Hello!
I’ve been intrigued by custom figure creations for quite a while, but have never felt that I wanted a figure strongly enough to give customizing a shot myself. A little over a month ago, something finally convinced me to act: the TVC Tatooine Skiff. When I received a pair as companion pieces to the Khetanna, I was reminded that, despite collecting every Jabba guard/goon Hasbro has released, my skiffs were still lacking. This would not do. During the past month, I have been customizing the missing five figures in my free time so that the spectacular skiffs may be properly populated. These are my efforts.
Gailid
Composition: TVC AT-ST Driver head, torso, pelvis, legs, TBS Ponda Baba upper arms, TBS Luke Yavin Ceremony lower arms & hands. Aviator helmet and hair, torso, belt, and leg pouch sculpted with Aves Epoxy Sculpt. Soft goods helmet straps.
Process: This guy was the first one I began and one of the last ones I completed. I started on a Rose Tico body, which I realized would be far too small after sculpting the chest. I attempted again with a Brock Starsher torso, but had compatibility issues with the other pieces I intended to use (I bought the cheapest rotary tool I could find and received exactly what I paid for) and abandoned that. Third time was the charm, it seems.
Yotts Orren
Composition: TVC Wooof head, hands & belt, TVC Rebel Commando (Endor) body. Cowl, chest, bandoliers, fanny pack, kneepad, pouch, and boot wraps sculpted with epoxy clay.
Process: Yotts was the first custom to reach near-completion. At this point I was still deathly afraid of boil and pop after a lackluster first attempt to separate limbs from trunk (I tested on the Rose, naturally), I built him without swapping parts. I had intended to use the rebel commando bandoliers, but they ultimately felt too bulky.
Shirtless Human Skiff Guard (aka Fozec’s wardrobe twin)
Composition: TBS Luke Yavin Ceremony head, Vitruvian H.A.C.K.S. champagne beige blank torso, arms, hands, TVC Vedain legs, TVC Lando Skiff boots, Saga Lando Barge helmet & loincloth. Armor, harness & straps, helmet details, and kneepads sculpted in epoxy clay. Soft goods cowl & mask.
Process: After finding an image of a custom of this character created by a user named Jaeger45 (a fantastic effort that also encouraged me to experiment with soft goods- If you read this, thank you!), I ordered a Bossfight blank and got to work assembling this guy. Joining the Bossfight body to the Vedain pelvis proved to be more difficult than initially anticipated, since unlike the TVC Weequay, Vedain’s body has no waist swivel on account of the ball abdomen. I cut away the Vedain abdomen and connected the blank’s torso to a fabricated socket built on the pelvis using epoxy clay. Disclaimer: I know this guard doesn’t have a visible holster or belt on film, but he does brandish a palace blaster. I felt sympathetic toward him since he dies out of sequence and was never even given a name, so I allowed him a gun belt & holster for his pistol.
Mercenary Pilot
Composition: TVC Rebel Trooper (Hoth) head, TLC Imperial Scanning Screw torso & arms, TVC Rebel Commando (Endor) gloves, TVC Brock Starsher legs & boots, G.I. Joe Retaliation Cobra Trooper helmet. Bandoliers, shoulderpads, pouches, and helmet detailing sculpted with epoxy clay.
Process: This fellow came together relatively painlessly until it came time for the helmet, which I intended to be removable. I tried a few different heads and sculpts but nothing seemed to work out quite the way I hoped it would. Discovering the Cobra Trooper helmet as an excellent base for the ‘80s hockey helmet was a godsend, although I’m not sure it will come off…
Velken Tezeri // Nizuc Bek
Composition: TVC Rebel Commando (Endor) head, TVC Wooof torso, TLC Malakili arms & hands, TLC Giran skirt, TVC Naboo Pilot pelvis & thighs, TVC Rebel Commando (Endor) shins, TVC Lando Skiff boots, TSC Naboo Soldier helmet, TVC Sandstorm Leia goggles. Beard, puff vest, belt, flask, quilting pattern on legs, kneepads, helmet detailing sculpted in epoxy clay. Soft goods cowl & mask/wrap.
Process: At this point, I was no longer terrified of boil and pop and was swapping out parts freely (even though I ended up sculpting or sanding down most of the pieces beyond recognition– lol). I also wanted to make the figure versatile, so I included a pair of goggles and attached the mask flap on one side so that it could be folded down to reproduce Bek’s look. I resculpted the puff vest over the previous iteration, so the figure ended up looking slightly more portly than initially intended (chalk it up to a windy day or too much partying on the Khetanna, I suppose). The figure went through various phases, but ultimately resulted in a piece than I am content with (for now).
The goon squad, assembled:
Now that I’ve gotten a taste of this, I am tempted to continue. There are still barge guards & passengers, cantina patrons, and a cornucopia of other secondary characters that would be a blast to make. Before I do though, I have some questions for those of you who have been at this for a while. What have you found to be the most effective way of preventing paint rub at the joints? I have sanded them down and applied a thin layer of superglue, but are there any other techniques that you use that have worked well for you? Also, are there clays that you would recommend for sculpting that have some give to them that also accept and retain fine detail? I tried using a polyclay for skirt detail but abandoned it because it didn’t seem to hold the sculpt. Maybe it was just old. Finally, is there a superglue or cement that you would recommend for joining plastic to plastic for the best possible bond?
Thanks for reading- I welcome your advice, feedback, and suggestions!
