Maintaining Action Figures Clothing

Most of these tips are for cloth figure clothing.  These tips are by our opinion and we are not responsible for damages when trying these tips.

Steaming

Invest in a travel steamer or an iron with a steam function.  Get the type that looks like an upright canister with a side handle and a venting attachment at the top. Using this little miracle tool you can make uniforms look really sharp. It also will steam clean surface dust and help to upgrade the look of a cloth uniform. Regular ironing will scorch the fabric and leave shiny marks.  Work carefully and pull the cloth taut as you go. Hold the surface to be done between both hands and run it over the vents to "steam press" the garment. Holding it a little tightly helps. It takes a little practice and you'll probably get a couple of steamed fingers the first time out. Just work carefully and take your time.

Starching

Capes, berets and some other looser clothing needs some help keeping its shape. Try spraying it with diluted (1:1) starch, carefully forming the beret while on the figures head and letting it air dry. The item isn't rock-hard or anything it just stays where you put it now.

A way to form cloth berets, without a great deal of effort, to look like the way most soldiers wear them today. You'll need a bottle of Paul Mitchell Fast Drying Sculpting Spray or something similar.

1. Put the Beret on your figure and form it how you like.
2. Spray carefully and saturate the beret. Try to limit the spray just to the beret material.
3. Use a tooth pick or bamboo skewer to hold the beret in the shape you desire (you could stuff the item or make a form for it) to keep your fingers from sticking to the item as it dries.

Once dried, it's not sticky and not noticeable. 

Dyeing

The following alternatives work well on all cotton cloth:

1. A good dye to use is a VAT dye which will turn the fabric black (or whatever color you want) & will never come out. This dye is a bit caustic to use but works quick and lasts forever.
2. For a dye that is less caustic,use a Procyonb dye (sometimes known as cold-dyes). These dyes require much more soaking but are still permanent.

If you're going dye natural leather, use the Fiebing's Oil based dyes. The Tandy dyes are alcohol based and tend to leech the natural oils out of the leather causing it to crack on you after a short time. The Fiebing's, being oil based, doesn't do this, and is actually a little more resilient and produces a finish that's easier to apply evenly.

Sewing

Many problems seen in action figure clothing is the fabric unravelling (usually behind a seam). To prevent this, you "overcast the seam" which means setting the sewing machine on zig zag and sewing the hidden edge of the fabric on the inside. 

Use one little stitch to hold the collars down so they don't curl up.

You can use 1.2 mm brass nails for realistically sized buttons. Stick them through the material, cut of the excess (most of the nail) and add a drop or two of fabric tac. 

Gluing

Having trouble glueing those little fabric insignia's to the fabric uniforms of your 12" figures?  Aleene's Original Tacky Glue comes in a gold-colored squeeze bottle with a white top. It dries clear, and more significantly, flexible. So the insignia's won't peel off the figure when you move them around.

When glueing fabric to plastic, if you use modeling cement (either tube or liquid type), it will dissolve or soften the plastic you're working with.  If you use this, make sure you apply it to the piece of plastic, and not the cloth! 

Superglues (cyanoacrylates) are probably the best thing there is for attaching buckles or straps onto a model permanently. It will set instantly if applied to anything natural like cotton or skin. If you're attaching straps or buckles, be sure to only apply a tiny dot exactly where the cloth attaches or it wil make the entire strap stiff. 

Washing

Here's how to get those garments white and bright again. You need to buy two things:

• Softscrub With Bleach (the lemon version won't work)
• Efferdent denture cleaning tablets

1. Use a tupperware container large enough to lay the uniform flat.
2. Wet the piece of clothing and put it in the container.
3. Shake the Softscrub then apply it all over the item using a soft paintbrush.
4. Wait about five minutes then add warm water to the container so that it covers the uniform by about and inch.
5. Squirt some more Softscrub down on it and let it soak about 20-30 minutes - no longer.
6. Now take out the garment and rinse well under warm water.
7. Rinse out your container WELL and put about an inch and 1/2 of warm (not hot) water in it.
8. Pop in two or three Efferdent tablets and place your garment flat in the container.
9. Leave it in there overnight - about eight hours.
   Don't worry if the garment gets looking blue; it will go away in a couple of hours in the bath. It's removing any of the chlorine from the bleach and the baking soda and the Efferdent will really brighten the whites. You want all the chlorine gone because it would eventually yellow the garment. That's why using straight bleach isn't a good idea unless you Efferdent afterwards.
10. Take out and rinse. If it still isn't white or bright enough-try the Efferdent bath again.
11. Then rinse it well. You can use a "salad spinner" to spin all the excess water out.
12. Dry flat.

To remove magic marker, try rubbing alcohol. Pour through the fabric from the back. This works well on some markers and pens.

Next week: Hmmm not sure.  Check back next Monday.

Chinook & Hobby West

"Where the Fun Begins!"

ph: 403-243-1997

email: hobbywest@shaw.ca

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Creating Display Dioramas & Accessories For Your Action Figures

We regularly ask for tips, article ideas and general info from guys and gals just like you!  Recently, we were send this article. For the full article scroll to the bottom and hit the link.

This is just an opinion post about what you may try to do yourself. We are not responsible for any loss, injury, theft, etc. regarding any of the tips in this post.

Making an Oil Drum

• Take a 14 ounce can and remove the top and label. 
• Use one of the new Euro-Openers that cut from the side for best results. Eat contents and clean can. Dry well. Using a hot glue gun, glue the top back on. 
• Hot glue a 1/4" hex nut to the top near the edge and fill in the hole with glue. 
• Spray the can one of 3 colors: sage green, battleship gray or mint green. 
•  Label drums with rub on letters purchased from your local hobby shop.
• Display!

Making Walls

Here's on way on how to make a stone wall:

1. Items required: gravel, silicone RTV sealer (or caulking, or something similar), piece of wood as long as, and slightly wider than the section of wall you wish to build.
2. Glue the pieces of gravel to the wood using the silicone. Mix and match (like a puzzle) the gravel to give straight lines on the sides and eventually the top. The wall will get heavy enough to cause distortions if you try to do it all at once. Do about an inch or two high along the entire length of the wall and then let the silicone cure. Continue to add an inch or two in height every day until the wall is high enough. 
3. If you need a really thick stone wall, use a piece of Styrofoam and glue the gravel to the sides and top of the Styrofoam. The wall will still get heavy but the Styrofoam will help a bit!
4. If you fit the gravel together tightly, you can make a replica of a mortar-less stone wall. If you prefer to make a replica of a wall with mortar between the rocks, make the wall as noted above and let the silicone cure. After the silicone cures, run a bead of Elmer's or another hobby glue along the joints between the gravel and then sprinkle fine sand over the glue. After that dries brush off the excess sand. You can get fine sand in different colors from a hobby store that carries supplies for sand art.
5. Build the wall up to the end edges of the wood. This will allow you to make several sections of wall that will be smaller, easily stored and allow configuration changes for dioramas, etc. If you need to make a 90 degree corner, you can either make the corner as part of one section of wall, or make the wood ends as wide as the wall instead of a bit wider.
6. To finish off the sections of wall, glue dirt, model railroad ground cover, etc to the wood at the base of the wall. Also glue in a few bits of straw to simulate taller growing grasses, etc. -- Rob S.

Making Barbed Wire

How to Make Barbed Wire: Items needed: 30 gauge wire (found in hobby stores, Wal-Mart, etc - used for flowers & stuff), twigs (about 1/2 inch diameter), piece of wood (about 1/2 inch thick, plywood OK), glue, locking pliers or forceps, wire cutters, drill & bits, saw, rag.

1. Determine how much distance you want between fence posts. Also determine how high you want the fence to be (about 6 inches for a regular fence, about 16 inches or higher if you want to build a POW stockade).
2. Cut your wood about 2" - 3" wide and 2" - 3" longer than you want the fence section to be.
3. Cut the twigs to length, adding about 1/2 inch (or the thickness of your wood).
4. Drill 1/2 inch holes in the wood where you want the fence posts to be.
5. Glue fence posts into holes in wood. Set aside to dry thoroughly.
6. Cut a piece of the wire two times the distance between the fence posts, plus an extra 12 inches. For a 12 inch length of fence the length will be 36 inches (12 inches times two plus 12 more inches). The extra 12 inches of wire will be used to wrap around the fence post and secure the wire to the post.
7. Place the two ends of the wire together and pull the wire tight to form a doubled piece of wire.
8. Using the vice grip pliers or forceps, grab each end of the doubled wire and twist the wire. Keep twisting the wire until it has about 1/8 inch or less between the places where the wire crosses over itself.
9. Place the rag over the doubled & twisted wire and firmly pinch the wire (I fold the rag several times to give me a thicker pad of protection). Starting at one end of the twisted wire, squeeze and pull the rag along the length of the twisted wire (similar to closing a "zip-lock" bag). Do this a couple of times. What we are doing is setting the twist into the wire so when we remove the pliers/forceps the wire won't untwist by itself. You MUST use a rag or something similar because the wire will cut through skin if you try this with unprotected fingers!!! Set the wire aside.
10. Repeat steps 6 through 9 until you have one strand of wire for every inch to inch-and-a-half of post height.
11. Cut a bunch of 2" lengths of wire. Keep cutting, you'll need a BUNCH of these!
12. Take the 2" pieces of wire and wrap them around the twisted wire sections. Start about 3 inches from one end and wrap them every inch. Make sure you wrap them tightly against the twisted wire, and wrap each one about 4 times around the twisted wire. These will be the "barb" part of your barbed wire fence. Don't worry about how long the ends are, just wrap the entire length of twisted wire. Do this for all pieces of twisted wire you made in steps 6 - 9.
13. Take your wire cutters and snip off the extra length on each end of the barbs. Real barbs are about 1/2 inch long. I make the barbs a bit longer than normal (scale-wise) because they look better (i.e. you can see them!). Play around with the final length of your barbs and make them as long as you think looks good.
14. Wrap the ends of each section of barbed wire around the fence posts and twist the wire back on itself to hold the wire onto the post. BE CAREFUL - the barbs are REAL! ;-) Snip off the extra wire. Do this on both sides of the fence section, starting about 1 inch from the wood and working up about an inch for every piece of wire.
15. The fence section is finished. I make mine about 12 inches long so I can move them around easily. You can make them any length and any height. A good way to finish off the wooden bottom is to glue dirt, flocking, etc to the wood to simulate dirt, grass, etc. Need something besides fences? Make the sections of barbed wire and then coil them up to simulate coiled barbed wire. Use small (about 1 inch tall) pieces of smaller twigs glued into a wider section of wood, string the barbed wire between them and create "tanglefoot." Let your imagination roam wild! Good luck & have fun! -- Rob S

To see the complete article CLICK HERE
GI Joe® is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc.


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Happy Hobbying!!

Valerie

Removing & Touching Up Hair - From Your Action Figures

Painted Heads

"You can use acetone to remove paint from figures. I used it on some cheap Frontieer Hero dolls with really fakey looking facial hair and it worked well." -- JM

Pine Sol will normally remove paint, try that first. If that fails, bring out the big gun - oven cleaner. Don't try this on the visor though, it will ruin it. Test in a inconspicuous place first. -- Meerk

Here's a good paint removal tip. Automotive brake fluid, it's cheap and works well. I build scale models and have used it many, many times. You can soak or apply heavily with a tooth brush, be careful not to get it on any other painted surfaces though, it can work pretty quickly on light coats. You can also use it on spots with a Q-tip. Be sure to rinse in water to remove all residue. The brake fluid is water soluble so it will clean up nicely. -- Richard and Denise Pelletier

I decided to removed the paint from the lips of my brown hair-green eyed 30th Aniversary Joe I started out with a bottle of nail polish remover and a Q-Tip. Nail polish remover is a diluted form of acetone so I reasoned that it wouldn't do any damage to the vinyl of the head. And I was right! I just swabbed over the lips with the nail polish remover laden Q-Tip until the paint started to come off. The trick is, when the Q-Tip becomes saturated with paint to go to a fresh one. Also, don't put so much nail polish remover on it that it drips or disaster could loom. The only problem was the deep crevice between the lips, the Q-Tip wouldn't touch it. Fortunately, the paint was softened from the remover, and my trusty pen knife was able to scrape it all out, with absolutely no damage to the head at all! I doubt you could tell that there was ever paint there now. My friend couldn't. Don't forget the wash off any remaining nail polish remover residue, as it could corrode the head as time goes on.. Soaking a head in this stuff would probably be a bad idea. -- Bob SS.

Yes this would leech out all the plastisizers in the head and cause it to become brittle and crack. Just use a good acrylic like liquitex and paint over it. -- Wolfman

Use Remove-zit. You can get it from Cotswolds. It removes the paint with only one application. -- Snoserpent

I've used oven cleaner to remove the "chrome" from plastic model kits and the engine on the HOF Strike Cycle. I'm not sure how it works on paint, but it does an immediate job on the chrome! -- Rob

Try Easy-Off Oven Cleaner. It removes paint pretty well, usually leaves the plastic alone. Check it on a part that doesn't show to make sure it won't damage the surface. -- Trent

Want to remove the painted-on stars from the General's helmet? Buff them off with a little 600 grit sandpaper. Follow with polishing compound, or toothpaste and it'll look like they were never there. -- Meerk

Flocked hair

One way to remove the flocking is to soak the head for a couple of days in ordinary rubbing alcohol. Then the fuzz can be scraped off very easily with a blunt edged knife. Be careful not to scrape or cut into the actual vinyl of Joe's head. Also-you will be left with a yellow glue stain from the flocking process that can not be removed. Not such a problem on the head section because your paint job will cover it-but it can be a problem in the former bearded areas. I usually dry the hair out on a paper towel and save it for reflocking problem AT guys who need the Hair Club for -- Johnn Medeiros

"Boil the head and then soak it in alcohol." -- Conddor

"Be cautious when scraping off flocked hair because sometimes the heads are painted underneath and you may louse up an opportunity to get a clean painted head out of the deal." -- Don Thompson

Unable to dissolve the remaining glue residue, from a fuzz head, I picked up some automotive sandpaper (3M Imperial Wetordry, 1500 grit) and was able to sand the stuff off. I kept the paper wet, and by folding it, was able to get in the tricky areas -- behind the ears, around the scar, etc. I was even able to remove the residue in his mouth, sanding carefully so as not to take the paint off. -- Rob Leigh

I want to add another tip to Rob Leigh's procedure to removing the yellow glue residue. After using the super-fine grit sandpaper, I have found that two or three mild applications of baby oil to the sanded areas will help hide any abrasions to the plastic skin. You should apply one coat a day, allowing the plastic to soak up the oil. The oil seems to have no detrimental effects on the plastic. -- Steve Stanton

After removing the flocking, I repaint them with acrylic paints from the hobby shop. You can get them almost original with a little practice. I have even messed around with leaving mustaches, goatees, long sideburns, etc. when I remove the hair from the face. I use a little dixie cup to set the heads in overnight in the alcohol - its fits great. -- Conddor

Here's what I've found works best for repairing "Bald Spots": Removing & Repairing "Life-like Hair". The secret is....Paint remover! By using one of the slow acting paint strippers (for example:Safest Stripper) you can remove the hair from almost any fuzz head completely.

Just apply to the hair/beard and allow to sit (at least 2 hours), then using the BACK of an Exacto-knife blade scrape the hair off. Be careful when you do this as the plastic of the head gets slightly soft and the blade can dig in to the surface. It won`t all come off in one try,you will have have to reapply and do it again, but eventually you will get nearly all of it off.

The next step is the most Important, In the areas that didn`t come clean, you must apply regular paint stripper. WARNING: This stuff is very CAUSTIC, IT WILL BURN YOUR EYES AND SKIN, ALWAYS WEAR EYE PROTECTION. And I mean that.

Anyway, apply to the remaining hair/glue, wait a minute then scrape the area clean. I have never had one that would not come clean, and I've done over 30.

Sometimes, the area where the beard is will be slightly discoloured. If the stain is bad, add a "5 o`clock shadow" to hide it. You can either paint one on or "Tattoo" one on. The tattoo method is as follows: Using a fine needle,poke the beard area of the head, about a million times (or at least it seems like a million !;>} ) Then apply acrylic paint in the correct colour, and wipe off almost immediately, don't try to do the whole area at once, apply to a small area then wipe and so on until you cover the whole beard area.

Another Warning: don`t get the regular stripper on the painted areas of the face (unless you want to remove them too,) and use the smallest amount of stripper you can - it really softens the plastic of the head. Put much of this stuff on or leave it too long, and you'll scrape off chunks of Joe`s face! (makes for interesting Horror effects!)

The safe stripper will not remove the paint generally. If you find a fuzz head that is a painted hair underneath, use only the safe stripper and you`ll gain a painted hair figure. I've never had the safe stripper damage the paint on a head. -- Kevin Merklley

TOUCHING UP HAIR RUBS

Painted Heads

Most paints (model, spray, etc.) never dry on the toy-type plastic. One paint that does is automotive touch-up paint. I use it to touch up paint on my old Star Wars figures. -- Mark Bradley

I retouch some of my vintage painted heads because it makes them look better. I always use acrylic paint like Liquitex. This way, it can be removed down the line if one prefers the original state. -- John Medeiros

I have seen people use Sharpie brand markers to touch up black painted heads. -- Don Thompson

I hate to admit it, but sharpie markers work pretty well for very small spots. They'll come off with acetone if you want to "unrestore" it. -- Richard Knepper

The only painted head I've touched up was a black-haired foreign soldier. I just used black acrylic paint from a tube, spread thinly on a wadded-up kleenex, and rubbed it lightly around the head as if I was applying polish. It fixed the bald spots right up, and the result is close to indistinguishable to the original paint in terms of gloss. It dried right nicely, too. -- Benjamin Adams

Repainting a figure might cause it to come out too shiny. You can make the appearance more like the original by using some dull coat spray on the head. I use this to take the sheen off the plastic on the model RR kits. I think it'll work well on a painted head. -- C Cabrera

The one part I seem to have trouble on is right around the base of the neck-- this is the part that has to flex to put the head back on the torso. Regular acrylic doesn't have enough flex to it, so it peels a bit. You can help this by sanding the rubber-- it gives the surface more "tooth" for the paint to grab onto. I've mixed acrylic silicone caulking (available at hardware stores) to acrylic paint before-- this improves its adhesion and flexibility-- but it leaves a slightly glossy sheen. It's worth playing with if you're having big problems when you paint on flexible materials. And it's a lot cheaper than buying those specialty Hollywood mask paints. Jimbob
I've found that Testor's acrylic paints work well (water wash up too). A splash of tan and the Nick heads from Cotswold began to look better (also, some eye reduction with flesh tones, etc). -- Bruce Wilhite

Flocked Heads

"I've repaired flocked hair rubs using spirit gum and hair scrapped off an old head. Spirit gum is a theatrical adhesive used for attaching fake beards and such. Its nice because it goes on thin, but stays where you put it. After applying the adhesive to the bald spot just pat on some of the scrapped off hair and your joe looks good as new. I'm not sure about the long term holding power, that remains to be seen." -- Porter

"I usually have luck by using another donor head, that's in worse shape of course, and using tweezers to pull out small spots of hair to transplant. Super glue usually works good. It will look ok as long as it's not a huge amount of hair loss." -- Dr. Quest

I saw a cool picture of a fuzz head that had been "mohawked" and was dressed as a D-Day paratrooper. If the bare area is on the sides, just give him a mohawk! -- Rob Sorrels

If the bald area is larger than a pencil,don`t waste your time. You probably won`t be happy with the result. You have to have a "donor" head. It must have the same colour hair. Apply the Safe stripper to the donor head as above. Quite often, when using the the stripper the hair will come off in sheets. Save these for repairs. Cut the hair to fit the bald spot or glue several small pieces into the area. Try to fill the area completely. Now, use fine point magic markers to colour in the area around and on the bald spot. Just dot the marker against the head. If you haven't noticed, the hair has 3 colours of hair strands (except black) and you should try to match these colours. If you are careful,this will work perfectly. -- Kevin Merkley

The biggest problem is lint. Get the lint out before you remove the fuzz otherwise it is a chore to pick out. -- Mark Redmond

There are two ways to go on reflocking a head.

1. The "low expence" way is to get some heads to sacrifice. These need not be Joes, but they should be a good color match. What you do is pluck a patch out with a tweezers, then carefully dip one end into a little pool of superglue and place it on the head to be patched. Take your time and use minimal glue or you will just end up with a tweezer with the tips glued together.
2. The expensive way is to reproduce what they did in the factory. You build an electro-static gun. This puts a small electric charge on the little "hair" fibers and uses an electrode to shoot them out a nozzle on to a preglued Joe head. This may sound insane! But other hobbiests do it. Look though model railroad books for articles about "Static-Grass". They will tell you how to build it all. The main hang-up is no good source for a good color match on the fibers. If you want bright green haired Joes, you are set. I did collect some purple, either for punk Joes, or if you look close at the dark hair, you will see little purple fibers in there. -- Bryan Broocks

I use the easy but less professional method of reflocking Joe. I got really fed up with picking up a piece of hair, touching it to glue, and then putting it on Joe's head carefully. Instead, I separate all the little Joe hairs, scrape them together in a little pile, apply thin layer of glue to bald spot with toothpick, and sprinkle hair on bald spot. Wait a moment, and scrape off excess with clean toothpick. The hair looks fine doesn't have the smooth characteristics of the other way. I don't rub Joe heads, so it looks good enough to me. -- Aaron

For the complete article CLICK HERE
GI Joe® is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc.

Tips on Removing Action Figure Heads/Limbs

A short dip in boiling water and the head will soften and pop right off. Repeat the process to put it on another neck. The head will harden back up." -- Don Thompson

"On the question of hard heads, a hair dryer also will work and doesn't get the figure wet." -- bcsnaare@pinn.net

Here's how to take off the head of an action man snow board raider (IAM). Simply grab the head and pull upward until it comes off. Putting another head on works the same way, only you push. Sometimes, if the head is hard, warming it with a hair dryer makes it soft and easier to put on/take off. I have done this four or five times and never damaged anything. Don't worry about the little pin. -- Bob S.

 I have used the unorthodox method of heating hard heads in the microwave starting at about 10 seconds on high and increasing the time in 2-3 second increments on stubborn heads. You do have to be careful or you will melt them. -- RRG-Zach-La

If you want to trade the heads with someone, do it with the posts. It is easy to change the post. Simply lift it up and slip a small screw driver or ice pick into the elastic hole to hold it in place, then just slip the post off the hook. If you insist on taking the head off the post, then use some warm (hot) water to soften the head. -- Matthew

For more of this article CLICK HERE
GI Joe® is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc.

Getting Started With Milliput

Getting Started With Milliput

Milliput is a trade name for epoxy putty. There are five grades: Standard Yellow/Grey, Silver Grey, Superfine White, Terracotta, and the latest addition - Milliput Black. Each grade is presented in similar packs containing 2 x 56·7gm. sticks and the general instructions for preparation and usage are the same.
The two sticks have a long shelf life but once mixed the resultant putty is at first soft and highly adhesive and then gradually hardens. Speed of hardening is dependant on temperature and at normal temperatures (20-25ºC) Milliput becomes rock hard in three to four hours. By the application of heat the setting time can be reduced to a few minutes.

After setting hard Milliput continues to cure and is fully cured after an elapse of time equal to the setting time at the same temperature. Once fully cured Milliput can be machined, drilled, tapped, turned, filed, sawn, sandpapered and painted. Milliput can be sandpapered and painted immediately it has set. (it is advisable to wear eye protection during this process).
Milliput is an excellent adhesive and will bond any of the following to itself or to any of the others - wood, brick, cement, metals, concrete, plastics, glass etc, but note that Milliput is not intended as a thin layer adhesive and should not be used where a paste, mucilage or thin glue is indicated. Milliput will set under water and is heat resistant up to 130°C.

Shelf Life:
We recommend Milliput is stored in cool, dry conditions. Please reseal bags after use. Stored correctly this product should remain workable for about 2 years.

Black Milliput was introduced in response to user demand and can be used for Repairs to antique clocks, Guttering, Ebonised wood, Marble, Slate, Cast iron, Basalt ceramics and black plastic parts in cars (such as bumpers, small handles, buttons and knobs).

Yellow-Gray Milliput The epoxy putty with a thousand uses in modeling D.I.Y and industry. (Car repairs, military models, Marine craft repairs, household repairs like gutters)

Silver Grey Milliput was introduced as slightly  finer filler and is widely used for modelmaking, sculpting, taxidermy and for the repair of garden ornaments. (porcelin restoration- dolls & plates, Military Modeling, Domestic Repairs, ).

Superfine White Milliput For the restoration of porcelain and other ceramics for the repair of antiques, objects d'art, Victorian dolls, picture mouldings, etc. For sculpting and modeling. For the repair of white domestic chinaware and for filling scores and dents in white domestic equipment e.g. washing machines, refrigerators, etc. (porcelain restoration- dolls & plates, Military Modeling, Domestic Repairs, ).
**It is very important when using this grade of Milliput, because the sticks are virtually the same colour, that you mix the two parts for at least five minutes.**

Terracotta Milliput used for the restoration of terracotta and other ceramics. Also for the repair of garden urns, pots, Statuettes and damaged brickwork, etc. Also for sculpting and modeling. (Earthen wear pots, Quarry Tiles, Statuettes, damaged brickwork)

Use Milliput to add features for realism to models and figures or to customize.

A "Cool" Tip!

If you are interrupted while you are mixing Milliput, you can put the Milliput into a deep freezer until you can get back to work. This will keep the product at approximately the same state of setting at which it was frozen for up to 36 hours. Simply remove the now frozen product from the freezer and warm in the hand and it is ready to use. If stored immediately on mixing it retains its sticky nature.

Milliput crusting cure
Tom Sime - Epoxy 101
 
There are differences between brands of epoxy putties but they all have very similar properties.

I have used Milliput, AB as well as Magic Sculpt and if Milliput is used, as a “base line” AB is a little firmer in texture and Magic Sculpt is a little softer as well as having a surface “sheen” that (I find) makes judging depth a little more difficult than with Milliput.

One of the big problems when you purchase Milliput is that you don’t know how old it is. The darker stick has a tendency to “crusting” on its outside surface if its kept in storage for to long. If this is not dealt with then when you mix the two components you will have small pieces of the crust in the mix that will not cure properly as the Milliput hardens.

The cure for crusting is as follows-
1) Warm an oven to 200 Centigrade/Celsius.
2) Place the encrusted stick on a piece of foil and put into warm oven.
3) Make a cup of coffee/tea and drink it. This should take you 20 minutes.
4) After 20 Minutes carefully remove HOT Milliput from oven remembering that its HOT and STICKIE and if you touch it will STICK to YOU and BURN.
5) Allow the Milliput to cool till it is warm to the touch (don’t let it go cold) and you can handle it without burning yourself.
6) Now simply mix it well with itself thoroughly, this will take at least 3-5 minutes.
When the mix cools completely you will find that the lumps have been reconstituted and are no longer a problem.

All epoxy putties change in consistency between mixing and curing. At the time of mixing epoxies are soft and pliable, as time passes they tend to firm up and are less easy to work with sculpting tools. This knowledge can be used to your advantage.

Putty that is freshly mixed is soft and therefore ideal for sculpting and shaping with dental tools, toothpicks and homemade tools designed to meet your personal needs. I use Milliput for figure sculpting and use a selection of various sized needles that have been epoxy glued into the handles of old paintbrushes. A paintbrush moistened with a little water can be used as an aid to sculpting, blending and smoothing out the surface of whatever you creating.  

Putty that is no longer soft and malleable need not be discarded. If it has started to firm up it is perfect for rolling out and being cut and shaped for clothing, tarps, blankets, bedrolls etc. To roll out the putty simply dust it with a little talc place it on a flat surface and use piece of dowel/plastic rod to roll it out. Use a moist paintbrush to remove the talc before “fastening” into its final place.

There are few things more satisfying than creating your own sculpture/conversion. I hope the forgone helps you to do just this.

Another customer adds - A quicker method that I use is to place the "crusty" one on a glass dish and microwave on full power for approximately 10 seconds (depends on m/w output), then mix with itself.  just remember it is HOT when it comes out of the micro.

The info in this article is from Milliput.com & Tom Sime a customer

Toy Collectors Club Newsletter - August 2012

Hello Collectors Club Member;

It’s been about a month since our last email and we wanted to share some things with you.

What’s in this month’s email blast?

• Restock arrivals 
• What’s happening in and around Calgary?
• Tip of the Month
• Fun Video (building a life-size Airfix model kit)
• News 

  

Restock Arrived:

-12" figure collection many different from Civil War, Knights, Vikings, Military and more

    check out www.facebook.com/ChinookAndHobbyWest for pictures

-12" figure accesories many new hands, bodies, and clothing.

-Balsa and foam gliders for all ages!

-3 3/4" Star Wars Vintage figures, playsets and vehicles from a collection; most complete (loose boxed)

-4WD Miniracer kits and accessories to customize a mini R/C racer

-Diecast collection with Mopar and Nascar in 1:18 and 1:24

-various sized display cases. For 1:87, 1:64, 1:24, 1:18 and more. Most are

stackable.

-items available at both stores in Calgary

What’s Happening?

We hear about clubs, events and other things that may interest you. As we can we post

them on the events page of our website.

-         Please let us know if you hear of any so we can post them!

Tip of the Month

-When aging clothing for 12" figures use fine grit sandpaper to rough up tears or

to create a 'worn' look (take the clothing off the figure first). Then put the clothing back on and

'dry brush' chalk or paint to create highlights (lighter colours where the light 'hits' the fabric)

and 'lowlights' (where the recesses of the fabric are). For blood stains use burgandy or

mahogany colours for added realism.

Fun Video

James May wanted to get big and small kids imagination going by building a life size Lego house!

Check it out and share what you think! 

http://youtu.be/qR2YqMrS_pM

 News

 Classes

Our next Airbrushing for Beginners class will be in October 2012. Please check out the

 events calendar on our website for more information. You can either email or call Valerie

to pre-book your space.

Do You Want To Share Your Knowledge With Others?

We are looking for people that would like to share their model railroading tips with others.

It can be in written form or a short video. You would get full credit and if your contribution

gets positive response and you become a repeat blogger for us we would like to share the reward.

Why Does Our Stock Level Look Thin?

We are making changes to both of our stores. We have a new logo, new look and we are

changing how we do things. Those of you that know Rob have experienced how Rob tends

to take things in a new direction from time to time.

Over the summer we are renovating our upstairs of our South store to have something new and

different. So please check out our Facebook page and watch our website for updates.

Late August and Early September you can expect to see new and restock in our plastic and

diecast sections.

We have been purchasing various Action Figure and other collectibles collections. From Barbie, GI Joe to Star Wars. So come by and watch the shelves as they fill out with New to Us Product and the NEW stock arriving starting in September!

Help Us Improve

We would love for you to share your comments and ideas (even the not so nice ones).

What do you want to see in upcoming emails and newsletters? What would you like to see

on our website, blog and/or our Facebook page? If we’ve done something you love let us

know so we can keep it up.

We want to become the Hobby Store that you want to visit so please share with us!

Please email this to a friend; they can join our Collectors Club too!

http://www.chinookandhobbywest.com/collectors-club.html

Thanks so much and we hope to see you really soon.

From Rob, Val and all the guys at Chinook & Hobby West

North Store: 2604 – 4^th St. NW    Ph# 403-984-3438

South Store: 5011 Macleod Tr. SW    Ph# 403-243-1997

 

 

Blog: http://chinookhobbytalk.blogspot.com/

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Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/HobbyandToy

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website: http://www.chinookandhobbywest