Customizing Star Wars Minis 9

Creating Inquisitor Valin Draco

By Jack Irons

Welcome to the ninth in a series of articles about customizing Star Wars Miniatures. The previous articles have covered basic and advanced techniques. Now we can move on to actual customizing projects. During the course of creating customs, I'll often refer to past techniques and articles, so be sure to dip into the archive as needed.

For our first customizing project, we'll create Imperial Inquisitor Valin Draco, one of the villains from the new Star Wars: Dawn of Defiance campaign. (Dawn of Defiance is a series of free adventures in a continuous storyline designed to take heroes from 1st level to 20th level and to give players and GMs an iconic Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition experience. For more details, check out the campaign home page.)

Darth Vader . . . the Emperor . . . Darth Maul -- just a few of the memorable villains that help define the Star Wars legend. Great villains are key to what makes the setting so interesting and to an engrossing roleplaying game. Inquisitor Draco is a crafty and powerful villain from the Dawn of Defiance campaign and can be used as an ongoing threat in your game. A baddie of this stature deserves the recognition of having his own custom.

For this custom, you'll need a Dark Jedi (#7 from the Champions of the Force set) and a Bodyguard Droid (#28 from the Revenge of the Sith set). Be sure to read all of the instructions before starting.

First, carefully trim the gun out of the left hand of the Dark Jedi. Use small cuts and try to trim so that the hand looks like a closed fist. Then trim the loincloth with two small cuts so that it comes to a point.

Next, hold the body of the Bodyguard Droid firmly with one hand. With your other hand, pull the cape upward so that the cape and head of the droid separate from the body. If you can't pull them off easily, you can cut them from the droid's body, but be sure to include the top of the cape and the head with the main part of the cape.

With the cape loose, trim off the large post that was glued to the back of the droid. Hold the cape up to the Dark Jedi and see how it will fit. Carefully trim the head of the droid off the cape, and also trim off the part of the cape that will run into the Dark Jedi's right arm. Hold the cape against the back of the Dark Jedi to see where else you might need to trim to make it fit against the back, along the shoulders. Remember to trim only a small amount at a time, and compare the cape to its final position frequently while you trim.

The next few steps involve using two-part modeling epoxy. We will create a lot of additive elements to make this fig look even more like Inquisitor Draco. After you're finished creating and shaping the elements, remove any fingerprints by rubbing a small amount of water over the epoxy to give it a smooth finish. (For more information about creating additive elements and using two-part epoxy, see article 8.)

When the cape is completely trimmed, mix a small amount of epoxy. Roll a small, thin coil and lay it on the back of the cape where the two parts meet and create an edge. Push the epoxy into this groove, and smooth it out to make the cape appear to be one solid piece. You might have to add some smaller coils and smooth them out to make the transition even. Set this piece aside to dry overnight.

Next, roll a thin coil of epoxy and encircle the end of the glove of the Dark Jedi with it. Carefully smooth it forward toward the hand so that it tapers down from the back of the glove toward the wrist. This adds mass to the back half of the glove and creates a dramatic effect to the costume. If needed, add a second coil to reach the desired amount of mass. Repeat this step for the other glove.

Create two small teardrop shapes of epoxy and add them to each side of one of the Dark Jedi's knees. Place them with the heavy end of the teardrop just above the top of the boot. Smooth these pieces into the sides of the pants so they taper down from the bottom of the drop to the top. Repeat for the other leg; when finished, the Dark Jedi should look like he's wearing baggier pants.

Next, we'll create Draco's belt. Roll a coil of epoxy and flatten it into an even plane. Trim the edges if necessary, and create a band that is about 1/4-inch tall and a little over 1 inch long. Starting at the center of the Dark Jedi's back, encircle his waist to make a belt. At the spot where the two ends of the belt meet in the back, trim away any extra epoxy. Then, using the tip of your hobby knife, draw an angled line across the front of the belt. Make two small cubes of epoxy and attach them to the belt on the right side of the Dark Jedi.

Roll a coil of epoxy to a point and trim off the end so that you have a piece that is about 1/4-inch long. Repeat to make a second coil that's slightly longer than the first. Add these coils to the front of the Dark Jedi below the bottom of the hood opening, lining up the bottoms of the coil tips. Carefully press these pieces against the torso so they hold in place, trimming and smoothing them near the hood opening if necessary.

If you have some experience in customizing, you can create an even smaller coil of epoxy and trim off the tip so that you have a piece that is 1/8-inch long. Very carefully press the trimmed end onto the top of the shoulder. As you press, pull slightly back so that the end of the epoxy piece rises slightly away from the shoulder. Repeat for the other shoulder.

Next, roll a small ball of epoxy and carefully press it onto the front of one knee to create a piece of armor. Repeat for the other knee. Then set the Dark Jedi aside and allow it to dry completely overnight.

When the epoxy on the cape and the Dark Jedi is completely dry, again hold the cape against the Dark Jedi to check its position. Note where the cape touches the Dark Jedi near the top of his back. Although you can simply glue the cape to the back (see article 5), I recommend pinning it in place. This miniature will be used quite a lot in roleplaying games, which means that it might get bumped around. Pinning the cape will increase the chances of it staying in place. As described in articles 6 & 7, pin the cape to the middle of the back where it meets the shoulders.

Don't worry about gaps between the hood and the cape. Use epoxy or contour putty to fill the gaps, and sculpt the material so that the folds of the cape and the area of the hood match. Use the handle end of a paint brush to press the filler into shape. Again, let the mini dry completely overnight.

Now the custom is built and just needs to be painted. Start by mixing a deep maroon color by adding purple and black to a large amount of red (see article 2 to learn how to mix paint). This color will be used on the legs, the torso, the upper arms, and the inside of the cape.

Next, use a regular red color to paint the outside of the cape, the hood, the gloves, and the coil tips on his chest and shoulders.

Next, mix a dark red color and paint the belt, the stripes near the bottom of the gloves, and two small circles on the backs of his hands.

Use red paint to color the two boxes on his belt, along with the elements of the clasp. Still using red paint, make two small markings on each of the knee armor pieces, and make two very small marks between the coil tips on the chest, directly below the hood opening. Finally, paint a red "X" on the circles on the backs of his hands, and draw a line through the center of each "X."

Imperial Inquisitor Valin Draco is now ready to wreak havoc on your players in the Dawn of Defiance campaign!

Next Time

In the next article on customizing Star Wars Miniatures, we'll add some drama to Ponda Baba.

About the Author

Jack Irons is an artist and graphic designer. He has been fan of Star Wars since he was four, when his dad took his sister and him to a matinee on the second day of its release. He posts regularly on the Star Wars Miniatures Game boards under the name "ironlightsaber" and often works with other board members on projects such as the Lost Twenty fan set. Jack lives in the middle of the United States with his wife Ruth and their son.