SS Kanamit into Chewie and Darth--- HELP!!!

I bow at the feet of greatness---
I am but an insignificant worm waiting to bask in the glow that is your matin.
Aid me oh great ones...

OK, enough kissing up. I've got two SS 14" Kanamit figs (love Richard Kiel--best Bond villain------EVER... that's The Spy Who Loved Me Jaws and not weepy Moonraker Jaws) on the way and now that I've got the customizing bug (one slave Leia, and I took my second Aragorn-- non exc--- and with some TIMELINE Dragon fig armour along with other stuff I've made him look like TTT Helm's Deep Aragorn, my favorite part of the trilogy) and I'm looking to, reaching up beyond my means perhaps, customize a Chewbacca and a Darth Vader from those two Kanamits. I need help.

Speicifically, what Hasbro figs would you suggest would be the best to cannibalize? I own the Ultimate Villain Vader but I've heard that there are better older Hasbro 12" figs to use for parts. Can you point me in the right direction? Also which Chewie would you suggest I tackle--- the hairy/furry one that's floating around?

Once I've acquired the added body parts a la Mary Shelley's egocentric mad scientist what's the best way to hack them up? Suggestions for tools that I should have at the ready? Specific adhesive that you would suggest that I pick up? Lots of questions but I'd love if you could point me in the right direction... I'll document the experiment of this newbie customizer and maybe this thread could be used by others to create these two iconic SW figs.

Hope to hear from some of you soon... I'll descend back down the mountain now and leave you to sip your tea and discuss proper dremel techniques.

Thanks guys (and gals?)

If you're asking about Vaders, then Hurricane is the man to ask.... he knows more about making Vaders than any of us. And to be honest I really cant be much help here, as I've never got into the whole 'building bodies' side of things yet... I just do sculpting and painting so far.

But there are PLENTY of people here who can help you. And I can't wait to see how you get along with this!

Darren

I'm kinda in the same situation as Darren... I don't really do much alteration to the standard bodies... I just repaint and dress accordingly. Probably why I haven't tackled Vader or Chewie myself!

I know Les and Mikey have done this very thing, so they might be more help. Same with Hurricane. I hope you get this together, I'd love to see the end result!! Then I'd have plenty of reason to bow at your feet as well!

Thanks for the quick response guys... I'll definitely continually update this thread once I start the projects--- hopefully with a positive (or somewhat workable result).

Here is my Kanamit Bash How-To from my thread. Hope it helps.

It has been requested that I show how I bash the Kanamit to make super-tall bodies, like the ones used for my FVJ Jason and my Ep III Vader, so here we go! By the way,I also think this would be an EXCELLENT body for a Chewbacca!

Here is Kanamit sans robe and silvery pants. His head is too large to take the t-shirt off. Next to him is a standard Sideshow body. I need both to do this.



The first thing I need to do is remove the forearms and lower legs of the standard body below the elbows and knees. This is done rather violently I'm afraid, by sticking needle nose pliers into the joint and spreading them so that the parts crack at their seams. This sometimes doesn't go so well.



Sometimes the part doesn't open properly, and will break. Generally, it;s not such a big deal, since super-glue is very effective on this plastic. Here is the standard body with the necessary parts separated.



Next, I boil some water and drown the Kanamit for about two minutes, to get the vinyl soft enough that I can pull of his head with little effort.


That done, I proceed to forcefully remove his limbs in the exact same manner as I did the standard body.


Here you can see the difference in limb length between the standard and the Kanamit. Kanamit has freakishly long wrists and Go Go boots, but the limbs are otherwise pretty much the same length. You can also see WHY all this is needed, as the Kanamit has no wrist articulation and has these freakish boots instead of real feet.



By now I'm sure you know what comes next. The standard limbs get snapped back onto the Kanamit body, the seams glued where necessary to insure a good tight fit. Once glued, I wrap the limbs with a little electrical tape just to reinforce and hold the parts in place while the glue dries.


This particular figure is going to be a vessel for an OT Ghost of Anakin Skywalker. Here you can see I've attached the head by sawing off the neck post of the Tall Hasbro body (the neck is like a Ken doll, ball-jointed in the head)and gluing it to the Kanamit neck, which was cut from the Kanamit's head. So, now I have ball-joint articulation above and below the neckline. I also cut off the Kanamit's hands at the wrists and drilled little holes so that they will fit on the standard wrist pegs. I've also wrapped his midsection and calves to give him a little more girth and to widen his legs so that the boots will stay on.


I really want to get to painting the head, but first I need to make sure the outfit will look good on the new body. I ended up having to extend the sleeves and trousers, and ditching the Hasbro robe for the better looking SSC version (provided by Qui-Gon, who is stuck in his poncho now!)


Click my banner to find pics of the finished figure!!

For the Vader project, I would use the belt with the cod piece removed, inner tunic, helmet and the burnt crispy head from the Hasbro Ultimate collection. As far as for the rest of the armor Id use the Screamin Darth vader kit, its a bit tricky to find but you might run across one on e-bay.
P.M. me I might be able to help with some Vader parts, maybe we can trade.
Sorry I dont have any suggestions for the Chewie, but am looking forward on your progress on him.

I'm not a fan of the Crouching Screamin' kit.

I much prefer the armor on the Kaiyodo kit, which Screamin' imported sometimes.

Here is a pic of the helmet form the Kaiyodo.

Thats the one I ment. Mike is right I would not get that crouching version. And thanks Mikey for that tutorial it was very helpful. Just shows how everyone has a diffrent aproch at doing things. I personaly have 3 diffrent ways of extending my Vaders and love the way you do it.

And BTW, if any of you are looking to get rid of those extra Kanamit Heads, forearms and/or boots....please drop me an email.

That body would work VERy well. EXCELLENT!

To make Chewie, I just cannibalised two furry Hasbro Chewies. I made my Vader 13 inch and Chewie 14. First, cut both Chewies fur suits up the back and carefully rip the fur clothes off of the Hasbro Chewie wire armature. There's no body in there! You will have to cut the wire from the feet and wrists to get a full "Chewie fur suit". Once you have the two Chewies 'skinned', I cut one in half just under the arm pits and the other in half just above the legs. I sewed the two together to add height to Chewis body suit. Hasbros is kinds short! You can dress your 14 inch body in the suit ( I sewed mine on in the back) and attach the wrists and legs to the SS Kanamit by adding the pivot joints to the inside of the Chewie suits hands and feet and re-attaching them to the SS body. I cut the head of Chewie off from the body suit to simulate the real costume. I took the spare Chewie head from the discarded Chewie I had left over to do the head. I sculpted onto a GI Joe head the muzzle and snout of Chewie, leaving the eyes alone. Make sure the eyes are blue!
Add the fur to the head creating a mask that overlaps onto the chest like the real costume and you have it! Just mod the bandolier and bowcaster and you are in for some Chewie fun!:chew

For my Vader, back in 98, I think, I used some model parts but if I did mine today I'd also use parts from the Kaiyodo kit with the Hasbro heads of ROTJ Ani and Ep 3 KFC Ani inside.

GOOD LUCK!

Let me know if any of my rambling didn't make sense.

Brinn 71

This was ALL very helpful---- a daunting task for a newbie but I aim to have a go. I'll try to post regular updates so that you guys can chastise me and mock my crude hacking...

Thanks once again.

Customikey said:

I'm not a fan of the Crouching Screamin' kit.

I much prefer the armor on the Kaiyodo kit, which Screamin' imported sometimes.

Here is a pic of the helmet form the Kaiyodo.

Click to expand...

Which version is the Crouching version??

I believe its this one:

Why do I hear the old TV Mission Impossible theme now...

This set is a VERY daunting task for ANY customizer!
But, so far, the advice given is first rate.
I have no pics to tell of this, nor any Kanamit bodies, so I need to leave you with those that have perhaps.

As for a Chewie, I took two furry Hasbros and simply added leg length to mine, and no transfers, nor any of that. Just a taller Hasbro. So, again, no help there really.

SO...when in doubt...

ASK HURRICANE! He, and he alone, is the one true master of the realm you are now engaged. I would trust him above all others. And Mikey's tutorial is above reproach.

Good luck!
This tape will self destruct in 5 seconds....

(Wish I could give you more help DN)

Some excellent advice--- both here and through PM---thanks!
I picked up a model Kaiyodo kit



and the funny thing is I found the fur on one of those plush M&M's could be useful for the Chewie--I should elaborate: I scalped the pseudo chocolate delight and then slipped the ready made furry vest onto the front of my 14" SS Jaws... it convered him very nicely and if the fur matches it might be a nice way to hide any incisions or hacking job on the Hasbro Chewie. The M&M also has ready made furry "slippers" that might be an easy fit for Chewie's feet (along with a furry Chewie that I'll be receiving shortly from a fellow SSFreak)... Anyway that's me at the bottom of Mount Everest--- thanks for being my shirpas (sp?)!!!

DN, Please be arware that this kit looks to be a recasted kit and not an original Kaiyodo one. This recast is a little smaller than the original and the mask/helmet cannot be made to do a full reveal with an Anikan head. The good news is that the rest of the armor will work well for your custom. Hope this helps.

Thank you very much katkuru. It is very helpful. I'll experiment with it once it arrives. The entire procedure will be very much a trial and error one as I am a novice in the customizing field (only two very basic attempts so far: slave Leia and Helm's Deep Aragorn). But if I keep a record of what I do hopefully others might find it useful in their own attempts. Thanks once again for the advice.

Well, guess i should help, my vaders have all been diferent all depends what the customer wants,primarily i use the hasbro talky vaders torso, to house all the elctronics,voice,lights,power source(s) invertor for the cathode sabers, onto this i use the same figures legs,(they need to be stiff to support the weight of all the electronic greebles) however the knees are altered,the feet cut off and replaced with ball jointed ankles.As for arms Ive used many but find the marmit dolls arms best, they are long enough after some fiddling, and offer good articulation along with a ball on the wrist to allow jointed wrists. ALWAYS use kaiyodo/screamin GENUINE model kits , forget the recasts they are useless.However my most recent ROTS used the kotobukiya helmet /armor etc, hollowed out and fully detailed, in and out.ive made couple that havent needed the hasbro talky vaders torso, a small loom has been made with button cell power for the lights.some of the hasbro talky vader torsos have had a swivel joint added to the waist and on occasion a ball jointed one, (the older hasbro base bodies have identical sized waists and can be grafted on)One or two have had completely custom made bodies, using lengthened(and widened) sideshow limbs and torsos
and thats all i have to say about that
seriously specific questions (may) get specific answers

Awesome Hurricane... Thanks so much for your advice... Mine won't even be in the same ballpark as your throwaways but even the longest journey begins with a single step---

I just bought a nude Hot Toys Ancient Predator. I'm stocking it away for the future. The body might be perfect for a Vader.