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Collecting => Customs => Customizing Tips and Tricks => Topic started by: Mitsukara on April 12, 2006, 11:42 PM

Title: Customizing questions: where to get gunbelts, swapping pivot joints
Post by: Mitsukara on April 12, 2006, 11:42 PM
I'm looking to give one of my Carbonite Han Solos a gunbelt, but am not sure of the best way to go about it. I might wind up trying to make one out of some kind of putty, but I've seen some customs with borrowed gunbelts before.

Obviously the VOTC and new VTSC Hans have great belts if you can afford to borrow one, but I don't even have one of either of those figures yet (though I plan to), much less multiples to customize with. So I'm wondering if there are some other places I could get a gunbelt/holster or parts to make one.

Ideally I'd like to be able to fit a blaster in there- something like a Saga Bespin Luke blaster or Cantina Han blaster, ideally.

Any help would be greatly appreciated :) I'm sorry I keep posting questions instead of finished customs- I've got three boring customs complete as of today (a boring traditional Jedi outfit Luke, a repainted Millenium Falcon Chewie with enhanced accessories, and a "Hantrooper"), but I'm waiting to take some decent pictures and post stuff until I get something a little schnazzier done, like the Mara or better Jedi garb Luke I'm working on.
Title: Re: Good sources for holsters/gunbelts? Preferably functional ones?
Post by: CHEWIE on April 13, 2006, 12:14 AM
Well the easiest way to go about this is really to find a holster on a figure and swap it like you said... maybe a VOTC Han, or even a Cloud Car pilot's holser might work.

And don't be afraid to ask questions, that's what this section is for, to try and help each other out.  And this is the best section on this site in my eyes, so by all means keep coming in here, commenting on our work, give advice on and questions, etc.  And get your feet wet with more customs of your own.  After all, we all have to start somewhere.

Another thing, probably 99% of what I've learned in customizing is through trial and error, but still asking questions is a great idea too.

Looking forward to your work, and if you want you might want to just make this your consolidated thread to make it easy to find your work.   :)

 :)
Title: Re: Good sources for holsters/gunbelts? Preferably functional ones?
Post by: hemble on April 13, 2006, 06:53 AM
Hi Mate

Yep the easiest way is to swap holsters from one figure to the other but you can also make holsters out of pleather which is much thinner then leather and glues very easy together.

I'm waiting on some stormtroopers so I can make a diorama and I'll be using pleather for their holsters once I start them I'll post pics.

Ron
Title: Re: Good sources for holsters/gunbelts? Preferably functional ones?
Post by: tykrazen on April 13, 2006, 07:20 AM
Another figure with a hip piece holster is the 2004 Saga Lando Skiff Guard -- if you trim away the extra skirt, you are left with a decent hip holster.
Title: Re: Good sources for holsters/gunbelts? Preferably functional ones?
Post by: Nirvana on April 13, 2006, 10:23 AM
I remember doing a functional hoslter for one of my guys from taking a BBI belt, cutting off the molded holster, and gluing a clone holster to it.
Title: Re: Good sources for holsters/gunbelts? Preferably functional ones?
Post by: BrentS on April 14, 2006, 09:18 AM
I've got three boring customs complete as of today (a boring traditional Jedi outfit Luke, a repainted Millenium Falcon Chewie with enhanced accessories, and a "Hantrooper"), but I'm waiting to take some decent pictures and post stuff until I get something a little schnazzier done, like the Mara or better Jedi garb Luke I'm working on.

No new customs are boring customs!

I think Fritzkrieg even used a piece of bicycle tire inner tube to a make hostler recently
Title: Re: Good sources for holsters/gunbelts? Preferably functional ones?
Post by: tykrazen on April 14, 2006, 09:37 AM
Totally forgot about the Djas Phur gunbelt until Gregorbian used it today.
Title: Customizing questions: where to get gunbelts, swapping pivot joints
Post by: Mitsukara on April 15, 2006, 12:43 AM
Well, thank you for your suggestions; I'll keep them in mind in the future for customizing :) However I'm not sure what I want to do for Han- I'm considering aiming long-term to buy two VOTC Hans and stealing the belt from one, and giving him the belt off my Death Star Escape Han Solo. On the other hand that'll take a while to afford so I might be trying to make one instead...

Subject change though, quasi-per CHEWIE's suggestion: is it possible to, on boiled-and-popped limbs, actually cut off the part that goes in the joint and glue on another? Like, suppose this is a leg:

|-|
|
|
|_

And this is your other leg:

|-:
|
|
|_

Can you cut off the -| and -:, and glue them back onto the reverse legs in such a way it'll stay on for boiling and reinserting, and careful useage? Maybe you could use epoxy glue for this, or there's some other technique?

Thanks :)
Title: Re: Customizing questions: where to get gunbelts, swapping pivot joints
Post by: Jedi_Assassin on April 15, 2006, 07:49 AM
What I do is i slice the little rod of plastic on one side, remove it, and then once I have it as I want, I use a heated stickpin to cloce the gap from the cut. Or I just boil the joint out of the leg, or arm. On the stickpin technique, I've only tried that on legs but, it should work on arms. Believe me, my custom thread has gone almost 4 page without a custom, but I recomend posting one because people might start snubbing you thread, like I think they are mine.