Skitter Action Figure: The DIY post! + Sneak Peek!
Ever wanted to have your own Worm action figure? Well, too bad, this one's mine! But I can tell you how to make her for yourself. All you need is the patience to save up some disposable income, and hands that are at least 70% steadier than mine.
...that second one is actually a much lower bar to clear than it sounds.
To start with, you'll need some tools:
Nippers: Every gunpla/plamo modeller's best friend. (Also WTF I got these for $12.99 CAD, what the hell happened? These aren't even made in the U.S.)
If you talk to an experienced modeller, especially of kits from companies like Bandai and Kotobukiya, they’ll tell you that Godhand nippers are probably the best nippers you can get. If you want a clean cut that leaves minimal traces behind on the parts, you might want a single blade nipper. Nippers with a blade on each side will leave traces behind.
This is because no matter how well they’re made, the blades can’t be perfectly aligned past a certain point (or... something like that). So there’s still some residue from cutting. However, there are single blade nippers that are only sharp on one side that can deal with that problem--A practiced hand can shear through the runner in one go and leave nothing behind. It's not nearly as easy as it sounds, though. Most people just use sanding sponges to remove traces from the runners afterwards.
I'll demonstrate here:
These are called runners, or trays. These ones are from the Peridot model I used to construct most of Taylor's body. She comes with a pair of giant scalpels and two colossal syringes. These are for one of the scalpels.
You see how these trays are mostly comprised of these cylindrical plastic runners? There are also thinner parts where they're closer to the material. Well, when you clip a piece off, best practice is to start by leaving a fair bit of extra material on the piece. These are generally called nubs, or nibs. Then, once the piece is free of the rest of the runner, you can clip the nibs off with more precision than you’d have while holding the whole tray. I didn’t understand this when I was starting out, and that’s why… I have all these really obvious clipper marks on my first builds.
So back to the nippers. The problem is that the more precise and the sharper your nippers are, the more precise you have to be. Only a shoddy craftsman blames his tools, and that holds very true for this. And my hands tremble. Uncontrollably. What’s more, the sharper nippers aren’t meant to be used on the runners. Only on the nubs. The runners are too thick, and the blades are too delicate to cut through that much material, so using the expensive nippers on anything but the nubs will gradually weaken the metal, until eventually, they crack.
The blade won’t necessarily snap, mind you. If it cracks around the middle of the blade, a chunk will just break off. Closer to the tip, it’ll snap. Either way, well, I hope you aren’t working in a room with a carpet. You will need to find that piece—it’s a safety hazard.
Anyway, my Stedi nippers aren’t very sharp, but they can clip both the runner and the nibs.
ULTWAT Color Master soft tipped markers For the internal piece of Skitter's mask. I used black and gold. I don't expect you to buy a boxed set for two colors. You can probably find them at your local hobby shop. The packaging looks like this.
Sanding Sponges I’ve also used files that are made of glass, and those are often a ‘one-file-does-it-all’ package. They work really well. But it all depends on the pieces that you’re working with. The glass file wouldn’t have worked on the hair because the shapes are so irregular.
Paints This is a bit more involved. The hair was more challenging than I was expecting. Sounds silly. It’s black. One color, right? Well, me being a novice painter, I was expecting to only have to spray the parts with my black semi-gloss and yay, done.
Nope.
I needed primer first. So that took me one hour, and then a day to set.
Then I paint it black.
Then I finish it with a clear outer coat. Except I didn't do that because I couldn't get the right product.
I know I’m stating the obvious to some people, but there’s a point to all this work. The primer covers the base color with a layer that makes the paint adhere to the surface better.
Then you can paint it.
I don’t know what happens if you don’t use primer, but whatever it is, I’m going to find out eventually by disassembling these hair pieces, because there were a few spots on the inside that I missed while priming them.
Acrylic paints dry pretty fast, especially from an airbrush. I’m talking, like, seconds, so yeah, very effective. Even so, they give off fumes for a while, so if you’re going to paint, leave the pieces outside if at all possible. This is very important.
Do not paint in an unventilated area. And especially not with an airbrush, if you have that kind of money to throw around. Inhaling lacquer or acrylic fumes won’t kill you or knock you out like inhaling ammonia, but they’re not good for you.
As for the process and the products, this is less straightforward. I lucked out by finding a place that let me rent an airbrush by the hour. I can do that twenty-five times before sunk-cost fallacy sets in, and even then, I don’t have to do maintenance.
If you don’t live in a big city or have disposable income, you’ll have to do things the old-fashioned way: water and a brush.
It won’t make much of a difference, honestly, especially not for this version. As for paints, there are an entire world of options, and I’m far from being an expert on the subject, but you can find the kind of paints you’ll want at hobby shops. I used gaiacolor paints, but you could go to a place that sells Warhammer minis, and you’ll probably find the kinds of paints you need there. Hobby Lobby is also an option if you live in the U.S.
Just remember the best practices:
Use primer first
Then do a coat of paint in the color you want
Finish by applying a clear coat on top to protect it.
Follow those steps, and your version’s hair won’t end up looking like the one I have, here. God, it’s an injustice, honestly. Taylor’s probably going to come to me in my dreams just to yell at me.
With that out of the way...
I used the japanese site intentionally. You can't actually purchase them from that one unless you already live in Japan, and while I am telling you what I'm using, I'm not trying to advertise here. Here are the sets specific sets I used to create this:
Peridot - Main body Arranged Wigs Long Wavy Hair - Taylor's hair A Koyomi of your choice - Taylor's Glasses + a few books (There are a bunch of different versions) Customized Face & Decal Set Vol. 6 [Designed by AMAAI] - Self explanatory Kuon Yakushiji - Extra faceplates
Don’t just buy them from wherever. If you live in a big city, you might have multiple options, and if you don’t, there are still a lot of websites. Every now and then, these things go on sale for a literal steal. Also, if possible, save up so that you can make a large purchase to save on shipping—or if you’re ordering from Japan, to justify it. I’m not kidding. Overseas shipping is expensive, so pick those options only if you have a lot of money, or would be paying for shipping anyway.
Waterslide Decals, a.k.a. Hell With Water
Now, a note about the waterslide decals! If this is your first time using them—and it probably will be—they aren’t too expensive, especially if you live in the U.S. (I think?), so just a word of friendly advice: Buy extra packs. They aren’t easy to use. They want extreme precision, and unless you have exceptional hand-eye coordination, incredibly steady hands, and lots of patience, you’re going to screw up. You’re going to screw up a lot. You’re going to screw up more than I do in long-term social engagements. You’ll want those duplicates. And you'll want to watch a tutorial, while you’re at it. You can find dozens all over YouTube.
Practice Materials
Don't want to jump right into doing Taylor Hebert? No worries. There's a whole world of plamo to explore. And if you want to do something Worm themed, there are a bunch of gundams that appear in fanfics. Mostly Trailblazer by 3ndless. My recommendation would be to start with HG Exia. It's very beginner friendly, even without any English in the instructions.
Finally, a preview for what’s in store:
I just need some blue metallic tape and I’ll be in business. You have one guess for who this is turning into:
