Collector

My last character option is the collector. This old creature is not an enemy but a story character. He collects weird wildlife with the help of his little retriever pet which he keeps tethered on a long lead.
He lives out of his backpack which also functions as a kennel for his pet. It has air filtration and can turn into a tent.

Each little canister contains a different creature which could be collected.

Pack mule and toady

The idea behind this creature was that its gun was mounted on a large heavily armoured beast. The beast could withstand attack and the little fellow would use it as cover.
You would have to score hits when it jumped out to fire.
The ammunition this character uses is spherical little creatures with super sharp teeth that bite through the target.
I have called the little guy Toady and the big one Jennifer.

Trying to figure out a spring mechanism for the gun

 I couldn't figure out the little guy and I never got it right

Mounted Lacer

My second possible character is a called a Lacer. This creature is agile and strong and fires an acidic goo weapon. These are common enemies.

The commander class Lacers ride a slugbeast that has been fitted with robotic legs. If the player defeats a commander without hurting the slug they too can ride it and mount any weapon to the beast's saddle.

Slugbeast sold separately.

Technician

My first possible character is a mid range boss enemy, a Technician.
He is slow and not very strong but he quickly creates agile little explosive enemies that charge at the player in rapid waves. He is a lizard-like fellow with a robotic leg which he fitted himself after losing a drunken bet with his father, insisting that if he chopped it off it was sure to grow back.

He has two large canisters on his back, the first is filled with Electric pulse shrimp and the second with a volatile explosive swamp liquid akin to nitro glycerine. The Shrimp soak up the explosive liquid in the dispensing capsule. The technician quickly affixes robotic legs to the shrimp which are coded to run toward the player. When the shrimp hits any surface it produces a defensive shock and explodes.
When the player defeats this boss he/she can re-purpose the technician's gear into a portable explosive shrimp flinger that behaves much like a grenade launcher. or something.

I have no idea how this would work as an action figure..

About Ratchet and Clank..

Ratchet and Clank is a series of platform/shooter video games that started on the Playstation 2 console and has been adapted to all other Playstation machines since.

The games are set in a sci-fi universe and have a focus on character and outlandish weaponry and gadgets. The main characters are a raccoon-squirrel-lookin mechanic called Ratchet and his trusty Robot sidekick Clank.

The games feature a wide variety of characters in story driven narratives. Characters both villainous and friendly and a focus on upgradeable ridiculous weapons is a series trademark.

The series is getting a re-boot in 2015 with a new game for the PS 4 console and feature film planned for release.

Latest Ratchet and Clank game for PS 3, Ratchet and Clank: Before the Nexus

Original Ratchet and Clank game on PS 2

The design characteristics seem to be anything goes.. Robots or alien creatures of any kind with a wide range of weapons from giant blasters to whips and swords. There are some indigenous creatures that are unadorned but most characters feature either a robotic element or futuristic armour of some kind.

On the sculpting side of things, here is a link to some work by Kent Melton just because he is amazing and I could look at his sculpts for hours:
http://www.animatoons.com.br/2013/12/22/kent-melton-e-as-esculturas-por-tras-de-algumas-das-principais-animacoes-das-ultimas-decadas/

Action Figure Articulation

Articulation

Movement in a figure. Typically found in places like the neck, waist, and other major joints. However, can sometimes be found in other areas, such as mid-bicep or thigh. (http://www.oafe.net/)

Very cool open-source 3d printed action figure

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:116571

Existing ratchet and Clank figures

I love the 3 sculpts above

DC Action Figures

Of all the licenses I have looked at, DC tends to have the most consistent interesting characterisations and styles:

This bunch of crazy jokers shows the range of styles possible within the one license:

Clockwise from top left - Joker from Arkham video game, Comic book, Original (best) animated series, original TV series, 2nd Arkham game and Dark knight Film.

Action Figures

Different Action figures from gaming licenses:

Trying to find  figures from stylised games

The figures from "Team fortress 2" and "Armor Girls"(?)  are nicely styled..

The following figures feel similar to the Ratchet and Clank universe

The cartooning by CreatureBox studios is very sharp and the final models are faithfully transferred from concept art to 3d model, retaining the character and appeal of the designs

   

After struggling with designing a character in the Skylanders style for most of the first week I opted to change the license. The character design leavies me cold and the universe is too confusing for this old brain to handle.

There just feels like little appeal in the character design.

rather than moving far away from the video game world I just moved sideways into a world with far more appealing design - "Ratchet and Clank":