Building your MARINES - CORRECTLY

[8 Immortal Master]

Just to keep this thread bumped... I want to keep Apone's stock head and paint over the beard part to leave just the moustache and have him look more screen accurate. Has anyone else done this and if so can you tell me what color and brand of paint most closely matches the skin color of the rest of his face? Thanks!

 

[Space Jockey]

I have re-painted the stock headsculpt and was really happy with the result. I'll get some pics uploaded over the weekend.
It's worth keeping in mind that the Apone figure seemed to be released in two versions in two different skin tones (neither of which was movie accurate). I remember reading about it and seeing the photos on a couple of other boards at the time of it's release.

 

[Space Jockey]

Some pics of my Pvt Vasquez figure. This will be up on ebay in the next couple of days. Repainted the headsculpt and arms and that's it. Still have all the accessories and the original box is mint.

 

[Space Jockey]

A few of my Sargeant Apone figure too. I was happy emnough with the sculpt it came with some just reapainted the headsculpt and hands/arms. I'll be doing some weathering and accurizing to the armour.
I made my Cpl Hicks figure look like Stendec's custom but with the helmet, and was really happy with it and I'm going to do the same weathering on this.

 

[Fason]

If you want to get Vas some Cheong arm sleeves then give this place a try. Just scroll down the menu on the left till you come to the "SearchByType" list, then select "Nude". You'll find Cheong on pg. 2 @ $9.95 for the whole figure. They don't sell just the sleeves anymore, but for the Vas upgrade I think it's worth it. If you decide to go for it, let us know and somebody can repost Wor-Gar's arm sleeve preparation formula for you.

https://www.war-toys.com/

i have a question ... I just bought a Custom sculpt vasquez off a fellow freak and will be getting the "cheong" arms off war toys. what is the arm sleeve preparation formula mentioned above? dont i just put on the new arms with vasquez's hands? thanks for help. Ill post pics when its received and completed.

 

[Space Jockey]

Try sending a pm to Thundergod or Wor-Gar... they may be able to help.

 

[Mudshark]

i have a question ... I just bought a Custom sculpt vasquez off a fellow freak and will be getting the "cheong" arms off war toys. what is the arm sleeve preparation formula mentioned above? dont i just put on the new arms with vasquez's hands? thanks for help. Ill post pics when its received and completed.

I don't remember WG's instructions word for word, but I believe the basic preparation involved boiling the sleeves in water for several minutes, then quickly popping them into the freezer for another few minutes. The idea is to get them to shrink a bit in order to fit a little better on Vas's too-skinny arms. You may want to repeat the process a couple of times and test the fit until you're satisfied with the results. After that you just slip them on over her arms and reattach her hands. Some people used armbands and/or wristbands to hide the seams for a more natural look.

If you feel like sifting through the beginning part of the thread there were some good pics of the final effect. It makes a noticeable improvement to the original figure, imo. Hope this helps.

 

[Fason]

thanks mudshark, i figured out the arms easy. i just slipped the sleeves over her arms and replaced her hands. Now the only issue im having is i cant figure out how to get her smart gun attached to her waist. Anyone help with that? i dont see what/where it attaches...

 

[Fason]

nevermind, i figured it out, im gonna post pics soon. Thank you man vs machine for this figure...you rock

 

[Fason]

 

[Russell1982]

Hi everyone. Was wondering if anyone could help me. I just bought a Hot Toys Hicks and put it together, which was surprisingly easy after my experience with the predators, but cant see how the shoulder lamp fits to the back of the armour. Its possible its broken as i've noticed one or two things arent right when it arrived. Just wondered if anyone could tell me what im meant to be looking for on the back.
Thanks in advance,
Russ

 

[thundergod]

There should be a small rectangular bracket on the back of the armour , left of centre. It's possible that it's broken off , as in my experience , it can be quite fragile ! My marines are in storage , so I can't photograph it for you , but it's a simple job to replicate this with styrene sheet or strip .Another of our illustrious forum members will no doubt post a helpful photo!

 

[Russell1982]

Thanks thundergod, hopefully someone will post a pic so i can see what im looking for but it sounds like its broken. Pretty annoying since this was sold as being "complete" and didnt mention anything about the few bits that were broken.

 

[Jediguy]

Thats the thing abt the marines. Gorgeous but very easy to break

 

[lieutenant dan]

A quick pic of what the bracket for the shoulder lamp should look like:

 

[DutchAzlon]

Nice thing you did there lieutenant dan with the pic.

 

[Russell1982]

Aha, thanks for the pic. As i suspected mines broke. I'm pretty annoyed that it was advertised as being "complete" and i've got it and found a few bits that are broke. But at least i know now. Thanks again for the help guys.

Russ

 

[Boba Ben]

Same thing happened to me when I bought my Apone. The guy said it was in perfect condition, but it arrived with some pieces broken off and I even had to glue to shoulder armor back on. It got a little glue around the armor so I just did a little silver drybrush around the armor to give it that weathered look and cover up the tiny glue spot. You may want to look around the inside of the shipping box to see if the bracket is in there anywhere. They're pretty delicate.

I also won a mib Vasquez and the guy shipped it with no box whatsoever. He just wrapped it in birthday wrapping paper. Thankfully the figure was undamaged.

 

[uscmbuzz]

yea and sometimes the person who owned it might not know it was broken if they bought it new , you didnt know it was broke just assumed. The seller may not have known either.

 

[Russell1982]

Yeah after i asked the seller he said he could never get the shoulder lamp to attach. Which suggests it may have been broke already when he bought it but he still new there was something wrong. I think he also said the padlock was broke on the front when he got it but never got it replaced. Which again suggests he knew these things were broken but didnt bother to mention them.

As for boba ben's situation, i'd be pretty p****ed if that happened to me. These things are fragile enough as it is. I cant believe someone just wrapped it in paper and sent it.