My customising work tends to focus on modern action figures and I would never contemplate working on a beloved vintage figure unless it was damaged. No vintage figures were harmed in the making of these customs. That which was broke is now whole once more and happy.
The first of two Astromech customs which I wanted to be a reverse colouration of R2-D2 and R5-D4 vintage figures. You might notice his legs are from R5-D4 and R2-D2, I could have repainted the blue one but I liked the quirkiness.
The dome for this Astromech custom is an R2-D2 with sensor scope. The chrome was immaculate, however through play movement, his blue panels were badly worn with only little residue left in the corner recesses.
I used a Tamiya narrow arrow headed cotton bud, dipped into some paint remover, and then gently worked around each of his panels removing any blue remnants. When the blue paint was removed I was delighted to see that his chrome remained intact and glistening.
Using a Tamiya acrylic clear red, I painted each of the former blue sections, I reversed his red lens with a Tamiya acrylic clear blue. His sensor scope was painted using a Tamiya acrylic matt red, dried then re-inserted.
An R5-D4 vintage decal was adhered to his body before re-fitting his limbs and securing with the central screw.
This is the second of my two Astromech customs reversing R5-D4 and R2-D2. Recycled from R5/R2 parts, I repainted his red dome colouring with Tamiya acrylic metallic blue. The blue on his legs were worn so these were refreshed with some Tamiya acrylic matt blue. The collar was badly worn with most of the vacuum metalizing long gone, so I painted this with a Tamiya acrylic chrome
A replacement R2-D2 body decal was cut and adhered before screwing the wee fellow back together. He generally looked good, however his collar lacked its former lustre, so a period searching options to bring back his bling followed.
I watched an excellent YouTube video from Dean Major of All Things 80’s (AT80), lovingly restoring his Kenner M.A.S.K. Outlaw Truck. I noticed the amazing repair work Dean had completed on the trucks formerly well beaten front bumper.
I got in touch with Dean and he shared his secret, the Molotow Liquid Chrome Marker Pen.
I discovered these markers were available in a variety of application sizes. I picked up the marker set which included the 1mm, 2mm and 4mm widths affording options for working on fine details or larger scales.
When the markers arrived, I returned to my custom R5-D2 or R2-D4, dismantled him, broke out my new 1mm marker and got to work re-touching his collar. When dry, the figure was reassembled. His motivator is purring and I’m delighted with the result.
Another culmination of loose parts and boasting the well-worn dome of a vintage popup lightsaber R2-D2 on-top. Artoo’s rusty innards were adorned with a battle damaged body decal. While he might not boast the flash of his fellow custom Astromech’s here, this feisty little one is my favourite of the bunch.
Star Wars: Extraordinary Droids (Hardcover) @ ForbiddenPlanet.com
