Knowing that I needed a model for my mock up of the Number 25 action figure, I recalled that my friend Earl has a small collection related to Superman. Lex Luthor is as bald as Number 25, and he also wears a suit. I asked for a "Luthor Solid", and by way of granting me the favour, Earl snapped a few photos of his collection.
Collectible figures have varying levels of quality. Some of the expensive ones are on-model likenesses in miniature of the stars that they portray, little tiny works of art. Others that have come from longer assembly lines and less strict art departments look vaguely like the character they are supposed to represent. Lex fits squarely in the latter category.
Earl's figure, properly described, is the Lex Luthor Button Action Power Punch version. There's a button on Lex's back that releases a spring in the arm, causing it to make a dramatic uppercut punching motion. Usually, the Lex lands the punch upon his own head with an audible "clack" noise. Matters are made worse where Lex's facial features are painted on with little grace and his expression is wildly insane.
Using the photo, I re-coloured the figure to more closely match Number 25's clothing. Then I painted over the figure, re-creating the pivots and hinges for the limbs. At first, I thought of making a more realistic-looking Number 25, but the properly-rendered face looked out of place on the generic body. So, I kept the face simple, like it would have had it come off of some distant assembly line for toys. I painted the eyes, lips, and glasses with as much of a lack of care as I could manage. I decided to keep the skin tone for the original Lex figure as the base colour sample for Number 25: it's a good skin tone for a cheap doll, not so much for a human.
Number 25 has no left arm because Lex Luthor has no left arm. Presumably, Lex lost the arm in a mortal duel with Superman. I cannot imagine the Man of Steel would let Lex keep his Button Action Power Punch for very long. I intended to re-render a left arm, but by the time I thought of it, I was most of the way finished my mock-up of the artwork. At that point, my old 32-bit software kept crashing under the pressure of computer memory requirements that were consistently being exceeded. Rather than force myself to continue, I simply hid the missing arm under some Photoshop effects.
To see the finished mock-up of the collectible Number 25 figure, please click here.
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