I get around that by just not using him, since his profile is so mediocre. But in all seriousness, I just use Ragefist Crane. They're both CC-adept HI, and it's not like the Crane is set to see much use outside of ISS, anyway.
Also bear in mind that we've already seen a CG render for the Hulang, so an actual model isn't too far away. Don't invest too much in your conversion/proxy is what I'm saying.
Ah, yeah, that hideous skull-helm that looks like a refugee from Rifts or GW. :ick: I am so doing a headswap on mine, probably with the old Wu Ming head I have lurking in my bits box from when I converted Batou some 10 years ago... I'm kinda confused by the Yan Huo/Hac Tao style heavy forearm armor. Hulang are only ARM3, but the Yan Huo and Hac Tao are ARM5.
Same here! I'm going to try hard to find a new head. The body is okay. I wanted something other than a sword too.
It feels a bit like the entire development team was a touch confused during the development of IA. But on a more serious note, I too am not really feeling the skull helmet. Maybe once we see it all painted up, things might look a little better.
The numbs on his head make it look even worse! I totally thought Rifts too! Then thought of that 40k assassin guy. Eversor?
Totally agree with the "I have to get rid of that helmet" approach. Maybe it's enough with filing them... But if not I'm honestly thinking about cutting off Tai Shengs' helmet (the one she carries on the belt) and using that.
The new Daofei is also a nice model to use as a proxy. It has a huge HMG though, but you can say it's the Combi + LFT...
I like the Hulang art/sculpt, myself. It is cartoon-y but it also looks like the sort of thing a terror squad comprised of unruly thugs would go for.
I wouldn't mind it if the skull-face was a little less overt and more implied. The Tiger trooper's helmet obviously takes some visual cues from the animal they're inspired by, but it's not coming with whiskers and cat ears. The Japanese Domaru armour looks a lot like classical samurai armour, but still feels primarily grounded in its settings' aesthetic (and the design elements that are clearly shared with the Zuyong really do an amazing job of telling the story that further grounds that aesthetic). The Hulang just tries too hard. A more subtle design with the same motif would fit much better in-universe, and would feel less edgy and more intimidating.
It's also a bit weird to think Yu-jing would go as far as manufacture skull helmets specifically for those guys. I think it would make more sense if they had fairly standard armor and then customized it to make it scary/edgy, like Emile from Halo Reach:
