One of my favorite things about Revenge of the Sith was Ian McDiarmid’s performance as Palpatine, or Darth Sidious, or the Emperor, or whatever you’d like to call him. His acting was far better than almost anyone else’s in the movie, and really gave me a new appreciation for his character. Thus, when I saw the ROTS 12” Darth Sidious, with its sumptuously flowing cloak and complete “G. I. Joe” articulation, I had to have it. Only a few things were wrong. Firstly, he wasn’t wearing a proper shirt under the robes (just a black dickie). Secondly, his face was way too pink, making his toothy grin look more jolly than evil, sort of like a very wrinkled Santa Claus with no facial hair. In short, he didn’t look half as evil or scary as did the wonderful picture on his box. This refit is an attempt to recapture that look.
I painted Sidious’s face and hands with many, many layers of various light grays tinged with browns, applying several washes along the way. I also outlined his teeth in a yellowish white, and painted his eyes yellow to express the appropriate Sith rage. When I was finally done painting his face (and it took a long time to get it looking halfway decent) I put some proper clothing on him, as well. Under the original robe from the 12” Sidious (with which Hasbro did a great job) he’s wearing the shirt from Saga 12” Count Dooku, his original black pants, and the inner robe from the POTF2 12” Emperor (visible below). Done at last, and jolly no more!
For comparison purposes, the original 12” Sidious may be seen here.
