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.