Hello hello! On to round two! Last custom was an enemy from the first Metroid Prime game, next custom comes from the second! Presenting the amorphous alien antagonists from the alternate Aether (someone SHOOT ME, really!), it's the deadly Warrior Ing!

When a Phazon Seed crashed into the planet Aether, the impact opened a doorway to an alternate dimension, Dark Aether. The Ing were the native species of this nightmare world, and the Warrior Ing were their first line of attack. In the normal world, they possessed the bodies of animals and people, even the dead, and used them to attack Samus. In the dark world, however, they revealed their true forms . . . five-legged, shape-shifting, tentacled beasts!

No, it's not that kind of game. Get your sick mind out of the gutter, perv!

Back on topic! The Warrior Ing was made using a Marvel Legends X-23 figure. She's short and thin, and the long claws on her hands made them ideal for the Ing's third pointed leg segment. However, as the Ing has three large legs in the front and two shorter legs in the back, I had to do a little, ah . . . reconstructive surgery on X-23. To put it simply, I swapped her arms onto her hips, her legs onto her shoulders, and put a third leg through her neck. Viola! Abomination of nature! Man, she was funny to look at.

A lot of sculpting with Loctite Epoxy Putty, a home decor glass craft gem, and a lot of black paint with some blue highlights, and the figure was finished . . . but wait! An opportunity presents itself! Since the Ing was such a simple figure, I decided to try something new. I bought a keychain LED flashlight, removed the internals, wrapped them up with electrical tape, and jammed it inside the hollowed-out body of the Ing monster. I drilled a hole in the side, sculpted a button, sculpted a removable top in case I ever needed to change the battery, and as you can see in the photos . . . action feature! My Warrior Ing has a glowing eye!

I mostly just built this guy for fun. He's not all that important a character, he didn't fit into any of my series lists, and he wasn't terribly challenging. But it's a cool little addition, and light-up feature is definitely a first. It was mostly a test to see if I could use these LEDs to make a light-up Phazon display base. Ultimately, I still haven't, but the Warrior Ing is a swell consolation prize.

See you next mission!