Figure Era: ROTS/TSC
Year: 2006
Primary Appearance: Star Wars, Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith
Difficulty: Advanced
Recipe
Fodder
TSC Snowtrooper - torso, legs, kama, backpack
ROTS Clone Commander - right arm, left arm (optional)
ROTS Clone Trooper - left arm (optional), belt, plus 2 rectangles from a second belt
Custom casts of clone head & neck, and removable snowtrooper helmet - courtesy of
Glassman6!
Custom sculpted backpack
Custom made shoulder pads (made from styrene)
Paint
20:10:1
Model Master Acrylic Kandy Scarlet (4646)Model Master Acrylic Bloode Red (4352)Polly Scale Night Black (RLM 22) (37038) (505214)
maroon parts of armor, skirt, helmet
Directions
Parts used for Galactic Marine
Modifying the Helmet
The snowtrooper helmet isn't exactly the same as the galactic marine's, so it needs to be modified slightly to make it a little more accurate. Just above eye-level, there is a ridge that runs all the way around the snowtrooper helmet. This ridge is not present in the galactic marine helmet, so it needs to be shaved off. Do this carefully with an Xacto knife (a curved blade works best), and then sand it to smooth it out.
The second thing different about the helmet is the ridge that goes all around the eyes - the snowtrooper helmet has one, while the galactic marine does not. This ridge can't be cut away like the other one. Not only would it be very difficult, it wouldn't be accurate either. Instead the ridge has to be blended in with what's outside of it (not the inside, toward the eyes). You can use some kind of putty or clay to do this. Normally I prefer an epoxy putty, like Milliput, because it is more durable and doesn't need to be baked, but in this case the area to be filled in so small that I just used plastic modeling putty. You can also use the same stuff to smooth out any irregularities from removing the previous ridge. For example, if you gouged too deep in a certain spot.
While fixing the ridge around the eyes, also put some putty between the eyes. The snowtrooper eyes are more like a visor, so that both eyes are connected. But the galactic marine has two distinctly separate eyes, so fill in between them to create two distinct eyes.
The galactic marine also has a vent in the back of the helmet. This could be carved into the head if using a standard snowtrooper head. However, here I'm making a removable helmet and that is too thin to carve into. Therefore, the vent will just be painted on (it is basically a black strip).
Original cast of Snowtrooper helmet, by Glassman
Modified Galactic Marine helmet
Galactic Marine helmet, after it was modified and primed
Comparison of original Glassman Snowtrooper helmet to modified Galactic Marine helmet.
Preparing the Neck Post
The neck post of the custom cast wasn't really made to fit in the snowtrooper torso. To make it fit, and to make it look right, you need to cut around the base of the neck to make it fit flush into the opening of the neck hole in the torso. Don't put the neck base
into the neck hole because then the neck will look too short.
Find a good balance between trimming away the base of the neck post and widening the neck hole in the torso.
Modifying the Legs
While the snowtrooper legs are similar to what a galactic marine has, they aren't the same. The first thing to do is to fix the straps. The snowtrooper has four straps around the lower leg, while the galactic marine has only two. Shave off the top and bottom straps on each leg, and sand to smooth it out.
The next step is to make shin guards. I cut these out of styrene strips (you can download the template for these
here). Before gluing them on to the snowtrooper's shins, fill in the ridges with epoxy clay and sand it down after it dries. This way, you have a nice, smooth, and even surface to glue the shing guard to.
Next, cut out the two big rectangles from a spare clone trooper belt (not the belt you'll be using for this figure). Trim off the edges and back, and then dab a little bit of epoxy clay on the back of each rectangle. Gently press them into position on the thighs, just enough to get an imprint of the leg. Let the epoxy clay harden. Once it is cured, glue the two rectangles into position. Fill in the gaps with putty, if necessary.
Modifying the kama
The snowtrooper kama needs the holster cut off. Cut this off with an Xacto knife and smooth the area, with putty if necessary.
Once this is done, shave off the belt buckle (or whatever that is) on the front, and also trim away the other components of the belt all the way around. Glue the clone belt in place, making sure the gap is in the back. However, don't do this until the figure is fully assembled, otherwise you won't be able to get the torso in place.
After the belt is in place, follow the inside edge of the kama up with an Xacto knife. The goal is the change the opening from the rounded one it already is to more of a "V" shape, with the point ending just at the belt.
Now cut out a rounded slit at the back of the kama. The slit should be centered and not too big.
Modifying the chestplate
On the snowtrooper's chestplate, shave off the part to the left of the center portion. Shave off the bumps on the right side, and the rank insignias on the left chest area. The indentation below the flat center portion should be filled in with putty or epoxy clay. Sand all modified areas to smooth them out.
In the front of the chestplate, there is distinctive oval-shaped flat portion. In the snowtrooper this extends all the way down. But on the galactic marine, this only extends part of the way down. To simulate this (it won't be exact), shave off the edges of the lower portion and sand it to round it off. These two portions will be painted differently to enhance the difference.
Making the shoulder pads
Download and print out the shoulder pad template from
here. Cut out the larger piece. Only cut out the outline and don't worry about the lines inside the drawing. Later, the smaller individual pieces will be cut out and glued onto the larger piece and the locations outlined. Once the large piece is cut out of paper, secure it to a piece of sheet styrene that is .030" (0.75mm) thick. Trace the outline with a pencil and then cut the piece out of the styrene, very carefully, using a sharp Xacto knife. Once the piece is cut out, sand all the edges using fine grain sandpaper. Sand each edge at an angle, from both sides, to
very slightly round the edges. Do the same to the corners.
Now transfer the lines from the printout to the styrene - not the inner squares and shapes, but the four places where the shoulder pad will be bent. Once that's done, bend the styrene to shape. Just a slight bend will suffice.
To bend it, get a pair of small needle-nose pliers and line up one edge against the line you drew, from the outside edge. Hold the pliers in one hand, and pass a flame under that portion of the styrene. Do NOT hold the flame under the styrene. It softens extremely fast and will buckle if heated too long. Just quickly pass the flame along the line, and it should be fine. Immediately press the pliers down against a flat surface to create the bend. Repeat for the other three bends.
Now cut out the smaller, inner shapes using the same method as before. After smoothing and sanding the six pieces as before, glue the shapes onto the shoulder pad.
Next, transfer the circle (the hole for the neck post) onto the styrene and cut it out. You can use a knife or a drill.
All that's left is to paint it.
References
