 |  |  |  |  |  |
| VAAL's FORGE & FOUNDRY The First and Finest in Customized LEGO Parts! |
| Welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions. Here, I will endeavour to answer the most common inquiries I regularly get. If you have any questions, simply drop me an e-mail or contact me a forum! Index of Questions, scroll down to browse: -------------------------------------------------------------- What Tools do I Use? What Supplies do I Use? Where can I buy these tools and supplies? How do I Repaint Masks? How do I Combine Masks? How do I Infect Masks? How do I make Plasticard Weapons? How do I make Cast Masks? How do I Detail Masks? How do I Sculpt Masks? -------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What Tools do I Use? A: For the majority of my customs, I use the following tools, divided by category: For combining masks and making plasticard weapons, I use: A "Hobby Knife" with both blade and fine saw tips A small "Razor Saw" and modeling vice to secure the item A pair of "Plastic Cutters", essentially small scissors meant for cutting plastic. A pair of "Plastic Shears", a large 'Plastic Cutter' meant for cutting plasticard. Several sizes of small "modeling files" A "Hobby Drill," which is a small hand-operated drill that allows me to put wires into the masks. For repainting masks, I use: Either Krylon or (my recommendation) Rustoleum spray cans, consisting of Primer, Color, and then Clear Gloss. Alternately, A modeling airbrush with small compressor, using Tamiya spray primer, Citadel Colour / Vallejo Colour paint and Clearcoat. For detail and infection work, I use: A set of Citadel fine-tipped brushes with Citadel Colour paints. An industrial-use enclosed Sandblaster For Sculpting work, I use: A rubber-tipped 'paintbrush' for gentle kneading. Two sizes of trowel-headed sculpting tools (small and large) A set of 5 'scrapers', sculpting tools designed to scrape away putty in different shapes. Sandpaper of all different grits. Q: What Supplies do I Use? A: For preparing to paint a mask as well as sanding down putty, I use: Fine-Grit sandpaper, ranging from 200 to 600 grit for different purposes. Note, the larger the number, the finer the grit. For all my combinations, I use: Thin, sturdy wire for 'pinning' two pieces together. Also used as an 'armature' for sculpting things such as spikes. Zap-a-Gap or LocTite Superglue, and, on occasion, 'Zip Kicker', a small spraycan which makes the glue dry faster. For all my sculpting, I use: Kneadite, aka 'Green Stuff'. An excellent two-part apoxy consisting of one half putty and one half hardener. When mixed,it turns green and dries harder than ceramic within hours. I use it for all detail sculpting. Milliput, another two-part apoxy. Cruder in texture than Kneadite, I use it for doing large, basic shapes. Squadron Putty. More of a paste than the other two, SP is used for filling gaps and smoothing over seems and joints. Q: Where can I buy these supplies myself? A: The majority of my tools and supplies can be bought online at either: www.games-workshop.com, for paints and basic hobby supplies www.micro-mark.com, for putties and advanced hobby supplies www.model-masters.com for advanced paints and paint supplies. Alternately, simply visit your local hobby shop. A Hobbytown-USA in your area will likely have most of what I use.However, none of these items are cheap, and require skill, experience, and care to use. ALWAYS ask your parents for permission to buy and use these materiels, and understand that it has taken me years of practice to be able to do what I do before you try it yourself. Q: How do I Repaint Masks? A: Before repainting, I sand masks with a certain "grit" of sandpaper. Sandpaper grit is determined by numbers; the larger the number, the finer the grit. For most masks, 400 grit will do fine - just be careful around the edges, or they might get torn up! The purpose of sanding is to roughen the surface so that paint will stick better. It is very difficult for paint to stick to shiny surfaces - which almost all Lego is - and painting directly onto the shiny surface will make chipping far more likely. I then prime the mask with Model Masters airbrush primer - altho any Rustoleum or Krylon spraycan marked "primer" will do. I make sure both inside and out are completely coated and dry before moving on to painting. To paint the mask, I usually use Citadel Colour paints in an airbrush, altho many Rustoluem or Krylon spraycans are of similar color. I spray in many thin coats, usually using a plus-rod with a connector on the end to hold the mask up and move it around to spray it - it makes painting far easier. Once the mask is completely coated, I let it dry before applying clearcoat. For clearcoat, I use Model Masters Clear Varnish. It is semi-gloss, giving my masks that somewhat-shiny plastic look. I used to use Rustoleum Crystal Clear, but while it creates an excellent protective layer, I find it to be too glossy. The purpose of the clearcoat is to seal in and protect the paint from damage and give the mask a nice sheen. Q: How do I Combine Masks? A: Combining masks usually involves cutting one mask apart and putting at least one piece of it onto another. To cut masks, I use either a "razor saw", a small fine-toothed modelling saw to make large, straight cuts (for example, cutting a mask in half.). Or, I use a "Plastic Cutter", basically a small scissor designed to cut plastic. Altho the plastic cutter generally mangles the unused parts while trimming down the part that is to be used, it is an effective tool for cutting apart masks. Other than those, I use a hobby knife knife - a fine bladed modeling knife - for trimming and cleaning edges. On occasion, I use a large hobby knife with a small saw blade in it for very small, precise cuts that the nipper cannot do cleanly. After I have all the parts ready, I often begin by simply gluing the part onto the host mask with "Zap-a-Gap" or "Loctite" super glue. Afterward, Squadron Putty is used to cover over the join between the two masks,and with enough fiddling can make the join between the two masks almost invisible. Q: How do I Infect Masks? A: To 'infect' a mask the way I do, you must first own a Sandblaster Cabinet. An air hose within the cabinet blasts hundreds of grains of sand a second thru a small, pressurized nozzle, and the cabinet itself keeps the mess contained. The proper purpose of the Sandblaster is to quickly and efficiently strip rust and paint off automotive parts; however, I realized that it could be used to give Lego plastic a rusted and pitted texture. The "genuine" infected mask has since become my trademark item. Before putting the mask in the cabinet, I often use a hobby knife to scar and chip the mask itself. These rather crude markings will be blasted smooth and look like actual cracks and scars after sandblasting. After putting the mask in the cabinet, I blast it thoroughly for one or two minutes - usually quicker than it takes to set up the cabinet. If the masks have visors or eye-o-scopes, I mask them off with masking tape first; likewise, I can mask of portions of the mask to keep them from being sandblasted if I want to, creating a partially-pitted surface. After I'm done sandblasting, I use Citadel Colour paints and several modeling brushes and a dappling technique to create the final rusted and infected look. Q: How do I make Plasticard Weapons? A: I own roughly a dozen different thicknesses of a product called "plasticard", which is literally like plastic cardboard. Before I begin, I create a cardboard template of the weapon, which I then trace onto the plastic. I often make two to three copies out of plastic, and then glue them together. Using plastic cutters and a file, I trim them down to make them all the same size, forming the final weapon design. I then use a file to file an edge onto the blade, and use Squadron Putty to smooth the edge. I notch the plastic at the hilt and glue a trimmed down plus rod in place, which is then secured using Green Stuff. Further plastic and green stuff is used to enhance the hilt; from there, I follow the same steps as repainting to finish the weapon. See "Tutorials" for more details on this process. Q: How do I make Cast Masks? A: Casting masks is a complicated and very difficult process that requires many special materials, and is an art I myself have yet to truly master. First, one must create a "master" to use; this is what you are making cast duplicates of. You use this master to create a two-part mold; after this is done, you pour the "resin", or plastic,into this mold to cast further duplicates. Eventually, when the mold wears out, you have to create a new mold from scratch. Resin is not as tough as Lego's ABS plastic, and as it is a two-part mold and not an "injection" mold like Lego uses, resin castings are far more likely to have flaws and take more time to produce. For a simple tutorial on two-part casting, please visit Micro-Mark via this elegant and finely crafted link. Q: How do I Detail Masks? A: To do detail painting to masks, I use Citadel Colour paints and Citadel Colour fine-tipped paintbrushes. If I'm doing detail painting directly to a mask, I will paint directly onto the shiny surface and then brush over it with a semi-gloss clearcoat to seal it in and keep it from chipping off. Otherwise, I sand and prime the mask as I do with repainting, but then finish painting the mask with a brush instead of an airbrush. Q: How do I Sculpt Masks? A: To sculpt a mask from scratch, I need a starting point - either a plus rod with a connector on the end to build around, or a mask to build on top of. From there, I use Milliput Putty to bulk out the general shape - Milliput is better for large shaping like this, as opposed to Green Stuff. I often use just my fingers to sculpt the Milliput. Once the Milliput hardens, I then cover it with a layer of Green Stuff, and build the final shape and add details with the Green Stuff. I have a set of metal sculpting tools I use for shaping the Green Stuff into their final detailed shapes. Once the Green Stuff has hardened, I add Squadron Green Putty to any large, flat surfaces or other uneven places, let it dry, and then smooth that out with sandpaper or files. Check "Tutorials" for more on sculpting! Thank you for reading! If you have any further questions, E-Mail me at: HeirOfTheChronicler@Gmail.com |
