Custom Karai

drewizzle88 · 01-04-2016, 01:18 PM

Hey guys, found an extra serpent Karai this weekend so I picked her up. I already had an extra April and decided what the heck I'll see if I can create a decent Karai. I removed Aprils head ball joint and shortened her neck, re installed the joint and fit Karais head on it. From there I just did a repaint, decided to give Karai a more casual everyday look while still retaining her typical colors. I'm happy with the results, and anyone could do the same thing and paint her however you like.

*plastroncafe* · 01-04-2016, 01:19 PM

That's awesome!
Well done!

Meow · 01-04-2016, 02:13 PM

She looks almost like stolen from the animated show. Great work

Mind providing WIP pictures (if you took some of course)?

*Powder* · 01-04-2016, 06:03 PM

Not too shabby! Nice job matching the skin color.

drewizzle88 · 01-04-2016, 06:09 PM

Thanks plastron!

Meow, I sure didn't take any, but I can give you a run down of what I did. I popped off Aprils head, it didn't require hot water or anything. That left a yellow peg exposed so I put Karais head on and it sat up way too high. So I used a dremel to cut the excess neck off April, I shortened it about an 1/8th of an inch, just until it looked good to me. Then I took a pair of pliers and pulled the yellow peg from Aprils neck and shorten the peg the same amount I cut off the neck. Used a small drill to clean up the inside of the neck. Super glued the peg back into Aprils body and could then put Karais head on. While not a perfect fit, it's a tiny bit loose but I was happy with it as she's just going to be posed on my Lair set. You could always cut off the peg from the Serpent Karai and make it work in Aprils neck. The rest is just paint. It took about 3.5 hours last night from the time I started until I was done sealing Karai. I'm slow at painting too, I'm not very good so I have to really take my time. If I can be of any help let me know.

drewizzle88 · 01-04-2016, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Powder

Not too shabby! Nice job matching the skin color.

Thanks Powder, she was fun to do. I would love to do a show accurate one but I have no idea how to sculpt so I decided to embrace the repaint method.

Meow · 01-04-2016, 11:02 PM

Thank you for the detailed insight and taking your time to explain drewizzle88

***First of Two Latin Kings*** · 01-05-2016, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drewizzle88

Thanks Powder, she was fun to do. I would love to do a show accurate one but I have no idea how to sculpt so I decided to embrace the repaint method.

Get some model magic made by Crayola-- it's very easy to use. It also soaks up acrylic paint well after it dries. You will want some Mod Podge also to seal the model magic additions to your base. This will also give the additions a shine that matches the plastic of your base.

ArticulationJunkie · 01-21-2016, 10:37 PM

Very nice!

raven6859 · 01-22-2016, 01:55 PM

Nice work, very neat!

drewizzle88 · 01-28-2016, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meow

Thank you for the detailed insight and taking your time to explain drewizzle88

No problem man!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ***First of Two Latin Kings***

Get some model magic made by Crayola-- it's very easy to use. It also soaks up acrylic paint well after it dries. You will want some Mod Podge also to seal the model magic additions to your base. This will also give the additions a shine that matches the plastic of your base.

Thank you for the suggestions, I'm going to pick some up this weekend for something else I'm working on and give it a try.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArticulationJunkie

Very nice!

Thank you

Quote:

Originally Posted by raven6859

Nice work, very neat!

Thanks for the kind words.

Monte Williams · 02-26-2016, 08:27 AM

"and anyone could do the same thing..."

A blatant lie, and a mockery of talentless people like myself.

Seriously, though, she looks great, and I like the weathering on Mystic Leo, too.

01-04-2016, 01:18 PM	#1
drewizzle88 Stone Warrior Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: SW Missouri Posts: 573	Custom Karai Hey guys, found an extra serpent Karai this weekend so I picked her up. I already had an extra April and decided what the heck I'll see if I can create a decent Karai. I removed Aprils head ball joint and shortened her neck, re installed the joint and fit Karais head on it. From there I just did a repaint, decided to give Karai a more casual everyday look while still retaining her typical colors. I'm happy with the results, and anyone could do the same thing and paint her however you like. __________________

01-04-2016, 06:09 PM	#5
drewizzle88 Stone Warrior Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: SW Missouri Posts: 573	Thanks plastron! Meow, I sure didn't take any, but I can give you a run down of what I did. I popped off Aprils head, it didn't require hot water or anything. That left a yellow peg exposed so I put Karais head on and it sat up way too high. So I used a dremel to cut the excess neck off April, I shortened it about an 1/8th of an inch, just until it looked good to me. Then I took a pair of pliers and pulled the yellow peg from Aprils neck and shorten the peg the same amount I cut off the neck. Used a small drill to clean up the inside of the neck. Super glued the peg back into Aprils body and could then put Karais head on. While not a perfect fit, it's a tiny bit loose but I was happy with it as she's just going to be posed on my Lair set. You could always cut off the peg from the Serpent Karai and make it work in Aprils neck. The rest is just paint. It took about 3.5 hours last night from the time I started until I was done sealing Karai. I'm slow at painting too, I'm not very good so I have to really take my time. If I can be of any help let me know. __________________

02-26-2016, 08:27 AM	#12
Monte Williams Stone Warrior Join Date: May 2008 Location: Twin Falls, Idaho Posts: 825	"and anyone could do the same thing..." A blatant lie, and a mockery of talentless people like myself. Seriously, though, she looks great, and I like the weathering on Mystic Leo, too. __________________

01-04-2016, 02:13 PM	#3
Meow Stone Warrior Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: EU/Austria Posts: 765	She looks almost like stolen from the animated show. Great work Mind providing WIP pictures (if you took some of course)?

01-04-2016, 06:03 PM	#4
Powder 40 Years of TMNT Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shell-Ri-La Posts: 26,954	Not too shabby! Nice job matching the skin color.

01-04-2016, 11:02 PM	#7
Meow Stone Warrior Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: EU/Austria Posts: 765	Thank you for the detailed insight and taking your time to explain drewizzle88

01-21-2016, 10:37 PM	#9
ArticulationJunkie Random Punk Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: PA Posts: 20	Very nice!

01-22-2016, 01:55 PM	#10
raven6859 Hench Mutant Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 332	Nice work, very neat!