Painting Bodies

[AJ-Paratrooper]

This is a little bit "non-Mego", but what the heck....

I'm thinking of making some custom figures out of the CTVT bodies, mainly because they are so inexpensive. They look good too, especially if I can re-string them.

The non-Mego aspect of this project is I want to paint the "clothing" directly onto the bodies kinda like this Nick Nitro custom here from Small Soldiers:



I was thinking about sculpting holsters, grenades, shirt sleeves, etc. out of sculpey then gluing it on & painting.

I just like the 8" size....it's straying away from anything Mego did with the 8" scale since I'm doing away with clothing.

Anybody ever do a "molded on clothes" custom on a Mego body? I'm assuming acrylic paint would work OK on bodies, huh?

[ddgaff1132]

The major problem with doing this type of thing is the joints. If the figure remains posable' the paint gets scraped off when you move the arm or leg or whatever. Most paints scrape off of plastic easily. The other thing is paint getting into hinge joints ie; the elbow. Some paint dry like glue and CTVT figures are ussualy so weak that the joint pins break before the paint gives way. I learned this while trying to make a
She-Hulk from a 9" figure. It was a pain in the Butt and a big ol waste of money.

[AJ-Paratrooper]

Yeah, the joints are bugging me for the reasons you stated. The only solution I can come up with is to dye the joint parts with Ritt dye and paint the surrounding areas with the acrylic paint with the similar color.

The trick will be blending the dyed joints colors with the surrounding painted colors.

I don't have my hands on a CTVT body right now so I don't know if it can be disassembled. Disassembling (if possible), painting, then re-assembling might work....don't know if that's even an option. Interesting problem....

I agreee...thanks for letting me know of your experience.

[mazinz]

A known non mego customizer (One's customs) mentioned this tip for joints and paint, if you can use it in some way even better

He mentioned (and being very careful) that after you paint a joint (and hopefully if the joint can come apart), apply with a brush, a very thin layer of glue (like crazy glue) over the paint. This will protect it from scraping off when/if you move the joint around


I wanted to correct that he uses a sewing pin to apply the glue over the paint, not a brush, sorry about that

[AJ-Paratrooper]

A known non mego customizer (One's customs) mentioned this tip for joints and paint, if you can use it in some way even better

He mentioned (and being very careful) that after you paint a joint (and hopefully if the joint can come apart), apply with a brush, a very thin layer of glue (like crazy glue) over the paint. This will protect it from scraping off when/if you move the joint around


I wanted to correct that he uses a sewing pin to apply the glue over the paint, not a brush, sorry about that

Hey Thanks! Yeah, there are sites out there for customizing figures but none of them appear to be for Mego-type figures. The tutorials for those figures should work for Mego bodies as long as the paint and glue adheres. A hard super-glue surface over the paint does make sense.

[mazinz]

Hey Thanks! Yeah, there are sites out there for customizing figures but none of them appear to be for Mego-type figures. The tutorials for those figures should work for Mego bodies as long as the paint and glue adheres. A hard super-glue surface over the paint does make sense.

He also mentioned a "nail polish finish/cover" also worked as well

[LonnieFisher]

CTVT makes colored bodies. get the bodies in the color the joints need to be and then add your accessories and paint. That's what I would do if I was doing your project.

[ctc]

>get the bodies in the color the joints need to be

That's a good idea. The CTVT colour bodies tend to be better quality too.

Don C.