New Member Darklord Tries to Build a Better Boba Action Figure

Greetings gang!

I'm new to the dentedhelmet.com forums, and I wanted to say hi!

I'm Roberto "Darklord" Williams, 43 year old STAR WARS toy / action figure customizer from Brooklyn, New York.

I thought I'd introduce myself with my latest project: A custom 3-3/4 " scale Boba Fett action figure that I've planned for about a year, and finally started working on last month. The figure is nearing completetion, and I hope you like it.

I’ve always been fascinated with the mysterious STAR WARS character, The Bounty Hunter BOBA FETT. His awesome outfit, and his mysterious ways have made him a legend and a favorite in STAR WARS fandom.

But it never fails to amaze me how even the tiniest detail on one of his 3-3/4 inch scale STAR WARS Action Figures can make all the difference as to whether or not it truly resembles him.

I must say in all honesty that I’m of the opinion that NONE of the previous action figure releases of Boba Fett have completely captured the full essence of the ornery, mysterious, gunslinger-hunter that we first saw in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

Not one.

What makes this particularly troubling to me is the fact that some truly excellent STAR WARS action figures have been made of some of the other Episode V bounty Hunters (Re: IG:88, Bossk, and the recent, outstanding, Vintage Collection Dengar release)… figures which have all boasted a level of detail and craftsmanship which were un-surpassed anywhere in the Hasbro STAR WARS 3-3/4” scale action figure line. Yet Boba Fett himself has not received this same level of careful attention nor execution.

Also, call me stubborn, but I am still resisting the continued scale shrinkage of these action figures. For my personal collection (including my custom figures), I therefore insist that (at least primary characters like) Boba Fett be represented in a scale that is consistent with 2001’s Power of the Jedi line. This was the line which (hands down) represented STAR WARS action figure characters with the sharpest sculpts, the most accurate likenesses, the cleanest castings, and the neatest paint decos… at least to my eyes.

With this series of posts, I’m going to take a brief (and very critical) look at the history of 3-3/4 inch Boba Fett Action Figures.

Then, at the end of my analysis, I’m going to present a step by step look into the creation of my own brand new customized Boba Fett action figure. I believe I have developed an elegant solution to the problem of presenting this character properly as a custom 3-3/4 inch action figure.

It is a solution which (after several weeks of intense trial and error and re-sculpting work) comes closest to my preferred version of Fett’s appearance, while still maintaining the super-articulation which we have come to expect from our modern figures.

So settle in and get comfortable, because this is gonna be very extensive...

In order for you to properly understand my critiques of production Boba Fett figures (and the stylistic direction I chose when creating my own custom figure) I think it might be helpful for me to establish how it is that I personally “see” the bounty hunter:

Well… to me, Fett was about average height (roughly 5 feet 11 inches tall), wiry… athletically built… very much like Bruce Lee was. This was particularly evident in the prototype Fett outfit photos that ILM shot in 1978.



Later on, during the character’s first film appearance, the most notable thing to me about his look was how sleek and slender he still appeared even while wearing his armored outfit. The costume was elaborate, yet it somehow did not look cumbersome or bulky in the way it sat upon his frame. Also, there’s a reason why Boba is sometimes referred to as “ol’ bucket head”: His helmet… It should look LARGE (even slightly over-sized) above that slender neck and shoulders. It’s the only way a human head could possibly fit in there.




Appearing as though he could move quickly if he needed to, Boba Fett was simply nasty-looking. Whether pointing his gun at his quarry, or merely standing still cradling the weapon, Fett appeared ready to blast anything or anyone with little provocation. Like a snake, he would move very slowly, and then suddenly STRIKE if he needed to. He misleadingly appeared very relaxed, but he was always coiled and ready for action. He was economical with his words, and economical with his body language (no elaborate posing or “showboating”). And for the sake of his dangerous, no-nonense vocation, his outfit’s color-pallate ideally leaned toward less-color and more stealth / camoflauge. What little color existed in the uniform had been pitted, soiled, and muted over time. Virtually every aspect of Boba Fett’s physical appearance reflected his rugged and violent past.

With that in mind, here is my analysis of all of the previous Boba Fett action figure offerings that we‘ve had over the years...

Vintage Kenner Boba Fett (1979) :




This figure featured a very nice sculpt for its day. However, it lacked the weathering, articulation, and fine costume details that we take for granted today. It is nice to see the return of this sculpt as a special offer figure of the current 2010 Vintage collection line.



POTF 2 Boba Fett (1995 -various releases):




The Power of the Force 2 line launched a new line of STAR WARS action figures after a re-newed interest in the saga during the mid- 1990’s. This Boba Fett figure was one of the characters that everyone hailed as a “grand improvement” over the vintage Kenner version. I vehemently disagreed.

Yes, there was added detailing and weathering to his costume which was missing before, but to my eyes, this figure was actually a considerable step backward from resembling the on-screen character. At the time, I took to referring to him as “Bulky Fett” since the figure was far too barrel-chested and hulking to resemble the lithe and sleekly-built on-screen character . The figure’s collar armor was so thick and bulky, that he suffered from what I call “football shoulder pad / no-neck syndrome”

The overall body proportions of this figure were completely off. And in one aspect or another, these mis-matched anatomical proportions have been a problem that have plagued Boba Fett figures right up until the most recent sculpts.


POTJ Boba Fett 300th Figure Special Edition : (2001)



This figure moved a lot closer to Boba Fett’s proper on-screen Episode V appearance. The trouble was, he was a pre-posed action-less figure. I DO have a lot of admiration for the EXCELLENT utility belt sculpt, and the beautifully-detailed wrist gauntlet weapons (the BEST from any Boba Fett Figure) . The backpack was especially nice too (with adjustable rocket nozzels, and removable concussion rocket. Plus the backpack was made from sturdy ABS plastic (versus the soft rubbery PVC plastic of previous releases). This allows the rocket pack’s sculpt details to be much sharper and for the accessory to maintain its shape. I was also VERY happy to see the laser rifle that appeared in The Empire Strikes Back used as this figure’s pack-in (versus the different configuration from Jedi)

Aside from the pre-posing and lack of articulation, I do wish the paint had been more neatly applied in some areas. Also, the basic size proportions and shape of Boba Fett’s helmet were not yet quite correct…



SAGA I Boba Fett Pit of Carkoon (2003)




Looks like a box of crayons exploded all over Fett here. Far too colorful… even if it was to represent Fett’s more colorful outfit from Return of the Jedi. The paint was neater this time around. Upper body was still too bulky and the lower body was too spindly. There was an oddly articulated right knee that looked something like a cabinet hinge. The sculpted plastic side-cape truly sucked. And the (non-removable) backpack looked like a rainbow (even though it was molded in sturdy ABS plastic and held its shape nicely).

Also, this has to be (hands down) the strangest, pre-posed, anatomically disproportioned Fett since POTF 2!.

So far, (in my view) this figure boasted the neatest, cleanest, and sharpest sculpt of Fett’s helmet. I loved the neatness and razor-sharpness of the clean t-visor. This helmet was also the nicest size we had seen from all previous Fetts . The face of the helmet was virtually perfect, but the shape of the helmet profile was still a bit off (overly narrow at the crown and wide at the base). The flip-down target sight was too soft and warped its shape too easily. The target sight from POTJ Fett is a lot straighter and sturdier.


Vintage Original Trilogy Collection Boba Fett: (2004)



Kudos for first super-articulated Fett we have ever had. Once again, this figure represented (my lesser preferred) more colorful Episode VI costume design. I’m sorry to say the body proportions sculpt continued to suffer: The upper body was far too bulky once again… arms and hands were HUGE ! Shoulder and elbow ball joints were enormous. Lower body (pelvis and legs) were proportionately very undersized, and the legs were proportionately too short. The helmet sculpt took a step backward in terms of accuracy and sculpt sharpness (not nearly as sharp a sculpt as SAGA I helmet , and the helmet profile was even more incorrect than before).

Admittedly, the presentation of soft-goods cape was very nice (beautifully deco’ed and cleanly folded for the perfect drape upon the figure). Unfortunately for me, this fabric was the wrong color for the Episode V cape. The backpack went back to being a warped piece of chewing gum with soft details and no working/moving parts. This was a disappointment and a surprise, especially in lieu of the fact that Boba actually employed the use of his rocket pack in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

On the plus side, this figure represented some very nice, clean, smooth sculpts of the torso and crotch armor sections.


SAGA 2 Boba Fett Battle of Carkoon: (2006)



With the exception of a more muted color paint scheme, none of the previously stated problems were resolved with this release… And some were actually made worse.

This Hasbro kit-bash combined the over-sized, awkwardly-posed upper body of the SAGA I “Pit of Carkoon” figure with the under-sized, un-even, overly wide-stanced legs of the VOTC Fett.

The result was a terribly un-balanced (looking AND standing) figure.



Legacy Evolutions / 2010 Vintage Collection Boba Fett




This most recent action figure version of Boba Fett presents the bounty hunter’s costume in the colors and details as they appeared in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

The figure’s overall anatomical proportions are atrocious. While the big bulbous shoulders from the VOTC Fett have been reduced, the over-sized elbow joints are still a problem. “Gorilla’ arms and hands are still far too large. Narrow stance of the figure is inappropriate, making the character seem even more top-heavy and awkwardly off balance (like if he could easily topple over).

There is an offensively pea-headed Boba head sculpt underneath a removable helmet. The Ironic thing about this head sculpt is the fact that despite how anatomically under-sized it is, it still too large for the inadequately sized helmet. In fact, the nose of this head sculpt actually bulges through the soft helmet when worn, warping its shape terribly.

As for the helmet itself, it is quite possibly the WORST helmet sculpt we’ve gotten for a Boba Fett figure yet (rubbery and warped-looking). Incorrect face shape. Incorrect profile. Target sight articulation offered in previous helmets has been taken away here!

Backpack is still chewing gum with none of the fun articulated parts from previous Fett backpack releases (like removable rocket cone, or adjustable rocket nozzels).

The paint and sculpt of this figure are terribly, terribly sloppy (flash plastic and mold release evident on inner gauntlets and arms. Shoulder armor is warped (giving this figure the football shoulder pad syndrome again. The braided wookie scalps molded to the shoulder armor is a feature left over from the POTF 2 days. And it has GOT… TO… GO!!! The torso armor plates actually look roughly sculpted… not smooth at all.

Frankly, in some places, this figure looks like it was painted with a house roller.

The soft goods side cape is far too long and it comes off as a large beach towel draped over his left shoulder.

On the plus side: This figure offers a decent sculpt of the utility belt side pouches, and the pants pockets . The Laser rifle pack-in (re-used sculpt from POTJ Fett ) is a welcome return. It is now detailed with more paint AND it is actually molded to be sturdier than before. Unfortunately, the holstered concussion grenade launcher side-gun is a rubbery, warped mess.

Clearly, I’ve had issues with virtually every single Boba Fett figure ever produced. There have been pros and cons to each, and certainly no “out-of the park” home runs on any version as far as I am concerned.

But with the pending release of the beautiful new BIG Slave I Spaceship, I was inspired to stop waiting for the perfect Boba Fett figure and to create it as a custom for myself (before the in-evitable ESB paint deco’ed Slave I debuts).

In Hasbro’s defense, I quickly realized that Fett’s uniform is so complex and so elaborate, that a 3-3/4 inch action figure along the magnitude of what I was looking for was only ever going to be possible as a “dress up” custom… unlikely ever to be mass-produced by a toy company. This would be a figure where virtually every detail would have to be treated as a separate garment!

GETTING STARTED

I wanted to begin my custom figure with a Super-Articulated base figure body that would serve as a nice, clean, starting point for the ornery bounty hunter… a blank slate, if you will.

The trouble was, NONE of the existing Fett figures fit that bill. In addition to the issues I outlined previously, NONE of them had the anatomical proportions, attitude, nor the neutral stance that I felt was suitable for Fett.



LEGACY OF A NEW HOPE

With the release of Hasbro’s 2009 Legacy Collection, I finally found an action figure that I considered to be an excellent candidate for a Boba Fett base figure body: Imperial Scanning Crewman.




Here we had an excellent Super-Articulated body, with a really nice balanced anatomical proportion and stance… and a basic STAR WARS jumpsuit sculpt who’s color was a PERFECT match for Fett’s dingy flight suit. There was undoubtedly going to be some serious surgery required to pull this figure off, but at least Boba now had a basic body.

I gave myself a preview of the overall visual aesthetic of the final custom figure by placing a Boba Fett helmet on the Imperial Scanning Crewman. I must say that even at that earliest of stages, what I saw pleased me greatly.

LEGS DON’T FAIL ME NOW

Although, the Imperial Scanning Crewman Base figure had a stance that I thought was great for Boba Fett, the details of his legs were, of course, completely wrong. The pants pockets needed to be replaced with the correct ones from Boba Fett’s jumpsuit (taken from 2010 Vintage Collection Fett).






Every once in a while, the customizing Gods smile upon me and offer me a gift. This was one such occasion. To my surprise and delight, 2010 Boba's pants pockets were PERFECTLY compatible with the color of the Scanning Crewman’s jumpsuit since Hasbro molded the uniforms of both figures in the exact same color!!! WOOT!!!!






Then, the lower legs had to be replaced altogether since Fett does not wear tall black boots. That was when I recieved another customizing "GIFT" from the gods. I did not like the lower legs from the Legacy / 2010 Vintage Collection Fett for use on my figure because I found them to be far too frail and thin to be appropriate for Fett’s baggy pants (there's that annoying shrinking scale thing again!).







But the lower legs of POTJ 300th figure Boba Fett came to my rescue here. And although they were not a 100% color match for the ISC uniform, they were certainly awfully, awfully close! Close enough that no re-painting would be required since the two leg sections would be separated by the yellow knee pads! Once again… WOOT!!







If you place your thumb between the upper and lower legs sections in this photo (like Boba's knee pad), you can see how greatly REDUCED the color difference becomes in the two shades of grey pants.




I was forced to re-position the shin pockets that contained Fett’s cutting tools a bit lower to accommodate the yellow knee pads (cut off of POTJ 300th Boba Fett and Dremmeled out to be wearable). But the final look is just dandy!





Each leg is bottomed off with the ankle cuffs from Legacy / 2010 Vintage Collection Boba. And the boot feet (with correct color, center stripe, and steel toe spikes) were donated by SAGA 2 Fett. Ball articulation of the ankles / feet is fully preserved.







The original ISC figure’s (below average) height was brought up to a full 3-3/4” inches with this operation.


When the lower leg section was shaved down a bit to anatomically match the Imperial Scanning Crewman’s upper legs, the result was an absolutely PERFECT pair of legs that did NOT look anorexic, and were still fully articulate!

OUTFITTING A BOUNTY HUNTER

Putting together the articles of Boba Fett’s costume was going to be VERY time-consuming, VERY delicate, and VERY intricate work… a supreme challenge, but ultimately VERY important to me. I really wanted the outfit on my figure to have that “assembled” look that is so identifiable to me as Boba Fett’s signature look.

I find that when Fett’s various armor sections, garments, and weapons are all molded and / or painted onto the figure (as they are on production figures), much of that “sectioned” look is lost, in my opinion.

Interestingly enough, virtually EVERY figure that I critiqued before would provide me with vital parts for creating my final custom Boba Fett.

Here is the rundown:

I turned to the POTJ 300th figure Boba Fett for his yellow armored knee pads and shoulder armor bell pieces. It was a tricky matter of using a single edge razor to cut these sections out, and then Dremeling them into hollow wearable articles.




I discovered that when the shoulder bells are molded onto the figure’s upper arms (as they are on production Hasbro figures), there are always going to be three (3) major compromises to the integrity of the overall figure (which I was NOT going to accept on my custom):

1) The ball-jointed arms range of motion becomes partially impaired.

2) Un-due bulk is sculpted onto the figure’s shoulders, adversely affecting the slender aesthetic of the character.

3) The collar armor design is altered so that the outer ends curl upward where they meet the shoulder / arm socket. This is done to create clearance for the bulked-up ball-jointed arm (with the armored shoulder bells molded on).

The curled-up collar armor (in turn) only contributes to “football shoulder pad and no-neck syndrome”… which significantly reduces the slim, sleek aesthetic that this character is supposed to have.

By creating the shoulder bells as separate appliances, and then attaching them to the sleeve of a separate soft-goods flack vest garment (as they are meant to be), it was my hope to leave the figure’s shoulder articulation un-obstructed and maintain a slender build to Fett’s upper body.

VOTC Boba Fett provided the armored torso plates of the bounty hunter’s flack vest, and the armored cod piece came from POTJ 300th Figure Fett. Once again, each section was carefully cut out of the molded action figure and Dremelled down into separate plates of an appropriate thinness for a figure of this scale. The crotch armor actually needed to be completed with sheet styrene since the figure only provided the raised center section of the cod-piece.










After looking at every single Boba Fett figure ever released, I came to the conclusion that vintage Kenner Fett had the best, cleanest detailed, and most solid collar armor. After cutting the armor off of a spare Kenner Fett body, I Dremelled it down to an appropriate thinness and cleaned the edges up into a really nice wearable plate.








The back armor plate (rocket pack mount) was carefully cut off the Legacy collection Fett figure, and trimmed to an appropriate size to fit an Imperial Scanning Crewman’s back.



Once I created all of these appliances, I did a quick test-fit on the Imperial Scanning Trooper Body (With the helmet) to check on the overall proportions, stance, and aesthetic attitude of the figure.

Creating the pattern for Boba Fett’s flack vest was a matter of trial and error. But, I produced a paper template quickly enough, and used it to cut out a basic cloth vest. I added small upper sleeve extensions (for the armored shoulder bells to be attached to) and I made a neck hole in the vest with a paper hole-punch.

Prior to the soft-goods flack vest being permanently glued to the Imperial Scanning Crewman body, I performed a test fit of the armored torso plates onto the vest to check the overall color layout and texture contrasts on the figure.

I next decided to give Boba Fett's backpack some attention.

For this figure I always knew that I wanted to use the excellent backpack from the POTJ 300th figure Boba Fett.

Molded in solid ABS plastic, this backpack had superior detail in the casting to the softer PVC rubbery backpacks used by many Boba Fett figures. It also boasted adjustable rocket nozzels and a removable top concussion missile rocket (none of which are offered by Hasbro's latest Vintage Collection Fett)





There were, however, three (3) issues with this backpack that needed to be addressed:

1) The mounting system for the backpack is completely inconsistent with the custom figure I am creating. This system features a bulky mounting box molded to the inside of the backpack (which would create an unnatural space away from the figure's back when worn).

This backpack would have to be converted to the simpler peg mounting system utilized on today's figures.

















2) The sculpted ribs around the neck base of the removable concussion missile rocket were NOT included with this backpack. They would have to be transferred over from another backpack that had them available.







I cut off the rubbery (non-removable) concussion missile rocket, and drilled a new hole into the ribbed neck to accommodate the removable POTJ 300th figure Boba Fett concussion rocket.












3) The adjustable rocket nozzels at the bottom of the backpack would have to be drilled open.

When I placed the helmet on the figure, I tested the various head positions to ensure the anatomical accuracy and symmetry of the neck pivot point.

Okay, so following up on a PM’ed request, here is a comparison of custom Boba’s new helmet profile versus the original stock Hasbro helmet.



As you can see, the helmet’s upper crown is now an appropriate size when compared to the helmet base, but the operation resulted in the loss of the raised ridge details at the rear of the bucket. They will now need to be replaced.

HANDS AND A HOLSTER

This custom figure is now in the final anatomical phase of construction, and is entering the fine detail phase (which is really my favorite phase).

Tonight I worked to select a suitable set of hands for custom Boba Fett that would hold his laser rifle well, and would fit anatomically with the Imperial Scanning Crewman basic body.

I did not bother to look to any of the previous Hasbro Boba Fett figures for help since I consider virtually all of them either gorilla handed, or hook clawed.

But in my parts bin, I found a figure that I thought might be a very good hands / gloves candidate. None other than Jango Fett himself.


I believe this is a SAGA 1 Jango, and what I really liked about his gloved hands sculpt (besides their suitable size) is the fact that they included the folds of the fabric to really complete the look. They will have to be painted the correct color for Boba’s gloves, of course, but I think they have very nice detail.



I took a razor to Jango’s hands and then gradually shaved off the silver gauntlet remnants that remained on his wrist stumps.











Once the Jango hands were cleaned and prepped, I carefully sliced away the mounting pin from the Imperial Scanning Troopers hands and transferred them over to Jango’s severed mitts.






After these hands set, they will pop right into the Custom Boba’s gauntlet cuffs, and remain fully swivel articulated.



While the hands were drying, I officially turned my attention to this figure’s final fine detail phase.

I needed to outfit custom Boba with a holster for his side arm blaster. Only 2 Hasbro Boba Fetts that have included this side holster (POTJ 300th Fett, and the most recent Legacy Collection / 2010 Vintage Collection sculpt). Both figures included the holster as a permanently molded part of the right thigh.



Once again, I let my razor do the talking. I chose the POTJ holster for my project (because of its superior sharpness and detail ) Sliced it right off of the fodder figure, and then transferred it over (as a separate wearable accessory) to my custom Boba Fett.

Been watching this intently at SANDTROOPERS.com Totally awesome. Youre putting more into a 3 3/4" figure than some put into their Fett costume armor.

That's some real skills you got going there. Whoa!

Killer bud!

Wow. That was completely epic. I used to do a lot of 3 3/4" custom figures about 10 years ago (my favorite was a Snowtrooper/Boba Fett kitbash and repaint I called Snowba Fett) , and I've never seen such detailed and comprehensive work. Bravo!

You've got amazingly steady hands! Great Fett! I saw this over at rebelscum.com. Simply amazing and detailed work!

completely awesome custom build...what type of material are you using for the vest and type of glue for the material? Also, what figure did the utility belt come from.

ohhh my God.......superb job...

Wow dude this is an amazing build! You are very talented and skilled at this small scale.

Awesome!!
Though the holster should be placed on top of the girth belt looping around the ammo belt.
I know you can fix this, you have the skills.

Will you be doing a full repaint?

Originally Posted by Wildabeast

completely awesome custom build...what type of material are you using for the vest and type of glue for the material? Also, what figure did the utility belt come from.

Thanks so much... everyone... for your kinds words! I'm glad you all like my custom Boba. He's nearly done and he's been a lot of fun to work on.

The utility belt came from the 2001 Power of the Jedi 300th Figure Boba Fett.

The material I'm using for his flak vest is some light grey, very, very thin poly/cotton blend.

This fabric has a very tight pattern to its weave, so frankly, i'm surprised that it photographs as prominently as it does. I guess that this is due to the combination of the macro photography and the clarity of the images produced by my High Def camera.

The glue I glue I use is simple 3m spray mount adhesive... available virtually everywhere (hardware stores, dept. stores, stationary and art supply stores, arts and crafts stores, you name it).

Originally Posted by Sixxgunn13

Awesome!!
Though the holster should be placed on top of the girth belt looping around the ammo belt.
I know you can fix this, you have the skills.

Will you be doing a full repaint?

Well I selected the parts that I did so that I could avoid an extensive repaint. But the specific parts that require painting will certainly get that attention (Re: collar armor, back armor plate, parts of the helmet, the gloved hands, some very, very minor weathering throughout the armor pieces.)

I'm glad you arent a medical doctor, like Dr. Moreau?... But really, this takes a level of patience I couldnt even begin to comprehend. Looks great!

nice job thats a project i might look into doing cool

Amazing work!!! But the toys from Toy Story would hate this thread!

Originally Posted by Rebabaluba

Amazing work!!! But the toys from Toy Story would hate this thread!

Too true!!!

Originally Posted by mandalord3190

nice job thats a project i might look into doing cool

Well don't hesitate to reach out if you need any help, advice, or tips. And I'm even a stone's throw away from ya here in Williamsburg Brooklyn!

Originally Posted by Rebabaluba

Amazing work!!! But the toys from Toy Story would hate this thread!

"...We're watching you Sid Philllips. Us toys can see eeeeeveryyythiiiiiinngg..."

Thats really impressive, great work dude, although you forgot the US Divers Co belt buckle

the greatest thing ive ever seen.

Fantastic. You really captured the look.

Thanks again guys!

Stand by for the next construction update in a couple of days!

Spectacular. You thought about making these and selling them on mass?

wow thats amazing!!!

I am truly impressed

Originally Posted by Mandalorian Guard

Spectacular. You thought about making these and selling them on mass?

Heh... I honestly think that would KILL me! I've been customizing STAR WARS Action Figures for about 15 years now. And I honestly did not plan on going as far as I did on this Boba Fett custom figure. This was literally a creation that grew and grew beyond even me.

And although I've enjoyed myself tremendously during this process, I must say I'm also very glad it's almost over now.

Very cool project man.

One of the coolest threads I've seen in a long time.



(I want one. ;D)

Truly amazing. Thanks a ton for sharing this awesome project.

What an amazing build! This thread is fascinating!

Wow that is just simply amazing great work I cannot believe the level of detail that you have put into recreating this Fett.

Man, as someone who owns all the previous Boba figures, this thread was like reading into my thoughts and doing exactly what I wish I could do!

Freakin awesome!!! your ding something I always wanted to do to the Koto figure.

Wow!!! When I first read the title I was wondering what a better Fett could be, since I've seen some pretty fantastic ones here. This is truly an awesome piece of work!

Originally Posted by Rebabaluba

Amazing work!!! But the toys from Toy Story would hate this thread!

I lol'd

I could see it now... this would be some crazy serial killer story in the toy world. Madman hunts down Boba Fett toys!

Originally Posted by stormtrooperguy

I lol'd

I could see it now... this would be some crazy serial killer story in the toy world. Madman hunts down Boba Fett toys!

Good evening, Clarice... (said as Hannibal Lecter)

You have some fantastic talent my friend.
Great job.
I am blown away!

Fantastic!

The only thing that stands out (at least to me) is that the RF stalk seems just a tad too high. If you are happy though it's cool.

Nope. You are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, Muad'Dib. The RF stalk is a bit too tall (as someone else on another site pointed out) it will be corrected in the next update.

Wow, that is impressive! Fabulous job.

Oh. My. God. This is awesome!

very nice upgrade for boba

i've been following this thread since it started but i haven't posted until now because words cannot describe how completely in love i am with this figure mod/bash. i'm completely blown away and how awesome you've managed to make this.

Truly outstanding. Amazing work buddy, you have some serious skills.

Wow! Insane work!

Hey DarkLord...
I gotta talk to you about doing an accurate Jodo Kast figure. Your work is amazing!!

That is intense! I've never seen such devotion in an action figure customizer before. I anxiously await the final results.

Any progress? Can't wait to see the finishing touches.

It's only a few more hours until the next update!

Ol' custom Boba is nearly off my work bench now!

I'm really lookin forward to seeing the finished product!

I can never get over the time, patience and skill that people on forums like this have. That figure is incredible like so many other bashes i have seen, pity they are not made this well to start with, then a shmooh like me could have something that nice.

*** that is freking amazing the work you are doing is on a new level when i read the tital i thort oh wel here we go and each pic my jaw saged lower and lower until it hit the floor then i past out from shear disbaleif then wok up and thort it all a dream , only to look at the screen and there in all its glory was my dream come tru,
Congrats on an amazing wip

Any updates?

This is unbelievable! Fantastic work!!!

Wow this is fantastic, that is really nice I have the Vintage Original Trilogy Collection Boba Fett: (2004) the Legacy Evolutions / 2010 Vintage Collection Boba Fett and POTJ Boba Fett 300th Figure Special Edition : (2001) And those aren't half as detailed as this.

- the rangefinder stalk is too thick, out of scale
- the brown wookie scalp is wrong, and too thick, out of scale
- fetts jumpsuit does not have a pocket on his right arm, yours does now.
- the double arm sleeves are missing, a key feature on fetts jumpsuit
- the red on the helmet too bright
- shin tool pockets are too big now, out of scale and only hold two oversized shin tools
- the plastic glued onto the back of the helmet is too thick, out of scale, and does not go all the way to the bottom of the helmet, as seen in your pics
- the vent on the helmet is painted incorrectly

Thanks Volkerc!

I'll take your keen observations under advisement.

This is really fantastic! I've been a collector since '95 and this custom blows away anything made before it. Have you considered repainting all the armor by hand? The red on the helmet seems especially bright.

Greetings Tsophika!

Nice to meet you. And thanks so much for the kind words about my custom action figure. Greatly appreciated.

The helmet on this action figure is definitely one of the areas that has undergone (and will undergo more) changes since these photos were taken. Some of those changes were performed weeks ago, but I was unable to document them due to a damaged camera.

In my upcoming (and final) photo updates, you can expect to see the helmet's rangefinder stalk shortened by about 2 scale inches, the helmet's cheek stripes painted in the correct dark shade, the 14 yellow stripes at the crown of the helmet added as water transfer decals, and the red ridge at the rear of the helmet re-worked to be much thinner than it appears in these photos.

The shade of the red T visor is actually one area that I am seriously considering leaving as is. I realize that it is not accurate to the much darker, grimier shade of red on the actual helmet, but there is something "toyetic" about the shade as it currently exists that appeals to me... at least for the time being.

But who knows? After I re-paint the helmet cheek stripes, I may end up changing my mind about the T-visor's shade of red. It's kinda hard to say.

Also, for the sake of neatness of paint deco, I do most of my work with an airbrush. However, the final stage weathering of the armored pieces and helmet (exposed metallic silver under flaked paint, etc.) will be done by hand.

As most of you know, my camera was down for about a month, preventing me from documenting some of my work on this figure.

I was therefore unable to document some progress steps that occurred during the camera’s repair time.

Since those updates on the figure will be evident in the photos that I’m about to post anyway, I will list what those updates were.

1) The rangefinder on Boba’s helmet was shortened by about 2½ scale inches.
2) The cheek stripes on the helmet were re-painted in the correct flat black.
3) The T-visor on the helmet was re-painted in a darker shade of red. (Note: this T-visor re-paint was something that I was originally NOT planning to do . But admittedly I did change my mind about the desirability of the “toyetic” bright red after I saw it contrasted against the new flat black cheek stripes.
4 The minor paint rubs on the utility belt have all been touched up.
5 The armored shoulder bell for Boba’s left shoulder has been re-painted in the correct canary yellow. Knee pads and right armored shoulder bell have been left orange yellow.




Alright… onto to yesterday’s work…

A couple of months back when I performed the operation to change the profile of the figure’s helmet, I did a lot of filling work with plastic shavings to fill the gaps between the two helmet halves.

There was still a seam visible from the operation that I wanted to make disappear.





I began by using a line of Krazy Glue. I laid down a sealant directly on the seam, and waited for the glue to dry and set.







Once the glue dried and hardened, I sanded the seam smooth with 500 grit sandpaper, and then I did a fine wet-sanding with 1000 grit sandpaper to make the dome as smooth as possible.



I will air-brush the dome tomorrow, once and for all, effectively making the seam vanish.



Undoutedly, the most time-consuming operation I performed yesterday was converting the Imperial Scanning Trooper’s arm sleeves into Boba Fett’s correct double sleeve (sans arm mini pocket).

The first thing I did was to use an X-acto blade to carefully shave away the mini-pocket molded to the right arm. I gave the area a fine sanding to smooth it off, and then I got to work making the upper arm double sleeve.








I used some sewing thread to layout the edge of the upper sleeves by carefully gluing it down around the circumfrence of both arms. Then, with my trusty razor (God, what would I do without that thing?) I re-sculpted the lower sleeve into a narrow taper that appears to emerge from underneath the upper sleeve.



























The guide thread at the edge of each new upper sleeve is only TEMPORARY. They will be replaced by micro-thin ribbon to simulate the sleeve cuffs.



Boba’s right arm weapon gauntlet features a clear power tube that tucks underneath his right arm upper sleeve.

I used a big needle to make a hole underneath the upper sleeve ridge that I created. I then made a second hole in the coupling on the wrist weapon gauntlet. These would be the two connection points for the gauntlet’s power feed tube.








I looked around the house for a suitable item to use as the tube. A tiny white / clear plastic binder on the bundle of new sox that I just bought was something that I thought might do the trick. In the end, I rejected it because it did not look like a tube to me, it seemed a bit small in its scale, and it did not have the flexibility I was hoping for. It kept popping out of the sleeve connection point every time I posed the figure’s elbow.









I knew I was going to need a far more flexible material to resolve that issue.

A frantic search ensued in my wife’s closet, and as luck would have it, I located a brand new cashmere sweater that my wife bought for herself. The tag was still attached to the garment by a small clear rubber string! Yes!! Back in business.!!!

I cut a fragment of the string and installed it on the figure. The thicker size, the clarity, and the flexibility of the “tube” were all PERFECT!!










My next order of business was to add the straps for Boba’s armored knee pads. A reasonably straight-forward operation. I used some Plastruct strip styrene to create the straps and glued them into place behind the knees, making sure that the leg articulation was un-affected.










So… a brief re-cap…

1) Helmet’s face colors have been corrected to correct shades
2) Helmet’s rangefinder has been shortened to correct height
3) Utility belt paint rubs have been repaired
4) Armored shoulder bell for left shoulder has been re-painted in correct yellow
5) Helmet seam has been filled and sanded (awaits air brushing)
6) Arm pocket has been shaved off / arm sanded smooth
7) Secondary upper sleeves have been layed-out and sculpted for both arms
8) Power tube for right weapon gauntlet has been installed
9) Rear fastening straps for armored knee pads have been installed

Custom Boba as of January 9th, 2011, 7:30 AM:







Coming up next: WOOKIE SCALPS…

WOW! great work. but it hurts me to see you cutting mr fett all up

Oh, he's tough. He can take it.

Loyal follower of this thread....

Wow! This is intense devotion.....I am in awe! I would so do this if I had the patience and steady hands. I can already picture numerous trips to the hospital to sew my fingertips back on!!!!!

This is going to be a great one of a kind figure, but i must say, to even do this you've GOT to be the most insane person here. My ADD would have me looking fo rsomething else to do within a few hours. Kudos to you, any thought of doing runs?

I saw this thread today... And I was speachless on what you've done so far. So much details on a small piece... If you will correct all helmet problems with the proportion and colouring, I think that GL whould be glad to use it in any future Star Wars projects where small sized models are used. Keep up the fantastic work on this!

Respect!

Thanks a million for the kind words, guys!

I just wish that I could work on this figure daily and get it finished in a timely manner.

Unfortunately, my work schedule only allows me to work on it maybe once every week.

But the good news is, it shouldn't be too much longer now.

just looking at the full body pic above, and i noticed that the ear with the rangefinder attached should come down a little bit, this will make both look a bit more how it should be.

yeh its like 3 scale inches to high

Hmmm. I think both of you are correct.

Making adjustments to these tiny details in this small a scale can be a real pain in the rear!

Well at least you came to the right place for nit pickers to get it perfect seems like you want it to be the best you can make it

Sigh... I'm tryin', brother. Believe me, I'm tryin'. I sometimes feel like this action figure is really kickin' my ***.

Holly cow! You are very skilled indeed cause that looks great. makes me wanna bust out some xato and carve mine up

This is absolutely amazing!! I cannot wait to see it finished. It is really too bad we don't have more people like you working at Hasbro!

Originally Posted by DarthVeach

This is absolutely amazing!! I cannot wait to see it finished. It is really too bad we don't have more people like you working at Hasbro!

Agreed. But if they charge close to $6 a figure now, image what that would jump to if they started pumping out figrues of this quality.

I would pay $10-12 for one definitive Fett figure of this quality any day instead of the 5 or 6 different ones I have bought over the years at $5-7 a piece!

Just seeing this for the first time... all I have to say is WOW!
This is so incredible!

Originally Posted by DarthVeach

I would pay $10-12 for one definitive Fett figure of this quality any day instead of the 5 or 6 different ones I have bought over the years at $5-7 a piece!

I dont think I would have a problem paying around 50$ for a figure of this detail.

Keeps getting better and better! Nice work.

really amazing work bud....