My current exploration of Star Wars Black Series custom figures is focused on the creatures and characters of the Mos Eisley Cantina, and after finishing off my Hem Dazon figure I started work on Kabe from the Cantina scene thanks to a 3D printed head sculpt by Scottacus Customs.
Kabe is a relatively simple recipe and is true to my custom figure boundaries of limiting painting and extensive sculpted or adjustsd custom parts in favour of making existing figures work with the 3D printed parts that are now revolutionising the customising world. Kabe uses a Teeka Jawa body with the waistcoat removed, which does have to be done by popping off the arms (or simply cutting it). Any Jawa will suffice, but Teeka was readily available and also features a lighter colouring to the robe.
Over the top of this is a vest from Greedo painted in white. This was perhaps the biggest challenge as rubbery plastic is harder to paint and my first attempt saw the paintwork crack when I tried to get it back on the figure. This was resolved the second time around by again removing the Jawa’s arms - then placing the vest over the top and reattaching the arms through the vest.
The head sculpt is excellent and I was worried I could do the paint job justice. I have just discovered the Speedpaint line from The Army Painter and tested this out on Kabe to see if it would improve my very rudimentary paint and wash skills. Kabe’s head and the Jawa’s hands were given a base flesh tone undercoat, then the Speedpaint was applied over the top. One coat looked ok, but the second really brought out the definition of the fur. I left the inner lining of the ears unpainted and gave them a wet look with some semi-gloss varnish. The eyes were painted black, then also varnished and the figure finished off with some white for the teeth.
I have cheated on the head joint from the Jawa to Kabe, using a ball of Blu-Tac, for now, to keep it positioned. As I learn a few more techniques I may go back and try and get a fully articulated fit. The figure is finished off with a 3D-printed cup painted brown.
Keep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports
About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...