miked

No tricks really. Just a lot of patience. I paint in the basic shape and then paint back with the base color, and then refine with the logo color, then paint back with the base color until it's tight and sharp. The trick is to make your paint very thin so you don't get build up or gunky brush strokes in the interim. The next time I do something like that I'll take photo's.

What is your experience with the body? I heard horrible reviews- it's small, cheaply made, falls apart easily, etc. What do you think?

Very wicked! Care to share the recipe?

I'd like to do Sue, but I don't have her in the works as yet. I will eventually if Hasbro doesn't beat me to it. If they do I'll just fix her. Both heads for Wolvie and Reed were purchased from Broken Arrow. I haven't considered a fix for his claws, but it's not a bad idea. Here's the thread on Wolvie: http://forums.marvelousnews.com/index.php?showtopic=2056306

That Sue custom is AWESOME! I've really been wracking my brains trying to figure out what head to use for her. You matched the color perfectly and did a great job on that 4 symbol. Is that hand painted? How about some recipe tips and colors? C'mon... dish! :)

Thank, pal! I'll do my best!

Has anyone purchased one yet? Someone over at Hisstank.com reported that the quality is terrible and that the things torso cracked and it literally fell apart shortly after removing it from the package (he says that it's held together with a screw like the old GI Joe figures and that the thing was stripped when he got it). He also stated that the figure is not true 1/18 scale. It's shorter than most Marvel U and GI Joe figures measuring in at about 3 inches. Can anyone confirm or deny these claims?

Y' know... it's funny. He doesn't look like Armadillo to me- at least not the one I'm familiar with (if he's gotten a recent update, please excuse me. I'm an old guy), but I REALLY like it. The work is crisp and smooth. The paint work is very satisfying and the size is very impressive. This is a great piece of work- whether it looks like him or not!

No problem. Actually, if your going just for the head it's probably cheaper to just purchase the head cast for 4 or 5 dollars at Broken arrow toys. Those JP packs are like 12 dollars a piece which is pretty steep for a head.

Thank you, sir! The head is available for an affordable price over at Broken Arrow Toys. The quality of his casts are top rate and there are a tone of great heads to choose from. Highly recommend!

Thanks for the comments and the questions. The brushes aren't really relevant, though I do use quality brushes. I mix the flesh tone out of 3 different colors (a base tone, a highlight tone and a shade tone) until I get what I'm looking for then I add shading and tones (warms, cools, and perhaps some 5:00 shadow) with pastel dust (for that I use a cheap brush- pastels destroy brushes). Then I seal the whole thing with Testor's dull coat. If I feel it needs more, I go for another layer. I really stress over the eyes, too. Sometimes (especially with these cast headsculpts which can have minute imperfections) I will paint the eyes over several times before I'm satisfied.

Cool! I'm not at all familiar with the character, but I did an image search for him and yours is dead on balls accurate. So very kewl! I'm not crazy about the stumpy DD body, but it's workin' for you here. Great job!

Here are a couple of new ones. What do you think?

ROOOOOOCCCKKKKKK! 1980!

Thanks, I really appreciate it. I also post on Hisstank.com- they have a really warm and active custom community. You should check it out if you work in the 3 3/4 inch scale.