A Little Star Wars Fun for May the Fourth

[AeroplaneDriver]

Taking a break today from my Tamiya Tomcat to celebrate Star Wars Day with my first figure model since doing a few when I was a kit. 

This is Bandai's 1/12 Imperial Stormtrooper.  It went together out of the box in about an hour and looks nice enough.  But on close inspection it shows it's simple construction and movable limb with lots of ball joints where human joints should be.  I decided to make this trooper a post-Return Of the Jedi trooper now just trying to make his way in the galaxy.  This would be roughly the timeframe of The Mandalorian and he is trying to make a name as a bounty hunter...

I filled in the joints and all other black areas with milliput in an attempt to give the appearance of some kind of jumpstuit garment under the armor.  the armor around the abdomen is also replaced with a miliput garment.  I'll be scratch building some suitable accessories for a bounty hunter and his armor will be painted in a scheme a little less conspicuous. 

It's been a fun build so far...very different than aircraft modeling. 



Our (anti)Hero straight out of the box eager to volunteer for some typical Imperial turkey shoot. 





Some of the joints, revealing the more toylike aspect of the kit. 



Starting to fill in with milliput to make it looks like armor over a jumpsuit.  The milliput sculpting got easier as I went and was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon with Star Wars on the TV. 

[AeroplaneDriver]

Well here is the day's progress on my Trooper turned Bounty Hunter.  I also worked on some weaponry...he has quite the arsenal, which I can hopefully reveal with the competed model tomorrow.  But for tonight he is mostly painted.   Another coat on the gray jumpsuit under the armor tomorrow and then on to some weathering and a little color for some bounty hunter flair as well as his accessories and weapons..  A man's got to look the part after all...

[Old Wombat]

Looking good!

[Weaver]

Nice project! 

Taking a break today from my Tamiya Tomcat to celebrate Star Wars Day with my first figure model since doing a few when I was a kit. 

Kinda destined to enter this hobby then. How many parts did you have? Who built you?

[PR19_Kit]

...........l since doing a few when I was a kit. 

I've always been one. 

[AeroplaneDriver]

Well, typos aside he's done!  My first ever real foray into figure modeling and I have admit it was a nice break from aircraft.  It'll be nice to get back to the Tomcat on the bench tomorrow but I thoroughly enjoyed this little build. 

As I said the joints were all filled with milliput to make it look like a jumpsuit beneath the armor instead of the very toylike kit joints.  The guns both came in the kit (along with the typical Stormtrooper Blaster, but I thought three might be overkill).  Pretty much everything else is scratch built.  The white Comlink on the belt is the fin end of a Mk.82 bomb.  The holster is foil from a wine bottle formed around the blaster, superglued and trimmed.  The various pouches are all milliput, the flares in the right leg strap are jut bits of stretched sprue and tubing.  Whatever kind of weapon/accesory is mounted on the right arm is just a bit of styrene stock and some PE scraps.  The thing on the left arm that looks like it might extend into a vicious close combat weapon is a daisy cutter fuse from the bomb that donated it's rear end for the Coms. 

This fella's story is that after the Empire fell he needed a job.  Bounty hunting seemed a good line of work in the outer rim, and it beats moisture faming or rancor keeping so he gave it a shot.  The tally marks on his right arm show he is fairly new to the job, but doing well.  The Corellian Bloodstrip running under the holster on his left leg hints at a heroic past in the Corellian military before his Imperial service.  I guess that's enough backstory for now...he is busy on his way to find a much hated Gungan with a lot to answer for...

[NARSES2]

Come out well sir 

[Old Wombat]

Excellent result!

Hope he succeeds in his mission!

[Weaver]

I like that: it's nicely restrained and well thought-out. Sometimes people make their 'future warriors' look like a walking junk shop with too much kit, but this is just right.