Sunday, May 31, 2009

Stifkas: Mechana Joint Repair (Part 3)

Hmm...i'm starting to think i shouldn't be playing with the yellow mechana. Here we go again. lol

tonight's broken piece, Leg Joint:
Mech Repair C 001

I applied the same concept i have before with fixing joints.
Mech Repair C 003
Mech Repair C 002

Almost as good as the old busted yellow joint. lol
Mech Repair C 004

Stikfas: Mechana Joint Repair (Part 2)

Just tonight, another joint...well I should say joints broke off. :bangwall:

Mech Repair 003

Seeing that this is different from the hip joint. I need to find a way to retain that point of articulation. So what do i have. Let's see....
I got pliers, some tape, wires, a hand drill (yes...no more screwing lol), and hmm...big paper clips.

After some trial and error with wires and paper clip. I came up with this:
Mech Repair 019

I have to use two pliers to clamp those two pieces of paperclip:
Mech Repair 022


Here's another pic when it's placed on the mechana:
Mech Repair 015

As you can see i have to drill a new hole to that ball to retain that socket.

And here's what i got so far:
Mech Repair 009
Mech Repair 010
[Mech Repair 012

And now with the chest armor:
Mech Repair 013

So far so good. Now time for the other side:
Mech Repair 023

Now he's all fixed again:
Mech Repair 025
Let's just hope we won't see another broken joint for a long time. lol

Stikfas: Mechana Joint Repair (Part 1)

I made this tutorial awhile back to fix broken joint, specifically the yellow mechana from stikfas.

So what ya do when one of your mechana joint broke off? O_o

There's several ways for you to fix/salvage your mechana. For one, you can just use that mechana for bashing/spare parts and buy yourself a new one.  Go to a stkfas chop shop to get a replacement. Or try to find an actual way to fix it yourself, which I did.

Here's several things I did with my Mechana.

First thing that broke from him is the hip joint.

I used the long head antenna and jammed it at the b-nut(waist) of the mechana. I did a little of trimming of the ball joint--It's bigger than the original ball joint.




Then I cleaned and drilled a hole on the body of the mechana:

note: i used a screw driver to drill that hole....i don't have any drills at that time. My hand got numb lol.

I also had fun with that idea:




I made the hole a little to big, I added some tape to the peg. I manage to retain some articulation on the hip, which i'm happy about. No super glue needed ^_^

After which, my mechana is back to normal: :thumbsup:

Stikfas Beta Torso (Sanding)

I'll discuss how I sanded down stikfas female (beta) torso.

beta 008

Materiels I used:
- dinner knife
- nail file (double-sided)
- paintbrush (dusting plastic shavings)

Procedure:
1.) Have something (such as regular paper) to collect the plastic shavings.
2.) Acquire a beta torso

0531090741

3.) We'll use the knife (you can use another serated edge to mark the center guideline) and mark the middle of the torso.

0531090744

4.) Once you have a small indentation in the middle. Use the nail file to sand the middle of the torso.
 5.) Sand the torso in a way that you're sanding the top part of one cleavage, while sanding the lower part of the other, in a "X" direction. 

0531090750

6.) Keep alternating each side, keeping that "X" direction.  

7.) Now sand the bottom section of the torso, just below the cleavage.

0531090824

8.) You may have to keep sanding at the "X" fashion to smooth out the center line with the lower sanded down part.

9.) Also sand the lower section of the outerside of the cleavage, to make it more rounder and uniform in shape.

10.) Dust off the plastic shaving with a brush.

beta 004

Other Thoughts:
~If by chance you want 'em bigger.  You probably have to sculpt (clay) and attach it. lol.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Bunnies (Coin Bank)

Bunnies 019

I started making 'em 2 weeks ago. Finally got 'em last wednesday. I made three for the fear that I won't be able to recreate my sculptures. It is usually that way with my other ceramic piece such as my fish and turtle. I really like how they turn out. Cute and simple. hehe.

What did you use?
- I use sandstone clay. I inflated a water balloon with air to a desired size. Wrap it around with 1/4" slab clay. (1/8" is better but trickier as well--too thin) Sculpted and scored the ears, nose, feet and tail. I cut a slit on top for the coin bank. And for each, I added something unique such as the carrot clips and flower. As for the glazes, I coated each with clear glaze. I used dynasty red for the nose and mandarin orange for the carrot. I think i used forrest green for the leafy part of the carrot. As for the eyes, I painted 'em with acrylic paint using a toothpick.

Who's getting 'em?
The big one in the middle will probably go to my sister. I owe her one. The last bunny sculpture, eye glass holder wasn't up to par. hehe. The two other small ones will be given as gift to my classmates who have been nice to me.

Other thoughts?
Might give it another try to make another batch of these when ceramic class starts again. Maybe give them an eyebrow and other fancy decoration. We'll see....

Friday, May 22, 2009

Drenom

Here's my latest Stikfas Custom: Drenom

Meads Symbiote with tongue 001.jpg

How'd ya come up with the name?
~I wanted to make a 2 symbiote 1 host custom. I'm actually making it for SM, who likes venom. So that leaves me to come up with another one. I actually started with a dragon-like with armor symbiote on the right side.

Drenom

Hence, the name Drenom.

Why is there a plant-like symbiote now?
~The dragon is a big "if" to make. Doesn't really seem to fit the whole thing. After watching Star Trek (2009) movie, the part where kirk is being chased by an alien. The alien's mouth reminded me of tremors. And from that, I thought a carnivorous plant would fit the custom better. I'm happy it did.

How'd you make it?
~You can check my WIP here

Other Thoughts...
~ I really like how it turned out. I was experimenting with the fishing line so simulate fiber-like network of venom to reanimate the decayed left side. The metallic wash really worked well in my opinion. Thanks for Benjamin (and Zi for that details) with that suggestion. I'm also happy with the use of paperclip for the teeth. Turned out well also. One thing I found missing, which kinda sticks out to my critics, is the lack of sanding of the sculpt before painting. I for one don't have sandpaper, lazy to get one. I use my box cutter to trim off the surface a bit. But i'm going for texture and irregularities of the symbiotes that why i didn't go for further sanding. Well hopefully i'll find some soon for my custom.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Stikfas Sign

While looking for cool stuff online, I stumbled upon a cool toy at thinkgeek. They have this articulated toy, much like stifkas, with a yellow triangle sign in the background. Well here's my take on that,

Stikfas Sign 001

Quite cool, i think and hilarious. It's like the sign says "Watch out for crazy stikfas". I should have it hold a knife. haha.