McHaleyArt's Custom SW Thread

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Re: McHaleyArt's Custom SW Thread- HT VADER Mods Updated

Excellent work mate.
Thanks!

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Re: McHaleyArt's Custom STAR WARS Thread

Further Vader Mods:
  • Put Chrome reflective sticker paper behind eye lenses.
  • Cut the front half of the inner Dome Block and back Rib. Moved the helmet forward just a tiny bit.
  • Painted "eyelids" black.
  • Painted (his) Left Tusk Stalk gunmetal/silver. Painted (his) Right Side of Mouth with more Gunmetal/silver.
  • Painted Chest Armor.
  • Added semi Gloss to Chest Box.
  • Painted Battle Damage on Belt/Boxes.
  • Cut slit in Cape and Tunic to drop some coins in to add weight.
  • Added Metal Buttons right behind Chest Box.

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Nice to see that you've added the chest box strap buttons! Looking at all the HT Vader's on all the Freaks threads I was beginning to think I was the only one to add these! 😄😊

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Re: McHaleyArt's Custom SW Thread- HT VADER Mods Updated

Hi McHaley, what's involved in combining the roadblock and Vader bodies? And does the figure end up taller than the HT body or the same height?
 
Re: McHaleyArt's Custom SW Thread- HT VADER Mods Updated

Hi McHaley, what's involved in combining the roadblock and Vader bodies? And does the figure end up taller than the HT body or the same height?
I don't remember how tall Vader was originally, but mine stands just a hair under 13.75 inches.
For the body mod, you have to unscrew the groin/butt for both figures. I believe I used a Flathead Screwdriver to pull the spring tab down a bit as I slid it into the slot that attaches it to the Roadblock legs. You have to do it quick before it snaps back and the screw drive slips out, but once it's in, get the other half of the groin on and screw it back together.
 
Re: McHaleyArt's Custom SW Thread- HT VADER Mods Updated

Appreciate it. Thanks. Love the fit of the the suit on the body you put together. Proportions are the best I've seen.
 
McHaleyArt's Custom SW Thread- HT VADER Mods Updated

Awhile ago, I set out to make a custom ‘Rebels’ style vader. Although I thought it was shaping up nicely, I abandoned the project as I just didn’t feel it had the display charisma I was hoping for. I even tried to see what a Rebels-style ESB Vader might look like. I thought I’d post it, in case anyone else wanted to take a stab at it.
Breakdown:
Body. HT Zod legs, Roadblock Waist, a Terminator chest (Roadblock inner chest), Rambo arms.
Suit: Sideshow Deluxe Vader. I thought this version of Vader was perfect for the vinyl-like suit that’s looked horrible on other versions.
Chest armor: Kaiyodo with SSC shoulder armor.
Boots: Destro bottoms, custom leather-like boot sleeves, Kaiyodo shin guards.
Helmet: Black Series. ESB version had custom Hasbro electronic dome.
Cape and Tunic: SSC. These are thin enough to really show the frame of Vader, which is key for this version.

All other parts were just placeholders as I was testing things out.

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ESB:
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I found that I had to use the HT Fett helmet as the starting point. For the body and proportions HT used, it doesn??[emoji769]t fit right. Stripping the figure down, it looked as though it should not even be able to support the weight. He??[emoji769]d be Boba Falls over a lot. Regardless of the accurate and inaccurate details of the helmet, unless you??[emoji769]re looking at it the right way, it can look oddly clunky because of the disproportions.

Body:
A few attempts told me I needed to,
A. Keep the shoulders close to the body.
B. Add height to the waist. NOTE: I have since removed the heightened waist joint as I think it ultimately looked better without.
C. Shorten the ankles. The HT feet add too much height to the overall leg, because of the inside joint socket. Rather than mod, you can use SSC Fett feet with small ball joints instead.
D. Add a little width to the chest/ribs.

-HT TrueType chest (old).
-HT Batman 89 neck, bottom shaved (you can use the Fett neck. I used it for my prepro figure.
-Medicom arms. You have to dremel in the sides of the chest so the Medi shoulder joints can fully swivel. If you have the old TrueType shoulder joints, you can just attach the Medi arms to them, no fuss.
-HT TrueType or Fett waist with inner joint modified about 1/4” taller.
-HT Vader ANH groin and thighs (remove rubber groin).
-HT TrueType shins, shortened.
Probably there strangest body I??[emoji769]ve put together. I usually favor trying to get the figure shape right without padding.
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Rangefinder:
-Marmit shortened stalk.
-HT view piece.

Wookiee Scalps:
HT scalps are excellent, but I wanted them a little thinner and older looking.
-Kenner vintage Wookiee scalps modified, with HT silver scalp added for HT ROTJ Fett (weathered). Tips added or frayed and tied off where needed.
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Gauntlets:
-Marmit right gauntlet, Hasbro Fett 30th hose attachment, clear shrink tube (put around textured string, shrink, pull out string. This adds texture. Put in picture hanging wire if you want it to bend and stay or put in thin thread or string.
Painted more details and weathering.
-Marmit left gauntlet, with HT rocket and flamethrower. Painted details/weathering.
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Hands:
-Marmit with Medi Darth Maul joints. Glove sleeves added with trim you can find in craft or sewing dept.
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Blaster:
Medicom/SSC hybrid. HT blaster is really nice, but seemed to thin in the barrel (to me). The custom appears to have more heft to it.
-SSC handle, stock and scope.
-Medi barrel with chrome contact paper. Painted/weathered.
-custom strap.
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Belt:
-Medi pouches, recolored. I like to mix the right color with acrylic and apply to the material after it??[emoji769]s soaked. Dry and then hand wash it with mild soap.
-Added Jetpack belt from ROTJ Fett.

Suit:
-Just weathered up the shins and sleeves a bit and add a little stuffing in neck collar (I think I did the neck thing after I took pic..,it??[emoji769]s subtle.

I think this improves the overall look of the figure and it keeps the Helmet from looking wonky at different angles because of the proportions. I do wish the flack vest and armor were just a tad bigger. Anywho...

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For Prepro Fett, I did it a differently, trying to do it as similar as possible as I don’t have double the body parts. As the prepro parts are a mishmash, I just decided to have fun with this one, rather than be a stickler for accuracy. In the end, I just wanted it to be a cool representation of the vintage Fett figure some of us waited for in anticipation all those years ago.
Body:
-HT TrueType chest
-HT Fett neck
-Medi arms
-HT Fett or TT waist. I heightened it differently, by attaching the waist higher up the spring joint and adding padding underneath to keep it firm.
-HT Fett legs
-Added the padding that HT Fett comes with...mainly for the legs. I don’t like the way the padding looks under the HT suit, but it’s not noticeable under the baggy Marmit suit.

Suit:
-Marmit. I really like the color and bagginess for the prepro look. Removed some stitching from pants pouches, stuffed and reattached. Weathered suit.

Wookiee scalps:
-Vintage Kenner and HT ROTJ. Added beads.
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Gauntlet:
-Medicom right ESB, painted with custom hose.
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Hands:
Cloth patches and sleeves added. Painted.
-Marmit right.
-SSC ESB left.

ROTJ jet pack belt added.

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Intricate work on this. Looks great! Breakdown of all the details are a bit overwhelming considering any mods I’ve done have not had any body dissections - may try my hand with that in the future. Thanks for the recipe and sharing all the step by step shots. Awesome work 👍🏽

Amazing customs McHaleyArt...
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Color:
-Lightened the green/grey, using Tamiya weathering kit. I used the ‘snow’ to give it a dusting with a brush. If you do this and don’t like it, you can wipe it away with water before setting. You can also use a little brush with water lift it out of certain areas.

Detail:
-I detailed the helmet a little, adding just a bit of texture to the mandibles and brow. I was hoping HT would give us the crooked brow the ESB helmet uniquely displays, but alas! The more obvious ‘defect’ is on his left (our right) side, so I concentrated on that. I didn’t do the right as there’s not much lip of the brow to work the top.
Anywho...that’s going to be it. I may switch out the jetpack at some point, but it doesn’t really bother me.
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