Scale: 1/12
Image: Overall view
One standard month before the events chronicled in Episode 5, respected bounty hunter Boba Fett found himself on the arid desert world of Tatooine searching out local nomads to gain information regarding his current bond. Riding a distant relative of the Tauntaun, Boba didn't expect this job to be too difficult. It would, however, take a long time as he'd need to engage in Shura with the desert dwellers as he trekked over the dry, stoney dunes. Thankfully, his next job promised to be in a more civilised location; he didn't fancy returning to Tatooine much.
The figure is from Bandai, made up as per the instructions with the following changes:
The trophy braids and cape were discarded and new ones made from string and for the cape, facial tissue.
Once the pose had been set, filler was applied to the lower limbs and rear armoured plate as the extreme articulation of him in a riding pose meant some large gaps became visible.
The rocket pack was left off. I figured the fatigue of wearing a heavy pack while in the saddle would be avoided even by a legend such as Boba. Further, the rocket was removed; in the real world soldiers un-load their weapons when not in use, it should be the same in the SW universe.
Everything was primed then painted using acrylics.
The beast was a toy Velociraptor that was modified with Milliput putty. The legs and arms were set in position, then scales added to hide the prominent joins. I added some larger eyes and horns to the head and flanks and by accident realised it looked a lot like a Tauntaun so I added ears and changed the nose also. According to sources, the Tauntaun is a reptile so it fitted to have this as a desert member of the same type of species. I cut paper templates to make a saddle after researching Western Calvary and WW1 German military saddles. These templates were covered in rolled out Milliput and applied to the beast with stitching added while still soft. The net to hold the rocket pack is a dish cloth picked apart to be a single layer of mesh cloth that was then pulled tight around the pack then immersed in a setting solution. Painting was done in layers to first paint the pack, then washed in dark brown to add depth, then heavily dry brushed to pick out the netting.
Further work on the beast's body to try and remove seam lines was difficult as the plastic was not styrene and rather than sand off went rough and furry. I found a very sharp knife better to carve the parts then add small flattened balls of epoxy to replace scales. The beast was painted in enamels so I could add layers of washes and drybrush a sheen back with semi-matt colours. This ensured a different look between animal hide and the figure's cloth and armour.
Various extra parts were made using odd parts and Milliput to equip the saddle and a spare set of pouches from a second Boba Fett figure was added. One pouch is on the stock of the rifle, which is a mash up of the kit's main weapon with a 1/10 Winchester rifle butt grafted on. For the stock and barrel I used the leg from a dolls house chair with a muzzle added. Tiny details were grafted on to look busy before painting, the metal parts rubbed with graphite afterwards, the remainder done in acrylics to simulate wood grain.
