Simply AMAZING... and an amazing collaboration...
"NOW I AM BECOME SHIVA, DESTROYER OF WORLDS!"
Bhagavad Gita
I am become Death, Destroyer of Gotham...
Pleased to meet you, glad you know my name...
HEATH LEDGER AS THE JOKER from The Dark Knight
Original custom figure, by Les Walker and BillyB
Using some DC Direct Joker figure parts
This has been a very hard figure to make. it is also the first ever collaborative effort I have been involved with of it's kind.
From the moment Heath died, to the moment I saw DA Josh's great custom, I knew I had to make my own custom to go with my Joker set, but I couldn't figure out how to get the one I wanted. It was just too complex.
I knew the DC Direct one was coming out, (this was WAY before the HT announcement) and I liked some of the parts from the early shots I saw, namely the headsculpt, which I used and seriously remodeled, adding more hair, and an attached neck compatible with a Dragon body, which is what I used, or any other type. And yes, it fits a HT post perfectly.
I also liked the DCD necktie and shoes which I repainted. That was about it for borrowed parts. The chain I got from a bracelet at Walmart, and added to the SS Doc Holiday watchchain, so there is a watch at the end of that chain.
The costume...it is all originally crafted.
This was a co-produced labor of love between myself as the what I want guy, and the maker, the hard pressed guy who did the amazing work, our own BillyB. I cannot thank Billy enough for his tireless work here. Note the shirt, it took several passes, and damned if the man wouldn't give up, and got not only the sublime blue-grey color right, but the pattern down, and in proper scale! I cannot thank him enough for that. Amazing work that alone!
His coat and inner coat (of which he went through two to get it right also) are awesome. The inner lining of each has the burnt orange satin look (Looks red but isn't) and the vest and pants are terrific to me. I liked the more bluish look of the pants in some of the photos, as opposed to the more purple ones, so we went with that.
I painted the dirt and grime onto Billy's outer coat, so it has that weird color shift around the corners and all, and dirtied him up slightly here and there. Scary stuff! But needed to complete the look.
Here are most of the parts with the newly minted head I just finished. No cool checkered socks yet, but those will come...
I really wanted to use Josh's original head, as it is terrific, and I have painted it a couple of times now, and it is a great Joker, but I wanted something more my own take, and since I love the new DCD sculpt best of any I have seen out there, I felt I had best wait on it (it came in last week), to get what I wanted from it first, then decide. So, there you go.
I dedicate this figure to all of you, to DA Josh for inspiring me to try yet again with another original Joker of my own for my own collection, to Buttmunch (the only member who knew...)for his reference images and info as I worked on it, and mostly to BillyB, for being one hell of a guy, and for having INFINITE PATIENCE with me and my demands, among his other works in progress, and of course, to the eternal spirit of Heath Ledger, whom I believe, we all will owe so much in the coming weeks.
To you all! Thanks and enjoy!
I will not be making this figure available as a complete figure. This one is my own, original and uncopied, like my custom 1939 and 1989 Jokers. That is a particular series of efforts I don't want to go through again. (they seem to all happen in bad times anyway....)
BillyB may can make some of the clothing parts available, but that is his pervue and you will have to deal with him on that, but, the head you see here, the altered DC Direct one, will indeed available, in painted form only, from me very soon. If there is enough interest in it, I will begin taking orders for them soon. Again, it can fit to Dragon, BBI, Hot Toys, and other neck posts.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my latest custom Joker.
See even more pics in my customs thread.
Thanks all!
that looks like the shiznit..............
