Thanks for the shout, Saigon! I have a nice picture of the vest to show a little later.
But first, I received my replacement Boba Fett. The body is better, but the helmet has an ever-so-slightly crooked rangefinder stalk. I'll contact Sideshow about replacing it, but it would be either a replacement helmet or nothing, because, true to the Thanksgiving spirit, I started carving him up like a turkey. As I'm very clear about Sideshow's policy now, there's no way in hell they're replacing this figure again.
I started by disrobing him again. I filled a small bowl with hot water and a bit of laundry detergent. It looked like this:
After washing and rinsing a few times, here's what the water looked like:
I really thought I had snapped a pic of the flightsuit before washing it, but I'm unable to find it now....
So then I ran the flightsuit through some hot water with fabric softener (I hate how burlap-y it felt), let it dry, and here's what I was left with:
Now it was time for Phase 1 one of the body modifications. I want my Fett to look AS MUCH like Jeremy Bulloch in Jabba's palace as possible. The base body for Hot Toys' 1/4 figure doesn't match Bulloch's physique (the body comes from the Batman body, and we all know Christian Bale's physique was SCULPTED), so I had to take matters into my own hands.
The plan is to slightly increase range of motion (arms sitting closer to his sides) and to enable the suit to 'hang' on the body more convincingly. Bulloch was practically swimming in the suit.
Here is the bare body:
Just to get my feet wet, and knowing that there's no turning back, and that a replacement body will be virtually IMPOSSIBLE to acquire, I decided to grab my Dremel and (cautiously) go for it. That's why I'm going to break it up into phases. I began with the deltoideus and latissimus (shoulders and back), since Bulloch was neither broad-shouldered nor overly muscular (he was thin. Just....thin). It may be hard to tell the difference, but here's how the body looked after shaving down those two areas:
I decided to stop there, for now. Phase 2 will include the front and back of the upper arms and trapezius and rectus femoris (neck and front leg) will be next. Baby steps, since there's no going back. When redressing, I left off his 1920's-style bathing suit. The last thing this figure needs is MORE bulk:
And here's the inside of the armor vest:
Fully redressed:
So let me know what you think! I like the way that the vest is fitting, now. It's hanging a bit, rather than being stuffed with a muscle man.
I'm not going to let the price on this figure stop me from modifying him. Boba Fett IS my guy, after all. I just hope I don't screw up along the way.
P.S. Oh, yeah, I also lowered the jetpack temporarily (it should be loose and low-slung). More pics/info to come...