ok... so the Micro Universe figures offer some nice possiblities for new series beasties, but the humanoid figures in particular suffer from being made in really bendy plastic... the Daleks are fine, the Slitheen are ok, but the Cybermen are just let down by bendy legs and arms and club deformed hands...
... but they can be saved (in my opinion anyway)... they have a lovely tall and slender look about them compared to the majority of other 28mm figures (which looks horrible in the rest of the humanoid MU range, but works with these guys) and reminds me of the Cybermen from the 8th Doctor comic strip The Flood which was a complete absence of the 'man in a suit' look.
Now, the first obstacle is the legs, the figures as a whole just aren't sturdy for wargaming and the legs are a major let down - so they come off at the knee... luckily the thigh armour has a flat edge and is the perfect hidden join....
the thigh is then drilled - now drilling this soft bendy plastic is tricky as you don't so much drill as slice... yanking the drill bit out rather than turning the bit brings some of the plastic out with it and leaves a bit of a hole for you to work with. You need to go as far into the body as you can, but you need to be careful of your drilling going awry (on the plus side if you have an exit hole where you don't want one, it will normally seal up). Stick in a good thick (unbendy) bit of wire - if the wire has a sharp end it will go further into the plastic than the hole if you're not careful...
... and do the same with the lower leg and foot - you just need to maintain a central drill point which is easy enough I reckon (I did experiment with drilling without the amputation, but the plastic tended to misdirect the drill bit and after a certain distance in, I couldn't guarantee where I was going to end up)...
.... and repeat for the other leg (if you look at the rear of the knee joint, the right leg has a small stubb which is absent from the left leg which is a useful observation). I've not glued until this point, just add superglue to the join and the wire seems to be enough, just slide the lower legs up to meet the thigh and position it so it becomes as close to the original as you care to have it. Leave some wire at the feet to connect to your chosen base.
Next is the hands... no stage by stage here - sorry... but cut off the deformed club hands from hell at the flared cuff. Again wire is drilled into the arm, but I use a smaller diameter wire because it has to fit into the replacement hands - which come from the Gangs of Mega-City One Street Gang sprue. The G0MC1 range is a bit variable in scale and the hands from the plastic sprue are perfect for the Cybermen - other 28mm hands look to big on the arm and too human, these at least look right and painted silver should look fine. Of course they will be smaller than any other figures hands, but that works for me as they are essentially robotic replacements for real hands and it helps move the figures away from the man in marigold gloves look....
I haven't worked out what to do about the bendy arms yet, but with the legs reinforced, I'm happy with what is now a sturdy piece... with a bit of variety on the position of the arms and the head, I should be able to come up with some variety between models... I even have some partially cybernised humans on the work table...
The Meeps were an advanced and peaceful race, who lived in harmony and happiness until their natures were radically altered by their planet's orbit passing close to the Black Sun. The Black Sun radiation mutated them into an aggressive, expansionist species who began to mercilessly conquer and subjugate other planets. After the deaths of countless billions, the Meep fleet was destroyed by Wrarth peace keepers, but their leader, the Most High Beep, escaped to Earth where his cute and fluffy outward appearance hides his true nature as a malevolent, homicidal conqueror and dictator.
And yes... I now realise I got his ears wrong... took me bloody ages, and these were the third attempt and I was happy enough until I had another look at the comic and thought sod it, it'll do.... I'm no sculptor, but I'm happy with it... aside from the ears, the other difference from the comics is the colour, the original strip was black and white, but in the colourised reprints he has blue fur and purple skin... now I was happy with the sculpted fur, but to paint fur a non-fur colour and expect it to look like fur is asking a bit much for my sculpting efforts so I went with white... I think this fits him better and makes him more cute and fluffy looking in the eyes of humans than blue would... besides I seem to remember reading that Dave Gibbons based him on his cat (hence the tongue sticking out all the time)...
And a quick comparison with the 10th Doctor. Beep needs matting down a bit more I think.... God I miss Dullcote...
shots of the underside and the hatch (with a couple of ground defence lasers ), the ramp is left detachable as it will be easier to store that way...
