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tips for customizing your GI Joe Figures

I actually fell weird putting a section here on HOW TO do things because I consider myself to NOT be an expert at all. Matter of fact, I'm a raw cadet. But here goes--

Sculpted Facial Hair

How to add sculpted facial hair to your action figure. Keep in mind this is NOT the only way to do to do this, but how I've added beards and so forth. I'm going to also add some links at the end of this article so you can check out how other customizers' work. Below I start out with some of the materials you may need.

$7.25

Super Sculpey® is better than ceramic clay. It is shatter and chip resistant! Used by movie animation studios and professionals worldwide for prototypes, maquettes and all kinds of dolls. It's excellent tooling qualities make it the preferred choice for casting and all types of sculpture. It stays pliable, if stored in a cool place. Bakes hard in home aven no kiln needed. Once cool, it can be sanded, drilled, carved, and painted with water based acrylic paints or Sculpey® brand glaze. 1 lb Pack Beige

I found my Super Sculpey at my local Michaels Craft shop. But I'm sure it's an easy item to find at any hobby shop. I like this stuff A LOT. It's easy to work with and does not harden with time. The directions for baking Super Sculpey is on the package. Normally I just keep an eye on it while it's baking. DO NOT OVER BAKE! (350 degrees for about 10-20 minutes should be more than enough for any project you're working on).

$3.25, 3 oz spray can

Testors--This spray can be used to prime and finish your head sculpts

I coat each item I need to paint with a couple of coats of this stuff. It just gives the paint something to hang onto. You can also use a primer, I'm sure, but this is what I've been using. After the painting is completely dry (48 hours), a couple more coats of Testors Dullcote Spray will protect your painted finish.

I found my paint at Michaels in the model section. But I have also ordered some supplies from Testors Online store and their service was adequate.

Milliput putty--Milliput...the Incredible Modeling Putty from England

Milliput is the 2 part, easy-to-use epoxy putty that molds like clay and cures to the hardness of porcelain. Use for scratch building, sculpting, repairing, gap filling, pattern making and customizing. Ideal for military miniatures, ship model parts, dolls, doll house accessories, plastic models and thousands of other items. Roll it as thin as 1/64 inch for making super detailed scale parts (see #81006 sculpting set sold separately). Can be sawn, drilled, filed, sanded and painted when cured. Smooths with a wet finger and cleans up with water before it cures. Fully cured in 5 hours without heat or sooner with a hair dryer. The choice of master model makers throughout the world. Gray color, net weight 4 oz.

Personally, I have never tried this stuff before but have worked with epoxy putty. I've heard some great reviews on the product and some people swear by it. Milliput will harden on it's own without heat or baking but your work time is shortened significantly. Still want to try this stuff out eventually.

Here are a few images of projects where I used Super Sculpey Clay.

Paint Acrylics:

White, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Red, Black (you can buy more as you need but these colors listed are all you need to get started with)

Brushes:

Choose the best you can afford--I recommend Synthetic for Acrylic Paints--just choose some that you'd like depending on the scale your working in. Perhaps a #1 flat and a larger one. (sorry this is so vague, I don't normally look at the numbers when I buy brushes. For detail work you'll need a detailer--maybe a # 5 000.

Pick a Head Sculpt
Choose a head sculpt. To remove the head from a dragon figure, first use a blow dryer to heat up the plastic along where the head is attached to the body. When the plastic is warm enough you should be able to easily pull it off. Don't worry about breaking it--continue to use the hair dryer until you think it's soft enough to pull off the head. You will replace the head using the same method. (I've heard that some people BOIL the head sculpts before taking them off--others just put under hot running water--what ever works for you)

Prep your Sculpey
In the palm of your hand roll a small piece of Super Sculpey Clay till it's soft and pliable. You may want to twist it and roll it in several directions.

Add Sculpey to the head sculpt
Begin applying amounts to the face where you would like to add facial hair. Use any tool handy to score along the length of the clay to make it look more like hair.

Add eyebrows too if you want

Bake

Place the Head on a glass oven safe dish and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Do not over bake! Take out and let cool before you touch. Be careful these things get VERY HOT! Don't test them by touching with your finger.

Also keep in mind that Sculpey does not harden like a rock--it's semi hard, though.

Let Cool
After it's completely cool you can begin to paint!

Prime for paint
Before painting be sure to spray your head sculpt with a light coat of Testors Dullcote Enamel Spray. it may make everything look shinny and wet at first but when it's dry you will hardly notice that it has been primed.

Probably the easiest paint to use is Acrylics because it dries fast. I like to use Oils when I'm doing a repaint of the entire head or painting a raw head sculpt but for adding a beard or a moustache, Acrylics are very easy to use and cleans up with water.

Suggestions on how to paint
Now for the actual painting. I find it easy to do a base coat first. For the two examples I posted above I started with thoroughly painting it all black. Brush it in all the cracks! After the paint drys you can paint over the black with a second color--I chose a gray mix. If you paint horizontally across the ridges of the hair the paint will cover the upper most parts, leaving the darker color underneath.

When I have time I'll try to come back and add images of each step in this process. It's really not hard to do--just jump in and try it.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to email me

MICRO-MART--tools and supplies for building models

The Sixth Squadron Click any of the FIRST head sculpt in the section titled PAINTING and REPAINTING and see how this customizer adds facial hair

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page created 3-10-04
page updated 3-30-04

Sculpted Facial Hair How to add sculpted facial hair to your action figure. Keep in mind this is NOT the only way to do to do this, but how I've added beards and so forth. I'm going to also add some links at the end of this article so you can check out how other customizers' work. Below I start out with some of the materials you may need.
$7.25	Super Sculpey® is better than ceramic clay. It is shatter and chip resistant! Used by movie animation studios and professionals worldwide for prototypes, maquettes and all kinds of dolls. It's excellent tooling qualities make it the preferred choice for casting and all types of sculpture. It stays pliable, if stored in a cool place. Bakes hard in home aven no kiln needed. Once cool, it can be sanded, drilled, carved, and painted with water based acrylic paints or Sculpey® brand glaze. 1 lb Pack Beige I found my Super Sculpey at my local Michaels Craft shop. But I'm sure it's an easy item to find at any hobby shop. I like this stuff A LOT. It's easy to work with and does not harden with time. The directions for baking Super Sculpey is on the package. Normally I just keep an eye on it while it's baking. DO NOT OVER BAKE! (350 degrees for about 10-20 minutes should be more than enough for any project you're working on).
$3.25, 3 oz spray can	Testors--This spray can be used to prime and finish your head sculpts I coat each item I need to paint with a couple of coats of this stuff. It just gives the paint something to hang onto. You can also use a primer, I'm sure, but this is what I've been using. After the painting is completely dry (48 hours), a couple more coats of Testors Dullcote Spray will protect your painted finish. I found my paint at Michaels in the model section. But I have also ordered some supplies from Testors Online store and their service was adequate.
	Milliput putty--Milliput...the Incredible Modeling Putty from England Milliput is the 2 part, easy-to-use epoxy putty that molds like clay and cures to the hardness of porcelain. Use for scratch building, sculpting, repairing, gap filling, pattern making and customizing. Ideal for military miniatures, ship model parts, dolls, doll house accessories, plastic models and thousands of other items. Roll it as thin as 1/64 inch for making super detailed scale parts (see #81006 sculpting set sold separately). Can be sawn, drilled, filed, sanded and painted when cured. Smooths with a wet finger and cleans up with water before it cures. Fully cured in 5 hours without heat or sooner with a hair dryer. The choice of master model makers throughout the world. Gray color, net weight 4 oz. Personally, I have never tried this stuff before but have worked with epoxy putty. I've heard some great reviews on the product and some people swear by it. Milliput will harden on it's own without heat or baking but your work time is shortened significantly. Still want to try this stuff out eventually.
	Here are a few images of projects where I used Super Sculpey Clay.
Paint Acrylics: White, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Red, Black (you can buy more as you need but these colors listed are all you need to get started with) Brushes: Choose the best you can afford--I recommend Synthetic for Acrylic Paints--just choose some that you'd like depending on the scale your working in. Perhaps a #1 flat and a larger one. (sorry this is so vague, I don't normally look at the numbers when I buy brushes. For detail work you'll need a detailer--maybe a # 5 000.

Pick a Head Sculpt	Choose a head sculpt. To remove the head from a dragon figure, first use a blow dryer to heat up the plastic along where the head is attached to the body. When the plastic is warm enough you should be able to easily pull it off. Don't worry about breaking it--continue to use the hair dryer until you think it's soft enough to pull off the head. You will replace the head using the same method. (I've heard that some people BOIL the head sculpts before taking them off--others just put under hot running water--what ever works for you)
Prep your Sculpey	In the palm of your hand roll a small piece of Super Sculpey Clay till it's soft and pliable. You may want to twist it and roll it in several directions.
Add Sculpey to the head sculpt	Begin applying amounts to the face where you would like to add facial hair. Use any tool handy to score along the length of the clay to make it look more like hair.
	Add eyebrows too if you want
Bake	Place the Head on a glass oven safe dish and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Do not over bake! Take out and let cool before you touch. Be careful these things get VERY HOT! Don't test them by touching with your finger. Also keep in mind that Sculpey does not harden like a rock--it's semi hard, though.
Let Cool	After it's completely cool you can begin to paint!
Prime for paint	Before painting be sure to spray your head sculpt with a light coat of Testors Dullcote Enamel Spray. it may make everything look shinny and wet at first but when it's dry you will hardly notice that it has been primed.
	Probably the easiest paint to use is Acrylics because it dries fast. I like to use Oils when I'm doing a repaint of the entire head or painting a raw head sculpt but for adding a beard or a moustache, Acrylics are very easy to use and cleans up with water.
Suggestions on how to paint	Now for the actual painting. I find it easy to do a base coat first. For the two examples I posted above I started with thoroughly painting it all black. Brush it in all the cracks! After the paint drys you can paint over the black with a second color--I chose a gray mix. If you paint horizontally across the ridges of the hair the paint will cover the upper most parts, leaving the darker color underneath.