My Maximilian Armor Influence

Back in my childhood, I was fascinated by suits of armor. It's one reason I like armor for superheroes that I invent. One of the most influential types of armor on my tastes was Maximilian armor.

Armor Ideas that Influenced Me

As an artist who grew up in the 1980s, I did pick influences on costume designs from the movies and TV series of the time. Being fond of armor, I will list some specific armored and alien looks which fascinated me at the time, and influenced my way of looking at costumes.

First is this guy from the 1986 movie the Wraith:

Armored hero with car theme

Just sharing a drawing of another original character. I plan to ink and color it later. This will go to Deviantart when it's done.

I tried to design his armor in a way that's like a car. Somewhat like a transformer. hehe

I have always liked the way the Japanese design their costumes in tokusatsu (live action science fiction shows). The design often combine particular motifs with aesthetic angles and shapes on the armor. The effect is, just as I said above - they look like transformers. Humanoid shapes with vehicle parts on them that fit. I am trying to capture that on my character designs.

Unboxing the AFV Club Centurion Mk 5

I got the AFV Club Centurion Mk 5 as one of the costly kits in my collection, and to do something different. I've done tanks before, but this is my first AFV Club kit and my first Centurion, which I've always wanted to do.

Gundam ZZ (Double Zeta)

Going back to gundams, one of my favorite among this metaseries is the Gundam Double Zeta. Its TV series aired in 1986 in Japan. It's also a design I quite like, having the look of a mean heavy-hitter with all those busy features, fins sticking out everywhere, and a mean double-barreled gun. I have its HGUC kit by Bandai.

Design Review: Magna Ryugunou

Perhaps I should focus on what I consider my favorite armor design of all time in heroic costume - Magna Ryugunou from the 2005 Japanese TV series Ryukendo.

Magna Ryugunou is actually the second version of the armor used by the character, Juushirou Fudou, after his first armor was destroyed. Actually, the first armor doesn't look bad either.

              

As you may see, the theme of this design is a dragon head as part of the helmet and other parts of the suit, with all other designs following a sort of fusion between modern technology and ancient jeweled designs. All in all, it's a good combination of a streamlined look with a heavily armored feel, especially on the chest plate.

My only disappointment is that other parts of the body, such as the thighs, loin and forearms, are only covered by spandex, and thus earlier metal hero designs, like Jiban and Janperson, come out as more heavily armored. But the overall effect compensates for this, and Magna Ryugunou remains my most favorite tokusatsu and superhero costume of all time.

Design Review: Halo soldiers

Getting to the meat of this blog, I take a look at one popular icon in computer gaming - the armored Master Chief from the Halo games series.

My old "Wedge" article actually concerns my interest in armor designs. While this design isn't exactly "wedgy," it's actually one of the most interesting and attractive designs I've ever seen. I've always been fond of aesthetically pleasing costume designs, and armor is always the most attractive.

Master Chief's armor design is perhaps one of the most aesthetically pleasing in all of the armor world. It's got sufficient bulk to hint muscle, but it also has the plating, curves and shapes that indicate the guy is a machine in combat. The faceless visor has always been interesting, since it adds an air of mystery  and menace to the character. And the helmet has its wedgy brow - that's what attracted me to it.

But let me include Carter as well. His armor rocks from the beginning as well. If only he stops covering the details of his armor with his equipment harness. But anyway, it looks good.

While I do think the Halo armor aesthetic could be improved, as it is, it's fantastic and just a chock full of eye candy.

Armor Rules!