12" Master Chief Custom

[thundergod]

I've had the McFarlane 12" Master Chief figure since it's release a few years ago and considered doing something with it ever since , but have held back as I intended to pick up another ( or more ) to give myself a few options . A strange thing happened though , the figures became difficult to find and seemed to increase in price , which further prevented me from attempting any customisation ! The figure has excellent sculpting but absolutely diabolical articulation ( typical of McFarlane products ). It's not that it's short of joints, but they are next to useless , the jointed fingers make it extremely difficult to hold weapons and the truly bizarre double ball jointed hips make it impossible to stand up for more than 5 minutes ! Anyway , it was while I was attempting to improve one of these "articulation " points ( the left arm simply fell off every time I looked at it ) that I decided to jump in and customise the sucker . So out came the Minicraft tools ( like a Dremmel, but older and more temperamental ) and I began to chop him up . I then hit my first snag as I quickly realised that the figure was more or less solid ! Ah well , I girded my loins and got stuck in , as I'm pretty experienced with the "Dremmelling" process . After all , I have worked on a few of Dorgmal Snow's kits ! ( Sorry Mark , couldn't resist !)

Though laborious , the job was straight forward enough and this was aided by the slightly soft vinyl-like material the figure was cast in . I'm using an old BBi base body and had the idea to use some black rubber gloves with some interesting textured detail ( found in a Pound shop ) to cover the joints .

It's taken me about 6 hours work to get this far , but I'm really pleased with the results and hope to be ready to put him together in a day or so . Now I'm taking a little break , as I need treatment for 2nd degree burns caused by flying molten plastic and that disease that Victorian Miners used to suffer from .

To be continued..........

 

[elar]

So, this will next Space Marines?! Really nic job, looking forward!

 

[thundergod]

Another day , another marathon "Dremelling" session ! Most of the hard work is done now and all the parts are hollowed out and able to be fitted to the figure . They still need a final clean up before painting , but I was eager to get them on the figure to see how it looks .( Nearly 40 years of modelling and the one thing I've yet to learn is patience . ) I've glued the rubber sections onto the body and shaved down the chest a little to enable the chest armour to fit better . This area is the one where possible fit problems could reveal themselves as the shape of the chest is a little unusual , due to artistic license I suppose ! I've decided to leave the original neck joint "as is" , because the head features a pretty good ball joint and all I need to do is cover it in a section of rubber to match the other joints . Similarly , the ankle joints are to be treated in the same manner as they are good and strong and replacing them would cause more problems . The completed figure will be quite heavy and I honestly don't think replacement joints would be up to the job .

Here are the prepared parts .

And here's John 117 in his rubber undies .

Test fit of the parts on the body .

Interestingly , I never considered the original figure true 1/6 scale , but with all the parts in place I'm not so sure . He's a whopper !

 

[Orochi]

Hey, nice project !

Next step : repaint ?

 

[elar]

Do you plan to cast armor and make full squad??

 

[TonyMeis]

Great Custom!! very well done, can't wait to see the finish version I also have some mesh suit to help you complete the figure if you are interested. Over all, this is a very nicely done custom : ) cheers

 

[Reinhardt]

Very impressive so far!!

 

[clparker04]

Great work mate keep the photos coming

 

[thundergod]

Do you plan to cast armor and make full squad??

Well , I don't have the facilities for casting at the moment , but if someone was to offer the service ( Cough , Dorgmal Snow , cough ) maybe something could be worked out . I also have a set of alternative helmets ( EOD and CQB ) so variants could be made available .
As for the re-paint , I already started the process before I put him to the razor saw , so it's just a matter of touching him up and adding some detailing . ( I was considering white striping and "117" on the chest armour , as seen in the "Halo Legends" DVD .)

 

[Wanderer]

Great success thundergod. The use of the rubber gloves is inspired

 

[Crimsonbob]

Yeah man looking very cool

 

[Dorgmal Snow]

owwwwwwwwww... I feel anew project coming on ..... The use of rubber gloves is great... gonna have to steal that idea... as for venturing on a Halo squad build Thunder Trousers... I am well in....

 

[thundergod]

Well , you heard the man , anyone interested ?

Variants are on the cards as well , as I have helmet options for CQB and EOD types . Multiple weapons ( assault rifle , battle rifle and Covenant Carbine ) and custom load-outs are also a possibility , so full squads are on the horizon as well .

And Tony , what did you mean by "mesh suit "?

 

[Deadp00l]

Nce, really love when someone use existing thing and change it to better! Nice man

 

[mrpsychopath]

can see another armour kit in the pipeline.

 

[Levit05]

i'm TOTALLY in for this project!!!....so please include me in!!!!

 

[thundergod]

can see another armour kit in the pipeline.

Definately , I'm just working out the final details and clearing off the workbench before I commit .

 

[Mikekind]

I am interested in a standard set. I've wanted to do this to mine but I can't get over my concern that i'll screw it up.... that's a lot of dremeling to get right haha

 

[The Bat]

Test fit of the parts on the body .

Dude, that is FREAKIN' AWESOME! I'm a big Halo fan(Played Halo:CE remastered today). Can't wait to see him finished!

 

[thundergod]

I'm glad there is some interest in the project ( I thought that maybe people had given up on it !) , as I've said , the parts are ready for casting and it's just a matter of finishing off my current builds ( Ultramarine and Orc Boss ). Maybe it's time for a list of people with an interest in a possible kit ?