Filling in those pesky gaps.

As I noted in the previous article, all is not well on the figure front. I need to find several figures to serve in various capacities to complete the various "Sides" I plan to create for the chess set.
Superhero miniatures are HARD to find. Only a few have been created over a number of decades and I've been working hard to collect what I need to make my set.
For "Gap filling" I'm going to have to get creative, because there just aren't enough Marvel and DC figures available to do the job.
So, on to the net we go.
This site, Old Glory Miniatures, seems to have the best selection of generic superhero figures of ANYWHERE I've seen. This site is the homepage of the company that makes them. I'll have to mod them to get them to work as Marvel or DC heroes, but there are lots of "Close enough"s to work from.
Scale might be an issue, since these are 33mm figs while the Marvel and DC figures I have are 25mm scale, but I'm not too worried. I'll proabably buy one or two to test.

Check out set #3 of civilians. There's a familiar looking bald man in a wheel chair and a man in a business suit who's hair I could file off to make a certain Supervillian from DC...

The lineup...

Like any project, this one needs an outline.
I plan 4 complete sides, one each evil and good from both Marvel and DC.
This is proving more problematic than anticipated.
"Good guy" figures outnumber "Bad guys" 2 to 1.
Plus, in the DC figures particularly, a lot of the "villain" figures are what I would call obscure.

So.

Lots of "Modding" will be required. This invoves various blades, files, pins, and modelling putty or liquid metal. I'm relatively new to this skill, so it's going to be interesting...

Here is the layout of each "Side" as I see them right now. Note, some pieces have yet to be designated. For instance, I'd like a "Flash" pawn, but I don't yet see a figure that will allow me to do a simple mod job. I'll keep you posted. My bet is that as my "Modding" skills progress, it'll be clearer what I can and can't achieve and that will determine what figures end up as what pieces.

DC "Good Guys"
King - Martian Manhunter
Queen - ? (Probably Wonder Woman or Supergirl. No figure chosen yet.)
Bishop - Superman
Bishop - Green Lantern (or possibly Shazam/Captain Marvel if I find a figure that works)
Knight - Batman (That was a no brainer!)
Knight - Green Arrow (Like Bats, no powers and the figure has a weapon)
Rook - Hawkman (The wings give him the "Bulk" I always associate with rooks)
Rook - Hawkgirl (Modded "Dawnstar" figure from the Legion set. This "Mod" looks pretty simple - except to model the head piece. I have an extra "Justice League" set on the way, so I might be able to scavenge parts...)
Pawns - Nightwing, Wondergirl definately. I'd love to do "sidekicks" like Robin, Speedy, Supergirl and Batgirl but might not be able to work it out. I have Cyborg, Changeling and my favourite Legionaire, Wildfire waiting in the wings. Maybe a split Titans/Legion set of pawns would work. We'll see.

Marvel "Good Guys"
With Set #1 on the way, this one was EASY. Set #1 Figures aren't pictured.
King - Mr. Fantastic (Set #1)
Queen - She-Hulk or the She-Hulk figure "de-bulked" and painted as Sue Storm.
Bishop - Captain America (Set #1)
Bishop - Spiderman (original costume in set #1)
Knight - Human Torch (Set #1)(Figure is in Flight, much like the Iron Man in Set #2)
Knight - Iron Man
Rook - The Thing (Set #1)
Rook - The Hulk (Set #1)
Pawns, (This line up might change slightly) Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Thor (Set #1), Storm, Sub Mariner, Colossus.

DC "Bad Guys"
This one is Tough. That "2 to 1" thing.
I'll have to "Mod" a LOT of figures to make this work.
King - Darkseid
Queen - Emerald Empress
Bishop - Sinestro
Bishop - Mordru (I might try to make a "Bizarro" figure instead, using the second Superman I have on the way)
Knight - Joker
Knight - Captain Cold (The "Coldsnap" figure from the Outsiders set)
Rook - Solomun Grundy (Modded Blok from the Legion Set)
Rook - Clayface (Modded Shakedown or possibly Metamorpho from the Outsiders set)
Pawns - Ultimately, I might change around some of the "big" pieces and do a "Justice Lords" mod to the second set of Justice League figures I'm getting, to help fill in some of the gaps. Right now I don't like any of what's left in the figures to make pawns out of. This will require a LOT of extra work.

Marvel "Bad Guys"
If anything, this one is even tougher than the DC "Bad Guys".
Just not a lot of great villian figures to choose from. Plenty of modding for this one too.
King - Kingpin (Duh!)
Queen - ?
Bishop - Magneto
Bishop - Kang
Knight - Venom (Modded "new" costume Spidey from set #3)
Knight - Dr. Doom
Rook - Scorpion
Rook - Dr. Octopus
Pawns - None yet. I'm really going to have to work on this one. My guess is that I'll do a LOT of Spidey's rogues gallery. Mysterio, Goblin(s), Sandman, etc...

Well, there you go. The intended line ups, based on the figures I've amassed so far. I'm on the lookout for more. In fact, I just bought a lot of "Star Wars" miniatures that I'm hoping I can cobble into at least one "Side". I know that there were some "generic" superhero figures put out back in the 80's that might work to fill in some of the gaps. Just gotta lay my hands on them...

The usual suspects...

Here are some scans (best to click and view them full sized) of the boxes and info sheets from the metal miniature sets I have.

I'm still waiting for Marvel's set #1 to arrive, but these are already here, so I'm posting what I've got.

Unfortunately, some of these have already been painted (poorly) and will require stripping the paint before I begin. I will document that process as well. The last picture I've posted is of the miniatures from Set #3 of the Marvel series and for whatever reason, they're shown fully painted by a professional. Mine aren't painted yet.

I will post actual photos of the miniatures before any work begins so that you can see the whole process unfold.

I have doubles of some of the sets to give me extra heroes and parts.

I will be "modding" many of these to make heroes that aren't in the sets. For instance, Dawnstar will become Hawkgirl. Eventually.

The next article will try to outline which heroes will be which chess pieces. For now, take a look at these.

In the Beginning

There was a dream. A Chess Set.
With Superheroes.
That didn't suck.
This is the story of that dream.