Part IV - May the Fourth Be With You!Earlier this year I got the next shipment from my 3D guy, Poison3DHarleyCstms on Etsy, and this prompted me to push forward with the project, working both on the new arrivals and some pieces I already had.
Keep in mind that this is still very much a work in progress.One thing I hadn't done before was painting or putting together the
weapons. There are a couple each of blaster pistols, and three different types of pole-like weapons, including vibro-axes and halberds. There was concern about warping during the 3D printed process, so the poles were mostly realized with wooden skewers; even so some of the 3D-printed parts were still slightly warped, but I think they still work, especially given the beaten-up look we are going for. Which was purposefully weathered oily-steel with some touches of bronze or brass for either specific elements or to convey staining and rust. You see them unpainted, primed, and mostly finished below.
I also painted and weathered the breastplate that came with Klaatu/Wooof (in the previous installment). This was before giving them some additional weathering. There were also the two axes for the Gamorrean Guards, for which see farther below.
Additionally, I painted three some more heads (three of them new), hands, and companion pieces. The newcomers were
Barada D (a fourth rendition of a Klatoonian),
Ree-Yees (with neck), and
Nikto C (a third rendition of a Red Nikto with a helmet and shoulder armor). The first three images below show them unpainted, primed, and given a first coat of paint.
Weequay is the same sculpt as before, but this is a new paint application, slightly more subtle. The dressed up figure is largely the most basic of mock-ups, and neither the final look nor screen accurate. The head will have braids coming out from the back.
Klaatu A/Wooof was painted for the last installment, but here he is with his finished breastplate. On the screen-accurate final version, this would be partly obscured by a half-jacket.
Barada D (or is it his cousin Kithaba?) is a new head, accurately sculpted with the ridges on top of the head, but they are rather understated compared to Barada B (unlike the smooth Barada A and C; I added ridges to the latter in the previous installment). This time around, I purposefully avoided using true green, still achieving a greenish effect with mostly other colors. The finished look would need a head scarf.
Nikto B is the same as a head sculpt shown in the previous installment, but here painted up differently. The finished look would require a headgear.
Nikto C is a new head sculpt, which came together with its helmet and shoulder armor. I added fur to the helmet, but it also needs a neck flap. The shoulder armor will have straps.
Ree-Yees is new, a bit of a grail for me -- the design is not brilliant, but he was one of the most recognizable aliens among Jabba's goons. The head comes with its specific neck pieces and hands. As with the others, the outfit is a placeholder, merely indicating the general aspect (in this instance, color); for example, the black kimono should be a padded jacket with longer sleeves. The accessory, one of my painted blaster pistols, is about right, although it is held very precariously.
Some group shots of the above goons, again, outfits are placeholders and not finalized.
I also got around to painting my second Hasbro
Gamorrean Guard (for the "before" look see
Part II above). As with Barada D, I went for a subtler paint job, avoiding true green and creating a greenish effect with other colors. The new porkster got the smaller axe and is consistently photographed on camera right. Both axes got repainted and weathered.
The Gamorrean guards also got a couple of halberds (if that's what these are) to bar Luke's way. They don't hold them very well, and they are not as fine as the Sideshow version (which I don't own), but they do the job.
One more for the road:
I hope this is useful or even entertaining. Perhaps it would encourage someone to try a similar project of their own.
As always, what do you think?
I'm delighted you like the customs, and I'm working on more as I type. Looking forward to see what you do with that character you liked.
