Outpost 206

 It should surprise no one reading this that I am a very busy person and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. That said, I still want to not only continue to maintain this blog but increase my output to a bi-weekly model. And like most long-term projects that I’ve detailed here, I begin with my aforementioned goal and proceed to do some planning.  But before I jump into it, here’s a fun model kit of Tetsujin-28 (or Gigantor as he was known in the United States) that I recently put together. Old boy Tetsujin-28/Shotaro/Gigantor is a top-five favorite giant robot of mine and I consider myself someone who appreciates a good giant robot (and a whole bunch of evil ones as well). This kit is from the Moderoid series of snap-kit models from Goodsmile Company, who are known for their Nendoroid and Figma action figure lines (the latter being another personal favorite of mine).  The feel I got from this kit was that it is very similar in build and construction to one of Bandai’s the

While a new year is the time for new habits, I’m not ready to let go of my current mission to blog at least once a month. This is a record I’ve proudly kept up with since I started with blog over two years ago (hard to believe it’s really been that long) so here’s yet another end-of-the-month post made out of sheer desperation. And unlike my last few, this will be a relatively short entry because I’m literally writing this at the 11 th hour. The first of the two top-secret (well, not anymore) projects I’m ready to unveil at this point is one of those secret compartment things made out of an old hardcover book. My plan at this point is after I make the actual compartment (and possibly 3D print a custom insert to go inside), I’ll deco the book to look like either a sorcerer’s spell book, an ancient alchemy tome, or a creepy grimoire like the Necronomicon. I want to get the functionality down first. Since I love books and I love crafting, this is a quick weekend project that I’m surpri

  Introduction Once again, I find myself at the end of the month and I don’t have any current projects that are close to completion, let alone ready for a write up. But thankfully, I can maintain my streak of blogging at least once a month with an article that I’ve been keeping in my back pocket. Consider this a sort of addendum to my general molding and casting process since I’ve been incorporating it into more and more often over the past few months. This article will cover how I take silicone molds that I know I won’t be using anymore and scraps of excess rubber that I peel from the bottom of mixing containers and recycle them to essentially act as “filler” to cut down on the amount of fresh silicone I need to use to create new molds. Here’s a few things to note off the top before we dive in: ·         This process mostly applies to platinum cure silicone rubber. It can work for more expensive tin cure rubbers as well but going to the extents to which I’m about to describe pr

 Inspiration Ever since I was able to create a set of molds for a function 3.75 inch (or 1/18) scale action figure buck, I’ve been thinking over different themes and influences as I determine what kind of characters I wanted to make. I decided to look to my own collection of retro and retro-style 3.75 inch, 5 POA (points or articulation) action figures and jotted down the common themes between them: Super7’s The Weirdest and The Worst series of ReAction Figures Super7’s other horror-themed ReActions (back when Super7 was still partnered with Funko) Vintage Fisher Price Adventure People (particularly the sci-fi themed ones) Random Star Wars guys But chief amongst my inspirations for this project was Phantom Starkiller, an original character created by Killer Bootlegs in 2013 who continues to have cool new variants produced to his very day (many of them co-produced by Super7, like the one that I own). For the history of Phantom Starkiller, the Cosmic Ghoul Warrior, I recommen

Another extremely busy month, another last-minute article to maintain my streak of posting at least once a month. But this is one I’m really excited to talk about. Last weekend, I was able to combine what I’ve learned about resin casting and 3D printing to create a function buck system for 4-inch scale, 5POA (five points of articulation) action figure that is specifically designed to be cast in flexible resin (Specialty Resin’s FlexIt90 specifically). Just a disclaimer here before I get into it: I didn’t take quite as many process photos as one might be used to seeing in one of these articles, mostly because I wasn’t sure the process would work until it all came together in the very end. Also, if you don’t know what a buck or buck system is, I recommend watching ToyGuru’s video on the subject. But basically, it’s a blank template for action figures with a common body type. Aside from a few examples like my glyos figures or the odd He-Man bootleg that had just the right pegs and socke

I’ve been away from my place for a good chunk of this month and when I haven’t been away, I’ve still been terribly busy. But since I started this blog over two years ago, I’ve managed to post at least one update a month even at my busiest and I’m not going to let that streak end now. So here’s a 3D printed craft that I recently made for my brother and held off on doing a write-up for until now. He initially wanted two sets of Mooninites from Aqua Teen Hunger Force and I was more than happy to oblige. The first thing I did was hop on over to Cults3D and download a free model of Ignignokt and Err, which I set up in my slicer program and printed in PLA filament using my Prusa MK3S+ FDM printer. The next order of business was to sand and surface the prints to get rid of as much of the visible 3D printer layer lines as I could. I used some gray Rustoleum sandable filler primer, then followed it up with a round of sanding using a dollar store sanding sponge as well as some thinner sand