On the Workbench

[K-Tiger]

I just need to find where i put that other damn hook. My Huey is up already. The Super Cobra can eat a dick and stay disassembled in the closet.

I've got the M296 on, not happy with the ammo can laying flat, but oh well. Just need to find a damn Cash-Money Destro and i can get an M134 mounted up on the port side and call my gunship done.

 

[K-Tiger]

So i'm splicing parts together to make....something. I am aiming for it to be able to er...aim a rifle in the prone position, something no Hasbro sniper can do as yet.


Viper torso
PoC Cobra Commander head (really a place holder)
Tunnel Rat thighs (definitely do not like these)
Lady Jaye knees
25th Storm Shadow calves
Para-Viper feet.

I may replace the legs entirely with RoC Storm Shadows, they make good trousers, but i kinda like the puttee-ed look of the SS lowers combined with the range of motion i get using the P-V feet.

No arms to put on him.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

The black legs of the ROC Cobra Commander are the same as the ROC Storm Shadows, except cast in black, if that helps. I bought a few on clearance just for the legs. The rest of the figure is mostly ass.

 

[K-Tiger]

I have a pair of RoC Stormy ones that i hit with a light coat of Fusion for a project, and they seem to work alright. I just need to rustle up some arms and a set of the new hands.

Eh, i like PoC CC. I'm so sick of the poncy uniform wearing twat CC that Joe fans can't live without.

 

[K-Tiger]

Got the ST pilot/regular ass ST in OD painted up. I did a Fusion primer coat that turns out wasn't necessary, as the Krylon Camouflage line uses Fusion formulation. Gonna give him a few days to dry up before reassembly.

 

[Midget]

New workbench of sorts. That's my '44 SMLE No. 4 Mk I on there. Trying to get the cosmoline and grease out of it. This may be a long process.

 

[K-Tiger]

Heat is your friend. It's currently hot enough during the day to just let that stuff sit in the sun and melt away.

 

[Midget]

I have the black trash bag ready. I may re-finish the wood, as it's not original to the rest of the rifle. The cosmoline has really soaked into the wood, especially the lower portion of the stock.

 

[K-Tiger]

I got lucky and to the best of my knowledge my stock isn't saturated with the crud.

 

[Midget]

Not so much the case with this one. I found a guide to get rid of it- but it involves the dishwasher. Wife isn't here

 

[K-Tiger]

You may regret that decision when you've got to clean that shit out one day down the line.

 

[Midget]

Supposedly the dishwasher handles it the same way it does any other grease. In any event, we rent and we're maybe moving soon

 

[K-Tiger]

Grease builds up. But if you're moving, yeah leave it for the next guy. .

 

[Midget]

Found that simple green gets it right out. No worries!

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

anybody know what to use to glue plastic, wood and metal together?

 

[K-Tiger]

Hot glue, maybe.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

hot glue?!...i'm not making womens cheap crap for a craft show

 

[K-Tiger]

Well, it works. Try not mixing 3 different substrates next time, sport.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

lol...when creating somethings, you have to get creative and use what works...i may find a way to eliminate the metal

 

[Mandingo Rex]

What sort of "toy" are you working on, Edward? Trying to build that chair from "Burn After Reading"?

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

you joke, but seeing a chick on that chair would be killer hot...

trying to put together a fire hydrant for my street dio...now i'm brainstorming a street lamp

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

i found some super glue that worked on all of it...now i just need some paint

 

[darthdre758]

I threw these together last night while trying to get back into the swing of things. Not sure how I'll go for a head on the full figure yet.

This one I was picturing a Seal of some sort.

 

[K-Tiger]

Just wrapped up a right-handed Shock Trooper ballistic shield conversion.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

those look good dd...that vest looks really nice on a black torso

 

[XOC2008]

Just wrapped up a right-handed Shock Trooper ballistic shield conversion.

I want to do that for a couple of mine. It should be fairly easy, right?

 

[K-Tiger]

Yup, just pry the handle piece off and flip it over. Re-glue and you're pretty much done. I masked the center section and painted mine, though.

 

[Dropshipbob]

You wouldn't even necessarily have to mask anything. Just paint the back of the shield using acrylic paint. Thin it down a bit and you won't have to worry about brush strokes, but you may have to do two or three coats.

 

[K-Tiger]

Or i can take the 5 minutes it takes to do a glue mask, hit it with a dryer and then spray the damn thing.

 

[Dropshipbob]

Yeah, sorry about that K, I thought I had a good idea.

It sounded good in my head.

 

[K-Tiger]

It would work, but i'd have to mix up a color and all that. K.I.S.S. principle!

 

[Dropshipbob]

I can't argue with that!

 

[fogger1138]

Some stuff I've been working on:

I'm just now trying painting, so the heads are my first attempt. All still works in progress at this point.

That's Jinx, Gung-ho, Grifter and Frostbite, in case you didn't recognize any of 'em. All courtesy of Slayer Designs.

All of these are almost entirely simple parts swaps, because I'm just figuring out how to do customs. Be gentle.

Falcon I did by swapping the comic pack version's gear onto the PIT Trooper, and adding a painted Sgt. Stone head (courtesy of Midget, since I wasn't painting yet at this point).

Female Tanker (maybe it's Cover Girl, maybe not, dunno)

Also had Midget's help in getting the arms onto the torso (have fun with that, Eddie).

Gotta love that the Pilot Scarlett head can actually sort of wear a helmet, unlike the other female heads.

Mercer, for now:

I may change the Hawk head for a painted Duke, and I'm thinking of trading out the vest for a different one again.

 

[K-Tiger]

Hey, these are pretty good. Simple is good. I like the idea of Mercer as wearing an old Viper uniform. Prefer the bearded look, though. I don't like that head for any application.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Good luck painting Gung Ho's eyes. That was the hardest damned head sculpt I've ever painted. It's a perfect sculpt, but I wish it was in 2 pieces.

For Frostbite, make sure you do a black crescent arch for the upper eyelid. It's night and day when you're done.

So you've not done customs before? Way to jump right in, if that's the case. Took me a year and a half to attempt painting custom heads.

 

[fogger1138]

Hey, these are pretty good. Simple is good. I like the idea of Mercer as wearing an old Viper uniform. Prefer the bearded look, though. I don't like that head for any application.

Thanks! I'm thinking about doing Taurus and Red Dog as former Vipers, too. Makes a hell of a lot more sense than... whatever the hell they they were.

Mercer had a beard? Huh, never had that version. Not sure I'd even seen it before. http://www.yojoe.com/action/91/mercer2.shtml

Good luck painting Gung Ho's eyes. That was the hardest damned head sculpt I've ever painted. It's a perfect sculpt, but I wish it was in 2 pieces.

Oh good, something to look forward to.

For Frostbite, make sure you do a black crescent arch for the upper eyelid. It's night and day when you're done.

Any suggestions on how to do that? I know what you mean, I just don't have a clue how to do it.

So you've not done customs before? Way to jump right in, if that's the case. Took me a year and a half to attempt painting custom heads.

Nope, these are my first.

Of course, the figures I posted here are stuff I've been playing with for a while, and have been spread out over several months, so it's really just the heads that are recent. I didn't mention that, did I? Crap.

I think the female Tanker might be the oldest, and she's probably 8 months or so at this point. Maybe more.

 

[K-Tiger]

Thanks! I'm thinking about doing Taurus and Red Dog as former Vipers, too. Makes a hell of a lot more sense than... whatever the hell they they were.

Mercer had a beard? Huh, never had that version. Not sure I'd even seen it before. http://www.yojoe.com/action/91/mercer2.shtml

Yup, and so did Low-Light, but i try to forget that happened.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Oh good, something to look forward to.

Any suggestions on how to do that? I know what you mean, I just don't have a clue how to do it.

Yeah, those GH eyes were a pain. Keel-Haul was pretty tough too, but Frostbite was fairly easy. The problem is getting under that hat brim on both KH and GH.

http://www.angelfire.com/mech/jinsaotome/WorkspaceSetup/EyePainting.html

Basically, this, but less complicated. His is for a 6" scale, which I've never attempted, although one of these days I hope to make a Jean Grey to finish my Jim Lee X-Men. You just can't do all the iris highlights at the 4" scale. (Or I can't, anyways... I'm not about to attempt that.)

I paint the entire head in the right flesh tone mixed to the figure's desired flesh tone, covering it thoroughly with an even color. I save this in a small jar for touch-up (and there will be touchups even after you're done). I then paint the upper eye arch with a fine brush (you can just paint the entire eye "well" black if it helps). I then clean up the upper edge with the flesh tone if it got out of line (going back over it, this time with the flesh tone) once the black arch is dried. From there, I paint the whites of the eyes, carefully lining just under the black arch, so you basically "mask off" the top with flesh and the bottom with white. Once that's done, I "mask" off the bottom of the eye in flesh, cleaning up the bottom edge of the eye. The last thing I do is draw in the dot, and if I screw up on that, I usually have to start all over.

Getting two eyes that are pointing straight, not too low and not too high, is about the toughest part.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Here, like this. I can break out the explanations for each step if you like, but it should be pretty self-explanatory from the pics. I left the "wet" paint slightly lighter for the flesh tone to better illustrate the "live" paint.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Nice visual aide there Rex! Rex pretty much summed it up nicely with how to get the black arch at the top of the eye. I paint eyes on my figures the same way he explained it.

You're doing excellent to to have just started w/painting head sculpts. Just remember that you'll always have to do touch-up work, but you'll get better the more you do it.

Keep at it!