niart17 Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 So here is my build thread for this vinyl kit of a 1/6 Stormtrooper. I may convert it to a Sandtrooper since I like weathering and the more visual interesting pieces of the Sandtroopers. It may not end up being screen perfect by any means but I will do my best to stay faithful to the spirit of this group build. Let me start by stating that it has been told to me that this kit that I bought from an online company called Models Mountain is likely a copy of an older kit. While the original kit is out of production, I DO NOT condone people ripping off other companies. I wasn't aware of this potential copyright infringement until after I bought the kit and I still intend to build it. I just don't want this to be an endorsement of the kit regardless of the quality. And about the quality...Overall I was pleased with how this kit looks. As with any vinyl kit, there is a lot of shape correcting that is to be done. The helmet being the worst of all parts. I will post a complete photo evaluation of the model in the normal Sci-Fi thread about this kit, but here are a few noteworthy pre-start pics to let you know what I'm working with. Kit as delivered. Just this inside of a typical mailing envelope. Not great but pretty much safe I suppose. First the torso. Detail is relatively crisp and appears to be in order. Legs. The poor dude ain't got no junk in the trunk what-so-ever. I'll need to reshape this area a little. TBC... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) And then the most iconic area, the helmet. I've always loved the looks of a stormtrooper helmet. This is the part that is going to take the most messaging to get it strightened. From the front it doesn't look too bad and the detail is pretty nice. But as you can see from the top, it's pretty severely warped. A little dunk in some hot water and careful pushing and pulling should get it right. It might appear slightly too large for the body, but until I get it straight and put on the neck, it's hard to say for certain. The face rings a bell....This kit comes with 2 heads, a Han Solo and then a blank face. While the Han head is actually pretty darn good and would look good with a great paint job, I am going to use the blank and save the Han for another potential sculpt project I'd like to do one day (he shot first, get over it!) Stay tuned. I am hoping this will progress relatively quickly. Thanks for checking it out. Bill Edited December 9, 2014 by niart17 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Fondlebottom Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Nice to see a figure! I've never dared touch vinyl before, it just looks like so much work but then again I build a bunch of resin stuff so I don't know why I feel like that Is there any gun included? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 Vinyl typically isn't too hard to work with. This vinyl is a bit stubborn and seems to have more "memory" of the warped shapes than the shapes it should be. I had to redo the helmet about 6 times. First with hot water then eventually with a few times under a hair dryer. I've been reluctant to use a dryer in the past as it really softens the plastic quit a bit but it seemed to work ok. It does come with a gun. Not horrible but not great either. I may use this and try to dress it up or maybe try to scratch something better. Here is the first assembly stage. I'm a bit concerned with the proportions, it just doesn't look quite right. His legs look way too skinny and too tall and his arms and hands look way under scaled. I may just live with it and wait to get a better Stormtrooper kit. I just don't think there are other large scale options. Oh well, it is what it is. Thanks for checking it out. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 I think the proportions look good actually. What he needs to do is put on some pounds! Need an empire weight and strength training program. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 I think the proportions look good actually. What he needs to do is put on some pounds! Need an empire weight and strength training program. I think you're right, I guess it's just the skinniness that is bothering me. I've packed in as much clay filling as I can and pushed it out some but it's still a little on the thin side. If I can't fatten him up some more and if I decide to go with the Sandtrooper, I guess I can go ahead and build the back pack, even though I don't really care for them. But at least that would maybe help hide the fact that the poor dude seriously needs a few peanut butter sandwiches in him. Though this is just temporarily held in place, I cut and re-positioned his "trigger ready" hand and extended his elbow a bit to make it look more like how a soldier actually holds a weapon while on patrol and not firing. He was too stiff looking before. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted December 18, 2014 Author Share Posted December 18, 2014 Here he is with a white primer coat. I need to dress up some of the putty work on the seams but overall he's together. The helmet and shoulder pads are loosely sitting in place so I can paint the black areas under and then glue the final parts on. The gun might look ok once it's dressed up and painted. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Looks better and the helmet looks smaller? Maybe was just an eye trick with the different colors before? Very cool. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted December 18, 2014 Author Share Posted December 18, 2014 Yeah, possibly a combination of the different colors, plus not having the shoulder pads on and maybe even camera angle. It still looks maybe slightly too big to me but I'm overall happy with it. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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