Phase 2 Clone Upgrade

[YAK_Chewie]

Anyone who has talked with me in the TVC forum section knows I am very unhappy with Hasbro's attempt at a Phase 2 clone. Compared to what they are capable of, that figure was a disaster, and last March, forum members voted that they'd rather see the proposed Clone Trooper below instead.




So, over Thanksgiving break, I decided to try and do something about it because Hasbro isn't budging and their recent presentation photos show they are still using a bulky helmet for Phase 2 clones, which I feel is beyond ridiculous.

Here's what I did... and what you need if you want to try this yourself.




Step 1 - Gather the following:

- Clone VC # 45 body
- ROTS style non-removable helmet
- Hot glue gun
- Dremel





Step 2 - Insert hot glue into the non-removable helmet






Step 3 - Allow glue to dry, then dremel a small hole into the dried glue






Step 4 - Place non-removable helmet onto the body






Step 5 - Repeat as desired






Step 6 - Take photos of what Hasbro SHOULD have made, which probably would have resulted in much greater success for TVC


...so, there you go. So easy, even Hasbro can do it (but I have a feeling they won't).


...and after a while, I painted these guys, giving them a bit of weathering. I actually painted these guys extensively, but it really doesn't show up too much in the pics.

[jlw515]

I'm not a big fan of clones, but I'm glad to see that you made the clone figure you wanted.

These clones are kind of like Boba Fett. No matter how bad that removeable Fett helmet looks, Hasbro probably isn't going to ever change the figure.

Jason

[Kolti Wan Kenobi]

They look great! Nice job.

[jediknutt]

There's actually an even easier way. If you don't want to dremel that is. Put Vaseline on the neck peg and while the hot glue is still hot, put the head on the peg. The glue will form to the shape of the peg. Then just scrape off any excess. You won't need as much hot glue either. Great idea though. This should help clear out some pegwarmers.

[Diddly]

Looks awesome. If I could afford more Clone bodies and Legends Clones I'd totally try this.

[DanOfTheDead]

Great tutorial!

Works great on just about any head swap kids!

[DanOfTheDead]

There's actually an even easier way. If you don't want to dremel that is. Put Vaseline on the neck peg and while the hot glue is still hot, put the head on the peg. The glue will form to the shape of the peg. Then just scrape off any excess. You won't need as much hot glue either. Great idea though. This should help clear out some pegwarmers.

I use a method similar to this, but I just dip the peg in water before I stick it in the head and work it around a bit so it doesn't stick.

I do think the fill in/ dremel method is a little more consistently reliable for snug, clean fit, at least in my experience. But the water dip method is quick and easy!

[YAK_Chewie]

Looks awesome. If I could afford more Clone bodies and Legends Clones I'd totally try this.

I might have an extra Clone head or two if you end up wanting to give it a whirl.

[Orangepeace]

PM you Chewie.

[YAK_Chewie]

Just as I feared... the helmet on the upcoming deluxe clone is oversized.

[YAK_Chewie]

Took me a while, but I finally got around to painting these guys!





I'm not the best painter around, but something tells me that if Hasbro used these parts, and gave the figure a bit of a wash, they'd have a new market for clones again.

To paint these figures, this is the technique I used:

1 - paint entire armor on each figure with Testors FLAT SAND acrylic paint, using dry brush technique
2 - after it dries, mix Testors FLAT BLACK acrylic paint with water, and "wash" the entire figure with it
3 - after it dries, dry brush armor again with Testors FLAT WHITE acrylic paint, but do it lightly
4 - after it dries, dry brush the armor again, this time with Testores GLOSS WHITE acrylic paint, but do it lightly
5 - after it tries, detail the areas of the figure wtih Testors FLAT BLACK acrylic paint

[YAK_Chewie]

A forum member at Rebelscum has made this process even easier - check out Wishing_Well's method of getting the older ROTS helmet to fit onto the newer bodies HERE.

Here's a couple pics, posted with his permission:







The product stuffed up in the helmet on the right is called Blu Tac, and can be purchased in the office supply section at Wal-Mart for just a few bucks!