Gubernator's various new Star Wars customs (updated 27 September 2024)

Part I: Painting 3D printed heads of Star Wars characters


For Part II, see HERE.


For Part III, see HERE.


For Part IV see HERE.

For Part V see HERE.


For Part VI, see HERE.

For Part VII, see HERE.


You all know how much I like good head sculpts. While I am no professional head painter, I've gotten to the point where I'm more willing to invest in unpainted heads and painting them myself (the time and cost of professional services for that are not enticing me). I am working on several characters at the moment, some of them more complete. So, for now, here are four heads I purchased from Poison3DHarleyCstms on Etsy. I cannot praise this printer/seller enough, very helpful and accommodating, and not too expensive.

Still Work in Progress.

The heads as they arrived:


The heads primed:


The heads painted so far, the light makes the colors more vibrant than in hand:


So far all of the heads need their bodies, clothing, and accessories. I don't know how far along I will get this in terms of matching the onscreen look, except for some other characters I'm working on.

Weequay (there were several on Jabba's staff), will be getting some braids coming out of the bumps at the back of the head:


Nikto (there were several on Jabba's staff), needs one of several possible head coverings; I am also still looking for the "green" Nikto (originally called Klaatu), but the only version I see is on Shapeways for too high a price:


Barada or his compadre Kithaba (confusingly retconned as members of a "Klaatoonian" species, also several on Jabba's staff), needs a head scarf; in hand this one looks a lot duller and more realistic:


Nien Nunb (Lando's co-pilot) came with his leather pilot cap sculpted as part of the mold:


It ought to illustrate what one can do with these beautiful casts, even without being a professional. At any rate, I hope you liked them.

For Part II, see HERE.


For Part III, see HERE.

For Part IV see HERE.

For Part V see HERE.

For Part VI, see HERE.

For Part VII, see HERE.

#3dprint #custom #kitbash #starwars #scifi #fiction #head

They all look pretty good. Nice job, Ian. Now you have to come up with costumes…

Stryker2012 wrote:They all look pretty good. Nice job, Ian. Now you have to come up with costumes…

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked them. These heads really are affordable, in case you're looking to expand your Jabba's gang.
If I try to recreate the actual characters, getting the costumes right would be quite difficult. I am still struggling with one that is more complete but not yet shown. Or maybe I'll think laterally (remember what happened to poor Greedo? Gridney Daggers!). After all, these could be generic members of their respective alien species.

I'd love to get the heads and pieces for a Klaatu (now called "green Nikto," and one of the characters "Wooof" -- yes, 3 o's makes it less stupid, apparently) and a Gamorrean Guard. With those, I'd be set, pretty much.

3d printing is a world changing technology despite its existence for decades, back then if you wants these heads by handmade might cost a whopping thousand in total....Never doubt about your painting but Weequay and Nikto’s color mixing are ..…..another world level

lawlaw91 wrote:3d printing is a world changing technology despite its existence for decades, back then if you wants these heads by handmade might cost a whopping thousand in total....Never doubt about your painting but Weequay and Nikto’s color mixing are ..…..another world level

Thank you very much, you're too kind. It is the gorgeous 3D printed head sculpts. These two had the most detail (from when they started out as digital models) -- Nien Nunb is much simpler in its lines (but check out the nice leathery pilot cap), and Barada was very simple in his features to begin with (I suppose I could have added texture by putting some fine sand in the paint). My priority was to avoid effacing the sculpted detail, and I think I succeeded. Usually such zoomed-in photos would show everything, but the strong light seems to have overcome this, even when trying to adjust for that. Weequay and Nikto actually both have a bit of a different color highlighting dry-brushed on top (in part to help with the detail), that does not really show palpably, but I'm happy the sculpted detail came through.
Speaking of detail, I've gotten a lot more ready to invest in such 3D printed sculpts now that the printers have higher resolution.

Those look really nice!

Beautiful job, they look very organic. My favourite is the blue Sullustan and how you painted the leather cap, overall nice color combination with that one. Add fleshy color to the jaw part maybe.

But you should really look out for all those scars/pimples the support structures left at the back of the neck. Just use fine grit sandpaper to remove them, preferably with water.

GubernatorFan wrote:

lawlaw91 wrote:3d printing is a world changing technology despite its existence for decades, back then if you wants these heads by handmade might cost a whopping thousand in total....Never doubt about your painting but Weequay and Nikto’s color mixing are ..…..another world level

Thank you very much, you're too kind. It is the gorgeous 3D printed head sculpts. These two had the most detail (from when they started out as digital models) -- Nien Nunb is much simpler in its lines (but check out the nice leathery pilot cap), and Barada was very simple in his features to begin with (I suppose I could have added texture by putting some fine sand in the paint). My priority was to avoid effacing the sculpted detail, and I think I succeeded. Usually such zoomed-in photos would show everything, but the strong light seems to have overcome this, even when trying to adjust for that. Weequay and Nikto actually both have a bit of a different color highlighting dry-brushed on top (in part to help with the detail), that does not really show palpably, but I'm happy the sculpted detail came through.
Speaking of detail, I've gotten a lot more ready to invest in such 3D printed sculpts now that the printers have higher resolution.

Proud of the leather cap too, I can see your hard work on that, the Weequay and Nikto particularly catch my eyeball because their skin tone mixing is so convincible, and also how on earth you could think of that idea of putting some sand (although you yet doing it) that is wild totally new to me, I do not apologize to put this picture right here to show my moment when I saw you said putting some fine sands.....

There’s a couple guys over at the Freaks who have done a bunch of Jabba’s goons, and Nien Nunb, including all the costumes, in the “Star Wars Customs” section which may be able to give you some ideas to complete the characters.

The end result is impressive. Looks professionally painted.

BAMComix wrote:Those look really nice!

Thank you Dal, glad you liked them.

Ovy wrote:Beautiful job, they look very organic. My favourite is the blue Sullustan and how you painted the leather cap, overall nice color combination with that one. Add fleshy color to the jaw part maybe.

But you should really look out for all those scars/pimples the support structures left at the back of the neck. Just use fine grit sandpaper to remove them, preferably with water.

Thank you very much for the kind words. And your love for Nien Nunb. Yes, I wanted to make sure the cap's details showed through and I guess I succeeded. I will see about the jaw or mouth folds (not satisfied with the current coloring), thanks for the suggestion.
Are the "pimples" in question on Nien Nunb? I will look.

lawlaw91 wrote:Proud of the leather cap too, I can see your hard work on that, the Weequay and Nikto particularly catch my eyeball because their skin tone mixing is so convincible, and also how on earth you could think of that idea of putting some sand (although you yet doing it) that is wild totally new to me, I do not apologize to put this picture right here to show my moment when I saw you said putting some fine sands.....

Thanks. I think there is probably a better word for it, and it might be even sold commercially for artists. Something that adds texture to your paint.

Stryker2012 wrote:There’s a couple guys over at the Freaks who have done a bunch of Jabba’s goons, and Nien Nunb, including all the costumes, in the “Star Wars Customs” section which may be able to give you some ideas to complete the characters.

I will try to look them up, thanks for the suggestion.

Visisonor wrote:The end result is impressive. Looks professionally painted.

Thank you very much, I'm very flattered, and relieved.

Looking for the final result

lawlaw91 wrote: Looking for the final result

Oh, it would take a quite a bit of time. I'm likely to post other characters first anyway.

Great finds and paint work! Wasn't Niem a lot whiter though? My custom is so i hope so! Lol. Are there any more SW custom alien heads out there? I built all these guys many years ago, great fun projects! Still got a box full of more to build now I think of it...

Yeah I mean those little dots here. At the bottom You can see how heads are best placed when resin printing, no support structures to leave the face intact, but they get added on the back of the head. Always check for those and get ris of them with sandpaper and water. but it works for the rough alien types.



And yeah sand with paint could also work for rough alien types, but maybe even unthinned acrylics or could be enough.
I like this texture paint, yeah it's just sand added to an acrylic wash, but nice conveniant luxury good;

shovelchop81 wrote:Great finds and paint work! Wasn't Niem a lot whiter though? My custom is so i hope so! Lol. Are there any more SW custom alien heads out there? I built all these guys many years ago, great fun projects! Still got a box full of more to build now I think of it...

Thank you very much, glad you liked them. Given how much Lucas messed with color and contrast and saturation, I wonder if anyone knows exactly what color Nien Nunb really is. I saw him as pale cool slightly bluish green. Check out his store, he's got a ton of stuff and is very reasonable and very accommodating. Then again, he is in the states, so there might be a better option for you in Britain.
Poison3DHarleyCstms

Ovy wrote:Yeah I mean those little dots here. At the bottom You can see how heads are best placed when resin printing, no support structures to leave the face intact, but they get added on the back of the head. Always check for those and get ris of them with sandpaper and water. but it works for the rough alien types.



And yeah sand with paint could also work for rough alien types, but maybe even unthinned acrylics or could be enough.
I like this texture paint, yeah it's just sand added to an acrylic wash, but nice conveniant luxury good;

To be perfectly honest, I took them as part of the sculpt. Especially since there weren't any on the Barada head (in retrospect, I can see how that one called for them to be removed from the start, whereas that was less possible or less obvious on the other ones). Even on Nien Nunb I thought they were purposeful or a sort of texture. They don't bother me here, but I will keep that in mind. Perhaps I will be obsessive-compulsive enough to remove them later. On the Nikto head they would be covered up by the head covering, if I ever make it.
Thanks for the texture paint recommendation.

Stryker2012 wrote:There’s a couple guys over at the Freaks who have done a bunch of Jabba’s goons, and Nien Nunb, including all the costumes, in the “Star Wars Customs” section which may be able to give you some ideas to complete the characters.

I poked around and found some amazing customs by okieh 2. Are those the ones you meant? Wow. With almost no exception I can't even aspire to match what he did. And some of his 3D sculpts appear to be more detailed than what I could find. But his ability to get the clothing to work is amazing.

GubernatorFan wrote:

Stryker2012 wrote:There’s a couple guys over at the Freaks who have done a bunch of Jabba’s goons, and Nien Nunb, including all the costumes, in the “Star Wars Customs” section which may be able to give you some ideas to complete the characters.

I poked around and found some amazing customs by okieh 2. Are those the ones you meant? Wow. With almost no exception I can't even aspire to match what he did. And some of his 3D sculpts appear to be more detailed than what I could find. But his ability to get the clothing to work is amazing.

I met Okieh two month ago at a small convention where he had a table and offered some of his bashes . Very nice guy. Too bad I forgot to take a photo from both of us.


As for your heads: I really like 3D printing technology and its options. You did a good job and I'm pretty sure you will find creative and exciting kitbashes for them all and include them in your Guberverse

There’s also these guys, Ian:

https://www.collectorfreaks.com/threads/chakamans-customs-mods-and-repaints.82498/

https://www.collectorfreaks.com/threads/cagodas-customs-cantina.232983/

https://www.collectorfreaks.com/threads/d-r-37s-cargo-hold-1-6-star-wars-mods-customs.232364/

It's great that you are always so willing to do these kind of test runs to show as examples to others. They turned out really nicely and I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the bodies and outfits!

Valiarde wrote:I met Okieh two month ago at a small convention where he had a table and offered some of his bashes . Very nice guy. Too bad I forgot to take a photo from both of us.

As for your heads: I really like 3D printing technology and its options. You did a good job and I'm pretty sure you will find creative and exciting kitbashes for them all and include them in your Guberverse  

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked them, Simon. And now I've been warned by Ovy what to look for and improve before painting.
Did you get any of Okieh's stuff? That guy is amazing.

Stryker2012 wrote:There’s also these guys, Ian:

https://www.collectorfreaks.com/threads/chakamans-customs-mods-and-repaints.82498/

https://www.collectorfreaks.com/threads/cagodas-customs-cantina.232983/

https://www.collectorfreaks.com/threads/d-r-37s-cargo-hold-1-6-star-wars-mods-customs.232364/

Thank you very much for the links, Mark. I looked at them before bed, and they are amazing. I'd say inspiring, except they are a reminder of just how much work one has to put into these to make them look right. And my suspicions that I laid my hands on a very streamlined version of Barada's head are confirmed.

skywalkersaga wrote:It's great that you are always so willing to do these kind of test runs to show as examples to others. They turned out really nicely and I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the bodies and outfits!

Thank you very much, Sky, I'm very glad you liked them. Having seen the amazing customs out there, I'm rather doubtful that I would be able to turn many of these into exactly what they are supposed to be. But I might try, or at least think laterally. There is another (hope -- just kidding), that is actually more complete, but I haven't shown yet.

I didn't buy any custom figure from Okieh but having some of them in hand I can say they are of great quality.

And like i said he is a very kind guy und we talked quiet a bit. I bought some figure parts for kitbashing though haha


And don't undersell your work and creativity, you will turn them into some fantastic characters and they will probaböy show up in some kind of comedic story and will make me lough so hard )

Good luck finding a body for Niem, I think I've changed mine four times! Lol. For the skiff guards/pilot I found cheap Doctor Who Dalek Sec' bodies work well and come with alien hands already, although I'm not sure how available they are in the States.

Valiarde wrote:I didn't buy any custom figure from Okieh but having some of them in hand I can say they are of great quality.

And like i said he is a very kind guy und we talked quiet a bit. I bought some figure parts for kitbashing though haha

And don't undersell your work and creativity, you will turn them into some fantastic characters and they will probaböy show up in some kind of comedic story and will make me lough so hard )

Great that you are meeting such awesome creators like Ovy and Okieh in real life. Not that I don't appreciate our virtual interactions!
Thanks for the kind words, Simon. Well, I do hope to make you laugh, that's for sure. In the meantime, brace yourself for an imminent Star Wars product review...

shovelchop81 wrote:Good luck finding a body for Niem, I think I've changed mine four times! Lol. For the skiff guards/pilot I found cheap Doctor Who Dalek Sec' bodies work well and come with alien hands already, although I'm not sure how available they are in the States.

Thanks for the advice, Alex, I will look into it. Actually, at least some of these heads would be a it of a challenge for many if not most bodies.

Great paintwork! It seems that you are getting better and better all the time, Ian! I'm looking forward to see the full figures in your entertaining SW-stories