How would you like your Chewie?!?

[galactiboy]

I chose fur, but to me, the question is wrong. Instead of voting for what we would "like" to see Sideshow do, it should have been what do we "believe" Sideshow can do and look good. I would like to see Sideshow do the fur, but I don't believe they can pull it off in 1/6th scale. So the poll is a little skewed... in my opinion.

Yeah, I thought about that after it went up... my intention is what do you think (given the current situation) would be the best way to make Chewie. So yeah, its probably a bit skewed because a lot would want fur... I take full responsibility

 

[Wor-Gar]

Okay...here's a quick collage of Chewie as featured in the discussion...

Here we can get an idea of what works with a sculpt and what works with fur...

The sculpt...while Gentle Giant (D) manages a fine representation of Chewie, the issues with a sculpted figure could be limited articulation and a rather stationary figure (pose/display-wise)...great for a bust, not so great for a figure [see Hasbro's attempt (C)]...

Now the "fur" question...while as both Hurricane and Wor-Gar's fine looking figures (A & B) show, a well-rendered figure is possible with fur,,,the biggest drawback to both of these examples for me is...the face. It's just not quite there [although it's closer to the DK photo (F) than the studio publicity still (E)]. One interesting thing about Hurricane's example...it looks more like a wookiee warrior from ROTS...bulkier, broader-faced, a bit more blond...in fact, if he could rustle up some ROTS-style bandoliers and accessories, it'd be spot on!

The other issue with fur is...as mentioned early on in the thread by Custommike, expecting the consistant craftsmanship from a factory for the kind of quality shown in these custom examples is a tough sell. I'm all for "futzing" with the final product, but I still think getting a figure with fur that has any decent quality is going to be an expensive proposition...

As others have alluded to here...I wonder if a "furred" version of Chewbacca might be better served as a PF figure, and Sideshow takes a stab at the "sculpted suit" approach for the standard one...

Just stirrin' the pot, folks....:chew

Here's another picture of mine. Does this picture make the face look any better?

 

[jedibear]

actually, yes.

 

[Wor-Gar]

In that picture of my SS Han with Chewie, the light hit Chewie's face at an angle that exaggerated the teeth and thus the "smile". In hand, as you can see in my alternate picture, the "grin" isn't as pronounced.

I think the particular limitation with Hurricane's and mine is that the fur was "applied" to an existing Chewbacca figure with sculpted fur, as opposed to being applied to a thinner body...thus you get a bulkier figure as a base. Obviously, if SS were to make one, they would start with a regular shaped body so that the "hiar" was the only thing creating girth. Chewie was pretty lanky under all that fur.

The real trick with the fur is to make it matt together enough to look like Chewie and not appear fluffy (like Kenner's Wampa). Chewie always had that "just-woke-up" look to his hair. Creating that effect, then shipping him in package that way without the hair grouping and clumping, is probably the hardest problem to solve. I mean, actually furring a body is simple enough -- its how to maintain a "finished" look and keep it that way through packaging and shipping.

 

[KitFisto]

In that picture of my SS Han with Chewie, the light hit Chewie's face at an angle that exaggerated the teeth and thus the "smile". In hand, as you can see in my alternate picture, the "grin" isn't as pronounced.

I think the particular limitation with Hurricane's and mine is that the fur was "applied" the an existing Chewbacca figure with sculpted fur, as opposed to being applied to a thinner body...thus you get a bulkier figure as a base. Obviously, if SS were to make one, they would start with a regular shaped body so that the "hiar" was the only think creating girth. Chewie was pretty lanky under all that fur.

Wor Gar, not sure if you saw, but I finally got pics of mine up in this thread. I still have not given him the trim treatment that I want to, but I put pics up anyway.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Wor Gar, not sure if you saw, but I finally got pics of mine up in this thread. I still have not given him the trim treatment that I want to, but I put pics up anyway.

I did see. Yours looks great. I must say, Mark is getting better and better making these figures.

 

[KitFisto]

I did see. Yours looks great. I must say, Mark is getting better and better making these figures.

Agreed and pics do not do them justice!

 

[Mookeylama]

better have fur or i'm not buying.

 

[hurricane]

In my chewies defence, he isnt finished,Ive no where near finished style his fur.....

 

[Minimodel]

I m not a Star Wars fan as such,but Chewbacca in 1/6 is a figure i d certainly buy.I m of the opinion that Hurricane and Wor-Gar have a technique perfected and no matter what Sideshow do they wo nt get any better than this.Those figures are two of the finest replications in 1/6 that i ve ever seen.

I d suggest that SS get in touch with these two genius,learn from them and reimburse them accordingly.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I m not a Star Wars fan as such,but Chewbacca in 1/6 is a figure i d certainly buy.I m of the opinion that Hurricane and Wor-Gar have a technique perfected and no matter what Sideshow do they wo nt get any better than this.Those figures are two of the finest replications in 1/6 that i ve ever seen.

I d suggest that SS get in touch with these two genius,learn from them and reimburse them accordingly.

Thanks, Minimodel... but I have to give credit where credit is due. Both mine and Hurricane's Chewbacca were built by an excellent customizer named Mark, here on SSF known as Deathstalker. Like you, I do feel that he has perfected his art of furring a figure to get as close to Chewbacca as possible. I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon him and his work -- there's no Chewies out there quite like these. In hand, they're really quite excellent. I know he'll appreciate the compliments. Thanks.

 

[KitFisto]

Everyone keeps leaving my poor Chewie out!!! :emperor He was made by Mark too you know!! LOL

 

[Captain Faramir]

That looks great dude!

 

[Wor-Gar]

Everyone keeps leaving my poor Chewie out!!! :emperor He was made by Mark too you know!! LOL

Sorry Kit. Didn't mean to leave you out. I was just responding to Minimodel's direct comments.

Yours is great too. We just need more pictures...

 

[FlyAndFight]

Faux-furred Chewie is a must. :chew

 

[Homer Simpson]

I want mine just like that.
Seriously that is amazing. I hope sideshow don't have a Chewie in development, they'd be wasting their time!! Sell it to Sideshow!! Tell them how to do it, and we'll all sit back and wait for an announcement later in the year!!!

 

[Wor-Gar]

I want mine just like that.
Seriously that is amazing. I hope sideshow don't have a Chewie in development, they'd be wasting their time!! Sell it to Sideshow!! Tell them how to do it, and we'll all sit back and wait for an announcement later in the year!!!

Thanks Homer!

I hope SS does it this way too. I can't see them doing a sculpted version honestly. It just doesn't seem right. The "fur" is like Chewie's "clothing"... and no one here would want a sculpted clothed figure.

 

[MaulFan]

If SSC could do the body like this but a better job on the strands that run from his face into his chest, shoulders and back in a more accurate manner, as well as do his head small, I think it could look fine. The more I see the shots of these, the more the head's stand out to me as being too big and part of what throws them off to me, the best head under the fur should be smaller so when the fur is added, the head is in proportion.

 

[Ultimate Weapon]

As nice as those custom figures are, as others have stated, they don't quite hit the taller, lanky appearance that Chewbacca has in photos E and F. That's the exact look that I hope SS is able to achieve, however they are able to.

I think those customs could achieve a similar look if the bodies were taller/ more lanky and if the fur was matted together a bit more. Perhaps using a bit of a very light, watered down glue mixture to help create a matted look would help. They're very good, don't get me wrong, they just don't have the correct proportions for Chewbacca.

 

[Wor-Gar]

When they do Chewbacca, they definitely need a thinner, lankier body as its base. And one with long legs. That IS the major problem with my custom -- it is built on a thicker body so its nearly impossible to "slim" him out in the correct places.

I actually spent a long time "futzing" the hair with water and hair gel and hairspray to try and mimick Chewbacca's hairstyle. Again, hair at this scale, like clothing, doesn't behave the same way as 1:1 scale does.

Here is my Chewie when he arrived:

And my finished "groomed" version:

Its tricky to get it to look exact. Best I could do. But as all things, he looks much better in person.