The "ask Jin Saotome" Thread

[Jin Saotome]

Depends on what medium you're using for sculpting. I find my works turns out much better after sculpting Milliput when I carefully sand the areas I've sculpted to obtain that perfectly smooth factory-finish.

 

If you're sculpting with oven-bake clay like SculptyIII or Fimo, you may want to leave your sculpt the way it is and then spray it with sandable primer. Then sand all the irregularities down afterwards. I don't usually sand anything after I being applying my base coat unless I notice something that's really screwed up or out of place.

[HPZ]

thanks, kneadite is a #$##

[HachiGO]

Whew, thank god for this thread. Hey Jin, I'm trying glue chunks of ML Elektra's hair together, but that rubbery plastic its made is hard to glue together. I tried superglue, but that didn't work. Do you know what type of glue is good for that type of plastic?

[Cyclonus8]

Hey Jin,

Is there a way to change the color of those "pleather" jackets that come with figures like the movie Punisher? Standard painting is probably not feasible. How about some kind of dying?

[green_machine]

hey jin, I was going to repaint a set of Mr. Fantastic's arms but after I paint them should I clear coat them or anything? or just leave it be?

[Jin Saotome]

Rawr! More questions!

 

HachiGO:

Your Elektra hair is indeed a pain-in-the-arse. The only thing I've found that adheres the rubbery plastic is Plastic-Welder from Devcon. It always helps when you rough the edges you're gluing together with some sandpaper too. This gives any glue something to hold on to. Try some of the Plastic Welder, it comes in a black double-syringe and can be found at Wal-mart and Ace Hardware.

 

Cyclonus8:

Actually the Tamyia paint seems to stick fairly well to the pleather stuff without much peeling or cracking off, but it's really difficult to cover black with anything without building up coats of paint and not having it crack. Dying won't work on these coats because only the inside is fabric.

 

The only succesful way to paint something that's flexible is to mix in a drop of liquid latex in with a little bit of the paint. You have to do this in order to get your paints to adhere to latex masks and it works on these pleather items as well.

 

Green Machine:

What kind of paints are you using? The cheap craft paints you get at Wal Mart will probably need a sealer coat, but the quality ones like Games Workshop and Testors Model Master don't. If you're painting something flexible it's hard to put a sealer coat on and not have it crack. Also if it's an enamel or spray-paint sealer the plastic could remain sticky forever. Paint the arms the correct color and test them first!

[PeppyTheHamster]

You told me the only way was The "Ask Jin" thread or email you, so I decided to post here.

 

I'm very curious about your custom. There are many custom-added details to this figure that are VERY precise, such as the belt and the scuplted lines on the legs and arms.

 

See Here:

 

 

Basically, what I want to know is.. .HOW IN THE HELL DID YOU MAKE THAT?! Heh, if thats free-hand scuplting, its like nothing I've ever seen before.

 

Please, help.

[superior]

I have a question how did you do the Neo jacket I know it's punishers but like what did you cut and stuff?

[Jin Saotome]

Those would be the double wire from the cheap cellphone headsets, and I think you did email me about it. I remember answering this question somewhere?

 

Neo's jacket is an easy mod. Cut the lapels off at an angle so they line up when folded in front of his chest. That makes the front seam. I made the cut from the neck all the way down to the belt. Glue them together then fold the fabric over in the back to make the chest area tight, leaving it loose around the waist. Super glue sticks the jacket parts together great. I also cut off the collar, trimmed it in half, then reattached it to to the jacket to form the correct collar.

[Doom Saber]

Curious, in removing paint, do you sand it or do you apply paint thinner to get it off?

[ֲмÅ?Å?ŋƒốĞֱ]

why does my 7 dollar tamiya small precision paint brush go 'boofy' on me after i use it 10 times to paint stuff? anyway, is there a way to fix the tip because i dont wanna go spending that kinda money if it lasts me about 2 weeks each brush...

thanks Jin Saotome

[PeppyTheHamster]

why does my 7 dollar tamiya small precision paint brush go 'boofy' on me after i use it 10 times to paint stuff? anyway, is there a way to fix the tip because i dont wanna go spending that kinda money if it lasts me about 2 weeks each brush...

thanks Jin Saotome

Sounds like your not taking care of your paint brushes.

 

Always washed them off, even if your in the middle of using them. When painting with detail brushes, your paint should only touch the end of the brush. Dont let it go to high up the brushes or it will ruin the bristles.

[ֲмÅ?Å?ŋƒốĞֱ]

the reason i dont touch the tip with the paint only is because i like to dab the paint a little and then wipe it off on a napkin or something, its very hard to get the tip only and then paint on a figure straight away... sorry if im not making much sense but i do understand what your saying, looks like i'll have to buy another one to take care of more carefully, thanks.

[Jin Saotome]

Removing paint: Depends actually, factory paint or your Acrylic? I find that Alcohol removes most Acrylic paint that you've brushed on, however Acetone is the best stuff for instantly removing factory paint without leaving an oily residue. Don't let the Acetone sit on the plastic, douse a paper towel and wipe the paint off. I removed the black paint from Carnage this way, works great for my paint-removing needs and is now a staple on my workdesk! Make sure ya got decent ventalation tho.

 

Keeping paint brushes pristine just requires care.

1) Don't let them sit in the bottom of your water glass after rinsing them.

2) Don't dry-brush with your expensive ones.

3) Gently re-shape the tip of the brush with your lips (clean lips!) before the bristles dry, setting the brush with bristles pointing straight up.

4) Don't mash the bristles around in the water glass when you're rinsing the paint off.

5) Don't dip the whole brush head in, only 1/2 into the paint.

 

Follow those rules and most brushes will last you years! Natural hair brushes like the Camel hair don't tend to frizz as much as the synthetic kind. (white bristles) I usually stick with the camel hair.

[JoeRhyno]

Jin... Love the customs!

EDIT: FOUND THE HEAD... THANKS ANYWAY

Keep up the awesome work!!!

Joe

[los]

Jin im thinking of doing an AOA Sabertooth but wondering if the ML Saber is too Scrawny? If so what would be an appropriate base?

 

Thanx in advance.

Los

[Jin Saotome]

yeah... the ML Sabertooth's legs and arms/wrists just don't scream 'tough' enough for me really. And AoA Sabertooth, hmmm. You know the Sagat figure from SOTA Street Fighter shows promise for large characters, if you want to sculpt around some parts. I was actually looking at him for some larger customs. Let me think about that for a bit...

[asidx]

jin, i am trying to make scarlet spider using black costume spidy 2nd release as the base, and the hoodie from the secret I.D. spidy as the vest...i have my colors, and as i painted the hoodie today, its already pealed off...i even washed it in warm soapy water like you said...as for the red on the black body, should i put another coat of red on first? or just buy another one and paint him white then red?? any help would be greatly apreciated

[afjayf2004]

jin, i am working on a sentinekl custom made from an iron man figure. do you have any ideas for the paint to keep the articulation?

 

thanks in advance

[Jin Saotome]

Are you talking about a soft-rubber hoodie? In that case you'd need to mix a little bit of liquid latex with some paint in order for it to stick and flex correctly. I did this with my new Jin custom to get the paint to stick to the ML7 Ghost Rider's jacket.

 

 

You can keep all the articulation when you paint, providing you're using Model Master Acrylic or Games Workshop paints, the quality stuff. Sometimes you'll need to shave down or sand down sections of the joints that rub but you never have to sacrifice articulation for painting....EVER. Check my painting guide on my site for all the tips about painting a figure.

[Darc Galadriel]

jin i have come in search of you once more for your guidance.i have rec'd for christmas some customizing tools(unexpectdly i though he was gonna get me some star wars unleashed figures but he said he wanted to surprise me) but still need to get the tools in your checklist. i have printed all your guides as well.i plan on making one figure for every costume jean wore in marvel legends style(sides phoenix and dark phoenix since thay have already been made).i am currently tring to get this guy to customize jean in a wedding dress for me,i am paying him more then he wanted cus i want her to be perfect but he has some time constraints and i know she would not be completed over nite, but 5 mths seems kinda long don't ya think.any how i rec'd a coleman aircompresser an airbrush kit and a dremel set( that is way awsome) .in your guides you don't speak of airbrushes, are they not good.my friend who got them for me said the man at the hobby store said it was great for cusomizing small areas like eyes, but it doesn't seem so.anyhow what do you think about airbrushes.i will keep you updated on how its going and i am sure i will have more ?'s for you in the time to come, hope thats okay.thanks for any help.

[Jin Saotome]

Airbrushes are very cool. You can use them to do muscle shading, base coats, just about anything. I wouldn't use them for anything small like an eyeball or a face because they tend tp overspray unless you get the $20.00 superfine-line tips. Even then you could probably do it with a brush.

 

The reason I don't mention airbrush use is because I broke mine and didn't have enough $$$ to buy a new one. Since then I've learned to paint entirely by hand, mainly because I had to.

 

It's somewhat time-consuming to break down an airbrush and clean all the parts unless you have a worksink and setup right there at your desk. Lugging the mini-compressor to the bathroom and spraying off all the parts in the sink started to suck about the 90th time I did it, heh. However if I went out an bought an airbrush I could skip all the washes and drybrushing steps, using the airbrush to spray on shadows and highlights.

 

So if you have one, learn to use it! You can duplicate flawless paintjobs with an airbrush as it's the choice tool of toy companies for painting their 2-up models for the Toyfair displays and such.

[Massasoit]

Hey, I want to make a yellow Death mask for Archangel, but I want it to be removable (like ML Iron Man or Doom). I was planning on using some Milliput to sculpt a mask that has the exact contours of the figure's face on the inside, but is there anything I can put down on the face like, I dunno, some kinda powder or wax paper, so the Milliput will not glue itself onto the face? What would work the best? Thanks, Jin.

[puddingstick]

Archangel had a yellow death mask? Im not sure i know what u mean could you explain it so it may benefit me as well.

[Massasoit]

Archangel had a yellow death mask? Im not sure i know what u mean could you explain it so it may benefit me as well.

 

I'm talking about when he was still under Acopalypse's control as the horsemen, Death.

 

You can't really see it too well in this pic, but here:

http://www.uncannyxmen.net/images/spotligh...archangel26.jpg