thanks everyone for the wonderful comments!

In Rem, the bloody ripley chestburster is a custom of myself. it was part of a group project we did here before you joined i think. you can see the thread here, along with pics of us all. i used a micro machines Alien, cut the head off and got my husband to dremel out a hole for him to go into. i used epoxy to fill in around it so it would look like it was popping out 

http://www.jedidefender.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=9040.0

i do need to hit Obi-wan with some more dullcote, i don't know why his legs are still kinda shiny. i do tend to take awhile on customs, and my time is so limited sometimes it takes an eternity to get something done. i am hoping next year will be a little easier 

Thanks a bunch Phruby! carding is a great idea, i hadn't thought of it! i'm not sure which style to do though...i'll have to look at the template vault at ffurg to get some ideas.

Glassman, thanks for the great comments. You are one of the many VERY talented customizers that i look up to, so its awesome hearing that from you. the head i used was a GI Joe Scarlett head, (BIG Thanks to DD for it!) i wish the expression was a little more "AHHH!" or something, but when i wear this at Halloween i kinda look the same lol! 

the radio clone man is my favorite custom you have done, second only to the Mon Cal jedi. i really like the antenna length and the backpack. the leg pouch is a nice touch too. great weathering and coloring -- good job!

the Kel Dor soldier has a great skintone color and the paint job looks great on it. however, for some reason, it freaks me out --- looks sinister and sort of like zombie dead skin or something. 

the Lando cape fits the clone commander great InRem, nice idea. it kind of reminds me of an Endor soldier type trench coat so maybe he might be some sort of clone sent to a Forest planet, if you wanted to paint the cape in camo colors. i'm anxious to see him finished.

Phruby, what a great idea on that Fett! the paint job & fireball really fit in great, nice silver "battle damage" too.  very well done & executed.

well said InRem.

the best technique i have found for chipping/scratching the paint on clones is using an exacto that isn't quite as sharp as it used to be...you all know what i mean, the very tip of the blade broke off, that sort of thing. of course you have to be careful, but small strokes produce little scratches while scraping takes off a bit more, i think everyone gets the idea.

depending on how movie accurate you want to get Phruby, Cody had 2 pretty pronounced gouges/gashes on his chest armor, near his rank badge, you can see them in this photo below.

as far as weathering, i would do a brown/earth wash on his lower legs and a lighter wash as you move up the body. something to make the white not so white, but still more subtle and movie-like. i personally don't care for heavy washes and dry brushes on the clones, they were dirty sure, but not so flithy the armor was black/grey ALL over.  i guess i just don't care for over-weathered clones, it's kind of a pet peeve of mine.

i tend to use a type of dry brushing for the black "scratches and dings" for lack of a better term. i suppose they are more like blast-marks. anyhoo, i like to get the paint where it just starts to get gummy, not dry but not wet totally either. using an older brush, i push down and pull up to give random blast mark damage, some large, some small and some darker and more pronounced. i like the look of it, along with a few light brown marks done in the same manner for a little dirt here & there, but again more subtle. i think everyone saw how my clones turned out in my customs thread.  

i just got my Neyo & Cody kit from Bantha5 and am working on Neyo at the moment. i had to run to micheal's and get a new small detail brush, Neyo's visor is a bit of a pain to get straight  

my favorites by far are the senators Chewie. the paint jobs and sculpting and everything is some of your best work imho. the sheer number of customs you do is amazing!

First of all, thanks for all the nice words everyone! 

bjardkerr, thanks for the complement on the weathering! i had some early clones that were way over done so i really learned my lesson on being more subtle. less really is more.

Phruby, i hope that the Royal Guard helmet will fit over the head, i'm going to get joe to help me carefully hollow it out. that is my plan though 

Chewie, you are right about getting caught up in the Clone Craze. i've pretty much had my fun with it for now. i just was lucky enough to get a Bantha5 Neyo & Cody kit so i will make those & a movie accurate Gree later on after New Year's.

the clones were a great starting point for me to experiment with paints and techniques, so they were a springboard for me to start more complex projects like my little chestburster.

i'm currently working on a soft goods Clone Wars Obi-Wan Clone disguise, 12" Jango, 12" Han, 12" Chewie, 12" Obi-Wan Clone disguise and a 12" secret Jedi 

after Phruby's excellent Holiday Special acrobat, i am planning on lining up some characters to do from that...i'm ready to do something Hasbro will never tackle. 

so hopefully my next update won't be so overdue   

Keri

Phruby i got all the sculpting done finally, i kept messing up so it took me awhile to get it right. i'll get my hubby to take WIP pics which are horribly long overdue & post tomm. nite.