Sideshow Darth Matul - repainted

This is the Sideshow 12" Darth Maul figure from the film Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (which I actually really like!)

This is another really good figure that Sideshow produced, and looks great just as it comes... however the eyes always looked a bit sleepy for me. And although you can use that to get some great arrogant cocky looking poses out of him... I just wanted a tad more anger out of him. But not too much. So I repainted him.

The problem I quickly found was that it wasn't the paint on the eyes that made him look sleepy, it was the sculpt.. they were sculpted quite closed (as are many of Sideshows figures it seems), so it was impossible to give him any kind of look that I wanted to recreate from the movie or the promotional images.

I didn't have time to resculpt the eyes (which I would have liked to have done) so I cheated. When I was painting the eyes, I carefully took the paint of the eyeball slightly over the eyelids... essentially making the eyeball appear larger when you're looking at it. This allows me to give him the expression I wanted.

If you look at the figure really close up in hand, then you can see what I've done... but if you look at the figure from a normal distance? It just looks like he's got wider eyes. Fantastic!

I also repainted the tatoos, as I've never seen any figure of Maul that have the design of these accurate to the film. They always seem too thin and 'weedy'. So I fixed that ;)

Here's a before and after pic to give you an idea. I'll post some more pics when I take them, hopefully soon.

(as always click on the images for larger versions)

BEFORE

(I got the before pic off the internet, my apologies to whoever it belonged to, but I forgot to take my own... duh. This was the closest one I found that has a paint job similar to my own)

AFTER

Old Ben Kenobi - repainted

This is Sideshow's (brilliant!) old Ben'Obi-Wan' Kenobi figure from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. This is one of their better figures that they've released, and even without anything done to it just looks AMAZING when it's on display on our shelf. The detail on the sculpt is unbelievable, as is the likeness. (Well done Trevor!)

You all know me by now though, and I can't leave anything alone for long.... so along with another one that I was doing for a customer, I repainted this head. Here's the results. It really shows off just how great this head sculpt is!

Enjoy!

Darren

(as usual click the images for larger versions)

Luke Skywalker - ROTJ - repainted

This is the Sideshow Jedi Luke figure, from Return of the Jedi.

This was the first modern 1/6 figure that I bought (ignoring old crappy Hasbro figures from years ago), and unlike several figures which came out after this... I always loved it. I thought the sculpt was great, it looked to me just like Mark Hamil, and it made a great display figure on my shelf.

There were a few things I thought could have been better however. The arms were too long (which has been covered at great length on various forums), the fitting bodysuit showed off the bad shape of the Sideshow base body, especially around the hips. (large gaps between the joints meant that the fabric would fold inwards, to where there should not be a gap, ruining the illusion of a real person). Also the paint job on the eyes gave him a strange 'surprised' look (although not as bad as some people complained)... but I thought it could have been better.

I repainted the whole head, instantly bringing out the excellent sculpt. I also shortened the arms by cutting a section out of the forearms and glueing back together, and I used tissue, padded and taped to the body to pad out the parts I thought could use some help. All of this improved the figure a great deal for me, and it has been one I have always loved having on my shelf.

I intended to keep this until I got myself a good Darth Vader (like the one Sideshow is releasing soon) but later this week I'll be selling this figure on eBay, just like I did with my Legolas, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Aragorn figures, to help raise funds for my upcoming honeymoon.

Anyway, enough talk... here's a few photos. (I'll post here when the figure is up for auction)

my Obi-Wan Kenobi 1/6 custom is UP FOR SALE!

Aragorn auction now on!!

Click on image to go to auction!


Good luck!!!

Anakin custom sold..... and next?

A huge thanks to everyone who was watching or who was bidding, you've helped a huge amount with my honeymoon-fund-raising. Selling this figure will pay for a few hundred miles driven across America... so thanks!

The figure will soon be flying it's way to it's happy new owner here in the UK. Thanks!










and the next figure?











........I'll tell you next time ;)

Darren

Anakin Auction now on!!

It's up!!!

(click on image to go to auction)

Good luck folks!

Legolas auction now on!!!

click the image to go to the auction!



Good luck!!!

Video showcase - Aragorn & Legolas

About a year ago I made a video of my Star Wars Anakin & Obi-Wan customs. At the same time I shot some footage for this Lord of the Rings video, however I only got halfway through editing the thing together because of my exploding workload.

Because my Legolas figure is going up for auction this Sunday *snif* ....I suddenly realised I should get this thing finished! So I spent this afternoon getting the thing edited together. I hope you like.

(and for those thinking about bidding on this Legolas figure, maybe this will give you a better idea of what the figure looks like in person)

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

Honeymoon funding figure sale!

Some of my online friends already know about this, but it hasn't been mentioned here on my blog yet, so....

As some of you know I'm getting married to my partner of almost 12 years (Jane) in September of this year. Woohoo! And we figured this once in a lifetime happening was the perfect occasion to try to make one of our long time dreams come true.

We've always had this dream, since we very first got together, of flying to America, hiring a 30 foot RV, and driving from New York to LA seeing as much of the country as possible in between. But we always knew it would never actually happen. Well now that we're getting married... we can't think of a better time to try to make this happen!

We've made all the plans, and put them up on a website for people to see (including a map of our planned route). This website also has a 'leading up to the wedding' blog (with some posts already made), and some links where people can 'buy us miles' for the trip. Essentially a honeymoon donation pot.

(Yes, we're being a bit shameless about this.... but you know? we don't need any normal wedding gifts having been together for 12 years, and getting to see places like New York, Monument Valley, The Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park is quite possibly the best gift anybody could give us.... ever. We've never been to The United States before, and we may never get another chance... but it looks like an incredible place. (The support we've already had with this from our online friends is beyond generous!)

Obviously we're trying to find ways to save money on the wedding, so that we can save more for the Honeymoon. So we're doing things like making our own wedding invitations, our own wedding cake, and anything else that we can do ourselves for the day.

And here's the big thing I'm doing

You know the custom figures that you've probably seen on this site? (or on YouTube) ...Anakin, Obi-Wan, Legolas and Aragorn.... the ones that have been splashed around the internet, and that I've been interviewed about here and here.? The figures that each represent the very first time I made these characters, my prototypes if you like... and part of my personal collection, to be kept forever as a record of my sculpting/painting career as it progressed, and most importantly... never to be sold! ...those figures?

Well I'm selling them!

I cannot explain strongly enough how much of a difficult decision it was to decide to sell these very personal figures of mine... but you know what, I think it's worth it to get this planned Honeymoon. There's already been a lot of interest from people who would love to own one of these, and over the weekend I'll be deciding which of the figures I'll be putting up for sale first. Hopefully I'll have decided by Monday or Tuesday. (obviously I'll let you all know when the time comes!)





...so which would you like to own?

New battle damaged Terminator finished - pics

well.... i suppose I should post my latest bundle of joy, lol

When I did my Arnie/Terminator custom... i knew pretty much straight away that I'd want to do this version as well....

so almost immediately (in my spare time before bedtime or on sundays.... too many commissions to take time out for myself, lol) I started planning where I needed to drill out, and what I needed to resculpt. Gathered tons of reference photos and screencaps, and set to work


anyway..... several weeks of sculpting, one resin test cast and a week spent painting the thing, and here's what I ended up with... the first 2 pictures were taken late at night under the desk lamp... the rest were taken the following day using my better camera and a full close up flash to show all the details (and flaws?)






now I know the clothes all need weathering, but i just put this on the body quickly to take the shots. I'll get round to all that. And I'll be making a chest piece to show the battle damage through the t shirt too.

People have been asking me about these heads already, lol.... I'm making the standard Arnie ones as we speak, should be able to work through the waiting list at the rate of about 5 per week, but I won't have time to start these new battle damaged ones until sometime in January at the least. (too many already paid for commissions I need to get done)..... although obviously I'm continuously adding people to the waiting list... and I'll get to them

Terminator meets Robocop...

Terminator 1/6 figure gets some sunglasses...

Hot Toys 1/6 Robocop figure arrives!

Well I finally bought my first Hot Toys figure this week which just arrived a few hours ago... and damn it's good!

The box opened, and the inner tray layed out before me....... (don't forget to click for bigger pics)





The torso was the first thing I picked up... and god does it feel bigger in the hand than I thought. The detail and finish on this thing is astounding. It's like a brand new car or something. (A product of modern detroit.... just as the film makers wanted it I guess)







The head looks great (I might repaint the face to attempt to bring out slightly more of a likeness of Peter Weller, but it's honestly great just as it is!)



Everything I took out of the box, even simple things like arms, which on other figures would just be "oh, there's an arm" were like a small event in itself. Each piece creating those "ooOOoohhh" moments where you just looked at it... admired the detail and finish on it... and had a play to see what moved and how it was all connected.



Now for me this next part was the bit I was waiting to see. I'm planning (hoping?) to sculpt an alternate Peter Weller 'mask off' head to use for when I want to display him with his helmet off. I'm not sure how often that will be, but I'd like the option anyway. Plus... I like the idea of having a totally accurate Weller face on there. It may be difficult though... the head didn't want to go on at all... and I had to use a sharp craft knife and shave the inside of the socket down to make it a looser fit. And that was just to get the head ON! Never mind taking it off again to replace it.

Nothing like a good challenge!



uh oh.... whats this? A loose piece.... rattling around underneath the legs. Panic mode.... aarghhhhhhh.



Yup, somethin was broken alright. Just great..... I went into the studio next door and grabbed some superglue and sat down to explore what had happened.



Phew. It turned out nothing was broken after all. The spring part which connects to the back of the leg had simply come loose... letting this small piece slide off its piston. A few pushes later and the part is clicked back in place nice and tight. I can breathe again now.

The leg standing up on the desk, just after being fixed.



A closer look...



There are some things on this figure I'm allowing myself to 'ignore'. Because I got this for £49.99 delivered in a sale, as opposed to the usual £129.99.... I'm letting the following slide.

The joints I found ridiculously difficult to put on. I ended up getting some Petroleum Jelly and brushing it onto the ball joints, this was the only way I could get the parts clicked into place. I agree they should be tight, but that was too much.

The fabulous opening right thigh for storing his gun (what a great feature!) doesn't want to stay closed on mine. It takes some fiddling and pushing before it does... and then next time you touch the figure (anywhere) it pops open.

The design of the stand where it goes around his waist doesn't work very well for this figure. The metal bars push against his... well.. arse, and make getting certain poses difficult. I swapped this part out for the same piece from a Sideshow stand and it works much better now.

And finally there are some spots on the paint (if you look close, admittedly) that are either slightly scratched, or maybe were touched when it was drying. Either way... not the perfect finish that it should be all over. (and mostly is.. I have to say)

Two such spots are behind his 'ears' on both sides.





Given the price that I paid for this figure (though cheap by comparison, still easily the most expensive figure I've ever bought!) when compared to the same items in online stores or on eBay...... was it worth it?

ABSOLUTELY!

The figure feels, and looks solid to the touch. Almost as if it's actually made of metal. It's the favourite figure in my collection at the moment (and I love my custom sculpted and painted figures.... lots!) ...and it really... really makes me want to buy ED 209.

But that's a dream for another day. Owning this figure was one of my smaller dreams.... I'll work my way up to the big (expensive) ones ;)

Best.
Figure.
Ever.



Not the best picture I know.... I've since added a little more of a natural realistic feel to the pose now that it's on my shelf. Suffice to say... this figure looks amazing!

EDIT: Here's a few more pics