New Tutorial Needed Request Number 1

Okay, almost done with the "Beginner's Intro Guide to Custom Action Figures" or BIG CAF.
Should have it up tomorrow or the next day if I get too busy with working on Zealot's finishing touches.

PS the only thing I've done to making a Voodoo figure is get a Psylocke and increase some of her... assets. I'm further along on Maul and need to start on another Marlowe and Spartan to replace the set I'm selling.

So thats why it was being so pissy...good thing I at least washed my hands before I started using it

Soon, my friend, everyone on the planet will know TMB is in Toyfare and it will be required to include that in all tutorials to make them complete. xD

TMB is in ToyFare? Is that really knowledge beginners need? or are you joking. The rest sounds fine. I'll get out the camera and make it a photo tutorial.

...:P

-Types of paint/sculpting material/brushes
-Figure preparation
-Costs
-Tell people they can modify/switch a figure's body parts around so they don't have to settle for any one base figure
-TMB is in Toyfare

There's probably other stuff too...

what are the basics? I you outline what to cover for me, I'll make it.

It's never enough! Now I know how Cap feels updating the site all the time!

It'd be nice to have one that covers all the basics in a nut-shell...I'm playing with Beta Ray Bill right now so I'm going to be occupied for a while

Aren't the tutorials a beginner's guide enough?

ahem *doc* ahem...would like to see dat!

~Gj

Maybe someone should make a Beginner's Guide to Customizing? HINT HINT

ahhhh yes... this is exactly the info I was looking for!

please keep it coming and I really do appreciate it!

you guys rock!

For my figure of Gollach I used a mix of Scupley and Apoxie-Sculpt to make his head. I made the basic shape from Sculpey and filled in the details with Apoxie.

Apoxie-Sculpt and Fix-It are about the same product. Fix-It has a better working time because with Apoxie you need to wait about 30-45 minutes after mixing before you do any real delicate scuplting. I've not had any trouble with it sticking to parts of figures unless I forget to wash them first. Great stuff though.

yep, apoxie sculpt is defintely a very good product. Very durable than sculpey. I usually use a mixtue of both. If I need a to sculpt something that has a lot of detail, I usually use sculpey since u can take all the time in the world to sculpt it. But I do use fixit sculpt/ apoxie sculpt for really vulnerable parts such as teeth, ears, etc. But if I could use apoxie/ fixit sculpt then I use it since it sticks well and rock hard.

As for sculpey, it doesn't stick too well but it works tho. You can always scratch the surface your goin to sculpt on the sculpey so it has something to hold on. You can sculpt sculpey on the figure and use boiled water to cure it. I've heard a hair dryer can also be used but has a risk for burning/ warping the plastic. I personally havent had any problems with boiling the figure with sculpey. You could also use the apxie sculpt to reinforce some parts of the sculpey where it's weak. Hope that helps! ^_^

~Gj

Mostly all the "top" customizers use Aves Fix-It sculpt (I think it's the same company as the Apoxie stuff). You sculpt directly on the figure and it sticks by itself.

There are a few types of sculpting material, mainly:
-Self-Hardening ~ Hardens by itself over time (like the Fix-It stuff)
-Heat-Hardening ~ You have to bake it or subject it to high temperatures for it to harden (like Sculpey)
-Reaction-Hardening ~ You mix two different sustances to make the sculpting material, and then it hardens by itself, over time, like the self-hardening stuff.

VP should know more than me since he uses it.

Oh, and you have to wash a figure first before painting/sculpting on it to get rid of all teh dirt/grime/mold release off of it. Don't worry about what mold-release is, just wash your figure thoroughly with soap.

thanks guys!

I will take you up on that offer Doc in the near future but first I need to know how it works. My biggest question is how does it stick to the figure? does it adhere by itself? do you sculpt then bake it and then glue it to the figure? Do you have to bake it while it's on the figure? I know zilch about this stuff.

I saw a guy on ebay auctioning amazing looking customs - darthleon - and in his auction description he says that he uses Apoxie Sculpt. Is that a good one?

I guess I could do a Google search and get product descriptions but I like to hear from people that have experience actually using it.

Aw nuts...yeah, all I have is Sculpey 3. It sculpts great but hardening it properly without damaging the figure is hard to do.

Get some Aves Fix-It sculpt from the website (do a quick Yahoo search). That stuff hardens by itself after a few hours and supposedly is rock-tough. I'd make a tutorial for the Sculpey but it's not that great...what are you planning on sculpting specifically? Maybe I can show you how to sculpt it with minimal stress

It probably is a good place for it. I think it should be a joint effort of the people here because some of the stuff I've never heard of and some I don't have huge experience in using it on figures.