This will probably be the only Clone Wars vehicle I buy, since I've never owned a Y-Wing in any form (I try to draw the line with the realistic SW toys...otherwise I'd be bankrupt).  While I would prefer a vintage style Y-Wing, the scale and overall design of this beast is pretty impressive.  I kind of hated the look of this when the design was first unveiled, but it's grown on me.  The price is insane though...I paid twenty dollars more for the BMF, and that doesn't make a lick of sense.  Either the price should be cut in half, or there should be more whizz-bang gadgets or a more detailed paint job.




It really is huge, and has tonnes of projectiles.  The two seater cockpit is pretty tight for standard SW figures (the spindly Clone Wars figs should have no problem), but I managed to get a couple of rebel pilots squeezed in there.



LOVE the back compartment...there are two rocket launchers that are supposed to fill the space, but when I was a kid I would have used it for cargo space...there's a lot of room in there:

Thanks so much for your feedback, everyone.  As always, it's much appreciated.  I've taken a break from the vehicle projects for a little while, concentrating lately on figures...both as a restoration of my sanity, and a as a way to improve my skills.

Darth Vader and Stormtrooper

I'm trying to update/redo some of my 1:12 scale (6") Star Wars customs, making them tighter and more accurate.  Here are the first two.

Darth Vader



This is heavily reworked from my previous Vader Custom.  The fabric has been replaced, and I added wire to the new cape. I shaved down the legs and arms, and (of course) sculpted the hell out of the new helmet.  Sculpey, Epoxy Putty, Apoxie Sculpt, styrene, and vinyl were all used on the this helmet sculpt...paint in the arse I tells ya.  The awesome (though extremely hard to photograph) gloss finish is from Krylon Fusion gloss black...it looks great in person.




Here's a comparison between my original headsculpt (on the left) and the new headsculpt (the work in progress on the right):



And now for the lackey:



This is a totally new custom.  The main challenges for this one were the accuracy of the helmet sculpt, maintaining articulation movement as much as possible, and creating armour without really heavy and ugly seams.



The armour is made from styrene with Apoxie Sculpt used to fill in the armour seams.  The helmet is made from epoxy putty, Apoxie Sculpt, and vinyl.  The blaster is styrene rod, tube, and sheet.

WIP:





Here they are together:


Comments and critiques are welcome and encouarged!

Thanks Guys.  I know that the final product will be miles away from on model, but I plan on doing something fun with the paint scheme, as well as add a dew extra features possibly.

More progress...

Back wall of c0ckpit:




Exterior:



Back detailing:


Top:


Chin Mounted Laser Cannons (a mini project all its own):


And a scale shot:


Let me know what you think, and thanks for looking.

Luke and Leia

These are two new customs.  Again, I'm trying my hand at making more screen accurate versions of the characters (sans the likenesses of course, since I can't really afford to buy the epic force stuff).  In a way, not having the right heads is a challenge in itself, since I'm trying to get the character right by working with what I have.

[size=18]Leia[/size]


This was  avery quick custom.  I was mainly inspired by the Sideshow Premium Format figure.  The base is a Movie Sue Storm with sculpted hair (the boots were perfect for Leia too!).  The outfit is white cloth, and the Stormtrooper rifle is scratchbuilt (I'll probably make her slender blaster one of these days...but I wanted to make the rifle now).





The blaster is made from styrene tubes and rods, with some sheeting for details like the cooling fins and the magazine.  This was the funnest part of the custom.



[size=18]Luke[/size]


Bullseye body, Peter Parker head, Legolas hands, and Pyro feet.  The outfit is a few different types of cloth, and the belt is leather with pouches from the fodder bucket. 



The likeness is miles away from ol' Mark, but I think its accurate to the character.  I'm really happy with how the outfit turned out. 



Group shot!


Let me know what you think, and thanks for looking.

Thanks for the kind feedback guys.  Glad to say that I've returned to the Star Wars galaxy:

Darth Vader


Well, since I've been wandering through a desert of inspiration lately, I've continued doing more technical projects, creating figures that I'd like to own.  The first of these is sort of a continuation of my droids that I made, attempting to create screen accurate, 6" scale Star Wars figures.  Naturally, I tackled Darth Vader.



He's made from a wide array of parts for the body.  There are Marvel Legends Cyclops, Namor, Iron Man, Spawn, and Skullsplitter parts in the mix, making up the body.  The figure's height is 7 1/2" tall.



The head is a 100% original sculpt.  The skirt/flange is styrene.  This really is a tough design to capture accurately, and I'm still not completely satisfied with this...but its the closest I've come thus far.



The body suit is made from the smallest corduroy I could find...I wanted to accurately portray the costume as much as I could without it looking too bulky.  That being said, I wish I would have dremelled away more of the bulk from the body, since the fabric is thicker than what I usually use. 



The capes are black t-shirt material.  The shoulder armour, chest regulator thingy, belt buckle and details, crotch and shin guards are all styrene.  The lightsaber is the usual acrylic dowelling with metal tubing. 



My army of Vaders.


Thanks for looking.

David, Manglord, and Stormtripper-

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

Now, Back with another Indiana Jones Vehicle...this time...

Raiders of the Lost Ark Flying Wing


Process:
Since the shape of the Flying Wing is curved in a common tear drop shape that is universal among aircraft, I needed to approach construction in a different way from my usual box-like, modular fashion.  The most obvious (but daunting) solution was to build it the way an actual aircraft is built...by creating a skeletal 'airframe' as a base:





This airframe is made from 060 styrense sheet, to give it rigidity.  The wings were constructed in sections and screwed and glued together to make sure that the base was sturdy and strong.

Next, I made the c0ckpit section:




I designed the c0ckpit to be a separate module, so that I could work out the minimal details and proportions without having to handle the massive frame of the plane itself.

Using 020 thickness styrene sheet (a much thinner, therefore more flexible guage), I began surfacing the Flying Wing by gluing the properly sized and cut sheets to the underframe.  This was mostly done by cursing, and by trial and error 



Added the wing tips:


Puttied, sanded, and primed:



This was an insanely involved project.  I really used a lot of bad language while trying to make certain elements work, and I have to say its by far my most complex custom piece to date.  There are a million little things that I'm unsatisfied with, but on the whole I'd have to say I'm pretty happy with the end result...especially since I was pretty much making it up as I was going along.

The finished product:



The wingspan, from tip to tip, is 38" and from stem to stern is about 16."  Its really, really big.  The engines are from an Episode 1 Naboo N1 Fighter, and the propellers are styrene...they can spin freely too!




The landing gear are made from the smallest casters I could find at the hardwar store.  The front wheel has a swivel joint in it, which I thought was a fun addition.




The cockpit has space for a figure, and the gun turret has a removable dome to allow for a gunner to sit back there.  Unfortunately, the figure needs to rest on its knees in order for this to work, but it looks okay when its closed up.





Scale shots:



And some fun ones:



Side comparison with the Last Crusade Tank:



Let mw know what you think, and thanks for looking.

Thanks for the kind words everyone.  They're much appreciated.

Something a little different, but Lucasfilm related.  While I know that the Indy line from Hasbro may continue long enough to produce one of these, I wanted to go ahead and make one anyway.  Raiders is my favorite movie, but I love Last Crusade too...and I especially love the tank sequence.  Once the figures hit the shelves I knew I wanted to build one.

The basic structure, treads and additional armour plates are made from varying thicknesses of styrene sheet.  Cannons are some plumbing parts, rivets are sliced up action figure accessories (such as tubing and weapons with shaft-like handles), and the added detailes are fabric and odds and ends from the fodder bucket.  The scale is a tad big to allow for figures to stand inside the main body.  Determining proper scale was tricky, so I went with what I thought would look right and provide a certain amount of functionality.

Work-In-Progress:



The final product:




Details:





The top section is removable to allow figures to go inside:


Scale shot:



Action shot:


Let me know what you think, and thanks for looking.

Jeditaz and Manglord-

Thanks for commenting.  I guess I derive the most pleasure from translating my favorite elements from the films into something slightly askew.

Next up...Snowspeeder!

This was a complex project, primarily because the Snowspeeder is a much more complex design than the previous vehicles that I've made.  I started with a rectangular box for the c0ckpit, and then built the rest of structure from there.

Work in Progress

Basic construction (assembled, puttied, and sanded):


Panels and detailing (thin styrene and odds and ends):



Primed!:


Now, I had my concept Luke figure, but I needed another pilot.  So, I took this as an opportunity to make another alien...in this case, a Mon Calamari!



The head is sculpted from Apoxie Sculpt, with some wire whiskers added for effect.  The base figure is a Gondorian soldier from Lord of the Rings, and the hands are from a Stan Winston Studios monster figure.  The outfit is fabric and leather, and the flak vest bric-a-brac is from the fodder bin.



The Final Snowspeeder



The snowspeeder was hand painted with acrylics, and the weathering and battle damage was achieved with both washes and drybrushing. 




Open c0ckpit:


Panel detail:


Top:


Bottom:


The crew:



Thanks for looking!