Dave's ASH Art Last Updated: 5/24/20 Deep Armor CSV added. ASH gallery page Dave's Other Kitbashes

    For those coming here from my Kitbash page rather than from the ASH gallery page, the Academy of Super-Heroes is a sort of sci-fi-flavored superhero setting that some friends and I have been writing fiction in since 1994. It's set in the 2020s, a generation after a major disaster wiped out all superhumans and about 2/3 of the regular humans. If you came here from the ASH gallery, however, there's plenty of non-ASH kitbashes available at the link above.

• Lego - Various ASH characters made from Lego minifigs.
• HeroClix - HeroClix figures modified into ASH-setting characters.
• Attacktix - Attacktix figures (initially Star Wars, but Marvel and GIJoe ones likely to be grist for this mill) made into ASH-setting charcters.
• Miscellany - Action figures and other kitbashes.

• Solar Max - The leader of ASH, he has gravity control powers and a suit of alien combat armor he inherited from the original Solar Max. I used Annihilus as the base, removing the wings, spikes, Cosmic Control Rod and lower jaw. Instead of building up the suit's big boots using putty, I just chopped off the lower legs and inserted them into Lego 1x1 barrels. Also filled in the hole in the back with Squadron putty.
• Comet - Speedster made of ice. She's married to Solar Max. She wears a thermal (skiiing) outfit both for traction and to keep from freezing people she touches. She's black, so her hair really shouldn't flow like that, but it looks better that way. Rogue figure, Veteran Quicksilver base. I did not putt reshaping on this one, just the base swap.
• Scorch - Pyrokinetic so powerful that his flames burn blue-white. I removed the backpack from Pyro and reshaped the head into a smooth helmet, plus built up some armor bits on the chest and pelvis using Squadron putty.
• Essay - A gadgeteer with otherwise relatively low power for a supernormal. I decided a SHIELD Medic was pretty close, especially since the SHIELD team ability involves fire support, and the Support power can represent Essay giving helpful devices to allies to boost them back up a bit. I put Pyro's backpack on her, replaced much of her M-16 with Cobra Commander's pistol (I've got a baggie full of random GIJoe guns) and added goggles with putty.
• Breaker - Chinese-born telekinetic with bleached and dyed hair. I'd have used a more experienced Jean Grey for her, but I traded away all my other extras. I Dremeled down the breasts and added a sort of short poncho thing and goggles with putty. Also made her butt a little less balloon-like. Breaker's hair is shorter and straighter than this, but I decided not to mess with that part of the sculpt.
• Lightfoot - Not merely a speedster, he can make anything he touches go faster, but this power is kinda hard to model in HeroClix anyway. Besides, my only spare Quicksilver was Rookie. At least the Brotherhood team ability makes him a little faster, effectively. I carved off the chest lightning bolt and added goggles with putty. The costume is supposed to be a bit bland, just white and silver.
• Fury - Originally had just the ability to explode, later refined it to being able to fire concussive blasts and even propel herself through the air on columns of exploding force. Also went from a shy and sheltered girl to a self-assured woman, the hard way. I used Blizzard's base because of the power burst power, and I suppose the barrier ability isn't too far off. I replaced the Blizzard figure with a resculpted Leech Medic from Mage Knight. I also used a soldering iron to repose the left arm (largely to get it out of the way so I could sculpt the "skirt" part). The "skirt" is a bit longer than it should be, but I needed to cover up some of the Leech Medic's leg details.
• Green Knight - Big strong guy initially, but seems to be moving posthuman, and can heal most wounds almost instantly. He seems to have only simulated internal organs, much like your average Dragonball Z character. Based on an Experienced Juggernaut, I carved the head down to his smaller helmet, added some details on the forearms (barely visible in this scan, oops) and pouches on his legs. Also filled in some of the detail work on the abdomen.
• Peregryn - My first DC figure conversion, it uses Weather Wizard as the base (although I put it on a Dr. Strange clickstand for the powers). The braid and belt are thin wire, the rest of the details (including poofing out the sleeves) are Squadron putty.
• Contact - Nightwing (Experienced) modified into the telepath/mind-over-body psi Contact. The powers are actually a pretty good fit, although Contact has Super-Strength and I can't really explain Smokescreen using his powers. :) Cut out the escrima sticks and added chest, belt and goggle detail with Squadron putty. Also carved away a little bit of Nightwing's chest detail.
• Beacon - George Sylvester, formerly known as Channel, after his spirit was transferred into a photonic body. And after he learns how to control his appearance. Assuming that by the time that actually happens in ASH I'll be keeping this design. Base figure is Experienced Booster Gold.
• Geode - Formerly The Base of the Pillar, she "molted" after being presumed killed in ASH #50. A crystalline entity under the costume, she's trying to distance herself from her old ID and let her former superiors think she's dead. Started wtih Arclight (Marauders, Mutant Massacre set) and added skirt with putty, mask with styrene rod and putty. Gold leaf pen used for the gold bits.
  • Characters who aren't members of ASH
• Warden - A solo vigilante who got his start in the dangerous paragang-ridden streets of Manhattan. Born without eyes, he sees telepathically through the eyes of others, and can also mess with their senses, etc. He really should have Incapacitate or Outwit, but I didn't feel like using a Spider-Man base for him.
• Doublecross - Lord of the Living Light, a villain out of the 1990s who survived, trapped, until 2024 (and beyond). I used the Blizzard figure I took off its base for Fury, and Firelord's base (considered using Firelord all the way, but decided removing the staff would be too difficult). The figure's a little lumpy because I didn't realize how much detail was on the original mold until after I started painting. The little green gems are made from putty, by the way.
• Grind - Dan "Grind" Tracey, the leader of STRAFE. Made from a Taskmaster figure, with a sheath for his sword made out of half-round styrene rod. I smoothed over the skull-shaped mask with Squadron putty. This is the combat gear he wore in the Romance of Three Republics.
• Lady Lawful 2 - Third Heroic Age legacy hero with superstrength, durability and speed that were increased by her Enhancement Belt. Built from a Liberty Belle, with the gloves Dremeled down and the belt made from Apoxie Sculpt. The base figure turned out to have mold damage to the face, which I fixed as best as I could.
• Doctor Developer - Non-powered deathtrap-obsessed supervillain who later reformed (more or less) and married Lady Lawful 2. Base figure is T.O. Morrow, with the tentacles taken off Constrictor for another project added on. Some Apoxie Sculpt for the hair.
• LL&DD Comic - The above two Heroclix in a short comic.

• NAC Faction - Not all government backed, simply "good guys"

• Solar Max - I've done his armor enough times (see above and below), so I decided to make a Series 3 SW31 Luke Skywalker into one of JakZak's dress uniforms, the sort of thing he wears for public appearances when the armor would be Too Much. The only physical mod was trimming back Luke's hair.
• Green Knight - Slightly altered his costume to remove the kneepads and raise the tops of his boots (which, in retrospect, were a bit goofy). ASH's strongman is built from Marvel Series 1 Venom. I cut off the tongue and sanded down the claws, then added helmet, elbowpads, wrist supports and boot tops with Milliput. I also tried to use Squadron putty to fill in the spider pattern on the torso, but it didn't work out as well as I'd hoped it would. Special ability edited to "Recruit (NAC)" to represent his tendency to end up in the fight before reinforcements can show up.
• Breaker - Built from M03 Elektra, I couldn't entirely remove the skirt, since it holds her spring mechanism. So I decided that Breaker's deployed butt-covering in her costume. Other details listed in the image itself.
• Geode - Built from yet another M03 Elektra, but with SW32(3) Darth Vader's base so she would be a bit more stable with that horkin' big girder. I've now done a Heroclix and an Attacktix without ever actually drawing the character.
• Beacon - Built from M04 Electro with the base of the Elektra I made Geode from. With a 12 speed and a medium missile, that merited a boost to 20 points. Gives Attackback to Geode when defeated. Appropriate that they share parts.
• Scorch - Built from another M04 Electro, but with the base from an SW08(4) Imperial Officer to give more stability, needed more what with the mass of the flames I sculpted on.

• Daniel "Grind" Tracey - Built from Series 4 SW16 Grand Moff Tarkin. Some outfit details ground away, buttons and shoulder patch added with bits of styrene, hair and face de-aged with Squadron putty. Grind is the leader of STRAFE, a SHIELD-like organization sponsored by the United World but dominated by the North American Combine. This is his normal duty uniform.
• Tony Drake - Built from Series 3 SW34 Imperial Officer. Not much physical modding this time, just adding the buttons and shoulderpatch, and changing the face a little. I'm happy with how the nose modification worked out. The special power of letting two Troopers charge is fine as-is.
• C.J. Brown - Well, she has Pyro's powerset, so why not build her FROM M05 Pyro? Wrong gender? Trifling barrier! Okay, maybe not trifling, but the body worked out pretty well. I removed most of the muscle definition, narrowed the waist (after filling the torso with putty in case I broke through) and then built up the standard jacket from Milliput. The head came from a WinX figure with putty hair and a collar made from styrene rod. All in all, it's maybe 20% too small, and I may replace it (it's removable) if I find a better head to use. Special power modified to "Shootback (NAC)". Work in progress without all the modding done, showing some of how I did it.
• Jason Teller - Another Imperial Officer mod, this time the series 4 version SW08(4). I carved down the head and used the hair from the WinX figure I decapitated for C.J. to give Jason his long blonde locks (the original hair was red rubberized plastic). Same styrene buttons and patch as on Tony Drake. No need to change the special ability, as it has no faction reference (it's "Battle Cry").
• Jen Kleinvogel - Padme Amidala SW06(1) with an Imperial Officer's gun. I used putty to alter the collar, add upper sleeves, the front panel of the outfit and the belt, with styrene bits for the shoulderpatch, buttons, belt buckle and rank bar. She's gotten a promotion to upper levels, still behind Grind in seniority, but at the same rank (hence Leader instead of Captain). Padme was overpriced, so I reduced the cost to 20 (Tarkin is only 20, has a bigger base, bigger missile, and his special power is almost as good). I figure Jen's grown her hair back out since cutting it short. I was tempted to leave the cost at 30 and boost her speed instead.
• Lana "Fadeaway" Smith - Another Amidala mod, with short hair and a simple scope-removal on the gun. I changed the power to "Ghosting" (aka Recover) that lets her stand back up 8/26 of the time, so I figured that made her almost worth 30 points. The icons that were the previous only art of Lana disagreed on the color scheme, so I went closer to the gray pants and trim from my icon, rather than the white pants and red trim on Tony's.

• Colonel Hendrick - Built from Series 3 SW33 Captain Antilles. I reposed the left arm and replaced the Rebel helmet with a military helmet taken from a Best Lock (Lego-ish) minifig. This is Hendrick some time after Burnout nearly killed him. Medical parascience has let him get most of his function back, and his hair even regrew, but there's plenty of cosmetic damage that hasn't healed, and he ended up losing his left eye. His hands are a bit sensitive, so he wears gloves.
• STRAFE Trooper - Built from Series 3 SW04 Rebel Trooper with the same helmet swap I did for Hendrick. Although you can't read it in the scan, I did write a teeeeeny little "LOPEZ" on his name badge, and decided this was Ray Lopez (who has never appeared in a story, but may eventually).
• NAC Marshal - Built from Series 4 SW06, AT-ST Driver. Extensive use of Milliput epoxy putty to build up the armor bits and the front of the helmet (which was carved down a lot). The arms were cut off above the elbows and reglued on with pegs to turn the two-handed grip on the rifle into a one-handed pistol grip. No change to the special power of the figure. The NAC Marshal is typically a low-power superhuman graduate of the Academy, equipped with bodyarmor, a sidearm and a shock baton (not shown). The goal is to have a squad of them in every major city of the North American Combine (NAC) by 2028.

• Warden - This is Warden from before he left Manhattan. Built from Marvel Series 1 Daredevil, with the skirt I took off Darth Vader when I made Triton forming the basis of the sleeveless trenchcoat. I used Milliput to build the top part of the coat, his torn t-shirt, and the knot at the back of his bandanna. Altered his special ability to be "Evade (NAC)" and replaced "Daredevil" with "Warden" on his Fearless power.
• Madelyn "Maddie" Chin - This figure represents Maddie when she was part of Warden's supporting cast, prior to taking on the role of being one of the tripartate vigilante Hellhound. Built from Marvel Attacktix Elektra. I mainly just covered up her bandanna and earrings, plus smoothed over her belly so I could give her a unitard.
  • Khadam Faction - CSV, Khadam government, etc.

• Derek "Triton" Radner - Built from the body of the Star Wars vs. Transformers Darth Vader, with the head of Luke Skywalker from that same set. The AstroSpear (currently unpowered) built up around the lightsaber using styrene pieces and Lego bits. This is meant to be one of Triton's ceremonial outfits, in the same color scheme as his original Strafe armor colors, but not as armor-y. Changed the special power to apply to Khadam rather than Empire.
• Yvan "Labyrinthe" Viau - Built from Series 4 SW05 Royal Guard. I removed the head and replaced it with the head of a Mega Blok Captain Picard, adding hair with putty. I turned the baton into a staff with a Chupa-Chups sucker stick, a bit of thin rod and some putty. The Stun power has been changed to keep NAC figures from moving, rather than Rebels.
• Kaliban - Built from Marvel Attacktix Beast. Pretty much just trimmed down his distinctive hair (this is the pre-catman version of the character) and replaced it with putty, and gave him a new belt buckle that I could paint the Khadam flag on. Kaliban is a genetic experiment that was originally a mindless beast, but became a poetry-spouting intellectual in the walk of the Pyramid Scheme. He's not dressed up for his duties as ambassador to Q'Nos in this version. :)
• Droyd (Dr01d) - Half metal, half hardlight tech. Built from Series 4 SW15 IG-88, plus some leftover Mechwarrior bits, a missile pod from a cheap plastic mech minis set, 1990s Mojo's mech arm, and parts of a Bic pen. Most of the paint is neon, which is gloppy and doesn't cover well, hence the lower level of painted detail. Special power works fine as written.
• Challenger - Former CyberNostra, former reporter, former member of the CSV...well, current member as of the time shown here. Built from Series 4 SW12 Han Solo (Endor gear) with some minor modification to make the cybereye and obvious cyborg right hand (the left hand is also cybernetic, but inobvious). Special ability of Sacrifice doesn't really fit his character, but eh. They can't all be solid matches.
• Rebus - Lorenzo Archangeli, one of the most potent Anchors in the world, one of those individuals able to shut down the paranormal abilities of others. This figure represents Rebus during the brief period between losing his eye and clearly breaking with the CSV, wearing his modified "Deep Armageddon" armor sans helmet. M02 Punisher is the base figure. Putty was used to smooth the belt, add wristbands, build up the armored front of the suit, and add mustache and eyepatch. The + and - chest symbols are molded into the chest. The sword hilt was taken from a dollar store Gundam knockoff's sword, with the scabbard shaped from a 1x4mm styrene plank. It's snapped to a hardpoint on the armor, so no need for a strap. I made the Special Ability placard from sheet and rod styrene. In-story, Rebus has finer control of his Anchor ability than that, but I figured a "hose everyone" power would be simplest, and not require boosting his point total. He's such a master planner that he can negate Specials that aren't even paranormal in nature. :) On the off chance another Anchor is on the field, they don't negate each other's Anchor Special, but Rebus's "Last Stand" Special will cease to function so long as an enemy Anchor is around (if a friendly Anchor is around, Last Stand doesn't work anyway).
• Burnout II - Mr. Strings in the body of Lana Smith, circa early issues of CSV. Built from M15 Mystique, I didn't have to alter the powers except to change the faction from Brotherhood to Khadam. I didn't notice the scraped paint on the gun handle until after scanning, fixed it later. And yes, Lana was never that busty, but to remove that much plastic from the Mystique figure would have cut through to the hollow center of the torso.

• Citadel Gold Trooper - Built from Series 4 SW04, Stormtrooper. No limb reposing, but plenty of Milliput armor additions and cutting away of other bits. The Gold Troopers are the elite soldiers of Khadam, a fictional rogue nation in north central Africa. The Charge power was changed to affect Khadam figurs, not Empire.
• Khadam White Trooper - Built from a Series 2 SW04 Bike Scout with one of the cannons taken from Omega Supreme glued to the left forearm. Putty used to make the helmet look like the Gold Trooper's, putty and thick styrene slab for the shoulderpads. Shootback power left unchanged. The gun is a Tsaran pistol, the wrist weapon is an ultrasonic stunner for crowd control, and the backup gun in the boot fires a single 12 gauge shotgun shell for dealing with frisky Vivarium critters that eat energy. The armor is all grimy because the White Troopers don't get cushy Citadel duty, they're out in the streets, man.
• Khadam Green Trooper - Built from Series 4 SW02 Endor Scout. I trimmed the bill of the helmet and added a lot of putty to the head. I also trimmed the shirt and belt to make things line up better and used putty to reconnect the bandolier and belt. Green Troopers cull the poorest of the residents of Khadam to provide raw material for genetic experiments, using gas grenades to pacify large groups and carbines to deal with single targets. Due to their color and helmet shape, they're nicknamed "frogs," which they hate.
  • Moslem Confederation - Not gonna be a big faction, but I didn't feel right putting these guys with either NAC or Khadam.

• Scirocco - The most mercenary of the Righteous Flame, Scirocco is a speedster who packs heat. I used SvT03 Luke Skywalker's base for the 9-11 movement, but an AT-ST driver as the actual figure. I figure a small missile on a fast base is about worth the printed 30 point price. I used one of the Rebel Trooper helmets salvaged from the STRAFE Trooper (or Hendrick, not sure which) to give Scirocco's helmet its shape. Original outfit designed by Joe Singleton, tweaked to fit the base figure a little better.
• Base of the Pillar - Before she became Geode, this was what the Iranian heroine looked like, passing herself off as animate stone given life by Allah, rather than as a supernatural abomination. Built from SW15(3) Chewbacca and a LOT of putty. Slenderer than the version seen on the cover of ASH #50, but I didn't want to have to use an entire box of putty. Before puttying over the fingers on the right hand, I glued them together to go from four to two. The version on the ASH #50 cover has three fingers, but I decided I couldn't make four into three nicely.

• Solar Max Action Figure: A cheap dollar store action figure and a lot of putty (including over the open face of the helmet) created Solar Max in 3D form. Made in early 2000.
• Solar Max God Armor: My first Solar Max figure, a repainted Hulkbuster Iron Man action figure (also seen in the Modern Knights gallery). Mid-90s.
• Meteor Action Figure: I rebuilt a Princess Thundra action figure from the Flash Gordon Animated Series toy line into Meteor. This involved cutting off the excess hair and spikes of Thundra, removing the tail, building up the headgear, leotard top and kneepads of Meteor's costume out of Sculpey, and doing a mess of painting. I tried to add a clear plastic faceplate to the headgear, but every time I bent the plastic enough to fit over the face, it went cloudy. You'll notice extra details on the figure which aren't on the drawing above, these are elements of the original figure which I couldn't easily remove entirely, so I incorporated them into an "updated" costume design. 3/1/98.
• Essay Action Figure: I modified a Lt. Sparks figure from the Steel Movie toy line into Essay. I filed away the armored vest and built up the figure's breasts (Sparks is rather flat), added goggles and changed the hairdo with Sculpey, then painted it. Since the original toy is designed to sit in a wheelchair, the feet are at a slight angle and the figure needs to have its knees bent in order to stay standing. 3/9/98
• Warden Action Figure: A Liu Kang figure from the Mortal Kombat Trilogy toy line, modified to be Warden. I made the trenchcoat from some remnant cloth, stiffening the collar with a length of copper wire stitched into it. Another bit of wire forms the belt buckle. Liu Kang comes with a double hook sword, which I trimmed down to a single blade and painted. The bundi I made from scraps. Although not visible in the scan, I cut toe-notches in the feet to match the style of shoes Warden's wearing in the drawing above. The figure remains fully poseable. 4/1/98
• Triton: First costumed "supervillain" of the 21st Century, founding member of the new Conclave of Super-Villains. Derek Radner's supernatural talent is to generate electricity, which he channels into various gadgets, both of his design and those adapted for his needs, like the powersuit he's wearing here. The toy used as a base for this figure is the "Armor-Up Steel" action figure, to which I added sculpey on the forearms, boots, shoulders and head. The "lenses" on the wrist beamers were made with drops of glue from a hot glue gun. The horns ended up a bit thicker than I wanted. 3/15/98
• TerraStar: The daughter of WarStar, who recently appeared in ASH. Built from a Hercules toy line Atalanta, plus a lot of Milliput. The mace I got in a rummage bin, I think it's Hudson's from the Gargoyles toy line. The legbands, wristbands and mask are supposed to be raw stone, it looks better in person. 7/1/00
• Lady Lawful Super Hero Squad: A She-Hulk SHS figure kitbashed into a disturbingly semi-chibi Lady Lawful. The SHS aesthetic gives women big hands, head and feet in the chibi style, but adult T&A. Um. Other views, without girder. December 2008.
• Doctor Developer Super Hero Squad: A Punisher SHS kitbashed into Deedee. The cute couple. December 2008.
• Sungazer, the Solar Max pony: A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic character inspired by Solar Max, using a spare Rainbow Dash PVC figure. October 2011.
• Brighthorn: Not quite as described in Coherent Super Stories #26, since the pony figures had no real view of the spine, so I went with the traditional cutie mark instead of the spinal sword mark. Built from a spare Twilight Sparkly PVC figure. October 2011.
• Domo-kun Sig.Lad: I bought several blindbox JLA Domo-kun figures, and had an extra Aquaman. So I painted him up as Sig.Lad. June 2014.
• Deep Armor CSV: I made this around 1998, from a set of clearanced Godzilla Force action figures, and sent them to Tony Pi as a gift without trying to get pictures (at the time I was limited to putting stuff on a scanner plate). In 2020, he dug them out to use as the basis of some PS4 Dream designs (see Fourth Age), and took pictures for the archive. Made some time in 1998, probably. Scanned May 2020.