Okay, so this idea kinda hit me outta nowhere the other week. I was watching some old WWE stuff, saw Seth Rollins doing his thing, and then bam, Captain America popped into my head. Don’t ask me why, maybe it was the gear colors sometimes, or just thinking it’d be a cool, kinda weird mashup. So, I thought, yeah, let’s try and make something. Decided a custom figure was the way to go.
Getting Started – The Scavenger Hunt
First thing, I needed base figures. Dug through my bins, found a pretty standard Seth Rollins Elite figure. You know, one of the ones with decent articulation. Needed a Captain America too, mostly for parts or inspiration. Found an old Marvel Legends Cap, one of the movie versions, lying around. Perfect.
Then, tools and paints. Had most of the basics already:
- Some small files and sandpaper.
- My trusty craft knife.
- Super glue, obviously.
- That two-part epoxy putty, the grey stuff that smells weird.
- Acrylic paints – definitely needed red, white, blue, plus some silver and black.
- Brushes, all sizes, mostly cheap ones.
Had to grab a can of primer spray paint, though. Mine was all dried up.
The Messy Part – Taking Things Apart and Sticking Them Together
Alright, surgery time. I started by popping the Rollins figure apart. Legs, arms, head – the usual. Heated some joints with hot water to make it easier, less chance of snapping plastic. Did the same with the Cap figure, mainly to see how his gear attached.
Decided I wanted Rollins’ main body but with Cap-style elements. The chest was the big one. I sanded down some of the detail on Rollins’ torso to get a smoother surface. Then, I started mixing up small batches of that epoxy putty. This stuff is tricky, gotta work fast before it hardens. I tried sculpting Cap’s star and some chest armor details directly onto the Rollins torso. Took a couple of tries, not gonna lie. First attempt looked kinda blobby, so I scraped it off once it cured a bit and started again. Patience, right? Also added some sculpted bits to the gloves and boots, trying to give them that Cap feel without totally losing the Rollins look.
Letting things cure properly is key. Seriously, I get impatient, but touching putty before it’s rock solid just messes everything up. So, lots of waiting around while bits hardened.
Slapping on Some Paint
Once all the sculpting was done and rock hard, I gave the modified parts a good wash to get rid of any dust or finger grease. Then came the primer. Took the torso, arms, legs outside and gave them a light coat of grey primer. Helps the paint stick way better.
Painting… well, it takes time. Started blocking in the main colors. Blue for the main suit sections, red and white for the accents, trying to mimic the Cap pattern but maybe keeping some black areas reminiscent of Rollins’ gear. Getting clean lines between colors is always a pain. Used masking tape for some parts, but mostly just careful brushwork. Lots of thin layers are better than one thick gloopy one. Learned that the hard way ages ago.
The star on the chest needed careful painting, white first, then outlining. Did some silver touches on buckles or armor edges. Added a bit of dark wash – basically watered-down black paint – into the sculpted lines and crevices to make the details pop a bit more. Wiped off the excess. Makes a big difference, stops it looking too flat.
Finishing Up
When I was finally happy with the paint job (or, let’s be real, tired of messing with it), I sprayed everything with a matte sealant. Protects the paint from chipping easily. Let that dry completely.
Reassembly time! Popped the limbs back onto the torso, put the head back on. It actually looked pretty cool! The mashup idea worked better than I expected. It’s clearly Rollins, but he’s rocking the Cap theme.
For the shield, I just used the one that came with the Marvel Legends Cap figure. Glued a small magnet to the figure’s back and one to the shield so it could attach, or modified the strap to fit the Rollins figure’s arm. Easy enough.
So yeah, that was the process. Took a few evenings, lots of fiddly bits, some frustration with sculpting, but got there in the end. Got myself a unique Seth ‘Captain America’ Rollins figure sitting on the shelf now. It’s not perfect, bit rough around the edges if you look close, but it’s mine, I made it. Pretty satisfying knocking out these weird ideas sometimes.
