Ra’s is one of my favorite Bat villains. He’s such a fun megalomaniac. Naturally, I wanted more than just one version on the shelf.

My take on this figure uses a Dragonball Z figure as the base. (Don’t ask me which one, they all look the same to me.) I chose one with articulated knees so Ra’s could sit on his purple throne accessory (as supplied by Ming the merciless of the Flash Gordon line a few years back). Alas, the paint scrapes off the joints far too much for him to enjoy a relaxing sit, so he’ll have to stand like the rest of the figures.

Having said that, until he was painted, I had every intention of keeping the knee joints intact. I chose the DBZ base for this reason, and because the style was consistent with the old school look of the episode this outfit appeared in. The DBZ boots had to be swapped out for the lower legs of an old school Bats. The legs were still too long, so I removed chunks from the upper thigh, then re-glued and sanded the legs smooth. I think the DBZ figure had some serious abs that I filled in with Kneadatite, but I honestly don’t remember. The head is obviously a repainted Hasbro version. The cape is off a Hasbro Supes. I extended the front “tabs” with Kneadatite and a layer of styrene underneath, then sliced some circles off a cylinder accessory from the parts box. Vinyl makes up the connecting piece and the shirt ties.

Ultimately, the paint job came out a bit rough, as the green I mixed for the shirt proved somewhat difficult to work with. Looking past that, though, he’s a lot of fun. Now I need to make a slinky-dress Talia and Ra’s faithful servant Ubu.

Created Spring 2003