Customs

  Courtesy of forum member Obi-Shinobi. Ok guys, here we go! I’ll be demonstrating with the coveted ST , but this can be applied to any figure. Start by removing the stock feet –                 Using a blade, carefully cut the joint from the foot –                 Now use your dremel to define the new slot, and drill the corresponding holes in the foot, for the ankle pegs. –                 Which should leave you with something like this –                 Now, locate a pair of articulated hands for the new ankles. I’m using 2 Ren Duke left hands because they’re a darker color and most importantly, the POA run in the same ... Read More »

They say you can’t polish a turd, and yet, it has been proven factually incorrect at least twice, now(But quite likely, more often than that.) The Mythbusters proved it by literally polishing a turd, and now forum Officer Fled74, with his polished and pristine custom of the PTE Blackhawk, has done the same! Honestly, it’s hard to see any redeeming qualities in some of PTE’s offerings. While a good many are close to scale, others are so glaringly underscaled that it almost hurts to look at them. While Fled74‘s version is still underscaled, through a long and dedicated process he turned it from a hunk of cheap plastic into a fantastic piece that many of us would be proud to display in our collections, especially for those of us who don’t have the room or cash for one of the ... Read More »

Officer member Tofujesse is well known for his excellent casting skills.  I recently got the opportunity to pull Tofujesse away from his non stop work to take part in a exclusive Q and A session.  Here in Part 2 we discuss Tofujesse’s Store,  how to contact him,  his experience with “haters” and some fun Off Topic questions.  In case you missed Part 1,  you can view it Here Q16:  Your reputation has grown significantly over the last few months which started with Meddatron’s flicker account to your very own website. Were you surprised how quickly the store took off? I was extremely surprised how fast things took off. I never really planned on opening a store but I kept getting so many requests. Thanks Meddatron. Q17:  The 30% off sale generated a lot of buzz in the collecting community. How successful was the sale and do you have ... Read More »

Officer member Tofujesse is well known for his excellent casting skills.  I recently got the opportunity to pull Tofujesse away from his non stop work to take part in a exclusive Q and A session.  The session went so well that I will be releasing the interview in 2 separate parts.  Here in Part 1 we discuss how Tofujesse got started into Casting,  his second to none work ethic and I ask some questions that were submitted by members of the forum. Q1:  What got you into Casting and why? I guess you can say I have been doing it my whole life. When I was a kid I use to make impression molds with my Star Wars figures and I would melt my crayons to make more figures. I really got in to casting and prop making right after I got out of the service in 96. I got ... Read More »

  Courtesy of forum Officer Fled74! Before I begin, I have to say that this tute works best with good, clear photos. Photoshop will not make a poorly-taken, blurry photo magically better. I must also say that I am by no means a Photoshop guru. More skilled people will have their own way of doing things, but this way works fine for me. Anyway, it’s been quite a while since I promised to make this tutorial for you guys. Apologies to all the guys who PMed me about it. Although it seems long and complicated, believe me, making the tute and taking screenshots were far more time-consuming than just adding the effects. I’m using Photoshop 7 for this, but I’m pretty sure the techniques will work for other versions. You can probably find a torrent or something, although I’m not ... Read More »

Many of you will remember our exclusive sneak peek at forum member Falcone’s Wave 1 weapon assortment back in April of this year.  If you didn’t get the chance to view Officer member Fogger1138’s review you can view it Here.  Falcone recently sent me a advanced set of his upcoming Wave 1 weapon assortment. The 10 weapon set will be available at Legionfourteenproductions.com sometime in September.  All the weapons will be  available for only $1 or less with 6 of them selling for only $0.75! The first thing you will notice is the amount of detail on the weapons.  This set has some of the most detailed and realistic guns out on the market.  A few of the big stand outs to me are the MSG90,  UMP45,  G36C and my personal favorite the Galil.  I did the best I could with my ... Read More »

Here at the fighting 118th we appreciate all the great pictures and customs that everyone shares with the site. To say thank you we do a member highlight on occasion to showcase a member’s work. Footloose is the most recent member that has been chosen. You have probably seen his Z-wars action figure comic and also the thread that he shares his pictures with (along with the “one shot” thread). So from the 118th staff, we’d like to thank him for bringing his work over and taking the time to share some info with us. Following are a few questions that I had sent for a little insight on what got him into dioramas and photography.   Name:  John Patterson Location:  Sarasota, Fl Q: What got you into photography? A: Honestly I just picked up my camera one day and ... Read More »

Forum member Marine Deadpool delivers another knockout punch courtesy of his latest custom, MGS3 Snake! Now, I am mostly unfamiliar with the MGS series of games, but don’t tar and feather me just yet! After some research to find some in game images to make comparisons, it looks to me like Marine Deadpool has created a fairly accurate representation of the game character, and we’re glad that he’s decided to share this with us here at the Fighting 1:18th! “Here is my take on MGS3 Snake. I used a mix of Tamiya and Testors Model Masters Acrylics. The Tamiya was used for camo, Testors for flesh color.” The parts breakdown are as follows: – SDS Snake head with sculpted bandanna – 25th Viper/Mutt Torso – 25th Viper Upper arms – Resolute SE Lower arms and hands, sculpted modified gloves – ... Read More »

  Tutorial comes courtesy of forum member Giga Bread. What you’ll need. 1. MSF Stabo set from Shapeways 2. x-acto blade 3. pen 4. cork backed ruler 5. tweezers 6. super glue (preferably a fresher bottle, unlike mine) 7. medical tape, micro canvas, or heavy paper 8. dummy figure- Since this method involves a little direct glue to the figure until the harness is constructed, I use a dummy figure with the same measurements, so I don’t destroy the paint job of of the figure I’m making this harness for. 9. wire snips Tips… 1. Don’t sneeze, exhale in frustration, or work next to an open window on a breezy day. Once your printed items are separated from the sprue, they can easily be lost forever. 2. When clipping sprues of printed items, always use wire snips. Bending it until ... Read More »

A lot of time and creativity goes into forum member Wry1’s customs and artwork, and Tripwire is no exception. What Wry1 has created and shared with us at the Fighting 118th, is a very realistic, modern military themed EOD expert that meshes perfectly with the more up-to-date collections and offerings out there at retail. The parts chosen are the perfect building blocks for the sculpting over top, turning this figure from what seems a complete mish-mash, into what I consider an artful masterpiece. The colors work well and seem to be spot on with what you’d expect out of a real-world EOD, successfully giving Tripwire a modern day representation, rather than the sorry 25th anniversary homage we got. Here is the before-sculpt recipe as stated by Wry1 himself: Helmet – Ace helmet turned backwards, Pit Commando face shield, various fodder, ... Read More »