[axonrey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozzie92

Which is why I do it for FUN, not commission.

Double true. Everything I make is for me own collection. Not that people are asking me for commissions.

[ARBCO Avenue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by axonrey

Double true. Everything I make is for me own collection. Not that people are asking me for commissions.

They should be! And you would enjoy having someone else pay for the parts, but it’s definitely better to do it for fun IMO.


Before getting back to helping with Thanksgiving dinner, just want to express gratitude for all you creative people with creative minds and hands, even though I’ve never met you. I enjoy watching you all have fun “playing” with your toys by creating new action figures, vehicles and dios. You entertain and inspire me every day. You are the reason I keep coming back to this site. I’m grateful for you guys. Have a happy Thanksgiving! But remember I’m the ONLY one allowed to say this cheesy thing - No cheesy replies allowed - either go eat good food or go show customs, got it?!

[ozzie92]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ARBCO Avenue

They should be! And you would enjoy having someone else pay for the parts, but it’s definitely better to do it for fun IMO.


Before getting back to helping with Thanksgiving dinner, just want to express gratitude for all you creative people with creative minds and hands, even though I’ve never met you. I enjoy watching you all have fun “playing” with your toys by creating new action figures, vehicles and dios. You entertain and inspire me every day. You are the reason I keep coming back to this site. I’m grateful for you guys. Have a happy Thanksgiving! But remember I’m the ONLY one allowed to say this cheesy thing - No cheesy replies allowed - either go eat good food or go show customs, got it?!

Awww, you’re the greates—errr, back to my elf work shop. ;)

[ARBCO Avenue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozzie92

Awww, you’re the greates—errr, back to my elf work shop. ;)

Exactly right Oz, Exactly right.

[kuh_rupht]

I’m late to the party on what is one of the most challenging aspects of customizing but I wanted to see if any of your tips help me. My most frustrating issue is using superglue. Specifically when I’m trying to glue delicate part directly to the figure. Was working on a leg drop holster the other day and scraped the idea because I couldn’t get the item to adhere fast enough. Anyone else have similar issues?

Also I saw a lot of comments about eyes being frustrating. They are and can be a huge pain in the ass some days. All I can recommend is start removing factors that make it more difficult. Brush size too large, paint too thick, can’t see the area well enough. Doing eyes set me back about $120 in investments but I’m glad I did it. If you’re on the fence about the desk light/magnifier or getting a 000 brush size, if you buy them and practice you will see an improvement. I found a head that I painted close to three years ago when I got into customizing and I recently painted the same character (different head sculpt) and the results are night and day. I plan to post it in the next couple days showing both heads as a comparison.

[axonrey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kuh_rupht

I’m late to the party on what is one of the most challenging aspects of customizing but I wanted to see if any of your tips help me. My most frustrating issue is using superglue. Specifically when I’m trying to glue delicate part directly to the figure. Was working on a leg drop holster the other day and scraped the idea because I couldn’t get the item to adhere fast enough. Anyone else have similar issues?

Also I saw a lot of comments about eyes being frustrating. They are and can be a huge pain in the ass some days. All I can recommend is start removing factors that make it more difficult. Brush size too large, paint too thick, can’t see the area well enough. Doing eyes set me back about $120 in investments but I’m glad I did it. If you’re on the fence about the desk light/magnifier or getting a 000 brush size, if you buy them and practice you will see an improvement. I found a head that I painted close to three years ago when I got into customizing and I recently painted the same character (different head sculpt) and the results are night and day. I plan to post it in the next couple days showing both heads as a comparison.

What type of glue do you use? I started using Bob Smith Industries and its effective and fast drying. Gorilla glue brand I like, as well. Krazy Glue and Loctite suck for these purposes.

[ozzie92]

I use Insta-Cure, but still need to be a lot more patient (1-2 minutes or longer if holding web gear together, etc.) than advertised.

For the black part of the eyes, I use a 0.005 permanent marker. I have the light/magnifier but somehow didn’t take to it. Perhaps a ridiculously small brush like you suggested...but how do you get around such a small amount of paint not drying on your brush in like 3-5 seconds?

[truejoefan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozzie92

I use Insta-Cure, but still need to be a lot more patient (1-2 minutes or longer if holding web gear together, etc.) than advertised.

For the black part of the eyes, I use a 0.005 permanent marker. I have the light/magnifier but somehow didn’t take to it. Perhaps a ridiculously small brush like you suggested...but how do you get around such a small amount of paint not drying on your brush in like 3-5 seconds?

When working on eyes I have been using a wood tooth pick. It seems to do the trick.

[ARBCO Avenue]

For glue, I like gels because they don't run and I have better control (and lose less skin). I squeeze the parts together for 30 seconds just after I judge that I've put it in the right place. The excess gel around the edges can be scraped off pretty easily after it dries, and even easier before it dries (often use a toothpick for removing excess quickly). If I have to remove small amounts of dried glue I use magnification to make sure I'm scraping the right thing. Tiny amounts can be painted over and still look clean. I'm currently using Loctite gel and it works well for me.

[kuh_rupht]

Quote:

Originally Posted by axonrey

What type of glue do you use? I started using Bob Smith Industries and its effective and fast drying. Gorilla glue brand I like, as well. Krazy Glue and Loctite suck for these purposes.

Probably the wrong type of glue, haha. I’ve tried a few different types (Krazy glue, hot glue, JB Weld, and a few others). All of them give me trouble. Here is an example of a situation that I always struggle with, say I cut the strap off a satchel from Marauder. Then if I want to glue the two ends together to make a loop it never sits right. I feel like I have to hold it on place for 5 minutes or it becomes “crusty” after it dries and looks like shit. Hot glue sometimes works but I prefer hot glue in areas I still want flexibility (filling joints, head sockets, foot pegs).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozzie92

I use Insta-Cure, but still need to be a lot more patient (1-2 minutes or longer if holding web gear together, etc.) than advertised.

For the black part of the eyes, I use a 0.005 permanent marker. I have the light/magnifier but somehow didn’t take to it. Perhaps a ridiculously small brush like you suggested...but how do you get around such a small amount of paint not drying on your brush in like 3-5 seconds?

I may have to try insta-cure; that’s one I don’t think I’ve tried yet.

The 0.005 micron marker works well depending on the situation. I used that method for about 18 months while I was practicing with the brush. I think it produces good results since it can hit small areas. My only issue with it was it would bleed with topcoat and can be rubbed off eventually. Not sure why someone would be rubbing the figure’s eyes, haha.

It took me a bit to get used to the light magnifier and it’s not for everyone. I definitely had to modify the way I held the brush because of the angles I had to hold the figure at to move around the device. I’m sure it’s like most things where once you get accustomed to it then you’re good. I’ll admit that it still gets in the way sometimes but it produces better results for me than anything else I’ve tried.

For the paint not drying to the brush in 3-5 seconds. This was one of the trickiest things I’ve had to deal with. It used to piss me off so much and I hated painting faces because of that reason. I’m sure people have different tips for this but here is what I did to resolve that issue for the majority of the time. I’ll try to be specific as possible since there are a lot of factors that could produce different results.

1. I use Vallejo acrylic paint and shake the hell out it it so it’s mixed really well. (Shake for 30-45 seconds).
2. Let the paint settle in the bottle for about a minute. (This helps reduces bubbles and back pressure)
3. I use 2-3 drops of paint and 1 drop of water (I purchased a bottle of eye drops, dumped out the solution, cleaned it, filled with tap water. This method gave me better control/consistency of my water ratio)
4. Mix the paint well with a toothpick or whatever else you have that will get the job done. (I do not use the brush to mix with)
5. With my 000 brush, I put a good amount of paint on the bottom 2/3rds of the brush. Then I test a few strokes on a scratch paper or finger nail.
6. I reload the paint and retest step 5. Both times I use a very light hand and what I’m trying to do is saturate the brush. (This causes the paint to flow down as you use it, same principal as using a ballpoint pen)
7. Reload a little more paint, dabbing just the tip of the brush on your scratch so you don’t get an initial glob of paint. Then I finally make contact with the figure.
8. Technique differs from person to person on how they apply the paint (black first, white first, start side closer to the nose and move out, side closer to the ear and move in) I don’t know how much any of that matters because to me if you can’t control the amount of paint or prevent it from drying on the brush, then it’s probably going to look fucked up no matter what technique you choose, haha.

Okay that was a lot and I didn’t plan for it to be that wordy. I just feel like I’ve watched so many tutorials and it’s difficult to find one that is detailed on the prep work. They usually start with “okay let’s paint this part first”. Hopefully someone finds this beneficial.