Been quite a while, eh? Other features took over the site for a while, but now My Custom Mods is back! And it just so happens that this is one of my most ambitious mods of the series yet:

BLACK WIDOW custom

Normally, this is where I put a pic of the original figure — the “Before” shot. But this time, I wasn’t just modifying a sculpt. Instead, I was trying to substitute a whole character, dial, sculpt and all.

Black Widow is a character who’s never been done right in HeroClix. This is what she does:

1. Wall-crawling and swingline action (Leap/Climb);
2. Blasting multiple targets, whether via her trademark “Widow’s Bite” bracelets (Incapacitate) or standard firearms, and often on the move (Running Shot);
3. Good combat values because she’s a spy extraordinaire;
4. And, because she’s a spy extraordinaire, Stealth;
5. Preferably all at once, kinda like this spread from Mighty Avengers #1. Or this sequence<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzO9nPS3_4A&feature=related> from Iron Man 2.

Nearly all versions of her are really good at #4 and part of #2, but not #1 and certainly all fail terribly at #3.

Well, it turns out that Gambit (Mutations & Monsters) is quite good at all those things:

• Running Shot? Check.
• Stealth? Check.
• Leap/Climb? Check.
• Decent Defense Value? Check.
• All of the above, at the same time? QUADRUPLE-CHECK.
• The Energy Explosion fits well (see her multi-barrelled bracelets).
• His Ranged Combat Expert and Penetrating/Psychic Blast are tougher, but not outside her capabilities, given that she’s a top agent of SHIELD with access to all sorts of weaponry and expert with most of it.
• Quake is the toughest sell, but she’s a great martial artist. There’s plenty of precedent for this power on such types.

Anyway, I decided to replace his sculpt with Black Widow.

However.

Not only did I not want to dismantle my actual Black Widow (if I even had one at the time), but since this was going to be an unofficial version, I wanted to mod an entirely different sculpt to match.

So here’s what I did:

• Removed GAMBIT figure from base.
• Removed SHARON CARTER figure from her base and glued it to GAMBIT’s.
• Repainted SHARON CARTER’s white clothes with glossy black enamel.
• Repainted blonde hair with red acrylics.
• Painted on silver bracelets and belt (with red detail).

Completed late-2009. But more than a year later, I’ve still not played her in a game.

(Maybe it’s because I know that “she” is really a “he.” Just like…oh, I almost did it again.)

NEXT WEEK: Another white girl going black…sort of…