[46 Zone]

Awesome work again!!!

[Foxtrot Delta]

Thats the best Zartan I've seen. The whole body is proportioned well, The chest armor fits right, the hood doesn't show the gaps in the back, the legs look better, just TOTALLY AWESOME!

[HissHissFangFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ponygt50

So freakin cool!! ( all of em!!)

I appreciate this. Thank you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shakka85

This is a money shot for sure! This would sell these figures at retail as a four pack that every Joe collector would be excited to have! Great work, as always!
-Todd
Shakka85

Thanks Todd. I accept that Hasbro is done with the 3.75 ME, but its kinda neat that we are maybe a few months away from getting all four of these guys in 6" scale. Then getting Copperhead then hopefully Wild Weasel after that to complete my Cobra TS13. Then maybe I'll start looking at customizing those figures...

Quote:

Originally Posted by 46 Zone

Awesome work again!!!

Thanks 46Z. BTW I miss the days of when we were all over the WalMart Retro line...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foxtrot Delta

Thats the best Zartan I've seen. The whole body is proportioned well, The chest armor fits right, the hood doesn't show the gaps in the back, the legs look better, just TOTALLY AWESOME!

Thanks FD. I think Hasbro and its post-2009 design team could have much better version than this will an all new dedicated sculpt (seems a top seven character would deserve as much). My goal was to make him more acceptable displayed and not a distraction next to some of the other Cobras that did get the official redux (Cobra Co, Destro, Storm Shadow).

[HissHissFangFan]

He are final batch of photos from this whole Zartan 2023 study. I haven't posted like this in quite a while, and ran out of steam last week.


Retake of my Nov 2022 ZartanX3. Could not match the original lighting (could not remember the setup and settings). Close enough I guess...


Isolated closer ups of custom. Besides the height, with the previous version I was bothered by his abs. Looked like the most toned dad belly ever. Also set the head back further in the hood to get more shadows on that face (I love the expression on that 25th sculpt, but often the hood is mispositioned (?) during production. The later version was painted a lighter almost greenish fleshtone. Though not as true to the vintage figure, I liked the contrast with his black masking/gear and red hood/pants, and liked that it suggested that he does not get much sun. Because...Zartan.


Hard take of Cobra 1984pack in their modern gangly glory The original premise was to recreate the static pose of these four, updated from my original 2018 pic, to check size and proportion:


But I had just taken a photo of the Cobra First Four for Bludd update I'm working on, that got a pick photo fancier:



I didn't want to do that all again just yet, so changed it up to something more dynamic yet clean, and celebrate the 3.75 figures scuplting, articulation, and size (might have trouble doing this same shot without stands and with foot magnets, though I will try when Classified Scrap-Iron comes out).

The lighting and shadowing make it easy to make a hard/sharp edit as above, which can them be shadowlifted and soften for my favorite/edit take of this:



I posted a version of this earlier, using a different collage app than PhotoGrid, which was unusable for some time until a few weeks ago. The app I used then didn't have size/orientation options similar to a comic page that I really wanted to use.


Zartan's closeup panel in full size. Behold his mewly reworked abs! Honestly, this is way too close and resolute for public viewing of custom tweak work and painting...


I use to do a lot of these type of card art repros, but had a different photo and lighting setup back then.


For this updated redux I wanted to tackle the original cardback pose, but with the more figure accurate stylings. So no pointy hood or bare arms, or floaty beard mask face. But then the backpack ended up sticking out awkwardly and needed something to "mask" it.


Extra crispy version with logo.


Unedited photo of "Cover" shot. Samsung S23 in "Pro" mode, which lets you control ISO, shutter speed (but not aperture), and white balance, all preshot rather than letting the smart phone deciding what is "best". I should note that my family does not allow me to take their photos any more...

There are a bunch more in this flickr album, some more early takes, collages, style edits of all above and previuos--feel free to check them out (but ignore Bludd stuff, he's being changed currently. https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAvcG4

To close, while working on Bludd and Zartan, I was looking at Storm Shadow and noticing that his waist sash was a little bare, compared to the vintage and the 25th, and also found that the 25th belt with its bits could be slightly tweaked to fit the 2012 Ultimate figure. But even with this tweak and the tweaks to the thighs and back or torso, the visual changes aren't ever enough for me to justify a showcase post for Storm Shadow.



So I sneak him in here with the photo above/below, which was really to photo test the height, proportions, and wrist articulation of the other two. Colorwise, Stormy in the middle looked best despite the minimal change from original. Then the resulting contrast in the photo made it too hard not to edit, with below being the extreme (or what I realized afterwards is "AI" style, but only using google photos editor and Lightroom free app version):

[ARBCO Avenue]

Getting the head to fit deeper in the hood creates a nice shadow over Zartan’s eyes - what a difference for photographs! That is how Zarty should look! Recreating card art poses is hard. I like the fix for handling the floating disguise! You have certainly taken us all on quite a ride as you create the best versions you can and have them still look like they came straight out of a box. And naturally all that work deserves the photo sessions given. Always admire your attention to detail.