I had a lot of fun doing this figure. Since I "had" to do a Hudson type get up I figured I should get the Skull & Dagger motif down pat so I made it easy for myself by printing it on paper first. Trimmed it, and glued it on a primed breastplate, using lots of white glue and pressure. When it dried I sealed it with a layer of dull coat and later painted right over the whole thing so it would look hand painted. Painted in scratches, a bare metal wear line along one side in the appropriate area, and finished by black lining all around. When it was all dry I sealed it with several coats of dull coat. Getting good results with an uncanny authentic look can be easier than it seems.
I added new buckles to the leg armor. The buckles do not open but remain essentially functional because they can be released or adjusted from one or both ends depending on the type of application. In this application the front straps on the buckles are permanently riveted to the leg armor while the rear strap remains adjustable, and is removable.
A Dragon figure in USCM gear.
You can see part of the "short time calendar" on the helmet cloth. It reads "Game Over" in the bottom column. Rather than the last month, it depicts the last twelve months, of which eleven are crossed out. The calendar was drawn on with a very fine point permanent black pen. The same was used to write HUDSON on the back of the elastic helmet band. Cigarette pack is there just because it looks neat.
