Mark Hamill as "Luke Skywalker"
in STAR WARS, 1977
Okay, here it is again -- a custom
figure based on one of Gentle
Giant's awesome headsculpts. This
one intrigued me because while the
others were based on laser scans,
they couldn't have had a laser scan
of young Mark Hamill. That means
the Gentle Giant mini-bust was
sculpted by a human artist, and that's
what makes it all the more amazing.
Sideshow Toy is also making a Luke
Skywalker in 1:6 scale, but they
elected to make Luke the Jedi, as he
was in Return of the Jedi. For me,
though, it was Star Wars that
launched the franchise, and his
character goes through the greatest
developmental arc
in this film. For
me, this is the
Luke character
most worth
immortalizing in
1:6 scale.
in STAR WARS, 1977
Okay, here it is again -- a custom
figure based on one of Gentle
Giant's awesome headsculpts. This
one intrigued me because while the
others were based on laser scans,
they couldn't have had a laser scan
of young Mark Hamill. That means
the Gentle Giant mini-bust was
sculpted by a human artist, and that's
what makes it all the more amazing.
Sideshow Toy is also making a Luke
Skywalker in 1:6 scale, but they
elected to make Luke the Jedi, as he
was in Return of the Jedi. For me,
though, it was Star Wars that
launched the franchise, and his
character goes through the greatest
developmental arc
in this film. For
me, this is the
Luke character
most worth
immortalizing in
1:6 scale.
The headsculpt was so
nicely done that, unlike the
Agent Smith head (which I
felt needed a resculpted
mouth) or the Neo (which
lacked facial detail), I didn't
need to change a thing,
beyond sculpting a workable
neck for mounting.
Most of the work on this
figure came in the the way
of the costume. The fabric
parts were taken from a
Hasbro figure and left loose,
and unmodified. It's
supposed to have a
over-large, drapey feeling.
nicely done that, unlike the
Agent Smith head (which I
felt needed a resculpted
mouth) or the Neo (which
lacked facial detail), I didn't
need to change a thing,
beyond sculpting a workable
neck for mounting.
Most of the work on this
figure came in the the way
of the costume. The fabric
parts were taken from a
Hasbro figure and left loose,
and unmodified. It's
supposed to have a
over-large, drapey feeling.
The belt is completely
made from scratch from
pleather, plastic,
aluminum, and
cardboard. It was then
painted, detailed and
weathered.
made from scratch from
pleather, plastic,
aluminum, and
cardboard. It was then
painted, detailed and
weathered.
The footwear was done in two parts:
the shoes/boots, and the leg wraps
(which is a nice touch, as Luke lives
in the desert and these keep the
sand out). Once again, I used the
same technique as I did for Marty
McFly's shoes and Gladiator's boots:
sculpt an original positive pair, mold
negatives in latex, and then cast
positives in flexible urethane. I then
weathered and aged the shoes to
look like the ones in the film. The
leggings were crafted from standard
1/4" double fold bias tape, and
stitched into place.
the shoes/boots, and the leg wraps
(which is a nice touch, as Luke lives
in the desert and these keep the
sand out). Once again, I used the
same technique as I did for Marty
McFly's shoes and Gladiator's boots:
sculpt an original positive pair, mold
negatives in latex, and then cast
positives in flexible urethane. I then
weathered and aged the shoes to
look like the ones in the film. The
leggings were crafted from standard
1/4" double fold bias tape, and
stitched into place.
The lightsaber is a modified Hasbro
lightsaber. I removed the oversized
plastic O-ring for hanging, added a
smaller metal ring, and also pulled
out the clear blue "blade".
lightsaber. I removed the oversized
plastic O-ring for hanging, added a
smaller metal ring, and also pulled
out the clear blue "blade".