Sunday, October 4, 2020

Smoothing the raptors

The Revell JP raptor kit is getting some epoxy putty added here and there. Definitely not a required step for the kit's intended audience, since it's not a perfectly safe material - please make sure to look into how to properly handle it before using it (epoxy stuff in general, too). Here's a very good video going over the hazards and precautions from the perspective of a sculptor regularly working with it.
...Also adding from my personal experience: label the lids of the containers! :D (if the brand you're using doesn't already have them labeled.) If you have them open at the same time you'll forget which is which and putting them on the wrong containers would probably ruin the putty. Alright, back to raptors.

I didn't end up using all the tools here, but better to be prepared than having to look for things with your gloves already on and stained, I think. The silicon brush and the sewing pin continue to be my favorites.

Attaching the tail halves, which really didn't want to stay together. It might be that the plastic is warped a bit, it's an old kit, after all. The cloth pin keeps it together while it cures.

Not done with the seams yet, but it's coming along nicely. I sealed and sculpted around them a bit to blend the seams at the raptor on the left's legs and one hip seam (the other leg moves a bit, so I'll seal that hip seam after I've attached the raptor to the base), around the raptor's neck (the other raptor is looking straight ahead, so the head and body aren't separate parts on that one), the middle seam on the head of the raptor on the right, and tail tip and upper back and chest on both. Not every seam will need putty on it to look nice, but a few more have enough of a gap that I don't think paint alone would bridge it.

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