Nothing particularly complicated this time.
First up is Endor Han. My biggest complaint with the factory version isn't actually the torso, which is largely concealed by the vest and coat. It's the legs.
Something's got to be done about the legs! Since the upcoming Endor Han will apparently be a re-release of ol' Barrel Chest, I decided to work something out. As a side note, if Hasbro ever decided to issue a headsculpt with the "
Oh I'm sorry three squads sent to help, the rebels aren't REALLY fleeing into the woods" smirk I'd giggle like a little schoolgirl.
Upper half: LC Shield Generator Assault Han
Lower half: TVC Bespin Han
The torsos and pelvises of the planned donor figures are hard plastic, which always complicates things. I used a razor saw to cut the torsos at the belt line, and to remove the pegs from the pelvises. After cleaning up the cuts with sandpaper, I epoxied the halves together, being careful to (a) Not use so much epoxy that it squirted out, and (b) Not gum up the swiveling peg in the lower torso. The dimensions where the parts meet are nearly perfect and the gunbelt takes care of the rest. The only tricky part (which I almost overlooked) is the swiveling peg. Cutting the torso at the beltline exposes the bottom of the peg, so I had to sand the lower edge of the peg throughout the entire arc of motion. If not, it would've extended past the cut line and levered the halves apart when moved. Probably didn't explain that very well... Should've taken WIP pics.
I pressed the soft goods coat to the best of my ability, but obviously the collar is still too puffy. Not sure if there's much I can do about that.
I considered using a Yavin Luke torso and simply plugging in the Bespin Han legs, but there was too much of a difference in the collars and how the vest fit for that to work for me. Another idea involved replacing the swiveling peg in the torso with a sheet metal screw going into the pelvis' peg for increased strength, but even if I could get the measurements right (twice), it would have eliminated the waist's back-and-forth movement. Not to mention that I'd have to crack the torso to get the screw head in place. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed an epoxy joint made the most sense.
Next, the ISB needed reinforcements.
For some reason many of my Imperials look similar. Can't figure it out.
I used Vallejo ochre brown to make one of the scanning techs a blond, but still... For the badges, I stripped the factory paint with Winsor-Newton brush cleaner, then masked the areas and painted the entire badges with Testors aluminum. The colored squares were gradually dry-brushed with the aid of a magnifier. The lower bodies and Ozzel's carefully masked cap were disassembled and sprayed with VHT black vinyl dye.
Pilot Leia is a LC Dorovio Bold with a Dremeled head from a Force Link Hoth Leia and the (smaller) helmet from a LC Luke pilot. The helmet's a bit loose; thinking about gluing a small piece of foam/felt/similar for a better fit. But probably won't.
Un-skullcapped snowspeeder Luke is a SL Snowspeeder upper, a TVC Dagobah Landing Luke lower, and a TVC Yavin Luke head. The helmet is from a TVC x-wing pilot Luke and fits the head well.
The head fits the neck post perfectly, but I did have to Dremel clearance for the back of the hair. Here's a comparison between the modified neck on the left and a stock pilot on the right.
Used another Yavin Luke head and a TVC Bespin Luke for this one. I originally used a little teflon tape to tighten up the head but broke down and added a bit of Green Stuff.
The last entry is just a touch-up of the FACE! Bespin Han's hairline. I swapped in the left hand of a TVC Rebel Fleet Trooper, so now he's capable of the "Ford Finger" instead of lobster shadow puppets like the factory version.
Thanks for looking!
