Post by: Rockhammer on May 11, 2011, 12:13:04 PM
The concept was simple. Besides being a HUGE Joe collector and fan, I'm also a HUGE Indiana Jones fan. Loving the 3 3/4" scale, it occured to me to imagine what the 3 3/4" Indiana Jones toys may have been like, had Hasbro had the Lucasfilm license in the 80s intead of Kenner. Moreover, I thought: What if Indiana Jones characters had been made a part of the G.i.Joe line? Don't misinterpret me, it's all just whimsy (I'm well aware of the time period difference between the 30s and 40s and the 80s), but I decided to make everything period: Indy would have the card back of the earlier Joe series. So I did the customs below, including the blisters (through computer program manipulation of scanned book covers and movie posters). This was long before the Hasbro 3 3/4" Indiana Jones figures were even conceived... years before IJ and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
For these being my first (and thus far only) customs, I was pretty pleased on how they came out. I made mistakes of course (even if you can't see them in the pics; for instance I put the paint on too thick and I can hardly move the joints without the paint chipping or cracking).
Anyway, here are the pictures. I hope you like them.
(http://http://137thinfantry.org/temp/IndyCC.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy13.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy12.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy11.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy14.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy10.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy8.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy7.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy6.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy5.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy4.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy3.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy2.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy1.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/Indy15.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9982.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9999.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9998.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9997.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9996.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9995.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9994.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9993.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9992.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9991.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9990.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9989.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9988.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9987.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9986.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9985.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9984.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9983.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9981.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9980.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9980.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9979.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9978.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9977.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9976.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9975.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/100_9974.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/101_0005.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/101_0004.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/101_0003.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/101_0002.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/101_0001.jpg)
(http://http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l582/Rockhammer0/101_0006.jpg)
Post by: bandonov on May 11, 2011, 12:22:04 PM
Post by: NeoDragonKnight on May 11, 2011, 12:39:32 PM
Post by: Rockhammer on May 11, 2011, 01:15:29 PM
Making the cardbacks took a while, but mostly for the image manipulation and labeling process. Making the physical cardback was relatively simple: I printed the finished image for the cardback (front and back, with filecard, etc.) in photo quality paper, and then used a spray adhesive to stick them to a comic book backing board. I used a rubber crafts roller to go over them a few times, to make sure there were no bubbles. Then, I used a circular blade trimmer to cut the board to the right size, and scissors to round the corners.
I bought 5 "repro" figure bubble blisters from a guy on ebay (there are actually quite a few suppliers, and at the time 5 was the minimum order). I could have made these myself, but I didn't want to mess with it--I didn't have a shop vac at the time, nor a set up for vacuu-forming. Buying them was faster and much cheaper.
Then I needed bubbles for the accessories. I couldn't find these for sale online, so I took them out of two carded Funskool Joe figures (which at the time were plentiful and cheap online). I cleaned any remains of coloring and cardboard from the accessory bubbles, and then used a strong paper glue to stick on "lip" of each bubble to the appropriate place in the card back, and a weak glue stick to stick the other lips (so that I could open them at will without causing damage).
If you want to know how I came up with the images, let me know. It'll be a long post, but I will be happy to tell how I did what I did, and what sofware tools I used.
By the way, here is the image of one of the card backs, including the filecard I wrote (based on the 3 first movies, and the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles TV show).
(http://http://137thinfantry.org/temp/IndybackCC.jpg)
Post by: 5h4rK on May 11, 2011, 01:43:31 PM
Post by: bandonov on May 11, 2011, 01:49:34 PM