Dearth/Alex's Customs and Dioramas v2

[Muppet fan 123]

No way you make these. How is that possible?! (DO you make these?)
You have got to tell me how you made these.

 

[LamangoNumber2]

I'm still here, don't worry, Dearth.

 

[Dearth]

Incredible work! I was especially tickled to see a Sergeant and Disco Link, and tuxedoed Strangepork. Think you'll ever make a biker Link and Piggy?

No plans at present for Biker Link and Biker Piggy, but it does sound like an intriguing idea. Any custom Link is a VERY time-consuming project, so after I finish one, I generally avoid him for a while.

I thought at one point about making Link in the red track suit (like when Peter Sellers had him tied up in knots) but that figure wound up becoming Link-as-Robert-Muldoon for Jurasick Pork.

No way you make these. How is that possible?! (DO you make these?) You have got to tell me how you made these.

Glad you like them. The methods vary from figure to figure, but they usually involve techniques like:

*Subtractive sculpting-- where details on the original toys are removed either with a knife or a rotary hobby tool like a Dremel
*Additive sculpting-- where new details are added, usually with Super Sculpey
*Spray-painting-- sometimes the entire figure, sometimes only certain areas while other areas are masked off to keep the Palisades paint
*Hand-painting-- maybe just a few details, or maybe the entire figure

And then there are all sorts of things that can be done by adding craft items to the figures with various glues. Hobby Lobby is a veritable cornucopia of cool feathers and textures and dollhouse accessories that can be added to Palisades figures with great results.

You can even make 'figures' entirely from scratch. I did that with craft materials for my Bossmen, but in one of the other threads on here there's a guy overseas who sculpts his entire figure out of Sculpey, without using a Palisades figure as the framework, like I do. Of course, his are non-poseable, whereas mine can usually work just as well as the production toys, so to each his own.

Anyway, I know I've been missing for a while, Lamango, but I hope to get productive soon. My old computer died and we just got a donated replacement that looks like it will be even more powerful than the dead one was. So cross your fingers!

Alex

 

[LamangoNumber2]

I've been missing too... TF2 does that to a man...

 

[Dearth]

So, I recently sold a spare Backstage Playset, and fittingly enough used the money to fill in some gaps in my Muppet collection. I got Minis of Kermit and Beaker finally (all I need now is Blown Up Beaker) and a more complete Tyco Muppet Babies Imagination Park playset. I also finally saw a listing for a Knickerbocker Play With Me Bert to finish my set of Sesame Street figures.

Well, technically, I did already have a Bert, but he was naked. So I was buying this one mainly for his clothes. And my previous nude Bert was in better condition, so I did swap the clothes onto the nicer figure.

Best of all...

... he arrived the same day I had my first preliminary meeting about directing a stage production of Little Shop of Horrors next October. So I consider that to be a very positive Frank Oz omen!

Alex

 

[Muppetaz]

Hey Dearth, how do you remove Scooter's arms without boiling him in water? Mine's wrists broke and I want to replace them with the arms of another Scooter I have.

 

[Dearth]

The entire arms? For that, you'd have to crack open the torso, and there's a chance it may not split along the existing seams. I've got some Scooter torsos where the plastic broke on the front as I was prying him apart, right below his collar. Ruinous. Too risky.

If you're gonna try to do just the wrists or from the elbows down, that might work better. But just dip the arms in warm/hot water and try to avoid getting his head warm, as his glasses will warp very quickly.

What's wrong with the Scooter whose arms you are donating to the one with broken wrists? It may be easier to go the opposite direction on parts-swapping.

And once it's fixed, if you are gonna throw away the leftover broken parts of a doubly broken Scooter, I'll take them!

Alex

 

[Muppetaz]

Thanks. The broken Scooter has a bunch of dings and scratches all over him, plus he's missing his glasses.

 

[Dearth]

I'd try to just swap the hands instead of the entire arms. If you can't get the broken posts out of the one who still has glasses, try the warm water technique to soften the ends of the sleeves and pry the broken posts out with something small but strong, like maybe the kind of screwdrivers used for fixing eyeglasses.

You could theoretically move up to the elbow and slide the pins out, but there's a greater chance of warping or tearing the plastic around the pins. And they're a real bear to try to reinsert.

(Never done it on a Scooter, but I have on Link and other figures, and I will avoid it at all costs in the future.)


Alex

 

[Muppetaz]

Thank you. Scooters fixed.