I started on my first custom Joe today.
The character is a Joe, codename Ghost...shadowy past, assassination, black ops, sniping, hand to hand combat, demolitions. I want him to be a scarier than hell character for my dios, kind of a rival to Snake Eyes. Due to the large nature of the hands he's equipped with (I may mod him with smaller hands later) he's going to be using customized and camo-painted Lanard Corps weapons. Next week I'm getting a few BBL parachute guys and scavenging one of their chutes and their para gear so Ghost is ready for infiltration.
I started by scraping a Gung Ho V8 for his knife scabbard, then I proceeded to cannibalize a BBL figure for those cool pouches they have mounted all over their gear and the lower part of his legs.
Next I took a Beach Head V4, stripped him down, fitted the BBL bottom legs to is, then put them together to test for my fit, cut and swivel jointed his hands (my first time, it's easier than it looks) Now I'm stopped, I decided before I sand/cut/cannibalize another thing I ought to ask some basic questions.
What is the best Grain sandpaper to use on a custom Joe? I'm assuming I'll need some rougher material to take down his torso, then a finer one to plane it out. These areas will be covered by pouches.
My second question of the night is that I've noted that the BBL pouches came pegged and glued into the characters. Should I merely make holes to fit and superglue these accessories in place?
Paint: I've decided to use a dark ops camo scheme, perhaps all black or dark blue with black tiger stripes, wondering if anyone has any advice for me on my paint scheme. I'm thinking of midnight blue and using a micropen for the tiger stripes. Any advice on what brand of paint I ought to use?
Mkodadek wrote:I started on my first custom Joe today.
Congrats!
What is the best Grain sandpaper to use on a custom Joe? I'm assuming I'll need some rougher material to take down his torso, then a finer one to plane it out. These areas will be covered by pouches.
120 to start with, followed by 220 to smooth it and 400 to sand it down completely. That's what I go with. I also use a micron abrasive film sold by Mona Lisa for parts I need super smooth (this is roughly 600 or 800 grit). You can get the first three in hobby packs made by Testors or if you want larger sheets, go with Mona Lisa (price is roughly the same). I prefer ML over Testor's because I can cut the sheets down into strips, which is easier than using a whole sheet at once (you can do it with Testor's but you get more overall area to work with using ML.) A multi-pack of sandpaper runs around $4 in either brand, last time I bought some (I tend to stockpile the stuff).
I also use a Dremel sanding bit much of the time for grinding things off, the 1/4" sanding drum in 120 grit is ideal.
My second question of the night is that I've noted that the BBL pouches came pegged and glued into the characters. Should I merely make holes to fit and superglue these accessories in place?
You're lucky--most times I pry them off the peg snaps off. Drilling the holes and super-gluing it in should give you a much more snug fit; I've had parts I glued on flat (mostly BBI pouches) pop off unexpectedly so it's probably not a bad idea.