X-Men Vol 2, #28 (1994)
Uncanny X-Force Vol 1, #7 (2011)
Marvel Legends Behind the Scenes Part 2: X-Men #28 & Uncanny X-Force #7
The Assignment
The X-Men issue hit stands in 1994 and features a storyline where Sabertooth stays at Professor X’s mansion. Uncanny X-Force Vol. 1, #7 marks the conclusion of the ‘Deathlok Nation’ storyline.
How It Was Done
“Of all the shoots I did, the pose that probably took the longest time was Jean Grey. That pose on the front of cover is very specific,” says Matt, the photographer who shot the scene. “It looks straightforward but it actually took a while to get it just right.”
While Hasbro’s photographers have plenty of experience with product and lifestyle shoots, reproducing something from an illustration is something else entirely. Some shots required tacky wax or acrylic rods to hold them in place.
Have a scene where there’s an aerial pose? Hope you brought your tackle box because you’re going to need fishing line. Lots of it.
“Working out all the poses, it can get pretty intense, but it’s a lot of fun!” says Rachel, a Hasbro photographer who shot the X-Force scene. For her shoots, Rachel had to string up several characters, something that can be very tricky to do.
“For complex shoots I combine multiple images with different lighting. This makes fishing line especially challenging because the figures will move and the final images won’t line up when I combine them. Basically I have to string them up, wait for them to be still, then hold my breath while I shoot,” says Rachel.
“When you’re working with fishing line, sometimes just the energy burst of your flash tube causes the character to move slightly. So it’s really not easy,” says Corey, another Hasbro photographer who worked on the project and shot the X-Men Quad cover.
Guess photographing toys isn’t all fun and games!
