by George Robbert
Copyright (C) 1997, 1999
While this paper is about building cast resin and vinyl garage-kits, most of these techniques can be transferred directly to building other types of kits as well.
A big caveat should go at the beginning of this. I will talk about a lot of things and make a bunch of recommendations. These are only based on my experience in building models and talking to friends in the hobby. I am not the oracle at Delphi who has all the answers. If you know or find out another technique, tool or material that works for you, go ahead and use it. In fact, let me know, I am always interested in learning new methods. Also, just because something works best for me, doesn't mean that it will work best for you. Tools and materials are an extension of the artist, since that's what you are, and different ones work best for different folks.
Everyone knows that these kits come from some hobby store, either local or mail-order, so why am I talking about this. Well, just like some folks are curious about the life of a piece of cheese before it ends up on the grocery-store shelf, some folks also want to know more about the background of garage kits. If you just want to get on to the building part, and don't care about this background, feel free to skip this section. I'll wake you up later.
Long long ago in a certain place, there lived an old man and an old woman. Or at least that's the way the old legends all begin. In this case, it began when a couple of anime fans discovered that they could make copies of the little mascot girl they sculpted for DaiCon III. The little DaiCon Girl mascot could be said to be the mother of the rest of the anime resin garage kits. Or at least that's the story as I've heard it. Over time, garage kit companies skill with sculpting and production have improved, and the number and variety available have increased.
As an outgrowth of the resin garage kit trend, companies have branched out into soft vinyl kits as well. These are suited to a bit larger production run than resin kits, and are a bit cheaper to produce in quantity. One of the advantages of the resin kits is their ease of modification and suitability for very small production runs. Thus, you don't have to have an extremely popular character to get a resin kit, whereas you need to have a bit larger production run for a vinyl kit to be economical. On the other hand, simple vinyl kits can be less expensive and may be easier to build.
As you might guess from their name, cast resin kits are molded from polyester casting resin. A big advantage of it over some other plastics is its suitability for small production runs with minimal equipment (that could easily fit in a garage). In contrast, the standard ``plastic model'' requires large, specialized and expensive equipment. Resin kits are cast in molds made from RTV silicone rubber as opposed to the sophisticated steel or copper molds used for injection molded kits (which easily cost many thousands of dollars merely to make the mold itself). While these RTV molds do not last anywhere near as long, they are much easier to make, since they simply need to be cast around the master, as opposed to machining and polishing by skilled tool and die makers using special equipment.
The combination of easy-to-use RTV silicone rubber for mold making and polyester resin for casting have enabled the resin garage-kit market. However, this medium does have a few drawbacks which mostly translate into higher cost for these kits. First, the polyester resin itself is somewhat more expensive than the raw styrene used in injection molded kits. This is exacerbated by the fact that the scraps and defective parts cannot be melted back down and re-used like with styrene. Also, the RTV silicone rubber molds wear out much faster than their metal cousins. This means that the cost of a mold must be amortized over fewer castings out of it. This is offset by the greater ease of construction of the mold, but nowhere near enough to make RTV feasible for large production runs. Also, while the fact that polyester resin cast in RTV molds is well-suited for a wide variety of small volume kits, it cannot take advantage of any of the economies of scale available in the much larger production runs of injection molded plastic kits.
Soft vinyl kits occupy a niche in between resin kits and full blown injection-molded kits in requiring more extensive and expensive equipment. Vinyl kit molds are metal, but these are electro-plated around a master as opposed to being machined out of a solid block by a skilled die-maker. They way they are filled is also unique. The molten vinyl plastic is poured into the mold and allowed to partially harden. After a little while, the excess is poured back out and used in the next casting run. The plastic begins hardening at the mold surface and progresses inward. This process leaves the surfaces of the mold coated with hardened plastic with a hollow center. After the part has cooled a bit more, but while it is still flexible, it is pulled from the mold. The parts are then allowed to pop back into the shape they had in the mold. This flexibility allows undercuts and reverse tapers (such as a foot on the end of a leg) that would not be possible to remove from the mold in another process.
The mold-making process for vinyl kits is a more involved and expensive process than for resin kits. However, the molds do last longer. This leads to vinyl kits requiring larger production runs to be economical. Thus, you tend to find the more popular characters produced as vinyl kits and the new or off-beat produced in resin. Also, due to economies of scale, often you can find vinyl kits for lower prices than resin kits of the same scale and complexity.
Those of you who went to sleep during the discourse on history can wake back up now.
There is a large variety of both resin and vinyl kits out there. Most of these are from Japan, but there are also some manufactured elsewhere. The most common subjects are anime characters, mecha and monsters, but these are far from the only ones: ships, tanks, planes and practically anything else are possible. This class will tend to focus on the figure kits, but as with all model building, techniques may be transferred to other subjects or media.
What type should you choose for your first garage kit? It first depends on what you're interested in, and what confidence you have in your abilities. The fact that garage kits (and especially resin ones) tend to be a bit more expensive may tend to deter some of you, but don't let this put you off. Some factors to consider in a kit are:
Now is probably the time to talk about recasts. These are reproductions of original kits by another manufacturer. They are more common among resin kits, but they do exist among vinyl as well. Usually, they are not licensed at all and are made by using another manufacturer's kit as the master, and casting duplicates of this. While, obviously, the sculpting of the recast is the same as that of the original, the manufacturing and material quality on these recasts varies across the board. Some of them are as good or better than original kits I have seen. Others will cut many corners and are severely lacking in quality control. This variation happens across original kit manufacturers as well. Experience may be the only guide here.
Now that you've gotten your kit, it's time to start building it. Most folks agree that they do look better once built than just sitting in the box as a bunch of parts.
So, gather up your tools and courage and let's have at it. Remember, there are no fatal mistakes in kit-building like this. Anything can be corrected. I'll discuss what to do when things go wrong later, but the key point here is not to let fear of making a mistake hold you back.
Most of the sections her apply to both resin and vinyl kits. Some are specific to one type or the other, these are marked with (R) (for resin) or (V) (for vinyl).
This not only gives you a chance to gloat over your kit, it also familiarizes you with the various parts. Examine how they will fit together. Determine what parts are what. Make sure that you're not missing any. While it's rare, occasionally the manufacturer will omit a part by accident. Look over the parts for any and all casting flaws that will have to be dealt with (pits, holes, mold-parting lines, flash, bent or incompletely formed parts). Figure out how you'll deal with these (filling, removing, rework). This is also the time to figure out how you'll mount the figure.
Most figures need some kind of an extra base to hold them up (otherwise they tend to stand about as well as a person after a gallon of sake). A few kits will come with some kind of a base (Tsukuda's come to mind), but most do not. Even those that do can sometimes have their stability enhanced with a more extensive base. Now is the time to plan for how you're going to mount the figure. Sometimes you can put this off 'til much later, but it helps to think about it now.
There is a wide range of options when it comes to mounting your figure. Sometimes a simple square of finished wood or plastic is all that you need. This has the advantage of being easy to do and not drawing much attention. I've also had good results using old CD-ROMs as bases. These provide a nice circular ``mirror'' for the figure to stand on. At other times, you may want to get fancier and build a little bit of scenery for the figure to stand in. This can go all the way up to building a full diorama for your figure (or figures), which can be a full model in it's own right.
All kits use some mold-release compound to help make sure that the finished casting doesn't stick to the mold. It's best to wash this off. This will also take care of any oil and dirt that may have gotten on during manufacturing and shipping. While manufacturers do this to varying degrees, it's probably best to do this yourself as well. The mold-release compound is designed to make the model not stick to the mold. It will do the same function for paint on the model or glue trying to hold pieces together. There are several commercial preparations out there for this purpose, but I find that ordinary dish-washing soap and a decent scrubbing work just fine.
This can either be done now, or just before painting, and their are good arguments for either way. Doing it now ensures there is none left to interfere with glue at the joints. On the other hand, it's also a good idea to wash off any oils or fingerprints from the model just before painting to avoid them causing any problem with the paint adhering, and doing it then saves washing twice.
All resin kits have mold-filling runners that need to be removed. Sometimes there will also be some flash or extra small runners in the part to ensure that the resin fills the mold completely and reliably. These need to be trimmed off, too.
The tools I use here are files, knives, sandpaper and occasionally nippers. First I tend to go after this with an X-acto knife, sometimes cutting and sometimes scraping with the blade. For various uses I've found the #10 and #16 blades are occasionally a help when the standard #11 doesn't fit the bill. When filing, sometimes a big file will help in taking off a runner, or provide a large flat surface (like shoe soles), but most of the time I use a selection of jeweler's files. Sandpaper, often on a sanding block sometimes not, is also a good tool here. Whether you tend toward that or files is a matter of personal preference.
Make sure it's really flash you're removing, then go to it.
Because of the way they are produced, all vinyl kit parts have a large chunk of flash attached to them. This needs to be trimmed off. I tend to do this in two stages, the first being a rough cut that removes most of the flash and the second trimming gradually to the desired line. For the first stage use either hefty scissors/shears or a knife. For the second stage, use a sharp X-acto knife. Sometimes the trimming can be made easier by heating parts to soften them. This can be done with boiling water or with a hair dryer. If you use the boiling water route, make sure that you use chopsticks or something other than your hand to fish them back out. The softened vinyl will be easier to cut, but realize that this also means you have to be more careful not to let the knife slip and cut into the piece itself.
Some vinyl kit parts will also have small ridges or runners in place to help the vinyl plastic completely fill the mold. These also need to be carved off, again with a sharp knife.
This is one time to start test-fitting the parts together. Not only does this give you the satisfaction of seeing something closer to a finished model, but it also reveals where joints may need extra work in fitting or filling. This is also the stage to do the bit of little sanding, carving, or filing will be needed to get the best joint possible between pieces.
For vinyl kits, it often helps to soften one or both of the parts at a joint (as when trimming flash) to get a better fit. This is especially the case for those joints where the manufacturer has supplied a bulge so you can make a ``snap fit.''
There are three common kinds of molding defects. First of these are mold parting lines (which usually occur only in resin kits). These come from the fact that the two halves of the mold don't line up 100% precisely. For these, I find a combination of sanding/scraping them down and filling up the little step with putty is the best combination. Note that if these occur on a vinyl kit, filling with putty is probably a better choice than sanding down the vinyl. Sometimes I've been able to handle it fully with sanding on resin kits, sometimes not. For filling using relatively small thicknesses of putty, I tend to use ``plastic model putty'' or polyester putty. Plastic model putty can be thinned with lacquer thinner or styrene cement if it is too stiff a consistency for the spot you're filling.
The second kind of molding defect is small bubbles in the casting. These can be very aggravating if they occur in an area of fine surface detail. The very smallest of these (almost acting like a slightly porous surface) can sometimes be filled with multiple coats of primer, but don't always count on this. One common method for filling these bubbles is thinned plastic model putty. I have also had luck using super-glue gel or ordinary super-glue (depending upon the size of the bubble) for these.
The third type of common molding defects are large bubbles or spots where the resin didn't completely fill the mold. In both of these cases, you need to fill up the void. In some cases, you can use plastic model putty, but for most of these, I tend to use two-part epoxy putty or polyester putty. Since they cure chemically rather than by solvent evaporation, thick sections are no problem. Also, I find epoxy putty much tougher than plastic putty when formed. In fact, I use it as the major component in larger conversions. One place is cases where a part didn't fully fill the mold. This can often happen in smaller protruding parts like fingers. In this case, it may be useful to provide some kind of an armature to build the putty around. I tend to use a rather stiff wire as a core in these cases and build up the putty around it. In some sense, it's another kind of drilling and pinning a joint.
It often makes sense to fill the legs of vinyl figure kits both to improve their balance by lowering their center of gravity and also to make sure that the legs won't deform on hot days. I've done this with plaster, Alumilite resin or even a mixture of buckshot and glue. This filling will also provide a firm matrix to lock in the mounting pins to hold the figure to its base. This is also the time to drill holes for these pins, if you'll be using them.
Not every joint will need this, and sometimes manufacturers will provide enough locating pins and the like to hold the joint firmly in place. If they don't, this is how to make them. In fact, I will often provide locating pins like these even if the manufacturer has provided their own. For smaller kits, I tend to be cheap and use paper-clip wire instead of more expensive brass stuff. This is also the time to drill for the pins you'll use to attach the figure to your base (if you need them).
Since pins like this also function for alignment, you need to make sure that the holes line up in the two pieces. Sometimes you can use existing features in the joint (I've seen several manufacturers mold matching dimples you can use to start). Often I will end up just eyeballing it, but this takes a practiced eye. If you need to find an exact spot in a joint, here is one method. Fit the joint together and make 4 marks across both halves of the joint. These should be spread around the joint, since the next step is to open it back up, and connect opposite pairs of these marks with straight lines. These lines should cross around the middle of the joint surface, and provide matching points on each half to drill. Another option is to drill through from the outside and fill the resulting hole afterwards.
This is where I glue the major sub-assemblies of the kit together. What constitutes a major sub-assembly is a good question at times. The real answer all depends on what will be easier to paint. If there are joints that will require major work, I try to handle these now and leave the joints that can get by with little or no filling 'til later. On the other hand, there is no reason to expand the number of sub-assemblies beyond what is absolutely necessary. Another factor to take into account is how a given part will obstruct your painting if it was attached. One common division, especially with long-haired characters is to have the hair, or head and hair, be one of the sub-assemblies. This makes finishing the back a lot easier.
Some joints will end up not needing to be filled, usually where they are hidden or there is a clean joint at a natural seam. On the other hand, a lot will require some work. Fill these the same way you do molding defects, sanding and filing to clean up when you're done.
Note that vinyl does not respond as well to sanding as resin or putty does. The softer the vinyl, the more that sanding and filing will tend to leave a rough surface behind. Experiment with some flash you've removed to see how the plastic in your kit behaves. Fortunately, vinyl kits tend to need less putty-work than resin ones. One technique that I've found can help when filling seams on vinyl kits that don't respond well to sanding is to use plastic model putty and smooth the final layer with a brush or rag moistened with lacquer thinner or liquid styrene cement. If this isn't quite smooth enough, some very fine sandpaper should do the trick. A similar trick may be used with epoxy putty and water, although you can't go back and rework the epoxy putty like you can the plastic putty with further application of styrene cement.
When you've finally gotten all of the sub-assemblies put together and the joints filled and sanded to your satisfaction, take one final look over and correct any flaws you see. After this, apply a coat of primer to the figure. There are three reasons for priming. First, it provides an even color over which to apply the rest of the paint for the figure, making it easier to get an even coat there. Second, it places a barrier between the plastic and the real paint, thus isolating it from any chemical reactions with the base plastic. Third, it provides a nice uniform coat that will reveal small defects at a stage where you can correct them, before you get around to the final painting.
What primer should you use? As with paint, use what works well for you. I've used Floquil's white figure primer and also just plain Testor's flat white model paint. One friend has had some bad experience with primer from the Armory. Theirs had far too coarse a grain and was much more suitable to full-size automobiles than to smaller models. He has had good luck with Citadel and Ral Partha primers as well. Again, experiment and find what works well for YOU.
Note that some paints are incompatible with vinyl. For these, the plasticisers may interact with the paint and prevent it from ever drying. Read the label on your primer to make sure that it is compatible before using it on vinyl kits. Once a vinyl kit has been primed completely, you can use any type of paint on it (provided the paint and primer are compatible, which most are). If you're in doubt, do a test on some scrap before trying on the real model.
In my experience, you will always find some little flaws that the primer reveals. Now is the time to correct these. Usually a little putty and/or sanding will do the trick. Take a close look at the primed figure to make sure you've caught all of these before going on to the next step. Also, re-prime after fixing these problems.
Now is the time to get out your paints and go to the figure. I tend to use a combination of brush, airbrush and spray-can as is convenient and as the spirit moves me. There are things that each is good for. For example, I always us a brush for painting the eyes. Another common questions is what paint to use. Again, use what works well for you. This is one of those instances where suiting the paint to your style is much more important than the type of paint itself. I tend to use acrylic paints for models (like Poly-S), and some occasional enamels (like Testor's), but this is just personal preference. I've also seen superb work done with artists' oils, which allow some very nice shading and blending. Again, use what works for you, and experiment around until you find something you like.
Glue major sub-assemblies together. This includes mounting the figure in the way you planned earlier. If needed, fill the joints you just assembled. Touch up the paint as required (I always need to).
Depending on the number and arrangement of your sub-assemblies, this can be a multi-step process. You can look at it as building sub-sub-assemblies, and then putting them together as sub-assemblies and then doing final assembly. Each of these can be a little model in and of itself before being incorporated into the larger whole.
Your figure should now be finished. Go back over it, looking for any little flaws that you can correct (e.g. touch up that little overspray you never saw before). This inspection is a two-edged sword. If you find something major, you have to decide whether to let it be, or tear into this figure you've worked so long on. More often than I like, I've decided to just live with it.
While this section is titled ``Tips,'' it's really more of a catch-all for other ideas that didn't flow out exactly right for the rest of the format.
In addition to pinning the pieces together, I find it useful to drill holes in the major pieces so they can be held on a stiff wire (e.g. coathanger) for painting. This helps you avoid showing up at work with a different color hands each day.
... ``I'm not talking about landscape painting.'' ``But you were talking about horizon.'' ``No! I was talking about painting Her Eyes On the figure you're building.'' Many folks are worried about their ability to paint eyes successfully. It's not that bad, and in fact with anime figure kits we have a couple advantages. First, the eyeballs are molded in, so you don't have to worry and guess about where they'll be. Second, this is anime, you've got a much bigger area to work with. Here's the way I do it. It may not be the best for you, but at least it gives you a place to start if you're uncertain. I start by painting the eyeballs themselves flat white. The molded edge of the eyeball is a good guide to your paintbrush here. After this is dry, I paint in the colored iris. This is just a big circle or oval of paint on the eyeball. Take a look at some anime artwork to see how these are placed. Try not to make your character cross-eyed unless you really want to. Next, paint the black pupil in the middle of the iris (when it's dry). I generally paint the eyelashes at this time. Those little fine lines of black above and below the eye help delimit and set off the eye. They can also hide some tiny misalignments of your paint. I tend to paint eyebrows the same color as hair, except for very light-haired characters, though sometimes they're done in black as well. Look at an example. Now that you've got the basic eyes done, it's time for those anime specular highlights on the eyeballs. Grab a fine brush and some white paint. Carefully put a couple spots and/or streaks over the iris and pupil. Take a good look at some original anime art to see where these would be. Finally, when everything is good and dry, I apply a coating of clear gloss to the eyes to give them that shiny liquid look. If you have trouble finding clear gloss, I have found that Future floor polish also works well for this. It is essentially acrylic gloss medium to make your floor shiny.
One question you will wonder about is how much detail to paint into the character eyes (or other aspects). You can find individual illustrations with exceedingly great amounts of detail in this area. Stop and think about it. These illustrations are usually much bigger than your figure kit (and may be viewed at a closer distance as well). If you can't see a detail on your kit when viewing it from the normal distance, then in my opinion, you're wasting your time painting it. Naturally, there's a lot more that can be done in painting eyes and other details than I have described here. Extra highlights, shadows, shading, outlines and the like could well be done. Give it a little practice and make sure you have a good rest to steady your hand on when painting, and you'll do fine.
There are three basic methods that you can use to apply paint to a figure kit like this (I don't recommend the wall-roller myself). These are spray-can, airbrush and hand-brush. Each of them has their advantages and drawbacks.
First, let's discuss the spray can. These are convenient, can apply an even coat, but do not give you the fine control of an airbrush. I tend to use spray-cans mostly for applying primer, or occasionally an over-all color coat. When you have to paint smaller areas, masking can become tedious and a bit of a drag. Also, you need to do this in an area where the overspray isn't going to be a problem. The living-room is right out.
Second comes the airbrush. This can spray paint on in a very nice and controlled fashion (much more so than spray cans). It still requires masking for fine separation, but once you are skilled, you can get away with a little less. Also, the airbrush allows you to do some nice shading techniques and such that other methods will not.
Third comes the old-fashioned paintbrush. This is definitely less expensive than an airbrush, and with only a little practice can yield extremely good results. It also offers some of the best control. I actually tend to use the ordinary brush for a great deal of my work. One bit of advice, don't get the cheap brushes. They'll give you far more grief than they save you money. Spending a just a little more will get you good quality brushes, which will do more for your painting than just about anything else.
No matter how careful you are, sometimes you, or the manufacturer, will make a big mistake. Every one of these can be handled. Don't worry, it can be fixed.
This is probably the easiest to fix. Just consider this another joint in the kit. These may or may not need pins (funny how accidental breaks almost never have locating pins built in). Since resin tends to break cleanly, you may not need much, if any, filling of the resulting joint.
If you ended up cutting a big gouge where you didn't want to, just get out the putty, and fill it up. Once the putty is dry, sand, carve and file it into the shape you wanted before the mistake. A lot of these gouges and the like can be treated just like another molding defect.
This occurs most often with vinyl kits because of vinyl's low softening temperature. With them, simply heating them in boiling water will usually make them pop back into the desired shape. If they don't a little coaxing by hand or tool can push them into shape. Remove them from the heat and then let them cool and harden in the correct shape.
This also occurs occasionally with resin kits as well. Resin too can be softened with heat, though not at as low a temperature as vinyl, and re-bent into shape. I use a hair dryer or heat gun for this process. I find that it occurs most often in larger parts of thin cross-section (such as a staff or flowing locks of hair).
Dealing with this type of problem can range anywhere from filling an overly large hole with putty to cutting off a big portion of a part and building a replacement from scratch.
One way of thinking of this is a really big void in a part (encompassing the entire thing). One possibility, though not very easy with imported kits, is to write the manufacturer and try to get a replacement part. If this isn't an option, you are left to make your own. See the section on conversions and scratchbuilding for more tips on how to go about this.
If a figure's hands are too big, it will look wrong, no matter how well finished (unless you're after SD). This is one case where you pretty much have to make a new replacement. Sometimes the existing parts can be used as the basis, but not always. Fortunately, this does not seem to be a very common malady. I would guess that, by now, far less than 1% of the kits out there have this problem. It's also usually easy to find this before even buying the kit.
One way of looking at conversions is that the manufacturer made a big mistake and didn't mold the kit the way you wanted. There really is a continuum running from building the kit exactly as it was designed all the way to completely scratchbuilding a model. Where along this line you like to be is a matter of personal taste. I know some folks who always build kits straight out of the box, and I know of others who have the reputation of always doing some modification, or rebuild.
Here are some simple types of modifications. Of course this list is nowhere near exhaustive, but maybe it can give you some ideas or inspirations for your own work.
Some folks may not even consider this as being a conversion, but it does involve using things not included in the kit and can arguably fall in this category. Right now, I'll just talk about simple bases, since as you can get as complicated as you want. Building an extensive diorama for your character can become a big project in and of itself.
For an example, a plain sheet of plastic can be scribed to simulate paving stones and another piece or two glued along one edge as a curb or sidewalk edge. With this painted, the figure is now standing on the street and not just floating in space. It's surprising how much a simple addition like this can do to provide a context for your figure.
When you're making a simple base like this, think about where the character might likely be. Sidewalks, floors and grass are all easy to create. You can even add a wall or two or a fence to provide a backdrop. Think about it. Be creative. You can surprise yourself with what you can end up with for just a little work.
Probably the simplest type of conversion is adding an item or two onto an existing kit. These modifications have the advantage of requiring practically no changes to the basic kit, however you need to be able to make the added items from scratch or scrounge them from other kits.
For example, if the kit has her hand held down at her side in a fist, it's not that tough to add something that she's holding, say a shopping bag. In this case, the shopping bag could be made of paper with thread for the handles. A small hole could be drilled through the fist to thread the handles through, so the figure is carrying the bag. One easy cheat on the bag decoration is to glue on some illustration(s) cut from a magazine rather than trying to paint them yourself.
Next in ease probably comes the simple re-positioning of limbs. With this, you do have to take a saw to the original kit (and this can take a bit of courage when you paid $75.00 for it). The usual method is to cut out a section at the joint(s), re-assemble the limb using heftier wire pinning there (usually leaving some bare wire showing) and then filling in and re-sculpting the joint with epoxy putty. Don't worry, most of the time this re-sculpting is similar to filling in a really BIG gap at a joint. Similarly, some simple work on the hands can change a figures gesture, or allow them to hold something. if they weren't already.
A couple of caveats to note method. When you're repositioning a limb, think about it carefully to make sure that you're putting it in a natural position (or at least one that is physically possible for the human body). Also, be aware of other changes in posture affected by this. For example, when you reach up, your whole shoulder rises, not just your arm.
Similar in difficulty comes simple clothing changes. For example, a miniskirt can be lengthened to the knee (or even the ankle) buy simply filling in with epoxy putty. Remember to put in the appropriate wrinkles that would occur with the new size of garment. Observe outfits in real life to see how these fall. Other changes could be the addition of an apron (using either paper soaked in white glue or epoxy putty rolled thin) or hats, scarves, socks, etc. The key to this is to ADD to the existing kit. I usually find that accurately carving away existing clothing is tougher. Also, looser clothes allow you some greater freedom in where they lie.
More extensive changes are also possible. When doing these, the question arises whether it is better to cut away a big piece and then build up the new area with epoxy putty, or whether to try to cut off the minimum necessary and carve the remaining part to the correct shape. Both of these are valid alternatives, and which to choose will depend a lot on the exact nature of the conversion and also your skill with carving vs. sculpting putty.
In this section I will list a bunch of tools and materials you can use for building garage kits like this. Don't be frightened at all by the size of this list. Some of these are only rarely used, and the the minimum set is actually quite small.
Here's what I think the minimum set for building kits is. Knife, sandpaper, glue, putty and maybe tweezers. Not long after, a pinvise and some drills will prove helpful. You may need a few more for getting into extensive conversions, but by the time you start doing these, you'll have probably have built up your collection anyway. The way I've built up mine is over time buying the odd tool or material when I found a need for it on a current project. Keeping these around has left me with a large collection of tools and materials to draw on.
Other folks have used other types of knives. The important part being that they are sharp enough and that they have a blade of the right shape to get where you need to.
While it's good for many things, ACC glue does have it's drawbacks. It is not good for filling in gaps, and has it's best strength in a tight fitting joint. There are ``gap-filling'' formulations available as well as gel versions, but sometimes the old standby of epoxy is best. Also, there times when you want time to position a joint and the extra drying time of other glues are a benefit.
This is probably the time to mention that standard plastic-model cement will not work on resin or vinyl kits. It works by dissolving the styrene and welding the parts together. Polyester resin and vinyl are mildly affected by this, if at all, so you don't get a workable joint.
There is also another filler that I consider in this class. You make it yourself by dissolving scraps of styrene (ordinary plastic model plastic) in liquid plastic cement. When you get a reasonably thick goo (you control how thick you want it), you've got a putty to use. This will dry back to the styrene it started as and can then be treated and finished as such.
Standard plastic-model putty can be thinned with lacquer-thinner or styrene cement if its consistency out of the tube is too thick. This can be useful for filling small pits and molding defects. One disadvantage is that since it dries by evaporation of solvent, thicker sections dry slower. Also, if you get too thick (over about 1/8 inch), it may not dry in any reasonable time at all. That's a job for epoxy putty or polyester putty.
The advantage of epoxy putty is that it cures chemically rather than drying, so it can be applied in any thickness. The fact that you have to mix the two parts is a disadvantage. On the other hand, I tend to use epoxy putty as a big component in conversions. See the section on handling epoxy putty later for some more tips.
While I've described some reasonably standard tools and materials above, in this section, I will continue on and talk about a bunch of others that may be more useful once you get to conversions or scratchbuilding.
I'll make one point here that is actually applicable across the entire field of model-building. There are many different materials that can be used for a given task. Which one you choose depends on a lot of things, but think how well a given alternative will work, and how easy it will be to use. For example, if you want to add a staff to a figure what do you make it out of. Well, you could use styrene or brass tubing or rod. Brass is stronger, but somewhat more expensive and may be harder to work. Other alternatives are that you could roll a ``sausage'' of epoxy putty (useful if the staff isn't a true cylinder). You could also roll a tube of paper, stiffen it with glue and use that. You could use a sprue from an injection-molded plastic kit (cheap), or even the ink-tube from a ball-point pen (cheaper). All are possible. Which is best depends on exactly what you're doing, what you feel comfortable with, and what's convenient. The consideration of, ``what do I have on hand,'' is always a question to ask. Over time, I've built up a collection of tools and materials to draw from.
As metals go, brass is comparatively soft and easy to shape, but is also strong enough to hold its shape afterwards. If you feel like it, good joints can be made by soldering, but you can also have just as good luck with epoxy or ACC.
One other type of ``putty'' that some people use for scratchbuilding is sold under the name ``Sculpy''. There are other similar brands, but I don't know their names off-hand. Sculpy is a plastic formulation that may be shaped like putty and hardens when baked (typically in the oven). Since it is cured by heat, it really isn't suitable for conversions since both resin and vinyl kits soften under heat. I have no personal experience with this, so I can't really recommend for or against it. The one thing I have heard is that sometimes, over time, it can form a crystalline exudate on the surface. Newer formulations should have fixed this problem.
Traditionally, some folks have carved and build models out of these woods (for example sailing ship builders). I tend to be more of a plastic user myself, so I won't go into detail here, but keep in mind that this is a well-known alternative.
Above, more than once, I've mentioned using epoxy putty for conversions and larger gap filling. Here are some techniques I've learned to deal with it. I'm sure there are many more that I haven't learned yet. If you know others, please let me know. I'm interested in learning.
In the initial very soft stage, it is easy to push and prod the putty into whatever shape you want. I use a variety of tools for this including toothpicks, knife blades, some small spatulas and my fingers. At this stage, keep your tools (or fingers) wet to avoid the putty sticking to them. I tend to do the rough or gross shaping of the putty at this stage, and wait until later to finish in the fine details (I find that I always push them out of shape if I try here).
After 30 minutes to an hour, the epoxy putty has hardened into a ``leather hard'' stage where it is more suitable to carving than ``pushing around.'' In this stage, it is still somewhat bendable (if you need to do that). Also, it is hard enough to carve, but not so hard as to make a tough job of it. I'll do the next stage of carving and refining detail at this stage.
Finally, after the epoxy putty has finally cured, it reaches a almost rock-hard stage. This is the stage where I pull out the files and sandpaper to give the final shape and finish to whatever part I'm working on. You can also carve it in this stage, but it takes a sharper knife and more work. In my experience, the final hardness of epoxy putty is harder than the polyester resin that kits are made of. Don't let that stop you from working it at this stage though.
Mix up your usual blob of epoxy putty. Instead of putting on the model and shaping it, take a couple sheets of plastic wrap (or a plastic bag), and roll the putty between them. You'll want to coat the plastic with a thin coat of salad oil or the like to keep the putty from sticking. Leave the putty here until it is somewhat stiff but still flexible (30 minutes to an hour). You can then remove it from the plastic, cut it with a knife and shape it to your figure as you wish. Since the putty has already partly cured, it will not stick quite as well as ``fresh'' epoxy putty, so a little super-glue at the joint sometimes helps.
I use a knife handle as a mini rolling-pin here, but anything will work. Roll the sheet as thin as you need. I usually go to about 1/32 inch or so, thinning the edges later if I need the piece to look thinner.
I've used this technique to make skirts, aprons, flowing sleeves and other items. I've also known other folks to use this to make flags that seem to be blowing nicely in the wind for their figures.
Don't stop reading just because this section has scratchbuilding in the title. Many of these apply equally well to conversions and some may even be of benefit when building a kit ``out of the box.'' Anyway, this seems as good a place as any.
You can even do your own casting of parts, just like the big boys do. I'm not going to go into great detail here, but here are a few pointers. You might try checking with a better equipped hobby store in your area for the materials. They may also be able to give you some pointers as well. My favorite mold material is RTV Silicone Rubber, the same stuff used in the original figure kits. The two major manufacturers of this are Dow Corning and GE. Options for the casting resin are polyester resin, Alumilite (which is a polyurethane resin) and Epoxy. Most of my experience has been with Alumilite, and it seems to work well and not require sophisticated vacuum de-airing or the like (though that would definitely reduce the instances of air bubbles). They also include a nice pamphlet in with their bottles of resin explaining mold making and casting and giving addresses where you can buy materials. Check out their web site at http://www.alumilite.com or give them a call at 1-800-447-9344.