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Boryla Sector, Outlands Station - Admin Office
DocOutlands:
Well, there's that done. Now we've got a branch of the ImperialShipYards open on the station. I suppose I'll have to see about getting Maintenance to update the Visitors' Index one of these days. Of course, the last update I requested hasn't been processed yet. Nor has the one before that, nor... Well, I digress. I suppose we're fortunate that Engineering keeps the life-support systems in better shape than Maintenance keeps the Index boards.
I did some concept doodling over the last couple of days. New projects popping up to tantalize the Muse. I suppose I chummed the waters a bit. I toured some of my "favorite sellers" and looked thru Clonehead's current listings. Oops. He's suckered me into a deal or three, I think. Maybe I should hire him(? I assume - but for all I know, "he" is a third-sex Chovallian MudWorm!) to market retail spaces on the 'Station for me. He talked me into this Shipyards deal. Looks a bit shady - slap an official-sounding name across it and bureaucrats leave you alone. I suspect we'll fit right in. They've got some good field-agents, judging from the reports and pics I went thru.
So, the projects. Bounty hunters have always been favorites, and we've got to have the local crew immortalized, as well. Naturally, I want to do some Mando's. But I've got to wonder - do they ALL wear the same type armor? NO variations? I think that's just marketing, myself. The Fetts made a name for the armor and Jodo was happy as a B'shvalk snow-clam to copy and continue it. I haven't managed to find anyone who had enough personal knowledge of any Mandos to give me an answer I was comfortable relying on. So conjecture takes over. And whimsy.
Bren and I were looking over the deals and noticed the AOTC Clone Pilot and Republic Commando helmets were rather close in style to Fett's helmet. The old Airborne Trooper was maybe another step...devolved? away and the finhead AOTC helmet is obviously related, but more distantly. I think the first two could easily look at home atop a Fett-type body with little in the way of modifications. Being the way we are, however, Bren and I came up with an array of mods to make. The list we worked up looked like:
Pilot or Commando Helmet + Rangefinder - archetypal Mando look!
Pilot or Commando Helmet + flip-down visor a la the Commander X figs
Pilot or Commando Helmet + Baccara antenna detail
Pilot or Commando Helmet + Cody visor
We figured these mods would likely be the easiest ones to accomplish. I think they'd likely look great on the Airborne Trooper, as well! Speaking of... I'm interested in seeing what an Airborne helmet would look like if the lower part of the face were reshaped into something closer to a Fett helmet. That might make another interesting variation on the Mando theme. And let's NOT forget the McQuarrie Fett! TWO helmets! Both obviously Mando but NOT the standard style.
Then I wondered about taking a traditional Fett helmet and grafting on the "breath mask" apparatus of an AT-RT driver. I realized I had out-dreamed my current meager set of skills. I should get busy and improve!
So...I have a custom helmet. What do I stick it on? A body, of course, but not just any ol' body. A bounty hunter needs armor! Right, then. Well, we don't want a straight Clone or Stormie, do we? I really like the Veers/Snowtrooper breastplate arrangement. Right, then. Note to self - unearth the Snowtroopers and Veers. Wait - don't the Royal Guards have unusual armor under their cloth robes? Yes! Excellent - cough up those arms and legs, you! Well, I guess we could just repaint the entire Guard body and just add extras, like bits from ARC Troopers' armor or Airborne Trooper armor. A sniper-plate from Baccara and a rifle from IG-88 would make for a great look, I think - especially if that guy has a flip-down visor, to boot. That might make a good Clone, actually...
Note to self - AOTC Sergeant (green striping) needed! Yeah, BFII color-coding. Bren loves keeping the schemes going like that. Get a flip-down visor and pin it on like the gent did on his Hawkbat Battalion Commander custom, then hang a sniper plate on him and give him an IG88 rifle. Poof - near-instant bad@$$. Give him some sort of backpack, because snipers don't usually work close to supply-lines. Great - he'll need a buddy...have to brainstorm on that one another day. Hm... the AOTC Cody-style visor? Might be onto something. Would a rangefinder work with a Cody visor? Test time! Should the sniper/spotter team wear kamas? No...everyone uses kamas to imply "specialness" - mine need to stand out as special some other way. Gotta wow folks without looking like a retread. Backpack could be a Snowtrooper one as the base, and modify from there. Maybe add a comm-array on it. Ok! That's something new to chase.
Now, if we were doing a straight Mando custom, I think using a Concept Fett or Animated Debut Fett as the body would be an excellent idea for a base body, suitably repainted. The Proto-Fett is definitely different enough to not look like "Another Recycled Fett" custom. I don't remember if the Ani-Fett is different enough or not.
Well, that pretty much sums up - and expands, actually - yesterday's skull-session with Bren. Maybe next time we can work out a list of Fixer's-
Dang! Somebody forgot to rewire the long-range sensor array to match the new flux-capacitor bank Engineering installed. I just hope they didn't burn out anything too expensive...
I'll have to stay in touch with the gentlebeings at the 'Yards. I think they'll be able to not only aid and abet my projects, but more importantly cheer me on and teach me (more than) a few things. Maybe they can tell me where to find some better minions...
Clonehead:
I love it, buddy! The whole idea troubleshooting rant with Bren was spot on with just the right serious bit of attitude thrown in. More please.......
I like your custom ideas already.
Yes, I can help with your custom ideas and execution questions.
Oh, and say hi to Bren for me.
Tamer:
Sweet ideas, I love the chain of thought!
DocOutlands:
The character of Bren in this saga is Brendan, my 15yo son. He's a fair sounding-board. If I can describe something that makes him go, "Oh, kool!" then I reckon I've got a winner. If it makes him ask questions and makes me think, then I reckon I got a winner. If it sends him off on a tangent of his own and he in turn describes an elaborate idea of his own, then I KNOW I gots me a winner!
That was a pretty fun approach to a post - I'll prolly keep doing that. Yeah, I have a badly-warped brain...
DocOutlands:
By the Maker! I just discovered the Visitors' Index has improper contact info in the Gallery! It's a shame torture is frowned upon unless you are a crime-lord or an Imperial agency. Those buffoons in Maintenance are ripe for a flogging.
I woke up this morning, vaguely disturbed about a project. T'Nadar, the Chadra-Fan in the Galaxy Shop. I'm looking forward to the upcoming Ugnaughts set to use as a base body. I'm wondering if they'll have a ball-n-socket head, or what. The Kabe fig will be donating head and hands, those are easy. The feet, tho. I'm still at a loss of how to make whole feet for the character. I guess I need to locate a sacrificial Kabe figure and just cut away the body to see of the feet were made separate and then glued in place or what. I'll find something and make it work! As for the head, I'll have to learn how to cast them. I have to say, I'm looking forward to those Ugnaughts. Granted, I've got some of the older ones and they may still end up being the basis for the fig, but I'm expecting some nice functionality.
Hmmm... If the feet thing gets too difficult, I may end up cutting off the lower end of the Kabe figure and the lower piece of an Ugnaught and blend the two together. Hello sculpting challenge! Not my preferred approach, but hey. If I try it and don't like it, I'll have learned and grown. Then I can always revisit the figure concept with new skills until I'm satisfied.
Bren just came thru looking for binder-fluid. He's got some blaster parts he's wanting to reassemble - just a cut-down DC-15 rifle and a scrap scope, but the lad is customizing!! He's also piecing up a custom fig based mainly on a parts-swap of accessories. I can hear him in there griping about molded-on holsters and bandoleers from here!
I've still got to get over to Workshop-2 today and try to sort that mess out. It's gone well so far, but it has been a *major* project. Some of the previous occupant's supplies and junk are still cluttering it up, including a large, heavy heating-unit. That's staying put for now - I don't have a load-lifter capable of moving it yet. Ah, well, if I keep talking about it, I'll never get it done. At least I'll have plenty of projects to think on while I work!
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