First rotating head attempt: Harrison Ford

[TrueDave]

Howdy!
This an enlargement of the "Endor " Han Solo Kenner head.

I drill holes through neck posts so elastic can hold custom heads in. I thought " why not try for a rotating head?"
( Plus I got a lot great advice from MegoRonin and reading old threads)

It works but doesnt stay put sometimes. Elastic issue? I dunno

[thunderbolt]

that's the way to go for better customs. Looks like you got it.

[Tothiro]

You're on the right track, but the attachment point is low, which is where your "not staying put" issue stems from.

The neckline/shoulder top is essentially your fulcrum point. With this hardware, tilting the head back, forward, and to the side is stretching the elastic. So the greater the distance from the center fulcrum point your attachment point is, the greater the opposing force will be snapping the head back to center upright.

Flatt used to drill out the neck hole from the base, and then drill a second hole to put a cross-pin in from the back of the neck, putting the axis a little above the shoulders and just below the base of the skull. This created two problems; one, it was really ugly - let's be honest - and required being filled in afterward and usually even then you could tell. Two, the head would over pose, with a tendency to lay to one side, etc. because of the same problem in reverse. For a perfect alignment with this method you'd almost have to be putting the pin in near the base of the ball joint and there's no space there.

What I did back when I still made ball jointed necks was to cut the casting off from the pour flashing at the base, leaving a level bottom just a little wider than a pencil diameter. I'd then drill up into the head maybe a half inch with a 1/8" bit. Id take an exacto knife (but you could just as easily dremel this - heck use a plunge-router bit and make it super clean) and scrape out the opening like I was sharpening a pencil until there was a conical opening about 1/4" deep, roughly half the depth of the drilled hole (and that's where the level base cut is useful - as a visual guide of where to stop as you widen the hole opening so you don't make it too large. After a while I figured out it was easier to mount the sculpt on a tube or sprue of that diameter when setting the mold up, so I had an actual sprue to cut off at that point when I re-cast, completely removing any guesswork).

Then the easiest part is to take a small length of corded elastic, fold it over and insert the loose ends into the drilled hole until they're fully sunk, and fill the entire hole, up to the conical section, with duro quick gel super glue.
Done. Of the few hundred dolls I made this way, I never heard of one of the loops pulling out.
This leaves the rotation axis very close to the neckline, so the posing is nice and fluid, doesn't mar the exterior of the sculpt, and you can loop the rest of the elastic through it and tie that off the same as you are now...

PS - that's a nice pull. I like the outline.

[EDIT] will post a photo toot over in discussion area to explain shortly, sorry TD, didn't mean to hijack here.
Photo Help Now Up!

PPPS - TrueDave, I'll be getting in touch with you when things slow down a bit for me to nab one of those HF head casts. It'd be an awesome test base for my first wax re-tooling project.

[Megospidey]

Yup. and you will perfect it the more you do it.

[SUP-Ronin]

Looks pretty good. I drill a hole right thru the body in the center of his pecks. It should be a 1/8" hole and then I run a segment of 1/8" styrene rod thru from front to back. That gives me something to tie off the head elastic to. Never had one fail yet. If you tie the head on too tight, it won't really hold position too well. Too loose and obviously he appears to have a broken neck. Keep at it.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

You're on the right track, but the attachment point is low, which is where your "not staying put" issue stems from.

The neckline/shoulder top is essentially your fulcrum point. With this hardware, tilting the head back, forward, and to the side is stretching the elastic. So the greater the distance from the center fulcrum point your attachment point is, the greater the opposing force will be snapping the head back to center upright.

Flatt used to drill out the neck hole from the base, and then drill a second hole to put a cross-pin in from the back of the neck, putting the axis a little above the shoulders and just below the base of the skull. This created two problems; one, it was really ugly - let's be honest - and required being filled in afterward and usually even then you could tell. Two, the head would over pose, with a tendency to lay to one side, etc. because of the same problem in reverse. For a perfect alignment with this method you'd almost have to be putting the pin in near the base of the ball joint and there's no space there.

What I did back when I still made ball jointed necks was to cut the casting off from the pour flashing at the base, leaving a level bottom just a little wider than a pencil diameter. I'd then drill up into the head maybe a half inch with a 1/8" bit. Id take an exacto knife (but you could just as easily dremel this - heck use a plunge-router bit and make it super clean) and scrape out the opening like I was sharpening a pencil until there was a conical opening about 1/4" deep, roughly half the depth of the drilled hole (and that's where the level base cut is useful - as a visual guide of where to stop as you widen the hole opening so you don't make it too large. After a while I figured out it was easier to mount the sculpt on a tube or sprue of that diameter when setting the mold up, so I had an actual sprue to cut off at that point when I re-cast, completely removing any guesswork).

Then the easiest part is to take a small length of corded elastic, fold it over and insert the loose ends into the drilled hole until they're fully sunk, and fill the entire hole, up to the conical section, with duro quick gel super glue.
Done. Of the few hundred dolls I made this way, I never heard of one of the loops pulling out.
This leaves the rotation axis very close to the neckline, so the posing is nice and fluid, doesn't mar the exterior of the sculpt, and you can loop the rest of the elastic through it and tie that off the same as you are now...

PS - that's a nice pull. I like the outline.

Every interesting Robert...thanks for putting that up.

[Cmonster]

^ X2 Robert... I didn't understand half of your post, but it was very interesting. Thanks!

SC

[TrueDave]

I understand the " fulcrum too Low" Thats it !!!!!!!! I KNOW it!!

GI Joe had a cross pin way up his neck post not handing out the bottom. Then a crosspin.

I'll try that.
I finally undressed a Flatt Dracula and I see your point. Looks bad weird pose.

impregnating ( ?) the elastic in the resin is brilliant.

I usualy tie off custom heads through a hole in the post . I tie it off on inside pelvis crossbar.

My favorite Action Figure head tilt is the Barbie tilt combined with a Joe neck hole.
This guy has the idea. :DARE DEVIL Marvel 6 INCH 2010 Loose figure | eBay

[TrueDave]

( I'm just glad noone told me to go sculpt nubbies on the ball like T1's and CTTV have )

[rche]

( I'm just glad noone told me to go sculpt nubbies on the ball like T1's and CTTV have )

you could pretend that was neck stubble.


You could still use your eyehook as well, if you did not want to epoxie the elastic in. You would need to drill into the neck the same as Roberts suggestion; but then add a smaller pilot hole in the center, mount your elastic on a small eyehook and screw that into the base of the neck. You would still have a hardware connection that could be removed if you needed to adjust the elastic and the joint would be up in the neck and invisible from the outside.

[jacoblb]

Sure wish I waited and followed the topic here about how to best mount a custom resin head on a body before I went ahead and built my Creature from the Black Lagoon. I just glued the head on.

Good info here nonetheless.