Author Topic: DmG's Customs Updated when I can :/  (Read 18595 times)

Offline DmG

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DmG's Customs Updated when I can :/
« on: August 11, 2006, 02:16 AM »
So I have a long way to go, undeneath is a real mess!  :D  But anyway, here is where I am so far, I figured I'd learn cutting and whatnot from a cheap vehicle so I picked the Lanard Corps Jet fighter, 5 bucks at Walmart with a figure!




And here's the pilot.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2006, 01:31 PM by DmG »

Offline Jesse James

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Re: First crack at a ship ..
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2006, 03:32 AM »
It's interesting start so far DMG...  I'm not familiar with the base but some random thoughts I'll throw out there...

The size of the ship is incredibly small while Star Wars sort of shows the ships (space anyway) to be of some bulk and size.  Even a Snub Fighter like a TIE or Y-Wing is still a large and bulky ship when compared to a person...  So that has me leaning, at first look, to your ship being a bit small...  Speeder-ish in size more than a space-faring vessel if that makes sense.

Speeders in the film are clearly small, and that's maybe an advantage to them being used in combat.

Now, the next thing I'm noticing is a critique on the parts choices...  Namely the two incredibly large cannons on the rear of the craft.  The cannons are almost the length of the vehicle and given the overall lack of bulk to the craft, it starts to conflict sort of...  When you look at the armament on a vehicle in Star Wars, usually a weapon has some bulk backing it up...  For instance the cannons on the Snowspeeder have their bulk in the rear portion of the Speeder with bulky sections in the middle as well.  The craft is small but there's a definite LOOK of where the "power" for those cannons comes from, if that makes sense...  On your vehicle though, the cannons seem to just come out of the sides in the rear with nothing to substantiate the large guns being there...  It doesn't look balanced then because of that.

In short I think I'd consider dropping the cannons first...  They're just "too much" on such a small vehicle...

The overall shape is awesome though, very alien, and so is the bubble canopy...  I dig that overall look.  Some painting, some weathering/damage...  It can make a really nice airspeeder, I just don't see it being a "combat" speeder or a space ship/fighter due to the small size.

If you've just GOTTA have guns on the vehicle, I'd go with a limited/small forward mounted cannon, perhaps just on the one side even...  Something akin to the way the cannons are mounted on the twin-pod cloudcar.  The guns are small and actually recessed into the curve of the forward hull on the speeder.  They are a much more believable armament for a tiny craft like that.

Now, here's a thought too...  And kind of ironic.

If you simply turned those guns AROUND, maybe made the portion where they connect to the vehicle a bit more "bulky" and solidly mounted to the hull (more like they're built into the body of the ship than sticking off the body), you'd have actually interesting looking engines that extend out past the back of the vehicle... 

It's a little hard for me to put into words, but just looking at your first photo that seems like it would make the vehicle a bit longer, and look like it had a bit more of an engine to it too.
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Offline UKHistory

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Re: First crack at a ship ..
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2006, 10:50 AM »
I like it.  It certainly appears to be the same size as the EU air speeders that were released and the mini rigs of the true vintage line.   So while some may say it is small for a star wars fighter, it fits in nicely with the overall

Color choice is excellent and goes with the star wars theme as well.  Great design.  I am not sure of its sturdiness for any type of play or movement but for display it looks very nice.


Best wishes and keep customizing!

Offline BrentS

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Re: First crack at a ship ..
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2006, 11:22 AM »
I've used the Corps vehicles too as a basis for a custom.  Here is an example of a star-fighter that I made:





They make very decent base models. 

Offline DmG

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Re: First crack at a ship ..
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2006, 12:17 PM »
very nice!

Yeah I like working with the Coprs stuff, easy to work with. Im going to buy a few more of them to practice on, bought some cheap GI Joe vehicles on ebay too so some tanks and other craft will be coming soon!

Offline Jesse James

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Re: First crack at a ship ..
« Reply #5 on: August 12, 2006, 02:29 AM »
I like it.  It certainly appears to be the same size as the EU air speeders that were released and the mini rigs of the true vintage line.   So while some may say it is small for a star wars fighter, it fits in nicely with the overall

The reasoning behind citing the size as an issue though isn't by drawing comparisons with it to the mini-rigs which are fanciful and more toy and less "realism" than say the A-Wing for instance...

The EU Airspeeder is just that though, an airspeeder, and has some pretty substantial bulk to its entire rear area with small cannons built into the body around the cockpit and being fed directly FROM the engines...  So like the Snowspeeder (which itself SHOULD be small actually, the toy is just way oversized), the guns have a direct "soruce" for whatever fuels them...  It's that kind of functional realism then that translated well from the films, giving the vehicle a look that's completely alien yet resonates that it LOOKS functional... 

The other thing though that really differentiates the EU Airspeeder's guns/design from DMG's ship is the size of the cannons too then.  The EU speeders are small and built into the body of the craft basically, while this vehicle's are bulky, large, and wholely separate of the ship's hull.  I think that puts them just out of place on it and less streamlined to my eye...  I think it's a great start with just a little work needed to take it to the next level.
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Offline DmG

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A few more fan fics in progress ..
« Reply #6 on: August 14, 2006, 05:59 AM »
Some more WIP, just need some paint and minor accessories, let me know what you like / dont like ...







Offline DmG

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Re: A few more fan fics in progress ..
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2006, 01:11 AM »
here's an update for these guys, painted mauls head, the rest will get paint tomorrow.


Offline CloneCommander1

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Re: A few more fan fics in progress ..
« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2006, 10:10 PM »
I'm liking that AT-RT driver you're working on, very cool, can't wait to see paint.  Is that clone on the far right based off the guys in the "force unleshed" trailer?  Anyway, loking forward to more!
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Offline DmG

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Re: A few more fan fics in progress ..
« Reply #9 on: August 16, 2006, 07:08 PM »
So here's the final product for my imperial guard / officer .. comments & critique please.  B)


Offline DmG

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Re: A few more fan fics in progress ..
« Reply #10 on: August 17, 2006, 04:31 AM »
well after some insight over at the FF, I changed him up a bit ...

Outlander it is ...  :D  Jedi Hunter style, even has a light saber from a recent kill! 


Offline BrentS

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Re: A few more fan fics in progress ..
« Reply #11 on: August 17, 2006, 08:55 AM »
Wow, that's some pretty cool stuff.  I can't believe how unrecognizable the Maul head is.  You did a very good job hiding that one!!

Offline DmG

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Re: A few more fan fics in progress ..
« Reply #12 on: August 19, 2006, 02:05 AM »
Heres the finished Clone Jedi Hunter ... just need clear coat tomorrow!




Offline Straxus

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Re: A few more fan fics in progress ..
« Reply #13 on: August 19, 2006, 03:20 AM »
Great work! I love how that helmet turned out with the camo! I had made a bunch of casts of the origional vintage helmet and did not know how it would turn out mixed/matched with newer figure parts, but that right there proves it fits perfectly!
Great Stuff DmG!
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Offline DmG

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Re: A few more fan fics in progress ..
« Reply #14 on: August 21, 2006, 04:45 AM »
Heres another WiP, I'm leaning towards light security of some kind, he'll be outfitted with some armour and weapons later.