastern European guys who used to fight on Japan's WOWOW network back in the early 1990s a lot of them wore classic wrestling tights (I forget the name of the promotion... it had funky rules: no closed fist strikes, fighters could wear boxing or wrestling shoes for traction and protection but only barefoot fighters were allowed to execute kicks utilizing the feet, although shod fighters could still use their knees).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Interrogator

Zartans a Panzer Cop??!!!!!

I can see where you're coming from with the comment but nope, the shin guards weren't taken from a Kerberos-style figure.

[Master Thespian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zuludelta

(I forget the name of the promotion... it had funky rules: no closed fist strikes, fighters could wear boxing or wrestling shoes for traction and protection but only barefoot fighters were allowed to execute kicks utilizing the feet, although shod fighters could still use their knees).

Sounds like Pancrase back when it was in it's early shoot hybrid-wrestling days (where Ken Shamrock and Bas Rutten got their starts). I believe fighters with shoes could still kick, just not to the head of an opponent.

[zuludelta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Master Thespian

Sounds like Pancrase back when it was in it's early shoot hybrid-wrestling days (where Ken Shamrock and Bas Rutten got their starts). I believe fighters with shoes could still kick, just not to the head of an opponent.

Yeah, I think it was Pancrase. Man, that early shit was crazy. No weight classes! No dress codes (some guys -- mostly the European and Brazilian ones -- would come in wearing a full judoka gi). Sort of like the early UFC, but much, much more technique-oriented. Since fist strikes were forbidden, you'd see guys get way more creative with their attempts at winning by KO than they normally would, and since there were provisions for rule-mandated "escapes" from submission holds in certain situations, you'd see some real crazy submissions. Too bad Pancrase is basically a Pride clone these days. Don't get me worng, I like the current Pride/UFC style ruleset, but I wish there was more diversity in the types of high-level MMA competition rulesets in use.

[Master Thespian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zuludelta

No weight classes!

This is gone for good, except in the case of weird Japanese matches. Even then, it's going to be an extremely skilled smaller guy versus an unskilled giant sloth (see the Super Hulk tournament current ongoing in Japan).

Quote:

Originally Posted by zuludelta

No dress codes (some guys -- mostly the European and Brazilian ones -- would come in wearing a full judoka gi).

I would gladly welcome a return of more varied ring gear. Gives the fighters more personality and allows more specific techniques to be used. BJJ players and their gi chokes, wrestlers using shoes for extra traction on takedowns, savate style kickers using the tip of the foot in kicks could really make for even more intense inter-personal matchup dynamics.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zuludelta

Since fist strikes were forbidden, you'd see guys get way more creative with their attempts at winning by KO than they normally would...

Rutten vs Delucia in Pancrase was a perfect example of this. Check out the fight if you haven't already (preferably the one with Bas' hilarious commentary if you can find it). BAS HATES LIVER.

All that said, I wish UFC would allow the down kicks like Pride did. The wrestlers run rampant in UFC with virtually no real fear of the consequences of failed takedown attempts. It's kinda hard to keep pawing a guy's legs looking for a wimpy ankle pick if he can knee or kick you.

[Troynos]

Liking Red Star and Brekhov.


Good update to Big Boa. Still looks odd, but I don't think there's anyway to make that character cool looking and still have it resemble the original, but it's a good update.

[zuludelta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Master Thespian

All that said, I wish UFC would allow the down kicks like Pride did. The wrestlers run rampant in UFC with virtually no real fear of the consequences of failed takedown attempts. It's kinda hard to keep pawing a guy's legs looking for a wimpy ankle pick if he can knee or kick you.

Yeah. My biggest misgiving with UFC's ruleset is that I think it favours wrestlers/jiu-jitsu fighters over strikers (although the opposite can be said for the old Pancrase rules), particularly with how the rules "protect" wrestlers/jiu-jitsu fighters after a failed shoot/takedown. It sort of takes away the strikers' counterkicking ability. It's dangerous for the grappler obviously to allow their opponent the option to strike them when they're kinesthetically incapable of defending themselves, so an alternative would be to penalize a fighter after a certain number of failed shoot attempts (I suppose a fighter is already de facto "penalized" in the scorecards if he keeps coming up short with his takedowns, but I think there has to be more done to discourage shitty half-hearted shoot attempts because they really slow down the pace of a match in an artifical and unaesthetic manner).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Troynos

Liking Red Star and Brekhov.

Glad you like them. I spent much more time trying to recreate these guys compared to the Joes or the Brits in Action Force, as it's a bit harder to find reliable source images and current military info regarding the Ukrainian Armed Forces (which is currently in a state of transition). I actually learned a lot researching backgrounds for these two. Turns out the Ukrainian military is shifting to a "professional army" structure, with the bulk of their soldiers, airmen, and sailors slowly being transitioned into professional contract workers (no more conscripts). The idea is that potential recruit will have to be a professional first (meaning they will have to have significant postsecondary education or on-the-job training) before being allowed entry into the Armed Forces. The idea is to create an Armed Forces that doesn't spend an inordinate amount of resources in training its members up to a particular professional standard. For example, in the US or Canada, an 18 year old kid can join the Armed Forces straight out of high school, and while in the service, be trained at the government's cost to be a professional in any number of fields he or she might be qualified for (vehicle repair, human resources management, journalism, infantry, etc.). In the new Ukraine Armed Forces, if a recruit wants to become an army vehicle repairer, he'll have to meet certain professional and/or educational requirements to get that position. It's an excellent way for a country with a limited defense budget allocated towards training to maintain their military's standards.

[Troynos]

That's pretty interesting. It's pretty interesting that so many USSR units turned around and became Ukraine.

[zuludelta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Troynos

That's pretty interesting. It's pretty interesting that so many USSR units turned around and became Ukraine.

Well, the thing was, a lot of the USSR's elite paratrooper and naval infantry units recruited from the satellite constituent republics like the Ukraine and Latvia and were based there as an extension of the central Armed Forces based in Russia. When the USSR collapsed, a lot of the units were left out in the cold (no pay, no logistics support), so to speak, and many of those soldiers and sailors/naval infantrymen, who were already from those constituent republics in the first place (and a good number of those from Russia ended up marrying into Ukrainian or Latvian families during the course of their tours), just elected to stay where they were and support the newly independent countries rising out of the USSR's ruins rather than go back to Russia, which in itself was in great turmoil, being torn apart from the inside by criminal organizations (the Mafiyah) and former KGB and MVD elements all looking for a piece of the pie.

[Spigou]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zuludelta

[center]

"Don't you know who ah ahm?! Ahm Big Boa, B!T(H!"

Awesome updates.
Oh, and Brekhov rules, Zulu.