Got a Question? Quick Customizing Tips Here!

From what I can tell, that head could work... But it's actually a bit oversized imho. That said, I personally tend to favor 3d printed heads for my figuarts customs (the xenoverse models work decently and there's a huge modding community that makes ripping models easy enough). I can do it myself if you'd like, just know that it might be a few days before I have the time. Only issue with doing it that way would be finding a way to do the visor, but you'd have that issue with the ab figure as well.

That said, I will say that you might have a bit more work than you think depending on how you want it to look. Speaking as someone who JUST finished a Buu Saya Bulma, pliable skirts are hard. That said, you can probably get an extra Gohan and steal his, just know paint won't usually cover very well.

Well, the helmet is exactly what I think I would have too much trouble sculpting, especially if I didn't want it to look absolutely horrendous next to Gohan's. I can sculpt pretty well, but I just wouldn't want my talents being so directly compared to the official model when it comes to such a mechanical, symmetrical piece like a perfectly round helmet with details.

I actually do have a decent enough plan in mind for the skirt, though I hate to have to use only one piece of the figure with no plan for the rest... but the skirt from one of the Whis gi Gokus from Dragon Stars would be perfect for her, judging from the Goku Black skirt I'm using for another custom.

Majin Tomato, that's really nice of you to offer a 3D print... Hm, is your Kid Goku head from your prints and customs thread based on a Xenoverse model? If the ripped models look that nice... I might actually want to take you up on that... How much would you want for that?

As for the visor question, with the AB head I was planning to simply keep it with no visor, unless the eyes looked really bad with a new coat of paint (since Figuarts don't really have sculpted in eye details like these older figures do), in which case I was going to settle for sculpting over it with a solid-colored visor similar to Gohan's helmet. But in the case of a 3D print, I'd prefer no visor. It gives an impression like her helmet might have a button on it to flip the visor up and down or something and she simply has it up for a more approachable and friendly look-- but more importantly, unlike Gohan's helmet, when Videl's huge full-face plate visor is a solid color and her face isn't visible (like this figure), it gives the impression of something like a riot police officer or a soldier. While not particularly intimidating, it doesn't communicate the cute, friendly hero that Videl is as Saiyaman, with her heart crest and softened pastel version of Gohan's color scheme. So if it's something that's within your control with a print, simply having no visor would be best.

Ack, Goten, not kid Goku, my bad. I wasn't able to find a pic of Trunks, either, but I didn't realize the Bulma was printed! That actually gives a really good sense for the quality. To be honest the Tarble head print came out a bit rough for my standards (I have a little bit of experience with 3D printing, my brother has a printer and I swear he's Garrus from Mass Effect sometimes with his literally constant, obsessive "CALIBRATIONS"), but the Videl render looks much more smooth in the face, especially if the painted Bulma is any indication. The antennae aren't a concern at all, I was gonna have to replace them on the AB one anyway so I was thinking about my own solution to that already. My only concern is the roundness of the helmet itself, do you know if the material Shapeways prints with can be sanded?

As a total aside... How did you do your Bulma's face? Is it hand painted, or a decal? It looks excellent.

I have one of these for my sanding duties. It's worth its weight in gold. Some sellers even sell a kit of extra bits for it, which I highly recommend, as the bits it comes with are a little large. I also recommend you buy an extension cord from Walmart or somewhere, because the cord isn't very long. Also, make sure you're buying one with a US plug. I didn't bother to read the ad or anything, I just selected the first one like mine that showed up in the search. I find it much more useful than my dremel, because it weighs maybe 1/10th the amount and I don't have to wear gloves for fear I'm going to cut or grind a finger off.

Believe me, you'll never use hand tools for sanding figures ever again. For such a small investment, that tool makes a major difference to customizing.

Yo! This thing is gonna kick ass! I'm so excited now. Thank you for putting in so much effort on this! For... basically no reason other than being very kind! Which seems to be a common trait among folks on this forum, and I'm super glad I joined. I hope at some point, once I get better at this hobby (I'm much more experienced with customizing miniatures, poseable figures are so very new to me...), I can start being as helpful to others as you guys have been to me.

So I would need this to be verified by someone on here who has actually customized Irwin figures in particular, but from a general customizing standpoint sounds like the best option might be to "crack" or "pop" the torso. Figures, particularly older ones, have torsos that are usually two pieces held together by internal pegs that have been glued in place. The idea with cracking is to get a screwdriver in between the two halves, and use it as a wedge to pop the two halves apart.

That said, looking at the figure and based on your description, I think the biggest issue might be if the entire torso is made of a softer plastic, rather than just the robe being soft but having a hard plastic underneath. The idea with cracking a torso is that its usually made of a stronger plastic to survive heavy play. As such, the glue will usually tear before the plastic (and worst case the pressure will just tear off the internal pegs which no one will see anyway.) If it's softer plastic, I'd be concerned that it might warp and stretch instead of cracking open, so be careful.

www.figurerealm.com/customtutorial?action=view&id=71 -this tutorial might be the best fit, what with the segmented torso. You can also separate the hip piece the same way.