Mutagen Man
 

Hi Peeps,

I'm thinking about doing a Mutagen Man repaint.

The repaint I'm thinking about will be quite extensive, like cracking open the clear case and painting all the organs.

has anyone opened a Mutagen Man and lived to tell the tale?

Who would die from cracking open a Mutagen Man? o.O

I opened one, though. Used it for my Baxter Brain custom. What do you need to know?

Basicly, how well can it be resealed afer being opened.

I want to fill it up with liquid once its done.

Does it split easy?

I wasn't able to split it open to where it could be reclosed. Hell, I tore mine apart into about 20 pieces or so.

My younger brother ripped his Mutagen Man open when we were kids, to get at the guts, but I don't think the transparent tank survived the process. Toy bodies, in general, seem to be prone to cracking/shattering when you try to pry them apart. I'm not saying it couldn't be done, and then successfully resealed so that it's waterproof, but it will likely be tricky. I don't know if you have the equipment for it or not, but maybe cutting it open with a power tool, rather than cracking/splitting it, would give you better results.

Given how the limb-nobs are on the seams for the damn thing, I'd be surprised if it were even possible to take it apart in such a way that it was still usable.

I'm not sure how easily you'd be able to reseal it in a watertight manner -- and I don't have the figure, so I'm purely speculating here -- but if I wanted to get at the organs I'd start by isolating the vial portion. Then I would cut it apart (using a hacksaw or a cutting dremel bit) at the area covered by the belt. That way you'd be able to pull out the insides fairly easily, and when you reseal it any ugly leftover seam would be hidden.

As said, I'm not sure how watertight you'd be able to get it (you could probably use some waterproof tape over the seam or something to help), but I'm also not sure I'd recommend filling it with water. You're talking about painting the organs, right? I'm not sure what kind of heavy-duty paint you're planning to use, but I wouldn't recommend leaving painted elements to soak in water. Eventually the paint would probably wash off, and you'd be left with clouded-looking water and a ruined figure. :(

Besides, you don't want anything obscuring your lovely paint job!

Thanks guys.

They were all good points. I have a dremel so that could work.

Just like Wes I don't have the figure (its in the mail!) so I'm only going by the loose images I have seen and my childhood memories.

I was thinking of using a gloss enamel paint for the inside. Because enamel is an oil based paint that sets rock solid it shouldn't be effected by the water too much.

My problem is atm that I don't know where the seam or join is on the figure. My guess is down the sides like all the other figures.

Re-sealing him an issue as I want him to give the illusion of glass... maybe a cut across the middle with a dremel and reseal with araldite.

I guess I really need to have the figure on hand

Enamel is no good for plastic, man. Many times I used it unknowingly only to realize it never 'really' dries... I think it would deffinately come off in the liquid too. Also, provided you see some success with this guy, I would reccomend using some kind of goo, gel, puddy, or ooze (for lack of a better word) because water would evaporate over time, rather quickly I should think. I'd certainly reccomend only cutting a certain area, as wes said, also. I wish you luck with the whole thing!

I repainted a Mondo Gecko figure about 6-7 years ago with enamel paint.

For my painting skill at the time he turned out great, I do agree it takes AGES to dry. I spose it depends on weather conditions when you paint and the quality of your paint.

Here are two pics of how Mondo turned out, just remember these were taken with a dodgy camera about 6-7 years ago but you get the picture.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...e-Paint/10.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...e-Paint/12.jpg

^^ Looks good dude.

Drying time of enamel paints actually depend more about the quality of plastic you're painting. It works well on some kinds and on others...well, on them it takes at least a week to dry properly.

Anyways, I like that Mondo repaint, and I think you should use some sort of gel instead of liquid in that mutagen man you're doing. I know I could do some of that in my university lab, but I don't know where'd you get it otherwise...

I've been told that enamel paint also has the chance of melting your figure.

Hope you can do it, will be a difficult job.

Yeah, it depends upon the kind of plastic used. Of course, you don't generally know whether you have the wrong kind until it's too late!

Unless I had spare parts or didn't particularly care about the figure being painted, I probably wouldn't risk it.

Oh well, all my customs are painted with enamel, and they haven't melted:roll: Only place they haven't dried fastly, are NECA Turtles bandanas and kneepads, since they are soft plastic. They've dried fast on everything else, even on that Armaggons head which is squishy
I really don't know what kind of plastic does melt, since enamel paints have been used for ages in modeling...

I was just thinking the same thing--some kind of gel, or clear resin, instead of water, would look cool with all of his apple cores, bones, and junk "floating" in it, and that way, you wouldn't have to worry about leakage or the paint deteriorating in water over time.

The gel in the university lab you're thinking of (assuming it was a biology class of some sort) was probably agar (an extract from algae). I don't know how long that stuff would hold up over time as it is organic.

Ah, I study biochemistry, and I know how'd I do a gel that would last, just leaving the organic stuff away...
About that clear resin, where could you find that and is it expensive? Since I could use some of that stuff in other things...

Now that you mention biochemistry (I took one semester of it when I was in college), I just recalled PAGE gel, but I seem to recall at least one of the ingredients in that stuff being highly toxic (my molecular biology professor used to wear a mask, use the fume hood, etc., when he was mixing the stuff up).

I don't know any brand names for clear resin, but I've seen a number of sculptors use it for various purposes (saliva, slime, etc.). I believe you can get some at hardware stores. I'm sure a Google search will turn up any number of options for purchasing it.

I started one a while back and ended up using a Dremel to cut the shell down the seam. Of course this causes a loss in the shell, but I dont think there is another way to open it short of cracking it. I plan to use some Loctite epoxy if I ever get back to it.