Repainted Jango’s blasters

I’ve been going back to some of my more recent figures and have been adding the missing paint to their accessories. I’ve done this for Obi-Wan’s lightsaber, Palpatine’s saber, Kyle Katarn’s saber, Mace Windu’s saber from the NYCC two pack, Quinlan Vos’ saber, and Ezra’s saber from Ahsoka Season 1.

Today, I did this for Jango Fett. Leaving a figure’s accessories unpainted goes against the idea that this is a premium collector line. Leaving parts of the figure’s armor unpainted is an even bigger problem. It isn’t pictured, but I used an Artistro silver acrylic marker to paint the knee and shin armor, the same marker I’ve been using for the lightsabers and blasters that are missing paint.

Jango’s blasters were repainted using that silver acrylic marker along with a gray acrylic marker for the grip section. These are durable markers and don’t scratch as easily compared to others I’ve seen.

u/TheGorillaJedi — 3 days ago

After Hardcase and Dogma, I need to see Waxer and Boil in the line soon.

I love the 501st clones and am happy to be expanding the roster for that legion, but there are other named clones we definitely need like Waxer and Boil to go with Cody and the 212th. I’d also love to see Comet, Sinker, and Boost for the Wolfpack. Who are some named clones you’d want to see added?

u/TheGorillaJedi — 12 days ago

I have a new way of adding silver to the hilts.

Traditionally, I would use Vallejo Game Color Silver and Vallejo Satin Varnish for painting lightsabers, but sometimes, the finish wouldn’t be smooth. I went to Amazon and found these Artistro Dual Tip Acrylic Markers and used the silver one on some lightsabers cast in that gray plastic and this is the result. The first image is five Obi-Wan sabers (I’ve got some customs in progress), the second is Jedi Dooku’s saber hilt with a red blade, the third is Quinlan Vos, the fourth is Palpatine’s from the NYCC exclusive, and the fifth is Kyle Katarn’s. The sixth is a photo of the marker I used and I will include the link in the comments.

u/TheGorillaJedi — 14 days ago

I’m helping my sibling recover from a concussion and could use some encouragement and advice for both her and I

Two weeks ago, one of my siblings experienced their first concussion and today, they accidentally hit their head against a swinging lamp (we went to urgent care and the ER to make sure they were okay). I am acting as their caregiver right now to ensure they have a swift and full recovery. They are feeling a mix of emotions and are being hard on themselves. I have been providing empathy and compassion when our own parents have not been. Right now, I am balancing school with caring for them and making sure my parents are not overloading with questions. I would really appreciate any encouragement and advice for how to navigate going forward. I’m just a brother wanting to make sure his sibling makes a smooth recovery.

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u/TheGorillaJedi — 1 month ago

Based on how Black Flag resynced is doing currently, do you think Ubisoft is going to be doing more remakes of AC1 to AC Rogue?

Nothing makes me more excited than the idea of seeing AC1 getting the same level of treatment as Black Flag Resynced and I’d love to see similar updates for the Ezio Trilogy, AC3, and AC Rogue. I do have some ideas as for how Ubisoft could remake these titles, but would love to hear some suggestions and ideas you have on what you’d want to see if more of the previous games get the same treatment as Black Flag.

For all of these, the one thing I’d want to see them keep is using all the weapons in the environment (picking up weapons and using different types of weapons)

For AC1, I’d love to see several things. First, an updated stealth system (crouching, hiding in the shadows, social stealth, whistle lures, and blending into environments naturally). I’d love to see a parkour overhaul with Unity’s fluidity (and please make sure Altair can swim). The combat is something I’d imagine they’d already rework similarly to BF Resynced, but would love something unique to Altair. I’d also want to see an expansion of the Holy Land with side districts, rooftops, and underground tunnels. I’d love to see more interactions with Al Mualim and Altair (maybe early hints of the creed, and extended confession scenes). Finally (I’d love to see more personal side quests with the bureau leaders)

For the Ezio Trilogy, I’d love to see an overhaul of the combat and parkour, but also enemy variety. I’d love to see more side missions that deal with politics of the Borgia and Medici in AC2 and more side stories with Leonardo and the thieves guild in Venice. For the stealth, improved blending would be sick. ACB needs more of an expansion than reinvention, but I’d love to see a skill tree for the recruits, unique personalities, and loyalty missions. Expanding Rome to include more of the underground catacombs, the Vatican, and more of the Borgia strongholds. Seeing how Cesare’s influence grew to what it was would be interesting as Ezio undoes everything he built. AC Revelations needs an atmospheric upgrade along with a narrative expansion and overhaul of Constantinople. Expanding the Altair segments (if Ubisoft is trying to focus more on the period than the modern day), more combat utility for the hookblade, expanding the galata and imperial district, crafting redesign, and more missions with Yusuf.

For AC3, I’d want to see an overhaul to movement, combat, pacing, and the world density. Overhauling the frontier to have more settlements, more wildlife systems, and expanding the hunting. I’d also love to have more of a smoother tree traversal system and better rooftop parkour in Boston and New York. Preserve Connor’s brutality for the combat, but adding chain parries and weapon perks. Adding deeper character arcs to the homestead, more homestead missions, and upgrades to the land. For story pacing, I’d reduce the tutorial length (save most for Rogue) and expand Connor’s early brotherhood development. For the naval missions, bring them up to Resynced’s naval quality.

Finally, AC Rogue needs a massive expansion of the story, modern naval combat, and deeper Templar systems (making it a balanced experience with both Haytham and Shay). Expanding the Templar influence with loyalty missions, ideological choices, and unique gear. I’d also overhaul the North Atlantic to have denser settlements, more naval encounters. I’d expand the story to have more missions with Haytham and more buildup to the conflict with Achilles. I’d also want smoother traversal in New York and River Valley (give them horses).

What would you want to see if Ubisoft decided to remake their previous games?

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u/TheGorillaJedi — 1 month ago

I added a dark wash to Anakin’s hair (second photo)

I did a repaint earlier this week of Anakin’s hair, but it did look flat. If there’s one thing I learned, hair is usually best represented with two colors, so I added a black wash to the hair and mahogany brown to make it more accurate.

u/TheGorillaJedi — 1 month ago

I repainted Anakin’s hair by adding a thin layer of Vallejo Mahogany Brown (second photo). It doesn’t look as good on camera, but it is darker now.

u/TheGorillaJedi — 1 month ago

Brothers

I recently picked up the Journey of Anakin Skywalker set. I’m excited to the two pack with the updated Anakin and Cody!

u/TheGorillaJedi — 1 month ago

I touched up the paint on this lightsaber and sealed the paint with Vallejo matte varnish for the black grip section and Vallejo satin varnish for the emitter, neck, switch, and pommel.

For paints, I used Vallejo Game Color Glorious Gold and Game Color Silver as those are durable paints.

When it comes to varnishes that brush on, it’s best to give them a full day to cure. Varnishes protect the paint from scratching and rub and I often use them on 6” figures, but this time around, it was the first time I used it on a 3.75 accessory in order to prevent rub on the figure.

u/TheGorillaJedi — 2 months ago

With SDCC happening this month, what do you think we’re going to see revealed?

I’m wondering if we’re going to see some more Jedi for Battle of Geonosis. Would love to see an updated Yoda and Kit Fisto for sure, along with an updated Mace Windu.

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u/TheGorillaJedi — 2 months ago

One of the reasons I came back to TVC and 3.75: fully painted accessories

Getting back into TVC and 3.75 recently reminded me of something the line still does better than Black Series: paint-accurate accessories.

For a lower price, TVC and 3.75 still give us lightsabers and blasters that are fully painted and screen-accurate to the actual props.

Meanwhile, Black Series has stopped doing this for figures like the recent Lord Starkiller, RotS Obi-Wan, Jedi Dooku, and Jango Fett, where the Obi-Wan’s hilt is missing a hit of silver at the emitter, Jedi Dooku’s saber is missing silver paint and is cast in a molded gray plastic, and Jango’s armor being partially painted and cast in that dull gray plastic (same thing with Lord Starkiller).

It’s wild that TVC and 3.75 does a better job at premium figures by treating the accessories like real props instead of generic accessories and this accuracy is one of many reasons I drifted back - you get more detail for less and the figures feel like they belong in the world they’re representing.

Curious if anyone else has noticed this shift, or if it’s been part of your collecting decisions too.

u/TheGorillaJedi — 2 months ago

Do lightsabers have paint rub when it comes to putting them in a figure’s hands?

When I started collecting the modern figures, I noticed that the lightsabers would experience a paint rub on a figures hands if they were handled too much, but I wanted to find out if that was still something that happens? I used to have lightsabers go from being fully painted, to revealing the translucent color of the blade on the rest of the lightsaber.

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u/TheGorillaJedi — 2 months ago

I’m always amazed by how far this line has come.

I remember for my birthday one year, when Hasbro had HasbroToyShop (previous name of Hasbro Pulse), they were offering case assortments for the first couple waves of TVC and I remember getting this Ultimate Galactic Hunt (foil card-back) Obi-Wan in one of those assortments (along with an UGH Anakin) and those case assortments were some of the best ways to save money and time when it came to collecting. I do wish Hasbro still sold case assortments on Pulse, but at least there’s Entertainment Earth.

When I got the new Obi-Wan (VC398), I wanted to compare and see how that looked in comparison and it amazes me to see how far TVC has come with figures in terms of likeness and articulation, making the world-building aspect more dynamic.

How has your experience been so far with TVC and 3.75?

u/TheGorillaJedi — 2 months ago

I redid my previous custom of Anakin as a Padawan using the updated RotS body and Kit Fisto arms. I also repainted the face and hair.

u/TheGorillaJedi — 2 months ago

I repainted the hair and beard on my TVC Clone Wars Obi-Wan

I thought the hair on the figure was initially too dark and I wanted it to match the hair color of the new RotS Obi-Wan, so I took a base of Game Color Khaki and added a wash of Game Color Parasite Brown and this was the result.

u/TheGorillaJedi — 2 months ago