Back in the Studio…

[Confessional]

Several projects on the table currently including more Ape clubs and scrolls, Urko riding crop, Bruce Lee weapons, a surgery job on a Neca body to mod the height as well as change the boots, and just off camera… Police Chief Geba is finally in progress. Feels good to making Megobits again!

[Confessional]

…things starting to get a little more interesting around here.

[Confessional]

1/6 Heroic Taylor on vintage Mego body, with Cotswold Elite Brigade set, custom head, hands and cigar.

[supes]

Awesome job

[Confessional]

^^ Thanks!… must finish Geba next!

[Confessional]

[PNGwynne]

Oooh, that Cotswold-attired Taylor looks sweet. I really enjoy seeing your work, very creative.

[Confessional]

^^ Thanks! I've been working simultaneously on 7 or 8 projects that I've procrastinated upon for a long time. Also experimenting with dyes which is tedious and not fun, but has resulted in some cool results. I'm 95% done with my Geba custom but had a major set back finishing the decal on his helmet.… maybe 3x a charm.

That Cotswold get-up is really fun; as I'm not a Joe collector, I thought what better use than on a classic Mego Superman bod.

[Confessional]

Really like how synthetic dye is able to recondition old dodgy outfits… the violet dye even penetrates the Soldier's vinyl for a cool effect.

[EMCE Hammer]

Really like how synthetic dye is able to recondition old dodgy outfits… the violet dye even penetrates the Soldier's vinyl for a cool effect.

Fantastic stuff! I see what you did with the Cornelii but you have me stumped on the soldier ape. That's not just a dye job is it?

[PNGwynne]

Steve, I think it's purple dye that has also tinted the vinyl tunic. Cool.

WW, something that can also be tried is tinting Corny and Zaius heads with brown (or other) dye. You can also dye Emce ape hands/limbs.

[Riderfan]

I assume you're using Rit dye?

[TrekStar]

Really like how synthetic dye is able to recondition old dodgy outfits… the violet dye even penetrates the Soldier's vinyl for a cool effect.

Those really look amazing, love Cornelius and the moccasins really stand out.

[Confessional]

Thanks!

There is some deception (non-intuitive choices) at play; I'll try to give some insight into things here…

Dyes used: Traditional powdered dyes of various brands including Rit, as well as several others sold for higher end crafts and leathers. The nice thing about these is you can mix and blend with more predictable results. While liquid dyes (yes, Rit Dye More Synthetic rocks!) are very concentrated but not available in as many colors. I also mix powdered and liquids together, which can carry the color of a traditional dye into synthetic materials. As you know most dyes don't actually appear as the color on the packaging unless you are dyeing pale absorbent fabrics. Otherwise your results will produce a wide range of colors with many failures and interesting surprises.

The green "Cornelii" (love that term!) are not dyed green, rather that rich color you see is achieved by using Tropical Teal dye.

The blue Corny color comes from using a blend of Denim and Midnight Blue dyes. The blue dyes can almost go black if you want them to.

The Soldier is done in Royal Purple with a dash of Racing Red. Yes the vinyl used on these tunics, unlike the material used on the Chimps, takes the dye well too. So you get this really cool two-tone violet across the uniform. Blue dyes will move these towards green and even black, while red can have little impact on its own but works well as a warming/brightening color.

I posted these because they are the more difficult Apes to re-color… Astronaut, Zira and Zaius garb, and the General's yellow tunics (the results have a more aged/detailed look as the pigment will settle in the debossing and wrinkles) can be dyed much easier.

I've also been dying white boots… surprising to me, the contemporary products take pigment much easier than their vintage counterparts.

Also, I'm sure you already know as customizers, but for those just starting to mess around… using very hot (just prior to boiling point) water and drop of dish soap or clothing detergent, as well as pigment concentration, time, and motion (stir & shake… be careful shaking hot mixtures as they expand rapidly!) can all affect outcomes radically. You can use a single color and alter the formula with any one of these variables and get different results. Distressing (removing color and/or pre-dyeing) can also be a useful step.

I use glass jars with lids instead of pots on the stove. I find you use/waste less dye, can control the temperature and motion easier, can see the reaction(s) better, and they make for a less messy clean-up. It really is tedious and you have to want to do it or else it's huge hassle… spattering dye across your sink, counter tops (bright white quartz no less), and flooring isn't fun! I could go on and on… stirs, gloves, rinsing, etc.

I think my success rate (actually achieving a pre-determined result) is about 40%… lots of other pieces just end up back in the fodder pile or I try to dye them again, or just trash them. I really should write recipes down in order to re-create, but truth be told I like the laboratory adventure of it all and a one-of-a-kind monkey

[NastyNoah]

That statue is off the chart! Can we see more pics of Nova?