Ever since Dad watched the Umbaran Clone Wars arc that featured Jedi General Pong Krell, he knew that Krell was a character who needed to be created in action figure form. A big kudos to
LEGO for making it happen, and to Hasbro, who had slated this figure for release, we say, "Please get this figure out in your 3.75" super-articulated line in a future unannounced wave in 2014. Hasbro, we know you have done an excellent job in the past giving Clone Wars figures a realistic look like you did with your Cad Bane that came with the speeder bike or the carded one with TODO-360. Well it's time to work your magic again, and give Krell the treatment too."
Well Dad doesn't want to leave things to chance, and he took it upon himself to make sure Krell was created in the traditional 1:18 scale. Not sure if any of you have seen the
Mortal Kombat "Goro's Lair" action figure 2-pack recently, but Dad thought the
Goro action figure makes a great skeleton to sculpt onto if someone were going to create a Pong Krell. Especially, if they combined the Goro figure with the head, hands, and feet of a Dexter Jettster. Now Dad did have to modify both figures pretty heavily with a Dremel first before it would become that skeleton, but once he finished with his power tools, Dad had a great base to add his Aves Fixit Sculpt and Green Stuff to. A base that would help him create this 100% sculpted figure.
I think Dad used every trick he has learned in his last few years as a customizer when he created this action figure, as well as, a few new ones. Dad maintained the original articulation of the figure, but added magnetic articulation at the waist to give Krell some real flexibility. It was Dad's first real experiment with magnets, and although it worked in some places better than others, overall Dad said he'd still call this figure a success. While the figure has no slippage and holds tight and very solidly at Krell's waist, Dad said he would have skipped using a magnet there if he were to do the figure all over again. Krell was given ball joints at the neck, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. He also has swivel hands and ankles. Dad's really glad that Krell's hands can fold behind his back since the character stood in the position so much.
To create Krell's lightsabers, Dad sculpted them by hand. Once he got to the point where he had to create the unlit hilts for Krell, Dad only sculpted one half of a hilt, created a mold from his sculpt and casted the other three hilts to speed along the process and make them all look more uniform. It was Dad's first molding and casting project after getting an in house tutorial from
Luke Sprywalker during his visit to
Sprwalker Ranch. A lesson that Dad said saved him hours of work and provided a better presentation in relation to his finished product. After the lightsabers were painted, Dad sent magnets to
Hyperdrive to insert into Krell's belt and the powered off lightsaber hilts to hold them in place when they weren't in use.
During
the creation of this figure, Dad came to a point where he started to think
about how he was going to make the clothes for Krell. He was looking at
what he had sculpted so far. Dad had started to fabricate soft plastic robe
skeletons that he could later use to sculpt onto with Green Stuff to make a flexible
outer layer of clothing for the figure.
Dad was starting to think that
maybe he should abandon his current plan and just do soft goods for the rest of
his clothing.
Immediately the amazing custom soft good creations of Star Wars customizer
Hyperdrive popped into Dad's head and he thought to himself, "I wish I could do soft good's like
Hyperdrive."
His immediate second thought was, "I wonder if I could get
Hyperdrive to do the soft goods?"
Followed by, "How should I go about asking him?"
This figure collaboration was willed by The Force. No lie. True Story.
In less than a minute after Dad had that thought, he got an email from
Hyperdrive asking Dad if he could update the video of his work on our
"Customs I Wish I Owned" page. Dad immediately obliged and while he had
Hyperdrive's ear, Dad asked if he would collaborate with him on Krell. The rest is history.
When Dad was finished with all the sculpt and paintwork, Krell was shipped off to
Hyperdrive who not only created the beautiful looking soft goods tunic that Krell is now sporting, but
Hyperdrive also made one awesome diorama stand for Krell for when on display.
"Hello all. I just had the privilege of contributing to one of the
coolest, most beautifully sculpted figures that I have ever worked
upon. Darth's sculpt work on his General Pong Krell figure is top
shelf, TOP SHELF! Having seen it in person, I can attest to his
craftsmanship and skill. While the entire piece is nicely sculpted, I
was blown away by the head sculpt and his feet. Also his paintwork was
awesome. Pong Krell is en route back to Darth D as we speak. Looking
forward to sharing the finished product with you all. It was awesome to lend a hand with this figure. It's way more
rewarding to collaborate with others, I highly recommend it. When the
figure arrived at my door, I wanted to live up to DD's craftsmanship.
We emailed constantly once it was on my bench, and after several
alterations, arrived at this finished product." - Hyperdrive
Hyperdrive created Krell's soft goods tunic, tabbards, and wraps with fabric that was hand dyed and then weathered. He also created the leather removable belt held on with a metal clasp located at the back and then inlaid magnets that were set inside for saber hilt connections. He then fabricated a custom swamp display base with water effects. And after all that was done, he fixed his busted sewing machine.
Well, I'm sure by now, all you want to do, is just look at the figure. So, we won't hold you up any longer, take a look, and let us know what you think about their creation.
