The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - The Invisible Man

Hawley Griffin was a skilled research scientist who discovered a formula that makes a human being invisible. As all slightly mad scientists do, he tried it out on himself. The formula entailed taking opium and another drug, which made his blood clear, then processing him in a radiator engine. It succeeded, but he quickly found himself unable to reverse the process. Realising not only that his normal life was over, but also the potential for living a life of debauchery free of consequence, Griffin quickly came to embody the worst aspects of the Victorian male.

The invisible man, dressed for a night out on the town, or at least, the start of one.

A psychopathic murderer, rapist, and traitor to mankind, Griffin had to be coerced into joining up with the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and he doesn't hide the fact he feels little to no loyalty towards his fellow team members. A monster among men indeed.

Aheheh... careful Miss Harker, you won't see me coming, you know...

He may not be a team player, but it doesn't occur to Griffin that other Extraordinay Gentlemen may have a trick up their sleeves of their own.

Wha...what are you looking at?

The members of the team so far, with the newest addition

The concept for the model was taken from the League group foto from the graphic novel. The reason I went with more of a taupe colour for the suit than the grey from the image is that I used the same base figure as for my Dracula model and I didn't want them to end up looking too similar. 

The base model was the gentleman from the Lemax "attending services" set again. I removed the head and hands, repositioned the right arm, built up the shirt collar and sleeve so it would look hollow and built him a new cane from a piece of paperclip and some putty. The hat was cut off from the head and glued to his side, so he would appear to hold it next to his body.

Don't lose your head!

The Dracula I made earlier from the same figure is slightly bigger because I bulked out his arms and legs with putty, as well as broaden his shoulders and hips. I didn't do that on Griffin as I figured it would help to differentiate the two models a bit more.

Aheheh... I like your tailor.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Faction Overview

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a group of heroes and misfits, brought together to defend the British Empire in its hour of need.

Artist's interpretation of the main members of the team

The figures so far...

The team comprises of:

1. Allan Quatermain 

(to be added)

2. Captain Nemo

Source: King and Country

3. Wilhelmina Harher

Source: Lemax (converted and painted)

4. Mister Hyde

Source: Knight Models (converted and painted)

5. Hawley Griffin, the Invisible Man

Source: Lemax (converted and painted)

6. Dorian Grey

(to be added)

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Mina Harker

Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker was the wife of Jonathan Harker. After the death of her friend Lucy Westenra, she joined the coalition around Abraham Van Helsing, bent on destroying Count Dracula, the vampire. Unfortunately, the Count learned of this plot against him and took revenge by visiting — and biting — Mina at least three times and feeding her his blood, dooming her to become a vampire should she die. Eventually, Mina was turned and became a vampire, but unlike many, she managed to hold on to part of her humanity and in her new found form, she is a valuable asset to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

My version of Mina is based on the LXG movie interpretation (rather than the graphic novel, where she never became a vampire). The figure is a Lemax christmas figure, representing a young lady carrying an umbrella. I sculpted on a scarf and painted her in pale skintones and black and red clothing. I gave her red pupils to suggest the bloodlust in her eyes and to mark her more clearly one of the undead. The umbrella adds to the suggestion of a vampire shying away from the sun, I think. All in all, a pretty easy, but effective conversion of a cheap figure. I'm quite happy with the way she turned out, though she looks much better in person than in the pictures.

I know it's not raining, I just don't want the sun to ruin this lovely complexion.

Gaze at my cold, dark beauty and tremble...

A comparison with the original figure. I quickly realised she'd make a fine vampire lady, which, after a while, mutated in the idea of using her for vampire Mina. These christmas figures don't always show it, due to seemingly being painted by a drunk person, but many are quite lovely sculpts if you look more closely.

The difference a decent makeover can make.

The members of the League so far:

Not exactly the glorious heroes you'd expect...

Madam, you have the most remarkable eyes.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Mr. Hyde

Mr. Hyde came into existence when the seemingly mildmannered Dr. Henry Jekyll, who occasionally feels he is battling between the good and evil within himself and has spent a great part of his life trying to repress evil urges that were not fitting for a man of his stature, creates a serum, or potion, in an attempt to rid himself of this hidden evil within his personality. The serum worked, but not as the good doctor intended and instead of repressing his baser instincts, the serum released them. Jekyll transformed into Edward Hyde, a hideous, evil creature without compassion or remorse. Initially, Hyde was a small man, but as time went by and he revelled in his evil deeds, Hyde grew in power and size. He no longer relies upon the serum to unleash his inner demon and Mr. Hyde, now a giant of a man, is able to manifest whenever Jekyll shows signs of physical or moral weakness.

This figure is a conversion, based on a Knight Models (OOP) Hulk figure. Modifications involve filing off some detail from his ripped pants, adding sideburns and a top hat taken from a Lemax Scrooge figure. The look I went for is inspired by the portrayals of Hyde in the LXG and Van Helsing movies, though not an exact copy. The figure was then based and painted to match the other figures.

No problems as can't be solved with a piece of brick wall.

Hyde Smash!

While originally intended for the 35mm scale, the figure has a good size for a 65mm scale Hyde. His head is the same size as the K&C models, height is slightly higher, but he's much broader. But I'll let the picture speak for itself:

Sir, must I point out that we're on the same side?

And a comparison with the original Hulk figure:

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Captain Nemo

Captain Nemo is a mysterious figure. While his adopted name literally means "Nobody", it has been suggested his true identity is that of Prince Dakkar, the son of an Indian Raja. Whoever he is, this enigmatic adventurer and sometimes pirate, is without doubt a scientific genius, who roams the depths of the sea in his submarine, the Nautilus. While his demeanor usually suggests a stern, controlled confidence, he is driven by a thirst for vengeance and a hatred of imperialism focused on the British Empire. Therefore, it comes as a great surprise that he heeded the Empire's call in it's time of need, and agreed to join a team of individuals with unique skills, called The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. In a team that is composed of both heroes and monsters, it remains to be seen to which category Captain Nemo will ultimately belong.

Captain Nemo is based on a stock King and Country figure, namely a sold out "Club Figure"' representing a 9th Bengal Lancer in dress uniform. Both the attire and colouring are very close to the representation of Captain Nemo as he appears in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The only modification I made was to repaint the base, to match my other figures. Sure, the pose is a bit static, but then they can't all be kicking and leaping around (and it helps with the "controlled confidence" stick).

And a reminder of both the movie and graphic novel version: