Hordak (Blue) Filmation / MOTUC Mashup Custom Action Figure Art

I like the design of the gray-skinned vintage Masters of the Universe Hordak figure. And while I more often than not find Filmation's changes in both the design and coloring of my beloved Masters to be uninspired, their color changes on Hordak work for me on many of levels.
Despite their simplifying the face details, making it less organic and more mechanical looking, the starkness of the white color makes him even more demonic and maniacal. (I can't help but hear the They Might Be Giants song "Turn Around" in my head whenever I see it.) Their skin color change from gray to blue also livens up what was originally a very muted color palette.

I've seen some fantastic Filmation Hordak customs on He-Man.org and elsewhere including an incredible sculpt  of the Filmation style head by Kevin Kosse. But I wanted to do Hordak a little differently: First, I didn't want to paint his entire body blue. No matter how much you prep, sand, prime, and seal it, you can't avoid some level of paint chipping, especially on joints. To minimize this, I chose Webstor as a base body. Second, I love the Four Horsemen's MOTUC sculpt but I was curious to see what the head would look like in stark white with dry brushing to really bring out the sculpted details. Finally, the forearm canon of Hurricane Hordak gave me the final component to truly make this piece a tribute to both Filmation and MOTUC.

While the structural cues are mostly Masters Classics, I gave him the double arm bands and sculpted a simple bracer for his left wrist to give him some key Filmation details. The "bleached bone" white face was painted in several stages starting with a medium gray and working up to the bright white details on the uppermost surfaces. I also gave his red costume elements the proper treatment with a very bright red base and a wash so they would really pop-off the black just as they did in the cartoon.

Inspired by ActionFigurePics.com's tutorial on using laser pointers in photography, I experimented a bit achieving some pretty cool blaster effects.

I modified a red tinted plastic rod for this shot. It looks good on it's own but the laser really brings it to life...or should I say death!

"...and his face which was a paper-white mask of evil sang us this song..." - They Might Be Giants

"Grayskull, you will be mine!"
 
I hope you dig him. If you do, I've made him available in my Etsy store. Click here to purchase him. Also, leave a comment and be sure to follow Insidious Customs at the links at the right. Until next time, I remain The Insidious One.