Superhero Landing

I know they are bad on the knees but there was a particular model from the Infinity Invincible Army starter that was begging for some custom work- the Liu Xing Jump Infantry.

This trooper has the “Combat Jump (Explosion)” skill so when he lands, he makes a direct template attack all around him. The trooper was a bit gimmicky in the previous edition but got some upgrades in the latest N4 rules and so it seemed fitting to repose him into the hollywood superhero landing pose. I first came across the idea in the Infinity forums but hadn’t seen anyone try it.

Starting off, we actually don’t have as hard of a job as we might suspect. The left leg is detached and already in the bent knee pose. Shifting that around will just require some green stuff. The left arm is in a great “spread wing” pose already, just need to adjust the angle. The right arm and right leg will need some serious bending though to pull it all off though.

Using two sets of needlenose pliars and some wash cloths (to not mar up the metal), I bend the right arm way down to make the three point stance. I do have to cut out some of the elbow to get the arm straight down. The right leg I try to bend at the knee but it ends up pulling the whole leg back.

I wish the knee cooperated more but I did see a couple of Iron Man landings where his leg is kicked all the way back and the foot is supporting the three point stance.

The left leg doesn’t need anything except positioning but I need to bend the left arm up quite a bit to fit the pose. Blutac goes a long way to help get the positioning right in these early stages.

I’ll have to use a bit of green stuff to fill the arm gap and leg. I end up pinning the leg because there is just not enough connection there to hold it all in place and I don’t trust the cured green stuff to be solid enough.

I still hadn’t bent the right arm straight but was able to get all the pieces to hold for the initial test shots. After this, I pinned and glued and green stuffed the model together. I also put pins in the left foot and right knee to give the model something to anchor into the base.

With the model set, next I need the base done. I first make the center in the same style as my other bases: thin layer of green stuff and 80 grit sandpaper for texture. I set the model in and mark when the knee, foot, and fist will go and build up the green stuff “explosion” modelling around this.

This is actually pretty easy. Just lay down some thin superglue, roll some green stuff into a tube of the right length and push it down into the superglue. Let it sit for a about 30 seconds to really hold it and them start shaping it by pulling it out in the direction you want the explosion. Form the base of the log to mold into the base to make it look integrated and then score the sides to give it some texture.

While it was still setting, I test the final model position to make sure I don’t need to adjust anything and it all seems to work out.

After priming everything, I get to work. The base is just following the “street” motif my other units have and then going with a dark brown for the flying debris. I didn’t want to do flames or anything as I see the landing as more of an explosion of debris. This is done with a lot of successively lighter brown/grey dry brushing and the occasional streaks. Wash everything back down in Agrax Earthshade then run a final light tan (actually Karak Stone from GW) on just the tips and it finishes off the debris.

I also tried a little Mordant Earth where the fist lands to show some cracked street where he landed. It’s subtle and likely won’t really be seen but I like the idea and I’ll know it there so that is really all the matters.

Sorry for the blurry shots but I finished up the model in my my standard Yu Jing scheme. I realized in some test fittings that the pins were showing after basing him so I painted them black to hide them better.