CT55 / 43-2118 (ARC Pilot)

Advanced Recon Commando pilots (ARC pilots) were specialized ARC troopers trained to perform aviation. They flew specific ships, such as ARC LAAT/i gunships. One such pilot flew the ARC gunship during the aftermath of the Battle of Hypori to rescue the surviving Jedi from the battle. CT55 / 43-2118 is an ARC Pilot assigned to the Special Operations Division of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is specializes in the insertion and extraction of special forces team.

Parts: Head (Clone Trooper), Torso (Clone Trooper), Arms (Clone Trooper), Legs (Clone Trooper), Flight Helmet (Evolutions Clone Pilot), Macrobinocular Helmet Attachment (Clone Commander), Blaster Pistol (Clone Commander).

Supplies: Super glue, brushes, Polly Scale paints and Testors Dull-Cote.

Reference: This figure was originally inspired by the ARC Pilot seen in the second season of The Clone Wars animated series. I added some of my own ideas to the paint scheme.

Step One: The basic figure was not changed. I exchanged the normal Clone Trooper helmet for the flight helmet and glued the control box to the figure's chest. I also added a modified macrobinocular attachment to the flight helmet, which doubles as an enhanced night vision device allowing for precision flying and landings during hours of darkness.

Step Two: The rest of the figure was a simple matter of devising a paint scheme that was simple, yet different from anything I'd seen before. I based the helmet design on the ARC pilot seen during the Battle of Hypori in the second season of The Clone Wars animated series. I skipped the bat insignia on his helmet because I was looking for similarity, but not an exact match. The teeth-like markings on the armor were inspired by the rancor paint sceme on the LAAT/i used to extract the surviving Jedi from the Battle of Hypori. The color of these markings identifies the pilot as a Captain.

Step Three: A coat of Testors Dull-Cote was applied to protect the paint and remove the shiny appearance of the armor.