Hasbro Princess Leia [Repaint Completed]

Eyes are the scariest part of the miniature painting process. Hours of hard work can be rendered immaterial if one botched up the painting of the eyes. That I have stopped using any form of magnification for my miniature painting sessions didn't help. But despite that I managed a trio of firsts in the painting of a miniature's eyes: a proper lens highlight, bottom eyelids (through subtle shading of light and dark) and the medial canthus (the pink section on the inside corner of both eyes).

Hasbro Princess Leia 3.75" action figure repaint project [Completed]

Reds of Leia's lips are vivid and bright mimicking the lipstick used by Fischer in A New Hope

Ironically though, I chose a more subtle eyebrow effect as seen in Empire Strikes Back 

I am not, however, under the impression that I have done all I can do in improving my techniques in painting the eye. Unfortunately the very things I believe I can improve on - the painting of a black pupil within a coloured iris (or at least the optical illusion of one) and the painting of eyelashes - can only be done using some form of magnification. Some Japanese painters I admire use what looks like telescopic visors to magnify the miniatures. I can't find those yet and my naked eyes can't quite cut it.

Hasbro Leia scale comparison when viewed next to a paperclip and a five sen coin

Hasbro Leia before she was repainted (left) and then after the repaint job (right)

While the size of the Hasbro Princess Leia isn't as small as some of the miniatures I'm used to working with, it's still small enough to make painting a challenge, especially her facial features. Her diplomatic gown is fairly straightforward and was painted with strong contrasts between the shadows on the folds/creases and the highlights of exposed fabric - all done in the style of comic book art.

Hasbro Princess Leia 3.75" action figure repaint project [Completed; full view]

Pose results from the gluing together of both Leia's legs and some putty to smoothen out the joints

Hasbro Princess Leia repainted and viewed from her right side

To differentiate Leia's white diplomatic gown, I had actually painted her belt and boots in ivory (as seen in the photographic references of the book Star Wars Costumes). But because the whites were a combination of beige, grey, ivory and white, the contrast achieved between her gown and belt/boots turned out to be too subtle and insignificant as to be unnoticeable in the photos shown here.

Contrast between shadows and highlights on Leia's diplomatic gown were high, in the style of a comic book

Leia's diplomatic gown had a lot of folds and creases on the back hence more shadows

Leia's hair was painted a dark reddish brown, made to look a lot darker by the black background

For a first attempt at repainting an action figure, I find myself pretty happy with the overall result. Sure I could've done better transitions on her gown; gotten more detail on her eyes; etc, etc, etc. [Breaks into song ... Gettin' to know you, Gettin' to know all about you. Gettin' to like you, Gettin' to hope you like me ... but I digress. And unless you like musicals you won't know what just happened]. But I'm still proud of this little repaint job of Princess Leia. She now awaits Han Solo to join her.  

Hasbro Princess Leia repainted and viewed from her left side

Subtle difference exists between the whites of Leia's gown and the ivory of her belt and shoes

Before the two action figure lovebirds can get together on my display shelf, there are some Bandai droid projects I need to complete first. One of them is for the missus and the other is of the allegedly primary point-of-view character or story narrator in all the Star Wars movies. More on the cute duo in my upcoming blogs. Until then, I wish you a happy and productive week ahead.

Hasbro Princess Leia [WIP - General Skin Tone]

With the Lunar New Year celebrations ongoing, it's that time of the year where I get to spent precious "us-time" with my family. An eagerly awaited holiday period when each family member's free time falls in sync with one another. Of course, it goes without saying that I haven't had the opportunity to do much painting during this time. Nonetheless, I did do enough to finish painting Hasbro Princess Leia's general skin tone as you can see below. A key step towards completing this repaint project. 

Hasbro Princess Leia repaint work-in-progress - general skin tone

General skin tones aside, Leia's facial features has yet to take shape ...

... as her lips, eyes and cheek blush needs to be painted on

Each and every attempt at painting skin tone has resulted in a better understanding of how acrylic paint can be manipulated to simulate skin. For me at least this has been the case. What I've learned is no amount of how-to videos or tutorial blogs can ultimately be of help unless you practice ... a lot. Pretty obvious one would think but harder to put into action especially if you procrastinate like me.

Of all Hasbro Princess Leia's features, her hands lack the most detail ...

... making it the hardest parts to paint well

This repaint project is turning out to be a tough challenge because of the very simplicity of the Hasbro Leia action figure. With just a simple white gown, skin and hair forming the main attributes of this figurine, there's simply no place to hide when you don't paint well. It's definitely the scariest project I've attempted so far. Chances of crashing and burning are ridiculously high.    

Hasbro Princess Leia is all set for her final makeover

In addition to Hasbro Leia's general skin tone, I also touched up the whites of her diplomatic gown. Just a bit here and there to smoothen out transitions. All done in final preparation before Leia's facial features - eyes, cheek blush, lips - are painted in. And then she will be finished ... by the next post.

Hasbro Princess Leia [WIP - Hair Buns]

Just a quick update on my Hasbro 3.75" Princess Leia action figure repaint project; her famous hair buns are done. For an action figure, Leia's hair was surprisingly well sculpted and that aided me in painting in the necessary details in order to achieve volume and depth to the hair.   

Hasbro Princess Leia action figure repaint work-in-progress: Hair buns

In terms of colour scheme, Leia's hair buns had a tinge of reddish brown in them on top of a black brown base. Laying on streaks of bright highlight on a dark foundation gave the illusion of volume to the hair. Of course, this was aided by the fantastic details found on Hasbro Leia's head of hair.

Leia's hair colour comprised reddish brown highlights ...

... on a black brown base to accentuate volume

Finding an exact screen-accurate colour of Princess Leia's hair was never going to be possible. At times her hair took on a reddish orange tinge while in others it became golden brown. Differences were likely due to studio lighting as well as ambient stage lights. In the end, I saw more of the former in A New Hope so I went with a reddish brown colour scheme. In later movies, especially Empire Strikes Back, Leia's hair looked a more soft golden brown. As for Return of the Jedi, Leia's slave outfit was too garish and loud making her hair less noticeable ... all said tongue in cheek of course. 

Top view of Hasbro Leia's iconic hair buns

Main photographic reference used for the painting of Hasbro Leia's hair buns

As I post this short update on Hasbro Leia's hair buns, I'm actually very near to completing the painting of her general skin tone. After that it will be the most important part of the whole project i.e. the painting of her eyes, cheek blush, faint hint of eyebrows, eyeliner and lips. In short, the part that will either make or break the whole project. But I'm getting ahead of myself. There's the general skin tone to finish first. And I'm nearly there as I said. Until then, be well and be happy!

Hasbro Princess Leia [WIP - Diplomatic Gown]

Nondescript yet elegant in its simplicity. That about sums up Princess Leia Organa's iconic white robes aka diplomatic gown in Star Wars A New Hope. Painting whites can be tricky because using just pure white results in a flat look lacking depth and volume. As the diplomatic gown is a major part of this repaint project - forming almost 80% of the action figure - it's a no-brainer that a considerable amount of time had to be set aside for the task. In the end, I think it took me at least 12 to 15 hours to paint/blend the warm whites of Princess Leia's diplomatic gown that you see below.  

Hasbro Princess Leia action figure repaint - work-in-progress of the white diplomatic gown

Princess Leia's knee-high boots and belt were painted in ivory with silver adornments for the latter 

With Leia's skin tone and hair yet to be painted, the whites of the gown has the potential to look even whiter. Confused? Well, it's like this. The way we perceive a colour tends to change based on what hues are next to it. As the darker hair and skin tones are painted in, the gown will start to look whiter. An optical illusion if you will. This allowed me to concentrate on creating depth and volume using warm white hues without having to worry too much about how white the gown looked at this stage.  

Pure white actually formed only about 55% of the hues painted on Leia's gown

With so many fabric folds on the back, the shadows assume prominence at this angle

Only one reference source was used for the painting of Princess Leia's gown namely Titan Book's Star Wars Costumes. If you want to paint Star Wars characters be they miniatures or action figures then this books is a must-have. The photographs in this book give an excellent view of the costumes used in the original trilogy. Most importantly, they provide an accurate colour reference for painting. 

For something that looks so simple, white sure takes a long time to paint

Whiteness of the gown is relative to hues next to it, so expect the gown to look whiter as skin tone and hair are painted 

Leia's knee-high boots and belt differed from the gown in that they had warmer tones akin to ivory. The belt also had some adornments which were painted in metallic silver and given a black brownish wash. Subtle the boots and belt may be but the differences are there and as screen accurate as I could possible make it. Both too are differences only a Star Wars fan would care about.

Star Wars Costumes (Titan Books) - Princess Leia Diplomatic Gown

To paint the whites of this Hasbro 3.75" action figure, I used the Vallejo Model Color Black & White acrylic set. It's a wonderful set that is a must-have, especially if you want to make your whites (and blacks) pop! The set also comes with an extremely useful step-by-step  painting guide. I would highly recommend it for painters who want to recreate whites with more depth and volume.

Vallejo Model Color Black and White painting set

Now that the whites of Leia's gown is finished, next up will be her famous hair buns. Those should be fun to paint. Thank you dear readers for following my progress on Leia so far. See you again soon.

Amidst a sad end to the year ... a new beginning

Just as I was about to upload photos of a recently completed Star Wars project in the wee hours of the morning, news hit of the passing of Carrie Fisher. A sad end to the year indeed. And although most of us cannot claim to know her, we feel a sense of loss nonetheless. A loss entwined with what we've come to associate with her most famous portrayal - a royal princess in a galaxy far, far away.  

In Memoriam - Carrie Fisher 1956 - 2016

Coincidentally, I'm embarking on a new journey in action figure repainting and have earmarked a Hasbro Han Solo/Princess Leia set as the first guinea pigs of this new endeavour. As a result of Fisher's passing, the thought of shelving this repaint attempt did momentarily cross my mind. But in the end, I felt painting a figurine of Leia would be my form of tribute to Fisher, especially to all that her character had come to represent for me - independence, strong-will and determination.

At my age, the passing of the icons of our youth tends to fog up our rose-tinted view of the-good-old-days as well as remind us of our own impending mortality. We are temporarily shocked out of the myth of the character and perhaps reminded that all this is just make-believe. I for one choose to remember the realness of the strengths which she portrayed via Leia and hope to recapture that essence both in the form of miniature painting as well as portrait drawing in the days to come.   

Hasbro Star Wars A New Hope 3.75 inch figure 2-pack: Han Solo and Princess Leia

Both Han and Leia make perfect first subjects for my foray into action figure repainting

Plans for both 3.75 inch action figures comprise a total repaint. They'll both be re-posed with putty and glue before being primed (without removing any existing paint) and then repainted using Vallejo Model Color acrylics. All this for pre-painted action figures ... I have a bad feeling about this. 

Hasbro action figures of Han and Leia with their assortment of weapons on display

Leia and Han in A New Hope

BEFORE photos: Closeup view of Hasbro action figure, Han Solo

BEFORE photos: Closeup view of Hasbro action figure, Princess Leia

Even as I end this post, news of Debbie Reynolds' death is slowly filtering in. Mum and daughter are together again albeit under the saddest of circumstances. Amidst a sad end to the year, let's take heart in the year to come. On what basis should we to look forward to 2017? What Leia said ... Hope.

Using a Pencil Topper for technique practice - testing out Mr.Hobby Top Coat, Tamiya Weathering Master and Panel Line Accent Color

Testing out new techniques under a limited budget can be an extremely frustrating exercise. Not only are our model kits too precious to be experimented on but expensive supplies mean there is little we can spare for use on things other than the actual project itself. However, to plough ahead without knowing what we're doing can ruin the costly model kit, which brings you back to square one. My solution is to use a spare/optional model kit part that hasn't been earmarked for any future kitbash projects or to simply use free stuff that's suitably sized so that no overuse of supplies will occur.    

FN-2187 pencil topper, completed with weathering and paints

For my first experiences with the acrylic-based Mr.Hobby Flat/Matt Top Coat spray can, the Tamiya Weathering Master kits and enamel-based Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color paint, I turned to a cereal box freebie in the form of a pencil topper shaped to resemble a bust of a Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper. I was surprised by the relatively well sculpted proportions of the pencil topper and the fact it was plastic made it ideal for use as a test piece for the supplies I was testing out.

Star Wars-themed Pencil Topper that came free in a cereal box

Straight out of the box, the piece had glossy black paint on relevant sections. But the paint job wasn't very clean and neat (as to be expected) and some panel lines required shading to create more depth.

First Order Stormtrooper Pencil Topper, as it looks straight-out-of-the-box

To spruce things up and make things look a little bit more tidy, I proceeded to repaint the blacks using Citadel's matt black acrylic paint and added a touch of enamel-based panel lining paint - specifically grey to the tube stripes and black to an indentation on the upper chest area, right below the chin. Both products - the Citadel Abbadon Black and the Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (grey/black) - were well suited for use on a piece of unprimed white plastic. 

Citadel matt black paint and Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (black and grey)

Piece with black parts repainted, and some grey/black panel liners added for greater depth

This was followed by several thin layers of an acrylic flat/matt clear coating. The aim was to remove the toy-like plastic sheen from the pencil topper and provide a strong as well as rough enough surface for the weathering material to take hold. If this had been a display piece, I would've left it as it is at this stage because I loved the look of an unweathered First Order Stormtrooper bust. But a key reason for this session was to try using the Tamiya Weathering Master kit so on it went to the next stage.

Mr.Hobby Top Coat Flat/Matt acrylic-based spray can

At this stage, the piece took on a dull flat/matt appearance

Side note: when observing the piece closely I noticed that the application of the clear flat/matt coat may have left some tiny white spots on the surface of the googles. This could be the result of the hot and humid weather in which the clear coat was applied or due to dust being trapped inside the clear coat. While the spots were not noticeably in this rather large piece, it could potentially look terrible in a smaller scaled miniature. More experimenting with the Mr.Hobby Top Coat will be needed e.g. spraying at varying distances from the miniature as well as in different weather conditions, before I can say for sure if this will be a problem, especially if used as a final sealing coat.

Tiny white spots were barely visible here but on a smaller scale piece it could be a deal breaker

Finally, some weathering and blood effects were applied on the pencil topper to simulate the character FN-2187 aka Finn from The Force Awakens. The latter effect was a tried-and-true paint recipe I had used before - Tamiya Clear X-27, Citadel Scorched Brown and Abaddon Black -  while the former was done using a weathering kit I was new to - the Tamiya Weathering Master. The clear flat/matt coat had provided a strong enough base for the semi-wet weathering pastels (as least that's what I think they are) to adhere to. And the final touch was to apply a gloss varnish to the googles of the First Order Stormtrooper to simulate the reflective material it's supposed to be made from.

Tools used to achieve weathering, blood and gloss effects

Blood effects and weathering to mimic FN-2187 on the First Order Stormtrooper Pencil Topper

FN-2187, First Order Stormtrooper Pencil Topper (front view)

Better lining on the helmet could've given the piece more depth

FN-2187, First Order Stormtrooper Pencil Topper (back view)

Overall, the final piece didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to. But I'm not complaining too much as I wasn't familiar with more than half the stuff I was using. Conclusions I drew from this simple technique practice session include:

1. Tamiya's enamel-based Panel Line Accent Colors works well through capillary action on the smooth surface of an unprimed plastic model;  
2. A few thin layers of Mr.Hobby Top Coat Flat/Matt on top of an unprimed plastic model provided a strong and rough enough base for weathering purposes;
3. Used in tandem with dark brown and black acrylic paints, the Tamiya Clear Red X-27 is - in my honest opinion - the de facto standard for realistic blood;
4. Against a pure white background, even the grey Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color turned out to be too dark hence possibly necessitating the use of Citadel's acrylic-based washes or Reaper's grey liners as alternatives in future projects; and finally ...
5. White spots formed during the spraying of the acrylic clear flat/matt coat could have been caused by the hot and humid weather or by dust being trapped in the coating. Further experimenting with the clear coat being sprayed at varying distances and weather conditions will have to be conducted.

Thanks for checking out my little experiment on a plastic pencil topper. Experiences gained from this session should stand me in good stead when I tackle the Bandai 1/12 scale First Order Stormtrooper. I'm just glad I stumbled on this great freebie to work on before the real thing comes along. Until next time, have yourself a great week ahead!