Author Topic: Clonehead's Custom Figures reloaded  (Read 150538 times)

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #435 on: October 28, 2009, 12:47:50 PM »
Here is what I have been working on as far as the details on this slip-on armor.
  You seen how I put the piece color on first and then put the paint on for the detail lines. Now, I am touching those lines up using the piece color to straighten and thin out those black detail lines. See how the first applied black lines are thicker and more messy on the left shoulder. Now look at the right shoulder. Here, I have touched up those details by using white to refine them. In a couple of places, I fudged and covered up part of the black where I intended to keep it. In those areas, I must come back with the black to recolor the places I covered up by accident and then, more than likely come back with the white again and touch up around the new applied black lines.
   It goes like this back and forth until I am satisfied. In that first shot, you see the brush that I am working with which is alright but cant paint as fine a line as the one I used when working on the Legacy Fox figure."alas, that one wore out on me and I can no longer find it"
  It's not all about having a small brush or a steady hand but paying attention to the viscosity of paint on your brush is also important. Too thick and you get blobs of paint or brush strokes which must be covered up. to thin and the paint has a tendency to run into the cracks where I put the dark colors at.

I have been working on the details of his helmet also but have gotten further on that chest plate. I will be glad when this figure's detailing is done.

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #436 on: October 28, 2009, 08:34:12 PM »
Good news! I found a detail brush brand new in the package here at the house that works better than that other one.

Here, I have refined the detail painting on the Veers helmet and need to get the foil on the goggles before I proceed.
I also have refined the details on the chest armor even more and lack just a few touchups on it.
  Perhaps I can wrap this guy up tomorrow and move on to another figure.

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #437 on: October 28, 2009, 08:35:38 PM »
more slip on armor pics

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #438 on: October 29, 2009, 12:28:16 PM »
Thank you, L E!
  Now I had mentioned that I wanted to apply some bare metal foil to the face of Veers' goggles and I got around to digging out the color that I wanted to use this time, Chrome.
  For those of you who don't know, Bare Metal Foil is a thin adhesive backed metal foil used for detailing models, primarily for applying a more realistic chrome trim to car models than silver paint can offer.
  To use this stuff, a fresh exacto blade is needed as it is so thin that a dull blade will rip the foil rather than cut it cleanly. Use your knife and cut out a shape of the foil larger than the area that you are going to cover and gently peel it from the sheet back being careful not to cause any bends or wrinkles in the piece.
  Place the cut piece over the area to foil, making sure to overlap the edges of your area. Burnish the foil down to conform to the area that you are foiling paying attention to any raised areas or edges.  Here, I payed special attention to the outer edge of the goggle lens as that is where I am going to cut the foil. I burnished the foil using a paint brush and a piece of scrap resin. A tooth pick works pretty well for this but I needed to be careful not to make any scratch marks in the middle of the foiled surface.  Now is where the fresh knife blade comes in. I carefully cut around the outer edge of the goggle lens and then picked and pulled the excess away from the foiled area. I burnished the goggles againwith the piantbrush smoothing the cut edges of the foil as I went.
  Now what remains is to add a fine black line around the edge of the goggles, straightening my cut line and sealing the edges of the foil in, so to say. I will then touch up around this black line with the grey color that is the color of body of the goggles and can hopefully call it good.

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #439 on: October 29, 2009, 12:29:32 PM »
One shot of my cutting around the edge of the goggles and a shot of the foiled lens prior to touch up painting.

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #440 on: October 29, 2009, 04:33:31 PM »
Here are some shots of the goggles now that I have had some time to get that border outline on and touched up with the goggle body color. I have changed that grey to a dark gull grey which is a shade darker for the goggles and the trim around the helmet. Just a couple of more touch ups on the helmet and one on the chest armor and I think I can call this one finished. These pics don't quite do the goggles justice as it's neat to see it reflect whatever color is in front of em. Oh, if only the sun would come out one of these days. I want to see this in the sunlight reflecting some sky color. Now, if I could just remember where I stashed this guy's gun.  I can't believe that I started this figure back in June, was it. That's what happens sometimes. I will start one and then put it on the back burner for a while.

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #441 on: October 29, 2009, 04:36:26 PM »
Darn, I switched the page again. take a look at the previous page for the goggle foil application, guys. Those shots lose a bit of the real definition and I need some brighter light. Ah well, here is another shot. I'm glad that this one is almost wrapped up.

thank you very much Dan. this chrome foil went on easier than the copper stuff. I think it's a bit thinner.

I want to thank everybody for all their support and kind comments. It's nice to be able to do something and be proud of it and then get praised by all of the wonderful people here. You guys are the best and all of the wonderful customizing going on around here makes me so proud to be a part of it.

guys, our Imperial Shipyards is one great place to be.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2009, 05:57:49 PM by Clonehead »

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #442 on: October 30, 2009, 04:42:46 PM »
Thanks guys. Today was honey do day so i didn't get to wrap up the Veers fig and as it was cloudy, i didn't get to take the outside shots I wanted to.
  I did get some painting done on a couple of more figures though. The clone engineer "death star gunner" is to match the colors of the Veers figure and will have a chrome foil visor, also. The other is the biggs tie pilot body from the first imperial pilot evo set. My plan is to make him into some kind of transitional shadow imperial pilot fig perhaps existing inbetween the time of the clone wars and the more traditional looking imperial tie pilot. The plan is to use a modded helmet for the fig, possibly the a-wing/airborne mix that I cobbled together a couple of weeks ago. i might throw some kind of grey and black camo on his undercoverings, we will see. I havent decided on a head for this guy yet but wanted to use something other than the stock Biggs head on him.

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #443 on: October 30, 2009, 10:50:26 PM »
Ok, lets start that camo on the gunner figure. My brown base color is on and I will start off with the same light ghost grey from a Testors aircraft colors piant set. Sometimes, I will set the paint jar upside down so that the thicker, flatter paint will settle to the top and when I take the cap off, some of that flatter paint is on the inside of the lid for me to dip into. Using my fine brush, I am making some natural shapes while trying to make the coverage of the grey thick enough that you can't see the brown through it. I try to space the shapes apart some while not putting two of the same shapes next to each other. Now, I come back to it using some flat black, thin enough that I can apply it with a very light stroke but thick enough that it wont run all over the place. Using the black, I make a thin outline around the grey shapes and slightly overlapping into them rendering the outside edge of the black color squared and spikey. I also dab some spike shapes into the grey area. I then come back with the grey again, and touch up anywhere that I got too carried away with the black also putting some of the spikey shapes into the black with the grey. next, I come back with the brown and touch up the outside, cleaning up any areas where the black ran too wide over the brown.  I have tried just applying the darker color, in this case, black on first and then coming back with the lighter color on the inside but it didn't turn out spikey enough for me which kind of reminds me of a leaf pattern. This camo, by the way, isn't representitave of any pattern that I have seen before but I kind of like it.  I have tried to emulate actual patterns before with varied results. Doing it this way takes a while but it seems less intimidating if I take it in small chunks like I did here.

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #444 on: October 30, 2009, 10:53:50 PM »
this shot is after I have touched up with the brown.

On the pilot figure's chest armor, I threw on some markings that are similar to the ones on this shadow trooper's chest armor using a lighter grey. I wanted it to be lighter than the grey I used on his undercoverings. I dont know that I will put any markings on his boots but I do plan on painting the soles of his boots to carry up slightly on the boot sides.

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #445 on: October 31, 2009, 01:05:20 PM »
Shawn, I never got the camo on that atrt. She is still sitting wearing her base color. On a bigger vehicle like that, I would almost attempt it with an airbrush but need to experiment to be sure. Yes, Devin, an actionfleet scale vehicle would be perfect for that. You guys are too kind.
  The sun did peek out today so I grabbed the still not quite finished Veers and the once thought of as finished but seen as needing a couple of touchups snow mando and took them out to the deck to get a couple of shots of em in the sunlight.

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #446 on: October 31, 2009, 01:06:26 PM »
One more shot. I should get him with the sky behind him.

Offline night force cynic

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #447 on: October 31, 2009, 04:33:13 PM »
One more shot. I should get him with the sky behind him.


g--damn, CH, he is fantastic looking. 


Best Veers custom EVER

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #448 on: November 01, 2009, 03:09:50 PM »
Oops, I forgot to post the pics of the work that i got done on the death star gunner/clone engineer, last night. I got more of the camo done but also, got some detail painting done on the gunner's gloves, holster, belt, slip-on armor, and on one of his boots. some touchups in black are still required but That means that I'm that much closer. I havent done any more painting to his helmet and might wait till I get the visor foiled.

I haven't worked any more on that shadow pilot figure and am still letting the ideas for that one gestate.

Offline Clonehead

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Re: Clonehead's Custom Figures
« Reply #449 on: November 01, 2009, 03:11:07 PM »
more detail painting pics