Special Modifications - The Vintage Collection Imperial Scanning Crew Stormtrooper

The philosophy behind the Special Modifications feature is simple: to make small enhancements to 3 3/4" figures while remaining faithful to their original store-bought aesthetics.

Today's project involved making a few tiny improvements to the stormtrooper from the Vintage Collection Imperial Scanning Crew Special Action Figure Set. For me, this has always been the definitive stormtrooper figure. Not only is he wonderfully detailed and articulated, but he also comes with a couple of features not seen on any other version of this character - most notably, a pair of binders and a removable comlink.

Before (left) and after (right).

For this figure, only two changes were needed: the addition of some black paint to the soles of the boots, and the inclusion of the missing thermal detonator (which I had going spare from my recently upgraded sandtrooper figure). Now he's ready to take on all kinds of Rebelscum!

Special Modifications - The Black Series #07 Biker Scout

The philosophy behind the Special Modifications feature is simple: to make small enhancements to 3 3/4" figures while remaining faithful to their original store-bought aesthetics.

Sometimes it takes the tiniest improvement to make an otherwise great figure even better. Today it was my Black Series #07 Biker Scout. This version of the character is a near-perfect figure, save for those horrible black joint stripes through the shoulder pads.

Before (left) and after (right).

It's hard to understand why Hasbro didn't simply use white hinges - but fortunately it's an easy fix. A few thin coats of Model Masters Gloss White, and the figure looks a million times better!

Special Modifications - The Legacy Collection BD32 Spacetrooper

The philosophy behind the Special Modifications feature is simple: to make small enhancements to 3 3/4" figures while remaining faithful to their original store-bought aesthetics.

Yellowing plastic is the bane of all collectors. Despite our best efforts to keep figures from sunlight, smoke, and other environmental factors, many white plastics will inevitably turn that sickly shade. I've previously addressed this problem on my Vintage Collection R2-D2 and Legacy Collection Sandtrooper by incorporating the yellowed plastic into a wider 'weathering' of the entire figure. Unfortunately, I'm not able to do the same with the abdomen of my Legacy Collection BD32 Spacetrooper - so I had to come up with a different strategy.

Before (left) and after (right).

While bleaching is always an option, it's not something I'm yet brave enough to do with my figures. So I opted for something a little less extreme - covering the affected areas with several thin coats of Model Masters Gloss White. Fortunately, the gloss matches well with the rest of the figure's armour and completely removes the unsightly yellowing below!

Special Modifications - The Legacy Collection SL21 Sandtrooper

The philosophy behind the Special Modifications feature is simple: to make small enhancements to 3 3/4" figures while remaining faithful to their original store-bought aesthetics.

For the most part, I've always been happy with my Legacy Collection SL21 Sandtrooper as the definitive version of this character. With fourteen points of articulation and a handful of great accessories, he makes for a fantastic little figure. That being said, there's always been room for improvement. For one, I've always preferred the orange captain pauldron over the black corporal design that comes with this figure. For another, he's just too damn clean. The 2017 Walmart exclusive Black Series Sandtrooper remedied both of these issues, but included a far inferior helmet sculpt. Today's mission, then, was to modify my old Legacy Collection sandtrooper in order to get the best of both worlds.

Before (left) and after (right).

Insofar as customisations go, it was a fairly simple one. I started by painting the pauldron with Tamiya Acrylic Orange X6, then hit the entire figure with a 50/50 wash of Tamiya Acrylic Brown XF72 and water. This had the added benefit of obscuring some yellowing that had started to appear on abdomen. Finally, to bring him closer in line with his Black Series counterpart, I armed him with a spare T21 blaster rifle I had lying around. Taken together, these small modifications make him a far more interesting figure on the shelf, and - I like to think - turn an already great figure into something even better.

Special Modifications - The Vintage Collection VC25 R2-D2 (Take 2)

The philosophy behind the Special Modifications feature is simple: to make small enhancements to 3 3/4" figures while remaining faithful to their original store-bought aesthetics.

While I was initially happy with the weathering job I did on my Vintage Collection VC25 R2-D2, that satisfaction has waned over time. The weathering powder did a great job of providing some realistic 'grit' (and conveniently obscuring the disappointing plastic discolouration), but  it was never going to work well as a permanent solution. By necessity, the weathering powder needs some sort of fixative - usually in the form of a spray-on clear coat. Unfortunately, the design of R2 didn't permit this. I'd hoped some careful handling would be enough to maintain the weathering, but alas it very quickly wore off over time.

My first weathering attempt (left) using weathering dust, compared with my second attempt (right) using a 50/50 wash.

So a new solution was required. And after weathering our recent Xcavations acquisitions with a 50/50 wash of Tamiya Acrylic Brown XF72 and water, I decided to try the same approach on R2. I'm rapt with the result, and see it as a marked improvement on my first attempt. In fact, I already have plans to treat another figure with this exact same method...

Special Modifications - The Vintage Collection VC25 R2-D2

The philosophy behind the Special Modifications feature is simple: to make small enhancements to 3 3/4" figures while remaining faithful to their original store-bought aesthetics.

A huge problem faced by toy collectors is yellowing plastic. Despite all of the precautions we take, the inherent chemical composition of some plastics means that, over time, they will inevitably lose their bright, white lustre. Recently, I noticed that my Vintage Collection R2-D2 had succumbed to this blight. Despite being kept out of direct sunlight, it seems the ambient light in the room had been enough to slowly turn his entire right side a sickly yellow. I was hugely disappointed, as this R2 is one of my favourite figures - being the closest thing to an "ultimate" R2-D2 that we've ever seen in the 3 3/4" line. I soon hatched a plan, however.

I'd recently completed a Back to the Future III Delorean time machine model, and during that process I'd stumbled across a new modelling resource to add to my arsenal: Humbrol's Weathering Powder. Coming in a variety of colours, the powder is designed to look and behave in the same way as the various dusts, dirts, and detritus that typically adorn used machinery. I'd opted to use a rust-coloured powder to give my Delorean an authentically dirty "Old West" feel. And that's when inspiration struck: despite being a wonderful representation of R2, this figure was far too clean - and that rust weathering powder I had on hand was a perfect stand-in for Tatooine sand. So I set to work dirtying him up a little bit.

The trick with using this powder is to apply it in much the same way that it would adhere in a real world environment. For starters, the quantity applied should decrease as you work your way up the model - the legs and treads should be caked in the stuff, whereas the head should only be lightly dusted (if at all). Secondly, you need to remember that - in the real world - the accumulations occur from the top down and build up on level surfaces. Sand doesn't defy gravity. In order to achieve this, you need to ensure that you're always moving the brush in downwards strokes. Other than this, you really can't go wrong. The beauty with dirtying something up is that it's meant to be messy, so there's really no such thing as a 'mistake'. Pretty soon, you'll have something that looks just like it's been pulled from the Jundland Wastes.

As with most subtle weathering techniques, photos don't really display the full level of detail. Nevertheless, I'm absolutely rapt with the finished product. R2's yellowing has disappeared entirely, being completely incorporated into his weathered look. Better still, the added grime brings out a lot of details in this phenomenal figure that weren't as prominent when he was entirely clean. In fact, I'm so satisfied with the effect that I may consider giving the same treatment to some other figures that aren't even suffering from a yellowing problem. (Where did I put that sandtrooper...?)

Future Wizards of the Coast Star Wars Miniatures Projects

I've been thinking about Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Miniatures game a lot lately. Between 2005 and 2009 I amassed a decent collection from this line, and - after playing a lot of River Horse's Labyrinth board game with my fiancée lately - I've had a real hankering to get back into some strategy gaming. 

But that's the thing. Unlike other tabletop wargames such as Warhammer (which, don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved - and played to no end), Miniatures wasn't just a strategy game. The complex scenarios, unique abilities of characters, and small party sizes (sometimes limited to only two or three miniatures) meant that there was a real sense of story around each game. An evening's worth of play felt more like a mini RPG session than it did a military campaign.

For now, my collection of miniatures is safely in storage back at my parents' place in New Zealand. I hope to break them out again in the near future - and when I do, I have a few projects planned. This post is a way of bookmarking some of those ideas and the inspirations behind them.

My Star Wars Miniatures collection.

My miniatures are currently just as they came in the box: pre-painted and unbased. This is something I plan on changing, however. A full repaint is a rather daunting prospect, and - it turns out - mostly unnecessary. During my internet browsing, I stumbled across some phenomenal looking custom Miniatures on Paul's Star Wars Miniatures blog - all achieved by the simple application of some ink washes (like those in this set). These washes enhance the details already present on the moulds, darkening the shadows and adding some appropriate "used universe" grime to characters. I love this effect, and can't wait to try it on my own miniatures.

Next up, I'll need to decide what to do with the bases. My initial thought had been to leave them a neutral black - my reasoning being that anything else would limit the terrain on which the miniatures could work (a grassed-based miniature won't exactly look right in a spaceship interior). I've realised, however, that this kind of reasoning never stopped me from going all-out when basing my Warhammer miniatures. In addition, the right choice of basing can really make a miniature pop. The final kicker was when I stumbled across Grudgingly Read's phenomenally realistic (and easy) technique for creating snow bases. A good chunk of my miniatures are Hoth-based, and would look fantastic with this treatment, so that's what I'll be doing.

To add some diversity, I plan on using a variety of other basing techniques too. The plan is to loosely combine groups of miniatures into thematic squads, then use unified basings to tie them together. At the moment, I'm thinking something like the following:

• Imperial Forces - Grass Bases (à la Naboo)
• Rebel Forces - Grass Bases (à la Naboo)
• Cold Weather Imperial Forces - Snow Bases (à la Hoth)
• Cold Weather Rebel Forces - Snow Bases (à la Hoth)
• Republic Forces - Red Desert Bases (à la Geonosis)
• Separatist Forces - Red Desert Bases (à la Geonosis)
• Mandalorians - White Desert Bases (à la Mandalore)
• Scum and Villainy - Yellow Desert Bases (à la Tatooine)

It's not just miniatures that I'll be working on, either. I also have plans to improve my selection of scenery. I still have a fantastic Citadel grass gaming mat (shown in the photo above) from my Warhammer days, along with an assortment of other walls, building, and general battlefield detritus that will be perfectly to scale with my miniatures. I want to get a few more specifically Star Wars-themed items in there however. For one, I have a damaged double-up of the Micro Machines Action Fleet Mos Espa Market playset that is just begging to be customised and repainted for inclusion on the battlefield. I also have two AMT/Ertl model kits - a Naboo Starfighter, and a trio of droid starfighters - that, at 1:48 scale, are the perfect size match with the Miniatures line. I'm still unsure whether to use these as static pieces of scenery, or base and write rules for them to actually be used in gameplay as some sort of "aerial bombardment" mechanic.

I'll hopefully get to these projects in the near future - and when I do, I'll be sure to post about my progress. Stay tuned for updates!

Main Display Cabinet Lighting

Before I head to the US I've been spending some time with the collection. There's been a bit of reshuffling as well as the addition of a few new displays (all of which you'll be able to see when I upload the new Virtual Tour later on this year). Another project I've been wanting to get around to for some time is adding lighting to the main display cabinet. I've been unsure as to how to go about doing this however. Fluorescent lighting causes UV damage, while the heat created by incandescent lighting in such a small space might cause it's own set of problems.

Fortunately, a solution presented itself in the form of the LED lights pictured above. They used to be fitted as reading lights in my apartment in Wellington, but, having now moved out, they were going spare. They each use three AAA batteries and throw out a surprising amount of light for such small units. Best of all, they give off no UV radiation nor heat. The first step was to adhere 3M strips to the back of each light. I really can't rate these strips highly enough, and I use them for all sorts of displaying purposes. They provide a strong and sturdy adhesion, but come off incredibly cleanly.

I then removed the back plate of each light and fitted these to the cabinet. Once the 3M strips had set (I usually give them around 60 minutes to be on the safe side) the lights were refitted to the back plates.

All in all, I'm really happy with the result!

Reframing Celebrity Autographs

Here's a challenge for the more observant readers of this blog: Can you notice any differences between the following two photos of the Relics of the Force autograph display?

The first photo was taken at the end of last year for the My Collection page. The second was taken just a few days ago - after the autographs had been removed and replaced with copies.

While all attempts are made to minimise sun damage to my collection, some items (especially photos) inevitably decay over time. Unfortunately, these autographs have all suffered from sunfade over the years. Fortunately, I happened to scan each of them at the time of purchase. The wonders of digital printing means that the copies are almost impossible to spot. They're also a lot more vibrant than the originals (showing the autographs as they were before any fading). The originals are now safely in storage.

3 3/4" Action Figure Display Shelves

It's always great when you find a cheap yet effective way to display Star Wars collectibles. After all, who wants to be sinking money into cabinets and shelves when it could be better spent on getting more of the things you're trying to display? Back in 2009 I rescued an old shelving unit that started its life as a VHS cassette shelf in my Dad's office from being taken to the dump. My mind started ticking over when I realised that the shelves were 4" apart - the perfect height for displaying (most) 3 3/4" Star Wars figures.

The shelves were originally white, and a little worse for wear. Though it was nothing a little elbow grease (and blue paint) couldn't fix. First off, the shelves needed a good clean, including the removal of a number of miscellaneous stickers they had collected over the years.

Next up, a light sanding was followed by a first coat of blue paint. This helped to identify problem spots, including a lot of random nicks and dents. It was nothing a little filler and sanding couldn't fix, however!

With the clean-up complete, it was time for two more coats of paint to really bring out the colour on the shelves.

And with that done, all that was left to do was the fun part - stacking those shelves full of Star Wars figures!