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Claymore NS
https://www.joecustoms.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7645
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Author:  past nastification [ Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:28 am ]
Post subject:  Claymore NS

Claymore was always a character that I never understood the popularity of. Somehow, no one cared that his uniform was banana yellow. Sure it, had dark spots (like a rotting banana) and a green vest (not like a banana), but it always seemed a bit silly to me.

With a few extra NS Tele-Vipers lying in the parts bin, I broke down and had to make a Claymore figure.

The only NS helmet I had to work with was the Dusty helmet, which I don't care for. However, that was the only option. To make it look less like Dusty's helmet, I added the night vision system and the top strap.

Throwing the Tele-viper's shoulder-mounted radio gear on the vest might have looked good, but I wanted to step away from the obvious source of the chest. I instead sculpted the cargo pockets on the vest. I also sculpted the backpack's back-facing side so that it contours better with the figure's shape.

A desert color scheme was the most obvious choice. The green is pretty much a perfect match for the original. As much as I don't like the color, I also used the banana yellow sparingly on some details- little box on helmet and the computer on the leg.

Parts:

Head- NS SAW Viper
Chest- NS Tele-Viper
Arms- NS Ace
Waist- NS Snake-Eyes (the one used for the Plague figures)
Legs- NS Snake-Eyes (the one that came with Timber)

Attachments:
Claymore side.jpg
Claymore side.jpg [ 125.86 KiB | Viewed 352 times ]
Claymore front.jpg
Claymore front.jpg [ 146.4 KiB | Viewed 356 times ]

Author:  Devilfish [ Fri Apr 11, 2008 11:28 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Claymore NS

Wow! Can you share how you did that paint job?

Author:  Keenan [ Fri Apr 11, 2008 11:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Claymore NS

Great paint aps!

Author:  remster_9 [ Fri Apr 11, 2008 11:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Claymore NS

Great custom! I was gonna ask about the paint job too but Devilfish beat me to it. It looks incredibly nice and production-quality!

I like bananas too.

Author:  pluv [ Fri Apr 11, 2008 12:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Claymore NS

Devilfish wrote:
Wow! Can you share how you did that paint job?
I'm going to guess that he used textured spray paint. Regardless of how it was down the overall effect is awesome. The parts work well. The accessories fit the character. And the paint is good. All around high score from me.

Author:  past nastification [ Fri Apr 11, 2008 3:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Claymore NS

Thanks for the kind words.

As far as the painting...

I almost always use spray paint for the primary color and then use acrylics for the details. The only part of the body I usually stick with all acrylics are the heads.

I'd done a few NS figures before, but was always frustrated by the horrible chipping (compared to ARAH figures) as well as the never-quite-dry feeling on the more rubbery parts of the figures (arms mostly).

Then I got bored and started tinkering, leading me to this:

Two techniques used together have really brought the chipping down to an acceptable level and completely done away with the stickiness:
1. Using a "bonds to plastic!" kind of spray paint. They all seem to work about the same
2. After putting on each coat, all of the pieces are set in front of a space heater for about 30 minutes and then left alone (without heat) for at least two hours.

For the not-quite-camouflage effect, that's not texture paint, but two different colors of spray paint. In this case, a "bonds to plastic" white and a regular brown. I sprayed the white followed immediately by the brown.

I've been mixing spray paint colors for several years and have learned a few tricks to keep the parts looking right:
1. lay the pieces out flat, but next to each other as they will be when reassembled. That way, if there's a bit more of color X than color W on the right shoulder area, there will also be on the right upper arm. When put together, the XW color will appear to have continuity between the pieces.
2. ARAH figures- spray paints generally blend with each other. I assume this is some kind of chemistry magic based on the different kinds of plastics used, but I don't know. Actually, the individual colors don't blend, but bead up into minute little spots so tiny that the figure has to be within a few inches of your eye to notice. In other words, if I were to take the same white and brown and put them on a ARAH figure, the paint wouldn't appear speckled, but as a flat tan.
3. NS figures- spray paints sometimes "fight" each other. This is what creates the not-quite-camouflage effect. Not always, though. I just made a Munitia using the exact same technique, but with different colors, and they blended together nicely.
4. I don't disassemble the upper legs from the lower legs before spraying for ARAH or NS. This ensures color continuity between the inside and outside upper parts and the lower leg. It also keeps the knees joint from chipping- don't understand that at all, but it works.

I don't waste money on sealants or fixatives. $1.50 for a can of Aquanet hair spray. This has a surprisingly long life, too. The first custom I did as a grown up was a Steeler that I posted recently. It still has a semi-gloss effect from being sprayed ten years ago. The only weird part about hair spray is getting a strange look at the supermarket checkout lane. :shifty:

Likewise, I stick with $.99 bottles of acrylic paints from Michael's for the detail painting. I'm sure the expensive Japanese model paints are amazing, but simple works best for me. Mkodadek's technique of mixing superglue into paint has worked nicely for me, too. Just remember if you try it to work quickly and use a paint brush you can part with.

Hopefully that information will be of use to someone. I like what everyone's doing with the 25A figures and I'd like to see how that spraypaint technique would work on them. I just can't bring myself to make a custom by breaking open a figure.

Author:  scope uk [ Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Claymore NS

That is a really really cool custom!!!!

Author:  Fanboyimus Prime [ Tue Apr 15, 2008 6:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Claymore NS

Awesome custom.

And yeah I don't get what makes people like the Claymore figure so much either.

Author:  night force cynic [ Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:23 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Claymore NS

I love it.

in fact, that's my favorite Claymore custom ever!

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