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Customizer's "How to" Guide


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We had a nice little help/advise thread in the old forum for customs, so wanted to bring that back to life. So all you customizers out there share your knowledge!

To get you going how bout these questions:

* What paints are best?

* Pros & Cons of sculpey.

* How to accessorize?

* How to paint straight lines?

* Pros & Cons of templates.

* What programs do you use to create designs?

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Here is my Pros and Cons of Sculpey:

Pros:

* Can make virtually anything out of the stuff

* Can be baked or air dried to a hard finish

* Paint applies well to it

Cons:

* Wear Gloves unless you want fingerprint texture on your sculpt

* Might be better to air dry stuff on a figure, hard to take off pieces once on the figure.

* Sometimes burns sections, which may or may not discolor your final outcome...depending on the paint you use.

* Make sure you bake or air dry completely. A few of the things I've used it for have begun to crack because I fired it with a lighter and didn't let it dry inside all the way.

Edited by jcastick
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Here's a great customizing resource:

Jin Saotome's Dangerous Toys - He's got a few "how-to" articles. Scroll down to the Guides for Customizing to see what Jin has to say. I particularly like his new article Jin's Super Revised Custom Figure Painting Guide.

You should also check out the Forgotten Force Ultimate Resource Guide. It's a Star Wars customizing site but there are tons of "how-to" articles worth checking out!

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For paints, I use Model Master Acryls by Testors. But if I am in a pinch, I will use the regular Testors Acryl paints that you can get at Wal-Mart. The only time I prime a figure is if they have a detail that I don't want showing through the paint, like Spider-Man's webs. I use the cheap model painting brushes that they sell at Wal-Mart that are about 1/2" long. They lay nice and flat, which is very useful.

After I have painted a figure, I use Testors Dull Coat on top of it to seal it. After painting and sealing the figure, I start on the detail work with an ultra-fine black sharpie. This is when I do the face. I draw the features first with the sharpie, and after that dries, I add colors in by dipping a toothpick in the paint and applying it lightly. This is also how I do thin colored lines on the body of figures like Quicksilver's lightning bolt across his chest. You don't need to seal this paint, because it doesn't get any wear like the joints do.

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In my opinion, Sculpey is best for sculpting new, seperate parts, while Milliput is best for sculpting onto an existing figure. Sculpey is easiest to sculpt with after it has been squished around in your hands for a while. This softens the clay and warms it up. To sculpt with it, I use my hands, my fingernails, toothpicks, hobby knifes, and the opposite end of my paintbrush. The first goal is to get it in the shape you want. The second goal is to get the surface smooth so it doesn't look bad.

Here is the biggest Sculpey secret: rubbing alcohol. Dip your finger in it and rub the surface of the sculpt. The rubbing alchohol smooths out the surface like magic. You have to be a little careful though, as it will also obscure fine details.

To cure sculpey, you have 3 main options. The first is to bake it according to the package directions, 15 minutes per ¼" thickness at 225°. If you are sculpting onto an existing figure, meaning there will be more in the oven that just Sculpey, turn the heat down to 200° and add 5 minutes, otherwise the plastic could melt. The second option is to put the sculpey in a pot of boiling water on the stove. The time limit is the same. The only downside to this approach is that occasionally I have had things crack because water got in between the plastic and the sculpey. But that doesn't happen very often. The third option is to hold a hairdryer up to the piece until it dries. This method ONLY works with sculpey that is 1/8" thick or less. It takes about 5-10 minutes.

Let me know if there is anything I didn't cover. :)

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Sculpey is best for sculpting new, seperate parts, while Milliput is best for sculpting onto an existing figure.

This is exactly what I've been wanting to know - So I checked out the Milliput website and found that there are 4 types of Milliput (Standard Yellow-Grey, Silver Grey, Superfine White, and Terracotta) ... I would assume that Superfine White would be the best way to go for sculpting onto Minimates. Am I correct?

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B)-->

QUOTE(Donny B @ Jul 31 2006, 01:40 PM)

This is exactly what I've been wanting to know - So I checked out the Milliput website and found that there are 4 types of Milliput (Standard Yellow-Grey, Silver Grey, Superfine White, and Terracotta) ... I would assume that Superfine White would be the best way to go for sculpting onto Minimates. Am I correct?

I always buy Silver Grey, because it is $1 cheaper at my hobby shop. Every little bit helps. ;)

It is actually a VERY light grey. It is almost white.

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Hey there everybody! It's Mini-Myte here. I just wanted to let anyone interested know that Minimate Headquarters has published an indepth step by step customizing guide done by yours truly. So if anybody wants to know my secrets, check it out! Good luck to you all!

Mini-Myte

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  • 3 months later...
Whats wrong with my template? he's got a head, body, arms and legs... provided by Fujis can't be anymore complete than that?

cheers,

Tk.

*Pokes TBT with a pencil*

Ok if you dont know better then that's fine ;) , I was just offering an alternative source.

In fact it looks like the one you have is derivative of a part of that file anyways :)

T.

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