Guide to "futzing" link
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Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
ahhhh good time
ahhhh good time
Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
Okay, if I'm dreaming about this link--let's approach this another way.
Let's CREATE one!!! If you know how to futz (boil, etc.) and have time, how about adding your tutorial here so the rest of us can learn. Akiata gave a GREAT example with his stormtrooper.
Okay, if I'm dreaming about this link--let's approach this another way.
Let's CREATE one!!! If you know how to futz (boil, etc.) and have time, how about adding your tutorial here so the rest of us can learn. Akiata gave a GREAT example with his stormtrooper.
Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
I have only seen Dave post 3 tutorials:
1) Jedi Luke water treatment.
2) Anakin robotic arm tuck and general futz.
3) Obi-wan general futz.
Nothing that included the boiling technique (I assume you are referring to popping a head off?)
I have only seen Dave post 3 tutorials:
1) Jedi Luke water treatment.
2) Anakin robotic arm tuck and general futz.
3) Obi-wan general futz.
Nothing that included the boiling technique (I assume you are referring to popping a head off?)
Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
I'm going to try to find some of those posts. If you have time to help please re-post them here
As for boiling, that was for armor, parts, whatever gets boiled (I'm not 100% sure myself on that!)
Thanks!
pixletwin said:
I'm going to try to find some of those posts. If you have time to help please re-post them here
As for boiling, that was for armor, parts, whatever gets boiled (I'm not 100% sure myself on that!)
Thanks!
Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
As far as "boiling" the stormtrooper armor goes, it's pretty easy:
Boil some water (for the armor plastic, I found it actually had to be boiling to heat it enough to re-shape it, for softer plastic it usually doesn't need to be that hot)
Once the water is boiling, dip the armor into it for about 30 seconds or so. You may want to hold it with some tongs or something like that. Be careful not to get the straps that hold the back to the front in the water as they are much softer plastic.
Take out the armor and rehape it to the desired shape. You could use a naked body as a guide I suppose, but I just kind of eye balled mine.
At this point you can either hold it in place until it cools, or you can expedite the cooling process by holding it in your freezer.
I've used this method with numerous, warped, items. It works great for Hasbro 3 3/4 figures, weapons, ad accessories as well as ship parts (the long, pointy parts on the Naboo fighter and Naboo Queen's starship come to mind). I have also used it to remove 1/6 figure heads and reshape warped items like SS Bespin Luke's blaster. I have never had any mishaps yet.
Note...if you choose to boil water in the microwave, be extremely careful as it can sort of "explode" on you if you aren't careful.
As far as the SS Stormtrooper goes, I have boiled/reshaped the chest armor, secured the front armor to the back using velcro, and touched up the paint on the helmet (painted around the rims of the microphone pieces, touched up the "mouth", and fixed the "asian" eyes. I still need to give his armor a gloss coat, but here he is:
As far as "boiling" the stormtrooper armor goes, it's pretty easy:
Boil some water (for the armor plastic, I found it actually had to be boiling to heat it enough to re-shape it, for softer plastic it usually doesn't need to be that hot)
Once the water is boiling, dip the armor into it for about 30 seconds or so. You may want to hold it with some tongs or something like that. Be careful not to get the straps that hold the back to the front in the water as they are much softer plastic.
Take out the armor and rehape it to the desired shape. You could use a naked body as a guide I suppose, but I just kind of eye balled mine.
At this point you can either hold it in place until it cools, or you can expedite the cooling process by holding it in your freezer.
I've used this method with numerous, warped, items. It works great for Hasbro 3 3/4 figures, weapons, ad accessories as well as ship parts (the long, pointy parts on the Naboo fighter and Naboo Queen's starship come to mind). I have also used it to remove 1/6 figure heads and reshape warped items like SS Bespin Luke's blaster. I have never had any mishaps yet.
Note...if you choose to boil water in the microwave, be extremely careful as it can sort of "explode" on you if you aren't careful.
As far as the SS Stormtrooper goes, I have boiled/reshaped the chest armor, secured the front armor to the back using velcro, and touched up the paint on the helmet (painted around the rims of the microphone pieces, touched up the "mouth", and fixed the "asian" eyes. I still need to give his armor a gloss coat, but here he is:
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Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
Reposting for Yodacappy:
"DEATH STAR PRISTINE" STORMTROOPER GUIDE
This truely was a very easy custom job, just pretty time consuming.
-Pledge with Future Shine. This is an acrylic based floor wax, that's readily available in US grocery stores. It has the thickness of soapy water, and dries liquid-glass-clear with no tackiness.
-Black Acrylic paint. Acrylic is a water based paint, and easy to work with.
-Liquid Silver Leaf paint. This is easy to find in hobby shops. This stuff comes in silver, bronze, and gold. You could substitute silver acrylic, but it needs to be pretty bright.
-Brushes. Nothing more costly than $3.00- 5.00. This doesn't require fancy brushes at all...just new clean ones (loose bristles in your coat is no fun). The big one in the pic is maybe 3/4", and you can see the others are pretty small.
You need to first start off by washing the armor in soapy water. This will get rid of any mold release film, and allow the future and paint to go on smoother.
To refit the chest armor, I took every thing off the figure except the abdomen armor. I made a hook to hang the armor on so I wouldn't have to drop the glued straps into boiling water. It takes maybe 7 seconds (at rolling boil) to get the plastic soft enough to bend. Using towels I put the chest armor back on, and pressed and held down the sides of the armor to the body. Hold that for about 10-12 seconds, and that's it. It should be perfect that easily. If not, repeat.
The painting I did was primarily to the aerators, the exclusive pistol, and to clean up the black "mouth" and frown. I was considering painting the sides of the boots off white, but decided it was completely unnecessary after looking at film grabs. For the aerators, I thought they kind of looked like silver waffles as is. I painted them completely black, then dry brushed the silver leaf over the tops of the grill and lip. This leaves black in the crevaces, and gives the aerators more depth as well as makes them look smaller.
[[Dry Brushing is when you take paint onto your brush, then wipe and dab the brush on a paper towel until very little to no paint comes off. You then lightly run the tip of your brush onto the contours of the surface you are working on. Go as soft as possible, and don't try to add too much paint in one application. Repeat as much as needed to bring the color more opaque. Dry brushing is how they weather the weapons in this line, and I did it to the exclusive weapon to make it look much better.]] I wouldn't really recommend trying to correct the mouth unless you have a very steady hand and know how to hold a brush.
As I said before, Future has the consistency of soapy water, so brush strokes are not an issue. This is pretty fool proof really. Use the big brush for everything but the gloves. Use the small brush to get the panel on the gloves, and to pull off excessive pooling of the liquid. Apply it in a light that you can see the reflection off of, and do not touch the armor once the liquid is on. I used tin foil crumpled up to hold up pieces of the armor that don't have a flat base. Wait 8 hours after your 1st coat to apply the second coat. You should be able to handle the armor after that in about an hour. 2 coats is the minimum to get the best shine. I see no reason for 3 coats unless you missed some spots, but it couldn't hurt I suppose.
That's pretty much it. It's simple. I've used Future in the past on model aircraft canopies. It makes clear plastic look like glass. It holds up long term, and does no damage to plastic that I have ever heard of. Model makers have used Future for years. Big thanks to Sewbacca for suggesting it for the Stormtrooper and trying it 1st. Excellent idea. Highly recommended.
Reposting for Yodacappy:
"DEATH STAR PRISTINE" STORMTROOPER GUIDE
This truely was a very easy custom job, just pretty time consuming.
-Pledge with Future Shine. This is an acrylic based floor wax, that's readily available in US grocery stores. It has the thickness of soapy water, and dries liquid-glass-clear with no tackiness.
-Black Acrylic paint. Acrylic is a water based paint, and easy to work with.
-Liquid Silver Leaf paint. This is easy to find in hobby shops. This stuff comes in silver, bronze, and gold. You could substitute silver acrylic, but it needs to be pretty bright.
-Brushes. Nothing more costly than $3.00- 5.00. This doesn't require fancy brushes at all...just new clean ones (loose bristles in your coat is no fun). The big one in the pic is maybe 3/4", and you can see the others are pretty small.
You need to first start off by washing the armor in soapy water. This will get rid of any mold release film, and allow the future and paint to go on smoother.
To refit the chest armor, I took every thing off the figure except the abdomen armor. I made a hook to hang the armor on so I wouldn't have to drop the glued straps into boiling water. It takes maybe 7 seconds (at rolling boil) to get the plastic soft enough to bend. Using towels I put the chest armor back on, and pressed and held down the sides of the armor to the body. Hold that for about 10-12 seconds, and that's it. It should be perfect that easily. If not, repeat.
The painting I did was primarily to the aerators, the exclusive pistol, and to clean up the black "mouth" and frown. I was considering painting the sides of the boots off white, but decided it was completely unnecessary after looking at film grabs. For the aerators, I thought they kind of looked like silver waffles as is. I painted them completely black, then dry brushed the silver leaf over the tops of the grill and lip. This leaves black in the crevaces, and gives the aerators more depth as well as makes them look smaller.
[[Dry Brushing is when you take paint onto your brush, then wipe and dab the brush on a paper towel until very little to no paint comes off. You then lightly run the tip of your brush onto the contours of the surface you are working on. Go as soft as possible, and don't try to add too much paint in one application. Repeat as much as needed to bring the color more opaque. Dry brushing is how they weather the weapons in this line, and I did it to the exclusive weapon to make it look much better.]] I wouldn't really recommend trying to correct the mouth unless you have a very steady hand and know how to hold a brush.
As I said before, Future has the consistency of soapy water, so brush strokes are not an issue. This is pretty fool proof really. Use the big brush for everything but the gloves. Use the small brush to get the panel on the gloves, and to pull off excessive pooling of the liquid. Apply it in a light that you can see the reflection off of, and do not touch the armor once the liquid is on. I used tin foil crumpled up to hold up pieces of the armor that don't have a flat base. Wait 8 hours after your 1st coat to apply the second coat. You should be able to handle the armor after that in about an hour. 2 coats is the minimum to get the best shine. I see no reason for 3 coats unless you missed some spots, but it couldn't hurt I suppose.
That's pretty much it. It's simple. I've used Future in the past on model aircraft canopies. It makes clear plastic look like glass. It holds up long term, and does no damage to plastic that I have ever heard of. Model makers have used Future for years. Big thanks to Sewbacca for suggesting it for the Stormtrooper and trying it 1st. Excellent idea. Highly recommended.
Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
The TT is the same size as the buck. The PRO is the same size as the small buck.
The longer necks on the Buck figures is what makes them look taller. But the actual bodies (TT vs reg. Buck) are the same size.
The TT is the same size as the buck. The PRO is the same size as the small buck.
The longer necks on the Buck figures is what makes them look taller. But the actual bodies (TT vs reg. Buck) are the same size.
Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
Jedi Luke would look like a body builder and he would be too tall. The shoulders on the TT are just too huge for Mark Hamill.
If it were me I would locate a PRO body or a short (non-monkey armed) Buck - like you see on Yavin Luke, Ki Adi Mundi, etc...
On the PRO you just need to buy an HT neck adapter and glue the SS head to it. The PRO would be perfect for Luke. IMO.
Jedi Luke would look like a body builder and he would be too tall. The shoulders on the TT are just too huge for Mark Hamill.
If it were me I would locate a PRO body or a short (non-monkey armed) Buck - like you see on Yavin Luke, Ki Adi Mundi, etc...
On the PRO you just need to buy an HT neck adapter and glue the SS head to it. The PRO would be perfect for Luke. IMO.
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Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
What about foot issues on the Pro? Arent the feet and shoe one piece? Would I just pop Lukes feet off the buck and put them on the pro?
Head-TT Neck adaptor glue on SSC head. Short Adaptor?
Hands-Swap out
Feet-?
Thanks
What about foot issues on the Pro? Arent the feet and shoe one piece? Would I just pop Lukes feet off the buck and put them on the pro?
Head-TT Neck adaptor glue on SSC head. Short Adaptor?
Hands-Swap out
Feet-?
Thanks
Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
The feet issues becomes more complicated. Without substantial modifications the PRO feet are not compatible with the TT feet. But Luke's boots are made of such a hard plastic anyway I think you could get away with no feet at all.
The feet issues becomes more complicated. Without substantial modifications the PRO feet are not compatible with the TT feet. But Luke's boots are made of such a hard plastic anyway I think you could get away with no feet at all.
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Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
Im thinking of going with the Pro so my question would be putting lukes feet and boots on the Pro. Im looking at pics and it looks like I could bascially take the feet off the buck and put them on the Pro. Thoughts?
I would need the short TT neck right?
There is an Indy body I saw on ebay right now.
pixletwin said:
Im thinking of going with the Pro so my question would be putting lukes feet and boots on the Pro. Im looking at pics and it looks like I could bascially take the feet off the buck and put them on the Pro. Thoughts?
I would need the short TT neck right?
There is an Indy body I saw on ebay right now.
Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
You would need the neck that looks like this:
As for the feet, on my PRO I glued the Buck ankle and foot to the bottom of the PRO. Its very Frankenstein, but its going to be covered up anyway. Just make sure that the ankle retains its articualtion.
You would need the neck that looks like this:
As for the feet, on my PRO I glued the Buck ankle and foot to the bottom of the PRO. Its very Frankenstein, but its going to be covered up anyway. Just make sure that the ankle retains its articualtion.
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Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
Sweet.
You just took off the pro feet and ankle at the line near the bottom and glued the buck feet and ankle?
Gonna be looking for Luke soon then the Pro body.
Thank you for your help, Im sure it wont be the last time.
pixletwin said:You would need the neck that looks like this:
As for the feet, on my PRO I glued the Buck ankle and foot to the bottom of the PRO. Its very Frankenstein, but its going to be covered up anyway. Just make sure that the ankle retains its articualtion.
Sweet.
You just took off the pro feet and ankle at the line near the bottom and glued the buck feet and ankle?
Gonna be looking for Luke soon then the Pro body.
Thank you for your help, Im sure it wont be the last time.
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Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
Since this is an often researched topic, for ease- will a mod consider making a "futz" sticky on the board? It seems like a relevant and wide ranging enough topic to stay up top.
Sergiu said:
Since this is an often researched topic, for ease- will a mod consider making a "futz" sticky on the board? It seems like a relevant and wide ranging enough topic to stay up top.
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Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
If you all don't want to get the armor wet, a hairdryer or heating tool works great too! this is an old skill from vinyl modeling....
Yodacappy said:
If you all don't want to get the armor wet, a hairdryer or heating tool works great too! this is an old skill from vinyl modeling....
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Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
What, no mod?! I'm surprised the place hasn't burned down
Amir still has his name tagged down bottom, I noticed.
This is thread derailing, right? We should self-regulate... (why don't you volunteer to mod pixle?)
What, no mod?! I'm surprised the place hasn't burned down
Amir still has his name tagged down bottom, I noticed.
This is thread derailing, right? We should self-regulate... (why don't you volunteer to mod pixle?)
Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
Agreed. Please make this a sticky.Joda76 said:
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Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
I have a futzing question:
Is there a safe way to remove the paint off of the SS 1/6th head sculpts?
I think I need to teach myself casting otherwise...
I agree with the sticky request. I'd love to have an easy to access thread on modding and modding questions.
I have a futzing question:
Is there a safe way to remove the paint off of the SS 1/6th head sculpts?
I think I need to teach myself casting otherwise...
I agree with the sticky request. I'd love to have an easy to access thread on modding and modding questions.
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Re: Guide to \"futzing\" link
Problem solved
pixletwin said:
