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Custom Emperor's Royal Guard - Sat Mar 02, 2024 6:24 pm

Since Mark asked about using the new modular Maha action figure body as a base for the third-party "red guard" inspired by the Emperor's Royal Guard from ROTJ, I gave it a quick test. It works, with some futzing. For once, I took all the progress photos, so here it is:

No problem sliding on the pants, the boots fit easily onto the ankle pegs (I left the added ankle extenders on). I chose not to use the padding for the torso, in part because it was difficult, in part because it was unnecessary.

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The "tunic" zips up at the back, making it relatively easy to put on. The hands swap easily enough. The belt was a bit of a pain, because instead of velcro, it attaches with little hooks. The hole inside the helmeted head is a bit wide for the neck peg's upper ball joint. While one could theoretically seek another neck peg that would work at both ends, I lined the upper ball joint with some electrical tape, and got a slightly better fit. It could have been better, but I was working on a quick solution. Visually, it is irrelevant.

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Here is the finished look. He stands about 31.10 cm tall.

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A comparison to the Medicom and Hot Toys versions. Medicom is undersized, despite being upgraded to a better body in the reconstituted version you see here. Hot Toys is the same size as the custom. The custom's outer robe drapes a little less well and its red is a little less rich. However, depending on the light or if not side by side with the others, I think it works very well. So well, indeed, that I regretted not trying this out earlier, since now the set is sold out. Had I done so, I could have replaced both of my Medicom guards with the custom ones.

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I hope this was helpful, to Mark and others.

As always, what do you think?

#starwars #rotj #Empire #imperial #royal #guard #scifi #fiction #custom
Search in: GENERAL TALK  Topic: Custom Emperor's Royal Guard  Replies: 14  Views: 172




COOMODEL x CTCOSTUDIO 1/6 MT001 MATRIX - THE MESSENGER OF GOD (PROTOTYPE BATTLE ANGEL)
BARCODE:6971242122703

The 1/6th scale Messenger of God Collectible Figure Specially Features:
- One (1) white mechanical head available of attaching interchangeable masks
- One (1) gold bionic mask
- One (1) gold full-covered mask
- One (1) bionic body
- One ( 1) pair of white and gold mechanical arms
- Four (4) pairs of white and gold interchangeable mechanical palms
- One (1) pair of white and gold mechanical legs
- One (1) pair of white and gold mechanical heels
- One (1 ) white figure stand


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COOMODEL x GGBONDTOY 1/6 MT002 MATRIX - THE LIZ (PERSONALIZED BATTLE ANGEL)
BARCODE:6971242122710

The 1/6th scale Messenger of the Liz Collectible Figure Specially Features:
- One (1) bionic girl head with silver fabric hair
- One (1) bionic body
- One (1) pair of silver and purple mechanical arms
- Four (4) pairs of purple interchangeable mechanical palms
- One (1) pair of purple mechanical legs
- One (1) pair of purple mechanical heels
- One (1) white figure stand




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COOMODEL x CTCOSTUDIO 1/ 6 MT003 MATRIX - FERTILITY MACHINE (MATERNAL BATTLE ANGEL)
BARCODE:6971242122727

The 1/6th scale Fertility Machine Collectible Figure Specially Features:

- One (1) blue head
- One (1) pair of wing-shaped copper antennas
- One (1) white bionic face with green eyes
- One (1) blue mechanical body
- One (1) pair of blue shoulder armors
- One (1) mechanical uterus with clear openable cover
- One (1) human baby
- One (1) pair of white and blue mechanical arms
- Four (4) pairs of white and blue interchangeable mechanical palms
- One (1) pair of white and blue mechanical legs
- One (1) pair of white and blue mechanical heels
- One (1) white figure stand




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COOMODEL x CTCOSTUDIO 1/6 MT004 MATRIX - FERTILITY MACHINE (MATERNAL BATTLE ANGEL) EXCLUSIVE VERSION
BARCODE:6971242122734

The 1/6th scale Fertility Machine Collectible Figure Specially Features:
- One (1) blue head
- One (1) pair of wing-shaped copper antennas
- One (1) white bionic face with green eyes
- One (1) blue mechanical body
- One (1) pair of blue shoulder armors
- One (1) mechanical uterus with clear openable cover
- One (1) human baby
- One (1) pair of white and blue mechanical arms
- Four (4) pairs of white and blue interchangeable mechanical palms
- One (1) pair of white and blue mechanical legs
- One (1) pair of white and blue mechanical heels
- One (1) white figure stand

The Exclusive Version Includes a Honeycomb, Which Features:
- One (1) blue disk-shaped data center with clear openable cover
- One (1) core module with a coin cell battery and a multi-color LED
- Two (2) red power transmission cables
- Five (5) black data transmission cables
- Two (2) blue and purple transmission pipes with
blue LEDs
- One (1) white base with USB port and a USB cable




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COOMODEL x CTCOSTUDIO 1/6 MT005 MATRIX - HONEYCOMB (MECHANICAL GARAGE)
BARCODE:6971242122741

The 1/6th Scale Honeycomb Specially Features:
- One (1) blue disk-shaped data center with clear openable cover
- One (1) core module with a coin cell battery and a multi-color LED
- Two (2) red power transmission cables
- Five (5) black data transmission cables
- Two (2) blue and purple transmission pipes with
blue LEDs
- One (1) white base with USB port and a USB cable



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#Matrix #female #robot #scifi
The 1/6th scale space explorer Collectible Figure features:
1 Highly realistic detailed head sculpture with hair,
1 highly realistic detailed head sculpture wearing an astronaut helmet
- 1/6 scale body with 30 points of articulation
- Approximately 30 cm tall
- Eight (4 ) pieces of interchangeable hands including:
- One (1) pair of open hands

Costume:
- One (1) - A white, highly simulated weathering suit with space markings and name
- One (1) A padded undershirt


Accessories:
1 sets of injection devices
1 pair of space boots,
1 space helmet with transparent lenses that open upwards
1 space backpack
1 Figure stand

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#PREMIERtoys #astronaut #female #scifi #interstellar
Search in: NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENTS  Topic: NEW PRODUCT: PREMIER toys: Space Explorer  Replies: 17  Views: 550
Updated with Part II. More here. Sorry, picture heavy.

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Introduction

My first Star Wars action figure was a Kenner 3.75 in Luke Skywalker in Bespin gear. While I do not have a fetish for this figure like some other people seem to, it strikes me as fitting that I got this Hot Toys set, and that it might very well be the last Hot Toys Star Wars set I end up getting as such -- between the prices and production choices, and my preferences. Be that as it may, it is a great set, and I'm glad I got it. The set comes in two variants, both ostensibly deluxe, DX24 (reviewed here) and DX25 (special, with an additional Luke head in Vader's helmet and an additional Dagobah swamp base). I got the Luke head in Vader's helmet parted out, and you will see it in a couple of the photos; it did not come with the DX24 set.

This is Hot Toys' second take at Bespin Luke (the first was DX07, a combo pack). I do not own the DX07 to offer a comparison, but from what I have seen, DX24/DX25 is a definite upgrade, except for the absence of a battle-damaged outfit (and face).

To give credit (and to give you ideas), in addition to my own, I used backgrounds from Wallpaperflare, Battlefront, ArtStation (Philip Gilbert), and Dioramaworkshop.com (Frank Diorio).

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Packaging

The box is both familiar and unusual, when it comes to Hot Toys Star Wars sets. Externally, we get the cigar band, now standard, wrapped around the cover (top photo below). But the cover is not a shoe box cover as usual, but a wraparound slip cover that one slides off the box within (middle photo below). That box is open on one side (the right), from which one pulls out another, coverless box. At the top of this there is yet another colorful image of the product, glued to a thin foam layer (bottom photo below). Removing this, one gets to the figure and its alternative hair sculpt, each in its own indent within a thick black foam layer, surrounded by a thin cardboard covering. Remove that cardboard covering and you can also get to the belt and the alternate hand sculpts. The foam layers are a signature of Hot Toys deluxe sets and I appreciate them -- not because they are deluxe, but because they are infinitely more user friendly than plastic treys with lids. Unfortunately, that is exactly what you will find when you remove the thick foam layer -- a plastic trey with its own plastic lid. Inside are stored the base and base add-on, the stand, the blaster, the lightsaber hilt, the translucent lightsaber blades (normal and in fan-like motion), the alternate lower arm and hand with the LED-lighted lightsaber, three batteries for it, a couple of spare wrist pegs, some spare metal caps for the belt, and the little tool for moving the eyes. There is also an instruction booklet inside. Overall, everything is collector friendly and safe.

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Sculpting

The sculpted detail is up to Hot Toys' usual excellent standards, even if plenty of seems to be recycled from their earlier work. This is likely the case with the light-saber hilt, the blaster pistol, and probably some of the hands. The head sculpt seems to be identical to the one they used for their Mandalorian figure. The neater, puffier hair sculpt seems to be identical to the one from their Luke Snowspeeder Pilot set. The messier, sweatier hair sculpt seems to be new. At any rate, the likeness to Mark Hamil appears to be very good, perhaps better than in earlier attempts. I can't tell which of the two hair sculpts works better for me, but once again, both are very good. There is plenty of fine texturing on the skin on the head and hands, without creating an excessively aged effect. The two hair sculpts can be swapped, and are secured to the head with magnets.

As with Mandalorian Luke and other recent releases, the eyeballs are individually movable (which means you can make him cross eyed), to great potential effect. Because of the relativerly small and deep opening, it is not always easy to manipulate them from the inside of the face with the special tool designed for that job; I found it sometimes helps using the "wrong" end of the tool or even just a sturdy toothpick.

Luke stands about 29 cm (11.5 inches) tall.

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Paint

The paint application is also up to Hot Toys' usual high standards. Given the separate movable eyeballs, it is no big surprise they managed to paint the eyes perfectly. They are also glossy and realistic. The eyebrows are painted in exquisite detail with individual lashes and look believable. There is plenty of nuance and flecking to the paint on the head and on the hands, giving them an extra realistic appearance. The belt buckle, blaster pistol, and, to a lesser extent, the lightsaber hilt are all weathered, making them look believable as different kings of metal, although they are all plastic. The weaponry is given a darker and duller, more gunmetal look than some of its earlier iterations. The hair is given Hot Toys' usual metallic paint treatment for blonde and light hair. That is less than ideal, but seems to work reasonably well.

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Articulation

I'm going to sound like a broken record, but here it is, again: the Hot Toys body appears to have all the articulation you could possibly want or need -- apart from the point of articulation at the base of the head, since the head and neck are one continuous molded piece. However, Hot Toys' insistence on using padding under the costume does get in the way of the articulation in certain places (especially at the shoulders -- unless of course the shoulders and the garment's cut are at fault). It is possible to do a lot with the figure, but the effort (and worry about damaging something) makes it a frustrating experience. If I can figure out a way to get his outfit off safely, I will remove the padding. But they seem to have taken to stitching the outfits on. We get the usual good articulation at the ankles (aided by the soft boots) and wrists, elbows, knees, waist.

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Accessories

Luke comes with all the accessories a Bespin Luke needs, and that is not that many. He has got his outfit and belt, blaster pistol, and light saber. The pistol fits well within the holster (with some initial effort), while the light saber hangs from a hook on the lower side of the belt; it can easily fall out. There are, of course, alternate and spare parts: a total of seven hand sculpts (pair of light saber grips -- which he comes wearing in the box, one right hand gun grip, one left hand fist, a hand with extended index and middle finger, and a couple of hands with outspread fingers), the swappable hair pieces (he comes wearing the sweaty hair in the box), the swappable lower arm with hand and light saber for the LED-lighting effect. It would have been nice to get pairs of all the hands, including some relaxed hands; this feels like cutting corners.

The translucent blue light saber blade and "moving" fan-like effect can be attached to either the regular light saber hilt or to the hilt that is part of the LED-lighting lower arm assembly. Spare parts include a pair of extra wrist pegs and some small metal caps in case any come off the belt. Then there are the two-part base and stand. The two-part base is excellent. The main part is made to resemble the small round portion of the floor of the carbon-freezing chamber on Cloud City, with characteristic bright red lit panels. The additional part can attach to it from the side or stand alone. It features two carbonite pumping (?) stations that resemble futuristic space fire hydrants. The only let down, for me, is the actual stand, which plugs into the round main part of the base. Instead of the usual crotch-grabber stand, this one is designed to grab the body around the waist. I find these more difficult to use and more visible and distracting.

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Light Features

There are three light features altogether. Unsurprisingly, given Hot Toys' past record, the light saber has a light up option, which requires using an alternate lower arm, into which one inserts three small batteries (provided), activating the light with a switch. The light travels into and through the translucent light saber blade or motion fan-like effect, which can be plugged into the opening of the light saber hilt attached permanently to the LED lower arm-and-hand assembly. I don't like swapping the lower arms and did not do this for the figure. However, in several photos, you can see the unattached alternate LED arm-and-hand assembly with both the light saber blade and motion effect. The red light blade used for comparison is with a Darth Maul LED arm-and-hand assembly; the second, blue-on-blue lit light saber comparison borrowed an Obi-Wan LED arm-and-hand assembly for the regular blade. As before, the blue-light effect is far more striking than the red.

The other two light features are found in the two-part base. To use them, you need at least one USB C micro cable, and you need to switch each piece on with its individual power switch. Both pieces require power via USB C, but you can use just one cable if you attach the two pieces of the base to each other via the USB C connector that can be made to protrude out of the smaller base piece. Thus, if you power the smaller base piece with your cable, you can power the main base by attaching it to the powered smaller piece. The two cylinders on the smaller piece light up pale blue near the top, while the light panels on the larger, round part of the base light up bright warm red, almost orange. This is movie-accurate and very impressive. I do not know how widespread this problem would be, but on my set, the USB connection between the smaller and larger base pieces is a little tentative. It required some pressing and pushing to have it work and keep it working.

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Outfit

Luke's "Bespin" fatigues -- which he was wearing before setting foot on Bespin -- are recreated in loving and exact detail. So much so, they are sewn on the body and do not open, nor are the pockets functional -- unlike those on the old DX07 outfit. Prioritizing the visual over the functional is fine to a point, but the restricted articulation, especially at the shoulders, is a very frustrating issue. As I mentioned above, I'm not certain whether the issue is primarily due to the padding or the actual garment or both. I wish the sleeves were just a little bit longer, although an overly-exposed wrist, annoying as it is for a visibly-jointed action figure, might be screen-accurate.

Speaking of the boots, these are a variation of the boot type recently seen on the Snowspeeder Luke, and, of course, of the boots provided for the previous version of Bespin Luke, DX07. Unlike DX07, however, DX24/25 uses pleather. Hopefully it will not fall apart anytime soon. The boots are still soft enough to not impede ankle articulation.

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Source Accuracy

Overall, the set is a very good rendition of Luke's appearance at Bespin. But there are some minor details that are not quite right. The outfit is just a little bit too clean and neat, even for Luke first setting foot in Cloud City -- although I have seen at least one (publicity?) photo where it is indeed this pristine, it was not so onscreen. Moreover, the pants should be a little bit baggier or bunched up above the boots. The belt on the old DX07 set was more screen-accurate accurate in its configuration of boxes or pouches and the surface of its buckle than the one provided with the new DX24/25 sets. The two caps or rivets on the holster's leg strap should be visible at the front (they were at the back on mine out of the box), but luckily the strap can be easily readjusted -- I discovered this after taking the photos, so they do not reflect the correct appearance.
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Fun Factor

Apart from my annoyance at the restrictive or difficult articulation at the shoulders, I think Hot Toys produced a very good figure, in most respects a vast improvement on the DX07. Those of us seeking to replicate the climactic end of Luke's duel with Vader, however, would need to modify or swap the outfit, and get a wrist stump. Otherwise, Luke is good to go socializing with his friends or with his father, or whatever else tickles his budding Jedi fancy.

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Value

Renditions of a Star Wars protagonist released by Hot Toys in 2023, the sets retailing at (USD) $285 (DX24) or $345 (DX25) would come as no great surprise for anyone who has been around these high end collectibles. Which is not to say that the price feels justified, especially considering how much of this set is made up of items Hot Toys has already designed. The light-features base elements are great, but ultimately non-essential; the fancy box even more so. It is still simply a figure with a gun, a lightsaber, and two swappable hair sculpts. The $60 difference between DX24 and DC25 also seems excessive: the Luke in Vader's helmet head is very neat (and I picked it up parted out), but the Dagobah base, while nice, does not feel particularly exciting. Ultimately, one's feelings about the value of these sets would come down to how important it was to own these versions of the character and how much one is willing to invest in a sixth-scale figure set. All the more so for those who are getting this as an upgrade from an earlier version like DX07. I do not own an earlier version (though I had picked up one of the DX07 outfits parted out), and am glad I got this set, although I cannot say I liked its price.

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Things to watch out for

Not a whole lot. It would be easy to misplace the eye adjustment tool, but you could always use a toothpick or something else to achieve the same results. The lightsaber hilt can easily fall off the hook on the belt. It is not impossibly small, but still not too difficult to lose.

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Overall

Alongside their Mandalorian Luke, which used the same head sculpt, Hot Toys' Bespin Luke is arguably their best rendition of Mark Hamill in the iconic role as the protagonist of the Star Wars Original Trilogy. And this without even taking into account the critical importance of the sequence and film climax associated with this appearance of the character. To be sure, "Bespin Luke" could have been more easily poseable, even more accurate, and less expensive, but he remains an excellent sixth-scale collectible.

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Where to buy

I got mine for $277 (preorder discount) at Timewalker Toys. The reason I preordered is because I expected it to sell out. And it did. Looks like most people went for DX24, because there are still a few DX25s out there:

Big Bad Toy Store still has DX25 for $360 ($4 flat rate shipping).

Cotswold Collectibles still has DX25 for $345.

Sideshow has them on wait list.

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I hope this was informative, let me know what you think. If you like it, I will post a few more photos that didn't make it so far and some of the slightly corrected version compared to my reconstituted/kitbashed DX07.

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Updated with Part II. More here. Sorry, picture heavy.

Other recent or relevant reviews

Hot Toys Star Wars Return of the Jedi Scout Trooper and Speeder Bike

Hot Toys Star Wars Rogue One Assault Tank Commander

Hot Toys Star Wars Rogue One Director Krennic

TBLeague Female Seamles Bodies S24A-S27B

Jiaou Doll Male Bodies

Kamisoul MAF Extreme Seamless Body with Jiaou and TBleague comparison

World Box AT030 Body

Six New-ish Bodies comparison

HH Model & Haoyu Toys Dragon Banner Bearer

Premier Toys PT0001 Wasteland Gladiator

Toys Headquarters Vol 003 Fighter

TBLeague Ramesses the Great

Figure Masters Vamp Lou

LDDoll Seamless Figure Body

John Constantine (Thunder Toys Hell Detective)

SooSoo Toys Frozen Man

SooSoo Toys Mr Butcher

Sideshow and Hot Toys Star Wars Scout Troopers (comparison)

Thunder Toys Hell Detective

Hot Toys Star Wars Emperor Palpatine

TBLeague Barbarian Soul

Hot Toys Star Wars Return of the Jedi Stormtrooper

ADD Toys War Wolves Back (muscle version)

World Box AT027 body

Hot Toys Star Wars Solo Mudtrooper

Sideshow Star Wars TIE Fighter Pilot

Woo Toys WO-004 Fat Thor

HH HY Rome Infantry

HH HY Rome Centurion

Mr Toys Barbarian Set B (He-Man)

Mr Toys Barbarian Set B (Conan the Barbarian)

Dragon and TBLeague Alexander the Great (comparison)

Kautic Plastik Roman Infantry 2019

JX Toys Peggy Carter

TBLeague 1:12 seamless male bodies

Hasbro Star Wars Rogue One Imperial Combat Assault Tank

Hasbro Star Wars imperials 2019

Hasbro Star Wars Jabba's Tatooine Skiff

CC Toys Unexplored Nate (summer version)

Jiaou Doll Boss Chair

Hot Toys Star Wars Solo Patrol Trooper

China Toys Teutonic Knight

Star Ace 300 Queen Gorgo

Black Box Toys Spectre Girl (Madeleine Swann)

Hot Toys Star Wars Royal Guard

VS Toys Bathroom

Coomodel Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship

Coomodel Vikings Vanquisher Valhalla (double set)

TBLeague M36 body

Chinese wooden chairs and table sets A and B

HY Toys Armchair

TBLeague M35 body

Sideshow Jack Burton

Disney Star Wars Director Orson Krennic

TBLeague Spartan Goddess of War

AR Toys Hellman

Dragon Men in Black 3 Agent K 1969

#starwars #theempirestrikesback #luke #skywalker #bespin #male #fiction #scifi #film #movie #hottoys
Part I: Painting 3D printed heads of Star Wars characters



For Part II, see HERE.



For Part III, 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:
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The heads primed:
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The heads painted so far, the light makes the colors more vibrant than in hand:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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Nien Nunb (Lando's co-pilot) came with his leather pilot cap sculpted as part of the mold:
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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.

#3dprint #custom #kitbash #starwars #scifi #fiction #head
Search in: GENERAL TALK  Topic: Gubernator's various new Star Wars customs (updated September 30)  Replies: 74  Views: 1411
Part I


For Part II see HERE.

I painted up the great Han head sculpt commissioned by Mark (HERE) with probably less patience than was advisable, but I'm ok with how it turned out, so here it is. A better painter would surely be able to get even more out of it. I do think the resemblance to Harrison Ford is unmistakable and quite accurate. I also think it worked pretty well with my kitbashed Empire Strikes Back Han (using Sideshow clothing).

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As always, what do you think?

Thank again, Mark!

For Part II see HERE.

#starwars #hansolo #harrisonford #custom #head #male #scifi #kitbash #paint
Search in: GENERAL TALK  Topic: Custom Han Solo head painting and kitbash (updated November 8)  Replies: 29  Views: 754
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.

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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
Search in: GENERAL TALK  Topic: Custom Nelvaan Anakin (updated, Part IV: Heads)  Replies: 45  Views: 1560
Updated/continued HERE.

I have always wondered about improving the potential of these sets with a bit of customization, so here is a start, with a figure I purchased for this purpose a long time ago but only now had a little bit of time to experiment.

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So, what do you think (other than, "WTF, I thought this was supposed to be another tactical tease!" or worse), is it a bit improved?

Updated/continued HERE.

For other Star Wars-related goofery, you can check out these older threads:

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t6115-recovered-previously-unreleased-footage-from-return-of-the-jedi

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t5484-star-wars-spoof-banned-tv-advertisement-from-the-80s-nsfw

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t4234-rivals-photo-heavy#59153

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t4151-oops-photo-heavy

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3671-star-wars-the-accident-story-photo-heavy-updated-with-alternate-deleted-footage

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3240-star-wars-a-happy-endings-story-original-trilogy-updated

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3178-star-wars-a-silver-linings-story-original-trilogy-updated-with-extra-photos

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2799-star-wars-the-further-adventures-of-darth-maul-updated-with-part-ii-may-2020

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2541-star-wars-a-love-gone-wrong-story

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2206-star-wars-moving-on-solo-story

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1862-star-wars-a-lone-scoundrel-story

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1852-star-wars-a-negative-body-image-story

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1150-star-wars-spacecops

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t909-star-wars-new-imperial-unit-aquatrooper-part-two

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1076-christmas-reruns-star-wars-christmas-revised-edition-not-the-holiday-special

Updated/continued HERE.

#custom #repaint #hasbro #starwars #hoth #tauntaun #luke #skywalker #wampa #fiction #scifi
Part I: Hot Toys Star Wars Return of the Jedi Scout Trooper MMS611 Review and Comparison



For Part II, see HERE.


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Introduction

As I was saying elsewhere, I love the world Lucas created with Star Wars, even if I have various issues with his stories, including the Original Trilogy.  Of its three components, Return of the Jedi is largely my least favorite, but it still belongs and it features plenty to love.  One of my favorite troopers were the Scout Troopers (AKA Biker Scouts), and Hot Toys just released their Return of the Jedi version of this trooper, following relatively quickly upon their Mandalorian version.  Naturally, there is relatively little difference between the two versions, but I will point them out below, along with some comparison to the earlier Sideshow version of the original scout trooper.  I also purchased the speeder bike, after receiving the figure, and will post a follow up with it.  I took a few too many photos, and relegated some of them to a separate topic to keep from making the page too slow, you can check them out HERE.

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Packaging

The Scout Trooper comes in the familiar shoebox type container with removable lid featuring a nice image of the figure and enhanced with a cigar band with more texts and images running across the bottom.  Inside is a title card showing off the figure on the speeder bike companion piece (which I will be reviewing separately).  Below this is a single plastic trey with its transparent plastic lid, containing the figure and its accessories.  Everything is safe, snug, and collector friendly.  The bottom of the box features plenty of credits and warnings.

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Sculpting

Like the Mandalorian version of the scout trooper, which had an almost identical sculpt, the sculpt is clean and sharp and source accurate.  Of course, there is no human likeness to worry about, just the armor, uniform, and weaponry.  The main difference in the sculpt is the upper body armor, which is substantially shorter on the Original Trilogy scout trooper than on the Mandalorian version, and the Return of the Jedi version features additional detail (four horizontal indents) on the back "hump" of the armor.  The incompletely closed helmet appears to be a carryover from the Mandalorian version, using the same mold.

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Paint

The basic color scheme is simple enough, black and white, with just a few details in other colors. Like the Mandalorian version, but far more subtly, this one is given plenty of weathering effects, with worn or dirtied up parts of the armor and boots. The two weapons, especially the blaster rifle are also given some weathering, or rather wear and tear, and their lenses are given a nice gloss.  The main difference in paint between the two versions (amount and type of weathering apart) is the different coloring of the "frown" on the helmet.  The helmet's lenses are translucent green, although it is very difficult to notice or show this.

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Accessories

The Scout Trooper comes with an attachable thermal detonator that clips over the belt at the back and, as usual, is difficult to place securely and tends to fall off while one handles the figure.  The small blaster pistol (EC-17) fits into the holster built into the right boot.  There is also a long targeting blaster rifle (DLT-19x) with a cloth sling.  I do not recall the rifle from the film, though it might have been featured in a game.  The thermal detonator that clips onto the back of the belt was mentioned before.  Hot Toys provided a number of spare parts, including, as usual, a pair of wrist pegs, and a total of four pairs of hands (a pair of relaxed hands, a pair of fists, a pair of steering grip hands, and two right gun grip hands for, respectively, the blaster rifle and the blaster pistol).  There is also the standard Hot Toys platformed crotch-grabber stand with the product's name and an optional card printed to resemble the surface of Endor.  There is a small leaflet (not shown) with warnings and instructions as to which gun grip hand goes with which weapon.

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Articulation

It seems to be the same thing I keep saying every time I review a Hot Toys action figure.  In theory, the articulation is all there and excellent, but in practice, Hot Toys' insistence on inserting intrusive thick padded garments under the visible clothing and armor severely restricts it.  The soft material used for the upper parts of the boots, however, leaves the ankle articulation virtually unimpeded.  Almost as helpfully, the gloves and gauntlets are a two-part design, allowing for wrist articulation.  The figure is often difficult to pose as desired.  Neither weapon has any movable parts.

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Outfit

Apart from the armor, the outfit is made up of a black body suit or overalls and collar, as well as the boots (hard plastic shoe with soft vinyl-like shaft closed with velcro at the back), and the gloves (hard plastic hands and softer plastic vambraces).  Articulation at the shoulder is helped by the fact that the shoulder bells of the armor are attached with velcro, and can be removed and replaced for posing.  Since the shorter upper body armor leaves more of the lower torso exposed, the cummerbund and bags on the Return of the Jedi version are broader/taller than those on the Mandalorian version.  This portion is a little darker and warmer in color than the armor, which is appropriate but possibly a little excessive in degree. The Return of the Jedi body suit or overalls is of a different design than that used for the Mandalorian.  Upper body armor apart, the placement of the otherwise more or less identical knee armor is reversed (flipped) between the two versions, accurate to their respective sources. 

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Comparison to other Scout Trooper figures

Excluding the upper body armor, cummerbund, and knee armor, Hot Toys' Return of the Jedi scout trooper is virtually identical with their Mandalorian scout trooper, paint apart.  Both are unusually tall for Hot Toys figures (12.25 inches = 31.1 cm), and in fact taller than the Sideshow version.  Since they are based on the same source, the Hot Toys and Sideshow Return of the Jedi scout troopers are very similar in appearance, although the Sideshow version looks squatter.  It also does not benefit from the wrist and ankle articulation of the Hot Toys figures.

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Fun Factor

Good articulation (which would be excellent if the padding is removed), proportions, accessories (up to and including the speeder bike), and figures to interact with (Hot Toys has made Return of the Jedi Stormtroopers, Emperor, Leia and Ewok) all guarantee that this figure can be fun to display or play with.

I placed a number of additional images with other figures HERE, so as to avoid overburdening this topic with too many photos.

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Value

Retailing at nearly $230, this is not a particularly cheap set, especially considering the limited number of accessories; then again, it is not nearly as expensive as some of Hot Toys' other sets these days.  The deluxe set including both this and the speeder bike costs a little over $500.  On the whole, the figure is excellent, with very minor shortcomings from an accuracy point of view.  It is probably unlikely that we would get any better scout troopers anytime soon.

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Overall

Hot Toys' Return of the Jedi Scout Trooper is a very good rendition of one of my favorite trooper types.  While the reuse of the Mandalorian scout trooper helmet has introduced a technical discrepancy in the accuracy of the appearance, the overall look and proportions of the figure are great, and in my view preferable to those of its predecessors.  I enjoyed the figure and plan on reconstituting one without the padding, so as to take fuller advantage of the articulation potential.

For more photos, see HERE.


For Part II, see HERE.

Where to Buy

You can still find them here (or search eBay):

Timewalker Toys

Big Bad Toy Store (still preorder)

Cotswold Collectibles

Monkey Depot

Sideshow

Other recent or relevant reviews:

Mr Toys MT2021-08 Slave Princess set (and Huttlslayer Leia customs)

World Box AT030 Body

Hot Toys Star Wars Rogue One Assault Tank Commander

Hot Toys Star Wars Rogue One Director Krennic

Premier Toys PT0001 Wasteland Gladiator

Toys Headquarters Vol 003 Fighter

TBLeague Ramesses the Great

Figure Masters Vamp Lou

LDDoll Seamless Figure Body

SooSoo Toys Frozen Man

SooSoo Toys Mr Butcher

Sideshow and Hot Toys Star Wars Scout Troopers (comparison)

Thunder Toys Hell Detective

Hot Toys Star Wars Emperor Palpatine

TBLeague Barbarian Soul

Hot Toys Star Wars Return of the Jedi Stormtrooper

ADD Toys War Wolves Back (muscle version)

World Box AT027 body

Hot Toys Star Wars Solo Mudtrooper

Sideshow Star Wars TIE Fighter Pilot

Woo Toys WO-004 Fat Thor

HH HY Rome Infantry

HH HY Rome Centurion

Mr Toys Barbarian Set B (He-Man)

Mr Toys Barbarian Set B (Conan the Barbarian)

Dragon and TBLeague Alexander the Great (comparison)

Kautic Plastik Roman Infantry 2019

JX Toys Peggy Carter

TBLeague 1:12 seamless male bodies

Hasbro Star Wars Rogue One Imperial Combat Assault Tank

Hasbro Star Wars imperials 2019

Hasbro Star Wars Jabba's Tatooine Skiff

CC Toys Unexplored Nate (summer version)

Jiaou Doll Boss Chair

Hot Toys Star Wars Solo Patrol Trooper

China Toys Teutonic Knight

Star Ace 300 Queen Gorgo

Black Box Toys Spectre Girl (Madeleine Swann)

Hot Toys Star Wars Royal Guard

VS Toys Bathroom

Coomodel Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship

Coomodel Vikings Vanquisher Valhalla (double set)

TBLeague M36 body

Chinese wooden chairs and table sets A and B

HY Toys Armchair

TBLeague M35 body

Sideshow Jack Burton

Disney Star Wars Director Orson Krennic

TBLeague Spartan Goddess of War

AR Toys Hellman

Dragon Men in Black 3 Agent K 1969

I hope this has been useful.

For more photos, see HERE.


#starwars #returnofthejedi #rotj #scouttrooper #bikerscout #galacticempire #scifi #male #military #hottoys
This started as a review of the Mr Toys MT2021-08 head and clothing set; it ended up as a project to get to something like a definitive Huttslayer Leia (see Part V).




Part I (Mr Toys MT2021-08 head and clothing set for S12D body review)


(for Part II, with a different body and head, see here)

(for Part III, with the HT head modified, see here)

(for Part IV, with the TT head modified, see here)


(for Part V, Towards a definitive Huttslayer Leia (?), see here)

Mr Toys released its second take of Princess Leia in her Return of the Jedi slave Hutt-slayer outfit this year. The promotional photos looked so good, I ended up preordering the set. It arrived today, and I put it on the recommended TBLeague S12D body.

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The whole set arrives in a long narrow plastic envelope, with the various items packed in plastic baggies atop a long cardboard black-background information card with a photo of the assembled set. The body is not included, but Mr Toys recommended S12D for its set. This is unfortunately quite tall for Carrie Fisher; S25B would have been more appropriate.

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The set consists of the head sculpt (molded plastic with an attached "real hair" weaved braid, "metal" bikini top (made of soft plastic and string), bikini bottom (made of plastic, metal rings, and two pieces of cloth with wires for posing), boots (made of fabric and plastic), two bracelents (one for the upper left arm and another for the right wrist) and a vibro-ax as the sole weapon. This selection matches Mr Toys' earlier version of the set. The vibro-ax is very clean, and larger and more streamlined than Sideshow's version of the weapon that came with their Lando Skiff Guard set.

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The clothing works reasonably well with the S12D body, although getting it properly attached presents some challenges: the neck strap of the bikini top is too long, other straps and laces are too short (to look right when tied, but very difficult to tie), and one needs to open and close a metal ring on the bikini bottom to put it on the figure body. All this could have been handled differently. In terms of function, the bikini bottom might have worked better with more metal parts and more rings, to allow it to hang more naturally; as it is, it often rides up or bends in unfortunate ways. It should have been reasonably easy to provide a sort of "underwear" portion by attaching (or pre-planning) a length of cloth connecting the fabric pieces on the bikini bottom.

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Apart from the inaccurate choice of intended body, the real disappointment is the head sculpt. It was fairly obvious that the promotional images utilized a prototype based on (modified from) the Hot Toys Bespin or Endor Leia heads. In the end, Mr Toys created a somewhat different head sculpt that is still not quite right. It improved on their first attempt by giving the head a larger forehead and a finer hair sculpt. However, the hair is arguably too tight on the head and lacks sufficient volume to recreate Leia's onscreen appearance; the resulting head possibly looks too small. Moreover, perhaps influenced by the aforementioned Hot Toys head sculpts, Mr Toys gave this head "sideburns," but, unlike the Hot Toys versions and the prototype, made them line the sides of the face rather than stick out. They can be peeled off, but leave behind indentations (grooves) of the face surface, that would require filling-in and repainting. Finally, the facial features do not quite capture the actress' likeness, although it is closer from some angles than others.

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Mr Toys has provided a fine head (and hair) sculpt, in itself, but has not captured the likeness entirely successfully, and has fallen far short of the advertised prototype imagery. One advantage of the present head sculpt is that it is a very close match (in most light) for the TBLeague suntan skin tone of the S12D body (at least of the older ones). That was not always the case (especially combining HT Leia heads with TBLeague bodies). An enterprising customizer could probably get a lot more out of this set.

For the sake of comparison, here are several other takes on the character's likeness, alongside this one. Note only two of them have the screen-accurate earrings (an omission perhaps easily solved).

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I hope this was useful.

As always, what do you think?

(for Part II, with a different body and head, see here)

(for Part III, with the HT head modified, see here)

(for Part IV, with the TT head modified, see here)

(for Part V, Towards a definitive Huttslayer Leia (?), see here)

#productreview #starwars #princess #leia #rotj #jabba #slave #scifi #female
Search in: GENERAL TALK  Topic: Towards a definitive Huttslayer Leia (updated with Part V)  Replies: 153  Views: 7722
Part I


For Part II, see here.


For Part III, see here.


I picked up a bunch of the pieces from the Big Chief Studios Flash Gordon set that was released recently. To be honest, I am not the biggest fan of the 1980 film, and the oft-cited attraction of the Queen soundtrack (isn't it just that one song?) does little to impress me (they have done so much better). I suppose I am not a fan of camp. But it is still a fun, vibrant film, stunning visuals (even if my feelings about Art Deco have always been a little ambivalent), cool villains, likable protagonists (even if Flash himself is understated and dubbed, he does have the winning attitude of a friendly Lab or Golden Retriever); and, thankfully, the production does not take itself too seriously. And Ted made such loving references to the film and its leading actor. But I digress.

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Discovering that the Flash (Sam Jones) head is (for once) a perfect skin tone match for TBLeague's male suntan bodies, I decided to try to outfit one of those with the fairly basic Flash costume. Originally I had tried the head on M34 (here), and liked it, but these clothes had little chance of fitting on that, which was too bulky for Flash's onscreen look anyway. So I went to M33 (which is also a little too bulky in places), and it worked, more or less. The top works well, the belt even has some leeway, the boots work (and are quite difficult to remove, once in place), but the pants were very difficult to get on. They did not impede some wide stances, but they did make sitting or kneeling almost impossible (trying to come off in the process). Since they are black and their features are not too obvious, they could arguably be replaced by a different similar-looking garment. Here are several shots of the recreated figure looking more or less as intended by the Big Chief set (a benefit of the body swap is that the head does not sit ridiculously high on the neck).

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I didn't pick up the Hawkmen firearms, because they didn't look exactly like the prop I was looking at, so I borrowed something very remotely similar from elsewhere. I improvised similarly with other accessories.

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Some of the images I had found while doing research appear to have been promotional shots that did not have a direct counterpart in the film (which I rewatched), but apparently tried to tie-in Sam Jones' portrayal of Flash Gordon with the cartoon series. Here are some recreations and adaptations of these.

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Back to the film for the execution scene... but here only the head is Big Chief's.

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Some more fun with the sword.

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Overall, the clothing worked well, perhaps surprisingly so. Only the pants (partly) failed me, but that was only to be expected. The clothing and the head sculpt are a decent portrayal of the character's appearance, without being perfect. Perhaps the hardest thing to get right is the hair, which would be a challenge even with "real hair," given that it was dyed for the movie, and the darker roots need to be showing. A partial bonus is the fact that the molded hair appears to be easily removable from the rest of the head sculpt, which might allow for a rehairing. Thicker and darker eyebrows might help the likeness. And I need to get a plain red wife beater.

As always, what do you think?

For Part II, see here.


For Part III, see here.

#bigchief #flashgordon #samjones #tbleague #m33 #scifi #fantasy #male #custom #kitbash #movie #film
Search in: GENERAL TALK  Topic: Flash Gordon making friends (custom updated with Part III)  Replies: 47  Views: 1742
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Introduction

This new release from Hot Toys arrived from Sideshow yesterday. Hot Toys' coverage of Rogue One has been spotty, but they did show some love for imperial trooper types, producing the Rogue One Stormtrooper (in a couple of versions), Death Trooper (in three versions), and Shore Trooper (in a couple of versions?). All these have seen second release due to their appearances in The Mandalorian. The only Rogue One imperial trooper type left (they sorta covered the revised Imperial Ground Crew as Jynn Erso's disguise version) was the Imperial Assault Tank Commander (with Pilot variant). This is the product just released. It, too, has a Mandalorian version, of sorts, the Transport Trooper, a hybrid between Rogue One's Assault Tank Commander/Pilot and Solo's Mud Trooper. It seems like trooper figures keep on giving and multiplying and army-building should be easy... except, of course, for the price.

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Packaging

The Assault Tank Commander comes in a long-familiar standard Hot Toys shoe box-type cardboard container with a colorful image of the product on the cover. Another colorful image is found on the card covering the single plastic trey (with transparent lid) containing the figure. Everything is snug, safe, and collector-friendly.

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Sculpting

Sculpting a fully-armored figure with futuristic armor is, of course, a challenge, yet not quite the challenge of making a faithful, lifelike, and realistic representation of an individual's features. As usual, Hot Toys rose to the challenge, and created a very fine replica of what was seen on screen. The edges are suitably sharp and clean, the proportions quite accurate (for some minor issues see Source Accuracy below), the detail is rich and distinctive as needed. The figure stands just about 12 inches tall, and scales well among other Rogue One figures by Hot Toys (see last image below).

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Paint

In principle, the paint work on a subject like this, need only be sharp, if the armor and clothing are in pristine conditions. But since the subject is meant to be dirtied up and weathered, there is still plenty of room for a complex and nuanced paint application. The armor has been supplied with the appearance of wear and tear, grime, scratches and stains. Overall, it is believable and appropriate. At the same time, the paint job is suitably sharp in the areas where it ought to be. Apart from the weathering, the paint is mostly black and white, with some details in red and brownish gray. The blaster rifle is also given a little weathering.

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Articulation

Hot Toys used to lead in the field of hard plastic open-jointed bodies, which used to be available as base bodies. That no longer seems to be the case, but the bodies that come with most of their sets still tend to sport a good articulation. More often than not, however, this is compromised by the use of tight and stiff cloth for the outfit and, even more so, by the insertion of padded undergarments. These are ostensibly to improve the appearance of the figure, but do so only marginally, while at the same time significantly impairing articulation -- and this without additional limitations imposed by armor and accessories. This is exactly the case with this set. The apparent padding makes it difficult to achieve the full range of articulation; the outfit is not exceedingly restrictive, but also does not help. The armor is mostly out of the way, except for the vambraces in the wrist area and for the tabs (boxes?) handing from the armored utility belt. On the other hand, elbows, knees, and ankles have excellent articulation. As a result it is sometimes difficult but not impossible to achieve more dynamic poses. I have not yet explored this option with this set, but previous experience suggest removing the padding would greatly facilitate the articulation with almost no impact on the look.

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Accessories

In this area, the figure is woefully short. There is, of course, an action figure crotch-grabber stand with an optional printed graphic card to cover the base, and an optional additional detail piece to add to the base. There are alternative parts, namely two additional sets of hands, for a total of three pairs (relaxed, gun-grip, and fists). There are spare parts, namely the two extra wrist pegs. But none of these are really accessories. The sole accessory is the E-11 blaster rifle with its Rogue One flashlight add-on. The blaster rifle is beautifully and precisely realized, with a folding three-position stock. Now, I realize we can't expect the Assault Tank Commander to come with an Assault Tank as his accessory, but this is exceedingly light. And it should be reflected in the price (see Value below).

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Outfit

Apart from the molded hard or soft plastic armor (see Sculpting), the outfit consists primarily of the gray-brown cloth pants and some sort of black garment visible primarily at the elbows -- since I have not taken the body apart or seen the set parted out, I'm not certain if this is a whole top or even a whole bodysuit (perhaps unlikely). The belt combines cloth and molded plastic pieces.

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Source Accuracy

The top part of the image below is for reference, from https://www.starwars.com/databank/imperial-combat-assault-tank-commander
On the whole, Hot Toys has rendered the character's appearance very well and quite accurately. It is possible that the helmet has become slightly vertically elongated, but it might be an effect of my camera lens. The only certain inaccuracy I spotted is the treatment of two of the recessed areas on either side of the segmented element in the middle of the abdominal area. The reference image shows larger recessed parts in dark gray, whereas in the figure they appear to be significantly narrower (see images in previous and succeeding sections).

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Fun Factor

Without a tank and a couple of pilots (which would effectively be slight variants) to boss around, the Assault Tank Commander runs the risk of being a lonely figure. The presence of a single accessory (the blaster rifle) also does not open a huge field of possibilities for fun. However, one could pair him with any or all of the other imperial trooper types from Rogue One produced by Hot Toys. The Jedha patrol stormtrooper would be a particularly apt companion (I could not easily excavate mine, so I substituted a virtually identical regular Rogue One stormtrooper in the photos here).

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Value

This is the tricky bit. Retailing at $230 (USD) before taxes and shipping, this figure is at once pricey and yet more affordable than so many other Hot Toys releases these days. I don't know if this is a nod to the dearth of accessories or to the potential for army-building (although one is unlikely to be looking for an army of Assault Tank Commanders, I suppose). Even so, "objectively" speaking, it seems difficult to justify such a hefty price tag for a figure this simple -- no detailed realistic human face, no extravagant bases or accessories (in fact, only one accessory), a trooper, reused or duplicate parts (from the Shore Trooper, Transport Trooper, Mud Trooper, and not even talking about the standard Rogue One blaster rifle) and so on. Yes, Hot Toys quality is (as it should be, but apparently not always) very good, the sculpt and paint are excellent, but I don't see why this figure is not almost $100 less than this asking price (and that prior to secondary market inflation). Other than, of course, Hot Toys' "ambition" and precedent. Some of the recent or upcoming trooper figures are actually slightly less expensive ($220). Of course, the thing about value is that its estimation varies based on a number of variables, most notably one's means and priorities.

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Things to watch out for

Nothing much, the only readily breakable area is the folding stock of the E-11 blaster rifle.

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Overall

When it comes to protagonists, certain secondary characters, and imperial trooper types, I'm a completist, and Rogue One is quasi-canon to me, so I'm happy I purchased this figure. It is a very fine figure, although I cannot really say I'm blown away by it. Then again, I got it to have a representation of the character (or rather type), not so much because I was specifically drawn to it. The execution is excellent, the functionality is good (without being perfect), the price is hefty (without being totally excessive). The design is cool, if repetitive (the most notable though not only point of comparison is the Shore Trooper design from the same film), and the figure fits in well with Hot Toys' other Star Wars figures, especially those from Rogue One. Given their usual practice, I'm surprised they did not offer the pilot variants, but perhaps they are uncertain of the degree to which this type and this movie would sell at this point.

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Where to buy

I got mine for $230 (USD) from Sideshow, using some accumulated points. The secondary market is inflating prices, and I have seen it going for $275 to $542 on eBay. Among others (mostly on pre-order),

Cotswold Collectibles has it for $230;

Monkey Depot has it for $230;

Timewalker Toys has it for $230 (wait list);

Big Bad Toy Store has it for $245.

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I hope this has been useful. As always, what do you think?

#hottoys #starwars #rogueone #imperial #assaulttank #commander #male #scifi #fiction #film #movie
Search in: GENERAL TALK  Topic: Hot Toys Star Wars Rogue One Assault Tank Commander review  Replies: 13  Views: 874

SooSoo Toys Frozen Man Review - Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:29 pm

More photos in Post 5 below.

SooSoo Toys fills a number of niches that other companies either have not addressed or have not gotten to, and it usually does a very good job. Its products vary in terms of fun and wow factor. For example, their recent Mr. Butcher was quite excellent (review HERE). Frozen Man is an interpretation of Iceman (Bobby Drake, played by Shawn Ashmore) from X-Men. I liked the X-Men movies well enough, and have the feeling that, apart from Wolverine (Logan, played by Hugh Jackman), on the whole they have not received a good coverage by any one sixth-scale company, although several different outfits have created some renditions of various characters. This appears to be the second release of this product by SooSoo Toys.

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Packaging

The set comes in two separate boxes, one given the Hot Toys treatment with a fine image of the character on the cover and another full color "card" over the plastic lid inside the box (not shown); the other box is a separate container for the "ice board" base. The figure's box has a single transparent lidded plastic trey that holds the figure and all of its accessories. The "ice board" base box is plain cardboard with labels, inside it there is lidded styrofoam lining to protect the base. Everything is pretty safe and collector friendly.

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Sculpting

As often the case with SooSoo Toys sets, there are two head sculpts; in this instance, one normal, and one frozen. The normal head sculpt looks excellent, and looks both realistic and accurate to me. The skin is textured, the hair is finely stranded (more so in hand than in macro photos). The slightly stern expression is perhaps not the most typical look for the actor, but not inappropriate for the character, and not over the top. The frozen head is a bit harder to evaluate, as its semi-translucent and (ice-)crystalized appearance naturally obscures the original detail. What I found a little odd (and I do not recall the film well enough to evaluate) is the greenish color of the frozen head (especially if you have light coming from behind it), which also does not match perfectly the more bluish color of the frozen gloved hands. The other sculpted/molded details, like the gloved hands, boots, and knee pads, are all very nicely sculpted. So is the "ice board" base.

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Paint

The only really complex paintwork is on the normal head. It is clean and realistic, the eyes are glossy, the skin is matte and lightly spotted. The paint application on the other sculpted/molded elements is fairly clean and simple, but that is I think what the outfit called for, based on the film.

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Articulation

In principle, the articulation of the underlying Coo (or Coo-like) body is very good. Several design choices, however, get in its way. While the elbows and knees are quite unrestricted, the fairly stiff jacket and somewhat tight pants can make some of the shoulder and hip articulation a little more difficult, although one can generally achieve reasonably good results anyway. It is the design of the gloved hands and the boots that effectively precludes any wrist or ankle articulation. In the company's defense, neither of these pairs of items really lends itself to being segmented, but it is a little disappointing. The one-piece head and neck also eliminates a point of articulation at the base of the head.

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Accessories

Depending on one's definition of accessories, perhaps there are none. There is a total of four pairs of swappable gloved hands (regular fists, relaxed hands, and spread fingers hands, and translucent frozen spread fingers hands), the "ice board" base, and an adjustable goose-neck dynamic stand. In my book, those are alternative parts, a base, and a stand, and with the possible exception of the base not really accessories. Then again, the character did not really brandish much in the way of accessories in the film, I suppose. Still, it is disappointing that none of the hands can even hold anything -- whether it is necessary for recreating any scenes from the screen or not.

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Outfit

Sculpted/molded elements aside, the outfit is fairly basic, consisting of pants, jersey, belt, and jacket. Considering the character's superpower, perhaps he is overdressed; then again, they are recreating what we saw on the cinema screen. The pants are very nice and only a little restrictive at the top. The belt buckle has an annoying tendency to ride up and sit above the top edge of the pants, but this is a minor annoyance. The long-sleeved jersey has a functional zipper at the neck, and features panels of various materials; it works well and does not restrict articulation. The jacket is pretty stiff, although it is perhaps meant to be. It has a functional zipper and different sections made (or covered) with different materials. I suppose removing the jacket gives us a second look, although at this point I forget to what extent that was featured in the film.

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Fun Factor

Perhaps this would have been much greater if I had more of the X-Men characters. I have some versions of Wolverine, a reconstituted Cyclops (somewhere), an incomplete rehaired Phoenix kitbash, and I suppose I could borrow Patrick Steward's QMX Picard, but that's about it. This figure has more fun potential than fun factor for me at present. The inhibited wrist and ankle articulation are annoying, as is the absence of hands that can hold anything, which limits the scope of creative posing with items and characters outside the very specific parameters of the source material. Or perhaps I'm not feeling very creative these days.

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Value

These days $190 (USD) with free shipping feels like a reasonably good deal for any high end sixth scale products, and this is no exception. I am not as amused by this set as I was by the Mr. Butcher one, which had many more accessories and at least one or two "friends" to play with in the works. On the other hand, this comes with things that Butcher did not -- a hefty "ice board" base and a dynamic action figure stand (Butcher had no bases or stands). Even in terms of mere weight, this makes a difference. But is it worthwhile? That probably depends on a collector's taste and priorities, as usual.

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Things to watch out for -

Careful with the gloved hands. With enough swapping, the gauntlet part could possibly damage and fray the lower edge of the jersey's sleeves. The gauntlet parts are also so thin that they might crack if handled carelessly. The hefty "ice board" is not glass, but it is still fragile, and it would not take much to break it, or some of its crystals. I found it very difficult to screw in the bendy neck onto the base part of the stand -- in part because I expected it to have prefabricated fitting grooves; turns out one is essentially creating the grooves as one screws it in. This might provide a better and more secure fit in the end, but requires a lot of effort, and worry that one would break something.

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Overall

I like the set, but the combination of imperfections (the limited articulation in places) and lack of accessories (although I knew that upfront) dull my enthusiasm -- I was much more excited with the Butcher set. On the other hand, the likeness and quality of the normal head sculpt is excellent, and this is bound to be a must have for anyone trying to put together a team of X-Men characters.

Where to Buy?

GianToy had it for $190 with free shipping, but has sold out. You can still find it at greater cost at ToyOrigin or search eBay.

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As always, what do you think?

More photos in Post 5 below.

#soosoo #xmen #scifi #superhero #iceman #frozenman #male
Search in: GENERAL TALK  Topic: SooSoo Toys Frozen Man Review  Replies: 11  Views: 1019
Appendix on additional (modified) articulation in Post 20 below.

While I do not watch The Mandalorian, I am happy to see that at least part of Disney's Star Wars franchise is doing reasonably well, staying truer the original Star Wars, and being replicated in high-end sixth-scale. I have gotten a Hot Toys Mandalorian Death Trooper (simply to make a pair with the earlier Rogue One (RO)-based trooper I already had) and have partly reconstituted a Hot Toys Mandalorian from lose parts and other bits from other companies. While I was not going to pick up a Hot Toys Mandalorian Scout Trooper initially, eventually I decided to do so before it became unavailable or available only at even more astronomical prices. The design (both in terms of the original design for the film and Hot Toys' action figure rendition) looked sufficiently consistent with the original Scout Trooper design from Return of the Jedi (ROTJ), although I was certain that some details had been changed. These are easier to spot with a side-by-side comparison with Sideshow's ROTJ-based Scout Trooper figure.

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Let's start with the packaging. Sideshow's classic design, in part conditioned by Lucasfilm requirements, produced fairly consistent-looking packaging for their Star Wars action figures, including the color scheme of a product image over a two-shades-of-black background. The box has a magnet-closed wrap-around openable lid that allows you to look at the product without removing it, and it opens through either the top or bottom cover. The figure and its accessories are located in one of two plastic treys, which is not a big inconvenience, but can be a tad annoying to work with. I much prefer the foam used by other companies.

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Hot Toys' packaging for The Mandalorian follows the precedent set for Rogue One, in adding a "cigar band" with the character's name, product number, and some extra imagery, to the shoebox-style lid, which otherwise conforms to the Lucasfilm-dictated color scheme. Inside, the product is located in a single plastic trey, under a fine color card of the action figure atop its optional accessory, a speeder bike (based on its appearance in The Mandalorian). As with the Sideshow packaging, everything is reasonably collector friendly, and here there is only one plastic trey to mess around with.

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Given the trend with prior products, I fully expected the Sideshow Scout Trooper to be taller than the Hot Toys one, and was surprised to discover the opposite. Sideshow's figures were generally scaled to be 12 inches tall (with obvious exceptions for shorter characters, like Leia), whereas Hot Toys employed a more varied, and often slightly shorter height. For whatever reason, their Scout Trooper is just over 31 cm (12.25 inches), slightly taller than the Sideshow version (about 30.5 cm = 12 inches), and also taller than the Hot Toys ROTJ and RO Stormtroopers -- see comparison photo at the end. Both figures capture the appearance of a Star Wars Scout Trooper very successfully, but there are variations, largely attributable to slight changes in the design between the original trilogy/ROTJ and the character's current reiteration for The Mandalorian. This is exactly what happened with the design of Stormtroopers between the original trilogy (OT)/A New Hope (ANH) and RO -- you can see a comparison discussing these differences, carried over to the action figures HERE. Some of the differences between the original and Mandalorian designs are readily apparent (perhaps most obviously the screen-accurate heavier weathering on the Mandalorian design), but I will point them out in turn below.

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The OT/ROTJ helmet (on the Sideshow figure) is a little larger, with a more rectangular visor, and a longer face/muzzle portion (perhaps Sideshow made it a tad too long). The toothed "frown," the three lines at the eyebrow, and the blacked out insides of the "ears" were all painted or decals in the actual movie helmets, but Sideshow sculpted them in loving detail, indenting the lines and teeth, and giving the insides of the "ears" a series of minuscule horizontal line indents. Technically, this wasn't screen accurate, but in hand it makes for a more compelling piece. The Mandalorian helmet (on the Hot Toys figure) is a little smaller and rounder, with a shorter face/muzzle portion. This appears to reflect a slight change in design between the OT/ROTJ and The Mandalorian accurately. Here the various details that Sideshow sculpted but were originally painted or decals are in fact painted or decals, making them more screen accurate, if much less compelling when viewed closely in hand. The shape of the goggles and their sunken frame is also a little different, reflecting the slightly altered design.

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Viewed from the side, one can notice the change in the depth of the helmet's visor, which appears to reflect another slight change in the design between the OT/ROTJ and The Mandalorian renditions of the trooper type. The size of the bolts on the visor appear to be a little too small on the Sideshow helmet, even for the OT/ROTJ design, but about right on the Hot Toys helmet.

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The length of the chest plate changed from the OT/ROTJ design (shorter) to The Mandalorian one (longer), and this is accurately reflected in the respective Sideshow and Hot Toys figures. The same is true for the shape and height of attachment of the pouches attached to the fabric overgarment worn over the midsection. In the OT/ROTJ design they sit higher and have a more boxy shape, whereas in The Mandalorian they sit lower and have a more saddlebag shape. Personally, I prefer the latter look when it comes to these, but both products are screen accurate.

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A very notable difference involves the size and shape of the shoulder armor pieces, which are wider in the OT/ROTJ design and narrower in the Mandalorian design; they are respectively reproduced correctly by Sideshow and Hot Toys. Slightly less noticeable is the change in the length of the upper lower arm armor, which was shorter in the OT/ROTJ design. Note also the screen-accurate differences between the kneecap armor design of the two figures. The details are only slightly different, but the kneecap armor has been inverted, with the rim and band attachment placed at the bottom in the OT/ROTJ design and at the top in the Mandalorian design. This detail is also reproduced correctly in the two figures.

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The "backpack" assembly on the back plate is screen accurate on the Hot Toys figure. The Sideshow figure's corresponding area is screen-accurate in having the four parallel lines, but has made the central hump perhaps a little too narrow, and it seems to sit a little too far up -- its shape and position should be closer to what we see in the Mandalorian design reflected by the Hot Toys figure. The size of the otherwise identical thermal detonators increased slightly from the OT/ROTJ to the Mandalorian design, and this is reflected accurately in the two figures.

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In terms of articulation, the actual action figure bodies appear to be about equally capable of reaching and attaining poses. This has nothing to do with the costume design for the films -- although, in theory, the OT/ROTJ design's shorter breast plate and the Mandalorian design's deeper cutout in the upper back plate might be expected to provide advantages to the respective sets of armor. Independent of screen accuracy, the Hot Toys figure has an advantage in having two-piece gloves which allow for some wrist articulation (Sideshow's have practically none), and the soft (some sort of vinyl?) upper parts of the boots allow for plenty of ankle articulation (Sideshow's have practically none, although that set provides a second set of boots for placing on the speeder bike's pedals when riding it). While Hot Toys' decision with the boots is probably better in principle, in practice this could lead to excessive and unsightly creasing of the material. I came across a note in the 501st Legion's costuming guidelines that this is grounds for disqualification, so watch out. Smile

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Although it is possible for the Hot Toys body to achieve a number of poses, this is more difficult and less extensive than the effective range of the Sideshow body. The reasons for this is, as so often, Hot Toys' insistence using restrictive and largely unnecessary padding undergarments. As a result, Hot Toys' scout trooper cannot reach the weapon in his boot holster...

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...in any position.

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I did manage to make both figures sit on stool and have a beer break, but once again, it was a lot harder and more tentative with the Hot Toys figure, thanks to its restrictive padding. Looking at both figures, it is not apparent to me that Sideshow sacrificed appearance for functionality by foregoing this nuisance.

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In terms of accessories, the two sets are very comparable. Both come with fairly elaborate bases/stands. Sideshow's (perhaps only in the second release of the trooper -- I may have lost track) comes with attachable rock, ground, and moss pieces, as well as a couple of logs. They provided similar pieces to go with the base/stand for their speeder bike. The Hot Toys base has a lunar-like planetary surface sculpt on the top, similar to what we have seen in some of their RO releases. Both sets come with the small EC-17 blaster and thermal detonators that attach on the figure -- one in the boot holster, the other on the belt -- and in both instances the Hot Toys versions are just slightly larger. At least in the case of the thermal detonator, that difference is screen-accurate. The Sideshow set includes six interchangeable gloved hands (right EC-17 blaster grip, right generic blaster grip, left relaxed, left pointing, and a pair of bike handle grip hands); each comes with its own wrist peg. The Hot Toys set includes seven interchangeable hands, with the sleeve part of the gloves as a single set of two separate pieces (right EC-17 blaster grip, a pair of bike handle grip hands, a pair of  relaxed hands, and a pair of fists); two spare wrist pegs are included. The Sideshow set features two interchangable sets of boots, one in a neutral position suitable for standing, the other bent forward for riding the speeder bike. Since they allow ankle articulation, the Hot Toys boots don't require an alternate pair, but, as noted above, they are subject to unsightly creasing of the soft material; moreover, the "dog bone" strap across the bridge of the foot seems overly pronounced.

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I should point out that the design of the small EC-17 blaster is such that regular gun or pistol grip hands would not be able to hold it well, which makes the special grips provided by both Sideshow and Hot Toys particularly helpful. The blaster design is practically identical, although the Hot Toys version is slightly larger. As is often the case, Sideshow gave the weapon a more weathered, matte look, which makes it look a lot more realistic to me.

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As already noted, Hot Toys' Mandalorian-based Scout Trooper is surprisingly tall, at just over 31 cm (12.25 in). By comparison, Sideshow's OT/ROTJ-based Scout Trooper is slightly shorter, at about 30.5 cm (12 in). Admittedly, some of the difference in measurements this close may have to do with the degree to which one can achieve an identical stance when measuring. But the Hot Toys Scout Trooper also appears tall next to Hot Toys Stromtroopers. Hot Toys' ROTJ-based Stromtrooper is just under 30 cm, which looks rather short in comparison. Hot Toys' RO-based Stromtrooper is about 30.5 cm, so again a little shorter than the Scout Trooper. The Stormtroopers we see in The Mandalorian have the same design as those from RO, so this last comparison is particularly pertinent. I have not picked up Hot Toys' Mandalorian-based Stromtrooper (they did the extra-weathered version), but I suspect it is identical in physical form and size to the RO version.

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You can find detailed reviews on the HT stormtroopers below:
ANH Stormtrooper (HERE, by Michael Crawford)
RO Stormtrooper (HERE)
ROTJ Stormtrooper (HERE)

I hope this has been useful. What do you think?

Appendix on additional (modified) articulation in Post 20 below.

Link to another review of the Sideshow Scout Trooper here:
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t4402-sideshow-and-hot-toys-star-wars-scout-troopers-updated-comparative-review#62130

#starwars #sideshow #hottoys #imperial #biker #scout #trooper #galactic #empire #review #comparison #fiction #scifi
I got a few of the pieces from the Art Figure Dark Furyan set. And when I say a few, I mean a lot. Of course I used a TBLeague seamless body instead, an M34, and I think it worked out pretty well. The first six images are where I tried to be more artistic (though I think I ended up with a videogame feel). Check out the translucent lenses in the third photo. And note that although the promotional images did not show that, the eyes are reflective silverish to imitate the glowing effect in the film; perhaps they should have made them a little more bluish, but they work well. Since I didn't get this as a complete set, it is not a review. The remaining photos are reference shots, some of them the same as the ones in the "artistic images", some different, that are intended to show the whole body from different angles for more information.

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What do you think?


#riddick #artfigure #darkfurian #scifi #male #tbleague #phicen #m34 #kitbash #custom
Search in: GENERAL TALK  Topic: Riddick gets a body transplant and goes exploring  Replies: 25  Views: 1219
“You're about to face off with the Dark Troopers. You had your hands full with one. Let's see how you do against a platoon.” – Moff Gideon™

The third-generation design Dark Troopers are no longer suits. The human inside was the final weakness to be solved. They are now droids. These troopers proved to be very intimidating and dangerous as the Mandalorian struggled to defeat even one of these fearsome foes during his rescue mission of Grogu aboard from Moff Gideon’s ship.

Following the epic season finale of The Mandalorian, Hot Toys is excited to introduce the brand new 1/6th scale Dark Trooper collectible figure!

The highly-accurate collectible figure is skillfully crafted based on the Dark Trooper as seen in the hit Star Wars™ series. It features highly detailed helmet and mechanical armor parts, specially applied black armor painting, LED light up functions, a blaster, and a display base!

The 1/6th scale collectible figure of this menacing trooper will surely be a welcomed addition to any Star Wars collection!
SPECIFICATIONS
PRODUCT CODETMS032
PRODUCT NAMEDARK TROOPER™
HEIGHTAPPROXIMATELY 32.5 CM TALL
POINTS OF ARTICULATIONS25
SPECIAL FEATURESFINELY CRAFTED DARK TROOPER HELMET WITH LED LIGHT-UP FUNCTION, HIGHLY POSEABLE BODY STRUCTURE WITH DETAILED MECHANICAL DESIGN
ARTISTSHEAD SCULPTED BY N/A
HEAD PAINTED BY N/A
HEAD ART DIRECTED BY N/A
The 1/6th scale Dark TrooperTM Collectible Figure special features:
- Authentic and detailed likeness of Dark Trooper in Star Wars: The Mandalorian
- Finely crafted Dark Trooper helmet with LED light-up function (red light, battery operated)
- Glossy black armor painting and metallic silver joints with LED light-up chest panel (red light, battery operated)
- Approximately 32.5 cm tall
- Newly developed body with over 25 points of articulations
- Highly poseable advanced exoskeleton body structure with detailed mechanical design
- Six (6) pieces of interchangeable hands including:
- One (1) pair of fists
- One (1) pair of relaxed hands
- One (1) pair of hands for holding rifle

Weapon:
- One (1) blaster rifle

Accessory:
- Figure stand with Star Wars logo and character nameplate

Release date: Approximately Q2 – Q3, 2022

*Prototype shown, final product may be slightly different
** Battery included for collectible figure, button cells are required
***Product details are subject to change without further notice

© & TM Lucasfilm Ltd.
© 2021 Hot Toys Limited. All Rights Reserved.


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#newproduct #HotToys #StarWars #Mandalorian #DarkTrooper #SciFi #Disney+
Sorry, it ended up very photo heavy so please bear with us while they load.

A spinoff of the custom Imperial Mechanical Crew character HERE.

Additional/alternate photos in Post 21 below.

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What do you think?

Additional/alternate photos in Post 21 below.

Earlier Star Wars photo stories included:

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3240-star-wars-a-happy-endings-story-original-trilogy-updated

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3178-star-wars-a-silver-linings-story-original-trilogy-updated-with-extra-photos

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2799-star-wars-the-further-adventures-of-darth-maul-updated-with-part-ii-may-2020

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2541-star-wars-a-love-gone-wrong-story

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2206-star-wars-moving-on-solo-story

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1862-star-wars-a-lone-scoundrel-story

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1852-star-wars-a-negative-body-image-story

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1150-star-wars-spacecops

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t909-star-wars-new-imperial-unit-aquatrooper-part-two

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1076-christmas-reruns-star-wars-christmas-revised-edition-not-the-holiday-special

#starwars #parody #satire #fiction #scifi #photostory
Part II in Post 18 below.

Spinoff Photo Story HERE.

It has occurred to me that we should be wishing each other stress-free Christmases rather than just Merry Christmases (or Happy ones, if you speak the more proper royal form of English). Given how long a certain key ingredient took to get here, it was a miracle I got it done before Christmas. And although it is not particularly holiday-oriented, I figured I'd post it up as a way of relaxing in the calm between two Christmas storms (figuratively, not literally).

While you are waiting for the photos to load, you might want to take a look at what turned out to be a whole research essay -- this time I had taken plenty of notes, as this one took a lot of effort to figure out with plausible accuracy. Was it worth it? To me, yes. So here it goes...

Introduction
Call it a Christmas miracle. I thought I will never have one. No company had produced one in any scale, nor had it acknowledged its existence. But after never really looking into it, I ended up kitbashing and customizing a sixth-scale recreation of what may be one of cinema history’s ultimate amissible background characters (even if there was a whole formation of them lined up behind the two dark lords of the original Star Wars universe). I am referring to what has been called an Imperial ground crewman or Imperial mechanical crewman. No, I do not mean the newly invented closed-helmeted ground crew that provided an Imperial uniform disguise for Jyn Erso in Rogue One; and I do not mean the so-called “scanning crew technicians” (who wear black caps and grey jumpsuits, but surely do other things than simply operate scanners) or the various naval communications crewmen aboard Star Destroyers in The Empire Strikes Back (who wear standard caps and jumpsuits in either olive and grey or black and black). Blink twice and you will miss them. The guys I am talking about are both the creation and the victim of Lucas’ vision for the emperor’s arrival scene in The Return of the Jedi.

The Evidence
It is no secret that Lucas needed as many Imperial characters as he could to fill out the (artificially) vast hangar that served for the emperor’s arrival aboard the second Death Star. Stormtroopers, scout troopers, the newly-designed regular army troopers (“AT-ST drivers”), TIE-Fighter pilots, gunners, naval guards (“Death Star/Squad troopers”), “scanning crew technicians,” various officers, and a smattering of droids were called up in formation to greet the diminutive wizard-like emperor. The whole thing was supposed to evoke the military parades of totalitarian regimes, and the number of characters and vastness of space required for that led to the infamous decision to combine actual film with a matte painting, mixing real and painted characters for our viewing pleasure. The wide shot of this scene (photo A), the one combined with the matte painting, does not even feature the background characters that are the subject of this kitbash/custom: they must have been late for the set or, more likely, overlooked as unnecessary from that perspective; there is no one beyond or behind the formation of four rows of “scanning crew technicians” to the left (camera right) of the landed shuttle. But then the angle of view changes (photo B), and one can discover our new characters in formation (at least four rows deep) just to the left of the emperor’s shuttle, standing behind the aforementioned four rows of “scanning crew technicians.” Then the angle of the camera changes again (photos C and D), as we see the emperor and Vader begin their conversation and walk on: the “scanning crew technicians” have disappeared (they were apparently redeployed to swell numbers farther down the line), and our guys have advanced to the very front. This is confirmed by a set photo (photo E) of unused footage (which would have been nice to see in the film), where we see them lined up at the front, with only the red-robed Imperial royal guards between them and their ultimate boss. And, apart from a rare photo of one of their helmets (photo F), that is all the “primary” evidence on these guys I have been able to dig up.

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Following the standard established or accepted by the 501st Legion, let us call them Imperial mechanical crew. The out-of-focus and limited footage led to a fairly late recognition of the characters as belonging to a new type of unit, as well as all sorts of misconceptions about both their purpose and their actual appearance. Actually, their true purpose is clear: they were there to take up space, swell up the ranks of the Imperials lined up to greet the emperor, and provide just a bit of additional variety for the assembled Imperial forces; possibly for the emperor and his officials, certainly for Lucas’ camera lens. Strangely so, since some previously attested uniforms are not seen here, like the cream-colored tunics of the security bureau from A New Hope or the olive and grey get up of the Star Destroyer crewmen from The Empire Strikes Back (who are also conspicuously absent from the deck of the Executor in The Return of the Jedi!), among others. These choices confirm the apparent and misleading preoccupation with overall optics in the staging of the scene. Closer inspection reveals plenty of missing elements, apparently deemed too minor to be noticed even when contradicting established uniform appearances: some “AT-ST drivers” helmets without chin-straps, some jumpsuits without Imperial cog emblems on their upper arms at the shoulder, some belts without utility boxes (they were there in A New Hope), all gunners without their ribbed tops and leather chest protectors (ditto), one of them infamously with his “bib” out over the collar of his jumpsuit -- surely a wardrobe oversight, not an intended uniform look or fashion statement; but Kenner stuck a photo of that one on the action figure card back (HERE), and it has caused a minor controversy). And I have already noted the inconsistencies and redeployment in the formation of attendees between different shots in the same scene. Our mechanical crewmen were put together to contribute to this slightly slapshot environment, and their fairly basic outfit is quite consistent with such basic needs.

Interpretation or Misinterpretation
Let us take a look at the costume and dispel some misconceptions. As mentioned above, the footage is limited and out-of-focus. So it is not altogether surprising that misconceptions should arise. One fairly detailed source, Curtis Saxton (HERE), who may have been the first to make me realize these characters existed, describes their appearance as follows, sometime before 2006:

"Enlisted (unclassified)
• Blue-black overalls, single-breasted top.
• Black open helmet, cockroach brim absent or not clearly visible.
• Black belt with silver buckle and holster, no utility boxes.
• Long-sleeved black gloves.
• No rank badge or code cylinders.
Images: Standing at attention, left of Lord Vader.
These men probably aren't regular naval sailors, guards or technicians, because those uniforms are already identified. They must specialists of some kind, or have mildly dangerous working conditions, otherwise they wouldn't have helmets. They don't work in vacuum, otherwise the helmet would be sealed. Since the next two types of servicemen on this side of the bay are naval (black-capped technicians, then gunners) I tentatively guess that the mysterious men are also in the Navy.
Jason Mitchell notes that the holster implies combat/security, and the lack of belt boxes common to specialists, crew and technicians. For these reasons, he suggests that these personnel could belong to Military Police unit or a Shore Patrol unit."


Much of this is correct, but there are also a lot of errors, some of them unexpected, given the image he supplied: the overalls/jumpsuit IS navy blue (which can appear almost black on film), there are NO silver belt buckles and apparently NO belts or holsters, and there are NO long-sleeved (or otherwise) black gloves. Even without these mistakes, some of the otherwise interesting implications drawn by Saxton and Mitchell do not necessarily follow (presence of helmets and absence of utility boxes do not keep these characters from being ground/mechanical crew any more than their very similarly equipped Rebel counterparts -- see below).

Seemingly unaware of Saxton’s notes, Cal Pierce and associates drew attention to this character type in 2011, submitting the costume specifications to the 501st Legion, and posting their recreation of the costume on the Rebelscum forum (HERE). They correctly concluded the characters were thrown in “to fill in space,” that the jumpsuits were navy blue, and they created the “mechanical crew” designation. They also noted that “the costume is really plain Jane in the movie” and admitted adding (or being tempted to add) embellishments extrapolated from other Imperial uniforms, “such as gloves, belt, comm pad, code cylinders, cogs on shoulder,” in other words correctly realizing none of these were present in the actual film costumes; the featured photos of the recreated costume and the specifications adopted by the 501st Legion (HERE) ignored any such embellishments.

While Pierce et al. in effect corrected most of the earlier misconceptions (about the presence of belts, holsters, gloves), they introduced what appears to be a glaring, if somewhat easy to make, error, which has been overlooked and allowed into the 501st Legion guidelines. This is the Imperial cog emblem on the front (“forehead”) of the helmet. The glossy black helmets reflected the overhead lighting of the set like those of the gunners and “Death Star troopers” and TIE-Fighter pilots. The gunners and pilots do have cog emblems on their helmets, and the decoration on the gunner helmet (which in fact incorporates into a more complex design the same basic “talker” helmet as that of the mechanical crewmen) is in fact a single large cog emblem on the front (“forehead”). However, for all the reflection, distance, and out-of-focus imagery, it does NOT appear that the mechanical crewmen had a cog-emblem on their helmets; the evidence is as follows:

Exhibit A: in a movie still (photo B), the mechanical crewmen are seen standing alongside “Death Star troopers” and gunners; the reflection effect is identical for the mechanical crewmen and the “Death Star troopers,” while in the case of the gunners the cog emblem can be seen as a white circle with a darker center separate from and additional to the reflection of the lights.

Exhibit B: at least one photograph (photo F) of a mechanical crewman helmet exists, showing no trace of an Imperial cog emblem on it, despite some scuffing.

Between these two pieces of evidence, we can be certain that a reconstruction of the mechanical crew costume with an emblem on the helmet is incorrect. Like the “Death Star troopers,” the mechanical crewmen had NO emblem on their helmet. One imagines this should be good news to anyone trying to recreate this costume in either 1:1 or smaller scale – unless they have already gone though the trouble of applying an emblem where there should not be any.

Comparative Evidence and Reinterpretation
The costume of the Imperial mechanical crew is a fairly minor variation of the costume of the Rebel ground crew on Yavin IV in A New Hope. I use the term “ground crew” generally, following Brandon Alinger (Star Wars Costumes, San Francisco 2014: 22-23), whose close collaboration with Lucasfilm makes him an authority in my book; the Rebel Legion costume guidelines distinguish between two variations, which they label Rebel ground crew (HERE) and Yavin hangar technicians (HERE). Generally speaking, these wear grey jumpsuits that are identical to the Imperial ones except in having rectangular rather than chevron pocket flaps, and having four leg pockets instead of only two. The more specific “ground crew” variation appear to forego a helmet and a belt, but tuck in their pant legs into their black boots (photo I); the more specific “hangar technicians” variation wear light grey “talker” (US naval gunner Mk II, HERE) helmets with an added communication unit and antenna (usually in the same color), a modern-looking khaki or olive belt with mini-flare loops, and do not tuck their pant legs into their black boots (photos G and H).

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This provides clues for interpreting what we see of the corresponding Imperial mechanical crew costume. The helmet is the same, in fact the exact same, simply repainted glossy black (Alinger p. 23). The helmet’s chin strap is all black (like those of the “Death Star troopers” and “AT-ST drivers”), as opposed to the black strap with a white chin guard used by the Rebels. The jumpsuit is the Imperial variant of the same garment worn by the Rebel ground crew (the differences being chevron pocket flaps and only two leg pockets), but dyed navy blue. Since it is worn without a belt (certainly no belt buckle of any kind is visible), it can be assumed that the jumpsuit is tucked into the boots. These are difficult to make out in the out-of-focus images but would be consistent with the overall draping of the garment and with the rules for the Rebel ground crew costumes in the films (no belt = pant legs tucked into boots). Given this parallelism to the Rebel crewmen, you can see why I would have preferred to label the characters in question “Imperial ground crew,” although I suppose “Imperial mechanical crew” remains a viable choice.

To sum up, the Imperial mechanical crew wears a glossy black “talker” helmet with a com box and antenna and black chin strap, a navy-blue jumpsuit, and black jackboots (probably the shorter jackboots seen with jumpsuits in Star Wars). This is a simple and not particularly striking outfit, although that is perhaps understandable for the type of character, especially in a film universe whose creator, George Lucas, said “I don’t want anyone to notice the costumes” (Alinger, p. 6, quoting John Mollo). There is certainly consistency in the parallelism with the corresponding Rebel type(s). Such continuity, even among secondary elements, is something that helps the film universe feel real. In fact, the continuity carries over, more subtly, to other trooper types, as the same “talker” helmet forms part of the more complex designs of the Rebel fleet trooper helmets, the “Death Star trooper” helmets, and the Imperial gunner helmets.

Recreation in Sixth-Scale
Such a simply-attired character ought to be easy to kitbash, right? Well, to a point. The boots were a relatively easy choice, between (among others) Sideshow molded Star Wars or DID leather German jackboots; both come in either shorter or taller varieties, but the shorter kind is more appropriate for Star Wars characters wearing jumpsuits. So I chose DID’s shorter leather jackboots, which are hard to find and (being fairly old) tend to be damaged or to be on the verge of falling apart. I might revisit this choice later. The jumpsuit is from a Sideshow AT-AT driver set (these garments are both rare and expensive these days, but for once I had exercised forethought, since they are useful for several different Imperial costumes); I re-painted it navy blue with a … Sharpie! (And left it to dry for days on end.)

The helmet was surprisingly difficult to find; US World War II gunners with clean no-frills Mk II “talker” helmets must either not have been recreated in high-end sixth-scale, or else be exceedingly rare (I know little about modern military figures and may well have missed something obvious). In the end, I found a sixth-scale version of the helmet on Shapeways for a reasonable price and purchased a couple, selecting the smoother surface option. When they arrived, they were still striated enough to betray a rough surface and it was apparent that they would require not only painting, but also smoothing to achieve the desired glossy effect. Since I am pretty bad at sanding (patience not being one of my many virtues), that seemed like a daunting task. Until I discovered a way around it in XTC-3D, a mix and brush-on coating that fills in striations. Perhaps I have not tried enough products, but I was surprised at how well it worked, even with a single coat (to correct some minor oversights, I applied a second). The hardest part was waiting for it to arrive: I could swear they used a snail-drawn open sleigh and the snails kept freezing to the ground. The chin strap is borrowed and slightly repurposed (rearranged, really) from a Hot Toys Solo Mudtrooper, while I made a mold of the communication box on a Sideshow Rebel fleet trooper to recreate that part from Kneadatite (here is where I thank Ovy for encouraging me in that direction a long time ago); the antenna is, predictably enough, a length of wire.
I also painted a second helmet (and provided it with a second communication box) in light grey to put together an approximation of a Rebel ground crewman (or “hangar technician”). I say an approximation, because in this instance I could not bring myself to alter the precious Sideshow AT-AT driver jumpsuit; besides, while making the pocket flaps rectangular might have been easy enough, how would I make two more leg pockets? I suppose knowing one’s limitations is philosophical. But I think it conveys enough of the right effect, especially for an approximation.
It seems to me that the all-important helmets are just a little bit on the small side, but part of that may be up to the head sculpt. The helmets do look better with smaller head sculpts, but unfortunately those usually do not work well with the DAM bodies I used. I selected medium- or medium-small-sized bald or very short-haired head sculpts as a compromise. All in all, I think this recreation of an admittedly bland and archetypically background character turned out pretty well.

More than enough text, on to the photos of the figure (and friends)...

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and the approximation of the Rebel ground crew/hangar technician:

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As always, what do you think?

Part II in Post 18 below.

Spinoff Photo Story HERE.

#starwars #fiction #scifi #male #military #imperial #mechanical #crew #ground #kitbash #custom
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Introduction

It has been about two years now, but since this is a relatively obscure product that proved useful in a recent kitbash, I decided to give it its long overdue review. I reviewed the original Sideshow TIE Fighter Pilot HERE, and much of what follows is going to make reference to that figure; in the photos where they appear side by side, the new pilot is the one with the shinier jumpsuit, darker and glossier gloves and boots, and graphite/grey-painted details on the helmet (I will point out all the differences below). While there is nothing on the box to suggest it, this is really the original trilogy TIE Fighter Pilot as spruced up for Rogue One. The "tiger stripes" and other graphite/grey-painted details do hearken back to the Original Trilogy, but the Rogue One design introduced some innovations in other areas. While easy to spot, they are minor enough to preserve the general iconic look of the original TIE Fighter Pilot. Sideshow appears to have succeeded in adapting its original model accordingly. Check out the YouTube video linked at the end for additional inspiration. Smile

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Packaging: 3/4 stars

The TIE Fighter Pilot comes in the long familiar two-shades-of-black box with a wrap around cover secured with magnets; open it and you can peak at the set within without unboxing it. To get the set out, open either the top or bottom of the box. The set is housed inside two transparent plastic treys, each with its own transparent plastic cover. The top trey contains the kitted-out figure and the hexagonal base, while the bottom trey contains the gun, stand, and extra gloved hand sculpts. The design works reasonably well, even if it is not very exciting (it is consistent with past practice), and everything is safe and collector-friendly. As noted above, there is no indication that this figure is based on the type's appearance in Rogue One. The title is the same: Star Wars Imperial TIE Fighter Pilot, although the photo of the figure is updated to depict the new product in a different pose.

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Sculpting: 4/4 stars

The sculpted detail is excellent overall, and generally identical to the first version produced by Sideshow a couple of years earlier. The most significant departures from the original design are: two additional and identical small black greeblies placed symmetrically at the temples of the helmet; slightly different ear cap greeblies; the use of a Rogue One stormtrooper backplate (with the characteristic indentation running atop the "backpack" section and hole off to the upper right); the use of an imperial belt with (rather than without) utility boxes on both sides of the buckle. Apart from what is noted above, the sculpted detail is exactly the same as in the original set; the gloved hands and boots come from the same molds as before; the same is true for the comm pad showing through the opening on the left sleeve. The E-11 laser blaster rifle is also identical to those Sideshow provided to the previous release of this figure and other imperials. I will discuss the code cylinders under Accessories below. The second Sideshow TIE Fighter pilot appears to be very slightly shorter than the earlier version, but stands about 12 inches tall.

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Paint: 3.5/4 stars

While there isn't a whole lot of complexity to paint scheme, the paint is applied cleanly and accurately. The silverish areas appear more realistically metallic than they did in the earlier release. The molded gloved hands and boots are given a darker coloring than before, making them closer in color to the jumpsuit (for which see under Outfit below); correspondingly, the ribbed hoses are now glossier and darker in color than before. Apart from a slight innovation to the button color scheme on the front panel, the most significant change in the paint scheme is the application of graphite grey "tiger stripes" and other details to the helmet. Much of this was already the case in the Original Trilogy, though not applied to Sideshow's earlier release. The imperial "cog" emblems on the helmet are correctly a little smaller than they were in the Original Trilogy and, accordingly, on Sideshow's earlier version of the type. What is inaccurate to both the Original Trilogy and Rogue One here, is the little black rectangle on the "mow hawk" -- this should feature tiny "Aurebesh" symbols providing the pilot's ID number, but here are left plain black. While this is a minor detail, it does make a significant difference in the appearance. (Medicom got this right on their TIE Fighter pilot.)

While it is difficult to see even if you popped off the helmeted head and shined a light into it, the lenses are, as in the earlier version, translucent grey (see my first review linked above for a depiction). This is something we have rarely gotten from Sideshow (more often, but not always, from Hot Toys), and therefore much appreciated.

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Articulation: 3/4 stars

Theoretically, the articulation should be as good as that of Sideshow's first release of this type. The armor is relatively limited, and the fabric jumpsuit should not get much in the way. I don't know if this is an issue limited to my figure or present throughout the whole line, but some of the joints (most notably the knees and hips) appear to be quite loose. This is an annoyance when trying to pose or balance the figure. The molded gloved hand sculpts limit wrist articulation, while the molded boots eliminate pretty much all potential ankle articulation. The hoses (breathing tubes) connecting the helmet to the front panel are flexible enough to allow articulation, but in practice they can keep the helmeted head from maintaining a specific desired pose.

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Accessories: 4/4 stars

Short of supplying us with some or all of a TIE Fighter cockpit, I think there is very little more that could have been reasonably expected with this set. We get the hexagonal base, stand, additional two pairs of hands (making a total of three pairs: fitsts, grip, and relaxed hands), E-11 blaster rifle, and two code cylinders that go into the pen sleeves that are part of the pocket over the left biceps. The blaster rifle is identical to that supplied with the earlier version of the type and with other imperials by Sideshow, although it is significantly less weathered. The result is perhaps more realistic but certainly less interesting. Technically speaking, I don't believe we have ever seen these pilots sporting guns (or holsters, as in the original release) onscreen, so this accessory is already a bonus. The code cylinders are found with X-Wing pilots and imperial technicians in the Original Trilogy, but appear to have been introduced to TIE Fighter pilots only in Rogue One. These small accessories are well crafted and appear to be screen accurate; they fit snugly into the pen sleeves. While a very minor detail, they are also handy for kitbashing imperial technicians (like the scanning crew found on the first Death Star or the grey- and black-jumpsuit-wearing crew on the Star Destroyers in The Empire Strikes Back).

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Outfit: 4/4 stars

Not counting the molded plastic pieces (like the helmet, chest and back armor, gloved hands and boots), the outfit consists simply of the black jumpsuit and belt (with molded buckle and utility boxes). Both feature innovations: the utility boxes, while found with other imperials in the Original Trilogy, were applied to TIE Fighter pilots in Rogue One. Another difference related to the belt is the absence of a holster for the gun with this version of the pilot; however, as noted above, I don't believe these pilots were ever seen onscreen with either guns or holsters. This would make the new version more screen-accurate. Apart from the pen sleeves for the code cylinders, the jumpsuit is structurally identical to that provided for the original version, except that it is made of a shinier nylon-like material. This, too, is an innovation of Rogue One and screen-accurate, even if its unnecessarily changed appearance keeps it from working for standard Original Trilogy imperials.

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Fun Factor: 4/4 stars

Despite the film-specific differences, overall the appearance of Sideshow's second TIE Fighter pilot is sufficiently close to the original to allow it to mix with the other Star Wars figures from the Sideshow and Hot Toys lines, whether produced for the Original Trilogy movies or for Rogue One.

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Value: 2/4 stars

Retailing officially for $210 USD, not including shipping, this was not a low-priced collectible at the end of 2017. It was a full $30 pricier than the earlier version from just two years before. On the other hand, it is quite good (apart from those loose joints) and (not that I care for such things) a limited edition of 2000 figures; Sideshow allowed only one per customer. Since then, it has sold out, although you might get lucky -- though your wallet would probably suffer. While there have been plenty of minor changes to the set, there is also a whole lot of re-use of molds and patterns, which ought to have kept the price from escalating quite this much.

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Things to watch out for

Hardly anything. Due to those looser joints, make sure you balance the figure well before leaving it standing on its own. The code cylinders are pretty tiny, but they do fit pretty securely in their pen sleeves.

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Overall: 3.5 stars

Like the earlier Sideshow version, this is a very fine representation of a TIE Fighter pilot. To have been perfect, one might have hoped for improved functionality (fewer restrictions on the articulation and a fewer loose joints). And while the set might resonate less with exclusive Original Trilogy fans, the appearance is so close that it would probably integrate seamlessly even among such discerning collectors. I'm glad I picked it up, even if I would have hoped for a better price and a less limited run (such things not being conducive to army-building).

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Where to Buy?

At this late stage, it is basically sold out, although you can probably get lucky at some point somewhere, e.g., on eBay.

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For additional inspiration, check out this fan film on YouTube -- although it has some issues, it is very much what should have happened as the Rebel fleet was massing near Sullust, well before it attacked the second Death Star. Smile



As always, what do you think?

#starwars #rogueone #tiefighterpilot #empire #scifi #fiction #sideshow
This was long in coming, and although much of it could have been ready for a while now, things kept coming up and keeping me from completing it. I know many people thought the Mudtrooper from Solo the hottest thing since sliced bread, but from the moment I first saw it, I thought there's our chance of getting a high-end AT-ST Driver, which was really an overly-specific task-related description of the regular imperial army troopers (as opposed to stormtroopers, scout troopers, and naval guards). The Mudtrooper would be the same thing, but in partly specialized gear... I have kitbashed these before, using much-customized helmet pieces from Hot Toys and Sideshow snowtroopers, but those required a thorough repainting, and my feeble skills are no match for the excellence of Hot Toys' paint job. Although more weathered (or rather distressed), the Mudtrooper helmets were already the right shape and color. So I couldn't resist another kitbash, even though it involved another indecently expensive purchase on eBay.

Topics tagged under scifi on OneSixthFigures Swatst10

The helmets are modified to fit (getting rid of the magnet and framing specific to the Solo Mudtrooper heads), and to look right (with the addition of a couple of metal greeblies, repainting the disks on both sides, and painting black the molding around the edges); the chin-strap is modified to look right (as on my custom "Death Star Trooper"); the belt is modified too (it is from Krennic); the boots are DID jackboots; the jumpsuit is from Sideshow's AT-AT Driver, with added imperial cog emblems at the shoulders; the gloves are from Sideshow's TIE-Fighter Pilot.

Topics tagged under scifi on OneSixthFigures Swatst11

While the helmet is very close in appearance to the Return of the Jedi original, it should be noted that as with other recent reprises of the Star Wars universe, it is not an exact replica. The molding, for example, is actually a new feature, whereas in the original the black coloring (tape?) simply overlay the rest of the helmet's sculpt. The Mudtrooper helmet also lacked two of the original's metal greeblies (the antenna? on the right side of the head and the bar on the back), and its communication? unit (on the right side of the head) is actually a little different in its details than the original.

Topics tagged under scifi on OneSixthFigures Swatst12

The goggles took me a long time to find, as most were the wrong size or shape.

Topics tagged under scifi on OneSixthFigures Swatst13

I painted them black with acrylics from the inside, allowing the exterior to remain nice and shiny, and the color to look even.

Topics tagged under scifi on OneSixthFigures Swatst14

So back to Endor, where troopers Hank and Dean have made a frisky new friend.

Topics tagged under scifi on OneSixthFigures Swatst15

Whom they promptly shared with the rest of the guys.

Topics tagged under scifi on OneSixthFigures Swatst16

A sudden noise startled them all, allowing the creature to escape the friendly tickling, while everyone started yelling and aiming blindly into the forest.

Topics tagged under scifi on OneSixthFigures Swatst17

It took them a few moments to realize that the culprit was just naval trooper Kavil, whose unexpected arrival had gone undetected. Rumor has it he has his hands full with a certain very exalted lady up in the Death Star. Ever the gentleman, he would not confirm it.

Topics tagged under scifi on OneSixthFigures Swatst18

While we're at it, a simple change of headgear (using Sideshow officer caps), gloves, a belt, and the addition of some pocket cylinders and one screen-accurate communication pad, would transform our army troopers into a Death Star "scanning" crew technician (Left, with the black cap) and a Star Destroyer naval crew technician (Right, with the olive cap).

Topics tagged under scifi on OneSixthFigures Swatst19

Looks like someone's still looking for the keys...

Topics tagged under scifi on OneSixthFigures Swatst20

What do you think?

#starwars #custom #kitbash #atst #driver #fiction #scifi #male #military

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