Author Topic: Custom Battle Droid 00M-9  (Read 42232 times)

Offline krztfr

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Custom Battle Droid 00M-9
« on: January 16, 2012, 06:15:26 PM »
My first Star Wars custom....an upgraged Swoop Biker from SOTE I'm running into two problems I figure I would ask you guys...

android 244 by christopher242006, on Flickr
android 239 by christopher242006, on Flickr
the helmet is still alittle too small to fully go over the Trooper head but looks good on the Gi joe head however gi joe head is too small for the tropper balljoint...How would I fix that?
android 240 by christopher242006, on Flickr
android 241 by christopher242006, on Flickr Also has alittle gap between upper and lower torsoe...how would I fix that
android 245 by christopher242006, on Flickr
« Last Edit: August 28, 2021, 12:47:16 PM by krztfr »

Offline ActionFigEmpire

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2012, 09:34:18 PM »
Hey Krztfr, firstly let me just say this is an excellent project and not the easiest undertaking by any means. You've got a great start on it! I always loved that swoop trooper and his swoop, tho the neck joint on mine eventually became loose :(

As for fixing your helmet sizing issues, your first option would be to dremel the helmet deeper to accommodate the head. Or you could sand the head down and repaint it. Another option would be to go with your Joe head, cut a small, thin plastic rectangle about a 3rd of a centimeter, and wrap it inside the opening of the head. Glue it horizontally wrapping it into the "bell" of the head. This way it'll act as a buffer to make the space to receive the neck tighter. I use that trick all the time, works great :)

Another option still would be to find a better fitting head if you have enough heads to look through. The 2 heads you have are nice because they sport the balaclava that probably the swooper would wear under his helmet, as most stormies do.

And if you don't want the helmet to come off, you could cut the stormtrooper head down (probably lop off a bit of the crown of the head, sand it) and glue it into the Swoop helmet and use another un-helmeted head when you want him to take off the helmet. Thus having two heads. I use this trick too.

Hope that helps!

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Offline krztfr

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2012, 10:23:15 PM »
Thanx Actionfigempire I thought about the "cheat" and making two seperate heads one helmeted and one nonhelmet but I really want to try to make helmet usuable as much as possible....

action shots



Offline Wookie-Balls

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2012, 02:52:13 AM »
Good work there mate! My next Shadows Of the Empire update is also a Swoop and rider (I'm going for a more 'Bandit' look rather than a trooper though!

Love what you're doing so far! have you taken the (rubbish) rocket launcher of the swoop to replace it with something else? I've used a pair og Joe backpacks as saddle bas on mine!

Really good to see another "Shadows" customizer on here  ;D

All the best,

Ray

Offline spudafett

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2012, 12:11:49 PM »
WOW excellent project!  I'm so glad someone else is doing torso swaps with joes.

What torso are you using for the lower half?  It's probably not fitting very flush into the chest joint, and is why your getting that gap.  I would suggest looking for other suitable lower torsos. 
One I have tried using in the past for the storm trooper chest is the lower half of a Rise of Cobra Viper.

imho the figure looks good, but the lower torso you've used looks a little long for the figure, making him kind of lanky and tall...  but, it might be the best fitting joint that you'll find for that chest half.


as for the head, that is super simple.

I think AFE was a bit confused, thinking that the ball was too small for the joe head...  where your problem is actually the opposite.

The socket of the GI-JOE heads are all uniform, and much smaller than most star wars ball joints. 

How good are you with a dremel? (I'm assuming pretty good since you hollowed out that swoop rider helmet!)

What you'll need to do is take your dremel and carefully hollow out the ball socket on the gi-joe head until it fits over the ball joint of the star wars neck.  Make sense?

can't wait to see this project completed.  Great job!

Offline flaccideagle

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2012, 12:50:26 PM »

What you'll need to do is take your dremel and carefully hollow out the ball socket on the gi-joe head until it fits over the ball joint of the star wars neck.  Make sense?

can't wait to see this project completed.  Great job!

what the dremel master said! :)

and don't forget you can use hot glue or sticky tak to fill the new hole you drill in the head if you make it a little too big.
I use sticky tak and it helps make the joint tight but keeps full motion, plus no burned fingers.
and there's also a bit that Dremel Co. makes that is the exact same size as the GIJOE ball, so you can easily do the opposite of what you're trying to do, like drill out heads to fit the JOE size socket.

Looking great! can't wait to see it finished.  This was one of my favorite figures back in the day, and also one of my first customs (luke skywalker head on the Swoop body)

Offline krztfr

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #6 on: January 18, 2012, 12:51:49 PM »
Thanks for the encouragement guys...

WB: I can't wait to see yours I'm diffinately stealing your ideas on Dash and Luke...

Spuda: I actually used your videos to start this project so in a way you inspired me to start....As for the dremel that helmet is this first and only time I hollowed anything out I just made sure to take it slow and check often however I don't feel comfortable hollowing it any more than that, but I figured I would have to hollow the gijoe head out also. As for the body yea its the only one closest I could find and I thought the same "tall and lanky" thanks for the tips.
« Last Edit: January 18, 2012, 12:54:28 PM by krztfr »

Offline krztfr

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #7 on: January 18, 2012, 07:30:31 PM »
New lower torso however I can't keep it standing up straight it wants to be at an angle, alittle work one Helmet before battery died on dremel its alittle better



Offline krztfr

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #8 on: January 18, 2012, 09:30:57 PM »
Made this tonight to add to my Shadow of the Empire theme.....I told you WB I would steal your recipes...

Offline spudafett

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #9 on: January 19, 2012, 01:27:58 AM »
New lower torso however I can't keep it standing up straight it wants to be at an angle, alittle work one Helmet before battery died on dremel its alittle better




That is exactly the torso I was picturing!  Spot on.  It doesn't look nearly as lanky and tall now.  Idk about fixing the leaning issues though, That might be an issue with how it is fitting together.  I took my sander and sanded down the lower half on one of mine to get a more loose fitting joint and allow the movement to be a little better...

I'm glad that my tutorials helped you out!

WOW, that helmet hollowing out was your first attempt!  That's impressive!  I botched the first one I ever did!

Offline Wookie-Balls

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #10 on: January 19, 2012, 05:08:19 AM »
Hi again!

Some great work you've got going in here! I used the Gree forearms as I made my Luke from leftovers! The original clone arms were on a Jedi figure that I had made earlier!

Looking at it now though I do prefer the Gree hands on the Luke!

BTW I'm flattered that you've used the same recipe, and I can't wait to see more of your work!

Cheers again,

Ray

Offline krztfr

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #11 on: January 19, 2012, 11:44:01 AM »
My only problem is painting...my brush work isnt that great. Any tips before I begin would be great

Offline spudafett

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #12 on: January 19, 2012, 01:02:33 PM »
Go slow with your paintwork.  Don't rush it.  Try not to touch the figure too soon after painting it, that's always my mistake.  I try to rush it, start painting the next layer or color before the first application is dry and wind up covering it in fingerprints!

Make sure you are using Acrylic paint and NOT enamels.  Enamel paints are ok for plastic models, but will not cure correctly on action figures.

Offline ActionFigEmpire

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #13 on: January 19, 2012, 04:09:19 PM »
Good tips Spuda! Yes model paints like Testor's are known to have a "never dry" effect on the plastics Hasbro uses. They can remain tacky or even sticky, and are instantly full of finger prints. Acrylics are the way to go. Get some good versatile brushes. Use the finer tipped brushes with soft bristles for detailing, use large brush heads for general coating or large flat surfaces like on vehicles. I highly highly recommend using Citadel Paints. They're water based acrylics, very forgiving and come in the most unique colors. They do amazing metallic pigments too. They're what I prefer. One of their jars gets me through about 20-30 figures and some small vehicles or dioramas.

Another great thing to remember is addition and reduction work.

Addition= apply paint in coats/colors. i.e. your figure has a black jump suit, so you start by painting all the jump suit surfaces black. It doesn't matter if you get some black on other parts like his armor because those are going to be silver. After the black has dried you go in and add the silver to his armor pieces: chest, shoulders, knees, etc. Then it's time for

Subtraction= so you got some silver on the jump suit areas. No big deal. You take your finest (smallest head) detail brush, and subtract the silver out with some black. This is known as the "touch up" phase of your paint applications. Addition and subtraction work great for detailed figures or vehicles. It's a technique used by most model makers and table top gamers. From my Warhammer days we used to paint figures in batches. Start by priming them all black. Then painting the armor pieces red. Then the do the trim in blue. Etc. Etc. Until each piece is finished.

With Citadel paints you can even pop your figure appart, paint each piece individually to get a very meticulous and even paint job. Then boil the pieces (see Spuda's tutorial on the Boil-and-pop method) and pop them back together. This gives you a flawless coverage of paint. Citadel paints are water solluable (they wash off your hands, clothes, etc.) but once they're dry on a hard surface they are water proof, so you can boil them and not have your paint wash away.

Another handy trick is to sand certain pieces to get a porous surface to really grab the paint. This makes it that much harder for your paint to chip or flake.

One last tip comes from my days in the 501st Legion, and that's what they call the "50 foot rule". Essentially, how will your piece look from the standard viewing distance? As for the 501st 50 feet is what they consider event/parade distance. For action figures I'd say 2 feet is how people will normally see them on your shelves. For photos it'll be much closer. Ask yourself, "Will people see any unpainted surfaces? Will my weathering look as good from 2 feet as it will from 5 inches away?" and other things like that. I personally paint the backs of knees, under armor, the bottom rims of helmets, etc. so that all the little details are 100% relative to the custom.

Also take a look at your figures, Hasbro cuts a lot of corners with their painting. Sometimes it's the wrong color, it's only painted on one side, or they leave bare plastic where there should be paint. I have a Baron Fel figure that has exposed flesh toned plastic on the edges of his black gloves. They also don't always get the paint in the right spots.

Hope this helps :)

"The Empire has a legion of loyal soldiers that are in endless supply."
"Only Imperial stormtroopers are so precise."
"For the Empire!"
http://actionfigureempire.blogspot.com/

Offline spudafett

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Re: My Wip
« Reply #14 on: January 20, 2012, 12:17:13 AM »
Great tips AFE!  Superb ideas.

I wouldn't sand any areas that your afraid to loose detail on however....


Also, giving any figure a good primer coat of flatt black or even a proper primer grey or white is a good way to get a uniform paint surface.  Plan ahead.  If the majority of the figure will be black, or a dark color, use black to prime the figure...  if the majority of the figure will be a lighter color, use white or grey.

Primer is usually alot thicker than other paint, so you may have issues with joints rubbing if you use primer PLUS paint on top of it.  If your going to do any sanding down of your figure, around the joints is where you might want to hit with a bit of sandpaper.  Loosen up the joints slightly with sanding, then paint them and that should take care of any rubbing issues.