Kyle Katarn (Human Jedi Knight)

Kyle Katarn trained to be a Stormtrooper Officer at the Imperial Academy on Carida. In his final mission as a cadet, Kyle ordered that a group of surrendering Rebels, including the young woman Jan Ors, should be spared. The Rebels were able to counter-attack, and Kyle's unit was almost completely wiped out. This, and the death of his father at Imperial hands, caused Kyle to recognize the Empire's evil. He subsequently abandoned the Empire's service and join the Rebellion. With Jan Ors as his mission officer, Kyle undertook a variety of dangerous missions for the Rebellion. Most notable among those missions are the successful theft of the original Death Star plans, the rescue of General Crix Madine from an Imperial detention facility, and the liberation of the Lost Valley of the Jedi from the Dark Jedi, Jerec. An ancient prophecy stated that a self-taught Jedi would free the Lost Valley of the Jedi. Therefore, Kyle did not receive training from Luke Skywalker, but was aided by the spirit of the dead Jedi, Qu Rahn.

Parts: Head (Kyle Katarn), Torso (Cantina Han Solo), Arms (Deluxe Qui-Gon Jinn), Legs (Deluxe Darth Maul), Blaster (Kyle Katarn), Lightsaber (Deluxe Qui-Gon Jinn).

Supplies: X-acto knife, Super Sculpey, emery board or file, super glue, brushes, Testors paints and Testors Dull-Cote.

Reference: Illustrations from the Dark Forces trade paperbacks by Dark Horse and/or still photos from the PC game Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight.

Step One: I assembled the necessary parts using the boiling water method and then allowed the figure to cool completely.

Step Two: I trimmed down the sleeves with the X-acto knife. I also removed the collar of the shirt this way. A little bit of sanding was necessary, to get things nice and smooth here.

Step Three: I sculpted Kyle's belt using Super Sculpey. This took a bit of time, as he has quite a few gadgets and such on the belt. I cut small pieces of blaster barrel to use as the spare Bryar pistol power packs on his right hip.

Step Four: I sculpted the holster around Kyle's Bryar pistol using Super Sculpey. It will look a bit large, but one must remember that Kyle carried the Bryar pistol because it was essentially a hand-cannon, so it should look bigger than most blasters. After curing, I glued the holster to the front of Kyle's left hp, in a cross-draw style.

Step Five: I also sculpted the wristbands on each arm and the shoulder pad on the right shoulder of Kyle's shirt using Super Sculpey. The pad, if positioned properly, will cover the shoulder joint of the figure. You have two choices here. You can gently cut the shoulder pad in half and position one half on each side of the shoulder joint to preserve the arm's movement. Or, you can leave the shoulder pad in one piece and place a drop of super glue under the right armpit to prevent arm movement from breaking the shoulder pad. If you intend to display the figure and are not likely to handle it often, I recommend the glue method. It looks better.

Step Six: I then painted the figure according to the reference pictures. Once the figure was completely dry, I applied a coat of Testors Dull-Cote to protect the paint and reduce the shine.

Step Seven: Kyle begins his adventures with his teacher's lightsaber (green blade). The Dark Jedi Boc destroys that lightsaber with a rock. Kyle later acquires Yun's lightsaber (yellow blade) after Yun is killed. So, the color of your figure's lightsaber is up to you