Kitbashes Galore!!
Sometimes a simple repaint isn't enough, and you have to pull a figure apart in order to really make something special! Occasionally, I'll find a great vinyl model that I'll want to turn into a figure as well! These are truly unique pieces, and I had a great deal of fun making them, though they each required HOURS of work and imagination!
AURRA SING - Star Wars Episode 1
Aurra is a combination of the Hasbro figure and an Art S. Buck female model from Sideshow Collectibles.
The Hasbro figure was stripped naked, her ponytail was cut out of her head, her hands were cut off, and her carcass was thrown away. Sad, no?
The Art S. Buck (chosen for it's resemblance to the actress in both face and thin body) was completely repainted from head to toe, and a hole was drilled in the back of her head to insert the base of the ponytail. The hands were replaced with the repainted Hasbro hands. The fingers of the hands were separated from each other with an xacto knife so they'd fit in the triggers, then a hole was drilled in each so they'd fit on the Buck's wrist pegs. A sewing needle served as her antenna.
The costume and weapons were all weathered with acrylics.
The Hasbro figure was stripped naked, her ponytail was cut out of her head, her hands were cut off, and her carcass was thrown away. Sad, no?
The Art S. Buck (chosen for it's resemblance to the actress in both face and thin body) was completely repainted from head to toe, and a hole was drilled in the back of her head to insert the base of the ponytail. The hands were replaced with the repainted Hasbro hands. The fingers of the hands were separated from each other with an xacto knife so they'd fit in the triggers, then a hole was drilled in each so they'd fit on the Buck's wrist pegs. A sewing needle served as her antenna.
The costume and weapons were all weathered with acrylics.
GAMMOREAN GUARD - Star Wars Episode 6
Gammy here used to be a Hasbro Gamorrean Guard. Ugh, the paint was just AWFUL!! And he had about as much movement as the 4" Kenner figure! But the sculpt looked promising, and I decided to see what I could do. First, I pulled off the costume (which was sewn on) and cut his body in half at the waist. Now this is weird, I know, but I took a Marvel Masterpieces Galactus, removed the legs, and screwed him into Gammy's torso. Gammy's hands had to be cut off the arms at the bracelets so I could set them on Galactus's. Then I wrapped the torso and the arms in padding and redressed the figure. I removed a lot of Galactus's head to make a peg for Gammy's head, and glued it in place. Now Gammy has a ball jointed kneck, shoulders, pin joint elbows, and rotation at the waist!
A complete repaint was done from head to toe, including the axes. A lot of brown paint was drybrushed into his furry skirt! Lastly, I dribbled some epoxy glue over his teeth to make him all drooly!
I've since repainted several of these guys, but never again did I undertake such an extensive remodeling of the underlying body!
A complete repaint was done from head to toe, including the axes. A lot of brown paint was drybrushed into his furry skirt! Lastly, I dribbled some epoxy glue over his teeth to make him all drooly!
I've since repainted several of these guys, but never again did I undertake such an extensive remodeling of the underlying body!
THE PENGUIN - Batman Returns
The Penguin was a large project that began with the excellent Horizon model. From that model, I cut the head, hands, shoes, and ascot. The body was a 21st Century Super Soldier (one of the first mass market figures to offer double jointed articulation) cut down at the biceps and thighs to shorten the body. Padding was added all over the body, using cotton, glue, tape, anything I had on hand.
The hair on the head had to be dremeled off, and I had to create a right ear, since the sculpt lacked one. The ear was cut from another head and glued on, and I scalped a Hasbro Talking Qui-Gon Jinn figure for the hair, gluing that right under the back of the top hat, and then cutting another head to fit inside and attach to the body.
The costume was designed and built by Ruth Padgett, a talented seamstress and photographer (find her in my Links). She's also my Mom. After years of homemade Halloween costumes (what a spoiled kid I was!), I knew she could handle the clothes for this project. After she finished, I added wiring to the hems of the coat to make them poseable. After painting him up, I added the finished clothes, and had my favorite Batman film villain (yes, even more than Heath's Joker) in perfect 1:6 scale!
My only regret is that I was never able to add the all important umbrella before he was auctioned off to a private collector.
The hair on the head had to be dremeled off, and I had to create a right ear, since the sculpt lacked one. The ear was cut from another head and glued on, and I scalped a Hasbro Talking Qui-Gon Jinn figure for the hair, gluing that right under the back of the top hat, and then cutting another head to fit inside and attach to the body.
The costume was designed and built by Ruth Padgett, a talented seamstress and photographer (find her in my Links). She's also my Mom. After years of homemade Halloween costumes (what a spoiled kid I was!), I knew she could handle the clothes for this project. After she finished, I added wiring to the hems of the coat to make them poseable. After painting him up, I added the finished clothes, and had my favorite Batman film villain (yes, even more than Heath's Joker) in perfect 1:6 scale!
My only regret is that I was never able to add the all important umbrella before he was auctioned off to a private collector.
LEGOLAS - The Lord of the Rings
We were all so excited when Sideshow announced it's 12" Lord of the Rings line! I'm sad that we may not see any more from the line after a mere seven figures. The head is an original work by master customizer Darren Carnall (find him in my Links!) The paintwork is mine. The costume is from the Sideshow Collectibles Legolas figure. The armor, sword, bow, and quiver are all from the DiD Legolas figure. The body is a Hot Toys True Type.
The work on Leggy was so extensive, I couldn't help signing his base.
The work on Leggy was so extensive, I couldn't help signing his base.
LUKE & YODA - Star Wars Episode 5
This set came together from many, many sources. Luke is a Sideshow head on a True Type body, completely repainted. The backpack comes from the Hasbro version, as does the shirt. Yoda is a Medicom figure, repainted, with joints added from three separate Marvel Masterpieces figures. I have added articulation to a Hasbro Yoda using G.I. Joe parts, but the Medicom Yoda was much more costly, and so I was very nervous about cutting him to pieces. For me, Yoda is definitely the star of this set. The Medicom figure had five points of articulation. The custom has 11!
The set was bought by a private collector.
The set was bought by a private collector.
