This book is a boon for Forgotten Heroes enthusiasts. The heroes contained herein are indeed forgotten, and usually for good reason. This book gave me the impetus to construct Rainbow Boy a couple of years ago, and it delivered again this year.
May I present: Bee-Man! Never heard of Bee-Man? Me neither! That’s because he lasted a total of 2 issues, printed before my time, in 1966. That’s it. He’s probably in the public domain, because I can’t imagine anyone giving a shit about Bee-Man.
Barry E. Eames (clever, right?) sabotages a rocket ship that is landing after being out in space, collecting cosmic samples, Eames hopes to make a quick buck by selling whatever’s inside. What’s inside turns out to be angry space bees, who drag him back into space after stinging him a lot.
Bee- Man returns to Earth, intent on resuming his criminal ways, now armed with the advanced technology of the space bees. He has a huge, beehive-shaped “secret lair”, from which he hatches his criminal plans to steal gold, radium and honey. Really. But in the second issue, Bee-Man allies himself with the FBI, to fight against the space bees’ plans to enslave humanity.
There was no third issue.
To make Bee-Man, I used these two Heroclix miniatures, a Para-Demon and the Wasp. I removed the Para-Demon’s jetpack and axe, and replaced the jetpack with the Wasp’s wings. I sculpted his bee-helmet, but there was no way I was gonna do his antennae. Too small, and beyond my skill.
Then, it was just a matter of repainting him to look like Bee-Man. And that’s what I did.
Looks not bad, right?
I managed to get this one in in the late hours of Forgotten Heroes this year. Looking forward to the Season of Scenery!
Talk about finding obscure characters Keith ! LOL As you probably guessed I’ve never heard of him, and by the sounds of it didn’t miss much. The sculpting and painting look awesome mate, and you found the perfect donor models for it.
Look forward to seeing what you do for SOS
Much appreciated, Dave! Every year, I regret giving away so many of my “extra” Heroclix to a friend who never used them. They would come in handy each year around this time…Still not sure what I’m doing for SoS this year, but maybe it will be my long-procrastinated Old West town…
Terrific work. I’m always in awe of Heroclix kitbashes and conversions, and this is another corker imho.
Thanks, Simon! Sometimes the right models for a project fall right into your lap!
A character I’ve never heard of? Shocking… However, your conversion actually makes him look kinda cool, even if he’s not. I thought Roger had managed to plumb the depths of obscure characters, but looks like you may have trumped him on this occasion. Looks like I’ll have to up my game next year… Astro Knight? Captain Zargon? The Mink? Hmmm…
Never heard of any of them, Jeremy, so I’m sure any will do! And Bee-Man was fun to make, but he’s definitely not cool.
And you called Shield obscure! Wow alien bee’s from space trying to take over the world, why didn’t this comic sell?
Seriously though that’s a corking conversion, and a smashing bit of painting too. and as you say finding the right base figure is half the battle, and you have really nailed it on all three of you entries this year mate!
Love this challenge and seeing what everyone does for it, roll on next year!
Cheers Roger.
Thanks so much for the kind words, Roger, especially since I slandered your good name. (Or is it libeled? It was in print, after all.) To be fair, Shield IS obscure…not even your fellow Brits remember him well! Still you did a wonderful job on him.
I also love Forgotten Heroes and will take part until my dying day, so long as Jez allows me.