Hello everyone,

I would like to thank everyone who has left comments and those just stopped by and had a look at my creations. A lot of you have asked me some question about the various customs I posted. So lets get started with some answers.

hemble:  Thanks for the warm welcome and thanks for the kind words.

Fritzkrieg:  I hate to burst the bubble, I am not a "Pro" sculptor nor do I work for Hasbro. I do take your comment as the highest compliment possible. We all strive to emulate the master toy makers with each and every custom. I have been sculpting custom figures for over 10 years. It is only natural that with every custom created, the skills and experiences increase. Now the question one needs to ask is, when you surpass the master, where does one go from there? Again, thanks for the compliments.

Clone Commander:  I am glad that you like the AT-PT. The legs were from a Battlemech toy long since discontinued. The body was made from styrene sheets and other spare parts. And no, still not working for Hasbro . Maybe one day.

BrentS: Thanks for the compliments. I belong to 4 forums so the chances of seeing my stuff amongst them is very probable. Since there is not a local group that practice this hobby, the forum is the only source of feedback. I only get better with every response. As for selling the casted figures, I will have to look into how to do it safely. As much as I would love to meet Uncle George, I do not want it in a court room. 

Kit Fisto: Thanks for the comment. I want to let you know that I have seen UK Rick and Bantha5 (who I have talked with about the Gargan project) customs and in fact theirs were the inspiration to do the Gargan and Mawhonic figures. I did not purchase those figures from them. I studied their pictures, then did research on the film character costumes and made my own choices on the design approach for the customs. Believe me, they are not the same sculpt or style as those of UK Rick and Bantha5. By the way, they have seen these pictures on another forum and they are supportive. I do have to confess one thing, I did buy a Ben Quadinaros from Bantha5 and I am really happy with it.

darth_ripley:  Thanks for the compliment. The Gasgano pods were made from 1Ltr Coke bottles and Ody's pods were made from Mr. Bubble containers and a lot of model frames and tubing. I sometimes look at the ordinary object and see if I could turn it into something useful (and its cheap ). I was a little ticked that Hasbro made the figures, did not make the pod racers to go with them. So I took it upon myself to fabricate them. I would like to make all of them one day.

Master_Phruby:  Thanks for the compliment. Yes, the Gargan is sculpted from scratch using a wax/ oil based clay from www.monstermakers.com . I did the body first, the neck, (as seen in the picture) is a ball joint configuration. The head was sculpted on the post, and then separated for molding. A cast of the body and head were made in plastic resin. Two of the worst casts became the foundation for the accessory sculpts, as seen in the picture. The only thing I have left to do is the back of the head and the headdress. I notice that the back was not long enough compared to the reference photos of the actress. So I am going to fix that and make a new mold. This should not affect the headdress. I will update here on this posting as I make changes.

Thanks for everyone’s input. I am glad that I was able to share with you some of my creations. I will be posting here more often now that I found this community.  I do look forward to seeing everyone’s projects as they are made and I will provide my comments and suggestions as well.

Until next posting,

Jedi_Master_Ben

Hi Chewie,

I had a look at your customs today. You have so many that I had to make a list just so I can keep track of them for me to comment on. Overall, you have a keen eye for detail. You managed to create a whole new toy line out of these parts. Amazing work. Hasbro could learn a thing or two from you.  So since the list is long, let me get started.

Rodian Senator -  Nice looking, love the color scheme.

Groon - Very cool, although I wouldn't go showing this off to Star Trek fans (LOL).

Trofarr the Terrible - I love it!

Ki Adi Mondi in armor - looks great.

Lord Cration - Awesome!!!

Republic field officer - great concept, reminds me of that Droids cartoon General.

Troll Rapitis - Nice looking.

Trench Back Beast and Yettar - Another Awesome figure and beast!!! I really like the beast of burden. Great job with the head.

Jeeta - Very nice.

Marliss - Very nice.

Josser Enloe - he looks great. Nice color scheme. He also reminds me of Kyle father from the video game Jedi Knight.

Dark Pageuis - Interesting use of Dr. Doom head with that body. It paid off nicly.

Quinlan Vos - I love the Bob Marley look, man. I would keep it around just for that look.

Kala Mly Shondi - Very interesting looking.

Gomor - Great Looking.

Mace Windu with Cloak - Best ever Mace figure!!!

Imperial Gonk Droid - Very interesting use of random stuff. It looks very practical in conception.

Seportist Surveillance Port - Nice paint job and use of old GI Joe stuff!

Tame Heem and Malon Shaar - Very nice looking Hammerheads.

Bail Organa - Nice cross from imperial and Alderann costume.

Roron Corobb - Very nice looking. I would recommend the use of the new legs that come with the new Hammerhead figure due out this year. It comes with pants which in the cartoon series, he had paints on.

Yarael Poof -  Very nice looking.

Jedi Master Mace Windu - Best ever likeness with out the cloak.

Jedi Master Aayla in armor - Nice concept. Might I recommend that you loose the skirt. In the film, she had on pants which would say that the character like the mobility with pants than with a skirt. Also, looking at the character's costume, I would fashion the armor to match the outfit. For example, she had one arm covered up and a sports bra. How bout covering one arm with armor and the chest plate ( not the belly) and cover the boots and maybe the thighs. Just a thought.

Jedi Master Hagen Daas - Interesting Head and nice hands use. Good pose.

Jedi Master Mace in armor - Very nice figure, but something about the neck. That turtle neck piece dosen’t looks right. I would recommend the torso that you used for the Jedi Master Mace Windu . Just my two cents.

And last....

Blue Tweelik - Very nice looking figure since you fixed the neck thing. I like the body and choice of colors for the costume.

Awesome work you put into this and it shows in your photo novel. I look forward to seeing more great figures in the future.

Jedi_Master_Ben

Here is my WIP Yarna D'al Gargan (27-FEB-06). This is not a copy of the vintage hard copy. This Yarna D'al Gargan is completely sculpted by me. The body has already been sculpted and a mold was made. I casted the body in resine so I could sculpt the skirt. I filled in the area with clay to give a foundation for the skirt, just like the Kenner hard copy (found at ToysRGus.com as well as Bantha5) The head was sculpted on the body seperatly sitting on the ball joint neck. The figure is ment to be more like a saga sculpt than a Kenner sculpt. The head was molded and casted in resien and snaped on top of a half body. From here, the headress is sculpted on. I like to thank Ryan (Bantha5) for the great refrence photos and for the insperation and advise. I still have a lot of work left.



Here are two pictues of Yarna D'al Gargan progress (06-MAR-06). I also thrown in the clay master of the body that I sculpted. The clay master did not survive the demolding proccess. I lost a lot of the face detail comming out of the mold. But at least you can see what the body looks like.




I made some more progress with the Gargan (17-MAR-06). Here is a picture of the progress of the headdress. I decided not to do a Kenner style, I wanted to do a more movie acurate piece. I still have work to do on the back of the head. Let me know what you think. The best part about sculpting in clay is that if you do not like it, you can change it.

Thanks you.

Jedi_Master_Ben