Agonistes' Star Wars customs

[agonistes86]

Made some more good progress this week.

I felt that something was still off the whole time, and I narrowed it down to the size of the mouth. I then realized that making the inside more angled towards the center is what makes the mouth appear smaller, so I started sculpting on there.

I also dremeled the nose a bit deeper and sculpted the inside to be less flared out and more straight.

And finally I also sculpted some more on top of the chest armor. Now I feel I have the thickness down, which incidently also closes the gap towards the helmet.

I still need to sand and smooth out the new parts some more, but this gives an idea of the difference to before. Also included a test fit on the body. I'm really liking where this is going.

I'm going on vacation for two weeks this weekend, so I won't have any new updates for a while. But I'm happy with where I got now, so my obsession can rest for a bit.

 

[Scout Trooper]

Made some more good progress this week.

I felt that something was still off the whole time, and I narrowed it down to the size of the mouth. I then realized that making the inside more angled towards the center is what makes the mouth appear smaller, so I started sculpting on there.

I also dremeled the nose a bit deeper and sculpted the inside to be less flared out and more straight.

And finally I also sculpted some more on top of the chest armor. Now I feel I have the thickness down, which incidently also closes the gap towards the helmet.

I still need to sand and smooth out the new parts some more, but this gives an idea of the difference to before. Also included a test fit on the body. I'm really liking where this is going.

I'm going on vacation for two weeks this weekend, so I won't have any new updates for a while. But I'm happy with where I got now, so my obsession can rest for a bit.


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Shaping up to be the best Vader EVER.

 

[agonistes86]

Shaping up to be the best Vader EVER.

Thanks!

It might sound arrogant, but that is actually my goal whenever I work on a custom, at least within the scale I'm working on.
There are exceptions like Heath Ledger Joker, where there are just so many incredible works out there that I can't even imagine to compete with.

But for my 1:6 SW customs, and now my 1:4 Vader, I aim to make a version that reaches a level I've never seen anybody surpass before for that character in that scale.

After Vader and my Tatooine diorama, my next customs will be my Sandtroopers. That will be difficult, since there already incredible versions out there by Solo_Bones and TaliBane. Those are my personal benchmarks.

 

[Scout Trooper]

Thanks!

It might sound arrogant, but that is actually my goal whenever I work on a custom, at least within the scale I'm working on.
There are exceptions like Heath Ledger Joker, where there are just so many incredible works out there that I can't even imagine to compete with.

But for my 1:6 SW customs, and now my 1:4 Vader, I aim to make a version that reaches a level I've never seen anybody surpass before for that character in that scale.

After Vader and my Tatooine diorama, my next customs will be my Sandtroopers. That will be difficult, since there already incredible versions out there by Solo_Bones and TaliBane. Those are my personal benchmarks.

No need to be modest. That's not arragance. Your pride in your work is well at its place.

Besides, Hot Toys really set the bar low (in this particular scale) for Star Wars. And the property hasn't attracted the attention of individual artists as a character like Ledger's Joker has. Which is a shame really.

I'm confident this will surpass anything I've seen. Now, I'm not well versed with much work outside of this scale, but I do think 1/6 (and subsequently 1/4 in this case) brings out the highest level of attention from detail oriented collectors. The only thing I can equate to that is cosplay and prop making, but that's something else I guess.

 

[agonistes86]

Making some progress on Vader again.

I started working on the dome, which is nearly done now.
Most important was to arch his eyebrows a bit more, to get the remains of the widows peak from ANH in there, and to add a hint of the y-indent in between the brows.
The dome also has a rim/lip on the inside around the bottom edge in the movie, so I sculpted that in there.
And finally I applied some Mod Podge to the inside for some texture, to diffuse the light reflections and make it look less plasticky.

Below is the current state, and my compilation of dome references.

I've hit a bit of a mental roadblock for the mouth/teeth. I'm not if I should sculpt them directly inside of the mouth, or sculpt them outside first, and then install in the mouth. I'm also thinking of making a sort of wireframe first and sculpt over that, for added stability. I'm currently working through those options in my head, so I can continue it soon.

 

[Scout Trooper]

Making some progress on Vader again.

I started working on the dome, which is nearly done now.
Most important was to arch his eyebrows a bit more, to get the remains of the widows peak from ANH in there, and to add a hint of the y-indent in between the brows.
The dome also has a rim/lip on the inside around the bottom edge in the movie, so I sculpted that in there.
And finally I applied some Mod Podge to the inside for some texture, to diffuse the light reflections and make it look less plasticky.

Below is the current state, and my compilation of dome references.

I've hit a bit of a mental roadblock for the mouth/teeth. I'm not if I should sculpt them directly inside of the mouth, or sculpt them outside first, and then install in the mouth. I'm also thinking of making a sort of wireframe first and sculpt over that, for added stability. I'm currently working through those options in my head, so I can continue it soon.

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This is my favorite thread to get bumped.

How'd you go about arching the eyebrows?

 

[agonistes86]

This is my favorite thread to get bumped.

How'd you go about arching the eyebrows?

Thanks!

The HT brow was very accurate to ROTJ, which means it was very flat, especially the left brow (our left). Initially I though that I needed to sculpt the "widow's peak" (for lack of a better term for the ESB look) onto it, but as I overlayed the dome onto movie shots, I realised it luckily didn't need to be extended. So I dremeled the arches of his eyebrows carefully, then sanded them off. A bit on the left (his right), more so on the right.
For the remnant of the y-indent on the end of the center ridge, I also dremeled the shape very very carefully, then sanded it. Took me about 5-6 rounds as I didn't want to remove too much. It's not perfect or super accurate to the movie/BTS reference shots, but I think it'll do. You only notice it when the light hits it in specific ways, and getting rid of the completely flat appearance was my main goal.

 

[Scout Trooper]

Thanks!

The HT brow was very accurate to ROTJ, which means it was very flat, especially the left brow (our left). Initially I though that I needed to sculpt the "widow's peak" (for lack of a better term for the ESB look) onto it, but as I overlayed the dome onto movie shots, I realised it luckily didn't need to be extended. So I dremeled the arches of his eyebrows carefully, then sanded them off. A bit on the left (his right), more so on the right.
For the remnant of the y-indent on the end of the center ridge, I also dremeled the shape very very carefully, then sanded it. Took me about 5-6 rounds as I didn't want to remove too much. It's not perfect or super accurate to the movie/BTS reference shots, but I think it'll do. You only notice it when the light hits it in specific ways, and getting rid of the completely flat appearance was my main goal.

Wouldn't using a dremmel on such a fragile piece cause it to crack? Hmm

Results are great man

 

[agonistes86]

Wouldn't using a dremmel on such a fragile piece cause it to crack? Hmm

Results are great man

I use a relatively high speed and grab the dome firmly in my hand, so there's no unnecessary vibration outside of the area I'm working on. Even thin pieces can be worked on with relative ease that way.

I did some more googling yesterday and realized I need better tools for sculpting, so I ordered some silicone brushes. That should give me the needed push to continue the work on the teeth.

 

[agonistes86]

Making slow but steady progress.

I added the bottom lip/edge of the mouth triangle.
And I sculpted some teeth. Not sure I'll actually end up using them - zooming in you can see a lot of imperfections - but I was starting to get stuck in analysis paralysis in how to approach the mouth. So I wanted to break out of it and try this.
The idea is that I glue in the teeth first, and then sculpt the bottom ridge that connects the teeth with each other and smooth everything out. The last shot is a mock-up using blutac to keep them in place.

 

[Scout Trooper]

Making slow but steady progress.

I added the bottom lip/edge of the mouth triangle.
And I sculpted some teeth. Not sure I'll actually end up using them - zooming in you can see a lot of imperfections - but I was starting to get stuck in analysis paralysis in how to approach the mouth. So I wanted to break out of it and try this.
The idea is that I glue in the teeth first, and then sculpt the bottom ridge that connects the teeth with each other and smooth everything out. The last shot is a mock-up using blutac to keep them in place.

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It works. But maybe there's a better way to go about doing the teeth. 3d printing. Laser cutting. I'm not sure.

 

[agonistes86]

Not much new to report in terms of output, but after about a month of inactivity I finally continued today.

I discarded my last attempt at the teeth.
Now I'm trying to use plasticard, as it's easier to get it to the right size, and if I glue two layers on top of each other it has the right thickness.

I started cutting a lot of teeth for now. Then I can mix and match to get exactly the right width for each. I need to plan in a session to work through this. Just got my new magnifying glasses in as well, after the battery leaked on my last pair and ruined it, so I'm all set.

It works. But maybe there's a better way to go about doing the teeth. 3d printing. Laser cutting. I'm not sure.

3D printed would be best yeah, but then I would need external help. Knowing myself, that would delay the whole project by at least another 6 months.

 

[agonistes86]

I made a first test version yesterday, and I'm about 90% sure now that this is the way to go for me.

This test version shows me things I need to improve in the build. The spacing between the teeth is a bit off, the teeth need to be a tad thinner and the bottom lip is too thick.
But I like where this is going, and it's immediately increased my motivation again.

 

[Scout Trooper]

So cool.

 

[LoveMinusZero]

Still love coming back here to see new updates. This Vader stuff is mindblowing.

You need to make molds of your Stormie helmets, cause, you know, I want them.

What did you use for the Sandie pauldrons? None of the companies have ever been able to get them right. The old Marmit kit was the closest a hundred years ago.

 

[agonistes86]

Still love coming back here to see new updates. This Vader stuff is mindblowing.

You need to make molds of your Stormie helmets, cause, you know, I want them.

What did you use for the Sandie pauldrons? None of the companies have ever been able to get them right. The old Marmit kit was the closest a hundred years ago.

Thanks, man!

I got both my Sandtrooper buckets and pauldrons from Kash (@Son Of Dengar). Maybe he can do stormtrooper buckets as well?


I got my full motivation back for Vader! I'm going on a 2 week vacation in a week, and I want to get some things done before then.

I glued the 2 mask halves together now. The next step is sculpting over the gaps with milliput and smoothing it out.

I used Mr. Surfacer to smoothen out the gaps on my trial teeth, it's working really well.
So I'm now underway building the final teeth. I made the lip and outer teeth already. Next step is gluing the teeth. The distance between teeth is 4mm.

In loving how this looks (with the test teeth here).

 

[Senfi83]

Wow! This is very impressive. Already my favorite Vader.

 

[Scout Trooper]

One of the coolest things I've seen in the hobby.

 

[agonistes86]

Wow! This is very impressive. Already my favorite Vader.

One of the coolest things I've seen in the hobby.

Thanks, guys!

Made the new teeth today.
There are two layers to get the right thickness. That worked out well, as it allowed me to make the bottom layer longer, so I can glue it to the inside of the mouth from the back, for added stability. The top layer sits within the mouth.

And here's a quick test fit. I layered it over a BTS shot, and the teeth thickness and spacing align now.

 

[agonistes86]

I sculpted over the seems and did the first round of sanding. So now it's officially one helmet instead of two parts.

I overlayed it over a couple of screenshots again from dofferent angles and identified some more areas here and there to fix (the neck mostly, and the inside of the mouth), but I'm really happy where I'm at now.