At long last, my squad of Marines are combat drop ready. (Still need to finish Bishop, but who counts him?!)

Dietrich was by far the hardest marine to make and by no means do I think she is actually "done". There is a huge void in the 1/6th world for female options. Forget about finding a Cynthia Scott look-alike. Its all I could do to find a female that wasnt a "vixen/doll" type head. Female sized boots and armor?! HA! Had to get creative. For nowt he foundation is just a late 90s GI Joe head from their 'GI Jane line". Its as generic and non-sultry as I could find.

I hope to upgrade heads at some point and forgot all about her wrap on her hand when I took the pics. As always, these are cell phone pics and kind of suck! Sorry for the dark/blurryness. I'll fix everything and take proper ones as soon as I am able.

I still can't shake the feeling it looks like "Colonial Marines Barbie" but its the best I can do for now!

Anyways...


Her helmet cover was made using excess material from cutting down my Wierzbowski figure's sleeves and "liquid stitch".

(The waterslide Nurse Caduceus needs some work)

BDUs are semi-tailored using liquid stitch. Simple folding parts over and gluing them down to avoid excess bagginess.



(The "Kiss my..." bled too much. Impossible to fix without replacing pants and I'm kind of bitter)



To show scale next to the upgraded Apone




I kind of lucked out on the Armor in a sense. Hot Toys armor is overpriced and is WAY too big to fit a female body. I was expecting to need to scratch build my own, but I stumbled across a set of old resin armor on the OSW forum. It appeared to be the "russian" variant based off the EVA kit. From what I gathered they were unsanctioned recasts and are to be despised, so I had no problem chopping one up. (I am aware of the fact that by buying it, I did in part keeping the evil legacy going, and I do hate that, but it ends here).

With a dremel I cut away the knee pads (making them smaller and more accurate) and the armpit area of the back and breast plates (making them smaller). I scratch built the middle lobster plate and trimmed down the lower plate. The shoulder bells and shin guards were already smaller than the hot toys versions, which made life easier.

To get the breast plate to fit, I soaked it in boiling water for a bit. Since it was already reduced, the resin softened and I could bend it around the figure for a snug fit. Boom. Instant female sized armor. The ab plate was even already attached to the breastplate just like her real one.


Example of naturally smaller features (resin on left, Hot toys on right)


To finish it all off, I slapped on as many loose hot toys accessories as I could scrounge up to accurately hook her up and painted the armor as best I could. I did use Olive Drab in the paint so it would come closer to matching the Hot Toys figures it would be displayed with, but I couldnt bring myself to use that aweful yellow/green tint instead of 'sand' that hot toys uses. Just aweful.

Fine tuning and tweaking will follow, as with all figures. Big Big Big group photo shoot party to come when everyone is perfect. For now, whenever I am feeling down I just roll into my man cave and let these guys brighten my day!

(Never mind the fact that my bank account after taking on this undertaking is usually why I'm feeling down!!! )

Damn Man!

That is one awesome (and expensive) looking collection!



Kevin

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I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

Awesome work man! Sure the face isn't 100%, but you nailed the details (Tattoo! Graffiti! Low slung holster!). Just great!

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DOES WANT!!! Great job!

Wait, where is the MOST important member of "the team" Gorman? lol Looks awesome for sure!!!

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"Tyranny will know our name, for we will carve it into his forehead."

No ground to give...not 1 inch... Major T. Gunn

Gorman is on the bottom shelf between Vasquez and Ripley. His OD fatigues are the giveaway.

But where is Private Roberts AKA Bigbisont? You've got to make a 1/6th version of yourself, remember you fought on LV-426 too!

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HA! Yeah "I" did... My brother just asked me that same question. He said "You can't be done! You havent made 'You'!" I fear 'I' may have to wait. A fella on ebay just parted out some armor that was a gut punching reminder that I am frankly insanely lucky to have collected what I did, when I did, how I did. I fear my "me" will have to wait until someone starts producing original 1/6th armor in kit form. If something falls into my lap again though, you never know. I'm always on the lookout! I'll get there someday.

Thanks for the always kind words fellas!

Dang, I did not get to edit my post in time. i meant to say Burke. Still worked to say Gorman though, the may as well NOT have been there team member until the last 2 minutes sort of member. lol

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"Tyranny will know our name, for we will carve it into his forehead."

No ground to give...not 1 inch... Major T. Gunn

Burke should be a snap! I'm sure Mattel made a tan vest and plaid shirt for Ken at some point...

Don't stop now Bigbisont!

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You know I am thinking about making a Burke actually! Just 'thinking about' at this stage. The problem is without a true likeness on the head sculpt, he will look like "just a guy" to anyone except the most hard core of plaid shirt and khaki vest experts But I have Bishop about 80% done. I hope to make a 'civie' with a chest burster popping out. I have a tech manual smart gunner brewing, and I still am working on my Video Game Weyland Yutani guys. Done with my main marines, but far from escaping the hobby! I'm just glad to be past the most expensive part. Good ol fashion scratch building and scrounging should get me the rest of the way through.

I have a friend on facebook who does custom heads for 1/6th figures. She mainly does Planet of the Apes, but I've seen some others she has done. I have no idea what it costs, but her sculpts are beautiful and she can recreate faces from pictures very accurately. I can PM you her info if you would like.

Charlie

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"There is a clause in the contract which specifically states any systematized transmission indicating a possible intelligent origin must be investigated. On penalty of total forfeiture of shares. No money."

Nice work! I like the detailing.

That....is awesome.

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"Awww, someone tell me that's a boot!

It's a boot!"

III drops

Check out the pipes on Vasquez!

Yeah, the little girl arms are def on my list of "tweaks". In fact, I posted this pic on another forum


Tried to 'show off' the chest rig and S&W I made for Vaz and all anyone said was how Gorman should not look "more manly" than Vaz! Eh... a necessary evil for now. To change bodies means a risk of mis-matched skin tones of face and body because the head has been repainted to match that body (previous owner decision that I am living with). Im looking for more buff "triad" bodies though. It will come in time, baby. No worries.




Please do PM me. Not sure I'm in a super 'spendy' mood after all this, but I actually am looking for 4 different headsculpts at the moment that are impossible to find acceptable alternatives to. Can't hurt to touch base and see what the going rate is. Thanks.


Had a minor break through with Bishop. So it will be posted soon. The collection is not yet complete after all! Bishop very soon to follow

How are you going to display them....diorama? Amazing job.

Thanks man. As of now, they are just on the ol' shelf around the fireplace in my basement. To the left is my squad, in the middle are some aliens/preds/other interests and some 1:1 items. To the right of my mantle is all my "glory days" crap (trophies, sports stuff, etc)




The whole thing does need a bit of an overhaul. I guess I'm waiting until I truly "finish" this little 1/6th obsession so I know how many figures I need to make room for. But for now...what you see is how its displayed!

They look so cool all together like that, makes my wip hudson look a little lonesome haha.

Man your work makes my guys look so damn "plastic"! I love that Hudson head and wish I had one. Everyone spends so much time drooling over "game over" faces, but I prefer my Hudson to be cocky/overconfident. I dont want whiny people on my shelf! Your armor, weathering, paint, and damn, that base! Always steller, man.

Great job both of you!

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Thankyou for the kind words. I totally agree with you about the face, much prefer the regular version.