Screamin Leatherface

[beachbum80]

Hey everybody, I'm new to this forum and new to vinyl models. I just bought a Screamin Leatherface model from e-bay. It is the real thing, not an Asian knock-off, but it didn't come with the instructions. The seller did mention that they had been lost. Anyhow, I did some homework before I got it, but still seem to be a little clueless. Everything thing I've read says to fill the bottom portion with plaster of paris or newspaper, but there's no place to fill it without making a large hole in the top of the bottom half. Is that what I do? Also, I plan on using a brush instead of an air brush. What brand and type of brushes and paints do you guys recommend? Any help would be great! Thanks

 

[Callista]

My 2 cents is I have heard tamiya paints are wonderful to use. I plan on buying some for my Screamin' vinyl Boba Fett model.

I have used Testors and that don't seem too bad.

I take it that the bottom half of your model is solid? I ask cause the very few vinyl models I have missed with the parts are hollow and that allows you to fill the bottom half with plaster or whatever suits your fancy.

Good luck with your build and I am curious to see how your progress goes!

 

[pengbuzz]

Hey everybody, I'm new to this forum and new to vinyl models. I just bought a Screamin Leatherface model from e-bay. It is the real thing, not an Asian knock-off, but it didn't come with the instructions. The seller did mention that they had been lost. Anyhow, I did some homework before I got it, but still seem to be a little clueless. Everything thing I've read says to fill the bottom portion with plaster of paris or newspaper, but there's no place to fill it without making a large hole in the top of the bottom half. Is that what I do? Also, I plan on using a brush instead of an air brush. What brand and type of brushes and paints do you guys recommend? Any help would be great! Thanks

1) Yeah, I think you would have to make a hole if you want to put plaster or newspaper in.

2) Type and brand of paints: acrylic, because enamel will not dry properly on vinyl. I recommend either Tamiya or Americana acrylics; they will dry correctly. You can also try the paints they use for metal miniatures as well, don't recall the brand name at the moment. As for brushes, I would suggest some small fine red sables (0- 000) for detailing and a few larger ones in both flat and round styles. If you want to do details on the model, also get yourself some chalk pastels and some sandpaper to grind them on to make dust for weathering and detailing (lips, eyes, skin tones and whatnot). You cut an old brush down to a "stubble brush" and use it to apply the pastel dust to the model.

Hope this helps!

-pengbuzz

 

[Ozzman78]

Do some research on vinyl model building, its very different from building styrene kits.

You need a hair dryer or heat gun to warm up the vinyl to reshape warped parts and to make it easy to trim off the flash. You need a good CA glue like Zap-a-Gap (works on all materials, metal, resin, PE, vinyl, styrene), styrene glue will not work. Fill legs with plaster, fill other parts with newspaper or light foam insulation.

Painting....
I paint in enamel on all my kits. Yes, you can paint with Testors enamel on vinyl. All you have to do is wash all the parts in warm lightly soapy water to remove any mold release, when dry prime the parts with automotive primer, krylon primer, or rust-oleum primer. This will allow the enamel paint to adhere and dry properly (enamel will not dry on raw vinyl, stays sticky).

 

[beachbum80]

Hey Callista. Thanks for the reply. It feels hollow, but there's no opening to pour in plaster. There's extra vinyl on the top of the bottom half that obviously needs to be trimmed before gluing, but do I also make a big enough hole to pour it in? Also, should the top half be filled with plaster as well?

 

[BornKilr]

All the Screamin' figures I have came in at least 2 pieces, so you could fill them before joining. It looks like the Leatherface should have been 2 pieces also.

 

[beachbum80]

Thanks for everyone's reply. Is vinyl pretty forgiving if you paint it and decide it didn't turn out the way you intended?

 

[beachbum80]

That's it right there! What's the best way to make an opening in the bottom half to get the plaster in there? Also, do you fill the top piece as well?

 

[Ozzman78]

Please read this before you mess up your kit:
Starship Modeler - Basics of Vinyl Models

 

[beachbum80]

Thanks for the article Ozzman, that was very informative. But, my question is how do I fill or stuff just the feet/ shins? They're not seperate pieces that attach to the lower half of the body, they're connected to it with no big hole on the top of the lower half to fill in.

 

[Ozzman78]

OH!

You have to make the hole. There should be a large area of flash at the top of the legs that needs to be removed. When you cut that off you will be good to go. If not just make a hole with you hobby knife and pour in some hydrocal or plaster.

 

[Ozzman78]

From the pics I just looked over there is no flash at the top of the legs. Just the plug that fits into the body. So just carve out the top of the plug.

 

[Ozzman78]

kit pic

 

[Ozzman78]

hydrocal, good stuff for any model builder to have on hand.

C1201 Lightweight Hydrocal 1/2 Gallon

 

[beachbum80]

Thanks very much Ozzman! It'll probably be a few days before i get to work on it, but I'll keep you and everybody else that answered up to date. I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions. Thanks again for the help!

 

[pengbuzz]

And I'm done in this thread.

 

[DarklyDreaming]

I had that exact same kit and I filled the legs with plaster, but still ended up making a base for it and glueing the feet to the base to get it to stand on it's own. Great kit by the way, came with the extra bits to customize the chainsaw into the part 3 "excalibur" chain saw

 

[beachbum80]

Did you fill just the legs?

 

[DarklyDreaming]

yep, just filled the legs, the stance he has with the chainsaw still made him unsteady