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Topics - Darth Simmons

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30th Anniversary Collection / Toys-R-Us Prices Are Getting Out Of Hand
« on: August 12, 2007, 12:53 PM »
Toys-R-Us has always had higher prices than your usual retail store (ex: Wal-Mart) but they have gotten out-of-hand. I had printed the online coupon for $5 off of a purchase of $25 or more. I needed to get another Capture of Tantive IV Battle Pack and a 25th anniversary Snake Eyes figure. I went to checkout, gave the cashier the coupon and it rang up $27.something I asked the cashier to hold the order while I checked the price. Snake Eyes was $5.99 and the five extra dollars on the battle pack I thought was a mistake. They have always been $19.99. When I checked the price it had went up to $24.99! Knowing that at Wal-Mart Snake Eyes was only $4.88 and the Battle Pack was only $19.96. I told TRU to forget it. I paid only $26.something at Wal-Mart. I paid less at Wal-Mart than with a $5 off coupon at Toys-R-Us.

It just gets me that even with a $5 off coupon it was cheaper to go to Wal-Mart.

I am going to go to the email contact section of the Toys-R-Us website and complain about this. I will let them know that they lost business yeterday (even with the coupon). I suggest you guys do the same. If enough people complain and avoid shopping there, they might get the message.


2
Star Wars Action Figures / Darth Simmons Customs
« on: July 25, 2007, 03:52 PM »
Since I am early in my customizing career, I will post this thread and feature all of my customs to date. You won't see me building a whole bunch of customs. It's because I build them for my son (or me to play with them with my son!) So they have to be durable. I can't use glue and popsicle sticks because it just won't hold up. So my customs are either born out of a necessity for articulation (like my ANH Luke), a lack of liking for the Hasbro versions (my ROTJ Han) or something that has never been done by Hasbro (my Rodian Jedi).


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Here is my first custom, created back in April of this year. It's a Rodian Jedi, but not Badoo Bok. I have a different storyline for this Jedi. His name is Neela Chak. (Thanks to Ben Skywalker over at FFURG for the last name!)



I used the Kit Fisto body from the Jedi VS Darth Sidious Battle Pack. The hands are from the VSTC Greedo. I used the head from a POTF2 Greedo, even though it's a little bit small, because it looks the least like Greedo. I wanted a Rodian that had its own look.




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Next is my ultimate version of Han Solo from Return of the Jedi. I didn't like the Hasbro VTSC version because he was sickly thin, had articulation in some of the oddest places, and the ball joint head looked like his neck had been stretched. So I put together my own. The shirt color is a little off, but I had no choice. The arms/hands seem a touch big, but they are better than the teeny little VTSC arms. Plus these actually fit the torso without modifying. I also painted the blaster to look like it does in the movie. Eventually I will revist this figure and add articulated legs. I plan to use the legs from a commtech Han and replace the boots with the boots from TSC General Veers. First I have to figure out how I will paint the bloodstripe. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

To make this one, I butchered 4 Hasbro Han Solo Figures:
VTSC Endor - Vest, Trenchcoat, blaster for ANH version(see below)
Saga Endor Raid - Head for ANH version (see below)
POTJ Bespin Capture - Legs, waist, torso, blaster
Commtech ANH - Head
The arms are from the GI Joe Valor Vs Venom Dr Mindbender (Version 5)

This is a bi-product of my ultimate ROTJ Han. I had debated over using the Saga Endor Raid head on the ROTJ version, but after advice the FFURG forums and realizing that the head looked more like Harrison Ford in 1977 rather than 1983, I put it on the Commtech body and here are the results.


Here they are side-by-side:


Sorry for the fuzzy photos. This seems to be the best I can get out of my camera.




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The 30th Anniversary Collection Moisture Farmer Luke is possibly the worst sculpt I've ever seen. It inspired me to make my own custom version. Hasbro has had a hard time producing a good Mark Hamill sculpt. So here is my custom version of Luke from "A New Hope". First I went to Rebelscum.com and looked at the version comparison picture to pick the Lukes I wanted to use. I liked both the POTF2 Flashback version and the POTF2 Commtech version. The crazy thing is that one had good arm articulation and one had good knee articulation. Both had a pretty good head sculpt. I wanted the figure to have the best articulation possible. I ended up using the flashback torso for the neck ball joint, hinged elbows, and articulated wrists. Plus the flashback tunic has the removable macrobinoculars. I used the boil-n-pop technique to simply switch the legs and now I have 2 ANH Lukes. One with all the articulation I wanted for my oldest son and one with less articulation that I could give my middle son.







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Next are my simple but effective modifications to some Death Star Troopers and DH-17 blasters. Here's what I did. First, I split the tunic below the waist to allow him to sit. Next I added some sculpey inside the helmet to make it sit a little higher on his head. (Warning, if you try this be sure to cure the sculpey immediately after making the adjustments, otherwise it can take the paint off the hair! :( ) Third I switched the calf parts of the legs. One figure got both of the shorter pieces and one got both of the longer pieces. This looks better than the way they came.


I used 2 Hasbro accurate scale DH-17's for these figures being that's what they generally carry, not the E-11's that they come with. However the accurate scale versions Hasbro makes are like the ESB DH-17's which are NOT what the Death Star Troopers carry (but closer than E-11's). So I modded these to look more like the ANH version. I removed a portion of the top bar, trimmed the butt of the handle, cut off the magazine sticking out of the side, and repainted the nozzle and added a touch of silver where it should be on the ANH version.


I also modded the Death Star Troopers holsters to fit the DH-17s.

3
Modern Trading / This thread is closed
« on: July 19, 2007, 11:58 AM »
I am thinking about purchasing another Capture of Tantive IV Battle Pack for the Stormtroopers, but I have no use for the Rebel Fleet Troopers. Is there any trade demand for those? Would anybody be willing to trade some other figures for them?

I am trying to justify the $20 price as I would be stuck with yet another commtech Darth Vader, and I don't want to spend the money if I will be stuck holding the Rebel Troopers too.

Let me know if it would interest you.

4
Modern Trading / Unopened TSC Aurra Sing Up For Grabs
« on: June 29, 2007, 06:22 PM »
Sorry, but she's already gone.

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Modern Trading / Darth Simmons Trade List
« on: June 22, 2007, 05:08 PM »
Updated 8/31/07


Figures/Parts I want
1) Comic Pack Stormtrooper Luke
2) Comic Pack Stormtrooper Han
3) Evolutions Sandtrooper
4) POTJ Bespin Escape Leia (Blasters not necessary)
3) "I Am Your Father's Day Giftpack" Luke
4) Long stormtrooper rifles x2 and rifle rack (from the commtech stormtrooper)
5) VOTC Darth Vader
6) GI Joe Road Block Version 10
7) GI Joe Zarana Version 2




Figures/Parts For Trade
1) GI Joe 25th Anniversary Storm Shadow (Single carded version)
2) Chap Mei Beast Raiders Blade Killer (Skeletor Rip-off) w/staff
3) Chap Mei Beast Raiders Thunder Thor (He-Man Rip-off) w/Sword *Belt has been altered See pic below*
4) Nautolan head & hands (Kit Fisto from Jedi VS Darth Sidious Battle Pack)
5) Some random parts: Let me know what you need!




Thunder Thor's altered belt. I cut off the fur.

6
Newbies / Hello everybody!
« on: June 7, 2007, 05:52 PM »
My name is actually Gene, just not Gene Simmons. I already know a few of you from the FFURG forums.

Let's see, a few quick bits about me:

1) I'm 30 and I have 4 children (1 stepdaugther and 3 boys of my own)
2) I hate cabbage
3) I enjoy collecting/customizing Star Wars and GI Joe figures
4) I play bass guitar (and I customized my bass too!)

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