As I've gotten heavier and heavier into collecting DC action figures at the 4.5 inch scale, my two main focuses were on the Green Lantern Corps and the Batman universe. Having collected virtually all of the Batman villains released, I was very, very disappointed that Black Mask had never gotten a release as a 4.5 inch scale figure... it seems a shame, considering how many figures lame and boring Bane has gotten... so anyway Black Mask was at the top of the list of custom figures I would build.

I'd been half-heartedly looking for a good skull-head to use anyway when I stumbled on a resin skull casting being offered by Stew's Customs. I briefly considered buying a suit-wearing body as well, but he was selling action-statues, not action-figures, and I could get a beat-up old Two-Face action figure with actual articulation in the legs for a third of the price on Ebay... so that was an easy decision. Once the head showed up in the mail and I started working with it, I was pretty disappointed to find out that it was a little on the small side. Perhaps the old Kenner Two-Face figure had a larger body as well... regardless, I was stuck with a small head on a large body.

Anyway, I built a neck joint on the skull, then I got to painting. Gray on the skull, white on the teeth, then a wash that darkened both up, and after, I painted on the eyes. The Two-Face body was easy: I'd boiled and disassembled it, then sprayed the whole thing with black spray paint. I painted on the white shirt after. There's two primary looks you'll see for Black Mask, black suit with white shirt, and white suit with black shirt. I opted for the black suit, since I find it more menacing: a guy in a black suit is less afraid to get his hands dirty.

Once everything was dry, I reassembled the figure, glued it shut, and did a coat of Dullcote, followed by acrylic sealant. Honestly, the paint came out pretty well in the face, sadly, most of my pictures don't convey that. My camera doesn't do small all that well. I've found with this figure that the size disparity doesn't bother me too much, since it resembles a Timm-verse figure, and Timm-verse characters tended to look slightly bizarre anyway. It works in its simplicity.