[myersfarmsonline]

Hello. My name is Mark Myers aka Myers' Farms Online! or just myersfarms, lol. Some of you might remember me from a few years ago when I was much more active on the various Ghostbusters and prop related forums, then I seemingly vanished from the face of the Earth. Well, after a three year hiatus, and a talk with Capt Cyan, (thanks Steve!) I finally have the courage to show my fellow Ghostheads what I've been working on!
My daughter turned three in July and I am just now at the point where I am getting back into my custom work. The bad news, all of my paints and resin aren't in the most useable shape, lol. The good? I have had a year in my current job to learn how to use Illustrator and Photoshop to a pretty decent degree. I also have had the chance to learn from others work and I have an idea for how to make my childhood dream a reality.

Please note that these figures exist digitally only, but are based on scanned images that I have scaled to make all of the pieces compatible. I do plan on making them in real life and have started the process. I recently received a supply of Hydroshrink and will be casting the first pieces of my project later this week. If there is any interest I will document the process and post pics here. If I'm waisting my time and no one cares then I'm open to hear that too, lol. I am not trying to sell anything, but I will happily answer any questions anyone has regarding the process by which I try to make this happen. Now on to the customs.

First the pieces:

Colonel Miles Quaritch Deluxe Movie Masters Figure


Matty Collector Ghostbusters Egon Prototype (Thanks to Capt Cyan)

I also borrowed some pieces from the original RGB Egon and the First Fright Features version of Spengs to come up with this:


With this first image I was really just learning what I could do with CS5. Again, I know this is rough, but all of the parts are in the six inch scale and will work together as they are all made from Mattel and most of there piece are interchangeable, lol. The lower sleeves, boot cuffs and boots come from an RGB Egon and Fright Features Egon respectively, but they represent my original idea which was to sculpt the lower arms over the bare armed lower arms of the Col. Miles figure from Avatar. The hands are from that figure as well. I am currently working on an alternative design with existing Mattel parts which means less sculpting in the long run. The real selling point for me on using the Col.'s arms was the fact that they have swivel joints at the shoulders which allow the figure to hold the thrower correctly, out in front of him instead of to the side like the movie versions do. I can also seemlessly blend the upper arm from the Col. to the elbows/pads of the movie figures. I will snap some pictures of this when I get the chance and post them.

The second picture with scaled, Retro Action Heroes head (I will attempt to scale the heads from 8" to 6" using the Hydroshrink.)


This is a quick Mock Up I did of the Generic Buster Body:


Now the RGBs: As I first did them, then altered to better ressemble their look on the show. I am currently working on a new "digital buck" from which to create the Busters, but with these first images I was really just learning what I could do with CS5.
Egon Spengler

Original Buck Body

Altered

Peter Venkman

Original Buck Body

Altered

Ray Stantz

Original Buck Body

Altered

Winston Zeddemore

Original Buck Body

Altered

Group Shot of the Altered Figures Together

My Dream Project, lol.

Next up the Proton Packs!

[myersfarmsonline]

As promised here are the Proton Packs

This is something I've been hesitant to post as it's a bit intimidating to see the works of greats like Capt Cyan and Tom Servo around here and infact I decided to forgo my original RGB PKE Meter sculpt because Tom's is so amazing, and so affordable. I may revisit it at some point, but time will tell. Now on to the packs. Again, I am not a professional and I know the pieces are rough, but I didn't make these to sell, just to have for my RGB's.

I based my design primarily on these images:



I am still working on the motherboard section, but it will have the vent as well as the three straps that will fit over each figure. Complete with closing buckle as shown here!


The Pack:


The Thrower:








With Proton Gun attached to Pack


I'll show pictures of the castings I made of these pieces in my next post. (Gotta leave someting to continue the thread, lol)
I'd love to hear your feedback.

[joeghostbuster]

bold project! good luck with it, and Im looking forward to seeing some progress pics!

[Fritz]

Wow.

That is going to be so awesome.

[Kingpin]

Dear Mattel: This is what you should've done.


Great work so far, myers.

[CaptCyan]

Hey MFOL!

Glad to see you've started the post.

I can tell the rest of you that I have seen pictures of the Proton Pack Castings, they do look very good and should be even better once they are painted up.

What I'm really interested to see is how the Hydroshrink works out for making the heads, that and how you're going to work out the Belts with the Buckle.

[myersfarmsonline]

WOW! I didn't expect such an all star response on my little ole thread. Joe and Capt Cyan, thank you for the responses. It says so much coming from you two the creators of The Rookie I too am looking forward to seeing how the hydroshrink works on the heads. I have seen 12" scale models shrunk down to 6" scale successfully so here's hoping I can garner similar success.

Kingpin-
That is the ultimate compliment to me. Thank you so much. My plan here is to use the Mattel Aesthetic to show them how it could be done. With the least amount of work which I know they would appreciate.

Fritz-
I hope not to dissapoint you.

Now on to another update, I know I'm moving quickly, but I've been waiting since I was seven years old to see the RGB's done right so you won't begrudge me a few rapid fire updates. This will probaly be the last until Thursday or so, lol.

The Proton Pack cast in white resin (Smooth Cast 300)


The Thrower cast in white resin (Smooth Cast 300, all parts are cast in this material)

Alternate Shots:



The Complete Pack with Attached Hose:


Thanks again for the compliments and I will be updating with pictures of the new buck design and pics of it's pieces as soon as I get the chance. Thanks again for the support!

[Midcoast Ghostbuster]

Looks fantastic, I cannot wait to see how the Proton Packs turn out.

[SeikoVoiceNote29]

LOVE EVERYTHING!! Although, I think Ray is too thin still.

[GhstbstrLMLIII]

This is going to be fun to watch! The pack and thrower molds came out great. I know you said you are still working on the motherboard, but can you tell us what you plan to attach them to the figures is going to be? Kenner-styled peg or Mattel rubber straps? (I noticed that the prototype was one with a removeable pack)

[AlTheRelic]

I'd kill to own a set of these, heck, I'd even take Ray thin like that, who cares, I love how they look.

[myersfarmsonline]

Hi gang just a quick update. I was able to make the molds of the Retro Action figure heads (including Janine), and I de-molded them last night. The molds came out great. I plan to pour the Hydroshrink tonight. Hopefully I can use a food dehydrator to speed along the process and make them dry more evenly. I have a couple of other surprises to share, but they will have to wait until tonight. Thanks again to everyone for the support!
Mark

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Ghostbusters Fans on Android

[myersfarmsonline]

This is going to be fun to watch! The pack and thrower molds came out great. I know you said you are still working on the motherboard, but can you tell us what you plan to attach them to the figures is going to be? Kenner-styled peg or Mattel rubber straps? (I noticed that the prototype was one with a removeable pack)

The packs will be removable. Similar to the prototype version shown above they will have straps connected to a motherboard that will attach to the pack. One big difference I hope to be able to achieve is having the waist strap connected with a working closure. Here's hoping I can make it work.

Thank you for the compliments on the thrower and pack. I did a quick photoshop mock up to show how they could look once painted. I do want to ask a question of the group though. What color are the packs? I personally have always preffered to think they were black with grey hi-lites. I did the mock up as the blue with lighter blue/black/grey hi-lights but obviously the paint in real life will look much better.







Thanks again for looking!

[AlTheRelic]

Looking damn great! Keep up the great work, I really look forward in seeing this project get to a finalized state.

[myersfarmsonline]

Thanks again, Al. Me too.

I've really been having a lot of fun these past couple of weeks teaching myself how to use Photoshop again. Although I think the first "Buck Body" I came up with was pretty decent for only my third time attempting a digital custom, I knew I could do better.

I had won and paid for the Winston prototype on eBay, (seen below) I decided to go back to the drawing board and started looking for more Mattel parts that closer resembled what I was looking for in terms of reuseable parts. The parts had to come from something in scale with the Ghostbusters line, ie The Batman Movie Line, Avatar, Green Lantern, DC Universe Classics, etc. They had to be pieces that Mattel still had access to the original molds for, so in theory they (Mattel) could make these a reality if they wanted with a minimum of new tooling which is always there argument as to why they won't release new figures.

The Winston "Prototype" from eBay:


While perusing eBay I came accross this littlle gem:


I think you can see where I'm going with this.

From this:


To this:


To the new figure designs:








Then just for fun:


Tell me what you think and wish me luck on getting the heads cast tonight!

[joeghostbuster]

GOOD LUCK

[CaptCyan]

Glad to see you won the Winston Prototype. I'd hate to have you waiting on me to do anything with mine.

How are the shrunken heads coming along?

[myersfarmsonline]

Glad to see you won the Winston Prototype. I'd hate to have you waiting on me to do anything with mine.

How are the shrunken heads coming along?

I was happy to have won it too. I really wanted to own at least one GB Prototype, (and destroy it, lol)

Believe it or not I got it in the mail on Saturday and I've already cracked him apart and started the molding process of his torso. My plan is to make a couple of copies and alter them accordingly to better match the guys individual body types, but still fit the over-all aesthetic of Mattel. I also plan to cast the pack straps and motherboard as soon as I can figure out how to do it.

I also received Brainiac 5 earlier in the week (I forgot to mention it) and will boil and pop him apart tonight to begin the molding process of the pieces I need from him.

Now on to the fun stuff.

I was able to get the heads cast in the hydroshrink last night. I had a couple of reject castings and I put those in the dehydrator to see how that would work, but I haven't checked the results yet, lol. They will have spent 24 hrs in the dehydrator at 95 degrees at 10pm tonight. I will post pics of the outcome when I can.

Here are pics of the cast heads next to the originals for comparison:

First up, Egon:


Ray:


Peter:


Winston:


A couple of surprise items:
Janine Melnitz


Ghost Trap and Peddle


I am still trying to figure out how to mold Egon and Janine's glasses, my first attempt would have been great for standard molding/casting, but doesn't work with the Hydroshrink. I have an idea for a three part mold (that will allow for lenses to be cast as part of the mold) that I will be attempting to make tonight. My plan with the glasses is to shrink them, then cast them in clear plastic so I can paint them their appropriate colors and have them have clear lenses. Here's hoping it will work. Wish me luck, and thanks for watching/reading/following my progress!

[myersfarmsonline]

Just as a fun little extra to this project I decided to post this in this thread too.

I have always wanted an action figure of myself (which of us hasn't) and I decided that if I was going to be playing with these digital customs then what better way to make a custom of myself. If I hated it, then I hadn't invested anything but time and I wouldn't even really be wasting that as I was practicing what I had learned in Photoshop. Last week I was inspired by some parts I found that I had forgotten I had. The result is below. I also posted the images I used to make the digital custom of me below the final image.


Please disregard the nametag, I fixed it for the next image.

I know I'm not fooling anyone here, I'm s big guy (tall and broad shouldered) but I figured if the main GBs can all share the same body then I can share it with them, lol.

For reference here's a pic what I look like today along with a closeup of the figure's profile.

I'm not a miserable human being or anything, sadly, I just always look like I'm angry.

Here's how I did it:
Winston "Prototype" image from eBay:


Image of original Winston figure and Egon from the TRU 4 pack from Cool Toy Review (for the pack, and Lifeguard II, respectively):



Terminator Salvation Markus Wright head from Playmates:

Oddly, Marcus, the Rookie and I share a similar hair style, or lack there of.

Finally, I came across this while going through my parts drawers and had to use it (the face at least, lol) because it looked so much like me (even my wife agreed), McCoy from the 2009 Star Trek relaunch by Playmates Toys:

I actually do own this figure, and the others too, and will be attempting to make this custom a reality very soon. It would be fun for me to cast myself as the Rookie, lol.
Thanks again for looking, and now back to Project RGB!

[dtblack]

Any chance you'll be selling any of this stuff? I would REALLY like some of those strapless torsos, and I wouldn't mind a shrunken Janine head since Matty never made a movie version.

[myersfarmsonline]

I'm honestly not sure if I'm planning on selling anything or not. That was never my plan. I just really wanted to make the RGB figures I always wanted. If I can cast the torso quickly and easily then I will consider it. Like I said though it's not in my current plans to do so. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Ghostbusters Fans on Android

[AlTheRelic]

Well any luck with the RGB heads?The suspen!se is killing me!

[myersfarmsonline]

Well any luck with the RGB heads?The suspen!se is killing me!

Yes! The heads have been shrunken down to the proper sizes (Food Dehydrator for the Win!) and the molding and casting has been a great success. I was even able to make molds and castings of the Winston Prototype torso! I have been VERY happy with the progress of this project. I will explain more in detail when I post the pics. Stay tuned.

[dtblack]

Were you able to split the torso without damage, or did yo have to end up drilling holes in the sides?

[myersfarmsonline]

As promised here are the pictures of the re-sized heads along with the first castings I made of the Egon head and strapless torso from the prototype.

A side by side by side comparison picture of the original Retro Action Heroes Egon head, the Hydroshrink cast of it (after 18 hrs in the food dehydrator), and the 6" Scale Movie Egon's head for reference:


The Hydroshrink Head on a prototype Torso w/pack:
http://makeagif.com/i/S1IbzO

The Original Retro Action Heroes Egon head, the first Smooth Cast 300 casting I pulled from the mold:


Close Ups of the Head Cast:





First Cast made of the Strapless Torso, then with the original for comparison:




With the cast head placed on the Torso (Head is just sitting with the neck in the neck hole):





Next to the Movie Egon's head for comparison:


I will post pictures of the other heads just as soon as I can, along with pictures of the trap pedal and trap.



A teaser of the next update:



Thanks again for looking!

[myersfarmsonline]

Were you able to split the torso without damage, or did yo have to end up drilling holes in the sides?

Happy to report that there was no damage to the torso. I used a small chisel and a small hammer to crack it open. It's made from a harder-than-mass release plastic, not quite like the Smooth Cast 300 I use for my castings, but a little heavier. It's kind of hard to explain. Capt Cyan you also own a prototype, can you explain a little better what I mean? I hope to have another update sometime late tonight or early tomorrow. Stay tuned!

[dtblack]

Wow everything looks fantastic! And nice job on getting the torso split without damage. I want that torso so bad! Why didn't Mattel just release the figures like that?

[CaptCyan]

Were you able to split the torso without damage, or did yo have to end up drilling holes in the sides?

Happy to report that there was no damage to the torso. I used a small chisel and a small hammer to crack it open. It's made from a harder-than-mass release plastic, not quite like the Smooth Cast 300 I use for my castings, but a little heavier. It's kind of hard to explain. Capt Cyan you also own a prototype, can you explain a little better what I mean? I hope to have another update sometime late tonight or early tomorrow. Stay tuned!

I think the term you're looking for is "rigid". The mass produced torso has more flex to it that the prototypes do.

I think you got lucky with the Chisel, there. Or they didn't use as much glue on yours. I had to do the old drill and pry.

[joeghostbuster]

I cant believe that shrink method worked! awesome!

[rahum]

This is phenomenal!

Cant wait to see everything unfold.