Project Restore-----------------New for 1977-----------

Before I start I'd like to thank AK and Captain Action for their time and generosity....thanks chaps!


---------------------------------New for 1977-------------------------------------------------------------

I've had this project brewing for quite some time! My aim was to take some old heads and restore them to
Figures I would have loved to have seen as a Kid in 1977. I decided on a Ben Kenobi AM and a Japanese
Character. After Ak had donated a scrap head I had my start, the Japanese head had already been completed
a year ago after I had painted up a batch of 4. I then though I'd like to see them Flocked as a 77 figure would have been, after a kind offer from Captain Action I had my Project end in sight.

Ben Kenobi Head.
After stripping the flock and performing a slight repair on the nose (super glue) this was the starting point.





The next stage was to use a grey Spray Primer on the head, I found through trail and mostly error that the older AM heads do sometimes react badly when painted becoming shiney and sticky, this negates that result.



One undercoat sanding later paint was added (Citadel) I use soft make-up brushes to apply the skin tone as it drys to my eye smoother. Damn eyebrows!!! the bane of my life!! messed them up first go!



I painted an approximation of the Grey flock for the hair as a guide, the head by now was nearly done, I use
Humbrol Matt Acrylic Varnish for the finish, it usually takes about 4-5 light coats to give it that new toy look.







The heads finished...



.......now the Mythical process of Flocking awaited!!

Here are the pics.....and over to Captain Action to explain the process!!
sorry ,was at work last night .....but here goes,
not so mythical really the big secret Is quality glue ,more on that in a minute,
first off you can see my humble little flocking machine which I purchased from ebay for £30
this is what railway modellers and miniature soldier modellers use to produce tufts of grass or scenic grass hay meadows etc using electrostatic to produce the fibre that stands on its end

now the BIG secret the glue or bonding! I use quality 2 part epoxy resin this has a working time of 4 hours ,so plenty of time to flock and work a style if needed and does not go off instantly, it has a cure time to total hardness of 24 hrs , I have tried other options to no avail, but I like this the best and as you can see is still liquid enough to paint on the head even at a 50/50 ratio



The epoxy dries solid but initially is like a thick paint and as you can see is easy enough to apply to the head with a paintbrush following the desired hairline.
place the desired amount of flock for a head on the plate evenly spread it does not matter how much as you will see when the head has taken enough flock, better to have some leftover than have to stop and place more flock on  the plate
the blue wire connects to the head or in this case to save damage to the neck a screwdriver that is in the head as the metal of the screwdriver goes to the top of the head, this creates an  electrostatic circuit between the plate the flock is on and the head ,much like rubbing a balloon on your jumper and making your hair stand on end ,if you are fortunate to still have your own !








once you have the desired amount of flock leave the head to stand and cure for 24 hrs , do not be tempted to touch or remove any errant hairs ,as the glue is still soft and you could leave depressions in the flock,in the 4 hour period though you can add features like a parting which I added to the grey bearded head in the picture by using the unsharp side of a stanly blade by pressing lightly to flatten leaving a parting line.
if the flock has not stuck to the glue it will come off after the 24 hr cure when you brush off the excess , for this I use a soft childs toothbrush (new)and gently brush the flock especially around the hairline or any beard line , the flock is well and truly stuck in the epoxy which is hard and only excess will be removed , this sharpens up the hairline considerably then I trim any long hairs which you will always get in flock as there are a few stray long ones in my experience, for this I am lucky enough to have a wife who is a hairdresser and she donated an old pair of her hairdressing scissors , then you should have a reasonable flocked head , I highly recommend that you gently clean the face with a bit of mild soapy water with a cotton bud as depending on colour of flock can leave the face quite dusty .
also a dust musk is a must as you do not want to breathe in the flock fibre .
So that's about it , my take on the dark art of flocking , as I say you can find these flocking machines on ebay , paintbrush scissors epoxy resin a screwdriver or wooden dowel and your set to give it ago the only way to do it is to do it as they say !
















Part 2. Coming soon, New to 77......The Figures.

a super step by step bb the heads look brand new well done . how did you fix the nose btw

blueboxier wrote:

a super step by step bb the heads look brand new well done . how did you fix the nose btw

I used some light layers of superglue gel applied then heated with a hair dryer to speed up the process, then it's just a job of buffing into shape with light wet and dry paper.

Excellent stuff Paul!, we have chatted about this project on chat for a while, and it was well worth the wait to see the final result. Well done also to Jay!, a cracking job on the re flocking mate, you are becoming a dab hand mate! Looking forward to seeing where they go from here!

Top work Paul

Blondeactionman wrote:

Excellent stuff Paul!, we have chatted about this project on chat for a while, and it was well worth the wait to see the final result. Well done also to Jay!, a cracking job on the re flocking mate, you are becoming a dab hand mate! Looking forward to seeing where they go from here!

Top work Paul

Cheers!......Ben Kenobi and Tokyo Cop to come soon!

brownboots wrote:

Blondeactionman wrote:

Excellent stuff Paul!, we have chatted about this project on chat for a while, and it was well worth the wait to see the final result. Well done also to Jay!, a cracking job on the re flocking mate, you are becoming a dab hand mate! Looking forward to seeing where they go from here!

Top work Paul

Cheers!......Ben Kenobi and Tokyo Cop to come soon!

Awesome!

Awesome!!! Teamwork is always a great thing!

Great project BB, nice flocking C.A.

Wow! Well done! And thanks for sharing BB!
The step by step was fantastic!

Excellent work on these "1977" heads, excellent photography, excellent paintwork, excellent flocking, excellent, excellent!!!

Make-up brushes -- great tip! (I hope Ms. Brownboots approves)

Top, top work all around! Great collaborative effort!!!

Brian

Great little project, the eyes are so well painted especially the jap .

Top work Paul! You're an artiste!

Great job nice bit of teamwork

great work

brownboots wrote:

blueboxier wrote:

a super step by step bb the heads look brand new well done . how did you fix the nose btw

I used some light layers of superglue gel applied then heated with a hair dryer to speed up the process, then it's just a job of buffing into shape with light wet and dry paper.

a really simple tip that i think that many of us will find very useful , thank you

Great post and a rake of useful tips well done.

Thanks CA for your step by step Flocking process write up, very informative and
Interesting, thanks again, Top Job!! Well worth a read through!

Awesome job well done

Quick test shot...........



More to come.

Outstanding work Paul!, he looks great! That bash truly deserves all 5 stars mate

He looks great BB, fantastic work

brilliant

Excellent what a transformation

as a star wars and action man fan all I can say is WOW the force is indeed with you !

Thanks all! It's been a great little Project to do especially collaborating with fellow Forum Members.
I'll snap some better pix over the weekend of both figures!

Phew!....building that real working Lightsabre in 1/6 was tough!