Fellow Modelers:

I am about to begin working on another PL reissue of the classic Godzilla.
As those of you who have built this kit know, it has some outrageous seams. In an effort to eliminate these I want to try some new techniques such as "texture mapping". Everyone says the Aves products are great for seam filling. Out of the Aves family of products what do members of this Forum recomend?:rolleyes:

Aves Apoxie Sculpt! Also get some of their safety solvent, great for smoothing edges.

Yup, Apoxie Sculpt. That's what I used on mine. I made a texture stamp using liquid latex. I spread a thin coat of Aves on the seam and then pressed the stamp into it. The arm seams I just used a sculpting tool to replicate the texture.

http://photos.hobbytalk.com/showphoto.php/photo/22475/ppuser/14119

Rob
Iwata Padawan

Rob; VERY nice paint job on the face, I really like the eyes! I think I prefer your paint job to the one I did all those years ago when we first released the traincar head! Godzilla is definitely a kit that lends itself to texture stamping, but I have found with careful (but TIME CONSUMING) Dremel work, very little putty is needed. I use weld type cement and clamp the parts together tightly so you see the little beads of melted plastic work their way out along the seams. Work in subassemblies (legs and feet, arms and hands, tail, etc) and start with a cone shaped grinder, grinding away at the raised half of the seam (on Aurora kits one half of ANY limb, head or torso ALWAYS seems slightly larger than it's mate). Lost ridge detail on the arms and legs can be recarved with a microball cutter and an x-acto with a # 11 blade. The front of his torso almost resembles the keel of a boat hull the way it comes together; I spent ALOT of time flattening this area out (lost detail can be replaced by CAREFULLY skipping a ball cutter around his tummy at a fairly high RPM). If you have a flexishaft attachment for your Dremel, this whole process is MUCH easier. You will still need Aves or Magic-Sculpt to fair in the main attachment points (tail to body, hands to arms, legs to torso, etc.) I found it fairly easy to sculpt in the ridges with a round tooth pick, but texture stamping will work. I then went the additional step of thinning some Bondo glazing putty (Squadron will also work) with liquid cement and stippling it on with a stencil brush. This recreates the course texture of the supposedly radiation scarred areas of Godzilla's skin (and looks great when you drybrush it). I do NOT have any build-up photos of my traincar build-up, but I AM working on a couple new Godzilla replacement sets and will be doing new build-ups for those shortly.
Hope this helps...
Tom Parker
Cult of Personality Productions

Nice explanation there Tom.
Sounds like the same way I work.
Put a little how-to on my site a while ago.
The dremel work
http://www.tylisaari.com/models/mine/faq/texture/detail.htm

The putty work when attaching the main assemblies
http://www.tylisaari.com/models/mine/faq/putty.htm

Another vote here for Aves Apoxie Sculpt. A couple of things I think are worth mentioning:

After mixing the two parts thoroughly, let it sit for 20-30 minutes. I've found this greatly reduces the amount of tackiness so that it doesn't stick to your sculpting tools while you're trying to work.

In some cases a small amount of water works better for smoothing and blending edges than the solvent; water doesn't break down the putty quite as much.

I keep hearing this about Aves.
The waiting because the tackiness.

Never had that problem.
Not sure if it is the batch that I have or what, but mine seems to be ready to use right after mixing it. As a matter of fact, it tends to be a little on the hard side.
I find my MigicSculp to be a lot more tacky than Aves.

I keep hearing this about Aves.
The waiting because the tackiness.

Never had that problem.
Not sure if it is the batch that I have or what, but mine seems to be ready to use right after mixing it. As a matter of fact, it tends to be a little on the hard side.
I find my MigicSculp to be a lot more tacky than Aves.

You may be right about having an old batch....possibly a batch that has some age to it. I know they offer discounts on their old inventory from time to time. All of the Aves I have used has been fresh. I can't keep it around long enough for it to get old so I can't compare. I use the 30 minute rule too. It is much easier to work with. I get the tackiness as well after combining.:wave:

So how does the Aves Apoxie Sculpt work? Sounds like there is Two Parts...do you take alittle from one container and mix it with alittle from another container until it is mixed well?

Then, what do you do with the excess? Will it stay or do you have to use what you mix together within 30 minutes?

I've never used the stuff and was curious....

Thanks,

MMM

Yep, it comes in two containers and you mix equal parts. I just take some and roll it into balls, smash it together and start using it. I find that a little water helps with the stickyness. You have about an hour's worth of working time and once it's set, it's as hard as resin and sands nicely. Any leftovers will harden and become useless (unless you're looking for rocks); that's why I work in small batches.

Rob
Iwata Padawan

Rob; VERY nice paint job on the face, I really like the eyes! I think I prefer your paint job to the one I did all those years ago when we first released the traincar head!

Thanks Tom. I loved the replacement head and was especially proud of the eyes. Unfortunately, someone else liked it so much that they mad me an offer I couldn't refuse. Oh well; at least it went to a good home. I picked up one of the big PL Godzilla kits at WF last year and can't wait to get started on it!

Rob
Iwata Padawan

The sculpt gets very sticky and hard to work with and keeps having to be thinned down to work. Sticky makes it hard to pack into the seam. I find it hard to smooth properly like the bondo stuff. It dries hard as a rock so my arm gets pretty tired when sanding smooth.

I'm hoping the Aves paste works more like bondo in the tube.