Tiffany, Tanya, and Willie (Tauntauns and Wampas): Updated Oct 22 2022

Stryker2011 wrote:What I'd like to know... how did Taun Tauns get dirty anyway? Where's the DIRT? All I ever saw was snow.

skywalkersaga wrote:Maybe they like to roll around in smelly things? Han did say he thought they smelled bad on the outside...

Very valid observations. Perhaps it is not so much that they get dirty (although I lived long enough in the Midwest to see plenty of suspiciously dirty snow), as their not-so-light colors showing through, and my attempt to change their coloring accordingly makes me use the term "dirty up."

Here are some pics of my Tanya so far.
I did no weathering with dirt yet, but put some fur on it. It already looks a bit more "used look" this way, but hm, not sure yet. Still something is missing. The eyes are still a bit huge, even after the repaint, maybe a bigger eye lid would work here too.


Say hello to (WIP) Tanya and Zombie Boba













Tanya definately in for a play date with Tiffany.

Wow that's nice work on the Taun Taun!

Wooooooow, I love all of them! Great job on the customization. What a difference! I'll never look at even the cheapest figures the same way again. You've ruined me!

Wow! Holy …..! That’s impressive work on Tanya with the hair and repaint. Nice job.

Wow. That is most impressive, Simon! Beautifully done and it looks alive! You even chipped the horn! Now Tiffany is going to ask for hair (before any play date)! What fur did you use, if I may ask?
I would remark that the coloring (and I do like the warmer and darker color scheme) suggests this Taun Taun has been transported to the sweltering tropical heat of Carabino, but also that any attempt at permanent snow effect might mess it up, so don't change a thing! It's already perfect.

Thanks all glad you like Ian's and my Taun Taun versions of this Kenner model. I didnt know how much of this figure was salvagable, but i do like both updated versions with and without fur.

Oh and i didnt chip the horn, it came already chipped
I guess there are two versions out there, luke and TT as well as han and TT and the Taun Taun is slightly different here.

For the fur i bought some second quality lamb hair from this shop in different shades of grey/brown.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/144746810368?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=X5QbbbOWShy&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=rQrs1FeYTca&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=WHATS_APP

Thanks so much, Simon. I am very tempted to follow in your footsteps with the hair and Tiffany is pretty insistent on it. On the other hand, the paler color and more matted fur look of the sculpt is arguably closer to the set and film photos, although I find yours far more appealing visually. Of course, some of the darker coloring may come from artificial lighting in these photos (I noticed that looking at the seller's products). So I bought some more hair, we'll see where it goes. While I've been improving Tiffany (about done, other than having to restore the broken/unbroken horn option), but mostly working on Willie Wampa and some other Star Wars (and non-Star Wars) projects.
And you're right about the two Taun Tauns, Luke's and Han's. I guess mine was Han's.

I’ve bought plenty of Morezmore hair and other things.

Those are stunning transformations - with and without the fur. Tiffany and Tanya, gotta love the ordinary names you guys give your otherworldly creatures, it's an ongoing gag and I love it. Willy the Wampa, OMG I'm in tears. I still need to find an 'exotic' base mount for my characters, the Star Wars lineup seems to be the best bet.

Stryker2011 wrote:I’ve bought plenty of Morezmore hair and other things.

I just received the extra hair I ordered yesterday, but I don't know if it will be deployed before the next photos, which would be coming soon.

AlKelAstra91 wrote: Those are stunning transformations - with and without the fur. Tiffany and Tanya, gotta love the ordinary names you guys give your otherworldly creatures, it's an ongoing gag and I love it. Willy the Wampa, OMG I'm in tears. I still need to find an 'exotic' base mount for my characters, the Star Wars lineup seems to be the best bet.

Thank you very much, I'm very happy you liked them. And the silly names. Willie Wampa has been modded up a bit and will be appearing in more detail, together with what everyone has always wanted (right?) -- an analysis of Lucas' Wampa design.

Amazing Work at the Tauntaun and Wampa Ladies ! Can´t wait to see them in the snow this winter. Hope You two will give us some pictures of that. You can also made Snow with sugar for some pictures.

Ephiane wrote:Amazing Work at the Tauntaun and Wampa Ladies ! Can´t wait to see them in the snow this winter. Hope You two will give us some pictures of that. You can also made Snow with sugar for some pictures.

I'm glad you liked them. Valiarde might get lucky with some snow. But unless we have a very intense hailstorm that covers the ground (it has happened), I might have to do with sugar or, better yet, flour. For now I'm using various papers and cloth as base.

If you want snow you should look at model railroad stuff — probably safer to use than some of the other stuff.

Stryker2011 wrote:If you want snow you should look at model railroad stuff — probably safer to use than some of the other stuff.

That sounds like a very good idea. I'll look into it... eventually.

Willie the Wampa Update

This is mostly about Willie and Wampas in general, covering their complicated and inconsistent appearances in the films and deleted scenes and their relation to the Kenner toy and my customization of it. But you can also see a bit of the continued improvements on Tiffany the Tauntaun; I have not yet attempted to follow in Valiarde's footsteps and apply fur to it, but I followed up on Shovelchop's suggestion to add more red in the corners of the eyes.



















The following is my basic analysis of background information as to the design(s) of Wampas by Lucasfilm and how this relates to the Kenner toy and my customization of it. I know more details I didn't deem pertinent, and there are many more that have eluded me, but this is my understanding of how things stood and developed. Plenty more reference images after the introduction.













Hope you liked it and got some ideas. As always, what do you think?

WOW! That was super interesting, thank you for sharing all your research this way! Wampa C definitely looks best.

Wow, indeed. That's such a big improvement. The yellowed fur is very effective and looks much more realistic. And I agree, thanks for the detailed look at the designs.

I had no idea there were so many iterations of the Wampa design, nor did I know that they were originally intended to feature much more prominently in the storyline. Fascinating research; takes me back to my younger years when I devoured (Ha!) everything I could find (it was in magazines and books back then) about the "making of" Star Wars.

Very interesting update, Ian. I think you did a good job on Willie considering some of the issues with the original doll.

Diana wrote:WOW! That was super interesting, thank you for sharing all your research this way! Wampa C definitely looks best.

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it, and that you agree (not that we always have to agree on everything).

skywalkersaga wrote:Wow, indeed. That's such a big improvement. The yellowed fur is very effective and looks much more realistic. And I agree, thanks for the detailed look at the designs.

Thank you very much, I'm glad you approve. The whole time I was thinking "is it too yellow?" but I think it is a lot more natural than the original lemon yellow diamond outline around the belly, and I have seen some very dirty yellow polar bears, so I went with it. I'm glad I spent time looking at references (confusing as they were at first) before doing the modifications.

davidd wrote:I had no idea there were so many iterations of the Wampa design, nor did I know that they were originally intended to feature much more prominently in the storyline. Fascinating research; takes me back to my younger years when I devoured (Ha!) everything I could find (it was in magazines and books back then) about the "making of" Star Wars.

If you learned something new and curious, I'm delighted. Like you, I generally enjoy finding out more about the making of and behind the scenes of these films, whether or not it informs any specific project of mine. There has been a lot of this going on when making custom figures (like the imperial technician) or dioramas (like my Death Star hallways, etc, in "classic scale").

Stryker2011 wrote:Very interesting update, Ian. I think you did a good job on Willie considering some of the issues with the original doll.

Thank you very much, Mark. I'm glad you approve. Indeed, this seems to be about as far as one can go with the original doll.
I have seen one customizer replicate the blood-stained fur from when the Wampa (C Special Edition) was feeding in the cave, which was very cool, but overly scene-specific for my purposes; he also ripped the outer layer open to replace the wire armature with a Hasbro body of some kind before sowing it up again, supposedly for better articulation -- I think it would make for easier articulation, but perhaps the only definite improvement might be the movement of the head, depending on what he did with it).
I have also seen a very cool stopmotion doll made from scratch (not based on the Kenner figure). It looked more like the hand puppet (Wampa E) than the others, but it was also probably too small for sixth scale.

One latecomer photo addition for the Willie the Wampa update. With Luke put in his place, she is on top of the world. Yay!

Oh the Hoth Fauna! Great recycling. Tiffany's eyes have more life now. Also like the gradual flesh coloring of the snout.
Heard about that project first when Valiarde also bought one. I think I met Tanya once, it's beautiful. Almost like some taxidermy has been going on.
I think you could try clean white lamp fur and weather it with thinned darker acrylics.

Willie Wampa is very cute. Maybe it's the original Wampa's kid which Luke visits after all those years to apologize. It looks very versatile for multiple scenarios and could depict different creatures when one changes the face.

Wampa A is beautifully terrifying, have never seen that concept art. It looks more human and sentient than all the other ones, at the same time kinda insane/intense.

Makes you wonder how 'sentient' they are and how they live. Is the one Luke attacked a loner, a serial killer living in a cave? Is he the local butcher of a larger Wampa society? Is there a larger city called Wamparis somewhere? Wampa probably did nothing wrong, it's rather tragic.
All that is probably explored in my multiple books written in thr 90s or something.

Wampa B is very cute, I just want to hug it despite it's sice. If I was rich businessman I would buy/recreate the original and turn it into comfy chair.

Wampa C looks great in the miniature cave. That technique is similar to the one Gandalf and Frodo etc. were filmed with. Looked very convincing.
Call him Wampadalf the White.

Burn Wampacious D.

GubernatorFan wrote:One latecomer photo addition for the Willie the Wampa update. With Luke put in his place, she is on top of the world. Yay!

Was just about to ask if you tried putting Willie up there, haha.

Could also give him a regular looking cap or hat and some Chewie belt.

Ovy wrote:Oh the Hoth Fauna! Great recycling. Tiffany's eyes have more life now.  Also like the gradual flesh coloring of the snout.
Heard about that project first when Valiarde also bought one. I think I met Tanya once, it's beautiful. Almost like some taxidermy has been going on.
I think you could try clean white lamp fur and weather it with thinned darker acrylics.

Willie Wampa is very cute. Maybe it's the original Wampa's kid which Luke visits after all those years to apologize. It looks very versatile for multiple scenarios and could depict different creatures when one changes the face.

Wampa A is beautifully terrifying, have never seen that concept art. It looks more human and sentient than all the other ones, at the same time kinda insane/intense.

Makes you wonder how 'sentient' they are and how they live. Is the one Luke attacked a loner, a serial killer living in a cave? Is he the local butcher of a larger Wampa society? Is there a larger city called Wamparis somewhere? Wampa probably did nothing wrong, it's rather tragic.
All that is probably explored in my multiple books written in thr 90s or something.

Wampa B is very cute, I just want to hug it despite it's sice. If I was rich businessman I would buy/recreate the original and turn it into comfy chair.

Wampa C looks great in the miniature cave. That technique is similar to the one Gandalf and Frodo etc. were filmed with. Looked very convincing.
Call him Wampadalf the White.

Burn Wampacious D.

Ovy wrote:
Was just about to ask if you tried putting Willie up there, haha.

Could also give him a regular looking cap or hat and some Chewie belt.

I'm very glad you liked them Ovy, thanks for the kind words and the fun musings and suggestions.

Valiarde and I bought our Tauntauns at the same time and were discussing ideas for improvement (and whether it was worth trying). I think we all agree it was. His work, in particular looks absolutely stunning.

Yes, I think Willie would have to be a growing Wampa that is not full size yet. Since we've established Tiffany is not Luke's Tauntaun (at least until I fix the optional broken horn swap pieces), there is no reason why Willie should be a Wampa we have encountered before. She just wanted to go for a ride and, being semi-sentient (according to Wookiepedia!) could not quite grasp Luke's joke about not being tall enough to go on that ride. So she acted out, like teenagers do.

I agree with your observations on the Wampas. Wampa A does look terrifying in a different manner -- more sentient than wild beast. I think it is the more humanoid body and more minotaurian features. I can't get over Wampa B's sad cuteness and take it seriously, although from a distance it manages to look formidable; but up close it just looks silly to me, unrealistic (more so than usual) within the surroundings of the Star Wars universe (just like the silly animated singer added to Return of the Jedi's Special Edition -- who was based on a hardly seen and just as silly puppet from the original filming). Wampa C Special Edition is the one that was man-sized and in the smaller cave; the original Wampa C design (used in the studio during original filming) seems to have used the oversized costumes with stilts. But I take your point. Wampdalf the White sounds like an excellent character's name, Wampa or not.

If I remember the (retconned) canon correctly, officially we see two Wampa characters, one male, one female (but which is which?) in the movie as it exists now (i.e., Special Edition). Ironically, the Wampa in the cave is supposed to be one and the same, but we are looking clearly at two different Wampa designs in different frames, hence my complaining. The actual Wampa designs we see on screen in the existing movie are three (hand puppet Wampa E attacking the Tauntaun, oversized Wampa B dragging off Luke and then lunging at him in the cave, and mansized Wampa C feeding in the cave, advancing on Luke, and then in pain having lost its arm). The script calling for a Wampa attack on the Rebel base included multiple Wampas, two of them Wampa C, one Wampa B, one Wampa D (at least) -- and at some point they were fine with the implausible variations between the designs (luckily, these seem to have been abandoned, considering later decisions about the hand puppet Wampa E and the Special Edition Wampa C -- which I could call Wampa F, since it was technically the last created, although it recreated the design of Wampa C).

And of course I couldn't resist trying out Willie the Wampa's riding skills as soon as the joke came to mind. Just forgot to take the photo with the others, hence playing catch up. Funny, I was thinking that at this diminutive size, Kenner's Wampa is not all that far removed from a Wookie -- just a snow environment variety with bigger claws.

These are really great, I've seen the tauntaun a few times on ebay but have passed on it since I'm limited in space (plus they are smelly), the wampa I've seen less and have always wondered how tall and what type of body it used, I would have never imagined they used a wire armature for it.

Ha! Nice to see Willie and Tiffany seem to be having fun together. And yeah, that upstart Luke needed to be put in his place.

So Funny scenes and great photograpie ! You made the background this creatures diserved. Fantastic ! Thanks for the excellent entertainment. The Wampa looks better than the one George Lucas did.
Hope we see them from time to time in Your Star Wars Adventures.

Theboo-bomb wrote:These are really great, I've seen the tauntaun a few times on ebay but have passed on it since I'm limited in space (plus they are smelly), the wampa I've seen less and have always wondered how tall and what type of body it used, I would have never imagined they used a wire armature for it.

Thank you very much, I'm glad you like them and now have a better sense of what one can do with them -- and you are a master at modifying figures from this line. Yes, the Wampa is basically a stuffed animal. Working with the wire armature feels very alien to what we are used to, but it does produce often passable results. Now imagine this was a well-articulated jointed body (especially if it were properly tall and proportioned) and had a detachable arm -- how cool would that have been? The fur would have hidden the seams anyway.

Stryker2011 wrote:Ha! Nice to see Willie and Tiffany seem to be having fun together. And yeah, that upstart Luke needed to be put in his place.

I'm glad you liked that. Well, he was being too much of a spoilsport, I suppose. This wasn't actually intentional picking on Luke, but people liked the Tauntaun and Wampa too much to reflect their onscreen fates.

Ephiane wrote:So Funny scenes and great photograpie ! You made the background this creatures diserved. Fantastic ! Thanks for the excellent entertainment. The Wampa looks better than the one George Lucas did.
Hope we see them from time to time in Your Star Wars Adventures.

I'm very happy you enjoyed them, Ephiane. Better than Lucas' Wampa? That is high praise indeed (even if some of the Wampa designs were silly to begin with). I will see what I can do about featuring them more. The environment (well, the backdrop) is a leftover from my custom General Veers in the AT-AT cockpit photoshoot. And it is from the same area where they shot those landscapes for The Empire Strikes Back. These days I have to navigate around damage to these printed backgrounds (sun exposure on parts, mishaps elsewhere, etc).