Prometheus Rising Studios   Ben Mininberg's models, toy customs, and design work.

Star Wars Republic Commando was a squad-based shooter that came out a few years ago and introduced the idea of ‘wetworks’ Clone Troopers to the SW universe.  Delta Squad was the unit featured in the game, consisting of Boss, the squad leader, Fixer, the squad techie, Scorch, the demolitions guy, and Sev, the scary mean sniper guy.

I received a commission for a pair of Clone Trooper squads repainted in the Republic Commando team scheme from the video game. One set of 4 will be parade clean, and the other will be in action weathered and beat up looking. The customer asked if I would do a WIP blog as I worked through the sets, and I thought this was a neat idea, and something I’ve never done before, so this is gonna be a learning experience for all of us.  (This was posted to another site first, and is re-posted here for posterity.)
I asked the customer for an extra generic trooper figure so I could test techniques and the chemical reactions of all the paints and such… sometimes softer plastic figures react funny to paint, but I’ve gotten some advice on what to use to prevent this, so this first guy will be my test bed figure… a second generic was also provided, and both will be finished up as extra detailed generics for the customer.

First two pics just show my first vic…er volunteer! All that’s happened in this pic is that I used some files and sandpaper to clean up mold seams on the figure, and get to know the sculpt.

The second pair of pics show our hapless trooper after primer and a base coat… there’s a few spots to touch up with a brush, and I need to get more canned air, but this is the base color I whipped up, and made enough for all the figures I received (and maybe more). Right now the base color looks a bit dark and grey, but this allows me to build up the white color a bit and add some depth, and then I can work from there… the tonal value of the figure will change as I work through the weathering and such as well, and since I want to test all of the products I’ll be using, this first guy will get plenty beat up.

Pics 5-14: Alright, Sgt. Test-bed is just about done… the first couple pics show him with the quick and dirty Clone Trooper-esque markings I threw on, and the rest show the figure in its current state… only thing left is a coat or two of Future to seal all the paint (especially on the joints) and seal the paint to the plastic, as I still don’t know if I can trust the chemicals on the soft plastic, and as Future is an acrylic finish, it basically makes a shell over the paint that keeps it in place and prevents any reactions… after that I’ll throw on another matte coat and maybe a few metallic scratches and gloss the visor. Let me know what you guys think, as this is what I’m thinking the RC figs should basically look like… I tried to keep the Lucas-ey palette… troopers and the like have a pretty limited color palette on their armor… it doesn’t rust or streak, but it gets dinged up.

Pics 15- 17:  Alright, proof that this project continues… first shot is Srg. Testbed 100% done, posing with someone else’s gun. Next two are the beginning of the actual commission… two sets of Delta Squad. Second pics shows their current condition, sanded and primed… tomorrow’s supposed to snow alot, so there’ll be plenty of time stuck inside to spray the base color and go from there. Hopefully I’ll get all the gear cleaned up and primed tomorrow as well. What I find amazing is that the testbed figure, which had an action gimmick using the legs, and therefore no hip articulation, still managed to have better posability than the commando squad figs, which I assume were some special limited set? This works out much better for me, as the biggest problem on Srg. Testbed was paint wear on the joints… the only multi-joint like on Testbed is the elbows on the commandos… otherwise, they’re shoulder swivels and hip swivels with no knees or ankles… they do have a nice ab ball joint, but it’s not looking to be a problem for the paint.

Pics 18-32: These shots show the two Delta Squads as they progress.  The individual techniques are the same as for the test trooper (above), along with painting each member’s individual markings.

Pics 33-51: The two Delta Squads completed.  The chipping is a bit overdone on the battle-worn squad, but the customer was happy.