TSCC: Custom Action Figures PART 4
Converting Charley's and John's heads from older style to newer style (to fit the toros I'd chosen for them) was a rather annoying process. It was the reverse of what I had to do to Sarah's head. This time I had to build up the bases of the necks.
My first attempt, using Sculpey, wasn't successful. That stuff didn't harden enough to my liking, so I chipped it all off and got some Super Sculpey instead. I'm still not entirely pleased with the results, but it had nothing to do with the modeling clay. That stuff worked great. I'd hoped it would be as simple as adding a ball of Sculpey to the bottoms of the necks and sanding, but I had to deal with some unexpected issues. In addition to needing the shape of the neck bases altered, their necks also needed to be shortened and thinned. It became an ordeal. Fortunately, the unattractive results are almost completely hidden inside the bodies and paint will mask the rest.
After shortening and thinning their necks with the Dremel, I added Super Sculpey, boiled the heads to harden it and then went to work grinding and sanding until they fit properly. Not only did I have to work the necks, but the insides of the torsos needed modifying too. I had to widen the neck holes and grind away some of the internal neck supports. In the end, I got those damn heads in there and they can move fairly freely so... mission accomplished. I'm glad to be able to move on.
Next up is hair. I played around with making hair for Cameron last night (just a trial run to get a feel for it) and I think it's going to work out well. I hope I can get the hair done this week so I can actually start painting this weekend. Which reminds me, I need to check the status of my paints - make sure I have all the colors I need and that none are dried out or too thick (haven't used them in about a year and a half).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10: The Unveiling
My first attempt, using Sculpey, wasn't successful. That stuff didn't harden enough to my liking, so I chipped it all off and got some Super Sculpey instead. I'm still not entirely pleased with the results, but it had nothing to do with the modeling clay. That stuff worked great. I'd hoped it would be as simple as adding a ball of Sculpey to the bottoms of the necks and sanding, but I had to deal with some unexpected issues. In addition to needing the shape of the neck bases altered, their necks also needed to be shortened and thinned. It became an ordeal. Fortunately, the unattractive results are almost completely hidden inside the bodies and paint will mask the rest.
After shortening and thinning their necks with the Dremel, I added Super Sculpey, boiled the heads to harden it and then went to work grinding and sanding until they fit properly. Not only did I have to work the necks, but the insides of the torsos needed modifying too. I had to widen the neck holes and grind away some of the internal neck supports. In the end, I got those damn heads in there and they can move fairly freely so... mission accomplished. I'm glad to be able to move on.
Next up is hair. I played around with making hair for Cameron last night (just a trial run to get a feel for it) and I think it's going to work out well. I hope I can get the hair done this week so I can actually start painting this weekend. Which reminds me, I need to check the status of my paints - make sure I have all the colors I need and that none are dried out or too thick (haven't used them in about a year and a half).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10: The Unveiling