Cracking SMC Venom
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Cracking SMC Venom

Posted in Custom Workstation

I'm using a Spider-man Classics Venom upper body for a custom and I need to paint the arms and body. I was wondering if anybody has ever opened the top part of the torso? I've got the lower torso cracked pretty easily but the upper torso is a lot thicker. Anyone know the easiest way to crack it?

Posted by Bloodywolf
on Friday, November 23, 2012
User Comments
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Bloodywolf -
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Thanks guys. I'll give these a try I'll let you know how it turns out.
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RedRebelCustoms -
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Magnets are an option. The size you would need would most likely have a gauss of around 14000 and a pull force of just under 30lbs unless you plan on further modding the area. If you go that route you could add more options. I wouldn't sugges lt more than one neodymium at that size. Magnets come with a few set backs as well. The pull force can loosen glue, magnets and metal can add weight in unwanted places, at 30lbs- you can't put the figure near metal or electronics. The biggest benefit IMO would be if you had intentions of posing one half say coming out of the ceiling or climbing walls or wanted to make a large symbiote mass base.
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pock63 -
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
I've seen people use magnets for waist joints before, you can buy magnets that are the perfect size and shape for a waist joint and they even sell ones strong enough that there nearly impossible to pry apart.
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RedRebelCustoms -
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
If you cut off two parts of a midsection from any figure, could be a cheap Ruthless Agression since they have a good swivel, get some plastic epoxy glue. Sand the part to be glued so it sits flush. Glue one part to each halve. Plastic epoxy holds 4,000lbs. Cover with sculpt. Sand smooth. I used the same method for my Killer Croc.
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Darththomas -
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Nuts and bolts? Or maybe something from another figure that could do the job?
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Bloodywolf -
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Hey guys, its been a while since I've updated this but I finally started making progress. I settled on the head from the CNC Bane and have him cracked and prepped for paint. However I have run into a problem. The upper and lower body BOTH have holes. No peg to connect them! Here are some pics of what Im talking about.


Here are a couple pics of the upper body balanced on the lower body to show what it will look like once I figure out how to connect it.




Any suggestions on how I can get this connected? Preferably without losing the waist articulation?
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RedRebelCustoms -
Saturday, December 15, 2012
LC, I have no idea what you guys would hope to get from this but as requested sirs!
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RedRebelCustoms -
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Still lots of work to do here. It was a commission that fell through months ago. I'll get around to finishing him someday. Sorry for the bad pics but these are the only photos I have of my skin tone wip's. Here he is Mr. Bill Goldberg!
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Bloodywolf -
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Indeed we would. Thanks for all the tips
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loosecollector -
Saturday, December 15, 2012
We all would love to see and appreciate that my friend .
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RedRebelCustoms -
Saturday, December 15, 2012
If you or anyone would like to see a wip of the fkesh tone technique I'd be happy to post one.
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RedRebelCustoms -
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Hair pattern can be added after painting using a sharp colored pencil of the desired color and sealed after.
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RedRebelCustoms -
Saturday, December 15, 2012
If you are going to be painting flesh tone mighr I add my prefered method. I use a lot of differenr techniques but mostly play it by ear. My approach with both light skin and dark is the opposite of most people. I work backwards from other customizers. For fair to tan skin, I start with a light base. Then do a wash with a shadow tint. These are all Testors MM by the way. After the wash drys I drybrush with a warm tint and repeat until it is evenly blended. Then I add a very small amount of light to the warm and drybrush leaving the area of the previous warm around the edges blended. Then I add a little more light to the warm and hit the higher areas in the middle of the muscles again until it blends in. After that, I get a toothbrush and dab it in a mixed red and warm tint. You can go darker, lighter or even brown. I use a piece of paper and flick that paint against the paper until I get a fine even mist. Then I use the same method to add blemishes on the skin. Too much splatter and he has chicken pox or worse. Use light base to paint any veins invat this point. I then thin my paint a little more than usual, I normally only slightly thin on the previous layers, to create a smoother paint to drybrush over parts of the blemishes where it was too much and hit the high areas again. The eye bags/ lids, corners of the nose, and crevice on the sides of the cheeks leading down to the mouth are done with a 50/50 red and warm tint. Then a brown colored pencil is used to add body hair and dark circles around the eyes. 5 o'clock shadow is made by creating a hair pattern on the jaw or bald head with a fine point needle and using oil paint but that's a whole other process. This should all ne sealed at different stages and generously when finished with a matte sealant. My WIP was started from the first warm layer I believe. Dark skin, unless it's really, really dark, I paint with the same techniques except I start with the darkest flesh as a base and work lighter. I know that doesn't sound right but darker skin does not show detail as much. As long as you don't go too light, except veins, it looks more textured and can be added to easier. For adding skin texture you can take a rough sand paper press hard into the plastic on softer parts before painting and nudge slightly to the side. This creates the appearance of pores.
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RedRebelCustoms -
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Another good trick to use-when sculpting use water or alcohol and a soft brush. Lightly brush over your sculpt after scultpting while they are still wet. This gives it a smoothed natural look as well as keeping rough spots from snagging and eventually lifting up on a finished piece. Not too much because it may remove fine detail. For large smooth areas you can always sand with a few different grits finishing with a fne grit for a smooth surface. Unless you are painting a smooth metallic, you don't want to go too fine. The grit can add texture as well as provide a better surface for paint adherence or an easier surface to drybrush.
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RedRebelCustoms -
Saturday, December 15, 2012
If rhe figure is glued heavily or thick- drill or punch holes under the shoulder about mid to high lat on the seam line. Boil tje figure in 45 second intervals. Use an awl if possible to push into the hole. One side. Then the other. Slowly do this. If you see lifting or warping of the plastic, stop, repeat the boiling process, then continue. The heat loosens the glue and keeps the figure from cracking.. Be sure to use tongs or similar to hold the torso so it doesn't touch the bottom of the pot. Pat dry between boiling to avoid burning yourself on with the water stuck in the joints while working. If you must use a razor, this will also make it easier as the plastic is more pliable and the glue is loosened. This process is extremely beneficial for large and hard to crack torso or parts in general.
If you are working with staction figures, it is much easier to boil between cutting.
For Sota figures- the torsos are solid rubber or larger ones, a weird plastic. Boil and push the rod through using an awl or small screwdriver. The joints on a Sota figure are boil and pop.
Mattel Elite-drill and boil as in the first example.
To avoid tearing on boil and pop joints as the may get soft- get a string/dental floss. Wrap it over the shoulder so it is between that and the torso. Use that so that when you pull it comes straight out and avoids tearing the joint. You can also use a twisty tie and twist it around the inside of the joint and pull. Another method is to wrap the string around a screw driver clamp the figure down and twist the screwdriver until the slack is taken up and the joint will eventually be pulled out.
If you've already applied sculpt to a piece- it is best to use a blow dryer or dry heat to attempt to remove parts. Some smaller details may be loosened by boiling and the sculpt will eventually break off.
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Bloodywolf -
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Oh believe me I am well aware of how dangerous it is lol. I actually did cut my finger when I was working on this project.... twice lol but I try to be as careful as I can until I can get a dremel. I like the fact that if I do it just right, then sometimes all I have to do is glue the seams to put it back together and it still looks good. If I make a hole then I have to do a little more work to repair the damage. It's no big deal of course but it saves on sculpt lol
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Green Skin -
Thursday, December 13, 2012
I've got to second this. I have MANY scars from the razor technique.
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loosecollector -
Thursday, December 13, 2012
On your next projects, you can bore holes on your figs even without a drill.
Just heat a nail and punch em. The razor technique.... it's unsafe. Almost
sliced my palm doing that back then....
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Bloodywolf -
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Finally got the upper torso cracked. I don't have a dremel tool so cracking figures is a bit harder for me. I use a razor blade to slice through the seams of the figure and then a flat head screw driver to crack it open. It was a lot harder to do on Venom since he's so much thicker than your average figure but I finally got it. Now I just have to select the right paints and a head lol
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Bloodywolf -
Sunday, December 9, 2012
I've hit kind of a wall right now but I will let you guys know how it comes out
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crea-torX -
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Using a Venom to make Bane...
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Bloodywolf -
Sunday, December 2, 2012
I'm using it for a Bane custom. I actually haven't made any additional progress yet. I've decided to not blow it up though lol
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Green Skin -
Saturday, December 1, 2012
hmmm
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crea-torX -
Saturday, December 1, 2012
If I might be so bold in asking, but what are you planning to build with you SMC Venom upper chest?
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Bloodywolf -
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Thanks guys at this point option 2 is looking pretty good lol
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crea-torX -
Saturday, November 24, 2012
loosecollector, you "CRACK" me up!

the neck is VERY hard to crack open. Mine, split out the back...not a pretty sight either! I took a box blade and cut along the seam to cut the glue a bit at the neck and shoulder....this helps. If this doesn't help, resort to loosecollector 2nd tip!
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loosecollector -
Friday, November 23, 2012
Conventional way:

- drill hole on one side
- pry with a small screwdriver
- if won't budge, drill on another side
- also try on the traps near the base of the neck
- the top is extremely well-glued
- but it will give you a good "crack" sound on one of those four places and it will open


Quick and sure way to open:

- drill slightly bigger hole on one side
- jam in a small firecracker
- light it up and it will surely open
- glue back all 100 small pieces
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