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Post by sid on Nov 4, 2009 18:49:11 GMT
Yeah, i finally decided to customize some of my dinosaurs using the famous and high-praised way of the boiling water ;D I started with the new WS Dilopho, i HAD to do it, 'cause, as you must know, he has some serious stability issues... I let him in the hot, gurgling water for just 20 seconds, then bending up his stiffy tail, put him under very cold water and, voilà, now he's perfectly standing on his two feet, in an almost tripod pose (i said "almost 'cause, actually, his tail does not touch the ground, even if sometimes it looks that way). Then i tested 2 of my 3 Papo Raptors... This time the process went a little longer, mainly because the Papo figs are way bulkier than the thin WS Dilo. Anyway, i raised and straightened the tail of the first Raptor, then turn to the right the head of the second one and raised her right arm (to make her look like he's spotted something). All it worked even this time, but... Yes, there's a "but". The problem is, as the hours are passing, my Raptors are slowly returning to almost their original stances, and that's especially clear in the case of the first Raptor, whose tail is sadly lowering closer to the ground minute after minute  What do you think? Why Paposaurs are so hard to customize that way? |
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Post by Horridus on Nov 4, 2009 19:05:14 GMT
I haven't tried it, but from what I've heard from other people on here they are indeed made of tough stuff. Makes sense, it's very thick, rubbery plastic. However, Bucketfoot-Al managed it, so you should probably ask him.  |
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Post by bucketfoot on Nov 4, 2009 21:59:17 GMT
I haven't tried it, but from what I've heard from other people on here they are indeed made of tough stuff. Makes sense, it's very thick, rubbery plastic. However, Bucketfoot-Al managed it, so you should probably ask him. In my experience, Bullyland is the only maker whose plastic is sturdy enough that the hair/dryer then freezer treatment will "hold". As far as Papo goes, the hairdryer is a good start to soften the areas you are working on. After that its the exacto-knife, followed by wires and finally putty, texturizing and then painting. Its trial and error, really. Sometimes you have to cut the entire limb off and reattach; most times its enough to make a 'half-way' incission - say teh back of the knee - reporition, insert wire to hold apart while you putty and sculpt the 'gap. As far as the tail of the Papo TRex goes, I had to make about 4 'half-way' incissions on the left side of the tail, open them up, then do the wire/putty treatment. It straightened it out, but it looks much better from the right side where the incissions were not made. |
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Post by dinonikes on Nov 4, 2009 22:14:05 GMT
has anyone tried putting one of these tougher to repose figures in an oven? You could concievably get the heat up a bit higher and consistantly heat the whole piece- I wouldn't use an oven that you use to cook food though-the plastic fumes could be dangerous-should be done with proper ventilation as well- at work we had a small oventhat we used to heat up plastics to bend and shape for custom pieces- just an idea-you would have to experiment on an extra non critical figure first I guess-
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Post by bucketfoot on Nov 5, 2009 8:44:37 GMT
has anyone tried putting one of these tougher to repose figures in an oven? You could concievably get the heat up a bit higher and consistantly heat the whole piece- I wouldn't use an oven that you use to cook food though-the plastic fumes could be dangerous-should be done with proper ventilation as well- at work we had a small oventhat we used to heat up plastics to bend and shape for custom pieces- just an idea-you would have to experiment on an extra non critical figure first I guess- Malcolm - I strongly believe that the recipe above should "not be tried at home by non-professionals" - I had enough experience with plastic items (planes, ships) going up in flames as a kid  In my own experience, these toy PVC figures are basically not re-poseable using the heating/freezing process because once they regain room temperature their 'memory' comes back. I suspect your oven method works well with solid resin and harder plastics, but not with PVC figures. One clarifying point: I believe that the reason these PVC figures are not heat/freeze method reposeable very well is not because they are "too hard", but because they are NOT HARD ENOUGH. Solid resin kits can readily be reposed using this method because they are so hard that once cooled off the new shape becomes 'the form'. That is why Battat figures cannot be reposed using this technique - the PVC is way too soft to hold a new pose. As I said, Bullyland seems to use hard enough PVC that I successfully reposed the Stegosaurus only using the heating/freezing method. But forget about Carnegie or Papo. Its the Exacto knife, wires and putty or nothing. |
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Post by bucketfoot on Nov 5, 2009 8:52:59 GMT
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Post by sid on Nov 5, 2009 15:56:14 GMT
So, in the end, the only way to DEFINITELY customize the Paposurs is to cut 'em and fix 'em with putty... d**n, i guess i'll let 'em as they are, i fear to ruin 'em if i'll use this process I mean, i'm not a "custom-master" as Bucketfoot, right? ;D  |
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Post by blackdanter on Nov 11, 2009 8:12:33 GMT
I'm frankly amazed at what you've achieved there bucketfoot. The TRex is really transformed Fantastic. |
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Post by bucketfoot on Nov 11, 2009 18:36:09 GMT
I'm frankly amazed at what you've achieved there bucketfoot. The TRex is really transformed Fantastic. Thanks Blackdanter - its really quite easy to do IF you are a hobby modeler or sculptor. |
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