I wasnt sure how to title this post. I want it to get your attention.
Home casting is an imperfect art using imperfect methods to best duplicate injection molded parts that are near flawless. Unless one is willing to invest in equipment most casting is unavailable or the results will leave you wanting.
One area that has intimidated me is the legs of the 3 3/4" action figure. The knee joint is a quirky yet precise mechanism. There are alot of variables involved in getting the knee joint to not just operate, but hold a pose. So I pulled out some rivets I had bought a while back when researching rivets for the 3 3/4" action figure. I took some garbage parts and even tho they didnt align, by grinding the mating surfaces flat and installing a rivet in the knee, I was able to salvage them. Well I could if I wanted to. But I wont. These are just test pieces.
Really, there are so many pieces to the Centaurus figure, it is a difficult figure to replicate. By installing knee rivets, I have strengthened the knee joint and in fact the whole figure and have made the Centaurus a poseable figure no matter how much I 'play' with it. I have in fact solved a lot of issues faced by home casting by installing a knee rivet.
These photos are of test pieces. So they dont really look as good as it can. But originally these pieces would have been scrapped because of slight fitting issues. Installing a knee rivet overcame the deficiencies of home casting. Now that I know I can consistently achieve the results I want, this takes alot of the stress off of me during the casting process.
It takes a bit of work to make sure the resin gets all the way into the little hole in the mold that makes the knee pin. One little tiny air bubble in here and the thigh is now a wasted cast piece because the knee pin collapsed. Ok...so file it smooth, drill a small hole in the knee for the rivet and install the rivet. This can even be done to vintage action figures.
Imagine...Repto's knees wont flop. He'll be able to stand without using his tail. You will be able to pose your vintage centaurus without using a stand. You hardly notice it is even there.
If you are interested in restoring the regidity to any of your figures, please email me at the blogs address
gold_dober@yahoo.com I charge $10.00 US to rivet the 2 knees on a Micronauts style 3 3/4" action figure plus shipping. $25.00 for 3 or 4 figures.
I'll post some more pictures in the immediate future of knee rivets in more appealing colored parts so you can get the full effect.
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