Zigzag & Human Female

Zigzag



In his former life, on the Planet Nebulos, Zigzag was a miserable fellow. He had a job repairing hovercraft, but his welding skills, or more accurately, his complete lack thereof, were so terrible, that any vehicle he worked on usually ended up in far worse condition than when he started - needless to say, he was constantly ridiculed by his co-workers. When the Nebulans tragically found themselves dragged into the Transformers' never-ending civil war, Zigzag eagerly jumped at the opportunity to have himself binary-bound to a powerful Decepticon, hoping that, at long last, he would finally have the means to revenge himself upon the society that had mocked him for his entire adult life.

In his new role as a sidearm for the Decepticon Targetmaster Needlenose, Zigzag can transform into a double-barreled Electrostatic Overloader Rifle. This weapon discharges bolts of electricity that can disable mechanical objects by overloading their circuits; this power surge may even cause the target to explode. However, Zigzag is just as bad a marksman as he was a welder, if not worse, so, he rarely manages to hit whatever he's aiming at. Zigzag can also piggyback with Needlenose's second Nebulan companion, Sunbeam (who transforms into a solar-powered Light-Burst Discharger), to create a deluxe firearm that retains the offensive capabilities of both individuals. In the unlikely event that Zigzag ever has to partake in close quarters physical combat, Needlenose has armed his minion with a Duranium sword and shield, but, given Zigzag's general ineptitude, he'd probably just end up accidentally stabbing himself instead of his opponent.

Zigzag is almost completely useless as both a sidekick and a weapon, but, his master, Needlenose, and Nebulan comrade-in-arms, Sunbeam, shouldn't complain too much, because they're not exactly A-grade material themselves. Needlenose is only interested in being perceived as cool and fashionable; the Decepticon "warrior" seldom shows up for battles, instead, he spends his time engaged in activities that he thinks make him hip, like playing Earth's video games. And Sunbeam, bored with the beaches of Nebulos, only enlisted so that he would have the opportunity to surf the exotic waves found on different worlds throughout the cosmos. When it comes to recruitment, the Decepticons apparently have the lowest standards imaginable.

In the United Kingdom's Transformers Marvel comic book continuity, Needlenose (and presumably, by extension, Zigzag and Sunbeam) was destroyed by the rogue Pretender wolf Carnivac. His Decepticon comrades could have saved him, but, fed up with his shenanigans and generally cowardly behavior, they ignored Needlenose's pleas for help and let him perish.


Materials:
Newsprint, white glue, wire twist ties, acrylic paint, and ink.

Dimensions:
(Nebulan Form) 3.0 cm/1.2 in. x 4.5 cm/1.8 in. (widest point x highest point)
(Gun Form) 5.7 cm/2.2 in. x 2.5 cm/1.0 in. (widest point x highest point)

Articulation:
Twelve points: Neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, gun handle, gun barrels, and shield.

Time:
Three days: July 22, 23, and 25 (2012).







1988 Transformers Needlenose, Zigzag, and Sunbeam figures.


Closeup view of Zigzag and Sunbeam figures.


Decepticon Double Targetmasters from the 1988 Transformers toy catalog/checklist.


Needlenose's biography information, from the back of the toy's package.


Needlenose, Zigzag, and Sunbeam biography artwork from Marvel Comics' Transformers Vol. 1, No. 64.




Human Female



Adventuresses that you can choose to play as in Square-Enix's 1990/1991 Final Fantasy Legend II Nintendo Gameboy roleplaying video game [original Japanese title: SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu (SaGa 2: Legend of the Secret Treasure.)] Said title was also released again, without changes, in 1998, by Sunsoft, and an enhanced remake, with all new polygon graphics instead of sprites, was published for the Nintendo DS in 2009, but only in Japan (SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu ~ Goddess of Destiny.) Note that the labeling of this software as Final Fantasy Legend II, for Western consumers, was a deliberately dishonest marketing tactic - the SaGa series of games is not part of the Final Fantasy franchise.

Humans ("ningen" in Japanese) are one of the four character classes that you can pick from when you create a new party of adventurers at the beginning of the game (the other three options are mutants, robots, and monsters.) You can also choose between male (otoko) or female (onna) versions of humans and mutants (robots and monsters have no gender . . . well, try telling that to the obviously feminine fairy and medusa type monsters that you'll meet later in the game.) Aside from cosmetic differences, male and female characters start with slightly different hit point (HP) totals, equipment, and attribute values, but, as all of those things can, and will, be improved through gameplay, there really isn't any long term benefit to selecting one sex over the other. A human's stats (strength, defense, agility, and mana) will periodically increase depending on what weapons or items they use to attack or defend with in battle. For example, a human that fights using heavy axes and swords should see a slow, but steady increase in their strength, while a human that employs magical spellbooks and staffs will be working towards improving their mana. Depending on your play style, you can focus on maxing out one of these attributes at a time by always using the same type of gear, or, you can regularly rotate the character's arsenal, in an attempt to build up all of the values evenly. Humans tend to gain hit points (which, unlike the previously described attributes, gradually increase regardless of what items you use) at a faster rate than mutants, making them hardier combatants. However, they have no special abilities, which does make them relatively boring, compared to the other more exotic character classes. Humans may use and/or equip any of the items in the game and can carry up to eight of them at a time.



Materials:
Newsprint, white glue, wire twist ties, and acrylic paint.

Dimensions*:
2.1 cm/0.8 in. x 5.0 cm/2.0 in. (widest point x highest point)
* The numbers given are for a neutral standing pose.

Articulation:
Ten points: Neck, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, and knees.

Time:
Four days: August 1, 2, 4, and 5 (2012).







(Left) Japanese SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu ningen onna artwork. (Right) North American human female Final Fantasy Legend II instruction manual artwork.


Final Fantasty Legend II character selection screen.


Starting statistics and gear for a new human female character.


Animated human female player character sprite - front, back, and side views.

As always theses are very good sucplts. I would like to see you do a version of the mutant male and female.

I would totally love to see the mutants. As usual, your stuff is fantastic. I want to make things like these but then I remember I'm a talentless loser.

As awesome as those are, the title made me think this was going to be some kind of comic.

Awesome work, some cool sketches you did this time as well.

I'm a big fan of the SaGa gb trilogy, so I'm excited about how many of those have been popping up.

Thanks for the comments, everyone! I might make the Mutant Female (anybody else notice she looks an awful lot like Princess Zelda?) someday, but I don't care for the design of the Mutant Male (methinks its the eye patch that turns me off), so he's unlikely. I would like to have a Human, Mutant, Robot, Monster party of figures someday [already got the Human and two monsters (Fungus & Toad), so I'm halfway there.]




Monkey



Grotesque primates that can be encountered in Square-Enix's 1998 Parasite Eve Sony Playstation roleplaying video game (said title was also made available again recently, as a digital download, via the Playstation Network, in 2010/2011.) The game is a direct sequel to the 1996 science fiction novel of the same name, written by Hideaki Sena.

Like the rest of the animals in New York City's Central Park zoo, the primates mutated and become Neo Mitochondrion Creatures (NMCs) after coming into contact with Eve during Day 2: Fusion. Eve's influence causes the mitochondria present in living cells to "awaken" - they then take control of the organism that they inhabit, which is usually accompanied by physical deformation and the expression of latent powers. In the case of monkeys (apes would probably be a more accurate description), the most noticeable change is in the left arm, which takes on the appearance of twisted, bloody flesh and elongates into a long, sickle-like claw. A monkey can detach this misshapen appendage at will and fling it at distant adversaries. Similar to a boomerang, after flying a short arc, the lower arm returns to the monster and reattaches itself seamlessly again at the elbow. Monkeys can also scratch, with their normal hand, at close range. These NMCs have 57 hit points and no particular strengths or weaknesses.

Tougher (158 hit points) yellow-green monkeys can also be found on floors eleven-through-twenty of the Chrysler Building bonus dungeon in the EX (extra) Game that opens up after you successfully complete Parasite Eve once. While more difficult to defeat, these variants attack and behave exactly like the normal monkey enemies found in Central Park.


Materials:
Newsprint, white glue, wire twist ties, acrylic paint, and gloss nail polish.

Dimensions*:
6.0 cm/2.4 in. x 5.3 cm/2.1 in. (widest point x highest point)
* The numbers given are for a neutral standing pose.

Articulation:
Seventeen points: Neck (x2), shoulders (x2), elbows (x2), wrist, mid-torso, waist, hips (x2), knees (x2), and ankles (x4).

Time:
Three days: August 7-9, 2012.









Monkey artwork and description from a Japanese Parasite Eve guide book.


Aya Brea confronts two monkeys in Central Park.

At first, I read this as you were making monster party figures.

I might make something from Monster Party someday.