Standees, skeletons, and skateboards...

In the previous blog I shared the acrylic standees that I made over the spring of 2025. I had fun turning game characters into something tangible in the same scale as my Sonic video game toys. I started thinking about what other characters I would like working with. There were hundreds of games that I wished I had action figures of, but I wanted to start with something super rare. Nothing could have been rarer than one of my favorite games, The Ocean Hunter. The Sega gem was never ported to the home consoles. After almost three decades since its debut I thought it had become forgotten media. Then suddenly Sega announced that a complete version of the game would be included on the recent release of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza.

The Ocean Hunter was set in a different world, not quite steampunk but still filled with very fantastic creatures, and technology. It had two main characters Chris and Torel. The tricky thing for me to figure out was which version I would make a standee of. The ones without a helmet would be seen in the cut scenes. The helmeted versions appeared during the actual stages. There was a version with a larger illuminated helmet in a single stage when they did a deep dive. Just to be safe I drew all three, and I asked my friends which one I should make. They were all split on the designs. So I put them on the back burner.

As long as I was coming up with ideas for standee figures I thought about making one out of an original character instead. The one that I immediately thought of was my skeletal OC for a fictional sequel to the Atari game 720. Of the three designs I did I think I was happiest with the Vert version of my character. I haven’t given him a name yet. To be honest I was surprised with how well the Downhill version turned out. I might end up making standees of all three, each with their own custom base as well. Which of the three figures do you think works best? I probably wouldn’t order any new standees for a while as the current administration is putting tariffs on everything, and causing international shipping to go through the roof. So figures that might have cost me a few dollars might end up costing me hundreds. I would rather spend that kind of money on something else.

As you know I already gave myself an early birthday present. Six months ahead of time I pulled the trigger on a 1/6 scale basketball hoop for my collector figures. Since I was on a skateboard kick I decided to give myself an early Christmas present this year as well. It had been almost 20 years since my previous complete. A 38” Sector 9 skateboard with Rogue downhill trucks, and 65mm Lumithane wheels. I am a big guy, and that skateboard is a longboard to most people, but it feels like a regular skateboard to me. I still wished that I had a wider board. That’s when I found out about ">the Big Boards offered by Everybodyskates. These skateboards are proportionally the same shape of classic ‘80s style skateboards, but about 1/3 bigger. Now I have a 40” skateboard with 215 Indy trucks, and 60mm wheels. To me they feel perfect. I actually traded trucks, and wheels once I got it because I think green glow-in-the-dark wheels go better with a Godzilla-inspired deck. What do you think?

Have you been creating art, or spoiling yourself with unnecessary purchases? Are there any video games, or comic book characters that you would like to see a standee or toy of? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Turning fan art into physical art, how I spent the spring of 2025

Hello friends. I hope that you are doing well. What have you been up to since my last new update? I was sorely in need of a break this spring, and summer. Work, and family issues had taken a lot out of me in 2024, and the first part of 2025. I needed to step away from blogging in order to recharge my physical, creative, and mental batteries. The break allowed me to explore my art, which I haven’t really gotten into since the start of the pandemic many years ago. Back then I did illustrations in the style of Steve Nazar (RIP), and drew almost 100 different BMX bikes. Just to get my creative spirit back.

I picked up my sketchbook in the spring, just as I was wrapping up my blog run. I had been getting back into comic books. I wanted to see if I could do an illustration of one of my little brother’s favorite characters. Psylocke from the X-Men. Not just any version of the character, but her pink costume look from her time with the British group Excalibur. Her name is Betsy Braddock, and she is the sister of Captain Britain in case you didn’t know. Current fans may not be aware of her earlier look. Most people today know she wears a sexy ninja costume. Yet she originally looked much different. She was a a white woman that wore a soft flowing pink costume. The character had strong psychic powers, which were often presented as pink butterflies in the comic book panels. The psychic blades that she stabs heads with didn’t come until much later. This was when her mind switched bodies with a brain-dead Japanese assassin.

I had fun with the piece, and wanted to try another illustration based on a real person next. This was around the time that the San Diego Comic Con was happening. My family used to attend the event, but it had been years since we had been able to go. This didn’t mean I wasn’t eager to see the updates from the various websites. Joan Xiao is one of the actors I follow on Instagram. I first saw her in the Flash television series as the Rainbow Raider 2.0, and thought she did a great job with the character. She announced that she would be voicing Iron Fist in a Marvel animation. I thought it was wonderful news. I’m always happy to see minority actors get both live action, and voice-over roles. I had no idea what her costume would look like in the Wakanda cartoon, so I created an illustration of a more casual comic book design. I think the drawing came out well.

As the months went on I wanted to take my art to another level. Instead of making illustrations I wanted something tangible. Something physical, something other than a print that I could hold. I got the idea while playing through Sonic Dream Team. The game was one of my favorite Sonic titles in years. It introduced a new version of Dr. Eggman, and a standout hero called Ariem. It made me sad that we would most likely never see action figures based on these great characters.

I’m sure that you’ve read comics, watched movies, or played video games where you wished there were toys, statues, soft goods, and other collectables that you could pick up. I was surprised that to this day publishers never realized there was a fan base that would pay for merchandise of any rare title. Like many of you I always loved toys. In fact as a kid I wanted to be a toy designer. Fast forward a few decades, and I became an illustrator, and educator that still loved collecting. I didn’t know how to model in 3D, and I didn’t own a 3D printer so I knew that I couldn’t design or print my own toys. That didn’t stop me from coming up with the next best thing.

I shopped around to the various printing companies online, watched videos, and read up on how to produce acrylic charms, and standees. I decided to make an acrylic standee for Ariem that would be in scale with my Sonic figure collection. I created a front, and back, as well as a reversible base. I figured as long as I was going through the steps I might as well revisit the illustrations that I made for Metal NiGHTS. So I created fronts, and backs for Metal NiGHTS, Metal Reala, Metal Jackle, Metal Wizeman, and even Nightmare Eggman. I made sure to carefully measure to heights, and proportions of my Sonic 2.5 inch figures. This way when I got the standees made they would be able to fit side-by-side with my collection.

It took me a few weeks to finalize the designs, and a few months to get the order back from China. Needless to say I was very happy with the way they turned out. The colors were really vibrant, and they gave me a sense as to how Sonic Dream Team, and Sonic Superstar toys would have looked if they were real. As I was working on the art, and waiting on the delivery after uploading them to the printer I kept an eye on some overseas auction sites. As you may know I am a fan of Wonder Eggs. This was the first video game theme park created by Namco. Ephemera from the park which ran from 1992-1999 was rare, but does pop up from time to time. It took me years to get a few items from the park, but almost overnight a bunch of rare items turned up in the spring, and early summer of 2025. Thankfully they weren’t pricey. As a theme park fan several of these could be considered “Holy Grail” items. There were a few Wonder Eggs items left to get, but as far as my collection went I was extremely happy with what I had.

I had a lot of fun putting together art for standees. It made me think of what else I could do. I’m going to talk about that in the next blog. I hope to see you back for that. So how did you spend your spring, and summer of 2025? Did you get into any art projects? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Red Dead Revolver, the arcade game? - A 1UP classic from May 2, 2012

Friends, today we are going to take a look at a game that was and almost was. The title in question was one of my favorites, Red Dead Revolver. It was one of the games highlighted in one of my most popular blogs ever, the Great Western Shootout. It was also one of the titles featured on my Abridged History of the Brawler. I was following this game when Capcom had announced it back in 2002 and had kept tabs on it even when Rockstar San Diego took over duties and published it a few years later. Rockstar’s version was slightly different than the original design but it was great nonetheless. When a sequel was finally announced I held out hope that many of the characters and elements featured in the original might be preserved.

Red Dead Revolver was a rarity among high profile titles. That was because a large volume of material was documented during the development process and shared with media outlets. These included screenshots and video of pre-beta footage. Some of the ideas were interesting and others were laughable. The Japanese certainly had a unique take on the western mythos. Take a look at the oldest trailer from Capcom of Japan, circa 2002.

 

There were distinct visual elements that they were pursuing in the game. It was set to be an over-the-top western adventure. There was tremendous change to the layout, interface and heads-up display (HUD) from year to year. Capcom's next trailer from 2003 showed tremendous progress from year-to-year.

Not long after their E3 showing in 2003 Rockstar took over development of the game and would publish it in the USA while Capcom retained the rights to publish it in Japan. Here was Rockstar's first trailer from around 2004. It was obvious that the tone and feel of the game had changed considerably.

The second trailer that Rockstar released introduced the rest of the cast featured in the game. This was the first time that players got a chance to see characters other than Red Harlow running the main portions of the game.

In 2010 Rockstar would release a spiritual successor to the game. Red Dead Redemption had nothing in common with the original title, including locations or characters. That was until the expansion pack “Legends and Killers” was released. Fans of the original RDR could now play as some of the most iconic characters in multiplayer mode.

There was something that had always been a pet peeve of mine. Capcom had created a large number of assets that were not used in the final game. Perhaps it was for budgetary reasons or deadline issues but many assets were complete during the development of the title just never incorporated. Some of the changes made to the locations were necessary but the missing items could have shaped a better experience.

Before it was Brimstone that Red visited in between levels the town was named Tombstone. Perhaps Rockstar changed the name so that players would not think that this was set in any historical town. Other things, like the interior of the barber shop were complete in the Capcom build of the game. In the final release the barber shop was there but when players tried to access it a sign said it was closed. The items that players could buy to unlock levels or weapon upgrades from the barber shop were instead placed in different shops. Perhaps Rockstar did not want to hire another voice actor to play the role of the barber so they just closed a small part of Brimstone down.

In another early build of the game the interior of the Harlow homestead was a playable level. It was fully decorated and the environment was entirely destructible. Players could shoot down pots and pans, break the glass on windows and even shoot holes through the walls. Moreover since the inside of the house was a confined space the camera might be blocked if the player backed into a wall. Capcom had solved this by outlining Red in a sort of see-through chalk form. This house and several other assets featured in the prototype builds did make it into the game but a shadow of their former selves. In RDR’s multiplayer mode the house sits empty and the figure is never outlined when backed into a wall.

Based on the Capcom version of the game it would have been possible to visit the homestead at least two other times in the game. One of the more cinematic sequences featured a level, not far from Bear Mountain, at night and during a snowstorm. The house in the level was on fire, presumably a family was being attacked by outlaws and Red had to save them. This stage appeared amazing in concept. A version of this asset did make it into the final release as a multiplayer level. However this stage lacked any connection to the game or any dramatic tension. The ground was covered in snow but it never snowed in the actual game. There was a burned out remains of a cabin that players could use for cover but no hint as to what had happened on the mountain. It was a wasted opportunity for Rockstar to add more dramatic staging into the final build.

Many characters in the Capcom build of the game were revised or removed. The wild-haired girl in the Capcom prototype was turned into a saloon girl in the Rockstar version. There was a Native American character that had a winged suit and presumably his special ability was that of flight. Every character in the story mode and in multiplayer had a special attack. Some had special weapons they could activate or extended “Dead Eye” (bullet time) mode but the ability of flight would have been extraordinary. As amazing as the move was it would have fit into canon as there were characters that could teleport, spit fire and poison as well as do other supernatural things.

The final build of Red Dead Revolver earned a cult following because it preserved a large number of over-the-top elements, scenes and characters. The villain Colonel Darren had his arm shot off by the powerful Scorpion Revolver, the arm was replaced by a shoulder mounted cannon. General Diego travelled between Mexico and the US on a private armored train loaded with soldiers and artillery. These characters and scenes were far more fantastic than those in recent western films. Games like Red Dead Redemption and Gun tried to present the west with a realistic, dark and gritty atmosphere while the original RDR was more like the classic “Spaghetti Westerns” of Sergio Leone. In fact the soundtrack for the original RDR was based on music from multiple spaghetti westerns including Django, One Silver Dollar and A sky full of stars for a roof.

Fans of the series were left wondering how the game would have turned out if Capcom had finished the developing it, not to mention how they would have approached a sequel. The main characters, levels and assets used by Rockstar were designed and created by Capcom after all. The early success of the game was owed to Capcom as much as it was to Rockstar. In the early 2000’s Capcom wasn’t afraid to develop new IP. Devil May Cry, Crimson Tears, Shadow of Rome, Maximo and Viewtiful Joe were highly original titles that would have been considered a contemporary to RDR. After almost a decade after the original RDR was released people were still talking about it. Wikipedia and a few random gaming forums had perpetuated some myths about the franchise that should be addressed. In all my time searching for data and assets on the beta build I had never seen where Capcom was allegedly going to put zombies in the game. I was at the E3 back in 2002 and 2003 and saw nothing of the sort in the Capcom footage. Until somebody could show proof of zombies in a western game other than Red Dead Redemption or Darkwatch then this would remain nothing more than an urban legend.

Now something did turn up online recently that would add a whole new chapter to the game that might have been. A few weeks back I was searching eBay for rare gaming items and I came across an arcade marquee. I don’t have many original arcade items, save for an occasional poster or flyer. I never imagined that I would be adding anything new to my collection. That was until somebody put a Red Dead Revolver marquee up for bid.

The characters and logo featured on the marquee were pre-Rockstar. I could tell right away because I had collected assets from the Capcom of Japan site and designer Akiman’s blog before Rockstar took over production. The figure of Red on the left side was from Akiman’s painting of the character while the CGI models pictured on the right were some of his very first 3D renderings also by Capcom. I put in a bid and won the marquee for a song.

The marquee gave me more questions than answers unfortunately. The printing on the marquee was top-notch, it made me believe that the assets came from Capcom themselves. The resolution used for the Akiman painting and original RDR logo was much higher than any asset I’d ever seen from a media outlet. I could see details in the marquee that weren’t as sharp as they were from Capcom’s own site. However nowhere on the marquee was Capcom’s logo listed. The RDR logo did sport a trademark sign but it would be curious that the developer was not credited. I was left wondering who created the marquee and what it was for. To the best of my knowledge Capcom did not intend RDR to be an arcade title. They haven't said anything on the Capcom-Unity site about this find. Perhaps in the earliest planning stages RDR might have been a multiplayer arcade title or a successor to their classic Gunsmoke game? Romstar published Gunsmoke for the US back in 1985, perhaps Rockstar was going to be a spiritual successor? Or perhaps Capcom was considering mocking up an arcade cabinet to show at the E3 in 2002 and then changed their minds and told the manufacturer to destroy it.

The thick acrylic sign was flawless. It was too well made to be a fan project and if it was a fan project from a US person then it should have used the US lettering and character art. If this was from a Japanese person then how did it end up in the US? I asked the seller on eBay what he could tell me about the sign. He said he had picked it up along with a bunch of other marquees from an arcade estate sale. Every other marquee he had was from a published arcade game. This was the only RDR marquee in the bunch. That’s all he knew about it. He could not offer a manufacturer or point of origin which was bad news for me but good news for my collection. The gem of my RDR set was previously a huge standee that I got from eBay as well.

There were other things that I’d like to add to my collection. Like the cool swag that Capcom of Japan gave to pre-orders. A leather keychain with the scorpion logo and a red bandana with a scorpion logo were some of the things they gave out. If any readers have a lead on the items then I’m listening. FYI in canon Red Harlow tied a red bandana around his hand to cover the scorpion logo burned into his palm. He got the scar as a young man after pulling his father’s revolver from a fire and shooting off the arm of Colonel Darren. This was yet another thing that made Red cooler than just about every other western videogame protagonist ever created. One of these days I’d like to unlock all of the assets on the disk and put together a comprehensive version of RDR just for my own amusement. Until that day take care and let me know if there were any videogame mysteries you wish had an answer to or share a special piece from your gaming collection and tell us about it.

As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!