=======================================
Flame-stand tutorial (no pics yet, sorry)
=======================================
Okay, I finally made it work. See here:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=14237I'm going to try to explain the process as best I can without pictures, since I'm 100% out of glue sticks. I'll add pictures as soon as I get some more.
What you'll need:
-Aluminum Foil
-Hot glue
-Transparent paint
-X-acto knife
-25th Figure stand
-Two Superhero Showdown flying stands or other thin, clear plastic post
-Jump jetpack (for this exercise...of course, it can be modified for other style jetpacks)
-figure
Step 1: Get a figure stand.
Find a 25th-style figure stand (even if you're doing this for a non 25th custom). The size is just right.
Step 2: Get out the foil, cover the stand.
Again, foil is a must. Get out a bunch and wrap it around the top of the stand.
Step 3: Build up a lump of foil.
These stands take a LOT of hotglue (like 4 and a half sticks or so), so you'll want to make it hollow. To do this, tear off more foil and build up a sizable lump across the stand (but not larger than the stand). Make it fairly high, so as to cut down on the amount of hotglue you need to use.
Step 4: First Hot-glue application.
In this step, you're going to make what will become the basic structure of the base of your flame stand. First, check out this Boba Fett flame stand (the one reused for the convention grandslam and starduster)
http://www.rebelscum.com/photo.asp?imag ... cflame.jpgIt has a pretty good shape to emulate, especially if working with a JUMP-style jetpack. Also, notice that the flames aren't sharp and pointy like the earlier weapon effects flames. To achieve this effect is very easy; just glob the glue on. Start putting on hotglue (as always, keep it fairly cool, though you don't need to keep it *as* cool as when you did the smaller effects). Try to build almost a net over the top of the lump of foil you built onto the stand. Apply it fairly thick; this has to support the rest of the stand and the figure. Make sure you cover the 25th stand, too, so that, once it's removed, the flames will have a good base to stand on their own.
Step 5: Remove the foil and stand
This can be kind of a pain. The figure stand and the first few pieces of foil should come off fine, but it can be obnoxious trying to remove the last piece that's stuck directly against the dried hot glue. I actually had to turn my flame-stand inside out to do it. Remember, hot glue is very forgiving, so if you tear or break your flame-stand while trying to get the foil out, don't worry; just go back afterward and add another dab of glue to repair it.
Step 6: Installing the uprights
The uprights are the two flame plumes that actually hold the figure up (see the pictures in the thread I posted a link to above). They need to be pretty strong, obviously, so you'll need something to reinforce them. I used the longest segment of two Superhero Showdown flying stands, but any sturdy, clear plastic post will do. The goal here is to insert the posts into the flame-stand so that they match up to the jets on the JUMP pack. Use your X-acto knife to cut a hole slightly off-center in the top of your flame stand. Hot-glue is surprisingly tough to cut, so be careful. Take one of the SHS stands (or whatever) and thread it through the hole you cut, all the way to the bottom of the inside of the flame stand (so it's making contact with whatever surface the flame stand is resting on). Repeat for the other side, keeping your jetpack nearby so you can make sure the posts are matching up with where you need them to be. Once you've got them where you want them, hot-glue them in place. Apply hot-glue to the posts on both the top and underside of the flame-stand for extra support. Once that dries, glop more hotglue onto the uprights as you did when making the rest of the flame base. The goal is to hide the uprights and make them look as much like flames as possible.
Step 7: Jet pegs
Now you'll need a way to attach the jetpack to the base. Take the JUMP pack and some foil. Using some small object, push foil into the jets on the JUMP pack. You can also use vaseline for this, which I imagine would be a lot easier. Once done with whatever method you used, get the hotglue gun out again and pour some into the jets, letting it overflow a bit. Let the glue dry (*really* dry, so it's not even tacky anymore) and pry it out. Now, use hot-glue (noticing a trend?) to attach each peg to the top of each upright on the flame-base. When doing so, make sort of a cup with the glue where the peg connects to the upright; this will help hold the jetpack up.
Note: If you're using a heavier figure, you may want to drill the jet-holes deeper before doing this step, to provide a larger peg to hold the weight of the figure.
Now, test out the stand with the figure to make sure it'll hold it's weight. If not, add some hotglue for support where needed.
Step 8: Paint
Use your transparent paints, as per usual. With this one, I wanted some darker smoke in the base, so I started with a base coat over the whole stand of transparent yellow, followed by orange, followed by red. Then I actually added a very light drybrushing of non-transparent light gray. Then I went over that with Tamiya's "smoke" paint (basically their transparent black) for the darker effects.
And there you have it. Feel free to ask any questions....I'm hoping pictures will make it a lot clearer.
