Painting seamless bodies (NSFW?)

Whoa thanks for all the info! I truly appreciate it!

AsianPerzuasion wrote:Whoa thanks for all the info! I truly appreciate it!

You are very welcome. I do hope it is helpful, just wish the others had chimed in with their experience.

Sorry, GF.... been busy. I didn't chime in because I felt I didn't have much else to add.

I agree with you that it's probably better to repaint a head to match the body at this point , because it's very difficult (or impossible) to make a tbleague body lighter than it is to make it darker. (Other than potentially using gooboo's oil paint method, which I don't have experience with so I can't really comment on.)

skywalkersaga wrote:Sorry, GF.... been busy. I didn't chime in because I felt I didn't have much else to add.

I agree with you that it's probably better to repaint a head to match the body at this point , because it's very difficult (or impossible) to make a tbleague body lighter than it is to make it darker. (Other than potentially using gooboo's oil paint method, which I don't have experience with so I can't really commend on.)

No apology necessary, and I hope all goes well with you. I just recall you being frustrated trying to lighten a body -- but I think you were trying to actually make it white, which is not quite the case here, and thought some of that experience might be pertinent. I, too, feel uneasy commenting on methods that I have not used myself (like RIT dye or oil paint).

thanks for the tips and tricks guys
but did you all tried out using gundam markers (real touch) on the Phicen figures?

GubernatorFan wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:Sorry, GF.... been busy. I didn't chime in because I felt I didn't have much else to add.

I agree with you that it's probably better to repaint a head to match the body at this point , because it's very difficult (or impossible) to make a tbleague body lighter than it is to make it darker. (Other than potentially using gooboo's oil paint method, which I don't have experience with so I can't really commend on.)

No apology necessary, and I hope all goes well with you. I just recall you being frustrated trying to lighten a body -- but I think you were trying to actually make it white, which is not quite the case here, and thought some of that experience might be pertinent. I, too, feel uneasy commenting on methods that I have not used myself (like RIT dye or oil paint).

Well, my immediate need to lighten a body to turn it white is moot since I picked up one of those Sinful Suzi bodies a while back. ;D  But it's still good to know if there are alternative methods for future..

CaseyTong wrote:thanks for the tips and tricks guys
but did you all tried out using gundam markers (real touch) on the Phicen figures?

Hi there! You're welcome. And sorry, I'm not familiar with those markers... ?

Very cool! gives me hope yet to match Jake's body!

CaseyTong wrote:thanks for the tips and tricks guys
but did you all tried out using gundam markers (real touch) on the Phicen figures?

I have not tried Gundam markers, but if you read my adventures and misadventures in trying to paint body hair and then the Darth Maul design, most markers will not work well. I don't believe these would, but I don't know. You can always experiment, for example on the part of the neck of the TBLeague body near the neck post, which will always be obscured by the head. Remember to remove the protective powder first (for example with a wet q-tip), and then to replace it afterwards, after you are done experimenting. You might want to leave the experiment overnight to make sure the marker has a better chance of drying/curing -- if any.

GubernatorFan wrote:

CaseyTong wrote:thanks for the tips and tricks guys
but did you all tried out using gundam markers (real touch) on the Phicen figures?

I have not tried Gundam markers, but if you read my adventures and misadventures in trying to paint body hair and then the Darth Maul design, most markers will not work well. I don't believe these would, but I don't know. You can always experiment, for example on the part of the neck of the TBLeague body near the neck post, which will always be obscured by the head. Remember to remove the protective powder first (for example with a wet q-tip), and then to replace it afterwards, after you are done experimenting. You might want to leave the experiment overnight to make sure the marker has a better chance of drying/curing -- if any.

Hmm...  I'll try it
Oh yes...  About the powder you are talking about.
After cleaning with wet q-tip and applying the color,  should I use back some baby powder on it?

CaseyTong wrote:Hmm...  I'll try it Oh yes...  About the powder you are talking about. After cleaning with wet q-tip and applying the color,  should I use back some baby powder on it?

A variety of powders work. I use a silicone finishing powder (pictured in the painting nipples tutorial), but baby powder and corn starch are all said to get the job done. You don't want to leave any part of the rubbery surface (which turns out to be TPE, not silicone, as we recently found out) unprotected for a long time, especially when you are handling it. Of course, it has to be off if you are painting the body or a design on it, until that process is complete and everything is reasonably dry.

GF -- what exactly is the reason why you don't want to leave the powder off too long? I've never actually known....

skywalkersaga wrote:GF -- what exactly is the reason why you don't want to leave the powder off too long? I've never actually known....

Good question. The body can become tacky, possibly even without much handling, which would make it odd to handle, easier to stain, even more of a dust and lint magnet, but, most importantly, it might make the rubbery material less resilient and possibly even cause it to degrade. At least so I gather... So keeping the material clean and dry (and the powder helps with both) seems to be a priority.

GubernatorFan wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:GF -- what exactly is the reason why you don't want to leave the powder off too long? I've never actually known....

Good question. The body can become tacky, possibly even without much handling, which would make it odd to handle, easier to stain, even more of a dust and lint magnet, but, most importantly, it might make the rubbery material less resilient and possibly even cause it to degrade. At least so I gather... So keeping the material clean and dry (and the powder helps with both) seems to be a priority.

Ok, thanks for explaining. I wasn't sure if it was actually protecting it from degrading or not, so thanks for confirming.

GubernatorFan wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:GF -- what exactly is the reason why you don't want to leave the powder off too long? I've never actually known....

Good question. The body can become tacky, possibly even without much handling, which would make it odd to handle, easier to stain, even more of a dust and lint magnet, but, most importantly, it might make the rubbery material less resilient and possibly even cause it to degrade. At least so I gather... So keeping the material clean and dry (and the powder helps with both) seems to be a priority.

All of this, S.

Stryker2011 wrote:

GubernatorFan wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:GF -- what exactly is the reason why you don't want to leave the powder off too long? I've never actually known....

Good question. The body can become tacky, possibly even without much handling, which would make it odd to handle, easier to stain, even more of a dust and lint magnet, but, most importantly, it might make the rubbery material less resilient and possibly even cause it to degrade. At least so I gather... So keeping the material clean and dry (and the powder helps with both) seems to be a priority.

All of this, S.

Thank you!

I have one body that I failed to put the powder back onto ....it's now been like that for over a year. It's been kept in a plastic bag, but still.... curious what detrimental effects it might have had on it.

skywalkersaga wrote:Thank you! I have one body that I failed to put the powder back onto ....it's now been like that for over a year. It's been kept in a plastic bag, but still.... curious what detrimental effects it might have had on it.

It is probably ok, but it might have gotten a bit tacky by now. It helps -- to a point -- including a silica pack or two in the sealed plastic bag (just as TBLeague includes them in their boxes). I recently dug out a TBLeague body I had stored this way for a long time and not used, and it had gotten a little tacky. Perhaps I failed to powder it properly after extensive handling in the first place, or perhaps this is what happens after long storage. But after some re-powdering, looks like there was no harm done.

So......
After my first failed attempt of putting on too much paint I tried again.
I was able to clean off the body with GAMSOL to bring the body back to original state.
I washed the body again then after with soap and water.

I then put the oil paint on again thin with a brush covering the whole body. I let it dry then for 72hours.
I was then able to put on another coat and let that dry for 72hours.

Once it dried, and I mean not wet or too tacky, I was able to use the make-up brush to lightly take off wheat seamed like the dust left over on the body and this was the result

mvde27 wrote:So......
After my first failed attempt of putting on too much paint I tried again.
I was able to clean off the body with GAMSOL to bring the body back to original state.
I washed the body again then after with soap and water.

I then put the oil paint on again thin with a brush covering the whole body. I let it dry then for 72hours.
I was then able to put on another coat and let that dry for 72hours.

Once it dried, and I mean not wet or too tacky, I was able to use the make-up brush to lightly take off wheat seamed like the dust left over on the body and this was the result

So its not "Stark" white by any means but the process is tried and true.

mvde27 wrote:

mvde27 wrote:So......
After my first failed attempt of putting on too much paint I tried again.
I was able to clean off the body with GAMSOL to bring the body back to original state.
I washed the body again then after with soap and water.

I then put the oil paint on again thin with a brush covering the whole body. I let it dry then for 72hours.
I was then able to put on another coat and let that dry for 72hours.

Once it dried, and I mean not wet or too tacky, I was able to use the make-up brush to lightly take off wheat seamed like the dust left over on the body and this was the result

So its not "Stark" white by any means but the process is tried and true.

Im not sure this photo does the figure color justice as it looks a little blue/grey but it is more on the white side.

The question now is....
do I add another coat toes how white I can get it? Like wearing clothing color white?

Also, the other body I am going to mold and cast with the armature inside, wish me luck.

To me it seems to have turned out well!

From what I recall of gooboo's experiment, he said that putting a second coat on doesn't seem to adhere and might lift the underlying paint off, unfortunately. So if I were you, I might just leave it as it is.

Does it have to be stark white for the character? To me it looks just white enough...


What are you planning to do with the mold for the other one?

It did come off when I tried rubbing the paint on, but since he seems to be brushing it on I'm not sure what will happen.

I am making a guardian figure.

The other one is going to be molded, armature removed, and then cast in silicone with white pigment.

This forum is a literal godsend. I want to make an attack titan and an armored titan to go along with the figma AoT figures, so that it is more in scale. Someone in a discord gave the idea of phicen bodies, and for the attack titan it seemed like throwing one of my headsculpts on an arnold body would do the trick. For the Armored titan, though, achieving the red color and detail in the musculature seemed impossible given that its on that TPE. This forum seemed to have given me a way to do it, maybe even given me a way to add more detail to the attack titan so its not so boring. I will be sure to update if anyone is interested.

For anyone that doesn't know what I'm talking about:

Attack Titan


Armored Titan


(Please let me know if the pictures aren't showing up. I have never joined a forum before and I don't know what the hosting stuff is all about.)

For the Armored titan I think I'm going to 3D print some or most of the armored pieces and paint them then attach them that way. If you guys have any insight as to what bodies would be best, please let me know. I need to save some money to get the bodies and I am not all too familiar with 1/6 scale figures so I'm sure someone might know a more muscly body to use for either one of these guys before I start.

mvde27 wrote:I am making a guardian figure. The other one is going to be molded,  armature removed,  and then cast in silicone with white pigment.

I think it worked out very nicely. How did you paint the dark figure? So you are going to "flay"/strip this second, darker body for the armature? I applaud your adventurous enterprise, but hope there is something seriously wrong with it before taking such a drastic step. Anyway, it would be interesting to see how it turns out.

troycruzy wrote:This forum is a literal godsend. I want to make an attack titan and an armored titan to go along with the figma AoT figures, so that it is more in scale. Someone in a discord gave the idea of phicen bodies, and for the attack titan it seemed like throwing one of my headsculpts on an arnold body would do the trick. For the Armored titan, though, achieving the red color and detail in the musculature seemed impossible given that its on that TPE. This forum seemed to have given me a way to do it, maybe even given me a way to add more detail to the attack titan so its not so boring. I will be sure to update if anyone is interested.

For the Armored titan I think I'm going to 3D print some or most of the armored pieces and paint them then attach them that way. If you guys have any insight as to what bodies would be best, please let me know. I need to save some money to get the bodies and I am not all too familiar with 1/6 scale figures so I'm sure someone might know a more muscly body to use for either one of these guys before I start.

I don't know if the most muscular TBLeague bodies (M34 and especially M35 are the most massive) are quite colossal enough for titans (then again I don't know how large you need/want them to be), but you can check out more information on them all, with links, here:
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3013-tbleague-phicen-seamless-bodies-with-steel-skeleton-catalog-updated-continually

For coloring the bodies, check out the posts above. I can vouch for the oil pastel technique, but you have other options too.

You can certainly 3D print armor, but perhaps experiment with some easily shapeable material on the actual body before doing that. Or, just an idea, not sure how well it will work in practice, if the armor is not meant to be stiff hard material (I have no idea what is called for for these characters), with a lot of patience, you might be able to build up such an exo-muscular (?) structure out of something like silicon glue right on top of the body (it will be reasonably resilient and flexible -- and possibly detachable, in principle).

@GF The look for the Titans isn’t really supposed to be huge in mass, but just muscly and toned. I wish there was a skinnier toned body because that would be perfect. Like a m32/33 torso with the m34/35 legs. The main problem with the bigger bodies is the pecks, they are just too large. I don’t know if I’d be able to cut them down or if I’ll be forced to use a m32/33. Id rather have a toned body than a ripped massive one.

Also, the silicon glue is an awesome idea. I definitely want to try 3D printing some parts, like the chest plate (only because there is so many lines and details), but I’m not too good at modeling things to fit other things. So if worst comes to worst, I’ll just try all silicon glue armor. Might even use the glue for pieces in/around joint areas and use the printer for wider areas with less articulation.

Of these, M33 has nice musculature that is not too bulky; M32 has defined musculature too, but very tight, and probably not suitable for your purposes. Perhaps this narrows the choice to M33 or M34? The flexibility and removeability of the silicone glue is why I suggested it -- you could sculpt it right on the body, and then if needed you could eventually yank if off. This is somewhat, but not entirely theoretical, of course. Given the organic look of the titan armor, I'm thinking it will be a suitable approach.

Yes...  I have tried Gundam markers (real touch pen) on it and it works perfectly, after apply then marker use q-tip to dab dry the area
I can't post it here though coz is on the nipples area.

GubernatorFan wrote:

CaseyTong wrote:Hmm...  I'll try it Oh yes...  About the powder you are talking about. After cleaning with wet q-tip and applying the color,  should I use back some baby powder on it?

A variety of powders work. I use a silicone finishing powder (pictured in the painting nipples tutorial), but baby powder and corn starch are all said to get the job done. You don't want to leave any part of the rubbery surface (which turns out to be TPE, not silicone, as we recently found out) unprotected for a long time, especially when you are handling it. Of course, it has to be off if you are painting the body or a design on it, until that process is complete and everything is reasonably dry.

Hi Casey, thank you for experimenting and reporting back. I am testing it as we speak, but will have to get some real touch markers to replicate your experiment properly.

Need me to post it at the nipples section?

GubernatorFan wrote:Hi Casey, thank you for experimenting and reporting back. I am testing it as we speak, but will have to get some real touch markers to replicate your experiment properly.