Post Your Custom Figures/Models

[adegregorio]

On to the right arm. I want the arm in the bended position so the Elder is holding his necklace.

I had to trim some of the inner side of the arm for clearance for the gauntlet.

Then I seperate the arm in 2 positions and glue the top of the male part of the forearms rod and push it in the female opening just enough for the glue to hold.



Using my AVES putty, I jam it into the open space and smooth it out a bit.



Then I sculpt in the predators skin using various sculpting tools making sure it matchs all the skins lines.



I had no idea the Right side gauntlet was from the P2 Predator until someone here pointed it out to me (thank you). So I dive into my stash of Predator kits/parts to find a P2 gauntlet.

Luckily I had a 1/5 size P2 gauntlet and made a casting from it. Looks good to me!



Thanks for looking, now onto the sheath...

[adegregorio]

Here's a shot of the arm in position. I think this will work out pretty good.



Also sculpted over those pesky screws on the straps. Added the necessary details to blend them together.



Thanks for lookin... 

[adegregorio]

Thanks guys for checkin it out! :panic:

There seems to be some discrepincies regarding the sheath. I have spent hours looking for pictures and doing research. There is only a few good shots of it, and they are not even that good in quality.

From what I can tell from my reference pics, there seems to be a skull on the top of the sheath. Looks like it has some kind of brass thingy hanging from it with some beads and bones attached.

The sheath may be leather or snake skin and has intertwining ropes flanking each side.

The NECA Elder Predator's sheath has a ribcage hanging on it, which is incorrect. The rib cage should be hanging from the Elders pouch on his left side, not on top of the sheath.



So, I came up with this. For the ropes, I used soldering wire. I attached the ends to a drill and spun it until it was intertwined.

I wrap each side of the sheath with the wires in the wet putty to secure it. I will add the bones and jewelry during final assembley.

Again, using my onion bag, I press a nice snake pattern into the sheath. I also added the little spinal bone. I thought it looked cool below the skull.

I Know it may not be movie accurate, but it will do. And I'm sure Joe is going to make it look awesome!!!



I also found a ribcage in my box of spare parts. It's attached with a nail to secure it. After paint, I'll add the straps that hold it on.



Now onto the head conversion. 

[adegregorio]

So how could I do all this customizing on this Elder, and not put his laser sights on top of his cannon? Well here it is.

I rummange through my bin of spare parts and find a 1/6 scale scope from a rifle.



I cut out the center part of the scope and then I drilled out the centers. I then cut 3 q-tips to the desired length and glue them in place mimicking the tri-laser sight.



I had some left over fiber optic cable from a previous project I did so I thought I would use them on this. I also found a nice black hollow cable to house the fiber optic wires.
I'm running 5 fiber optic wires per laser hole...for a total of 15.

I also have a jar of little led light from various toys that I pulled apart. I found a red one...lucky!!!



I thread the LED wires thru the black cable and then seperate them into 5 each and slide them down the q-tip cylinders.

Then I push the LED light up into the little plactic cylinder/black tubing that houses the ends of the fiberoptic lights.

And here it is attached and lit. The great part about using the q-tips is that they are white inside. So when the fiber optic lights go on, it glows all around inside the tube.



I still need to sculpt a little box around the LED batteries, which will be placed under neath the open space just above the shoulder where the cannon rests.

More to come, so stay tuned! 

[adegregorio]

I tore up the Elder's loin cloth in the back. I think it adds a subtle touch to the old look....



OK, WIP pics of the head coming soon. 

[adegregorio]

Ok, so we all know the head (and the body as well) is the original predator head modified to look more like an older Predator.

For example: the boney protrusions, broken tusk, more quills, colored dreads and beads, and multiple ridges in the forehead area.

All these things are what makes Predator Elder stand out. I saved the head for last because I knew this would make or break this custom figure. So here we go...

I started on the head detailing. I roll out some AVES in long tubes and run them parallel leaving a ridge right up the frontal bone.

I use a pointed wooden dowl wet at the end and start sculpting in my lines. I use irregular patterns to make it look more natural. I also smooth out the edges to make them blend in with the already sculpted head.

One trick I use to get multiple lines at once is I use a long threaded bolt. I take the thread side and lay it on the wet putty and twirl the bolt in different directions.

You can go deep or hard depending on how thick the threads are on the bolt.



More to come... 

[adegregorio]

Flatened out the ridges a little more. It was a bit too high.

[adegregorio]

I sculpted this little box to house the LED and fiber optic cables on top of his shoulder cannon. I tried to make it look like part of the backpack.

The wires come from inside the box to the laser sight.

I know it's not movie accurate, but I needed it for the LED conversion.



Now back to sculpting the rest of the head...

[adegregorio]

More head detailing...

Now onto the sides and lower mandibles. I spread some putty around the cheek bones simulating a half moon.

I use a little paint cap to position where I want to place the boney protrusions. Then I drop a little ball of putty on the circle and manipulate it into a little bone.

I mirror the same to each side of the cranium using the previous step.





I alter the mouth gums by adding two more sets of teeth. I also add some little boney protrusions on the lower part of his cheek.

I fill in those pesky break lines where the factory added the closed mouth on. For example: under his chin, sides of his cheeks and the top of the mouth.



More to come...

[adegregorio]

Heres a shot of the final head sculpt. I think it looks pretty good!

I added the little teeth in the front and on the sides and put a few more boney protrusions around.

I'm not too crazy about how long the front mandibles are. From my reference pics, they look to be a bit shorter in length.

One more modification to the mandibles and we're all done.



More to come...thanks for lookin! 

[delsaber8]

nice job.

[freedomfighter1111]

yes it looks great cant wait to see it finished

[adegregorio]

Thanks guys, glad you like it... 

Well, I trimmed down the mandibles to the correct size. I also beefed up the right tooth a little bit.

I made the tooth so it comes off. I did this so Joe could paint the inside of the mouth. Otherwise, it would have been very tricky to paint.

Joe wanted me to prime the head and send him a pic to see if I needed to change or alter anything. He likes it! Says it ready for paint. 



Ok, a few more full shots of the whole piece assembled and then it's off to Joe's lair... 

[OmegaZilla]

f**k, how does this have such a small amount of comments? You're doing a f**king fabulous job, man.

[Monstuh]

I'll say! This thing is a masterpiece!
You've totally transformed his head to look like the elder. The detail is awesome as well. What did you use? An exacto knife or something?

Amazing job. I'm gonna drool a little when I see it painted, I just know it.