Here we are, last of the stragglers! Let's just skip the pleasantries, shall we? Meet Federation Army Junior Officer Samus Aran!

So, Metroid: Other M is coming out June 27th, and it promises to deliver something fans have been begging for since Samus Aran first took off her helmet and revealed she wasn't just the most kick-butt bounty hunter since Boba Fett, she was actually a WOMAN! From that moment, Metroid fans have wanted to know everything about her, and Other M is geared to deliver some vital backstory to Samus' life.

While game footage and screenshots have been sparse, we've gotten a few good shots of the great CGI and character designs that will be appearing in the new game. I've already posted my custom Adam Malkovich, Samus' commanding officer during her tenure in the Federation Army, now I'm posting Samus herself, decked out in her military uniform.

I started with a Marvel Legends Movie Jean Grey figure. Let me just throw this out there: I frackin' HATE this gorram piece of junk! It's got to be the UGLIEST representation of one of the HOTTEST X-Men in the whole of the Marvel Universe (yeah, I got a thing for redheads . . . you didn't want to know that). Her body is poorly proportioned, her face is emaciated to holocaust survivor levels, her outfit was poorly detailed, and her joints were awkward. and this after the release of that atrocious White Queen . . . . It's a good thing Hasbro knocked Marvel Girl, Elektra, and Tigra out of the park, because I was losing faith in their ability to create quality female figures.

Back on topic. So, I had this horrid Jean Grey figure lying around forever, and I'm seriously considering just throwing her out, because I can't imagine WHEN I'll ever want to make a figure out of this abomination, when I come across screenshots of Samus in her military outfit. Just like that, Jean had a purpose.

I stripped off her weird robe/dress/loincloth thing and replaced her head (not sure whose head it was, but anything was better than the one she had), completely sculpting the hair and headset by hand. I'm particularly pleased with the layered effect I pulled off with the hair sculpt. It looks awesome in person. Wish I could post some detail shots . . . anyway. I cut the arms off to make the short sleeves, and replaced them from the bicep down with arms from a Diamond Select Buffy The Vampire Slayer figure. Unfortunately, the right hand was somewhat malformed in the package, so I resculpted that as well, into Samus' trademark "thumbs up" pose. Then, using a strip of cape from a Fantastic Four Movie Doctor Doom, I cut the shape of the bottom hem of Samus' shirt, then sculpted it smooth from the top up. This allows the the bottom of the shirt to be flexible, giving her hips the full range of motion while smoothly transitioning to solid torso, without a seam around the waist. A little trimming here and there, a full paint job, a Paralyzer Pistol nearly identical to the one I made for Zero Suit Samus, and the figure was complete. A feisty junior Army officer, ready to take on the galaxy!

Of course, no one hits a home run on EVERY swing. Shortly after I first posted this figure, it was pointed out to me just how awful Jean's proportions really were. Her legs were thin and spindly, and the space between her thighs was excessively wide. Officer Samus had ultra-crotch, and it hurt the overall figure. It was suggested that I scrap the figure and start from scratch. Well, I hate to waste material, so I tried to address the problem. After performing some careful surgery, I removed the offending hips and thighs, replacing just that portion of the figure with thighs from yet another Marvel Legends Psylocke figure, the same toy I used to build both of my previous Samus creations. Now, at last, I think all the really glaring issues have been solved, and she's a fine addition to my collection!

As I said before, this is the last of the spare figures. When next we meet, it's all series 2, baby! Hope to hear your feedback. Thanks for sticking with me this long!

See you next mission!