Another tale of 2 Rebel Fleet Troopers

I have always been a fan of the doomed Rebel Fleet Trooper. In all my 5 years of age, I have watched them blasted away by the Imperial Stormtroopers inside Tantive IV. Perhaps is my admiration of their courageous fight back (though in vain). But mostly I think I really like their glossy shinny white helmet!
Fast forward 22 years later, I find myself working fervently on a 1:6 scale custom of the same courageous (but doomed) trooper. Having lost faith in Hasbro and seeing little hope other companies will be churning out good quality 1:6 scale Star Wars figures. And the outcome is pretty satisfying.

Custom Rebel Fleet Trooper
The helmet were actually the item that gave the trooper his identity. I used a 21C US M1 helmet as a base. The back flap were created with very thin plastic sheet. I trial and error the shape with paper first. When the shape is firm up, I traced it onto the plastic sheet and cut out the shape. It was then glued to the part of the helmet. The side box module was molded on with epoxy putty. Front black shield was part of a mineral bottle. Painted it up and you got a somewhat shape of a Rebel Fleet Trooper helmet.
Black vest jacket and grey shirt were modeled against Hasbro's 1:6 scale Han Solo though the black vest jacket was tailored slightly bigger. Both garments were tailored by my mother! The pants were generic and was also tailored and sew by my mother. Thanks mom!!
Belt were made from real leather strips. Holster scratched build with remaining think plastic films from the helmet back flap. The nude were a BBi G3 with stiff joints. Boots were Hasbro's generic jack boots.
So this guy stands proudly among my other SW 1:6 figures for many years until....

Sideshow Rebel Fleet Trooper
Sideshow announces the Rebel Fleet Trooper sometime late last year and I was overjoyed! In the same time, a little sad that my custom piece is finally coming to pass. Sideshow Toys with all their resources and artisans, the final product does not dissapoint. I don't think I need to talk about the good as everyone can see in these pictures (or tons other in the internet) that everything are done in good accuracies.
I just want to gripe a little on a couple of things that, isn't too serious.
1. The helmet strap was those cheapo elastic bands. We all know in time to come, the band will lost its elasticity and will then hang down and looks ugly. Both ends were just glued to the helmet ie, no way to do adjustment. It would be better if SST uses nylon straps and add some details to the securing loop from the helmet. I will be doing some upgrading here later.
2. The sculpt is ugly... I wonder why some of their sculpts are really good but some are just so SST. Take Obi-Wan general which was released earlier than this one had a very good sculpt. I heard they collaborated with HT on that one and the sculpts were done by HT's sculptor. But then, what determines what goes to HT and what is SST inhouse? Anyway, can always change a nude.
The rest are good to go

The Old & The Current
As you can see, my custom helmet was missing some accuracies there. Anyway, it served its due purpose already. Kinda makes me wonder if it is worth doing customs anymore these days. Everything cool got made into 1:6 scale from the myriad of 1:6 making companies. Back in the days when I was working hard on this custom, there are only DML and BBi who made better quality 1:6. They were like competing neck to neck. Then Marmit came into the picture but who knows, they are just a less-then-10 hit wonder. These days, we have Hot Toys, Soldier Story, Toysoldier, Ignite, Saturday Toys, blah blah blah.... Of course, Medicom was already present when DML & BBi were slashing among themselfs but we - in Singapore - were not really introduce to it yet.
Now I just hope someone did a really good Tusken Raider and a Death Star Trooper. Then I can safely keep away my customising tools and just sit back and wait for things to be made by the manufacturer :)

Kamen Rider Gashapon

On some occassion, I also buy those Blind Box Gashapon and being a classic Kamen Rider fan, I couldn't let this one passed by since this series only has classic Kamen Riders. Bought this one at a Comics Connection store and really are trying my luck there as the boxes hasn't got any markings on it to indicate what is inside - like what most shops at CSC does. In the series of 5, I like this one best. I managed to tikam Rider X and No.2 as well. But still missing the elusive V3 & Amazon.

SEAL Commander VBSS - Kitbash

This kitbash was completed around mid of last year. No price for guessing where the inspiration comes from. I'll let the pictures speaks here.

Russian Recce

Again motivated by an online 1:6 scale customization contest via the OSW, I set out to do this custom. The body piece, which is the main piece this custom was worked around, were a clamshell portion of my Yamato VT-1 1:60 scale super ostrich Valkyrie. Ironically, I won the best background story award and got a US$50 Monkey Depot Voucher. Not too bad all in the name of having fun.

Medicom RAH DX Kamen Rider Tackle (aka 电波女)

Part 2 - This is one figure I have been tracking since a couple of years back. It was a mail-away exclusive when you buy Stronger and the price had remain steady at around S$240. So when I stumble upon this shop, called Sakuraya, at Shinjuku which had it for ¥9980 (approx S$170 at this time), I couldn't let it pass.
This is the DX version and it speaks of good quality all over. I also bought the earlier RAH version which it was on a vinyl non-articulated body and the costume was poorly made with all its black dots falling off already. The DX version is vastly superior with a full articulated female body and crisp sturdy costume and good detail gear.












Incidently, I also bought the SOV version of Tackle with my last ¥1000 note inside Narita Airport. And there you have big and small Tackle posing for ya.

A closeup shot on Tackle shows that the headsculpt is properly constructed. If you owned the RAH version, you will know fully what I am talking about here. The full glossy helmet gave her an attractive touch... you can almost see the lamps placement and my window reflection on it LOL!


Tackle finally reunite with Stronger. But the union was alas a short one. Aided by the first female kaizo ningen, Yuriko Misaki became Tackle, and fought just as hard as Stronger did. Together, they fought such villians as Cyclops Titan and General Shadow.
Unfortunately, she was killed off in ep.#30, which left Stronger alone to his pursuit of justice.

Medicom RAH 時効警察

Part 1 - Was touring Japan early last month and I can't just leave the land of the rising Sun empty handed right? Got this pair while the group stop by at Ueno. The toy shop own the whole building which is a good 7 storeys high. Level 6 is dedicated to Medicom's and other make's 1:6 scale products. I was like a kid all over again visiting the toy department! Such stuffs in Japan are expensive and the recent hike in exchange rates didn't help a single bit at all. This pair, 霧山修一郎 & 三日月しずか, cost me ¥7770 each and I don't even know its story. Just gotta get something back thats the mentality of the day. Never will I realise I will stumble into another toyshop at Shinjuku that I finally got something I really wanted at a bargain price. I will leave it to Part 2 to report on that.

The V3 Syndrome

Banpresto Soft Vinyl 1:6 Scale Kamen Rider V3
1:6 scale nowadays seems to have become a rich man's plaything. Even the most mediocre figure will set you back at least a 100 bucks. But that is not the case with this one. It cost me just a mere $25 and it's sculpt is crisp and accurate. But there are practically next to no articulation to speaks of though it does have shoulder (swivel up-down), head (turning left-right but limited by the big plastic collar) and boots (turning around). I am not complaining anyway since I don't pose my articulated 1:6 that much anyway.
Actually saw this at China Square Central a couple of weeks ago (at $30) and already contemplating whether to get it - while waiting for Medicom's 1:6 scale V3 TV version to be release in September this year. I was thinking, what will I do with it when the Medicom one arrives? Chuck it oneside? Anyway, 2 weeks later yesterday, saw it again at a stall at Sunshine Plaza and at $25, I can't say no now. No regrets at all as you can see the attached picture of a very fine figure.

The V3 Family
While we are at it, might as well showcase my V3 family collection. The one on the left is a Medicom RAH220 DX V3, the smallest one is of those Egg Capsule Gashapon, the middle one is those blind box Gashapon and the right side one is from Bandai Soul of Vinyl (SOV). The tallest one is of course the Banpresto version.
I sorely need a high quality 1:6 scale full articulated 1:6 and can't wait for the Medicom one to be released.
Weee-tsureee!! forever!!


The Advertisement of Hope
Medicom recently announces this and I was over the Moon on the news. I was rooting for a Ver2 or sorts of this V3 refusing to pay the insane price secondary market is demanding. Once again, it proved my 1:6 rule of thumb - All good comes to those who waits! And inside news had confirmed that the mailaway to this V3 will be Riderman. What can be sweeter news than this for an otherwise uncertain 2009. I just hope there will have no delay from Medicom.

A Tale of Two 1:6 Scaled AT-AT Drivers

Some calls him a "Pilot", some calls him a "Driver". Whatever he is called, this guy piloted the behemoth elephant-like All Terrain Armored Transport (or simply called the AT-AT) that is enough to give a little boy ie me, the shock and awe effect that lasted me a good 27 years to date. WOW!
Here I have two 1:6 scale AT-AT Driver in my collection. The only two toy companies that ever produced this guy in this scale. The one on the left is by the American company "Hasbro" and the one on the right is from a Jap coy called "Marmit". Marmit is the first ever company that produces high quality Star Wars 1:6 scale action figures (careful not to call them "dolls") and being so, their prices were of course very "high" as well. However due to whatever reasons I do not know, their range is a small one which only consisted of 1. Stormtrooper, 2. Sandtrooper (orange and white pouldron), 3. Boba Fett, 4. Tie Fighter Pilot, 5. AT-AT Driver. Rumours claim a Darth Vader and Royal Guard in the making but these does not materialize till date. Nevertheless, we shouldn't be reeling on this anymore since Medicom and Sideshow are already in the fray giving us much better, more accurate 1:6 scale Star Wars figures we can only dream of barely 2 years or so ago when Hasbro once rulled the genre.

Modified Hasbro AT-AT Driver
I owned Hasbro's version of AT-AT Driver since 23 Nov 2000 (yes, I kept records of my purchase) and he stay as he is for the next 7 years before I decide that he is actually good enough to still have his place in my display cabinet, but not before I carry out some update on him. In his original form, he was always looking up, about 20 degree elevated, when standing straight. And his stumb like claw-hands doesn't seem capable of holding onto anything at all. His bloated steroid body doesn't help his overall appearance too. Quite impossible for him to pass through the imperial trooper selection phase let alone pilot an expensive hardware like the AT-AT.
What I did with this guy first thing first is to swap over his body using a DML's body in place. Hollow up the neck portion of the helmet and put it onto a DML's headsculpt - I used those 1st generation sculpt aka ugly mug, since he will eternally be display with his helmet on anyway. Swap away the ugly stumb hands and repainted the boots plus add a little weathering. Touched up the helmet paint details and spray generously a coat of gloss paint to give his head a little sheen. The results is quite encouraging. The helmet initially look oversized but after the remodelling, it doesn't seem so obvious anymore. Further comparison with the Marmit's sample convinces me that the helmet is just about the right size.

Marmit's AT-AT Driver
I finally managed to buy this guy late last year at Simply Toy's shop in Plaza Singapura. He came lose and was without his blaster. But it all seems well when I only pay S$70 bucks for him. I consider it a steal. First thing I noticed of this piece is that its chest plate and shoulder armor plates are turning blue-ish. But I guess it is an easy fix since I can just repaint it white if situation turns worse with time. Overall, an excellent piece with practically no need for any form of touching up nor parts swapping nor modification. Some folks will be more oblige to change the body to a more articulated one but for me, the marmit body that it originally came with is good enough. The only gripe I have comes with the rebreather box on his chest. The details were in a form of a decal while the Hasbro's counterpart actually had details molded on. Better details there for Hasbro which is a rare thumbs up. Nitpicking there.





The Imperial Logo?
More nitpicking but I feel this is necessary as this symbolise the House of the Emperor! So which is which? For all my knowledge of Star Wars, it seems like Hasbro (again?) got it right this time. However, it is not difficult to get the Marmit's logo right. If you look at it again, you just need to paint a white circle in the middle covering that red one is all that is need to be done. But white paint over any paint which are darker are always a pain to do. The key is multiple coats which needs patience.

Finally, the real deal.