The central idea of Union revolved around a secret war between 3 alien factions, and their collective ties to the development of mankind throughout history. Everything from Area 51, ancient civilizations, cryptozoology, bionic soldiers and a colony of enslaved hybrid manhunters imprisoned within a massive space station on the edge of an artificial black hole made it into the mix (I was just as bananas back then).
Throughout my college years I worked on different elements of the story, creating various illustrations (a couple are shown in this post) and bursts of text in the margins of my school notes. Eventually other stories moved into focus, but a few aesthetic ideas from Union survived and were reborn, showing up in Rechlen and Aves and beyond. Since I was fond of the leather armored "Warrior Grays" from Union, I decided to have any classic looking Gray alien type that might show up in the Glyos System resemble those old designs a bit.
Eventually I ended up sculpting the oddball alien in the pics above, a character that was based on the old Union designs. The body is a series of twist ties, with plumber's compound built over them. Kind of a mini vintage OSM construction with some pretty rough sculpting.This little guy was given to Michelle for Christmas around 2002-2003 (I built my first sculpted-over twist tie guy in early 1999).
The recent secret mode Exile Deniken from our last release pays homage to the Warrior Grays from the original Union story, as well as the original twist tie "Deniken" that's shown above.
Be on the lookout for some other color variations of the Noboto mold that take the core design for a similar "alien" spin.
Maybe even this week.
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That is amazing!!! Thanks for sharing this cool stuff. It's encouraging to hear stories of people who have had creative ideas that don't come to fruition immediately but have an influence on their work down the road. Just so you know Matt I patiently await the day that Rechlen joins the Glyos ranks. That is my most anticipated figure release since discovering these awesome figures years ago so I love hearing any and all things regarding the cool space trapper guy.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI've got stacks of notebooks/sketchbooks filled with lost projects from over the decades. I know many people that do as well.
No matter what happens, I think people just need to stay creative as much as possible in some way, everyday.
Writing, drawing, painting, sculpting or playing music at least once a day absolutely keeps things in perspective for me. You don't have to be an accomplished artist to find balance in these activities. We all have our own creative fingerprints.
I would most definitely be living in a van down by the river without the arts!
I wish we could plaster that last sentence all over the place. It's a solid sentiment, and very much needed, too.
DeleteWhat a fantastic look into the latest Noboto! I'll be honest, Noboto hasn't grabbed my attention until these color variations from this past drop. I've come to love both the Exile Deniken and the leftovers that make a Volkriun Exile. Really looking forward to seeing some additional color variations this week
ReplyDeleteThanks George! Noboto has been a bit of an underdog since rolling out during the Paypocalypse of 2013. These new paint applications and designs are in line with the old Custom Corps styles for the little guy, with a little more of an edge coming from the solid eyes.
DeleteWe have some other small twists in store for this mold in early 2016.
Also, The Glyarmor adds some neat dimensions to the overall look of Noboto, which you might dig.
Love the back story, love the sketches, and love the prospects of more Noboto! :D This is great Matt, thanks for everything!
ReplyDeleteThe texture on Deniken's armor is incredible! That's an amazing piece, and more impressive considering the materials!
ReplyDeleteI quite like that Noboto. I have been interested in those "fringe" topics since I was a kid in the 80's. "Chariots of the Gods?" was an interesting book and one I read early. Would be neat to see a Glyos toy line devoted to such. There are so many alien races that allegedly exist; Grays, Reptilians, Mantis, Roswellian, Nordic, etc... If I had sculpting abilities it would be something I would tackle. I actually have a large notebook of drawings, notes, characters, and story that takes up maybe 60 pages. It does not pertain to Grays and such but is instead for a story I am working on. It is somewhere between the genres of Sci-Fi and Weird Fiction (H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert Bloch, etc...). If I could sculpt I would do so for it. And if I could program I would make a SNES style RPG.
ReplyDeleteOh man, my dad would tell me about that book when i was less than 10, so I've been exposed to all that stuff for a long time. LOVE this.
ReplyDelete