1/6 Luke Skywalker: Red Five X-Wing Pilot Sixth Scale Figure

[Tom Day]

Zavvi had him for £169.99 last week... but I don't trust Zavvi and find it hard to believe he was actually in stock. Still, that's the most I'll pay for him. What are the chances of him hitting that price in the UK?

 

[paramoremcr88]

That's where I got mine from. Arrived the next working day.

 

[paramoremcr88]

 

[TaliBane]

How tall is this figure next to the HT Luke? The HT Luke seems to be a bit below 11 1/2."

 

[ZE_501]

Y'all know my thoughts on this figure from earlier up the thread.

The single biggest failing outside of any inherent limitations, is the helmet weathering.

Very drab, sooty and uniform. Since the helmet basically IS the figure, I knew I'd take a run at it sooner or later.

This is the first step; subtractive work. I roughed out the weathering pattern by removing or shifting the existing layer.

Over the next few days as time allows I'll need to refine this, add some grime back in strategically, and also add scuffs and scratches. What I have now is a little soft here and there, but already a vast improvement, IMO. It pops more.

Airbrush thinner didn't work, isopropyl didn't work, I moved to a Q-Tip and nail-polish remover. There seems to be a flat sealer that you need to get through before the weathering layer moves.

Not sure how durable the paint work just beneath is; I was careful not to test it as the Q-Tip and nail polish remover is a blunt instrument.

Snapshots of WIP:

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

I would have caved in on the recent $25 coupon if I liked the helmet more. Yours already looks miles better ZE ! I have come to expect that sooty layer of grime sideshow likes to use as weathering similar to R2 but am baffled why they didn't use a more accurate vibrant red. Please keep posting your progress

 

[ZE_501]

I would have caved in on the recent $25 coupon if I liked the helmet more. Yours already looks miles better ZE ! I have come to expect that sooty layer of grime sideshow likes to use as weathering similar to R2 but am baffled why they didn't use a more accurate vibrant red. Please keep posting your progress

Thanks dude. It'll be a while before I'm done; work is crazy and I don't really have time for this stuff these days. I'll just squeeze in weathering this helmet based on screen caps whenever I can.

The red is too weak, but there are two issues that make it worse: stock weathering mutes any kind of contrast it would have had, and also covers it in a layer of soot.

The photos above are low-light; but I can tell you that the red already looks better if not completely screen accurate, thanks to the subtractive work I've already done.

 

[Chakaman]

Man, that looks great. I see my next project.

Thanks for the pics, keep us updated on your progress.

 

[Natedog]

Its possible the red on the helmet is more vibrant than it appears. Same as the paint on the head itself. I still think they used a "bad" clear coat that turned everything cloudy.

 

[ZE_501]

Man, that looks great. I see my next project.

Thanks for the pics, keep us updated on your progress.

Will do.

Its possible the red on the helmet is more vibrant than it appears. Same as the paint on the head itself. I still think they used a "bad" clear coat that turned everything cloudy.

Looking at it in morning light, I'm beginning to think you're right about that foggy clear coat.

Helmet on, he's standing in my growing "heroes" line-up right now (multiple properties) and SSC did a really great job on the likeness (helmet on!) -- Luke really does look like a nineteen year old bumpkin in pilot gear. His youth and punk-ass vibe is palpable! Bruce Lee looks like he wants to kick his ass.

Helmet on, I feel like they absolutely nailed it.

 

[Tom Day]

Great work ZE_501! Anything that improves the drab helmet paint job is welcome.

Paramore, glad you got your Luke! I'm still happy I didn't take a chance on Zavvi, heard too many horror stories about them.

People keep saying how good the sculpt is but has anyone actually repainted it and 'proved' it's good? I saw this figure in my LCS today surrounded by HT figures and the head was awful in comparison. Would love to see a good repaint. This isn't a dig at Sideshow btw - in the same display cabinet I saw the Sideshow TIE pilot for the first time and thought he looked brilliant.

 

[Chakaman]

I just spent a few minutes applying finger nail polish remover to half of Luke's helmet. As you can see, it works great. The grime comes right off.



Thanks ZE, for pointing this solution out.

 

[TaliBane]

^^ Wow, that's looking good. Might have to try that.

I don't understand why it would remove the sealer and the weathering but not the emblem and white paint. Isn't it all paint? Same thing with R2's dome.

 

[ZE_501]

^^ Wow, that's looking good. Might have to try that.

I don't understand why it would remove the sealer and the weathering but not the emblem and white paint. Isn't it all paint? Same thing with R2's dome.

I've only done that initial run at my helmet with zero time to follow-up, but I have suspicions about a base coat of white or lack there-of. I'm pretty sure if I got aggressive it'd take the red with it, though. It's just that the mist of grime-pigment doesn't seem as "sticky" as other paint apps.

 

[jedijim3002]

Got this in today. Not bad. First impressions are good overall. Sculpt does look better under the helmet. Tried changing a few things around.




Also tried the hair on the HT sculpt. Not bad.




Tried the head on the HT figure.

 

[TonTon]

Thanks for all those pics jedijim. Don't think I'd seen some of those swaps yet. I still have my eye out for X-Wing Luke at a good price. I just think he'd be much more interesting on the shelf than Tatooine Luke--and have an extra HT sculpt if need be.

 

[Tom Day]

Thank you for the pictures, JediJim, especially the SS hair on the HT Luke. Makes you realise that much of what throws the HT likeness off is the size of the hairpiece. Has anyone put the non-BD Bespin DX hair on farm boy Luke?

 

[TaliBane]

Got this in today. Not bad. First impressions are good overall. Sculpt does look better under the helmet. Tried changing a few things around. View attachment 242986

SSC looks very spray tan there.

View attachment 242992

That looks pretty damn good from that angle.

View attachment 242993

That looks pretty bad though. I was hoping that would look a bit better on that body. It's interesting to see though. Imagine if SSC put out their own Luke farmboy and it looked like that for $240.



It really does seem that the SSC head shines wonderfully under the helmet, but exposed it's just too weak in terms of paint app. And seeing the skintone next to the HT you can see it really does have a bit of a spray-tan color. SSC seems to be struggling with their skintones - Han and Luke Hoth were too dark and just not very natural looking.

 

[Chakaman]

Work in progress, repainting the helmet...

 

[jedijim3002]

Thank you for the pictures, JediJim, especially the SS hair on the HT Luke. Makes you realise that much of what throws the HT likeness off is the size of the hairpiece. Has anyone put the non-BD Bespin DX hair on farm boy Luke?

It won't fit. Just too wide in the back. I thought this was funny though.