Star Wars and I are old friends. I was seven years old when the first movie came out, and I really, really wanted to see The Rescuers. My dad really, really wanted to see Star Wars. Since it was his birthday, we saw Star Wars, and I was in a funk until that opening scene on the Tantiv IV hit my impressionable little brain, and my poor dad has probably wished we went to se The Rescuers ever since.
In all of the Star Wars media I’ve consumed, I’ve really only hated one installment, which I will leave out because if it’s your favorite I have no intention of harshing that enjoyment for you. But everything else I’ve watched had something in it that I genuinely enjoyed, whether it’s Baylon Skoll in Ahsoka or Boba Fett riding a Rancor in Book of Boba Fett.
My rule for Star Wars is a simple one: What would that kid in 1977 think of this? Generally, that kid would have been shrieking like a radioactive gibbon rampaging through a jungle gym.
The Mandalorian brough out one of my favorite villains in all of Star Wars, with Giancarlo Esposito bringing a fantastic level of mustache twirling to his portrayal of Moff Gideon. When he showed up with a squad of Death Troopers and his modified TIE fighter, that internal seven year old was speechless. TIE fighters can do that with their wings??? HOW FREAKING COOL IS THAT?
Moff Gideon also shit his pants when Luke showed up to take Grogu on a playdate to the Lil’ Jedi Temple of Doom. I would have done the same. What a cool, calculating, and cowardly when needed villain! Of course a Jedi would freak that dude out!
The old miniature that Atomic Mass Games produced for Star Wars: Legion was one of the first hard plastic kits they put out, and the likeness on the 35mm model is actually better than the Shatterpoint version. Plus, you get the option of pistol OR Darksaber, and since I like to have some general utility in my models, he’s packing his pistol.
I really took my time with him. Darker flesh tones have been a struggle for me, since in reality we’re not just talking about brown tones. There’s some cool purples and warm ochres in the skin, and I really wanted to do this sculpt justice.
He also has very pronounced eyelids, which this sculpt does a good job capturing. I wanted to make sure to show Gideon with that “bored but still going to kill you” look that made him so cool in the first place.
And, of course, I had to take some pics with him leading a couple of riot control troopers, I can’t wait to get some Deathtroopers together for him!
Grimmleigh's Lab 
Awesome work on Moff Gideon, he truly was a despicable character, that you just couldn’t wait to see him suffer some justice ! LOL I think your dark skin tone is excellent, as you say can be very tricky, and a lot less paints produced for them, one piece of advice I always give is go at least an extra shade lighter than you would think for the highlight, as darker skin tones are very reflective and a brighter highlight can help show this.
LikeLike
I commend you for your positive outlook on Star Wars. There is a ton of negativity around Star Wars which is sad to see. It was one of my favorites and I think there’s been too much content in recent years and a lot of it has been middle of the road or worse in terms of quality which put me off it.
That is neither here nor there though! I do know this character (which is becoming less common for me with Star Wars as time goes on) and he’s a great subject to paint. He has pretty unique skin tones and I like the way you tackled that part of the mini. His cape and armor also look great and certainly exudes evil, as he should! 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, I appreciate the sentiment! I get the frustration with modern Star Wars, I have shared a bit of it myself… but, at the end of the day, I want to go to there, so I’ll take what I can get!
My hope is that Disney can reign it all back a little, and focus on the magic instead of giving in to the haters. Star Wars is either for kids, or for those of use who want to feel that way again! I would love to see that captured again. Probably part of the reason why I take it so easy on Book of Boba Fett, in spite of its other problems, is that the kid who saw the original in a dingy drive-in in 1977 would have lost his freaking mind at the thought of Boba Fett riding a rancor around Mos Espa! Sometimes, I just NEED THAT CHEESE.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve got my fingers crossed for that too. I think slowing down and being a bit more careful with what gets made would go a really long way towards improving the quality and making Star Wars special again.
LikeLike