Sara and the chain-mail bikini!

B

Boldman

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On a whim I picked this up at the last IPMS Farnborough meeting - its not something I would normally do but I thought it would make a change from tanks and planes :smiling3:

37690-sara-chain-mail-bikini-solsara.jpg
37689-sara-chain-mail-bikini-vinyl-sarah.jpg
(this is of course someone else's build)

Now this is a vinyl kit and I've never built one of those so does anyone have any tips on how you should a) glue the parts together b) fill/sand any joint issues. I note that the vinyl doesn't really take to being sanded in the normal way so how do you cover blemishes and imperfections (if anyone says "with foundation" I'll get them their coats!)

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Ian M

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Now thats a uniform!

Ian M
 

mossiepilot

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She's pretty, I'm looking at her face 'onest.....:smile1:

Tony.
 
B

Boldman

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Obligatory "sprue" shots:

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Its a vinyl figure and as I said in the first post I've never worked with that material so I need to find out how to work it.

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As you can see from the dragon's head, the detail is very good

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I've already done some "trimming" ahem to test the fit. Lots of "flash" but I think that is intentional!

Oh dear I think I'm going into innuendo overload!!!! Ooooo Matron!

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stona

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There's a dragon's head? :smiling3:

Steve
 
B

Boldman

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Its from the base - you know that bit of the model further down...
 
B

Boldman

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There is a facial resemblance isn't there - don't know about the body however, she kept closing her curtains... um...
 
S

snapper41

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I did bump into Sharron Davies once in Mothercare! Take it from me - the body resemblence is there; she's an Amazon!
 

stona

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I bet even the delectable Sharon would struggle to swim wearing chain mail :smiling3:

She was a great athlete and was up against a generation of East Germans (amongst others) who were cheating,otherwise her already impressive record would look even better.

Cheers

Steve
 
B

Boldman

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I made a start with the base yesterday to get used to manipulating the vinyl before starting on the girl - ahem.

The joint from the lizard's head to the body was a complex shape that needed careful trimming and didn't fit easily.

However with some careful coaxing and superglue I got it attached. Then U used Mr Disolved putty to drip into the gaps that were left and with careful application using a toothpick and wiping excess away immediately a very nice looking joint was made. How successful I won't really know until I've primed it I guess, but its thankfully quite a wrinkly bit of moulding so should look okay

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Here is the rear view and you can see the joint on the left above its leg.

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It looks really obvious now but I think with primer on, it will pretty much vanish into the detail.

You might have noticed some white blotches in the first pic - this is some plaster of paris overspill as the hollow base has now been filled with plaster to give it some weight and stability. I took my time as plaster of paris can get quite hot while it dries out so I didn't want to cause the vinyl to distort due to excess heat. Once everythign it dry, I'll give it another scrub with the toothbrush to clean it up for priming...

You might also notice I deliberately left a gap under the neck instead of fixing it ot the base - I thought that would add to the "depth"...

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L

Lancasterb1

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Yep, that is some figure .................. try not to rust the cahin mail up too much though :1newwink:
 
B

Boldman

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\ said:
Looks ok Andrew so whats the vinyl like to work with
The vinyl is a tricky thing to work with. When you cut you have to be ABSOLUTELY certain where the blade is going to go as its very hard to clean up afterwards. Sanding doesn't work so you have to get it right first time. To get the head to fit on the neck, I had to thin the sidewalls down with the modelling knife - I broke the scalpel blade as that is just too flimsy and the vinyl is tough to cut. its a matter of making small cuts each time to shave a bit off.

I laid down two coats of primer since the origianl water-based artist acrylic didn't adhere properly, however Tamiya's isopropyl alcohol based acrylics go on fine and to prove it here is some progress on the lizard...

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This was an initial green wash to darken the shadows. It was followed up by a rather disasterous second coat of a brighter green which didn't look at all good!

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Do this got scrubbed and started again with good old Tamiya NATO green - yes its a NATO Dragon!!!

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I've added some shadows the the hollows and dents and now working on its mouth and toenails - er - claws...

I've also added a couple of pieces of lichen to the rock to give it a more organic feel. I'll do more of this as things progress.

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stona

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That does look good. I'm glad that the dragon is on our side!

Have you tried popping the vinyl parts in the freezer for a couple of hours before sanding? It works on aircraft tyres.

Cheers

Steve
 
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