Hoth Yourself a Very Merry Giftmas

I’ve thought about how last time around I messed with Herr Pundancer (aka Sundancer) with the Santa Fett that got kicked off with a random Weekender thread that went a little mad. Ok, it went pretty wild as I got into discussion with another forum member and conspired internationally to deliver a figure overseas as a gag gift. Honestly, it was the best fun that I’ve ever had in prep, mod and paint of a model. This is an exercise of fun for me that I do not believe can be substituted in the sense of camaraderie I’ve found in these forums.

I’ve teased the idea that he would get wookies in the ugliest of sweaters which incited the best of reactions of utter refusal. Then I thought to myself that sending a set of Jedi related “Mystic warriors” from Hasslefree minis as I can continue being polite to involve family as gift receivers. I finally set myself on the idea that, since my last shipment to the Beasts of Tabletop was a bit pricey, it might be best to settle for a single kit gift. In all honesty its also another project to put the gloss metallics to use other than the Giftmas decorations for the Bad Santa from the seemingly defunct Spanish company Enigma miniatures and a Krampus mini from Signum that I keep putting off.

Now time to order the figures and consider what oddity I can add to the minis. No @evilstu to implicate as well on delivering merry mayhem. Its all me and I’ve already got the idea of tossing on a string of ornaments hanging from the horns of the tauntons and some long flowing scarves from the troopers. Sitting for a moment knit caps for the troopers with a puff on top might work but there’s a nagging feeling that ushanka style fur hats with floppy fur ear coverings could be better. This will be hashed out later. Gift boxes on the backs of the tauntauns might be fitting as well but that’s iffy for the moment until I get them in hand. The last time I did this the small Giftmas tree on the jetpack was an honest out-of-the-blue random thought so serendipity will be allowed its due here too.

Hooray, the tauntauns have arrived! It’s great to have the project moving along. Time to put these together and see what the fit is like.

With one done its all been great. Getting the second, almost complete success. It seems that the luck of sundancer seems to have extended to this project or Fantasy Flight really has an issue with components for Star Wars Legion. I’ve seen that he had an arm issue with some Crimson Guard that we, the peanut gallery of the Weekender crew, recommended different ways of repairing/replacing. As I looked up info on the Fantasy Flight site and started working with their component reporting system it seems pretty common an issue. Considering that these models “recently” have come out for Q2 and aren’t yet on the replacement list I’ll check back for the next couple of months. If things come down to the wire I’ll just kitbash with what I have. Oh no, the pain of modifying something (can’t you just feel the anguish here?).

In the same manner as when I put Boba Fett together these models are very easy to fit together. From that I readily saw that there was the issue with the left arm for one of the riders. With the sheer size of the tauntauns the mass and heft of the plastic tells me that they should hold together during shipment. As it was later reported Santa Fett had a slight issue during the transatlantic trip with breaking. I’ll be sure to leave the riders unaffixed before boxing so they can be attached later.

Starting to think about the modification done to Santa Fett these models needed something festive as well. There is enough space on the backs of the saddles for presents and would make for interesting visual details of other things. Thinking for a moment that there are two I have been inspired to do one with a bag of toys and the other with coal and attached bundle of switches. Again, there will be bells attached as they worked so well the last time. Since they are outfitted for the cold of Hoth it might be good to add some flowing scarves or maybe oversized earmuffs for festive fun. I’ve also got some gloss black basecoat and some fun metallics to play with that should be interesting to put on baubles and ornaments. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do anything like tinsel but I think I’ll try something like that with color shift paints from Turbo Geek (an alternative to Greenstuff World I found here in the US). Customization can be tricky and this game, with these models in particular, seems to offer a challenge on the Giftmas front.

Yep, a hefty bit of brass rod shoved into the feet of the tauntauns after drilling some holes into the soles and bases. I have learned that international shipping is not kind so I intend on having these turn up in one piece. I’ve also been liberal with the use of 5 min epoxy in order to make sure these f******s are as solid a single piece as possible. Thinking that I will need to turn these about in order to paint them they aren’t yet affixed to the bases. This also gives me some leeway with decorations later like with Santa Fett last year and I know there’s something about keeping the quadrants visible that I’ll get to later.

Considering the modification that will need to be done, for the awkward arm of the rider on the stationary tauntaun, I’m glad to have this portion done. It gave me a bit of ease to feel solid heft from the size of the figures and knowing that there is support that “should” hold as they cross the globe. I think there might only be a slight drawback from the fiddly bits to give the festive flair. Red noses seem fun but a little much. There are already horns so antlers seem redundant.

Honestly, I think that the previous coal/switches and candy/toys idea is the best thing to run with. On top of that I’ll chuck on tinsel and some wreaths to fill up visual space. Having just played with painting up a Bear GGuy Gundam model fancy schmancy true metallics are now going to be the working option. Going back to the matter of the bases I think that oversized candy canes popping up will fit nicely. Snow is mandatory to keep with both Hoth and the winter theme. Beyond that I will see what ideas come to mind.

If this continues it might start to take the place of the North Pole battle report set out by our dear @oriskany . Yes, its ludicrous and I have been accused by sundancer of being “a looney” on a few occasions. Without absolute silliness and a general sense of humor these games get too serious. (Not to self, build/paint Malifaux crew based on booze for the hell of it). More to post later.

Addendum: After getting done with the post and feeling a little antsy on getting some work done I committed to slotting the extra left arm properly. Trimming the excess off the tab the incorrect left arm fit nicely with a new “L” tab. I proceeded to cut the arm at the flex of the elbow and I’m in the process of resculpting the area over a wire. I’m also adding a new wire for the reins that will be textured as the aforementioned tinsel.

Success! The arm issue has been resolved in, if I might say ever so humbly, the most spectacular fashion possible. As noted before the arm was cut at the elbow and repositioned. The upper and lower arm were pinned together with wire set to the desired angle. It all was then covered with thick cyanoacrylate and then a layer of Apoxiesculpt to give the detail of the fabric.

The rein was cut from the hand and replaced with a length of thin wire through the hand to the opposite side where it would attach to the halter. I believe that I’ll do this to the second rider’s arm as well

As a fleeting thought I wondered if I should add some baubles to the reins as well to kick up the festive mood. Well, it looks like it’ll pay off with the decorations glued on.

So I’ve not been the most productive person on this project. I admit slacking off. Well, it seems that some of the OTT have managed to serendipitously formed a thought that dovetails into this project nicely.

With the mention of them creating an event for the Star Wars opening and then working around to set up a few tables I knew I needed to finish this up. The powers that be (however you see the world) have aligned to give me a gentle nudge in order to finish and send on these figures.

Ok, I’ll get my admiral ork done, finish a Halloween competition entry and paint (and ship) the tauntauns to OTT HQ. I might even get some other stuff for my year in painting pledge done along the way.

Well I missed the post date last month to send out the tauntauns for Giftmas. I might well have them done for Giftmas Day. Its been some rough weeks with life and work but I’ve come back to the project and I will finish this! I owe it to all you fellow OTTers and @sundancer to see this Star Wars silliness come to life.

Paint has be splashed on after sculpting the special saddle mods were done. The riders are also getting special treatment in looking at reference photos.

I’m sorry for not getting the minis completed on time for you to enjoy before the Star Wars event this year. I hoped to get these tauntauns done for another crazy announcement but I’m sad to say that hasn’t been the case. Work has me overwhelmed and I have taken the time to try and recover the my one day I get. I will get these done and I will send them to you. Hell, there’s that Epiphany thing I remember that happens every year when three random wiseguys showed up at this guy Brian’s place… right before finding where this other kid Jesus lived. That might be a good time to shoot for sending them now.

Ok, so life has been absolutely crappy as of late for things behind the scenes on my side with the mixed bag of good stuff. Work is long and I will damn well finish these figures for the deadline I set in a few days. The stuffed rabbit and bear on the gift tauntaun are painted as the coal and switches have been addressed. I am skipping the candy striping of red/white on the pistols and heading full bore into the riders now. The feet have been epoxied and I dare the postal service to try and break them off the bases. These minis will be completed!!!!

Done and done… I’m more educated on the snow uniform for the rebel troops than I cared to be but hopefully it was worth it. All finished before my crazy deadline, late as it is, and with more values of khaki than I care to repeat. I am also ratger becoming fond of the panel liner from Tamiya as it is more viscous than GW Nuln Oil and doesn’t leave pooling in the same way. Whew… time to box these up and finish other stuff for commissions.