Action Figure Chatter

Browse the custom showcase, when you see work you like message the customizer and see if you can hire them.

If you want to try a different approach..... I buy a two part silicon molding kit at the art supply store. Mixing part "a" with part "b" it makes a putty that I then spread over the figures head wait for it to cure and now have a molding of what ever head then fill it with sculpting clay then put the neck joint from the new figures body in to the clay . takes little practice but can be very cost effetive down the road.
Best of luck !!!!! and Happy Holidays !!!!

Most of the time the heads need to bored out a bit with a drill or a dremel. Or the marvel neck " ball " piece needs to be cut down to fit inside the smaller. ( if that makes sense )

That's been my experience as well, heads from DC figures have smaller holes which won't fit the ML necks without modification. As for hands, it's probably hit or miss as far as a straight swap, you'd probably have to either file down or build up the peg on the DC hands to fit the particular Legends arms you're using if it doesn't work.

Yep, you could also buy from their website, but sadly they're never in stock online

Well, paint thinner or mineral spirts, but I have found that enamel thinner works for removing or weaking glues and various adhesives, but be careful simply because it can eat away some of the plastic or paint.

Are you using boiling water or a hair dryer to heat up the part? I use a hair dryer and I've usually been able to break stuff loose even after super-gluing it together, it just takes applying enough heat and working the part loose, which sometimes requires I repeat the heating process a few times. I'm not familiar with the TMNT figures, is the helmet actually a separate piece?

For this particular figure it is indeed separate, the seller just glued it for lord know what reason, I've tried it with a hair dryer. I may try repeating this process, perhaps the water technique might help since it would actually flow into the helmet, how hot do you reckon I can get it before it actually damages my figure?

Thank you for your response and help

You're welcome, glad I could be of assistance and it worked out. I have disassembled both figures, but never combined any of their parts.

Both Mockingbird and Beetle have soft plastic upper torsos, so it's just a matter of heat and pop, either dunk them in boiling water or heat them up with a hair dryer and pull them apart. If you've never done this before, just remember it will take a few minutes of heating to get the plastic soft enough to pop off of the larger torso peg, if it doesn't come off with a moderate amount of force keep heating it until it does. The arms, which have smaller pegs will pop off before the torso will, but the same applies, if they aren't coming out relatively easily, continue heating, otherwise you can rip the upper arms off the shoulder pegs if you use too much force. Anyway, I've found that sometimes there are subtle differences between parts on the Marvel Legends figures, especially with upper t ...

Hey thanks, just finished pulling apart all the joints! Worked like a charm. - Thigr

Well,I always use the marvel legends nick fury or spider man noir sleeves and trench coat, but you could always use the noir jacket piece and leave the sleeves or resculpt the arms when needed. Now for softgoods, I would use spandex or heavy cotton simply because they don't fray as bad as cotton, of course I would make it a size smaller, that way it can fit a bit tighter, and work itself around the articulation.But cut it in two halves and add the sleeves and then sow the two halves together, it will look more realistic. hope this helps

It helps to look up free patterns for clothes, then resize them as needed. Recently I had to make a big cloak and did it this way.

Sometimes you can even simplify the process since you can glue instead of sew, you don't have to hem everything, etc.

For example, trenchcoats are usually two halves stitched together, with the lower halves stitched on too, but I'm sure you can make the trenchcoat with one piece of fabric. You'll just have to measure for the arm holes, cut it out and slip it on. ...

The only difference between customizing at small and larger scales is how much clay it takes to make stuff, so feel free to browse the showcase and see if anyone can sculpt at a level you want. Odds are they can do pretty well on a larger figure.

Granted though, larger scale means more details, so a sculpt can seem "cartoony" if not detailed or refined enough. Same goes for the paint job, though I've found it easier to paint large things.

Yeah, I figured that. I have no intention of looking at a figure with business intentions, just didn't want to be the dumb guy. I'm still kicking myself over Exosquad

I'll second what the venerable Henchmen said, just go ahead and display and pose your figures and enjoy them, why have them otherwise? 99% of the time if I get a packaged figure the box ends up opened and then goes in the trash.

You're not going to buy a house by selling MLs. You may buy a figure now for 20, and in 10 years people will pay 40 because it's out of production, but waiting 10 years to make so little is a terrible investment. You could just go dig ditches for a day and make 4 times that profit.

Just enjoy your figures, don't worry about it.

If you want to get into the reselling/scalping game, look into Funko POPs and similar collectible lines. They constantly have limited editions and the fans are rabid enough to pay anything.

Deadpool AND John Cena!? Two of the most over-hyped characters ever, mashed together into one super-hype, er, I mean, superhero!? Amazing!

I feel like my early customs could rival that atrocity, but I like that that PoolCena even manages to look sticky through the grainy pics lol