Nice additions, CHEWIE. Those Hammerhead hands on the Quarren are *freaky*, but good freaky. The new stormies' paint work does look better, too. It actually looks just about perfect. Nice work.

OK, here's my entry. He's a Nautolan Separatist spy. I envision him using the same abilities that make Kit a good Jedi to be a good spy. Treachery, deception, etc. He's made using Dirk Pitt's sidekick from the Sahara subline (available at Wal-Mart) and a surgically modified AOTC Kit (I cut the action tentacles off, and removed the factory neck to give him a better jaw line). I also gave him Neimoidian boots, which made him taller and added articulated ankles. Compared to the ROTS Kit, he's a tower of an alien.

I think he looks dirty and mean, and he's the first guy I've made that was actually inspired by a Custom Challenge, so here you go.

Maybe its because clones are tough as nails trench warfair grunts while stromtroopers get killed with a poorly placed blaster shots or a rock.

Ain't it the truth!

Here are a couple of dirty clones... one has a custom paint job, the other is a red commander sans visor... both are dirty, dirty, dirty.





You may not be able to see it through the grime and damage, but he has light blue details on the helmet, chest, shoulders, thighs and calves. With as beat to heck as this one is, I'm guessing his buddies didn't make it.

And here's just a red commander without the visor (like the Star Corps) and weathered up...



Nothing fun to add... it is what it is.

Quazar - THAT is a good idea!

I would suggest a slight variation. Let's all do our own version of one character who would carry throughout the story... we would agree on a head (akin to Rykrof - same head, different gear and suits).

A "chapter" is, in essence, a short story. Whoever wants to go first does so, but they have to in essence "wrap" their story. To the extent a character might carry over (a sidekick or companion), that figure has to be one the other participants have a custom version of or are willing to make (i.e., you can't introduce a 100% scratch-built droid as a companion unless you're willing to make one for everyone).

This would work a lot like a serial, I guess...

This might actually work... :-)

Well... that's what I call a wash, NoMercyJoe. You wash the figure in a dark paint color (I personally like burnt umber - between brown and black) and wipe away the excess. The paint will stay in the grooves and otherwise stain the surface of the figure. Sometimes you need to do this 3 - 5 times to get the best look, and you might just glob paint into deep crevices and barely wipe it away...

Drybrushing is dipping the end of your brush in paint, then drying it almost completely by running it over a paper towel briskly. You then have a mostly dry brush, but there's still some paint there. You (also briskly) dust the figure with the bristles (and I use a longer-bristled brush for this) and the paint will be deposited only on rough or high areas. Smooth areas will usually stay relatively clean.

One of these techniques gets paint into grooves, nooks and crannies (washing) and the other gets paint onto raised surfaces. I tend to think of washing as dirt and drybrishing as multiple scratch and wear damage.

I would suggest, Phruby, that you wash Cody with a flat color that matches the general tone of the ground on the planet you think Cody was last on... Tatooine would be a reddish brown, a forest planet would be a dark, earthy brown and/or black, and a more alien planer presents a whole other set of issues . Then I would choose a dark, flat gray, pewter, or maybe silver and dry brush the raised areas on the shin, the armor strap on the foot, the thighs near the knee, the shoulderpads (heavily), the chest, and the forearm gauntlets. Dry brushing should be subtle, though. Even heavy drybrushing to show damage has to be somewhat subtle.

For more prominent paint defects (deflected debris), you might - before you wash the figure - scratch a small divot in an armor surface, fill the divot with silver paint, then lightly coat that base with a flat black, allowing some of the silver to show through. After you wash the figure, it should look like a nice, old dent.

Phew... I need to get back to work. I can't wait to see how you finish (abuse) Cody 

I guess I can see the merit of announcing your entry, but the use of the phrase "get the drop on" in the story suggests to me that our impression of the Wookiee in the shadows is that he was hiding specifically to restrain/attack you when you came into the room. Now, if he was there simply as a security measure, you're OK announcing your presence. If not, well, you may be calling for your own death

So the pros of announcement: 1. You're up front with potential allies and 2. They see how concerned you are with avoiding entanglement, which impresses them.

The con (and a big one) is you reveal yourself only to be shot in the ducts and left for dead.

The pros of "making an entrance" with your hold out blaster: 1. You take control of the situation. 2. You get answers. 3. You don't leave yourself defenseless.

The con, of course, is that you pull things off poorly (drop the gun... hesitate) and they still get the drop on you, only now they will be uber-ticked and think you might be there to betray them. That or they kill you.