The Imperial Shipyards
Imperial Creative Engineering => Custom Vehicles => Topic started by: Darth More on November 20, 2016, 04:55:35 AM
-
Welcome to my thread! On this topic I show you how I restore incomplete or damaged Star Wars vehicles by Hasbro.
List of Contents:
Page 1:
- Republic Gunship: Missing Missles - Resin Cast
- AT-TE: Turret Missle - Resin Cast - Reply #2
- Removing stains and color scratches from your vehicles - Reply # 11
- Removing paint and acrylic colors from your vehicles - Reply # 11
Page 2:
- AT-TE (Restoration of all Missles) - Reply #15
Upcoming Projects for 2017:
- TCW Rebublic Fighter Tank
- TCW Corporate Alliance Tank Droid - Resin Cast Antenna
- TVC Y-Wing - Resin Cast (That's gonna be a tough one!)
Hi guys,
in 2014 I started working with resin. My big role model for this project is Clonehead! I have always been amazed by the quality of his custom resin parts! So a big thanks goes to Clint here! He made one BARC Trooper helmet for me a few years ago and it is brilliant!
With this helmet Christoph (FialaFernbrugg) made one of his legendary Clone Assassins for me. I will post a picture of his custom in my custom figure thread later on...
But since shipping from Kansas to Germany is more expensive than Clint's awesome resin parts themselves I decided to try it myself. So I invested a lot of money and time into this project.
The "custom resin part" project is actually the biggest one I ever started. As mentioned before over two years have passed since then. I had some projects in commission and am still working on one 1/6 scale project that still needs to be finished...
One of my other works in commision is this here: the Republic Gunship
Some friends asked me if I knew how to find replacements for their beloved vehicles and ships.
Back then I had some original parts from big lots from eBay, but of course not every part they needed. You probably know this problem. You buy a used item from eBay and the missles are missing. Your ship/vehicle is not complete! You probably got it cheaper for that exact reason.
And casting the missing parts needs quite some expensive materials and skills, but the result definitely pays off! Back in the days of childhood those parts were always the things that got lost first...
I know technology goes more and more in the direction of CAD/CAM systems and 3D printing, but for now I decided to go with casting resin parts. Maybe in 5-10 years I will also own a 3D printer (We all will!)
So a Republic Gunship from a friend of mine was missing one front missle and the one in the back. I made a silicon mold of the original one and poured resin into that mold.
I then painted the parts in grey (with acrylic Citadel Colors).
(http://i.imgur.com/LHOU1b2.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/X5zKKdP.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/9Iw33Id.jpg)
In the picture below you can see (from bottom up):
Original missle, casted resin missle, painted custom missles
(http://i.imgur.com/7kNnlst.jpg)
Unfortunately, I didn't catch the exact shade of grey, but the grey fits both Gunships (SAGA/ROTS)
(http://i.imgur.com/9S22t7m.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/wSTIEBu.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/MI4XAet.jpg)
-
Is that one of your parts? Looks great.
I would love to see how you did this! I will try to make you famous!
-
Thanks Shawn! Yes, these parts are two of mine and you will see lots more!
I took quite some time (and money!) to get into this topic, but after some time of experiments and development I finally got where I am: great quality custom resin parts 0/ DH
My second project (after many requests) were the missles of the AT-TE:
(http://i.imgur.com/O6RxYUM.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/qpiaPXg.jpg)
Now, I finally found the perfect color to paint the replacement parts for the AT-TE:
It's color 27003 "Polished Steel" by humbrol. It's an Enamel color, quite liquid, but still very opaque!
(http://i.imgur.com/VLZoGWp.jpg)
I still use brushes for all paintings. At the moment I am saving money for an Airbrush System thoguh.
(http://i.imgur.com/QP6Pkaa.jpg)
I am quite contended with the result...looks like the original part. What do you think?
(http://i.imgur.com/jctFXdl.jpg)
-
Do you offer these for sale? They look great!
-
Yes, I actually do offer them for sale! So if you need some parts to complete your vehicles and ships, just message me and I will see what I can do :)
-
Yes, I actually do offer them for sale! So if you need some parts to complete your vehicles and ships, just message me and I will see what I can do :)
Well now that is great news, and thank you for the service!
-
I am updating my first entries on this topic with additional pics and info right now.
Also make sure to visit my other tiopic on restoring Hasbro's Star Wars Action Figures:
http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10179.0
I got some more incomplete vehicles that I will restore this year. As mentioned in the list of contents these will be my upcoming projects:
I got this set with two vehicles and 4 figures for 24€ including shipping from eBay:
So I got them fairly cheap and can therefore use them to turn them into customs...
(http://i.imgur.com/DHpHqFr.jpg)
Fortunately I have another complete Republic Fighter Tank so that I can make molds of the original parts.
(http://i.imgur.com/BBHCPew.jpg)
I can make resin parts as long as I have the original parts. But I have to make many molds to complete this TVC Y-Wing. New for me will be to work with clear epoxy to reproduce the canopy...
(http://i.imgur.com/rQXY3mR.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/HFyIkX5.jpg)
One tip right away: Color scratches like these can be washed off with a brush and soap or if the brush is not enough: A Magic Eraser! But be careful with these sponges, if you rub too hard the original color will disappear, too...these Magic Erasers are quite abrasive....
(http://i.imgur.com/GJeKQA8.jpg)
-
These look really nice! When you tackle the canopy, I'd be interested in seeing your mold. I haven't tried to tackle a really thin part like this yet, and I need to cast a VC X-wing canopy
-
These are great too! That's really a great idea too.
Is it feasible to use molding and casting to make an entire ship duplicate for yourself? :{O
-
I am interested to see how this comes along!
-
@ Jaeger45: Thanks mate! You will definitely see the mold and all the how-to! Lately I worked with very thin parts! I even made Cad Bane's hat in resin! I will make the Y-Wing canopy and I will try the X-Wing canopy, too!
@ tetsuoswrath: Cheers mate! Unfortunately it is not possible for me to mold and cast an entire vehicle like the Y-Wing with my possibilities...you could probably do that with a 3D-Printer though...
@ Tamer: I guess so, Shawn! Me too and I can't wait to show you more!
-
Last week I started working on a new project...
Star Wars Episode I - TPM Naboo Flash Speeder from 1999
With this example I would like to show you how:
- you can get rid of color scratches and stains
- remove color from parts that have already painted with acrylic or oil-based paints
I got this Speeder twice. Both were pretty cheap since they were loose, used and one of them has already been painted before...
As you can see in the pictures below this one here had some stains and scratches:
(http://i.imgur.com/Xvwb6H8.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/FgmMIEM.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/2QyQ6Cp.jpg)
Again, I cut a piece of a "Magic Eraser" by Mr Clean, wetted it with water and removed the scratches by softly rubbing across the stains. Make sure to not rub too hard. Otherwise the original paint will be removed too since these sponges are quite rough.
By the way: Do not use them on your car! It will leave further micro scratches. Don't ask why I know this...
You can buy those "magic erasers" in every store with household goods or order them online (e.g. on Amazon):
https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Clean-Magic-Eraser-Original/dp/B0071SCSO0/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1486846713&sr=8-3&keywords=magic+eraser
(http://i.imgur.com/OFvUoie.jpg)
Interesting to note is the fact that the packaging says: "Made in Germany" and "Packed in the USA". I have never seen a print like this before. In fact these Magic Erasers by Mr Clean are not available here in Germany. This might be due to European restrictions. As far as I know they contain chlorine elements, but I know exactly why they are not sold here.
You can get them quite cheap for what you can achieve with them! I cleaned my host dad's entire boat with them before he sold it! It did a lot of magic on it! What you can get here though are unbranded "Cleaning Sponges" sold by certain chains. I tried them and can tell they are as good as the ones by Mr Clean!
And here is the result:
(http://i.imgur.com/UU7ejdR.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/tSGOdK1.jpg)
The second Speeder was perfect to show you how effectively you can remove paint from your figures/vehicles with disinfectant!
This is how the painted one looked before:
(http://i.imgur.com/yBgPnLy.jpg)
Especially the inside was painted with a lot of paint! I would like to repaint the Speeder completely without loosing detail. So I had to remove all the paint:
(http://i.imgur.com/qWnTPrJ.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/PF4Mfqg.jpg)
You can take a bowl and let your parts sit in disinfectant depending on how much you have. Or you can just take a paper towel/kitchen paper and soak up the desinfectant with it. Leave the wet towel on the painted areas for about half an hour. Then you can easily remove the paint with an old (tooth) brush, your fingernails and/or a tooth pick. On this part I tried all of these options because I could not remove all the paint with just one method.
A friend of mine who is a fan of Warhammer by Games Workshop told me this trick!
So I knew disinfectant can remove acrylic paints by Citadel or Vallejo, but I did not know that it can even remove paints by Revell or humbrol...and a stunning story is that it doesn't remove the original paint that Hasbro uses!
(http://i.imgur.com/3PInMgm.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/lGnxEka.jpg)
Next I will repaint the second Speeder that was painted before.
You can see the result by following the link to my other topic:
http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10165.15
-
Looks good. Off to share the info.
-
@ Tamer: Thanks a lot! That was quick!
-
These are some very helpful tips and tricks.
Thank you for sharing.
-
AT-TE (Restoration of all Missles)
A few weeks ago I got this AT-TE with 4 figures for just 30 bucks...the missles were missing though and the sound effects don't work correctly anymore.
(http://i.imgur.com/NGW4Zn2.jpg)
So I made a mold for the small missles. I had the turret missle already (see post on page 1):
(http://i.imgur.com/cWeMh1V.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/uY1j4mE.jpg)
Now, I just have to paint all of them with humbrol's 27003 "Polished Titan"...
-
Wow, that is a steal and you already have new missles! Great!
-
By now I got quite a few molds for different vehicles. Here are two of them I also made in commission:
TLC Millenium Falcon
(http://i.imgur.com/vOsz5Jm.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/MDwRB9F.jpg)
TCW Jango/TVC Boba Fett's Slave I
(http://i.imgur.com/1RLEiVf.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/XmucsIL.jpg)
-
pretty nice work.
-
Great job, man! They look great, details are nice and sharp.
-
Great job my friend.
The sonic bombs and the rockets are flawless.
-
Tamer: Thank you, still need to paint them, which I'll do now that I've some varnish! Once sealed they'll be nice and durable.
JDeck: Thank you so much! I'm quite happy with them as well and will add some pics of them painted soon!
FialaFernbrugg: Thanks for the compliment! It's time to work more on vehicles again...
-
I got a spotanous idea this morning, when I thought of how to present the display stands which I found on AliExpress recently (http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10896.msg224521#msg224521). They can be found as cheap as $3.99 each with FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING. And it gets even cheaper when you buy more than one! They're $3.67 each when you buy 4 or more. ()rr
If you want to support our forum by using our affiliate links, you can also find them on ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/393112804865?hash=item5b87595e01:g:66oAAOSw40tgDwNb (https://www.ebay.com/itm/393112804865?hash=item5b87595e01:g:66oAAOSw40tgDwNb&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5337373868&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1)
So if you got one of these STAPs without the base stand like me, you might want to try this simple & easy solution here: The STAP is put in position just by placing it on the C-clip.
(https://i.imgur.com/p3mYFPh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/J0VEkIC.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/2ene8Rt.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/deWfHSo.jpg)
You can use these display stands for your 3 3/4" and 6" figures and even for some smaller vehicles like the STAP. And to be honest I think it looks better than the original base also because it's hovering in a higher position now. I'm really happy with this little fusion and will put the other 3 or so STAPs on display the same way.
(https://i.imgur.com/TD5NZEx.jpg)
You can see how this Darth was modified by clicking here (http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10893.msg224406#msg224406).
A modded & repainted version (http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10165.msg218978#msg218978) will follow soon. I a few STAPs that are missing the original socket and I cannot wait to put one on a diorama display...stay tuned!
Happy May 4th Everyone!
-
This is a great idea, sorry it has taken me so long to get it on the front pages. These stands are nice!
-
Why haven't i see this thread before! :o nice work @darthmore they look great ;D
-
Tamer: Nah, no worries, it was a lot of content on May 4th. Didn't want to bother you all with my content on Star Wars Day anyways. So it was the perfect time to share this on Thursday!
Mos-Eisley-Customz: Thank you so much! Yeah, I got this thread on restoring vehicles here and this main thread on my custom vehicles (http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10165.msg197226#msg197226). Still need to reply to your last comment. Sorry it has taken me so long...you can read my response here (http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10165.msg224827#msg224827).
-
Those are a great display idea. Thanks for the great lead. You've done such a great job of sharing resources for your fellow collectors! Thanks so much.
-
I really like the display stand. I think it looks a lot better than the original STAP display stand.
Thank you for sharing the link.
-
Starchaser: I appreciate your feedback. Thank you for the nice words. This is why enjoy collecting Star Wars action figures so much. It leaves you so many options to be creative with them. Diorama building and customizing is what I enjoy most about it. And that's also why LEGO will never be my focus. But it's difficult to compare both I guess.
FialaFernbrugg: Thank you, that's why I ordered 20 more of them. I'm working on a diorama at the moment in which I incorporated one of these stands. And as Tamer already said, one can put the STAP in many different action poses. Way better than the original stand if you don't need to launch the projectiles. More updates to come later today!
-
Those clear stands are a wonderful idea, what a great way to display small vehicles and figures in dynamic poses.
-
Those clear stands are a wonderful idea, what a great way to display small vehicles and figures in dynamic poses.
Thank you, yeah they work pretty well for even both scales for Star Wars action figures. I'm glad you like them and thank you for your comment. A couple months ago I added some grass to one of them to make it specific to Naboo.
It also worked well on my first small diorama of Felucia (http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10155.msg225112#msg225112).
(https://i.imgur.com/7y0bMwb.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/MxFCJmW.jpg)
This was a 5-minute-work piece and the next one will be for Geonosis. One of Felucia to display a BARC Speeder is also on the list.
(https://i.imgur.com/UJ6Mmck.jpg)
Hope I can inspire and maybe you'll also share your dislay stand creations here as well?
Best regards
- Philipp
-
Man these are great. Time go get this back on the front pages.
-
This was a good tip. I think that the grass mat looks really good on the STAP, and the BARC looks really good "hovering" over Felucia. Question: does the "c" clamp rotate?
-
Tamer: Thank you for the frontpage. Here's the affiliate ebay-link which we shared the last time for all who are interested:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=action+figure+action+display+base&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=action+figure+display+stand&_osacat=0 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/393112804865?hash=item5b87595e01:g:66oAAOSw40tgDwNb&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5337373868&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1)
Starchaser: Thanks for asking! The c-clamp does rotate on both versions I got. They're not supported by a screw, but are still quite stable. So vehicles like the STAP can also be displayed vertically. But depending on the angle, some (double-sided) tape might be necessary to prevent it from falling off.
I also added some sculpting clay before adding the grass mat to give the diorama a little texture.
-
Thanks for answering:) I appreciate all the tips and links that you have provided.
-
I'm glad whenever I can support you guys on here. I just replaced the link above because the old one didn't work anymore.
But I got to say these action bases a rather expensive on ebay at least compared to AliExpress.
One stand is about $6-9 on ebay. But there are offers for about $4 as well. Comparing prices pays off again. But I got 10 stands on AliExpress for 60 cents each! And the other 10 were $1.08 each. Shipping was free!
Here's what I got on AliExpress so far:
http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10896.msg224521#msg224521
-
Curious how you kept air out of the missile mold. I've been doing the same part however the narrow point likes to catch an air pocket
-
Curious how you kept air out of the missile mold. I've been doing the same part however the narrow point likes to catch an air pocket
Sorry for my very late reply, Raylen. I'm also familiar with this problem. Even if I use a pressure pot, I still have to pur the resin carefully and constantly into the mold. I'm going to add to my casting thread (http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10633.msg213019#msg213019) in Augsut.
-
I was lucky enough to find a set of 5 legs and one foot for the TCW AT-TE online for less than 5€ each.
This helped me to complete the walking gear for my #6 walker. #7 also got a couple parts to add.
Are you currently looking for AT-TE parts? I got an extra middle-right leg.
(https://i.imgur.com/OgbrjVL.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/7Hig9zu.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ktvGnwo.jpg)