Switching Yavin Luke's head with ANH Luke

[Jaymas]

I'm an old Hasbro collector who just discovered the Sideshow 1:6 scale figures. One of the versions of Luke I have always gravitated to was the him in his Ceremonial / Yavin attire. I guess I have always liked it because it conjures images in my mind of some untold adventures that may have taken place between episodes IV and V. With that said I have also always been disappointed with the various versions of Luke in that outfit in figure form; including Sideshow's version.

But, I got Sideshow's Yavin Luke anyway, and I also got Sideshow's ANH Luke who's sculpt (while not perfect) seems much better. So here is a newbie question, what would be best- switching the head or switching the clothes?

I know this isn't some kind of radical or difficult "customization", but I have heard stories of joints breaking and accessories (like gun belts) tearing. So I want to make this change the safest way I can. I bought two ANH Lukes so I still have one after I use the head (or the whole body with the head) to make my new Yavin Luke.

So what do any of you guys think the best way to approach this is? And if anyone else has already done this I would love to see pictures.

Thanks for your help, I am glad to have found this online community as I dive back into SW 1:6 collecting again.

By the way, I am posting a picture that I love painted by Hugh Fleming- I would love to have a large print of it, but for now I will live with the partial scan I have it from an old SW Insider magazine. The picture captures Luke in the same kind of imagery I would love to reproduce in a figure. In fact, I plan on posing my Yavin Luke with Han, Leia and the rest like this picture.

 

[EVILFACE]

Swap clothes, that way you can futz em.

 

[abake]

Yup, I'd also vote for swapping the clothes, much easier and as EF said, you can "futz" them or do the "water treatment".

But... you might want to give some thought to making a complete bash and finding a True Type body for your Luke.
It seems to me this is an important figure for you, so why not go all the way?

And welcome aboard dude!

 

[Darth_IMPoor]

You're definitely in the right place, although I suspect this will get moved up to the Customs sections soon enough. For the easy solution, I agree with everyone-switch clothes, just be careful with the belt. If this representation of Luke means that much to you (and your painting pic in the signature is sweet!) I would also suggest the body swap with the Hot Toys TT Slim and try and secure the head from the Luke Stormtrooper from someone parting it out. That's widely considered the best Luke sculpt. It'll cost you a little more, but as was said it will be worth it. I've not done this switch yet, but it's on the shortlist.

Welcome and enjoy!

 

[djsosharp]

Yeah I don't mess around with removing heads off the regular bodies, it scares me. I usually just switch the clothes. Tatooine Luke is a pretty good sculpt in my opinion. It'd look just fine as you're saying with the Yavin clothes.

 

[Jaymas]

Thanks everyone

Yup, I'd also vote for swapping the clothes, much easier and as EF said, you can "futz" them or do the "water treatment".

Ok- I'll show my ignorance here and ask what "futz" and doing a "water treatment" means?

... you might want to give some thought to making a complete bash and finding a True Type body for your Luke.
It seems to me this is an important figure for you, so why not go all the way?

... I would also suggest the body swap with the Hot Toys TT Slim and try and secure the head from the Luke Stormtrooper from someone parting it out. That's widely considered the best Luke sculpt...

Yea, I am considering this. I am waffling though on the Luke in stormtrooper head sculpt though. In some ways it looks a lot more like Mark Hamill at that time in his life, but in other ways the sculpt has a goofy expression. I believe someone described it in this this forum once somewhere as looking like he's been "licking toads".

Perhaps a repaint of the eyes might fix that, because the sculpt does look more like the expression Luke often has in ANH and in the painting I shared. But at the same time the extra ANH Luke I already have may work just fine, at least for now. The ANH sculpt is a little thin, but still looks like Luke, and perhaps a bit more heroic expression.

Yeah I don't mess around with removing heads off the regular bodies, it scares me. I usually just switch the clothes. Tatooine Luke is a pretty good sculpt in my opinion. It'd look just fine as you're saying with the Yavin clothes.

OK- clothes swap it will be, and I will consider an upgrade to a true type body with perhaps a different head sculpt later on. I'm going to try and get the swap done today and I'll post some pics of it when I am done.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Jaymas]

OK,- the switch is done- here are some pics without the jacket before the battery in my camera died.

 

[AngryEwok]

I love it.

 

[Mad Old Lu]

Looks great Jaymas!

On a side note, I had no idea so many press shots existed of Hamill wearing that outfit!

 

[Darth Cruel]

Looks great! Just remember that if you do the swap to the truetype...use the SLIM truetype.

 

[thundergod]

Looks good so far . I'm bashing a "Farmboy " Luke and have used a casting of the "Ceremonial" Luke headsculpt and was surprised at how good a sculpt it is under the Sideshow paint job .( This is true of many Sideshow heads!) I've also been using the TTL body type and have been very impressed with the results . The slight build of the "modern type" body works especially with Luke . I can't recommend them highly enough and they are pretty inexpensive when compared to the true-type.

 

[djsosharp]

Hey yeah that looks really nice, might do this myself.

 

[LTM438]

Ok- I'll show my ignorance here and ask what "futz" and doing a "water treatment" means?

https://www.rebelscum.com/laundryday.asp

There you have it. That should walk you through the entire process. Make sure you share your results.

 

[karamazov80]

Looks quite good! I didn't know Hamil took fancy shots in that get-up, but it fits in line with Solo's outfits.

 

[Brinn 71]

Hey there! Yes, I'm an old Hasbro collector and BIG fan of Yavin Luke. Not a fan of the head sculpt SS did either, so I have started my conversion as well. I popped off Yavin Luke's head and added Tatooine Luke's head in its place, but I still need to repaint it. I also added a lightsaber clamp to Luke's belt. I'll post pics soon.
I have my eye on the new SS Stormtrooper Luke head though, so I'm waiting to see if I can either get one or if SS releases it again on another figure. ARGH!

BTW, where did you get this pic!? Do you have a larger one, or the full image???

 

[SwedishHeat]

Looks great! Just remember that if you do the swap to the truetype...use the SLIM truetype.

How do you manage the headswap?? Are you using the Stormtrooper Luke head?? I've read that the regular neck adapter doesn't fit well in the Slim TT.

 

[Jaymas]

.. I had no idea so many press shots existed of Hamill wearing that outfit!

I didn't know Hamil took fancy shots in that get-up, but it fits in line with Solo's outfits.

Yea, their actually are even more (like these). I would love to have some higher res versions of these myself.

BTW, where did you get this pic!? Do you have a larger one, or the full image???

The picture was only printed in two places I know of. First in a Star Wars Insider magazine in an article that highlighted Hugh Fleming. It may actually be the same issue with Hamill on front in the picture above (I can't remember).

The second was on a small Star Wars trading card. I have the card, and that picture is taller and shows more of Vader's helmet. Unfortunately, the small size and the fact that words are printed over the helmet keeps it from being the best source to scan.

Here is a larger scan from the magazine that I turned into a wallpaper. If any one know more about the painting or how to get a complete print I would love to know too.

 

[Jaymas]

https://www.rebelscum.com/laundryday.asp

There you have it. That should walk you through the entire process. Make sure you share your results.

Thanks, I had no idea. This may be really helpful on the Yavin Jacket- which looks bulky and kinda unnatural. Has anyone else done this to their Yavin Luke?

... I also added a lightsaber clamp to Luke's belt. I'll post pics soon..

I was thinking about adding a lightsaber clamp, how did you do it? I would love to see it.

 

[AngryEwok]

Here is a larger scan from the magazine that I turned into a wallpaper. If any one know more about the painting or how to get a complete print I would love to know too.

Thanks for the scan, I also love this image.

 

[abake]

Looks awesome!
Congrats!

And I'm glad that someone's already answered the futzing and water treating question!