Here's an easy and fun way to customise figures to alter their pose, change their look etc. Not the only way of course, and might not even be the best way, but it works for me. I guess the method lends itself more to the larger scales, but anyway here it is: The background to this is, some years ago I needed a driver figure for a 'crane tank' loco. Rather than the bog-standard 'bloke just standing there holding a shovel' or similar, I wanted a driver casually leaning out of the side of the cab, looking out at what was going on up ahead, as it were. The starting poing for this little project was a Preiser figure - one of the G-scale unpainted 'German track-worker' set. I love Preiser figures for this sort of thing because the moulding detail, especially the faces, is invariably superb. Here's how he started out... Let the hacking commence! Nurse, the screens please.... The limbs are cut at the appropriate places (ie joints) and holes drilled to take short lengths of 1mm or 1.5mm copper wire. These act as joints to allow the figure to be posed as we see fit: OK, let's see how he takes to his new role... Right, now to fill the gaps with Milliput. If you don't already know about this, it's a 2-part epoxy putty that hardens to rock solid after about 24 hours of mixing. It comes in several variants, I like the 'terra cotta' stuff as the colour contrast with white plastic is very useful for those with the visual acuity of a sloth - ie, me. ... and back into position to check that the limbs are positioned where they should be.... (note I have not yet put a hand on the end of the arm, as it is likely to be knocked off during sanding down. A bit of filing and sanding and dremelling etc to smooth it all down... Next, a quick going over with spray primer (grey). This has 2 purposes: to prepare for painting proper, and also to highlight any ragged areas where the sanding or filing was not completely wonderful Attach a hand to the visible arm, and a quick photo-opportunity in situ... I wanted the driver to be wearing some sort of baseball cap type of thing, so I Dremmeled the existing hat moulding away. I also added some hitherto-missing 'rolled up sleeve' detail to the right arm, and replaced the moulded waistcoat detail with some more flappy layers. All of this was done with another 2-part epoxy putty, called 'Green Stuff'. This is slightly different to Milliput in that it remains slightly flexible even when cured, so lends itself very much to creating thin layers of clothing without the risk of snapping off: For a laugh, I thought seeing as he looked a bit too sensible of facial expression, I would make him look a bit more 'manic' by giving him a bit of a handle-bar 'tache, a beard and, just for good measure, a neckerchief: So, to painting. I deliberately painted the whole body, so that I could have the option to pose the figure against some suitable structure, such as an oil drum or wall or a paint pot... Finally, our man is out and about doing his job - driving the crane tank: So that's all there is to it! Why not give it a go
Now that is impressive - lovely tutorial Clive I can see some Tamiya figures being lined up for some serious plastic surgury Paul
Thanks Paul. I look forward to seeing the results As a PS, I can say I have used florist's wire in place of copper wire - as long as it's reasonably bendy, but not too flimsy, it will work just as well.
Fantastic. The figure is spot on. The crane loco is even more impressive. Thanks for posting these up. Terrific.
Brilliant work Clive, looks like a lovely size to work in, don't tempt me any more I'm finding it hard to resist.
You're right about finding figures in suitable poses, true of most gauges I suppose, but wouldn't fancy my chances of doing likewise in '00' gauge! Keith.
I like that Clive but I can`t see me doing it in OO.?? The big scales are the way to go for these mods. Well done and a great tutorial. http://www.clickGormo
Thanks, all, for your kind comments. I've never tried it in any smaller scale than 'G', and I think 4mm scale would be a stretch too far unless anyone can show otherwise. Come to think of it, I have some old 4mm 'Dapol' figures somewhere upstairs, I shall unearth one and give it a try at some stage, and report back of course
SMR CHRIS wrote: Lol Chris, there is much more to come over on my 'Members Personal Layouts' thread I enjoy the unique challenges that come from working in an outdoor environment, e.g building embankments, bridges, tunnels, buildings etc. Of course, one does such things in any scale, but doing so outside means it's not just modelling - there is a 'civil engineering' aspect to it; not to mention horticulture! There's a guy in Oz, Greg Hunter, who does fantastic stuff in his garden. He even makes his own track from bits of scrap! Check out his Sandstone & Termite Railway website, at http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/satr/satr.htm
Nice work on the figure. As Keith said it could be a little harder in OO, but on the plus side I'm glad i'm not modelling in N. So I will give it a crack with my Dapol figures. Well Done.
