[Ray Dunakin]

Does anyone have a recommendation for materials to use in modifying commercial figures? I don't think the polyclay would work because most commercial figures are plastic and would melt during baking of the clay. 

When I converted one of the Railroad Avenue figures into an engineer, I used an epoxy putty. It worked ok, but I'm wondering if there are any other materials that might be better.

 

[jimtyp]

I know someone that uses Testors Contour Putty. Hobby Lobby stores carry it.

 

[cjwalas]

Vinyl figures for the most part can be modified with polyclay. But some of the stiffer vinyls have some filler in them that distorts with heat. Urethane and styrene figures cannot safely be baked. Epoxy putty of some sort is the general answer. There are a lot of epoxy putties available and it's worth testing a few to find one that you feel comfortable with. There are other build-up materials such as Acrylic gel that also work well with most vinyl figures.
Chris

 

[toddalin]

For the resin figures (LeMax, Just Plain Folks, etc.) you can just cut them up using a sharp Exacto or fine-tooth saw and use CA to glue them back together varying the position/limbs. For major work, some modeling putty can be used as fill. If the seams/lines are small, they caneasily be filled with indoor/outdoor paints.

 

[Robert]

For a simple modification, I just used squadron putty that I already had on hand to form this guy's ball cap. Despite not sanding it down enough, as you can see, I found it worked well and was shapable while uncured and quite "sandable" when dry. It looks much better from 10 ft away. I'm sure if I had taken more time I could have had better results. This guy was/is a Lemax Christmas figure I am using as approximately a 1:29th worker on a Roundhouse boxcar.

Robert

 

[altterrain]

A club member did these guys with sculpey -

-Brian

 

[dawinter]

I'm indoors so the weather is somewhat different but I've put knee length skirts on some of the mini skirted Preiser figures using masking tape and a little hobby paint. How funny is that? I have nudes on the layout.

Guess when your naked your naked and when your dressed your dressed.

 

[rkapuaala]

Dave,
Paper is also good for thin articles of clothing and once sealed properly with acrylic paint it seems to last,,, haven't left any figures outside though, so it probably would not stand up very long to weather extremes.