"Ssi-Ruu Bounty Hunter" created by Elias

A while back Dad took me to the DK Star Wars Attack of the Authors East Coast Tour at the Tribeca Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Manhattan.  It was cool because while I was there I got to meet Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.   Star Wars artist Chris Trevas was there and while I was there I picked up an awesome book that he illustrated called Star Wars: The New Essential Guide to Alien Species.  It was in this book that I discovered an alien species called the Ssi-Ruuk.

Ever since I saw the illustration below, I knew I wanted at least one of the these aliens in my collection.  One day I saw a dinosaur at a local toy store that I knew would be perfect for my custom.

I also took my first crack at sculpting. I sculpted the headset and the shoulder armor with Apoxie Sculpt and then used assorted fodder to create the harness.  I used some casted Jango Fett leg armor that I got from SithHappens.  I also used Green Stuff for the first time to create the forked tongues that come out of the Ssi-Ruu's nostrils.  

I made the one of a kind gun myself too. I pieced it together from about 6 different guns.

Ssi-Ruuk

The Ssi-ruuk (pronounced /'si ruk/)[3], Ssi-ruu in singular form, were a saurian species that invaded from the Unknown Regions of the galaxy and initiated the Battle of Bakura in 4 ABY, shortly after the Battle of Endor. This race relied on a technology called entechment that involved extracting the life-energies of sentient beings and using them as power sources for their mechanical technology. They had a sizable war fleet and ruled an empire called the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium in the Ssi-ruuk Star Cluster near the galaxy's rim.

Ssi-ruuvi society was deeply compartmentalized—being dominated by a rigid caste system based on skin color which signified one's socio-economic standing. As a species, most Ssi-ruuk were xenophobic towards members of other species due to their stringent religious beliefs and the compartmentalized state of their society. Due to the remote position of their home territory in the Ssi-ruuk Star Cluster and their religious fear of dying on an unconsecrated world, few Ssi-ruuk traveled outside their Star Cluster. Thus, they remained largely unknown to the rest of the galaxy, and contact with outsiders was limited even in the days of the New Republic and the Galactic Alliance.

"Ssi-Ruu Bounty Hunter"

created by Elias

Me with Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Ashley was sooo cool!

Ashley Eckstein, Chris Trevas, and Chris Reiff

My Ssi-Ruu was featured on the front page of Imperial Shipyards.

GOOD KHARMA PAYS OFF

"BONES"
created by Darth Daddy

A custom action figure created by Darth Daddy for customizer Lucasclones.

"OPRESS UNLEASHED!"

On Free Comic Day we hit a bunch of comic book stores before we headed over to the DK Star Wars Attack of the Authors East Coast Tour located at the Tribeca Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Manhattan. At every comic book store we visited, every store was out of the Clone Wars comic, "Savage Unleashed!" After the event at Barnes & Noble, and hitting a few more places, we came to the realization that we weren't going to be able to get a copy that day. Dad called a few more comic book shops that were on our way back home and it was the same story everywhere. SOLD OUT!!

While on our train ride home, Dad and Lucasclones, the host of the podcast Custom Action Figure News, were talking on Facebook through Dad's phone and Chad (Lucasclones) said he was able to obtain two copies of the comic and offered to give us one of his copies. Dad offered to make Chad a custom action figure for his generosity and a figure was born. Lucasclones is well known for his clone trooper custom action figures and Dad figured he'd attempt to earn some customizing street cred by creating his first ever clone action figure for a clone master.

Dad looked at what action figures he had laying over in our customizing box and found the only clone that we had...a Clone Wars "Oddball" action figure. For three days, Dad worked and toiled. The action figure was pretty much a repaint, but with a small Apoxie Sculpt modification on the helmet control pad. I may never forgive Dad for giving away this figure, because I truly fell in love with it. If you ask me I think Dad did too.

The moral of this story is, "Good kharma pays off." Hope you enjoy the figure, Chad.

Letter from Lucasclones that he sent with the comic.

Republic Commandos drawn by Lucasclones.
(click the image twice to see it at an optimal size)

BACKSTORY

"Bones the Resurrected, Bones the Immortal" or just "Bones" for short, was known throughout the Republic to be the best pilot in the entire Republic fleet. He was able to fly circles around the Separatist armies. Even Anakin Skywalker often wondered if his skills were as good as the infamous clone pilot Bones. The peculiar thing was that it was said that his skills were derived from supernatural forces. Interestingly enough, the most well known story about Bones was not about his piloting skills, but rather pertained to his supposed resurrection from the dead. Hours after Bones had been pronounced dead by the medical staff, it was said that he suddenly sprang back to life with a scream that could be heard throughout the entire medical station. Tales had circulated from that day forward of how Bones had risen from the dead. When he was found, floating in space all the bones in his body had been broken and his body was heavily scarred from burns he received when his fighter was destroyed in battle. If you ask any clone troopers about Bones, they may admit in confidence that he creeped them out a bit and they may even add that Bones often smelled of rotting flesh. Others joke he has the personality of a tombstone and he's nothing but a haunted corpse that didn't cheat death at all. Regardless of what he is, he sure can fly. No matter what the odds, no matter how close to death he may appear to be, Bones lives on to hear the chants of his brothers, "Bones the Resurrected, Bones the Immortal!"

"BONES THE RESURRECTED, BONES THE IMMORTAL"

Watch in 720HD

Bones is only the second action figure created by Dad to have left our home.

BONES featured on the Front Page of Imperial Shipyards

DK Star Wars Attack of the Authors East Coast Tour

So a few weeks ago, Dad read on TheForce.net that there was a DK Star Wars Attack of the Authors East Coast Tour coming to the Tribeca Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Manhattan today May 7, 2011. Dad read that there was going to be appearances there by talented Star Wars illustrators Chris Reiff and Chris Trevas, as well as, Her Universe founder Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Also in attendance were costumed members of the 501st Legion, Darth Vader, Padme Amidala, and members of the R2 Builders Club, who brought a full-sized R2-D2 droid replica! Can't tell you how much fun we had today. I was stuck to Ashley Eckstein like glue and followed her everywhere she went. She was so nice. It was so cool. If you have the opportunity to go to future events on the tour I highly recommend going.

Me with Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.Ashley was sooo cool!

Me with a full-sized R2-D2 droid replica.

Ashley Eckstein, Chris Trevas, and Chris Reiff

Darth Vader & Ashley Eckstein

Chris Trevas, Ashley Eckstein, and Chris Reiff

Darth Vader, Sandtrooper, Incinerator Trooper, and Ashley Eckstein

501st Clone Trooper, Darth Vader, Sandtrooper, and Incinerator Trooper

Padme Amidala, me, an Incinerator Trooper and Darth Vader

Click out the logo above to check out Ashley's online store!