Finished some "blink-and-you-miss-'em" Jabba's Palace goons.
First is Geezum.
Torso, arms, hands: TVC Endor Rebel commando with neckpost from TVC Kithaba
Head, pelvis, legs: TVC Snaggletooth
Cartridge belt: TLC Jango Fett
Bandoleer: TBS Tusken Raider
Scarf: Misc. Jedi robe
I started by cutting the torso's neck flush with the shirt collar, and transplanting the neckpost from a TVC Kithaba figure using a headless #4 screw. After stripping all the factory paint from the lower body and prepping all the joints, I sprayed the body parts with VHT "satin white" dye. I re-painted the boots with Testors "leather," and gave everything a Testors "sand" wash. After trimming and sanding the holsters from Jango's belt, I sprayed it with VHT "satin black" and gave it a Testor's "burnt umber" drybrush. The scarf is a Jedi robe scrap with a dab of Liquid Stitch keeping it folded over around the neck. The bandoleer was more complex. The first attempt used five pouches cut from another Jango belt. I sanded a groove into the back of the piece, and superglued it to a leather strip from Michael's. (Only needed about three inches of leather, ended up with eight yards. But I digress.
) It looked okay, but the pouches were too small. I eventually carved/sanded the pouches from the lower torso of a TBS Tusken Raider and repeated the process before painting the pouches with Testors "leather."
A cool feature of the leather strap is that after wetting it and letting it dry, it molds to contours very well.
This is the original bandoleer showing the sanded groove and the strap's joining point.
Next is the H'nemthe from Jabba's palace.
Body, head, hands: TAC M'iiyoom Onith
Arms: TVC Han Solo (Target three-pack)
Belt: TLC Jango Fett
Vest: TBS Jyn Erso
As you might expect, the robe was the hardest part of making this custom. Thanks to Stan for telling me about this fabric source:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SHEER-COTTON-SHIRTS-BLOUSE-DRESS-DOLL-CLOTHES-FABRIC-THIN-1MM-MICRO-STRIPE-58-W/370405605060?hash=item563de4fec4:m:mQVG70uvZRXhw1ng5J7vp6A:rk:1:pf:0&var=640004912039 (Hope it's okay to link an eBay store - If not, Mods please delete.) The body is stock, with the exception of swapping in the Han arms to replace the swivel elbows. The original hand pegs were a little too small and received some passes with teflon tape.
Obviously, I took some liberties with this figure. I left one of Jango's holsters attached for a bit of play value. In addition, I left off the vest's shoulder flaps and didn't cut the ends of the sleeves. It would have been easy to glue on some flaps using flexible vinyl as a "hinge" but since the robe and vest are already a tight fit, there might be durability issues caused by moving the arms. Like always, it's a trade-off between accuracy and playability. Lastly, the sleeve ends should be contoured and not straight. This was an OCD-type thing with me. I like my sleeves the way I like my psyche - Neat and orderly, not frayed and unraveling.
Last is Leslomy Tacema, aka Jabba's Duro.
Head, hands: POTJ Ellors Madak
Torso: TBS Ceremony Luke
Pelvis, upper legs: TBS General Lando
Lower legs: TVC Bespin Luke
Upper arms: comic pack Prince Xizor
Lower arms: TVC Weequay Hunter
Vest: TAC Tosche Station Biggs
Belt: TBS lightsaber construction Luke
This is the most discombobulated figure I've ever assembled. It started as a simple concept: (1) Put a dress on a Daultay Dofine figure, (2) Swap head and hands, (3) Profit! Unfortunately, the torso details didn't work very well with the robe and belt. Hmmm... General Lando might work, his waist has a sculpted recess that fits the robe and belt perfectly! However, the sculpting of the torso prevented the arms from even approaching a normal position with the robe and vest in place. So I used a torso already designed for an overlay. The Luke torso mated to the Lando pelvis perfectly, but still needed to be sanded a bit for robe clearance. The thin Xizor shoulders give a little more clearance, and the Weequay wrists are large enough to match the hands. The original vest was cut and sanded from a POTJ Ponda Baba. It was nice and bulky, and resembled the flak jacket from the reference material below. Unfortunately, since it was sculpted for a swivel-shouldered barrel chest, it didn't work out here. Instead, I trimmed Bigg's vest and enlarged the arm holes, then dyed it with VHT black and painted the exterior with Testors "olive drab." The robe was sewn from a lycra nightshirt ($4 at Wal-Mart). The head was Dremeled to fit. To increase the range of motion, I also removed most of Luke's Adam's apple. The hands were fitted with superglued pegs cut from a KOTCS Russian soldier.
This was the reference material I used. Everyone's seen this guy who was originally thought to be an Endor rebel, but was actually one of Jabba's crew. Instead of the source of confusion camoflaged coat, I went with this instead.
If you squint and turn your head just right, it looks like he's wearing a vest over something light-colored.
Patiently waiting for February 2019:
At the risk of sounding like a shill, I also wanted to pass along info about Winsor-Newton brush cleaner. If you need to remove paint from a figure, try this stuff. A four-ounce bottle is about $8 at Michael's or Joanne's, or $10 at Hobby Lobby. I'm awaiting a 16-ouncer from Amazon for $15.
For years, I've used denatured alcohol and Goof-Off to remove paint from figures. However, alcohol doesn't do much against factory paint, and Goof-Off attacks plastic very quickly. I've read about this brush cleaner and finally decided to try it. I really, really wish I hadn't waited so long. Here are my experiences with it in the last month or so:
- Removed factory paint about as well as Goof-Off, and has been much safer on plastic. I pour it into a small glass bowl and use a plastic AP brush to remove the paint. Much easier than the old "three swipes with a Goof-Off q-tip/Simple Green/rinse/repeat" method. I still try to work quickly, and wash parts thoroughly after stripping.
- Removed 90% of Sharpie marker stripes from a fabric robe. Hoping to remove more with more applications.
- Removed dried-but-still-tacky Rustoleum plastic-bonding spray paint from a rubbery Ponda Baba vest.
- Removed VHT vinyl dye. I can tell you from previous experience that VHT is no joke when it comes to removal. I've dissolved pieces with Goof-Off trying to strip VHT, but this stuff took it off with no problem.
It cleans brushes pretty well, too.
