GIMLI Customs...

[Entropy]

That repaint is very nice, but, aside from the changed mail, the rest of the figure doesn't look a lot like the silhouette of the Gimli photo.

 

[Darklord Dave]

That repaint is very nice, but, aside from the changed mail, the rest of the figure doesn't look a lot like the silhouette of the Gimli photo.

That's mainly why I prefer the Toybiz sculpt, the helmet flairs out like the real one rather than being a cylinder.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Here's a comp:

Decide you must which sculpt is best...

 

[dwing]

Hopefully we'll know once we get a good TB repaint. Like the removable helmet but want the longer beard.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Here's DiD Gimli (repaint) with the TB boots and gauntlets...

Tiny booties...

 

[yodasan]

Here's a comp:

Decide you must which sculpt is best...

I like the one in the middle the best.

 

[dwing]

Too bad on the boots. Glad to see the pic first b4 I cut his legs off. Still need to find a way to make those boot covers look better. Not a bad idea on the gloved hands-might try that. I have some leather sitting around-that might work on the boots.

 

[Mudshark]

Too bad on the boots. Glad to see the pic first b4 I cut his legs off. Still need to find a way to make those boot covers look better. Not a bad idea on the gloved hands-might try that. I have some leather sitting around-that might work on the boots.

Part of the problem is that the costumes on both the TB and DiD figures look brand new. Repainting and weathering either one of them could make all the difference, depending on whether you want a clean or battle-worn look. I'm going for the battle worn look, so I can display Gimli with Aragorn & Legolas as the Three Hunters. Adding some mud and scuffing 'em up a bit should hide the most noticeable shortcomings of the figure's footwear.

In some of the close ups from the refs you posted before, you can see his gaiters and boots are very scuffed up and worn-looking. Weathering the DiD stuff ought to make them look a lot more SA than they do out of the box.

 

[thamesvalidude]

OK D'wing, here's some group shots of the DiD Gimli and the DiD?TB futz job.

 

[thamesvalidude]

And just one more:

 

[drjedisith]

i have them both. ill have to take them out and size it all up in person. as been said. both have pros and cons. the only thing i dont like is the width on DID shoulders. hes way to wide. the toybiz looks more proportionate. as for height, i rather gimli closer to hobbit size than taller. SS shouldve made the hobbits smaller. they are actually the size gimli should have been. but when it comes down to it. hacking and customizing these will look cool. and when posing them strategically (like in the movie lol) it wont matter much.

 

[Mudshark]

For some reason it feels like everyone has time to work on these except me! Probably not true, but I really wish I had time to seriously get to work on Gimli!!!

The DiD body looks to be about half a head too tall compared to Sideshow's Aragorn and the rest. I'm planning to cut out a small section above each knee to shorten him a bit. I may try the same thing with the hobbits, as long as it doesn't appear too obvious. Maybe a little section mid-thigh just so they aren't as tall as Gimli. Even a little bit shorter would be an improvement, I think.

I don't think I'll display them together anyway, but I will probably want to take some pics of the complete Fellowship at some point. As long as Gandalf towers over them convincingly, it will be enough. Gimli will be joining Aragorn and the Elf to hunt some orc.
...........................................................................................................................

 

[Wor-Gar]

Too bad on the boots. Glad to see the pic first b4 I cut his legs off. Still need to find a way to make those boot covers look better. Not a bad idea on the gloved hands-might try that. I have some leather sitting around-that might work on the boots.

Yeah, I wanted to warn you about the boots before you got started. Figured a pic was worth a thousand words.

Anyway, the DiD gaiters and boots look fine, good size too, and with proper weathering as everyone says, they'll work great.

The gauntlets from the ToyBiz are MUCH better than the DiD Barbie vembraces and gloves. Gimli didn't have huge hands. Huge feet yes, huge hands no.

And of course, we're all awaiting the first repaint of the TB head to see just how good it really is.

Also, I agree that the DiD body has wide shoulders -- but the TB body is clearly too small the other way. It's smaller than the Hobbit frame. The best version would be the cut down the DiD size a bit and try to slump the shoulder best you can.

Here's a thought -- Frankenstein the top torso and arms of the TB body onto the lower half hips and legs of the DiD body. That might solve the shoulder issue and the height all in one!

I mean, if you're gonna cut the legs anyway, you might want to see if you can mix the two bodies first. Just a thought.

 

[Entropy]

Here's a thought -- Frankenstein the top torso and arms of the TB body onto the lower half hips and legs of the DiD body. That might solve the shoulder issue and the height all in one!

I mean, if you're gonna cut the legs anyway, you might want to see if you can mix the two bodies first. Just a thought.

That's a good idea. I've also thought about cutting up the arms and legs of a True Type, the differences in torso would be hidden by the costume I think, but the shoulders are pretty wide there as well. Maybe an unaltered Hobbit body with extensions or lifts in his boots or you could shorten the 2 Hobbits a tad.

 

[dwing]

I'm back. So far I have:
Cut DID body
-Arms 1/4" and used TB hands.
Repaint DID body chain maile
Repaint TB HS and painted eyes brown
Used future floor finish on the eyes, helemt and beard ties.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[Wor-Gar]

[/IMG]

WOW!

You sold me, that TB head looks GREAT with a repaint. Even if the beard is a tad short, just that craggy face and the detail on the braids makes it superior over the DiD.

Thank god, I was beginning to wonder why I bought the ToyBiz figure after all.

Can you take a flash pic just so we can see the whole outfit?

Also, when you say you cut the arms 1/4", do you mean you cut the DiD arms off at the wrist that much so you can slide the TB gauntlets onto the DiD arms?

 

[Wor-Gar]

I hope you don't mind, Jason, I'd like to show off what you did against the DiD repaint.

Here's a comp of repaints so you can see what you can achieve:

Personally, I like the TB face WAY better to the DiD.

Although the beard is somewhat stylized and a bit short, I also think the TB sculpt is better in that you can see the braids and detail more clearly. DiD is more like a waterfall of hair without the knots and braids.

The sweeping style of the TB also looks like it will meld better with the style of beard that SS has given Gandalf -- less tangle and more texture detail.

Lastly, I believe Dave brought this up, the 'bucket' helmet on the DiD is too cylindrical -- whereas the TB removable helmet has a more accurate angled shape and just simply frames the face better. It's like the difference between the Fett helmets that people often argue about (the Marmit having no angled sides, just a straight 'bucket').

Anyway, ultimately, each to his own... with a repaint, they are both very solid and useable sculpts...which is great for us. Choices are always good.

 

[dwing]

I popped of the DID hands and then cut off about 1/4" of the arm. The arms seemed to long with the TB hands on them. My flash is on/off but I'll try some inside and see if I can get a flash. Wanted to add-I did repaint the waist maile with a blk/wht mix. I think it could be darker but it does help so much over the cloth look.

[/IMG]

 

[Wor-Gar]

NICE!

I think drjedisith hit the real problem on the head -- the DiD shoulders are too wide and thus make the TB head look a bit too small.

I'm not sure there's anything that can be done about the DiD shoulder width... but again, maybe someone will try the Frankensteining of both bodies.

I'll try when I get my stuff.

The other possibility is to use the ToyBiz body instead and simply raise him up a bit. Maybe trying to slide the boots of the TB into the DiD boots will give you a bit of height.

But hey, this custom is really coming along -- I'm so stoked to finally have a Gimli... and from the looks a pretty darn good one at that.

 

[dwing]

The TB seems way to short and small for the DID clothing though. The DID is a little wide but the TB is way to skinny imo.

[/IMG]