Modern Knights

Logo by David Bolack

Last Updated: 3/5/23

Rescan of original Tek-7 and Kombat drawing added.

Modern Knights is one of the roleplaying games I originally published with Plaid Rabbit Productions, and I've done a little art for the characters in it. It has since come and gone from DriveThruRPG, and this page is a relic of the past except for a couple of broken image updates.

Tek-7 and Kombat: Tek-7 is your basic Fighting The Conspiracy superhero gadgeteer, and Kombat draws on anime superheroes like Goku from Dragonball Z. Picture copyright 6/7/96. Rescan because not only is the old version a horrible 90s-era scan, the file got a bit corrupted.
- Tek-7 Action Figure: This kitbash, made on 8/30/98, uses a Mortal Kombat Trilogy Cyrax figure as its base...as you can see, the figure is halfway to being Tek-7 already. I used epoxy putty to reshape the head and fill in the upper chest (and all the black lines are lines carved into the putty), plus a little to alter the armor apron. Then I used a LOT of yellow-orange paint, some black, silver and red paint, and dark grey for touchup. The gun I built from Street Fighter Guile's gun, with some putty added on and the whole mess painted, dropped into a dusty corner by accident, and repainted.
- Kombat Inaction Figure: Last year, Viz gave away a bunch of Dragonball Z mini-figures. Since Kombat was intended as a Son Goku ripoff anyway (at least in appearance), I repainted one of the mini-figures as him.
- Kombat in Kubo style: Sure, I could to a creditable Toriyama-style Kombat drawing now, but what's the fun in that? So I did a Tite "Bleach" Kubo style version instead. August 2009.
Brightsword: Patriotic avenger type with a blazing laser torch sword. Picture copyright 6/10/96.
- Brightsword Action Figure: A Spider-Man "Black Cat" figure kitbashed into Brightsword. I lengthened the gloves because I could only carve Black Cat's glove-fur down so far, and sculpting an elbow was beyond my ability. I raised the collar to the neck joint because while I got a pretty good match on the flesh tone, I didn't wanna push my luck. And the domino mask was expanded so I wouldn't have to paint over the diamond shaped Black Cat mask with iffy fleshtones. Image copyright 9/1/97.
- Brightsword Action Figure 2: Same base figure, but this time I had a year's worth of practice with Sculpey and putty to call upon. I carved the gloves down all the way and then rebuilt the arms with putty. I opened the collar up since I now have a better fleshtone paint and repainted the whole head (which meant I got the mask right this time). The sword I built from part of the "Cat's Claw" crossbow missile Black Cat came with, plus the blade of a sword that came with some knockoff transforming toy I got a few months ago. Oh, and the boot swashtops are Sculpey, because I cut myself in carving down the arms, and didn't want to wait until my thumb had healed and I could use putty. Probably should have waited, the bottom fringes of the boot swashes are fragile. Image copyright me 8/31/98.
- Brightsword Miniature: A Mage Knight Nightblade figure heavily modified. The sword is actually a sewing needle, which I blunted after having it stick in my hand a few times. 3/22/02.
Doctor Eschaton: Embodiment of angst, mystic entity. Responsible for unlocking the metaphysical door to the next world once the universe ends, but until then he's got some time to kill. Still looking for a kitbash base. Drawing copyright me 9/4/98.
- Doctor Eschaton Action Figure: Created using a Happy Meal Frollo (Hunchback of Notre Dame) as a base. I heavily resculpted the face and head, added pantscuffs, sweater details and filled in his pelvic region (his legs hardly moved anyway), plus added some chest to the toy (the original wore a non-removal robe, so details of the chest were unimportant) and some shoulders. I built his raiments out of a piece of craft foam, some short bits of goldplated chain and jump rings. It doesn't really look like cloth, but it was the easiest medium to add the chains to.
Solar Max: I repainted this Hulkbuster Iron Man toy into a reasonable approximation of Solar Max's space armor. Iron Man is TM Marvel Entertainment Group, this repaint is copyright me June 1996.
Darkshield - Arch-enemy of Brightsword, his father was a Soviet agent who posed as asupervillain to cover for his more espionage-related crimes. The original Darkshield died in a fight with the original Brightsword, and now the vendetta has hallen to the next generation. Darkshield's armor is bulletproof and fist-resistant, plus it gives him control over electromagnetism.
- Darkshield Drawing: Actually done after the action figure below was designed. Design seen in the Modern Knights game ignored this sketch and went for a more Soviet Bloc-ky look. Drawing copyright 9/16/98.
- Darkshield Action Figure: The base figure was a Deep Space Iron Man. I removed all the gear from inside the backpack, filled in some bits with putty and painted the whole thing gloss black. Then I fused most of the joints of the figure and added appropriate detail with epoxy putty, including building up the chest and covering the faceplate. Much cutting and filing later, I painted the figure in a combination of gloss and matte black, making scanning almost a moot point, but I gave it a go anyway. Finished 9/21/98.
- Darkshield Miniature: A Katusha [sic] Rocket miniature from SuperFigs.net, painted gloss black with metallic wash and highlights, plus garnet red details. Not exactly the design seen in the RPG, but close in spirit. Painted 3/18/02.
- Darkshield and Mooks, Front: The mooks are dark grey armor plates and flat black upper arms, sides and feet, with metallic highlighting and color-coded stars so I can keep them separate when using them as minis in a game. Back view. Painted 3/18/02.
Shade Action Figure: Shade is one of two "iconic" characters created for Modern Knights by the artist, Mat Nastos. Shade fills the basic Batman-like position, although his motivations and methods are rather different. The scan didn't turn out as well as I'd like, mainly because of the high contrast of the design. The cowl and back of the cape are medium grey, the lining of the cape is white. The base figure was a slightly chewed up and accessoryless animated Batman toy, I made the upper part of the cape and his hair from putty. The "loose" part of the cape was made from the same foam used in Dr. Eschaton and glued to the putty part. The original design had the cape flaring over the shoulders more, but I wanted to retain as much arm poseability as possible. Finished 5/5/99.
Avatar Miniature: Avatar is the other "iconic" character, and he's on the cover of the game. Your basic Superman type icon. I used as a base the Lance & Laser "Omniman" miniature. Using an X-Acto knife and various Dremel attachments, I removed Omniman's mask, reshaped his cape so that it was held on by round clasps, and changed how his boots looked. Finished 2/16/01