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Redshirt's Playmates customs/repaints (at last!)


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#21 Daysleeper

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Posted 21 July 2014 - 12:18 AM

Great work. I've also given the 6" rifles to my 4.5" figures.



#22 Redshirt#7

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Posted 21 July 2014 - 08:46 AM

Thanks Daysleeper! Truth is, I was going to make my own, from scratch. Just before I did, however, I ended up with the six inch space suit Picard, and I suddenly realised I'd got something really useful. Suffice to say, I've been amassing an arsenal of these things since.

 

At last, I have mastered the head swap! It's brilliant, it took me an hour to make Benny Russell, and I finally figured out why. I was holding poor Sisko beneath the waves for 10 seconds. I've found two to four minutes is the ideal temperature to pop them. It's only been an hour and I've done six, it's addictive!  



#23 RizzoPSU

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Posted 21 July 2014 - 01:25 PM

Redshirt, does it happen to you when you hold the figure under boiling water that the color of the plastic (mostly the torso) seems to fade to a lighter color??

#24 Redshirt#7

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Posted 21 July 2014 - 01:44 PM

No, I'm holding the figure, with just the head submerged, in an old drinking mug, (a pint mug so I can have two or three organ donors into the water at any one time), filled with water from a kettle that's just boiled. I'm using a glove as well to prevent burns.

 

Any more questions you want to ask, don't hesitate. I'm always around somewhere.



#25 RizzoPSU

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Posted 21 July 2014 - 02:05 PM

I always boil a pot of water on the stove and at first I was just dumping the figure in and fishing it out after 2 minutes. Last night I just held the head and shoulders in for 2 minutes again. Same thing but not all over the figure, seemed like the torso turned a foggy color if its original and the arms stayed the original color.
Came across some TOS movie figures and was swapping heads to complete the crew. It seems the Burgundy color of the jacket is what I have the hardest time with color fading. I guess its a thicker/harder plastic and have a harder time popping the head out and esp putting a new one in.

#26 Redshirt#7

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Posted 21 July 2014 - 04:08 PM

For some reason, the TOS TWOK jacketed Kirk has been the easiest to boil and pop. It takes me about 5 seconds to get Kirk's head of, however, I too am having problems putting it back in. I've been using a craft knife to peel/slice bits of the neck, this is risky as I've nearly cut my finger twice, and if you cut too much, your screwed. So far I've done Captain's Spock and Sulu, it's too late now but tomorrow I'll get pictures up with a comparison with Kirk, my eyesight is a bit faulty, so perhaps there has been fading, but considering I bought them used, I personally think their more or less the same.



#27 RizzoPSU

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Posted 21 July 2014 - 04:31 PM

Got mine used too.... I'll probably repaint them since some of the gold had been worn off, I was curious if there was an easier/less time consuming method to doing that without the fade and swapping. Thanks for the advice, can't wait to see more of what you post. I wish there was more of a demand/interest for DST to continue with figures and I could get back to customizing those but my new interest in the Playmates line will tide me over!

#28 Redshirt#7

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Posted 22 July 2014 - 06:55 AM

Glad I could help, I've been using the end of a pin to paint combadges/rank pips/pins.

 

Here's my next few:

 

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Captain Spock

 

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Captain Sulu

 

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Movie era crew in progress

 

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Time's Arrow Picard

 

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S4-S7 Jem'Hadar (work in progress)

 

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Another shot, I painted the hair, with the uniform to follow.

 

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Riker from "Frame of Mind" (work in progress)

 

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Bele and Loki from "Let that be your last battlefield"

 

Enjoy!



#29 Redshirt#7

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 03:49 PM

More! If you've got any feedback, I'd love to hear it, good or bad.

 

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Afterlife Q

 

"Welcome to the afterlife, Jean-Luc. You're dead."

 

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Sloan (work in progress)

 

"The Federation needs men like you, Doctor - men of conscience, men of principle, men who can sleep at night. You're also the reason Section 31 exists. Someone has to protect men like you from a universe that doesn't share your sense of right and wrong."

 

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Fixed Data

 

"I could be chasing an untamed ornithoid without cause."

 

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Captain Braxton (work in progress, the badge is fine, the white "smear" is actually reflecting light)

 

"We have a saying in our line of work: there's no time like the past."

 

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Captain Ransom

 

"It's easy to cling to principles when you're standing on a vessel with its bulkheads intact, manned by a crew that's not starving."

 

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Rapture Sisko (one of my favourite episodes of all time)

 

"Locusts! They'll destroy Bajor, unless it stands alone!"

 

Enjoy!!



#30 LadyHarkness

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Posted 02 August 2014 - 06:59 PM

Nice work on the customs! I really like the re-painted accessories. I glad I'm not the only one who thought Starfleet officers looked a little silly pointing orange and purple phasers at Borg or walking around with blue tricorders. :) I always loved the captains vest. I've got to get some more apoxie. I wish Playmates had made more characters and payed as much attention to details as the fans of the show did. Great work. I've had some issues on the boil and pop method for certain figures, but for the most part, I find it works well with most. I have fun creating new characters or making mirror universe versions of characters. I love the Evil Kirk as well.

   Another simple thing to custom that I don't see people do- and to be honest it would technically be correcting a Playmates screw up- is giving Saavik blue eyes. I don't know how the Saavik figure from TWOK ended up with yellow eyes. She never had yellow eyes even though they did change her eye color from blue to brown when Saavik was recast in The Search For Spock (So much for Star Trek cannon eh?). I guess that is just another thing Playmates missed...Maybe it's the same reason the accessories became rainbow colored eyesores. Enough with my ragging on Playmates, the 4.5 in figures still remain my favorite scale and they did a decent job except for a few minor details they overlooked. You make awesome customs. Keep up the great work! 



#31 Redshirt#7

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Posted 04 August 2014 - 05:58 AM

Thank you for your kind words, LadyHarkness! I'm glad you like the accessories, I couldn't agree more on all points (I'd personally love to have one of those vests and I too think 4.5 is the best scale). I've had problems, some heads don't fit while some others, specifically Troi and Worf, have different connection points. How many have you made so far, may I ask? They sound great, and intriguing.  

 

Wow, I'd never noticed that. There was always something off about her, now I know why! I'm going to have to get an extra now. They made Saavik, and Lore, with yellow eyes, but not Data?!?

 

Actually, I have an answer to why the rainbow phasers exist. In the Playmates forum, there's a topic about Playmates promo information, by Jpatrik. He has a site that has all sorts of brilliantly interesting info, including a five page interview with, if I remember correctly, the project manager of the Trek stuff at their height of their popularity. Among many, many things, he talks about the reason why the accessories are multi coloured.

 

More customs in a few minutes I hope 

 

EDIT:

 

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Lots of Phasers (work in progress)

 

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Mek'leth

 

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Assimilate THIS!

 

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Odo's bucket

 

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Fixed Worf (my first foray into pulling legs off)

 

"Sir, I protest. I am *not* a merry man!"

 

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Where no man has gone before Spock

 

"I don't. All I know is logic. In my opinion, we'll be lucky if we can repair this ship and get away in time."

 

 

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Season 2 O'Brien

 

"You choose your enemies; you choose your friends. But family - that's in the stars."

 

 

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"Mr Tricorder" Data

 

"Lifeforms! You tiny little lifeforms! You precious little lifeforms! Where are you?"

 

 

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A comparison with the regular one, right.

 

Enjoy!



#32 LadyHarkness

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Posted 06 August 2014 - 12:54 PM

I have made several customs a while back (almost a decade ago now) and actually undid all the work because of paint issues. I used a really cheap grade of paint and hadn't had a clue about customizing with apoxie so I was using sculpty clay and glue back then. I wish I had known about all the different custom communities like this years ago. I have recently started back on the head swaps and am trying to build up my paint collection for the repaint project, but I will attempt to post some of my works in progress figures on the site. The customs I see on this site put my old work to shame and I look forward to improving my craft.

  Ooh, a mak'leth. Very nice. I don't think I have one of those. Do you remember who it came with? Every Worf needs one, as I recall he had a fondness for them over the bat'leth. I think that was mentioned on DS9 to Jadzia Dax.  I will have to check out that site you mentioned. I know I have been there before, but I must have missed that article. I am very curious to know why someone had thought it a good idea to make bright/florescent  accessories. It has been bugging me for years. :)  Cheers!



#33 Redshirt#7

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Posted 06 August 2014 - 04:47 PM

I'd love to see your work!

One of the greatest things has been improving my skills making these, I messed up quite spectacularly to begin with, but It's be great making improvements and seeing what works and what doesn't. I've got some quite disturbing images of work in progress figures, headless bodies and arms and legs and heads by my kettle, I'll have to post them.

 

To be honest, I only started up because of seeing such good figures on here, it inspired me to such a degree I went out and bought an acrylic paint set from a local hobby store the day after I found trektoy (the hobby store I tend to go to is called Waylands forge, I've ended up calling it Weyoun's forge due to the amount of black and silver paint I've bought for my Jem'Hadar). I've no clue how long they'll last, but what the hell! It's fun and my oldest ones still look good after a year, so I'm hoping they'll stay that way. I've yet to use any apoxie or anything like that, but hopefully in the coming weeks that'll change.

 

I'm glad you like the Mek'leth! It came with the DS9 Worf, the season 4/early 5 one in the red jumpsuit. I've got three Mek'leth's and they all bar one belong to my Worf's. It was indeed, If I remember correctly, Worf was saying something along the lines of how the Mek'leth was small and powerful in close quarters and overall better than the Bat'leth, while Dax believed the Bat'leth to be better. They got into a fight and in the end, if I remember correctly, Worf knocked the Bat'leth out of Dax's hands thus proving his point. 

 

Here's a link to the interview:

http://upcloseandpla...toys-talks.html

Very informative and interesting

 

Some more! With a DS9 twist:

 

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Admiral Leyton ("Homefront" and "Paradise Lost")

 

"As far as Captain Benteen's crew is concerned, the Defiant isn't a Starfleet ship. They've been told everyone on the Defiant has been replaced... by shapeshifters."

 

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Brunt, FCA

 

"A child... a moron... a failure... and a psychopath. Quite a little team you've put together."

 

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Quark (with Marauder Mo action figure!) and Brunt. He does have eyes, don't worry.

 

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Cal Hudson in TNG uniform("The Maquis part 1")

 

"I never thought I'd see the day when you'd side with a Cardassian against me."

 

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Joseph Sisko (Extreme work in progress)

 

"I'm not sleeping. I'm checking my eyelids for holes."

 

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Dr M'Benga (inaccurate uniform, but I'm pleased with how he looks at the moment.)

 

"Don't let these low panel readings bother you. I've seen this before in Vulcans. It's their way of concentrating all their strength, blood and antibodies onto the injured organs - a form of self-induced hypnosis."

 

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Season seven Tuvok, right, with the official season one Tuvok, left. I thickened his eyebrows up.

 

"I do not experience feelings of nostalgia. But there are times when I think back to those days of meeting Kirk, Spock and the others, and I am pleased that I was part of it.

 

Enjoy!



#34 Redshirt#7

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Posted 12 August 2014 - 04:49 AM

More figures up soon, but in the mean time, some shots of my slightly modified bridge:

 

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And finally, a few other shots:

 

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The Picard Maneuver 

 

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A go at the Picard face palm, slightly hampered by lack of articulation in the wrists. 



#35 Redshirt#7

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Posted 13 August 2014 - 02:48 AM

Some more figures, if you've got any suggestions on how to improve them, or suggestions in general, I'd love to hear them as always!

 

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Tora Ziyal (Season 5/6)

 

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The Albino

 

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Dr Zimmerman (from "Life Line")

 

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Kai Winn (I have made the Kosst Amojan as well to go with her)

 

Enjoy! 



#36 RizzoPSU

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Posted 13 August 2014 - 02:52 PM

Nice

#37 Redshirt#7

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Posted 18 August 2014 - 08:09 AM

Thanks!

 

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Klingon Mercenary 

 

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Voyager crew

 

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Improved Ransom

 

 

A quarter of the reason why I started customizing:

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Martok, complete with Bat'leth for Klingon violence and bloodwine mug for drinking over the corpses of your enemies after you've done all the killing.

 

  14771732740_ce21a24eb1_z.jpg

Worf and Jadzia from "You Are Cordially Invited". Work in progress, notice the painted Bat'leth's.

 

More weapons up soon, any feedback is highly appreciated.

 

Enjoy! 



#38 Redshirt#7

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Posted 26 August 2014 - 08:42 AM

A few more, any advice or suggestions are always appreciated!

 

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Son's of Mogh, the idea for Kurn isn't mine, I got it from someone here years back, so credit goes to the original customizer, though I did change Kurn's uniform.

 

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Commander Shelby

 

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Improved Benny. Just got his glasses, his typewriter, and his tie pin left to add.

 

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"Needle fingers", 3 of 12

 

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"Hawkeye", 7 of 8

 

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Starfleet rescue outfit Picard, another done by many.

 

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S6/7 Worf, a quite common head swap.

 

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Season 4 dress uniform Sisko and Generations Troi

 

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Chez Sandrine's Pool table

 

Lots, lots, lots more coming up soon, with new accessories! Any requests, accessory wise?



#39 Redshirt#7

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Posted 05 September 2014 - 04:26 PM

15150850075_0c776a1657_z.jpg

 

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I'm Vic Fontaine. 

And tonight is going to be a gas.
Hit it Nanook."
 
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Season 6 Kira and Odo

 

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Dax and Worf (Dax needs a bit of work)

 

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Ben Sisko, my favourite Captain, with a new painted accessory, a TNG phaser rifle.

 

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DS9 crew assembling 

 

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Vic Fontaine! (the main reason why I started making customs)

 

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Lore from "Datalore"

 

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Pakled captain

 

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Klingon knife

 

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Blood stained Bat'leth

 

Enjoy!



#40 Redshirt#7

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Posted 05 October 2014 - 09:58 AM

I've run out of paint, so it'll be slow for a month more, though I have a custom ship and shuttle to post. Anyway, I have two/three more after this, which I'll ration over the next month, along with a slew of accessories I've painted. In the mean time, I have these two.

 

First, what to do with a spare Judge Q?

 

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Q, from the TNG comic "The Gift", so obscure I took a picture of him in front of the comic (well, a reprint).

 

The other needs some more coats of paint, so excuse the sculpting colour in parts of his beard:

 

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Riker, from the Borg universe, from "Parallels".

 

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On the bridge.






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