WIP: Tiny resin head mod

My  goal?  I have on pre-order two Phicen/TBLeague 1:12 bodies.  I got so excited seeing these tiny realistic looking bodies in the hand, I couldn't resist.  I wanted to see what could be done to get even more realistic heads to put on these bodies, and discovered someone selling Marvel recasts, so I bought a few hoping to get one or two to work.  I feel pretty confident I'll get all 4 to work barring an accident. I will undoubtedly enjoy the heads that come with these bodies, but really want to expand their range.

So, I got a resin recast of a Marvel Mary Jane Watson head.  It was cast with the hair in place, which is too bad, as all I wanted was the head,  so I had to remove the hair.  I am not a patent person, still I tried to see if I could take the hair off with my exacto knife.  Unfortunately, it would have taken hundreds of little whittling cuts, and I aint about to take that long, LOL. I took some needle nose pliers to pull off the hair, see how that would do.  It did OK except a spot that was attached to the cheek made a hole in the cheek.  This should be very easy to fix with Apoxy putty.

I totally forgot to take a picture before I started, but this is the head from the seller's sales page on ebay:

photo from ebay seller by ingiebee, on Flickr

So, so far, needle nose pliers are not so good because it's hard to pull pieces off (man that resin is hard and tough!) and there is very little control.

Next I took out my rose pruners, LOL, yes, rose pruners.  This worked out pretty nicely.  I could cut around the head pretty close and pretty controlled, if you just use the sharp side to scrape off the hair , you can get it pretty far along!

Replicated Marvel Mary Jane Watson in resin by ingiebee, on Flickr

Replicated Marvel Mary Jane Watson in resin by ingiebee, on Flickr

An the next step was to shave her hair into the shape of a bald head. I used an exacto knife for this, and the sculpt or else casting left divots on the other side of her head as well.  I'll use Apoxy putty for that as well.  I also carved out her ears a little bit.  Looking at this, I just don't see the point of smoothing this out.  I figure since I'm going to glue hair on her, that it's good enough.  We'll see if my lazy ways will bite me in the arse

Replicated Marvel Mary Jane Watson in resin by ingiebee, on Flickr

Marvel 1:12 head Mary Jane Watson by ingiebee, on Flickr

None of this took me very long, I'm not a patient person. I'll have to use my patience when it's time to make clothes for these girls!  Ugh!

Next up, Apoxy repair

Neck fitting (I'm going to have to wait until the bodies arrive to finish this up unfortunately)

Then paint and hair

Have you thought about sand paper to smooth out her skull some more before applying the real hair? I'd be afraid of hacking off a finger if I were using pruning sheers.

I suggest using "green stuff" modeling paste for the rest of the head, small corrections and mainly the hair, it's a bi-component resin that dries with air, no oven cooking needed or anything. The great quality of it is it stays smooth for about an hour depending on the temperature, and it keeps some elasticity even once dried, a bit like the plastic they use for hasbro weapons or 1/6 shoes and boots...

Ooh, thanks for having the guts to do this, Peaches! It's actually looking promising so far (despite the holes, lol). And lol, I'm not a very patient person when it comes this stuff either...

blackpool, that is a very helpful suggestion, I can see that coming in very handy for many projects!

Can´t wait to see your finish 1:12 figures. I use milliput Yellow - Grey. If You want to give them real hair, i use mohair that for. Good LucK

Ephiane wrote:Can´t wait to see your finish 1:12 figures. I use milliput Yellow - Grey. If You want to give them real hair, i use mohair that for. Good LucK

Ephiane, I am always so impressed by the hair (and beards) on your 1/6 figures.... would you ever consider writing more about your process? (No pressure if not, I understand! : ) )

Let's hope the Mary head will fit perfectly to your phicen!
I also bought some 1/12 heads recently for my Bandai Stormtroopers. I ordered more than I needed because I was not sure of their real sizes. But while most do fit very well, some seem much smaller or much bigger in scale, or in comparison to a 'normal sized' figure.

Back row: Mike colter, John Hamm and Arnie. Quite large.
Middle: Christian Bale is a bit bigger than the others, but otherwise they fit perfectly well.
Front: Very small, somehow too tiny for Stormtroopers in armor. It's an unnamed female head,Will Smith and Coulton.

neat! I got two heads cleaned up now, and will probably keep my ponytail heads as they are unless I screw up one of these, LOL. I like two of a kind so I can photo them together at the same time. I do plan on mohair, @Ephiane and I do think my Apoxy putty will work similar to milliput and the Green Stuff, and since I already have some...

There are two reasons to avoid sanding, @Stryker2011, the most important is that I'm lazy, the other is creating dust. LOL, I was going to see how Apoxy will do as you can smooth is really well with a wet finger. Still, there are spots on the chin or nose that could use smoothing, so I probably will go outside, put on the dang mask and do a bit of sanding

BTW, this stuff is super hard and not brittle enough! LOL, really was hard to get the big hair off the Phoenix sculpt! Ugh! I can't wait to paint them, but it will have to wait until I get the bodies and fit the heads :/

Thanks for looking guys, and thank you for the encouragement! I appreciate it!

Say, what size are those Head Sculpts?  In any case, your project is ambitious - especially since we remain as yet uncertain as to what precise proportions these little figures will have.  

Not unlike surgery, eh?  LOL...  Patience is probably requisite...  

Personally, I’ve used a razor knife and the soft drum tip of a Dremel to remove sculpted hair for “rooted” transplants on 1:18 Heads, followed by light sanding - which, unfortunately, just might be inevitable, dear lady.  

As Blackpool had originally recommended, I have to agree on Green Stuff as a preference for sculpting, as it provides a relatively long work time while hardening, and is yet suitable for sanding or painting rather quickly.

Looking good here, Peaches, and I anticipate your next update...

Peaches wrote: I do plan on mohair, @Ephiane

Ooh, can't wait to see!  ^.^

I have zero patience and arthritis, thus the rose pruners, ROFL. I was about to get out the branch pruners with the long handle on the phoenix head! The originals have hard hair, but it comes off. These resin casts were done with hair affixed. But I managed it. Yah, the razor knife (exacto blade) just couldn't handle the toughness of thick resin, but it's what I used on the head after I got most of the stuff off. You can "peel" thin layers off with it.

These sculpts are really dang small, I think recasting them made them slightly smaller, maybe?? You're right, I have no idea if they'll fit the little bodies I'm waiting for and I'm going to have to wait to paint them until those bodies arrive just to match the color. And I'll probably have to wait on for the hair as well but when I got into painting my husband's D&D game minis, I was wishing they would make them just a little bigger, so you could add better details... and these heads are exactly the size I wished I could get! Hubby got a giant, which I thought was a great size too, like 3 or 4 inches tall

Yah, I'm afraid of the dremmel though, as I might not have enough control to keep from digging a hold. I'm resigned to sanding now that I've puttied the heads to smooth things out. I'll probably try to do it by hand.

Next step I did was add a bit of putty. The first head had a chunk taken out of her cheek and a bit of a rough chin and a spot on her cheek. The Phoenix had IMO too much of a Neanderthal forehead, LOL so I added a bit of putty and we'll see if I can get a smooth forehead on her. My daughter's school is right next to a hobby shop, I'm going to have to find some really fine sanding tools before I pick her up In fact, I'm on my way now

added Phoenix by ingiebee, on Flickr

added Phoenix by ingiebee, on Flickr

LOL, funny, the one who's cheek I pulled a hole out of has less putty than the one that I managed not to damage! But the chin was so rough, it seemed like she was supposed to have a beard... and head was lopsided, and didn't like the forehead... she's all covered now!

Those Head Sculpts appear to be 1:18, in which case, they will not likely fit those roughly 6” Phicen figures…

That is, unless you’re going for this look…




Bless her heart...


With any such propensity for microcephaly aside; your sheer aspiration itself is impressive. I truly hope that my interpretation of proportions will be wrong.  You’re certainly honing skills, in any event…

Incidentally, inasmuch as you are a sister here, your hubby is a brother; I grew up playing D&D and have always carried over a degree of that into my custom artistry.  For instance, each figure is also a character which fits within an RPG, created for whatever theme I’m developing.  I can go deep here, designing specific statistics and mechanics which will govern the whole within a custom gaming system.  Then, and only thereafter, does it become storyline - with each character’s personal arc intertwining under the overarching scheme...  

Needless to say, that game has had an enduring effect on me…  Ah, how much easier my playtime would be were it not for AD&D; although, indeed, how much less gratifying…




Anyway, regards to both of you - and best of luck with this particular endeavor, Peaches...

We've really seen a rise in 1/12 scale in the last couple years, and nice to see more options, like these head recasts, opening up. If this was years ago, I might have gotten in to it as a more affordable option to 1/6. And there are so many dollhouse supplies already made for this scale. Good luck! Looking forward to seeing how this comes together!

Life is too short not to have fun!  LOL

Well, here is a shot with a Dawn doll.  Dawn dolls are 1:12/6" and being a doll, has an over-sized head  I was worried these heads might be too big! It looks a little larger than in reality in that picture though. And look at those old hands! OMGosh, they need lotion, I never take care of the poor things, then I see a picture and think OMG, they're going to crumble away!

closeup by ingiebee, on Flickr

ReverendSpooky wrote:We've really seen a rise in 1/12 scale in the last couple years, and nice to see more options, like these head recasts, opening up.  If this was years ago, I might have gotten in to it as a more affordable option to 1/6.  And there are so many dollhouse supplies already made for this scale.  Good luck!  Looking forward to seeing how this comes together!  

Aw thanks, I just sometimes have a hankering for tiny things, LOL.  But the truth is I like it all.  I don't do stories well, though I've always wanted to.  I've started a 1/6 diorama because these AFs have inspired me.  There is a good chunk of stuff out there for 1/6 now too!  Until recently I only knew of GI joe and Barbie, and have always wished for a Barbie that could move like GI Joe as a kid many thousands of Summers ago  I really love realism/realistic something that makes you look twice, and this forum has tons of that!  I absolutely love it!

Last crapy night photo of the day, LOL On the Dawn Doll body - still no guarantee that it'll work, but hopeful...

Head on Dawn body by ingiebee, on Flickr

Aww, your Dawn doll is super cute, Peaches! And the modified Marvel headsculpt looks pretty good on it!

I'm with you in loving *all* sorts of miniature things. When I was younger my fave was dollhouse size, because it was far more realistic and 'to-scale' with itself than the over-simplified and garish Barbie stuff.  But at the moment I lean toward 1/6  for a wide variety of reasons, not in the least because I prefer the amount of detail that is possible with not only the surroundings and accessories, but also with the figures themselves. Dollhouse miniatures are *adorable*, and often highly realistic, but then even the most detailed of 1/12 dolls themselves seem to have a limit. 1/6 raises that limit quite a bit higher (for me at least), and I find it all the more satisfying to have a doll and/or figure that 'matches' the quality and aesthetic of their surroundings in that way. It's not even so much the level of 'realism' (as realism is not always my goal) as it is the sheer amount of *detail* that is possible in 1/6 that does it for me.

Which is not to take away anything from this thread or project of course -- your mods to those 1/12 heads are already far more ambitious than anything that my own meager skills would allow. I'm looking forward to seeing them finished , whichever bodies you end up using! ^.^

I agree totally! It's just those phicen/tbleague figures look so alive in the hand, LOL.

Peaches wrote:

ReverendSpooky wrote:We've really seen a rise in 1/12 scale in the last couple years, and nice to see more options, like these head recasts, opening up.  If this was years ago, I might have gotten in to it as a more affordable option to 1/6.  And there are so many dollhouse supplies already made for this scale.  Good luck!  Looking forward to seeing how this comes together!  

Aw thanks, I just sometimes have a hankering for tiny things, LOL.  But the truth is I like it all.  I don't do stories well, though I've always wanted to.  I've started a 1/6 diorama because these AFs have inspired me.  There is a good chunk of stuff out there for 1/6 now too!  Until recently I only knew of GI joe and Barbie, and have always wished for a Barbie that could move like GI Joe as a kid many thousands of Summers ago  I really love realism/realistic something that makes you look twice, and this forum has tons of that!  I absolutely love it!

Last crapy night photo of the day, LOL  On the Dawn Doll body - still no guarantee that it'll work, but hopeful...

Head on Dawn body by ingiebee, on Flickr

I totally get that. I have a few 1/18 projects as well, and I can't resist the lure. And the smaller scale is a great opportunity to go bigger, with stuff like environments and vehicles.

If the new Phicen is sized at all like like that doll body, I think you have a good fit for scale. I imagine Mezco's Marvel 1/12 line is a big part of the scale's recent popularity, so I wouldn't be surprised if Phicen was aiming to make theirs compatible, both for costumes and heads.

being a little afraid of sanding details, etc... I needed to see if my seams were any good.  I gave them a light dusting of primer, which popped out all the flaws so I can see where I stand  I also picked up some finer sand paper sponges that I didn't have on hand yesterday when I was doing this.  Anyway, a little paint will make the seams pop nicely if you need to see how you're doing

light dust of primer by ingiebee, on Flickr

light dust of primer by ingiebee, on Flickr

I didn't work on them today, just spritzed the primer this morning and took the pictures

Cute dress. Kind of reminds me of something you’d see on the original Trek.

LOL, yes, @stryker2011, it does. It's supposed to be a marching band baton twirling outfit I think I've been out all day, and I want so much to work on these heads but it looks like it'll have to wait until tomorrow. No light like sunlight!

Okay. Now that you say that, I can see it. Do you have a baton to go with her?

Nah, she be very old

And so today I tried sanding more. I'm really afraid of losing detail, and I think I'll stop here and go ahead and paint at this point. Here is after last sanding:

more filling and sanding by ingiebee, on Flickr

And here are the girls after a dose of primer:

Mary Jane:
MaryJane3 by ingiebee, on Flickr

And Phoenix:
Phoenix1 by ingiebee, on Flickr

All I have is a phone camera and the sun was so darn bright! She's a bit fuzzy. But I am excited to ruin paint them

They are looking really good! ^.^