Completed Sculpts, Finished Figures and more PART I

Hey everyone! Time for another productive update - a massive one at best! So big it had to be broken down into two parts - but before we get into part one....

Be sure to check out my podcast interview - Episode 16 - with Lucasclones and Tamer (Chad and Shawn) from Inperialshipyards.net and become a fan of their facebook page - Custom Action Figure News! I was invited to do an interview with them several weeks ago - very kind of them to have me on their show! I had a great time and answered a ton of questions many of you may have wondered about - be sure to take a moment and check it out.

I have plenty to share so let's get things started with some works in progress - First off will be Jedi Master Wolf Sazen from the Dark Horse comic series Star Wars: Legacy.

You may recall that my original head sculpt of Sazen has his hair down - similar to the concept art of Wolf in issue "0" of Legacy - near the end of the series, Wolf is seen with his hair pinned back which I found to be a good look for him and especially with the fact that I needed a head sculpt that would allow movement on the neck joint - Wolf's original head restricts movement because of the hair down over the shoulders.

You'll notice I removed the lower part of the figure's tunic, and added ball jointed hips for added articulation. I also made adjustments to the length and resculpted the figures left arm.

Below are additional detailed images of Wolf's alternate head sculpt.

Next up, a shot of Boba Fett. I'm taking my sweet time with the sculpt - working out the jumpsuit before adding the armor...piece by piece. So far I have completed the upper half of the jumpsuit. I know that many artists that have worked customs of Boba have received numerous negative critiques due to the "claimed" lack of accuracy...let me be clear - this will be my interpretation of the character...I will do my best to be accurate but I won't be kicking myself if I miss something here or there. I appreciate any tips you guys can give me but wanted to be clear this is my interpretation and mine alone. Many more images to come of this guy...

Next up is an update on the Dark Lord Sithstalker sculpt from the video game, The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition. Worked on the torso and back of the figure, adding detail yet keeping in mind the articulation that works hand in hand with the sculpt.

Detail showing the spinal column of the back and the "control pack" between the shoulder blades...this piece was sculpted separate from the figure, with the idea of adding a small acrylic window to the pack showing some detail that I will add later. At this point, I will be working on completing the legs and boots, as well as the details to the forearms.

Next up is a figure that has been tabled for a VERY LONG TIME but is finally back on the workbench and close to having it's sculpt completed! I'm talking about the Twi'lek Mandalorian Neo Crusader, inspired by the illustrations from Dustin Weaver and found within the pages of the Dark horse comic series, Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic, Flashpoint story arc.

When I first decided to make this figure, I never though of doing an alternate head sculpt showing the character without the helmet...unfortunately there isn't enough source images of this character to give me any clue what he may have looked like under the getup. So, I have been forced to take a bit of a creative license and create my own concept. He's battle scared across his left eye, with an old fashioned eye patch covering the wound. Could he be hiding something behind that eye patch? Tech perhaps? Maybe he's not even blind in that eye...perhaps the patch itself is tech...who knows. He's armed to the teeth - flame unit, net launcher, poison darts, vibro blade and his two trusty handguns. Much more I'm sure - he's a Mandalorian for crying out loud! I took more creative license with the figure's sculpt itself you may notice - the illustrations are much more simplified than that of my working sculpt currently.

I may also add that the ammo belt across his waist contains a new articulated feature - the belt is a mix of sculpted, casted and borrowed material - the belt has been cut in two with each cut at either sides of the figure, then brought back together with a clear rubber band glued beneath, out of sight. The belt can now move freely with the figure's waist articulation, freeing it up and greatly reducing the resistance that would most likely break the detailed ammo belt.

An update to my Imperial Sith Trooper sculpt as seen in the upcoming Bioware/Lucasarts game - Star Wars: The Old Republic.

I plan on making 4 of these similar to the New Republic Shock troopers I'm currently working on. But instead of sculpting the armor over and over again, I plan on making the armor removable with this initial figure, then casting the pieces four times over, giving me a complete series and cutting my sculpt time. The helmet is complete and has been casted so once the armor is complete, all I'll need to sculpt for the remaining three figures will be the jumpsuit, leg and arm details.

The main chest and back armor is held together by magnets. The upper chest armor is laid through the neck post and across the shoulders, and the shoulder armor is held by clear rubber bands.

I'll be beefing you the upper arms and continuing the sculpt of the lower arms and legs. I'm already starting on number 2 of the four figure set.

My final update for this, part I of this massive blog update is the completed sculpt of Darth Malgus, from the Bioware/Lucasarts game, Star Wars: The Old Republic also featured in the novel by Paul S. Kemp - Star Wars: Deceived.

The completed sculpt of Darth Malgus - the image above is from start to finish. Image below - the completed sculpt. I really enjoyed working on this figure and quite honestly and obviously, got carried away with the awesomeness of the character LOL!

Some additional images of the detail added to this sculpt - To this point, possibly the most detail I've added to a figure since I began sculpting at this scale..

I went back and sculpted the forearm tech again - making the lines crisp and having it flush with the connection to the upper arms.

I completed the hood for the Sith Lord as well as his lightsaber. The soft goods are his cowl which drapes through the upper arms and across his back, looping under the shoulder armor.

I'll let the photos tell the story of how much I loved working on this figure :) I have a warm place in my heart for the Sith :)

The image above is of Darth Malgus with his variety of alternate head sculpts! Six in all! Yes, I promised I would stop at 5 but the one under the hood will be number six...His eyes glaring, showing Malgus' fury!

The heads of Darth Malgus, beginning with the one from the Cinematic Trailer - Return. The transition from pale white, clear eyed warrior to a physically distressed, scarred and powerful Sith Lord has been captured with these various head sculpts - just couldn't bear to leave one of them out LOL!

Final images of this piece before the sculpt gets primed and painted. Don't forget this figure will also include alternate battle damaged armor to the chest and left shoulder guard. Looking forward to seeing how this piece translates when painted!

Get ready for Satele Shan! Can't have a Sith Lord like Malgus and his Sith Troops without an adversary right?

Alright - part one is in the can! Part two of this update can be found here, which includes finished sculpts of the Tonnika Sisters, works in progress of Vong charcters such as Choka Skell and Tsalok from Star Wars: Legacy as well as COMPLETED figures like my first in a series of Vong Warriors and the Republic torture droid AX-RX - This will make three posts in one month - very impressive if I may say so LOL!

If you want to keep up with daily updates and progress of my work, as well as news about other artists and collectibles, then you need to become a fan of my facebook page - Sith_fire30 Creations - Thanks to all the fans of my page - we're closing in on 800 Sith Maniacs! Thanks again!

Also be sure to stop by my Flickr photostream for all these images I've posted here for BOTH updates - plus many more not included.

You can now find me on Tumblr! Sith_fire30 Works will be a daily visual of my work in progress or anything I may find interesting or usefull - just more of a pictorial diary of my progress from day to day. If you have a Tumblr account - you can follow me here - Sith_fire30 Works

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If any of you have questions, suggestions or comments, please feel free to contact me here, my facebook or my e-mail - sith_fire30@yahoo.com.

Alright guys - head on over to part II!!! LOL!!

Sith_fire30