Evil Warriors - Faker with Powersword

While he has had different backgrounds in different media, the main consensus is that Faker is an evil robot built to impersonate He-Man and serve the forces of evil. Being blue skinned, depending on the medium this scheme either only works in the dark or Faker can temporarily assume He-Man's colours. Either way, he is an iconic character. As the majority of my collection is Filmation inspired, I chose to paint him here in the alternate "pink" colour scheme featured on his cardback art, which is also the version that was used in the Filmation style fanmade hommage "The Return of Faker" (sadly unreleased for viewing due to IP issues). I think this version adds more interest to the model and a welcome bit of contrast with Copy-Cat.

Faker, with his imitation Powersword

The model is another private commission done by a fan, that was available in limited quantities for a short while. The base is the usual blank lipped base with texture sculpted on and painted to match the rest of the Evil Warriors.

Some more "action" shots:

Rise, my puppet. I have created you in He-Man's image, therefore I shall name you "Faker", nyaaah!

I have created this pet for you, to aid you in your battle against that goody-two-shoes, He-Man.

"I have found you! Wait, you're not He-Man!" (in unison)

"At last, now we shall learn who is the stronger!" - "By the Goddess! What's this madness?"

Battlecat: "I hate to say this, He-Man, but we may be in some real trouble here..."

 He-Man and Faker, side by side:

And a shot of Faker and Copy-Cat for the family photo album:

For those not familiar with it, a look at the inspiring original cardback illustration and "The return of Faker. I did initially consider giving him blank white eyes, like the second image, but I wanted him to look more alive.

Evil Warriors - Dragon Blaster Dragon

Dragon Blaster Skeletor was one of those figures that didn't appeal much to me as a kid, since it wasn't the original Skeletor figure, but later in life I came to appreciate it a lot more as a pretty cool toy. So I figured that if I didn't have a Dragon Blaster Skeletor in 30mm, I might be able to have the dragon itself with a little conversion work. The conversion work was mostly done more than a year ago, but somehow I never got around to ordering the chain I needed to finish it until about a week ago.

The Dragon Blaster Dragon, temporarily released from it's place on Skeletor's back

The base model is a neat little fantasy lizard figure made by the excellent Forge of Ice. Their lost worlds kind of range is very reminiscent of MotU in a lot of ways. I added the spikes on the top of its head, the collar with the keypad lock and the chain with a shackle on the other end for when Skeletor reclaims his pet. The base is a 20mm blank lipped base from Fenris Games, with added flagstone texture.

A better look at the added details, like the lock and chain.

I've released you from your bonds. Now, my pet, destroy the gate of Castle Grayskull with your hot flames!

You're too late to stop me He-Man! Your powers won't protect you from the searing hot flames of the Dragon Blaster!

For those not familiar with it, here's some awesome art by Axel Gimenez depicting the dragon!

Evil Warriors - Copycat

He-Man has Battlecat and Skeletor has Panthor. It stands to reason that Faker, with his whole He-Man impersonation obsession would get his own mount. Copycat, sometimes referred to as Bogus Cat, is another fanmade creation, subject of a lot of custom action figures. A robotic duplicate of Battlecat, it sports Faker's colour scheme, so that no confusion is possible.

The fearless robot called Copycat...

The model is another of the old Grenadier Battlecat models, with a blank resin base from Fenris Games and texture added with putty.

I assume Copycat was created by Skeletor or Triclops, but as I haven't painted my Triclops yet...

Come forward, my glorious creation! Nyaaaah!

By the Sorceress' beak! What is this freakshow?

 And a quick side by side of my three interpretations of Battlecat: regular, copy and anti-Eternia.

Eternia Scenery - Evil Spirits Well

Today's update adds another piece of Scenery to the Eternian landscape in the form of a magical Well of Evil Spirits. It is said he who harnesses the power of the evil spirits within the well can conquer Eternia itself... if he's willing to pay the price. For you see, many of the souls trapped within once belonged to those who thought they could master its powers and failed...

At last, my imbecile lackey, with the power that lies within this Well, Greyskull will fall into my hands.

There is no Well of Evil Spirits in MOTU lore, at leas tnot that I know of, but I think the model fits right in. It is a single part of a plastic Games Workshop terrain kit that I picked up from a bits seller on ebay a few years ago, thinking it would work great as a standalone piece. When I started this MOTU project, I figured it would look great for Eternia. I tried to paint it in a way that would be reminiscent of the colours you would encounter in Eternian rocks and ruins in the Filmation cartoon. I think it works rather well.

A bird's eye view of the well and the spirits trapped within.

An action scene, with evil overlords battling for controle of the Well.

You are too late, Hordak, the power of the Well is mine!

Aroo - The guardian of the City of the Ancients

Only appearing in the episode "Masks of Power", Aroo is a giant demonic blue gorilla-like beast, who was in charge of guarding the said masks in the lost City of the Ancients. He-Man and Man-At-Arms barely escaped with their lives when they encountered him and while the masks were taken, Aroo was just too strong to defeat, even for He-Man.

The giant, apelike Aroo

My version of Aroo is not full size, he'd need to be about 2,5 times the size, which would just make  him look out of place on the table and impossible to work into a scenario where you could fight him and win. So, I settled for a more practical size, which still puts hem at around 115mm tall, on an 80mm base. As he's based on an Eaglemoss figure of Grudd, skillfully converted by the talented John Pickford, he's also made of lead, so weighs a heavy 700g. Painting him was not so easy due to the added weight.

Aroo in the original episode

For size with Skeletor, who's hoping to control him, but may have bitten off more than those weathered teeth can chew

A comparison with the original figure. The Grudd figure is actually pretty close already if you don't care for an exact match. The only really required changes would be replacing the hair with a skullcap with horns and pointy ears poking out, adding a devilish tail and filling in the G to be a circle. As I wanted to get as close as possible, John also changed the mouth, necklace, armbands and wrist guards, belt, loincloth, and added claws to the fingers and feet, as well as turning the oversized skull into a rock.

Anti-Eternians - Anti-Goddess

If Anti-Eternia is the opposite of regular Eternia, then it stands to reason that its Goddess has also been tainted by the same evil. Being more brutal in nature, she fights with a mace, ready to bash in skulls, rather than to carry the snake staff.

Anti-Eternia Goddess

 There isn't really any precedent for this character (that I'm aware of), so her colour scheme was made up, using the usual Anti-Eternia palette and trying to go by what makes sense and gives the best contrast. As the regular version already wears a (dark) red snake collar, I decided to do the collar in the grey colour and work out the rest from there. I think the end result is pretty good.



The model is another old Grenadier mini from the 1980s. It's interesting that Grenadier made multiple poses of the same characters and it helps to further differentiate between the good and bad Goddess, although having duplicate models in different colour schemes doesn't bother me in this project, since it's a nod to the heavy reuse of parts and recoloured characters in the MOTU universe and toy line.

Anti-Eternia and Eternia Goddess

What sorcery is this? You are not the Goddess!

The Anti-Eternians so far (not including Man-At-Arms in Windraider)

Evil Warriors - Shadow Beasts

Shadow Beasts are great ape-like beasts who live in tribes throughout the dark hemisphere. They are named thus because they can only come out in the absence of light. Like most beasts, they are vulnerable to Beastman's powers and can be controlled by him to join the fight on Skeletor's side.

Shadow Beasts, the yeti's of Eternia

 I went with the Filmation cartoon colour scheme on this. Other media have shown them in darker, more apelike colours, but I like how the purple shade emphasises the alien, retro pulp quality they have. I originally was going to do their bases in a neutral colour, as they can also be used independently, but ultimately settled for the Evil Warriors scheme, as that will be their main purpose.

Beastman takes controle of the Shadow Beasts

Teela getting surrounded by the Shadow Beasts

The Evil Warriors so far (not including my alternate Skeletor)