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OneSixthFigures » Forum » GENERAL TALK » Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads)

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads)

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GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
Part I


For Part II see HERE. For Part III see HERE. For Part IV see HERE.


This is my take on Anakin as a Nelvaan warrior, from the Clone Wars series. This is one of these "can it be done?" projects more than anything else, and I know at least one person who might be interested in what was done. It is not necessarily entirely finished. As usual, took too many photos, so I'm culling through them and dividing them in parts.

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann0110

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann0210

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann0310

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann0410

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann0510

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann0610

Unhaired, slightly repainted, customized, and rehaired denecked third party Anakin head, customized TBLeague M33 body with third party small ankle extenders and Nelvaan markings applied with Gundam Real Paint markers, HT Anakin customized pants and boots and light saber (and belt?) and customized Bad Batch Echo hand, custom vambrace.

The Nelvaan arc has been described as important in the narrative development of Anakin for more than one reason. "Ghost Hand" was a significant factor in the episode, but for practical reasons and taking advantage of the animated series' more rudimentary design, for now I have settled for a custom vambrace and a droid-like hand (as opposed to the more skeletal Anakin mech hand -- although I obtained two versions, they were not suited for easy attachment to the body). Besides, Anakin's loss of his hand (separately and long before losing other limbs) seemed to me one of the weakest decisions in the Prequel Trilogy, so it was not quite as imperative to get perfect for me as it might be for diehard fans.

As always, what do you think? Want to see more?

For Part II see HERE. For Part III see HERE. For Part IV see HERE.

#starwars #prequeltrilogy #clonewars #nelvaan #anakin #skywalker #custom #kitbash #hottoys #fantasy #scifi


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skywalkersaga

skywalkersaga
Ah wow, that turned out really well, GF! Excellent custom interpretation of the character with effective lighting and backdrops. Thank you so much for taking my plea to help with this project so seriously. :')

Speaking as someone currently working on my own various custom Anakin projects (haven't gotten to this one yet, though, obviously), I can definitely tell how much effort went into this. You executed the Nelvaan tattoos very nicely, and that's probably one of the main concerns I've had. I feared that I would try to draw those on and then mess up horribly and end up wasting an expensive tbleague body. Razz

Using a third party headsculpt also gives you a decent margin for error when it comes to modifying it, and I'd say you did a great job with it. I think you said earlier that you had to re-tint the skintone on this one a bit to make it match the tbleague body, is that correct?

Speaking of which, I think you proved that the M33 can work for this version of the character, which I guess was partly your intent, lol. I know I've had my criticisms of that body, but I appreciate seeing an example that utilises it well. Wink

The way you solved the issue of the mech hand and arm is quite clever. I think there's plenty of wiggle room for artistic license in the arm/hand design since it changes a lot beteween AotC , the two animated Clone Wars series, and RotS. This actually has a canonical explanation --- during the Clone Wars, Anakin himself is constantly tinkering with and improving his mech arm. He even created a couple of little droids specifically to help him with it at times, and he keeps several spare mech arms 'at hand' (pun intended) in case of battle damage.  


Now, I do have to disagree that Anakin losing his arm in AotC is somehow a weak point of the story. There are multiple reasons for this decision, not in the least because almost everything in the Prequels is meant as a 'mirror' of the Original Trilogy, and thus Anakin losing his arm in a duel with a Sith lord (Dooku) in AotC is meant to mirror the Luke and Vader duel in ESB.

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Tumblr_m0u6gig6wR1rqbv05o1_500

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Tumblr_m0u6gig6wR1rqbv05o2_r3_500


Likewise, thematically it has great significance. The arm/hand he loses is the hand with which he first dares to touch Padme --- as well a the hand with which he slays the tribe on Tatooine. So Anakin is shown to 'pay' and suffer for both his love and his hate. It also reflects the fact that the loss of his humanity is not instantaneous, but rather something that happens over the course of the war. So, losing this piece of his human self at the start of the war is like a prelude or first step towards to what happens to him on Mustafar, both physically and spiritually. This stylised minimalist poster that someone created for RotS perfectly captures this theme -- the broken heart (Padme) and the lost lightsaber (his identity as a Jedi), and Anakin's 'Hand of Sorrow' reaching futilely for both.

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Tumblr_m6wwj4Z2uM1qhg9p3o1_540


The hand also features in-story in both of the animated Clone Wars series -- in the 2D animated series, it features prominently in the Nelvaan arc as you mentioned, where Anakin is seen as the 'Ghost Hand' figure by the Nelvaan tribe. (Not the only time Anakin/Vader is taken for some kind of godlike figure.) He loses that golden mech hand again while disarming a dangerous Separatist weapon, during which he has to brave the electric shocks emanating from it. This is a metaphor for his final heroic moments on the second Death Star, where he sacrifices himself under Sidious' Force-lighting to save his son and to destroy himself (he is himself a 'weapon' so the weapon he destroys in the Nelvaan arc is symbolic of him eventually destroying his Vader-self).



Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Tumblr_o8nr3dwAzI1u8kt7do5_250


The way the arm is featured in the 3d animated TCW series is a little different -- that series tends to draw attention to it in order to periodically remind the audience that Anakin has a mechanical prosthesis, and that it can sometimes be either a strength or a liability, depending on the situation. In one situation, there's a device that can deactivate battle droids remotely but it ends up deactivating Anakin's arm in the process. And then conversely, there are some rather comedic moments where his arm is advantageous, such as the hilarious scene from 'Crisis on Naboo' where Anakin is dueling Dooku at Theed Palace, and Dooku starts using the force to throw all kinds of fancy dinnerware at him, which Anakin deflects using his arm.  Laughing



Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Tumblr_nwfgvy1TmG1sqzou6o3_250

Speaking of Dooku, this is another important aspect of Anakin losing his arm in the duel against him in AotC --- in that it is something that causes Anakin great anguish and fuels his hatred of Dooku. It's important that Anakin has personal reason to hate Dooku, since that is partly what influences him to execute him in that pivotal moment in RotS, which begins his fall to the Dark Side in earnest. This is again meant to be a 'dark mirror' of the Original Trilogy -- Luke refuses to give into the urge to kill the enemy who took his hand out of hatred and revenge in ROtJ, while Anakin succumbs to it.

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Tumblr_nxvcwzMlcR1u6l9wmo2_r2_500

I am admittedly biased as well because the Anakin vs. Dooku duels are some of my all-time fave in both the Prequels and the Clone Wars series (the 3D series contains so many additional duels between them that I actually can't even remember them all to list them here), and these would be much less tense and impactful if it weren't for the loss of Anakin's arm fueling so much of his intense negative emotions towards the Count.  

Also, from a personal standpoint, Anakin's mechanical arm is just... aesthetically awesome. I love every iteration of it, from the very primitive skeletal design glimpsed during the Naboo wedding scene (which was purposefully done to evoke a 'Death and the Maiden' vibe), to the art deco inspired golden arm of the 2D animated series, to the more sleek black and gold 'upgraded' version seen in RotS.

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Tumblr_p5n3l4NLla1w8mobyo3_540


But more importantly, it's not just something that looks cool, nor something that has symbolic and thematic meanings.... it also adds so much angst to the story. Especially to the Anakin and Padme romance. If you think about the fact that, technically, Anakin only got that brief time in AotC on Naboo in which he was able to touch her with both his hands. They marry and have their wedding night *after* he loses the arm, if you get my drift. It adds to Anakin's emotional turmoil, while also simultaneously showing Padme's unconditional love and acceptance of him. That's what this moment in AotC is meant to convey:

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Tumblr_oofkvdwSTZ1r8a8mao2_500

Anyway, that's my essay on the importance of Anakin's mechanical arm. Thanks for making such a great figure to inspire it. Very Happy


_________________
"The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read,
not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man."

Ignoring current 'official' Star Wars content for my own sanity.

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
skywalkersaga wrote:Ah wow, that turned out really well, GF! Excellent custom interpretation of the character with effective lighting and backdrops. Thank you so much for taking my plea to help with this project so seriously. :')

Speaking as someone currently working on my own various custom Anakin projects (haven't gotten to this one yet, though, obviously), I can definitely tell how much effort went into this. You executed the Nelvaan tattoos very nicely, and that's probably one of the main concerns I've had. I feared that I would try to draw those on and then mess up horribly and end up wasting an expensive tbleague body. Razz

Using a third party headsculpt also gives you a decent margin for error when it comes to modifying it, and I'd say you did a great job with it. I think you said earlier that you had to re-tint the skintone on this one a bit to make it match the tbleague body, is that correct?

Speaking of which, I think you proved that the M33 can work for this version of the character, which I guess was partly your intent, lol. I know I've had my criticisms of that body, but I appreciate seeing an example that utilises it well. Wink

The way you solved the issue of the mech hand and arm is quite clever. I think there's plenty of wiggle room for artistic license in the arm/hand design since it changes a lot beteween AotC , the two animated Clone Wars series, and RotS. This actually has a canonical explanation --- during the Clone Wars, Anakin himself is constantly tinkering with and improving his mech arm. He even created a couple of little droids specifically to help him with it at times, and he keeps several spare mech arms 'at hand' (pun intended) in case of battle damage.  


Now, I do have to disagree that Anakin losing his arm in AotC is somehow a weak point of the story. There are multiple reasons for this decision, not in the least because almost everything in the Prequels is meant as a 'mirror' of the Original Trilogy, and thus Anakin losing his arm in a duel with a Sith lord (Dooku) in AotC is meant to mirror the Luke and Vader duel in ESB.

Likewise, thematically it has great significance. The arm/hand he loses is the hand with which he first dares to touch Padme --- as well a the hand with which he slays the tribe on Tatooine. So Anakin is shown to 'pay' and suffer for both his love and his hate. It also reflects the fact that the loss of his humanity is not instantaneous, but rather something that happens over the course of the war. So, losing this piece of his human self at the start of the war is like a prelude or first step towards to what happens to him on Mustafar, both physically and spiritually. This stylised minimalist poster that someone created for RotS perfectly captures this theme -- the broken heart (Padme) and the lost lightsaber (his identity as a Jedi), and Anakin's 'Hand of Sorrow' reaching futilely for both.

The hand also features in-story in both of the animated Clone Wars series -- in the 2D animated series, it features prominently in the Nelvaan arc as you mentioned, where Anakin is seen as the 'Ghost Hand' figure by the Nelvaan tribe. (Not the only time Anakin/Vader is taken for some kind of godlike figure.) He loses that golden mech hand again while disarming a dangerous Separatist weapon, during which he has to brave the electric shocks emanating from it. This is a metaphor for his final heroic moments on the second Death Star, where he sacrifices himself under Sidious' Force-lighting to save his son and to destroy himself (he is himself a 'weapon' so the weapon he destroys in the Nelvaan arc is symbolic of him eventually destroying his Vader-self).

The way the arm is featured in the 3d animated TCW series is a little different -- that series tends to draw attention to it in order to periodically remind the audience that Anakin has a mechanical prosthesis, and that it can sometimes be either a strength or a liability, depending on the situation. In one situation, there's a device that can deactivate battle droids remotely but it ends up deactivating Anakin's arm in the process. And then conversely, there are some rather comedic moments where his arm is advantageous, such as the hilarious scene from 'Crisis on Naboo' where Anakin is dueling Dooku at Theed Palace, and Dooku starts using the force to throw all kinds of fancy dinnerware at him, which Anakin deflects using his arm.  Laughing

Speaking of Dooku, this is another important aspect of Anakin losing his arm in the duel against him in AotC --- in that it is something that causes Anakin great anguish and fuels his hatred of Dooku. It's important that Anakin has personal reason to hate Dooku, since that is partly what influences him to execute him in that pivotal moment in RotS, which begins his fall to the Dark Side in earnest. This is again meant to be a 'dark mirror' of the Original Trilogy -- Luke refuses to give into the urge to kill the enemy who took his hand out of hatred and revenge in ROtJ, while Anakin succumbs to it.

I am admittedly biased as well because the Anakin vs. Dooku duels are some of my all-time fave in both the Prequels and the Clone Wars series (the 3D series contains so many additional duels between them that I actually can't even remember them all to list them here), and these would be much less tense and impactful if it weren't for the loss of Anakin's arm fueling so much of his intense negative emotions towards the Count.  

Also, from a personal standpoint, Anakin's mechanical arm is just... aesthetically awesome. I love every iteration of it, from the very primitive skeletal design glimpsed during the Naboo wedding scene (which was purposefully done to evoke a 'Death and the Maiden' vibe), to the art deco inspired golden arm of the 2D animated series, to the more sleek black and gold 'upgraded' version seen in RotS.

But more importantly, it's not just something that looks cool, nor something that has symbolic and thematic meanings.... it also adds so much angst to the story. Especially to the Anakin and Padme romance. If you think about the fact that, technically, Anakin only got that brief time in AotC on Naboo in which he was able to touch her with both his hands. They marry and have their wedding night *after* he loses the arm, if you get my drift. It adds to Anakin's emotional turmoil, while also simultaneously showing Padme's unconditional love and acceptance of him. That's what this moment in AotC is meant to convey:

Anyway, that's my essay on the importance of Anakin's mechanical arm. Thanks for making such a great figure to inspire it. Very Happy
I am very relieved this meets with your approval, Sky, since you are by far our resident expert on all things Anakin and Prequel. I just realized the first part included no rear views, so I will post some of those in Part II. The genuine HT Anakin pants don't flare up as much as I'd like above the boots, and the split design at the waist is done with a superimposed piece of brown microfiber. If one shortens it, its bottom edge can hide under the belt, which might be the more classic look here -- but somewhere I saw an edge hanging under the belt so I went with that.

The Nelvaan tattoos took some time but were not really difficult, if you go the Gundam Real Paint marker route. Just remember to do one or two segments at a time and to soak up the extra ink/paint immediately. Many cotton swabs died in the process... Smile I wish I had made them a bit thicker, which would have looked cool, but I realized that might depart from the (admittedly animated) source design. If you do mess up, a quick and determined (if careful) wash with soap and water might be able to fix your mistake -- but better get it right on the first try. I only found a youtube version of the episode after I was done, so unfortunately I had to work from a collage of screenshots I found somewhere -- and the pattern can be slightly different from one image to the next. I ended up with something that I felt reasonably representative, and only know of two minor departures (I made an extra square swirl for the front of the shoulder to fill up space and omitted a line running down the inside of the arm, lest it should transfer onto the torso if it rubs into it -- an abundance of caution). On the face, looking for a more reversible option, I went with a printed self-adhesive label tattoo (painted over, for good measure with the same Gundam marker, although the color is still a little more vibrant if one looks carefully).

It was relatively easy removing the luxuriant golden haired wig from the head, but like I mentioned elsewhere, I felt I needed to dremel out a hole into the sunken skull so the neck peg would reach up far enough to avoid a giraffe neck effect. Then I built up the skull a little with green stuff, though without making the surface quite as high as the forehead and base of the head would suggest, since I glued the hair on top of that (after painting it, of course). I have added a little more hair since my first try. I am thinking of adding some more hair to the back of the base of the head, for a more mullet look.

Yes, I think M33 ended up working well. It may have helped the height and proportions that he is (a) booted and (b) I used the shortest ankle extenders sold as a pack of three options on eBay (here). The TBLeague ankle extenders are evil (almost impossible to remove safely once in place) and I continue to avoid them. Anyway the fit with the third party extenders is actually quite good.

The hand: I was just relieved that the animated version had a fairly straight up (if Art Deco) vambrace design; I made mine with paper, tape, self-adhesive labels, and ribbons, and Vallejo paint. In the non-close up shots, I thought the mechanical hand didn't look that different from the droid-like mechanical hand of the Bad Batch Echo character, so I used that and repainted it (did the same for a more relaxed hand sculpt too). Ideally, I would have loved to use the Sideshow or better yet Hot Toys hand there. The Sideshow one is easy to detach, but it is unarticulated and where it ought to have a hole for the wrist peg it has a peg instead; the part seems to delicate to try to drill into. The Hot Toys hand is harder to detatch from its arm/vambrace part, and probably just as hard to adapt, for other reasons. If I were Ephiane, I might have chopped off both the TPE flesh and the underlying metal skeleton and attached the HT ensemble somehow. But the vambrace part would still have had to be covered up to get the Nelvaan look right.

I am not excluding further work on this, just to see if I can make it work. But perfecting the mechanical hand is not a major priority for me. Some of what you mentioned in your excellent discussion I knew or suspected, although much was new to me. It really does work out beautifully, although I wonder how much of this was planned and how much fell into place upon reconsideration. I still feel that, even if all this was intentional and conscious of these implications, father and son losing their same hand while dueling with light sabers was a forced parallel too much on the nose; and with so many of those in Star Wars (some of that even in the Original Trilogy already), they should have found another way. As it is, it cheapens the plot for me. Now if Luke did not lose his arm in Empire, it would have been fine -- but he had already done that, even if Empire is set later. This is just my feeling about it.


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skywalkersaga

skywalkersaga
Thanks so much for the added tips on customisation. You really went the extra mile to make him like the animated version, which my nerdy self appreciates. I now have no excuse not to make mine finally. Wink  All I can say is that I'll probably attempt it myself as soon as I can afford the needed parts, so thanks for helping with the confidence boost.

As for the arm discussion, well of course you don't have to like it, but it's quite an integral aspect of the character. And certainly, the parallel does not in any way cheapen the Original Trilogy --- for one thing, it's a contrasting parallel to the OT, not an exact mimicry. Which is why I called the Prequels a 'dark mirror' to the Original. Many of the main points of Anakin's story reflect what Luke goes through to some degree, only with a different end result since the PT is a tragedy while the OT is a story of redemption. In fact, the entirety of the Prequels trilogy is constructed as a parallel to the Original Trilogy and this is done in a way that is not to copy the original films or lessen their impact, but rather to create a sense of visual poetry which interwines and links the two trilogies together into one saga.


_________________
"The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read,
not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man."

Ignoring current 'official' Star Wars content for my own sanity.

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
skywalkersaga wrote:Thanks so much for the added tips on customisation. You really went the extra mile to make him like the animated version, which my nerdy self appreciates. I now have no excuse not to make mine finally. Wink  All I can say is that I'll probably attempt it myself as soon as I can afford the needed parts, so thanks for helping with the confidence boost.

As for the arm discussion, well of course you don't have to like it, but it's quite an integral aspect of the character. And certainly, the parallel does not in any way cheapen the Original Trilogy --- for one thing, it's a contrasting parallel to the OT, not an exact mimicry. Which is why I called the Prequels a 'dark mirror' to the Original. Many of the main points of Anakin's story reflect what Luke goes through to some degree, only with a different end result since the PT is a tragedy while the OT is a story of redemption. In fact, the entirety of the Prequels trilogy is constructed as a parallel to the Original Trilogy and this is done in a way that is not to copy the original films or lessen their impact, but rather to create a sense of visual poetry which interwines and links the two trilogies together into one saga.
You are very welcome, I hope this gives you ideas of what you can do and what you can do better. I forgot, yes, I did apply a thin fairly transparent application of paint to the exposed head surfaces to make it even closer to TBLeague's male "suntan" skin tone; less thin/transparent under the jawline and hairline at the neck.

Thanks for the linked video. Wow, there is even more parallelism than I remembered! I get the artistic attractiveness of such an approach (complete with appropriate contrast), but it is a risky device, because for every cool connection there is the potential predictability impression, which is usually a problem. Again, just to my mind, the loss of the right hand in both cases is too obvious/on the nose.  The philosophical aspects do make it seem more worthwhile in the Prequel, but the Original Trilogy already existed.


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skywalkersaga

skywalkersaga
Thanks for the confirmation on the subtle repaint of the headsculpt, good to know. Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) 1f44d


_________________
"The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read,
not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man."

Ignoring current 'official' Star Wars content for my own sanity.

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
Part II

More photos.

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann1310

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann1210

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann0710

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann0810

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann0910

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann1010

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann1110

For Part III see HERE. For Part IV see HERE.


_________________
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skywalkersaga

skywalkersaga
Aww, they look lovely together.  I love you

And thanks for sharing the extra pics, the back view of the tattoos looks good too. And regardless of what you might think of it, I like your solution for the mech arm here. It works really well for a realistic version of the 2D animated character.  

Did you give him armpit hair?  Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) 1f605


_________________
"The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read,
not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man."

Ignoring current 'official' Star Wars content for my own sanity.

Ovy

Ovy
Haha, awesome, I suspected that it might be this Anakin version when I read the title but wasn't sure. So it's finally done, beautiful job.
Probably you will place him next to the topless Magic Mauls on the shelf? He could join the group as Ziggykin Starmanwalker.

I guess the tattoo itself has a depper meaning? I mean the little coloring grubs were marking his heart and his fighting arm.
Anyway, really nice bodypaintjob depicting Yappateru the Skykraken.  

Intresting idea with the arm, so you used s a copy of a Hot Toys Echo Arm or something?


For me, the weakest descisions in the prequel triology:
Episode One: Castrating Darth Maul in the first movie already.
Episode Two: Yoda randomly coming up with the name "The Clone War". And B1-PO.
Episode Three: Buzz Droids. And Yoda randomly being a friend of Chewbacca.



Btw, remember who tried it out first in 2019! Of course it's not as precise as with markers and was only temporary, as a lot more colors were added, but it can still be seen.
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t260p135-painting-seamless-bodies-nsfw#30812

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) PSX-20191119-234920

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) PSX-20191119-234935


_________________
Ovyview of my custom figures

skywalkersaga

skywalkersaga
Aw, of course, Ovy, I don't forget your original experiment! I love you I was just glad to see it also works with the paint markers on the M33.  

Prequels certainly have their flaws but I find the story, visuals, costumes, and soundtracks beautiful and compelling enough to forgive them. Wink

Honestly though, for me the biggest 'problem' of the Prequels is simply that they came up with SO much concept art and worldbuilding that there was too much material to include in just three films. That's why the animated series were such welcome additions from my perspective. Smile


_________________
"The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read,
not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man."

Ignoring current 'official' Star Wars content for my own sanity.

lawlaw91

lawlaw91
I like he is been covered by the red light...looks like he is 100% exactly standing on the scene...Is his body M32? I thought that body's shoulders should not look that wide...

Ok I also see some hair under his armpit Razz Razz Razz so many details XDD

https://www.deviantart.com/lawlaw91

Stryker2011

Stryker2011
Founding Father
Very nice figure and mods, Ian. And all the discussion — interesting to say the least. I have no love for the prequels aside from a design standpoint, so I’ll leave it at that.


_________________
Mark

He who dies with the most toys wins!

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) C8485110

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
skywalkersaga wrote:Aww, they look lovely together.  I love you

And thanks for sharing the extra pics, the back view of the tattoos looks good too. And regardless of what you might think of it, I like your solution for the mech arm here. It works really well for a realistic version of the 2D animated character.  

Did you give him armpit hair?  Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) 1f605
I'm glad you like them. By the way, these are actually two different Natalie heads (one is from the SuperDuck Mighty Thor set, the other KT).

Glad you liked the back tattoos too. These are entirely accurate (at least insofar as the animation was consistent).

The vambrace is as accurate as I could make it; for the actual hand part I do wish I could have adapted the HT mech hand for (though it would have needed repainting to be all brass/gold). But thank you, I also think it is close enough.

Yes! I'm glad you noticed. One of the things that I noticed when looking up reference images is that they had it in there, so I added it.
Ovy wrote:Haha, awesome, I suspected that it might be this Anakin version when I read the title but wasn't sure. So it's finally done, beautiful job.
Probably you will place him next to the topless Magic Mauls on the shelf? He could join the group as Ziggykin Starmanwalker.

I guess the tattoo itself has a depper meaning? I mean the little coloring grubs were marking his heart and his fighting arm. Anyway, really nice bodypaintjob depicting Yappateru the Skykraken.  

Intresting idea with the arm, so you used s a copy of a Hot Toys Echo Arm or something?

For me, the weakest descisions in the prequel triology:
Episode One: Castrating Darth Maul in the first movie already.
Episode Two: Yoda randomly coming up with the name "The Clone War". And B1-PO.
Episode Three: Buzz Droids. And Yoda randomly being a friend of Chewbacca.

Btw, remember who tried it out first in 2019! Of course it's not as precise as with markers and was only temporary, as a lot more colors were added, but it can still be seen.
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t260p135-painting-seamless-bodies-nsfw#30812

Thank you very much, Ovy, I'm glad you liked it.

Funny, I thought of posing him with the Mauls as either enemies or checking out each other's tattoos (cause that's what tatted up guys apparently do, right?). Smile But with one possible exception, thanks to the boots and small ankle extenders, this Anakin would tower over them in a ridiculous way. So I gave up on the idea.

As for HT Bad Batch Echo, I only used the hands (repainting them with Vallejo brass). There was no easy way to use the vambrace, which was also not quite the correct design. So that part I constructed from paper, tape, self-adhesive labels, ribbons, and more Vallejo paint. I was thankful that the original design made it look pretty much like a vambrace placed over an actual normal lower arm, but I also wanted to make sure it does not get too bulky.

I do remember your amazing colorful whistling people, but I confess that I had forgotten that one of the designs began as this, specifically -- you ended up making it so much more vibrant and artistic. I am amazed, again, that you managed to get such precise lines with the oil pastel.

Your film criticisms make good sense to me, along with a few more cringeworthy things (Anakin building 3PO, etc). But the Sequel Trilogy has definitely improved (a little) my appreciation of the Prequels. I've also now seen a couple of Clone Wars episodes that were fun.

skywalkersaga wrote:Honestly though, for me the biggest 'problem' of the Prequels is simply that they came up with SO much concept art and worldbuilding that there was too much material to include in just three films. That's why the animated series were such welcome additions from my perspective. Smile

Arguably, that (too much stuff, too little time) is a reason why Return of the Jedi is the worst of the Original Trilogy.

lawlaw91 wrote:I like he is been covered by the red light...looks like he is 100% exactly standing on the scene...Is his body M32? I thought that body's shoulders should not look that wide...

Ok I also see some hair under his armpit Razz Razz Razz so many details XDD

Thank you, I'm glad you spotted the details. The body is M33, not M32. It looks taller because it uses third-party small ankle extenders (inside the boots).

Stryker2011 wrote:Very nice figure and mods, Ian. And all the discussion — interesting to say the least. I have no love for the prequels aside from a design standpoint, so I’ll leave it at that.

Thank you very much, Mark, glad you liked it. And you know I'm largely on the same wavelength.


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GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
Part III

My usual indecision kept me from choosing between these virtually identical shots and these different backgrounds. Which one (A, B, C, D, E, F) do you think is best?

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann1410

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann1510

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann1610

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann1710

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann1810

Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) Ann1910

For Part IV see HERE.


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skywalkersaga

skywalkersaga
GF, I understand the struggle with choosing photos from amongst very similar ones. The ones that stood out to me were the top two images, I think for whatever reason the way his head was framed in those worked best for me.


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Stryker2011

Stryker2011
Founding Father
I kind of like C & D myself.


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Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads) C8485110

skywalkersaga

skywalkersaga
Oh, I meant to ask a question regarding the ankle extenders --- did you have to remove the Hot Toys peg from inside the boots in order to connect them to the M33 via the extender? I've never been sure how I would actually fit the HT boots onto a male tbleague body, so I'm just curious.


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"The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read,
not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man."

Ignoring current 'official' Star Wars content for my own sanity.

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
skywalkersaga wrote:GF, I understand the struggle with choosing photos from amongst very similar ones.  The ones that stood out to me were the top two images, I think for whatever reason the way his head was framed in those worked best for me.

Stryker2011 wrote:I kind of like C & D myself.

Thank you both for playing. Now we need someone to like E and F! Smile You can certainly see why I couldn't easily go with one.

skywalkersaga wrote:Oh, I meant to ask a question regarding the ankle extenders --- did you have to remove the Hot Toys peg from inside the boots in order to connect them to the M33 via the extender? I've never been sure how I would actually fit the HT boots onto a male tbleague body, so I'm just curious.

I forget whether the parted out boots I got came with the HT ankle pegs or without them; if with, then I removed them (they are removable, just a little hard to get -- use long nosed pliers maybe, heating them up can help). The third party extender (I used the smallest version) has a fixed peg to go into the boots (or feet or whatever). In the photo they are shown upside down, with the peg pointing up, but it would go down into the foot or footwear if you use it (the bigger extenders have removable pegs). The HT boots (without their own pegs) work fine with the TBLeague body's pegs and also with the third party extender's pegs. I assume they would also work with the TBLeague extender, but I don't use TBLeague extenders on principle so I cannot confirm (once on, they are extremely hard to remove).

Once again, for reference, the third party extenders:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/272050171944


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skywalkersaga

skywalkersaga
Thanks, GF, that confirms what I thought about how to get the boots to work with the tbleague body.

Another possible way to get the pegs out is to use the HT body (I know in your situation it wouldn't have helped but just mentionining in case someone already has the Anakin figure and wants to take the boots off to use for something else), since sometimes when you pull the boots off it the pegs come out of the boot along with it. Just hold the bottom of the boot to make the peg come out with the legs, if that makes sense. I experienced this myself when I was undressing the HT body to try to remove the padding. Thankfully the originally pegs went back in again. This current Anakin figure seems a bit easier to work with in that regard, whereas the RotS version had pegs that were more difficult to remove (at least in my experience).


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"The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read,
not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man."

Ignoring current 'official' Star Wars content for my own sanity.

lawlaw91

lawlaw91
Personally, I will choose the C rather than others, but it is from my technical standpoint Razz

A and E are good but the lines in the background are busy behind his head. The B, D, and F are really near to perfect if not the background has a little brighter than Anakin himself

https://www.deviantart.com/lawlaw91

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
skywalkersaga wrote:Thanks, GF, that confirms what I thought about how to get the boots to work with the tbleague body.
You are welcome. And yes, having the body helps, sometimes.

lawlaw91 wrote:Personally, I will choose the C rather than others, but it is from my technical standpoint Razz

A and E are good but the lines in the background are busy behind his head. The B, D, and F are really near to perfect if not the background has a little brighter than Anakin himself

Thanks for playing. Arguably, the background can be lighter -- he stands under a "roofed" area, while getting some light on himself from the front, but the cave system has other openings, including on the "roof" in the areas behind him. This is actually the case with some of the caves in the photos.


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shovelchop81

shovelchop81
Great job on the hair! Those markers work really well too! I can never get my damn Gundam markers to work, even on Gundams! Why can I not remember this episode at all?

skywalkersaga

skywalkersaga
shovelchop81 wrote:Why can I not remember this episode at all?

The episode is from the Tartakovsky 2D animated series that aired 2003-2005 (between the releases of AotC and RotS), so... it's been a while... ;p


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"The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read,
not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man."

Ignoring current 'official' Star Wars content for my own sanity.

shovelchop81

shovelchop81
skywalkersaga wrote:
shovelchop81 wrote:Why can I not remember this episode at all?

The episode is from the Tartakovsky 2D animated series that aired 2003-2005 (between the releases of AotC and RotS), so... it's been a while... ;p

Cheers! I remember the 2D version, had a really wacky looking Palpatine! I'd been trying to remember how it fitted in with the Clone Wars cartoons recently that are all 3D and couldn't find it in the 'complete Clone Wars' files I had DL'd a while back.

skywalkersaga

skywalkersaga
shovelchop81 wrote:
skywalkersaga wrote:
shovelchop81 wrote:Why can I not remember this episode at all?

The episode is from the Tartakovsky 2D animated series that aired 2003-2005 (between the releases of AotC and RotS), so... it's been a while... ;p

Cheers! I remember the 2D version, had a really wacky looking Palpatine! I'd been trying to remember how it fitted in with the Clone Wars cartoons recently that are all 3D and couldn't find it in the 'complete Clone Wars' files I had DL'd a while back.

Haha, yeah, a lot of the character designs in that one were really 'out there'. I think the 2D animated Clone Wars was intended to be an optional Expanded Universe entry at the time it was made (it had some connections with the old Dark Horse Republic/Clone Wars comics, iirc), but is now considered to be 'Legends' (aka, non-canon). When the 3D series came out (2008) it was still during the Lucas-era, so it too was just another alternative Expanded Universe entry. But now the 3D Clone Wars series is the one that's been absorbed into the Disney 'new canon'.

I personally just take both the Clone Wars series as optional Expanded Universe material, and pick and choose what I like from both. :')


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Ignoring current 'official' Star Wars content for my own sanity.

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