San Francisco artist Rob Burden paints the action figures he played with as a boy. Here are some examples of his art featuring toys from "Star Wars," "He-Man," "ThunderCats," and other franchises.
Tim Hornyak
Crave freelancer Tim Hornyak is the author of "Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots." He has been writing about Japanese culture and technology for a decade. E-mail Tim.
How obsessed can you get about action figures? San Francisco artist Rob Burden (aka Robert Xavier Burden) is trying to raise $24,000 on Kickstarter to produce two 10x14-foot oil paintings depicting original "Star Wars" figures.
Whoever pledges $4,000 can get one of these 114-inch-tall oil paintings of C3PO, Boba Fett, or a Stormtrooper, which have yet to be completed; they're going to be in full color.
2 of 8 Kickstarter/Rob Burden
Han and the Tauntaun
Burden wants to create "Star Wars" action figure paintings that are twice as large as this canvas depicting Han Solo, a tauntaun, and various figures and vehicles like the AT-AT Walker.
3 of 8 Kickstarter/Rob Burden
Voltron
"Defensor Mundi (Voltron)" is an epic portrait of the super robot from the animated series "Voltron: Defender of the Universe," which debuted in 1984.
4 of 8 Kickstarter/Rob Burden
Optimus Prime
This poster of Burden's painting of Optimus Prime depicts vehicles and robots from the original "Transformers" animated series.
5 of 8 Kickstarter/Rob Burden
Soldiers of Thundera
Burden's "Soldiers of Thundera" depicts action figures from the "ThunderCats" toy line, originally produced by LJN.
6 of 8 Kickstarter/Rob Burden
Battle Cat
"Mattel's Battle Cat" (56" by 108", oil on canvas) depicts the original "Masters of the Universe" toy from the 1980s.
7 of 8 Kickstarter/Rob Burden
Captain America
Buden's "Toy Biz' Captain America" (40x108 inches, oil on canvas) is a requiem for the defunct toy manufacturer that made Marvel action figures.
8 of 8 Kickstarter/Rob Burden
The Holy Batman
Burden's large painting "The Holy Batman" features action figures, characters, and, of course, the Batmobile from the Batman franchise.
