Got a Question? Quick Customizing Tips Here!

Nail polish and other enamel oil-based paints (like Testors model car paint) can have a problem drying on figures. I've never managed to find a scientific answer as to why, but I personally believe it has something to do with a chemical reaction to the existing paint on the figure and/or the material the part is made of. If you're having good luck with nail polish drying on your figures, then it seems fine to use that same type of material again. It's a bit risky to test it though, because it won't necessarily work on everything. thessj4dude what specifically have you painted with success? It'd be a great help to people to know what specific figures you've painted successfully with nail polish and had it dry without being sticky!

I did some research on this issue again. Testors (a model paint manufacturer who primarily makes enamel paints for car model kits) says that their enamel paint "is not recommended rubber or flexible types of vinyl because it will not dry on these surfaces; it will remain tacky to the touch. It will not adhere to polyethylene or polypropylene." To my knowledge, polypropylene is used on things that are not meant to be painted, like some plastic chairs, reusable water bottles, and lids of things that flip open and are meant to open and close tons of times without breaking. And then polyethylene is mostly used for producing plastic bottles and bags, because it is (or can be) clear. It's also used for swimming pool fun noodles.

I looked up what types of plastics are mostly used for toys/action figures. PVC (soft, rubbery plastic), Vinyl (often hollow and somewhat flexible), ABS (mostly hard plastic that can't be painted without primer), PP (Polypropylene, really durable, pretty stiff plastic), and POM (Polyoxymethylene, a very, very hard plastic that can be used for action figure joints sometimes because it can be very, very smooth). Some info from here: radiantdreamer.net/differences-in-plastics-abs-pvc-vinyl-resin-polystone-oh-my/. As far as I know, nearly every single Irwin and Jakks Pacific DBZ figure has an ABS or POM torso and PVC arms, legs, and head. I could be wrong, but I believe that is true. I don't know what the joints are made from... like on the super hard plastic ball jointed shoulders of many Irwin figures for example.

Via: figurefixer.blogspot.com/p/more-about-adhesives-glue.html



I little bit more research revealed that when enamel paint remains tacky, it can be because it wasn't thoroughly mixed and/or it wasn't at some point, and "the hardner has seperated out of the carrier." So if it wasn't mixed well at some point and you painted something, you might have painted with waaaay more than your fair share of carrier or hardener and thus messed up the ratio.

More research said "Do NOT use enamel paints. They will leave your figure tacky as the chemical reaction dissolves the soft plastic over time releasing toxic fumes. You can use enamels in hard plastic (transformers in most cases) but they take a very long time to dry. Krylon Fusion takes seven days to cure to full hardness and Testors Enamels at least five. Never use them on Marvel Legends or anything with soft plastic parts. I use Testors Model Master Acryl, Tamiya spray Lacquers, and Formula P3 by Privateer press." via www.angelfire.com/mech/jinsaotome/PaintingTips.html

Overall, in my experiences, it's better for me to just stick with acrylic paint. On joints, I coat the joint with super glue, let it dry, then paint it, let it dry, then coat it with super glue again. I've had success with that. It takes a long time to dry super glue though. I also carve out the joints (and sometimes dremel out extra material), to make room for the layer of paint, to help avoid a tight joint from scraping the paint off. Also, it always helps to wash what you're painting with Dawn or Ivory liquid soap to wash off the factory oil that companies use to coat figures with, before you start painting.

I was browsing around an old thread and this custom Namek Gohan by wbalbuena caught my eye.

The user doesn't seem to be active anymore, but does anybody know what head was used on this Gohan? I'm really interested and can't figure out what it is.

Thanks!

Hmm, okay, I see. Thank you!

For that matter, however, is there a decent alternative for a Namek Gohan head around that size/scale? What about Namek Bulma? I'm aiming right now to embark on a couple of Namek Saga figures, and heads are a bit of a conundrum right now... it seems all the nice head sculpts of those two in particular seem to be pretty rare.

starfirebarrage What are you trying to scale with? Irwin/Jakks 5 inch scale Gohan from that time period is best accomplished with a Chara Puchi or Popy/Plex head. Burger King Gohan is also acceptable for Irwin/Jakks 5 inch scale... it's slightly larger. For Figuarts scale, I would recommend Burger King Gohan. His head is slightly larger, which is good for Figuarts. The CP heads for Namek Saga Gohan are slightly small even for Irwin/Jakks 5 inch scale, so they'd be tiny for Figuarts scale... Finding a Burger King Gohan for a cheap price should be easy.


Here's one for $3 plus shipping. He has a deep casting imperfection line on the left side of his face though. You'll want to fill that with some Apoxie Sculpt and then sand it before painting it or the line will show through a bit... but it only matters if you're a perfectionist. www.ebay.com/itm/2000-Loose-Dragon-Ball-Z-Burger-King-3-5-Gohan-Action-Figure-Toy-Play-Fun/323472818040?hash=item4b507b7f78:g:J~EAAOSwdKZZzZbz:rk:15:pf:0



It's better than this one that has the casting imperfection all the way across his face though!


You can cut the head off that figure without much drama. Just put on some safety glasses and carefully cut it off with an x-acto knife.

BK Gohan is an excellent suggestion! Thank you!

(Gosh, I remember those-- some of my first experiences with customs, actually! My brother and I painted the Krillin because our only other Krillin figure was the one with hair from the Buu Saga from an import store because that was the arc currently airing in Japan at the time, but as kids watching the Saiyan Saga, we were totally thrown off and hated it... Good times.)

Yes, I should have specified, I'm trying to scale with Figuarts-- I was trying to judge the size based on the sizes of the other two Gohan figures pictured with wbalbuena's custom so I thought the Gohan head there would work, but I'll definitely defer to your judgment when you say it's too small, and the BK seems way more attainable anyway!

The Sofubi figures are ones I've looked at, but I seem to be completely unable to find a Bulma anywhere... Any idea where I could get my hands on the WCF bootleg? I've found other bootleg lots/sets just fine on AliExpress and ebay but I have not been able to find one with spacesuit Bulma.

I really appreciate your help by the way! I'm so glad I came to this site. Such an excellent resource!

Yeah, I google Sofubi and Sofvi when looking for her, but haven't had any luck. I guess I just gotta keep looking regularly if I want that one... Good tip about DWC though, I have actually only been searching "wcf", not "dwc" or "pcs" so that would be a good idea to add into my searches. And yeah, I managed to nab the DB pink dress Bulma set with Tao Pai Pai and such, but that's the only early one I've ever found. It's really frustrating. I HAVE seen the spacesuit Bulma on ebay but she's seriously upwards of $140. Jeepers frickin' creepers. So frustrating...

Hey that's funny! Aliexpress still has that Bulma set! I don't know how to order from them, but I just accidentally found these old DWC bootleg sets on there:

Bulma Ox King set

The horrible quality Saiyan Saga set