Jin Saotome

Don't really know about the regular colors Testors black/white, just that the stuff from the Fantasy series is the best black/white/red I've ever used. However Testors has never steered me wrong in the past with paints (except for the enamels, heh) so try the regular Flat Black. Might be the same stuff. Hmmm, a smallish girl figure for a custom. Do you have a pic of the character?

There are different methods to do this: One, you have to work from one section and slowly crack sections open as you get to them. I take a miniature flat-head screwdriver and wedge it right into the underside seam of the crotch (as funny as this may sound) and break the waist apart. Then I can get underneath the abdomen and start breaking it apart from there where it will be covered up later. Heating the body as you crack it open sometimes helps, too. Two, you can try filling the body with water and freezing it, causing the water to expand and break the figure open, or just freeze the figure to make the seams brittle so you can crack it open easier (this is called the freezer-trick). Most of the time, you'll have 'support pegs' running across from the chest to the back of the figure, and you'll have to cut those in half in order to split the figure open. With the new Marvel Legends figures it's REALLY hard to get a body in half because of all the added articulation, and when you're ready to combine parts they never match up! My suggestion is to just find a good base-body and switch arms/legs/head around. It's MUCH easier to do this and usually looks cleaner in the end. Good luck tho! Also edited by Anastasya...holy moly Love! Get a dictionary! :0)

AGH!! NOT SPRAY PAINT!!! If you want to do a base-coat with 'spray', use Acrylic paint and an airbrush. Spray paint contains tolulene and some petroleum agents that remain forever sticky on plastics, especially the softer plastics most commonly used in action figures. My advice is pick up some ACRYLIC paints, NOT enamels. The best Acrylic paints I've found are Testors Model Masters Fantasy series and Games Workshop Citadel paints. These can be purchased at your local hobby store (sometimes) and bought online at the following links. Shipping is cheap too! http://www.testors.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=4 http://store.us.games-workshop.com/storefr...=DoRace&game=11 Edited by Anastasya, Jin's IRL Girlfriened, because he can't spell!! :-b

Ok, the easy one first! To remove an arm (at the bicep) just hit it with a hairdryer on high heat for a minute. This will allow you to gently pop the arm into sections, even removing the elbow pins out if you want. Getting the shoulder off is a completly different story, and usually involves cracking the figure open. Unfortuatly there are too many different types of shoulder joints (the swing-up Daredevil ones, the swing-forward Spiderman ones, the dislocate-up Collossus ones, etc) to make it worthwhile switching entire arms around. Instead just pick a good base with the shoulder ball-joint you want and recreate the lower arm. My Cable figure is a good example of lower-arm replacement. Ok, making long hair. I like swiping long hair off of other figures (wrestling figures are good for this) but you can also make your own. This involves actual sculpting and there's different ways of doing it. Milliput is way too brittle for this job, so you're going to have to grab some Kneadite and sculpt the hair or hair-extensions right onto the figure. This stuff is more rubbery than Milliput, and you'll need some sharp tools to carve the hair-lines into the material once you've made your solid base for the main part of the hair. I've heard success stories of people sculpting thicker, more solid 'anime hair' from Apoxie sculpt, using less of the hardening agent when mixing it. I've also seen long hair created from laying down thin strands of hot glue over a figure's head with waxed paper over the shoulders to keep it from sticking. Dunno if hot glue can degrade over time, but I know it will limp in the sun and make a mess if left in a hot car. That's about all I know for making long hair. You've sparked my intrest tho, so I'm going to browse the isles at Toys r Us and Claires to see what kind of freaky add-on-hair-extensions they have that can be used by us customizers.

Um, er, oven, action figures, extreme heat, plastic... er... I'll let Psycho Johnny take the responsibility for the answer, heh. (I once used Sculpty III until I found Milliput. I've melted and deformed any figure I've put in the oven. Johnny's boil/hairdryer suggestion sounds much better! However I've never tried that so give it a shot.)

Yeah, the Superglue trick will leave a glossy finish on your figures unless you rough it up a bit with some super-fine sanpaper. I found, however odd this may seem, that I can 'buff' my matte paints up to a satin finish with a sock or peper towel after they're fully cured. This gives them a realistic apperance, not totally flat so it doesn't reflect any highlight, but not glassy and shiny like gloss paint. It's somewhere inbetween and I'm loving the effect of 'polishing' my painted figures. The glossy superglue isn't really noticed then.

To answer your first question, you need to use the Wash technique Dilute dark grey or black paint and paint it into the creases and folds. In this case you don't want to cover the whole figure with the Wash, just the indentions (like in your pic) so hand-paint it in and let the Eash dry. After you're done, take a paper towel lightly dampened with Alcohol and rub it across the raised washed surfaces. This removes any Wash that was applied on the higher sections, and blends the edges of the Wash against the color-molded plastic. Second question: Actually it depends on the brand and type of acrylic paint you use CN6. The Testors Fantasy Acrylic series sticks right to plastic, even when diluted into a Wash. In fact the Dragon Black and Dragon White paints they sell can't even be removed with rubbing alcohol, I don't know what's in the paint but it's powerful stuff! However you MUST wash (and I mean with soap and water) your action figures to remove the 'mold release' agent that keeps paint from sticking properly. A little hand soap and warm water does the trick, use an old toothbrush or fingernail brush to get in the joints. So hand-paint the Wash in batman's uniform, and use hobby-quality Acrylic paints, Testors being my #1 choice now and Citadel following close behind. Stryfe! Yes I have plans to do a Stryfe, but I've got my eyes set on making Omega Red and some others first... We'll just have to see! Cables hand gun was made from part of the exploding gun turret that came with the XMC Cyclops figure. His larger Hyper Viper Gun was made from a Takara Microman accessory, came from some sort of green-falcon robot. His arm was made from Wildcat's Warblade hand, a chopped off arm from a Spawn Interlink6 figure, and hoses from another Interlink6 figure. Those biomechanical spawn figures work really well for Cable's arm, and there's different ones that I don't have that you could probably just swipe the arm right off. Good luck customizing yours!

What a coincidence, that IS the same chrome spray that someone used on a collossus! I think it was on the Fwoosh.net where they re-did Colossus with Krylon's Chrome. I haven't tried the new stuff but it looks very decent on that Megatron. However take a look at the cap of the silver spraypaint. You can see yourself in it like a mirror... that's electroplating (not paint) and it fools you into thinking your chrome is gonna come out that shiny. The 'perfect' chrome look I'm going for looks like the spray cap does, and so far we have only come close with metallic-leaf rubbing. Problem is that doesn't make a perfectly smooth surface and ends up reflective, but in sections. That Kyrolon stuff is the best so far if you like the shiny-shiny. Just don't get it on anything soft-soft rubber like colossus's shoulderpads, stays sticky, ick.

Nope, in fact I don't like Tamiya paint except for their clear colors. My #1 choice of paint to use is the Testors Model Master Acrylic 'Fantasy Series' they offer on their site. Sorry, I never found the Danger Girl figures in my area and therefore don't even really know what they look like . I think I saw some Nazi-lookin guy in a comic shop for $20.00 but passed on em.

Make your own out of a Mecha Hulk http://www.angelfire.com/mech/jinsaotome/J...elBestMulti.jpg

Grendel Prime is a Cyborg from Matt Wagner's Grendel 'War Child' series. Comes from a post-apocolyptic earth where there's mutated vampires running around, radioactive fallout, etc. He's shown up in an awesome Batman vs Grendel 'Devils Bones' mini-series and of course had his own series. Hunter Rose is the traditional Grendel with the electric pitch-fork and that wears the leotards.

I actually use scrap-plastic for waist pegs or extra pegs I have laying around. That way I can carve out the perfect sized peice I need to maintain a good tight link between the waist and the torso. Ahh, Tamiya paints can be found in most hobby stores that carry the remote-controlled race cars and flying model planes as it's become one of the favorites among modellers. It's actually harder finding Games Workshop and Testors Acrylic paints than it is Tamiyia! I haven't researched any places to buy Tamiya online because I don't use it that much. Try Hobby Link Japan as they carry many of their brand of model kits, they might have the paint as well.

Ahh yes it's 'impove-a-figure-day' and Grendel Prime gets some luvin! Here we have a newly sculpted breather mask, smaller metal shoulder spikes (and they hurt, ouch) metal bolts, kevlar wrappings, and... a CROTCH GUARD! heh. Smaller eyes than my last one too and it makes him look much more realistic. Tah-dah! His plasma-blade can even be removed from the hilt and I found a way to add the spikes right onto the ball-joint so where they don't impede articulation! Want to see all the pictures of him? Head on over to my site at http://www.jinsaotomesdangeroustoys.com/ and check him out! And of course he's for sale on Ebay here so bid away! I'm hoping if you're a Grendel fan you'll be very pleased with this version...

I.... have actually never taken elektra or Mr Fantastic apart, LOL! I have taken the newer Spiderman figures apart and lemme tell ya, it's a PAIN. You have to switch the waist pegs, widen holes, add pastic washers, and that's 'if' you can get the waist/torso open without destroying it. Currently I've found that if I just break the suckers right in half over my knee, I can open up the torso and just fabricate a new waist peg easier than if I tried to cut the seam or pry them open. Toybiz makes really securely glued-together figures now, lemme tell ya!

......... If anyone can pick me up one for around $30.00 drop me a reply will you please?

All the specifications, uses, and qualities about Milliput and Kneadite in one handy guide. Props go to Chase GSX for sending me some Kneadite to experiment with! Thanks man! Custom Sculpting Guide Enjoy!

You'll never get a better voice than Judd Nelson's voice as Rodimus in the TF Movie, LOL!

Here ya go, a how to guide with instructions on making your own Archangel figure from my recipie. Archangel Tutorial Let me know if it's useful and I'll make some more!

Mandalorian! Oh I've been busy IRL mainly. Got lots of projects going, had to fix my car, my pool out back, roto-tilling the backyard, etc etc. Sorry not to of kept in touch so much, email me at jinsaotome@hotmail.com and we'll shoot the breeze!

Surgury, heh. He Man's head has a neck peg as part of its base, and Arc's head sits on a peg. What you have to do is carve the underside of He man's head concave and drill a hole a little ways back. Just pop off yourt Arc's head to see what you're aiming for it to look like. Make the mushroom-hole in He man's head and pop it on the Archangel's neck peg, testing the tightness. Might take some pratice so try it with a different head first if you've never done this before.

Well the Magicsculpt site sells it direct http://www.magicsculp.com/ and you can find milliput (along with Magisculpt and a ton of other stuff) http://www.michtoy.com/MTSCnewSite/supplie.../sculpting.html there!

Holy smokes I forgot about this thread~! Ok, to answer questions... Preparing figures: Just wash them with warm soapy water. After you remove the mold release agent, your paint will stick right to the plastic with no sanding or primering (unless you like to primer them). This goes for the acrylic Testors, as the Enamel testors that you buy at Wal-mart are no good for painting figures! Make sure the testors paint you use says 'Acrylic and water wash up'. Black Panther: I sanded off the ridges of Daredevil's horns and mask with super-fine sandpaper, 3M 000 fine I guess. It's the grey sandpaper that you use for wet-sanding. Just simple sanding there. Also you can apply Milliput to the surface and sand that down smooth later. Ghostrider: His metal spikes are actually steel brads (nails) that I shortened, shaped the tips, and drilled holes for all over his custume! Super glue holds them in tight and how he's a sharp-n-spikey Ghostrider. You can even use the larger aluminum nails for bigger spikes, it's up to you. Kneadite: Never used the stuff actually... I have easy access to Milliput and that suits my needs perfectly so far. I've heard really good things about magicscupt but again, never used it. If anyone wants to send me samples of either product, drop me a PM as I'd be glad to try them out and give you all a comparison, even list a section of the materials on my site!

When did these come out?! http://www.action-hq.com/cgi-bin/action-hq.../oth001239.html http://www.action-hq.com/cgi-bin/action-hq.../oth001233.html *edit* Ah found the thread, thanks! Gonna buy me a set!

Good and bad points about this figure... He's got the 'Steve Urkle' thing going with a small torso and long legs/waist, way outta porportion and it looks like they chopped part of his chest off. Both arms are removable with a cool chainsaw and gun. Feet look like futuristic-looking tennis shoes with spikes on the bottom and a space in the back where skis or something slide into them. Some artic figure maybe? Lower body/legs are definatly a re-use because it says 1996 on them, heh. BEST LOOKING ANDROID HEAD ON ANY 12" FIGURE EVER! Omg, like... wow. It's evil looing, better sculpted than anything I've seen on a GI joe before, it has spikes coming off of the back, and tech-detail all over the back side! Arms are scawny, which they are on the 3" figure but here they just look bad probably because of the bulging balljoints. Instead of wide and thin they're just.... thin. Hands are a reuse too and don't match well being as hasbro painted the silver 'metal' sections over the folds of the glove where there should of been seams or something. Chest and back ROCK, detailed sculpt with 'vents' on the back and it just looks all robotic! The pants and feet make him look like a geeky rollerblader-android...eech. And the bright blue on the shoes/knees, what the hell?? I swear these are just reused parts from some other figure. Anyways, here's some quick-pics! I think I'll just rip the head/chest off and stick it on one of the Cy-Corps figure from BBI.

I remember a lot of people dropping Emails to me about buying this guy outright, he's up for sale so I thought I'd give everyone a heads-up! Just check my site and my Ebay auctions for the link. Good luck!