Adrian Toomes, bka The Vulture

In descending order, my favourite Spidey villains are:

1. The Goblin Family
2. The Rhino
3. The Vulture
4. The Lizard
5. The Scorpion

3 & 4 are actually neck-in-neck: the only reason I listed them in that order is because of seniority.

But I digress. Working on The Rhino got me thinking about the other Spidey villains that were so much a part of my childhood. That, and the fact that if I manage to stay on course throughout the remainder of the year, I will have 1) an even-numbered display--which I prefer to avoid; and 2) a display with no busts--not unheard of, but again not my preference. So how do we address the situation, to say nothing of satisfy the requirements, in a doable fashion?

The deciding factor was the recent announcement that Colm Feore had been cast as Adrian Toomes in next year's Amazing Spider-Man 2. Personally, I think it is an excellent choice: yes, John Malkovich had been cast as The Vulture in the aborted Spider-Man 4; and Sir Ben Kingsley has often been discussed as a potential Toomes (appearance-wise, a dead ringer, IMO); but Colm, I feel, has the potential to not only define the character, but make it his own.

I immediately began looking for a bust of The Vulture. A pre-paint, of course, that I could strip; potentially enhance; and ultimately make my own. There are actually quite a few Vulture busts out there, but the only one that did anything for me was Diamond Select's/Art Asylum's Rogue's Gallery rendition of The Vulture. And I was very fortunate to be able to find one, MIB, for less than half of what we would pay for a "Tier 1" 54mm foot figure!


The bust is a limited-edition (I received issue 920/6500), sculpted by Eli Livingston, and was released in January 2003. Undeniably, there are some [relative] issues; but the main portions, those I intend to "keep", are flawlessly executed!

I have already removed (grinding) the en suite nameplate, and the medium is a bonded porcelain of just-about the right consistency and density. Next step--hopefully this weekend--will be to strip the bust: if all goes well to this point, I will begin to plot out my strategy. As of this writing, I do intend to rework the face, though to what extent I am uncertain. Any other mod will be determined by how I decide to display the piece.

Stay tuned!

FOLLOW-UP 19.06.2013. . . After a God-awful day at work, it was time to channel the over- abundance of frustration into a more productive outlet. So, I broke out the Super-Clean, and immersed the bust in my stripping container. Now, it has been a while since I've stripped anything with SC, but my initial impressions (60 mins. elapsed) are that either the formulation has been "weakened", or the finish on the Art Asylum busts is truly exceptional. Admittedly, I'd like to see nearly instantaneous results; but that is hardly realistic with a well-finished pre-paint. So the waiting begins. As long as I see some paint dissolving by light's out, I am fairly confident that by this time tomorrow, I will be rinsing a bare bonded porcelain bust. More to follow. . . !  

UPDATE 21.06.2013. . . The Hulk might be readily and happily shedding its green skin, but Mr. Toomes is not quite so anxious. It has now been approximately 48 hrs. since immersion, and I would say it is about 70% done. And the Super-Clean is as potent as ever. . . but the finish on this bust is exceptional! Kudos to DS/AA!! No biggie, it can take its time. The important thing is that the solvent is doing its job, and that the underlying sculpt is completely unaffected. Stay tuned. . .