McHaleyArt's Custom SW Thread

McHaleyArt · Jul 12, 2013

With all of the random STAR WARS custom figure posts I've done, I thought it time to start a thread featuring my tinkering.

I've been doing this to my own figures for over 20 years and my goal is to improve the shape and body language to something that's more accurate or (at the least) more pleasing to my eye. I also like to keep my figures as close to durable as their factory release so I can pose them just as easily.
I thought I'd start with The King. Darth Vader.

I picked up Medicom's version 1 Vader when if first came out. I enjoyed it for some time, gradually upgrading and changing things out. As we all know the older Medi bodies crumble and (with Vader) his suit can flake. At this point there's barely any of the Medi left. He Stands 12" tall so he won't fit in with SideShow/Hot toys Scale but he's just fine on his own.
Breakdown:

Kotobukiya Head/helmet (1st release). Dremelled out so it can fit over a neck.
Enterbay body (with rubber chest)
Medicom Hands, Boots, Chest Box, Belt, Saber, Shoulder Armor & Tunic.
Medicom Clone Suit. Modified with Liquitex Gloss Medium Varnish.
Hasbro Cape (modified).

McHaleyArt · Jul 12, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

BOBA FETT
Medicom has put out some nice Fetts. Their ROTJ version of Boba is particularly nice. But (for me) the ESB version is the definitive one.

Fett is on a Indy Medi body, as the structural integrity is much, much better than the older medi's. I didn't notice the neck on this body is a long neck, so it needs to be switched out still to bring the head down just a bit. Also lowered the Jet Pack.

Replaced the Medi ammo pouches with Marmit...they're individually sculpted to match the film. Added brass color snaps to bring them out more on 3 of the pouches.
Replaced the holster with Marmit...again because of the shape. I like Medi's cloth/pleather one, but it was just less accurate in shape. Added holster strap and snap.
Reattached Cloth Belt Pouches (a bit lower) and removed velcro on all Cloth Pouches and sewed them shut in a more accurate position.
Attached the Marmit Cape in the correct position on top with knob showing through.
Weathered the jumpsuit.
Chest Armor pieces moved closer to each other, positioning them by sewing the inside of the flak vest, under the armor closer together.
Shoulder Armor re-attached to the correct position.
Replaced Medi gauntlet parts (flamethrower & Blaster) with Marmit, added wires in back of Flamethrower.
Scalps are modified Kenner from the Vintage Fett (1979). Cut, tied and frayed the ends.
Marmit Helmet with Medi Rangefinder. The outer earpiece in a filed down piece from the TOMY Mini Helmet. The bucket still needs repainting/detailing.

I was hoping that Sideshow's Fett blaster would be an easy replacement for my custom...alas...they really, REALLY botched it up. The details are nice and sharp with great paint apps. It looks very cool...but far from accurate. Medi and Marmit both have inaccuracies as well, but at least they got the shape and overall proportions correct.
As I said, I liked the sharp details of Sideshow's so I took the bits I like the most and cannibalized it with the Medi Barrel for a more accurate shape. Angled the Stock, added custom strap, chromed the end, add paint:
(Quick pics with my phone)

Some shots before the Blaster, Final Scalp & earpiece mod:

McHaleyArt · Jul 12, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

JANGO FETT

I've always liked medicom's Jango. Though my main gripes with it where that he looked too thin and the chest armor was positioned too low. The latter seemed to fit the figure so the bottom piece was low enough on a normal/long figure torso. The collar piece was sculpted to long to fit up near the shoulder and still go far enough down to push the other armor parts down toward the belt. I cut down either side of the collar armor and rounded the inner part. Moved all the armor up the flak vest (a BIG pain).
Actor Temuera Morrison seems to have a build that has a shorter torso and legs. Unlike Boba, Jango has less accessories and a uniform that's a bit more snug. I wanted to fill everything out and padding up the Med figure wasn't doing it...although the waist down to the feet looked good. I needed a base body that fit the actor. The Sideshow Pro 1 had a good torso but the legs where too long. I had an old Alfrex body that was the right proportions, and extremely posable but the feet would need a major mod and where the legs met the waist would need to be padded. The body that seemed to test fit everything the best (lower torso, higher knee) was (believe it or not) Hasbro's Ultimate Jango Fett. I had one in my parts box from years ago. I wanted to make it as posable and durable as possible. I don't like to make customs if they are just going to fall apart. Took the neck out...Ball joint was way to big, so it was removed and a hole drilled in.

Took a Bbi3.5 neck plug, used a Sideshow pro wrist joint as a new ball beck joint and (I think) a Soldier Story Ball/Arrow joint for the head (works great with Medi heads). And popped it in.

Dremmeled out the wrist and ankle joints, widened the sockets and the Medi Hands and Feet where nice and snug...and now had the great ankle articulation.

Padded the thighs up a bit...the leg armor looks better when it can sink into something because of the pegs that hold it in place. A half sheet of paper towel each does the trick.

I shaved down the knee armor on the top and bottom to give it that squarer edge (unlike Boba's). Then shaved down the outside, top edges of the shin armor. They are not supposed to be uniform on both sides.
I think that's it. I still want to highlight the belt with a bet of red/brown, lightening it up a bit and darken the boots.

McHaleyArt · Jul 12, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

DARTH MAUL

My mash:

Medi Head with the neck shaved off up to the jaw.
HT Batman 89' Neck with bottom shaved off for better posing.
All Medi Clothes and Accessories.
Body: SSC Clone torso, Medi Maul Arms, Old HT True Type from the waist down.

McHaleyArt · Jul 12, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

BOUSHH
I think Boushh is SSC's most underrated Star Wars figure. All the the same, the Helmet just wasn't doing it for me and this turned out to be a simple head swap, producing some very satisfying results. I had some TOMY mini helmets from awhile ago and used their Boushh bucket. I just glossed the visor, cut down the Sideshow neck peg...and that's it. I think I added some extra canisters, etc. to her belt. For some reason accuracy on that count wasn't a big deal for me. I just wanted her to look cool.

katkuru · Jul 12, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

Fantastic looking Vader! How tall does he stand?

Natrix · Jul 12, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

katkuru said:
Fantastic looking Vader! How tall does he stand?

Says 12" in the paragraph right above the breakdown.

eeiigghhtt · Jul 12, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

Love the tweeks on your Jango! Looks fantastic! Love your Vader and Maul as well

:duff

:

Solo_bones · Jul 12, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

Great work, LOVE that Vader.

Chakaman · Jul 12, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

I have admired your customs for years, good stuff.

McHaleyArt · Jul 12, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

Thanks guys. Boushh post updated. I'll add Boba soon. Still work to do on all of these.
I want to taylor or replace Vader's cape (and probably the Tunic).
Jango just needs some paint on the shaved part of the knees and I found I have the same body I used, except with waist articulation, that I might convert him to.
I'd like to create boots for MAUL with ankle articulation....but it's really not that necessary. It would be nice if his robes were a bit more baggy around the waist...but I really like the quality of the Medi outfit.
Boba still needs a helmet re-paint/detail but is pretty much all there.
I'd LOVE to get my hands on a Sideshow Vader but it's not a priority...but all the plans for that one is in my head.

spiderrogue · Jul 12, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

who's this guy and where did he come from?
omg..nice stuff..boushh is one of my fave characters from ROTJ...very cool to see more of her in these parts...i actually dont have leia's head under my helmet...or her body..just used a basic gal body and some generic gal head..lol..

McHaleyArt · Jul 13, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

No Leia head under my Boushh helm either. Just the neck plug that came with the original helmet, cut down.

amidala_zelda · Jul 13, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

Awesome !!! the force is strong in this thread !!!

VintijDroidGutzz · Jul 17, 2013

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

Beautiful customs McHaley!!! :rock

Your eye is spot on man.. spot - on. :wink1:

Jango looks JUST like Temuerra costumed up for a promo shoot.

McHaleyArt · Jan 20, 2014

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

Some new Maul pics:

McHaleyArt · Jan 20, 2014

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

Trying the plastic 'garden' chain on, rather then the metal one I had before.

Chakaman · Jan 20, 2014

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

Awesome work!! Maul and Vader look fantastic!!

I may have to copy the mods you did with Jango. I have all the Medi parts lying about, but havent found a proper body to use for him. Thanks for the tutorial.

McHaleyArt · Feb 13, 2014

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

These pics are around 15-16 years old. At that time, I made 3 Custom Vaders (none of which I have anymore). I'm going to revisit this, upgrading the recipe with some of the Sideshow parts. I'd love to use their new Helmet/Mask, but as beautiful as it is, it's just too off for me. I'd love to be satisfied with my current Vader, (keeping) but want a true(r) to 1/6 scale presence. This old one came in at 13.5" high.

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McHaleyArt · Feb 25, 2014

Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

As I plan a Major Vader Mod, I wanted to share the thought process so far. I have NO IDEA when I'll be able to finish this thing so I hope this will give the rest of you some ideas and reference as you plan yours.

I like to use as many existing parts as possible. This helps with the overall durability of the final figure. For my money and in my opinion, the best overall Helmet/Mask shape is the Screamin'/Kaiyodo Mask with the Hasbro Helmet. These parts all need a nice clean up, paint and gloss. I want to replace the tusks on the Kaiyodo. The SSC Shaw Portrait could be put into the Kaiyodo Mask if you cut out that part of the Mask Sculpt...more of a permanent mod...but possibly cool looking. The SSC Back Neck Brace could be removed if you wanted to use the SSC Mask and have that smooth neck look. These are all loose fits, but you'll get the idea. They all have their pros and cons.

If you're going to use the Kaiyodo/Screamin Kit. Do NOT get a recast. They have shrinkage and will be too small.

First, here's the SSC reveal mask set. They're the same parts as the All-In-One Helmet.