Topic: Aude's Workshop

[Stan]

Impressive ! Most Impessive !   

[Starchaser]

These are really masterful. I appreciate how you work in the soft goods.

[Tamer]

I wish I could leave better comments. The sculpt and paint work are just phenemenal. Folks would give their eye teeth to see these in a vintage package on the pegs. They could sell cases and cases of these if they would make em. It is hard for me to believe this is just your second run of customs. Are you an artist by trade?

[Aude]

Really great set.  I especially like the way you did the shirtless guard.  You did a great job with the armor on that one.

Thanks Moronarama! I was happy with the way that armor turned out, so I decided I would sculpt Fozec's armor in the second wave the same way I had with that guy and do my best to improve it. In studying Fozec, I realized that the armor had more of a whitish color along with some patina, and I think the second effort captures that more accurately than the wave one shirtless guard. Not sure how distinct the difference is in the photos, but I'm happy with it. I've been enjoying your customs as well, and you and Chuckles have got me thinking it might be fun to put together an EU/Fanfic character sometime soon.

Stunning. Your use of parts and especially your sculpting are on point! Top notch customs! Got me thinking I need to do more sculpting.

Thank you Chuckles! And you should- the sculpting is a lot of fun. The kit bashing aspect of custom figures has been half of the battle for me (and may have grown worse now that I'm more comfortable with boil & pop and torso splitting). This second batch provided a new challenge as I did my best to capture the characters' heights and proportions as accurately as possible. Yoxgit appears to be taller than a typical Ugnaught, so swapping out the thighs seemed to make up some needed height; Geezum wears his belt higher than normal, so I went with elongated legs and a shorter torso; Shasa went through a handful of leg and boot combinations, even to the point of a pair of sculpted boots, before I realized that the actor's legs were fairly trim and the AT-AT driver boots were the best fit. Once I'm happy with the base bodies, the sculpting just happens.

Impressive ! Most Impessive !   

Thanks Stan! You and your collaborative group are a steady source of inspiration for my Jabba goons.

These are really masterful. I appreciate how you work in the soft goods.

Thanks Starchaser! The soft goods applications were born of my desire for the freest poseability possible coupled with my inability to find a flexible sculpting medium and my lack of molding/casting tools (+ a healthy dose of inspiration for Jaeger45's customs). For the second wave of figures, I wanted to incorporate more soft goods than I had the first time around. The helmet soft goods were a given (Taym's is hilariously complicated- I think I ended up using 15 or so individual pieces + clay) but I realized I also wanted the lower regions to use soft goods after working in Geezum's sash. After completing Taym's undercloth skirt, I knew I had to also give Fozec the same treatment, at which point I realized that I had to carve out and salvage the gun belt and holster from the plastic Lando loincloth. I even added some bits of string for Geezum's wild hair.

I wish I could leave better comments. The sculpt and paint work are just phenemenal. Folks would give their eye teeth to see these in a vintage package on the pegs. They could sell cases and cases of these if they would make em. It is hard for me to believe this is just your second run of customs. Are you an artist by trade?

Thanks Tamer, I really appreciate that! I am not an artist by trade, but as I am always seeking creative outlets, working on these has brought me a great deal of pleasure. I too believe that side characters such as these would perform well at retail, although I fear that rodent mandates and licensing fees may be a deterrent. There are rumors that more Carkoon figures are coming down the pipeline, so only time will tell. Until then, I plan to continue creating the figures I'd want to display.

[Darth More]

First off: I'm glad you joined the crew here! Welcome to the Shipyards!
Secondly, your customs look amazing! But that's only the short story...

I had some serious fun with the new Skiff today and decided to review it. Having done that I know exactly what you mean! I had to invite some Cantina aliens for the first ride on the skiff to see how many it holds. It took me a while, but I managed to put 29 regular action figures/aliens on deck! Can you fit more? 

Looking at your customs is very inspiring! They all look so authentic and remind me of how many characters of ROTJ Hasbro still have to make. Your attention to detail and accuracy is impressive. So are your painting and weathering skills.

Thank you so much for sharing your batch of Jabba's goons!

You can check out my review of the Tatooine Skiff here. Feel free to add pictures and thoughts of it there, too!

http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10665.msg214052#msg214052

- Philipp


Add: I can only agree with previous comments: Those being your first customs really kicked me off the chair! Sorry for my late reply...

[Aude]

Thank you so much for sharing your batch of Jabba's goons!

You can check out my review of the Tatooine Skiff here. Feel free to add pictures and thoughts of it there, too!

Thanks for the kind words, Philipp! I will also check out the skiff review.

I've recently completed another barge reveler and though I would share him now rather than wait since the other companion pieces are languishing in development limbo. He uses plenty of mixed media and was quite a thrill to assemble once I got everything properly fitted. I toyed with the idea of an entirely soft goods outfit, but the fabric I was using simply didn't have the give to allow for full articulation. I drew a lot of inspiration for this one from a Gauron Echo_Six completed previously, and also want to credit Jaeger45 for info on fabric printing, which I employed for the lining of the figure's leather jacket.

Gauron Nas Tal









Background: Gauron is a Saurin combat trainer employed by Jabba to train his Gamorreans. He can be seen lurking in the shadows near the top of the stairs of Jabba's throne room, peering intently down through the grating when Luke and Jubnuk face the rancor, and of course jeering at the prisoners from the barge at Carkoon. Since he is a combat trainer, I thought it would be fun to add some accessories in the form of a nasty looking pole weapon and a pair of dirks along with the tumbler.
Composition: VTSC Bossk head, shins (chopped) & feet, TVC Rebel Commando (Endor) chest and forearms (chopped), TVC Woof upper arms, TVC Naboo Pilot gloves and glove pegs, TLC Major Panno pelvis, thighs, & shins (chopped). Soft goods turtleneck, leather coat, sash, lower shirt; thread/metal chain necklace with ceramic and glass shards, metal chain coat collar; epoxy clay wrist device & pant hem.

[Chuckles]

Wow! Again with the pro-level custom! Love that Gauron Nas Tal!

[Echo_Six]

The cape/jacket is beautiful.  I especially love the inner edging with the "winding" gold strips.  That medallion is great, too!

Definitely makes me want to re-work the gloves on mine and give his skin a dry-brushing. 

[Darth More]

I can only agree with Chuckles and Echo_Six: It cannot get any better than this! Your customs look like Hot Toys' premium collectibles in 1/18 scale.

That's a thrilling background story of Gauron Nas Tal and I really appreciate your credits to Echo_Six and Jaeger 45! Every single part to build up this figure looks plain excellent! I'm especially impressed by the coat's texture and the efficient use of soft goods!
The fourth picture strongly reminds me of Warhammer Fantasy. He reminds me of a miniature I played in a tournament once. Thanks for sharing so many high qualitiy pictures and even the recipe of him, too!
You never fail to make our jaws drop, Aude. Fantastic project!

Thanks for leaving a comment in my skiff review!

[Tamer]

I ran out of internet time this morning and I will make sure I get this posted tomorrow.

My work internet filter is not letting me see the images, but I can't wait to get home to see your new custom Gauron.

[Tamer]

Well I sure did put on my to do lis this morning to get back in here and see this great new update. I am glad I did, wow what a great custom. Love the soft goods work, the weapon work, the painting, the parts its all good. Needless to say this is on our front pages this morning.

[Darth More]

Looking good on the frontpages on a Friday morning! Much deserved this masterpiece has! I would've reminded you if you had forgotten to post this, Shawn! lol

What a brilliant custom this is in every way!

[Aude]

Wow! Again with the pro-level custom! Love that Gauron Nas Tal!

Thanks! Ironically there was very little sculpting involved with this one, but I plan to get back to it going forward. The Hasbro pieces worked out well enough with some mid-limb chopping. 

The cape/jacket is beautiful.  I especially love the inner edging with the "winding" gold strips.  That medallion is great, too!

Definitely makes me want to re-work the gloves on mine and give his skin a dry-brushing. 

Thanks Echo! At first the trim of the leather jacket was printed, but I decided that it needed to feel a bit more rakish. The chain and winding gold strips accomplished that. Figuring out the glove situation for this guy did take a minute, as did the feet. The closest images I could find to corroborate evidence of bare feet were the early palace shots of him standing in the shadows on the stair landing and at the rancor pit grate since. I know I've said this before, but I really do love your Gauron. A glove switch and dry brushing should be easy!

I can only agree with Chuckles and Echo_Six: It cannot get any better than this! Your customs look like Hot Toys' premium collectibles in 1/18 scale.

That's a thrilling background story of Gauron Nas Tal and I really appreciate your credits to Echo_Six and Jaeger 45! Every single part to build up this figure looks plain excellent! I'm especially impressed by the coat's texture and the efficient use of soft goods!
The fourth picture strongly reminds me of Warhammer Fantasy. He reminds me of a miniature I played in a tournament once. Thanks for sharing so many high qualitiy pictures and even the recipe of him, too!
You never fail to make our jaws drop, Aude. Fantastic project!

Thanks for leaving a comment in my skiff review!

Thanks! That is quite a compliment. It has been great fun to see what fantastic custom pieces others have created, and to continue to learn and implement some of these techniques to improve my own work. I've always found the background info on these obscure characters to be fun to consider, whether a full story or brief job description. I remember reading the Tales From... compilations when I was younger and delighting in the variety of cultures, customs, and professions. The SW universe is such a terrific sandbox to play in!

Well I sure did put on my to do lis this morning to get back in here and see this great new update. I am glad I did, wow what a great custom. Love the soft goods work, the weapon work, the painting, the parts its all good. Needless to say this is one our front pages this morning.

Thank you, Tamer! I am delighted to share my work with all of you, and feedback from you and others encourages me to continue to push myself to improve. 

[Starchaser]

Well now, that is an amazing figure. Lots of attention to the small details that really make this figure special. Your fabric work is great as well and I like how you finished the edge of his robe/cloak. Great job all the way around.

[Jaeger45]

Wow, you really nailed it.  The chain/winding cording on the collar of the jacket really makes it pop.  Is that sisal for the winding cord?  Leather?

I think you’ve set the bar for this one.