LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2010

[abc_kid]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

Just wanted to say thanks Les, I received the Hicks head yesterday and immediately put it on my Hot Toys figure. Totally changed the character of the figure and I can't stop looking at it.

Sorry if I ever seemed impatient in my emails, all good things truly come to those who wait.

-Will over in Woodland Hills, CA

 

[uscmhicks]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

Just wanted to say thanks Les, I received the Hicks head yesterday and immediately put it on my Hot Toys figure. Totally changed the character of the figure and I can't stop looking at it.

Sorry if I ever seemed impatient in my emails, all good things truly come to those who wait.

-Will over in Woodland Hills, CA

awesome first post. Welcome to the forum.

 

[drjedisith]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

i will have to take REAL pics with a REAL camera to do these justice. but this thread needs more pics! thanks a billion les! you really made these figures come to life!

so here are the 3 amigos!

 

[JustinLuck]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

Great work on the Indy Les! It truly looks museum quality. I see 100% Ford there. It's funny about the ACE neck because I also had already decided to use the ACE neck because it looks the most realistic out of the available choices of neck adapters from the various companies. But I was trying to attach the ACE neck adapter to a BBI body. Of course the BBI is a bit too muscular for Indy. Your attachment to the Buck is genius! After you removed the spring, screw, and associated parts, did you cut the neck post down to a certain length and attach a ball from another body onto the post with epoxy?

 

[Ven]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

I am Les Walker's and Josh Church's illegitimate child... pay up mother ^^^^er.



hehe les you say "whip" with an emphasis on the "h" kinda like stewie from family guy.

 

[MaulFan]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

hehe les you say "whip" with an emphasis on the "h" kinda like stewie from family guy.

Hhhhello mother, hhhhave you hhhhidden my hhhhhatchet FG fans ought to know that reference.

 

[MadCow]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

Great Video Les !!!!

BTW You got mail... email that is ....

 

[Indiana Fett]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

...hehe les you say "whip" with an emphasis on the "h" kinda like stewie from family guy.

...because you can't have pie without Cool Hhhh-wip.

 

[Morbach]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

...because you can't have pie without Cool Hhhh-wip.

 

[Entropy]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

Me too! Hope to see a lot of finished USCM soon.

Here is something I added to YouTube today.
MY CUSTOM INDY FIGURE
Note use of Sovereign Shawn's coat and Mr Fusion's brother Ben's belt, as well as MFisher's rig, which I hope to do a vid and photo shoot with as well.

Just something to tide you over. More vids to come soon I hope. As I can get to them.

Back to dremeling and painting.

Great video, Les. Hopefully I hear back from Shawn about a jacket. They look so sharp.

Do you have a link or recall where the custom whip is from?

And, yay, I've finally go a couple of solid days to do some custom work this weekend. Hopefully I can knock some stuff out. Tis easy to get behind.

 

[villainsfan42]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

les, i love your work, and i have two questions for you...

1: what paints do you use, and how do you blend so that there are almost no stroke lines at all?

2: what material are your heads casted in? they look almost like the same type of plastic as hot toys heads.

...hello?

 

[King Darkness]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

...hello?

Hello

 

[villainsfan42]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

Hello

...

...les?...

 

[intothevoid]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

i will have to take REAL pics with a REAL camera to do these justice. but this thread needs more pics! thanks a billion les! you really made these figures come to life!

so here are the 3 amigos!

I see an awesome wayne and Spenser gordon there in the background, what bale Headsculpt is that? Better pics? thanks!

 

[Les Walker]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

les, i love your work, and i have two questions for you...

1: what paints do you use, and how do you blend so that there are almost no stroke lines at all?

2: what material are your heads casted in? they look almost like the same type of plastic as hot toys heads.

Sorry. Been too busy applying said paints to slow down to answer you.

Quickly, I use Testors water based ACRYL acrylic enamels. Many colors. Lots to explain and not much time to do so. I suggest investing in the skintones and primaries and black, white and clears and you can mix the rest. I do. LONG explanation of that actually, but not enough time or space here. Too long for a post.
Blending is even worse. Too many years doing it to to explain it very simply. I just mix the paint or water it down and apply. It is something you'd have to see and study I guess. Not being flip, just don't know how to explain a lifetime of painting experience in a single post. It is technically easy, yet it's lots and lots of minor things I can't think of since I do a lot of it instinctively now. It's just thin layers and layers that try not to show brush strokes. Not totally sure how to tell you how I do that.

If you are trying yourself, just dive in. It is not hard, just a lot of simple tricks and nonsense. Seriously. And time. Lots of time. Can't rush this stuff. But you can practice it easily with heads and such. You learn more that way, through trial and error, than with a pat answer that might not work for you when you tried it yourself. If that makes any sense.


I use Smooth-On products for any moldmaking and castups I ever do. There is an inexpensive pourable mold kit on the Smooth-on site, a sample size, as I don't do enough to buy in bulk, so look there if you are curious.

I have NO idea what material HT or other companies use. I assume some kind of PVC or complex vinyl or rubber type compounds. Not sure at all there. I know I can't repro that stuff. Not cheaply anyway. That is big league manufacturing materials. There are resins out there now that have a skinlike opaqueness, that a lot of folks are using now. I don't, but others here do. Spencer and Blind Voyeur are two that might know.

Hope that helps you villainsfan.


Anyone get their heads yet? I've sent an awful lot lately. Hope they all get where they are going.
More going out soon too. Part of my upcoming sale is to finance more big shipping lots that are to go soon.

Anyway, hope everyone is enjoying their's. Thanks DrJediSith. Cool pics!

Back to it.

PS: King Darkness, Where is the BB fury pics? And the OTHER thing...

 

[villainsfan42]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

Sorry. Been too busy applying said paints to slow down to answer you.

Quickly, I use Testors water based ACRYL acrylic enamels. Many colors. Lots to explain and not much time to do so. I suggest investing in the skintones and primaries and black, white and clears and you can mix the rest. I do. LONG explanation of that actually, but not enough time or space here. Too long for a post.
Blending is even worse. Too many years doing it to to explain it very simply. I just mix the paint or water it down and apply. It is something you'd have to see and study I guess. Not being flip, just don't know how to explain a lifetime of painting experience in a single post. It is technically easy, yet it's lots and lots of minor things I can't think of since I do a lot of it instinctively now. It's just thin layers and layers that try not to show brush strokes. Not totally sure how to tell you how I do that.

If you are trying yourself, just dive in. It is not hard, just a lot of simple tricks and nonsense. Seriously. And time. Lots of time. Can't rush this stuff. But you can practice it easily with heads and such. You learn more that way, through trial and error, than with a pat answer that might not work for you when you tried it yourself. If that makes any sense.


I use Smooth-On products for any moldmaking and castups I ever do. There is an inexpensive pourable mold kit on the Smooth-on site, a sample size, as I don't do enough to buy in bulk, so look there if you are curious.

I have NO idea what material HT or other companies use. I assume some kind of PVC or complex vinyl or rubber type compounds. Not sure at all there. I know I can't repro that stuff. Not cheaply anyway. That is big league manufacturing materials. There are resins out there now that have a skinlike opaqueness, that a lot of folks are using now. I don't, but others here do. Spencer and Blind Voyeur are two that might know.

Hope that helps you villainsfan.

thanks les.

i use these paints as of right now, and they are great for canvas art, and at first for the figures, but then they started chipping...

i actually bought the smooth-on pourable beginner's kit, and i love the silicone, but sadly hate the plastic...it chips a lot, and the bottom of the neck is not flat (for a 2 part mold.) do you do one part, or two? i have only done two part, and was not happy with the outcome.

 

[abake]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

My heads have arrived in Miami Les, so they should be here within the week. I'm all giddy with excitement!

 

[Les Walker]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

My heads have arrived in Miami Les, so they should be here within the week. I'm all giddy with excitement!

Great video, Les. Hopefully I hear back from Shawn about a jacket. They look so sharp.

Do you have a link or recall where the custom whip is from?

I hope Shawn hasn't given up on the jackets for you guys either! I think it only MAKES the figure, and hope you can still get one. I'll call and harrass him some today for you guys. I do occasionally anyway, and have been begging him to make those available to everyone. It took months for me to get mine, so maybe I can get him to loosen up for you guys again.

I think the whip maker's name is Greg Fiebach or something like that. He sells on Ebay sometimes. I'll look and see if I have his info anymore and email it to you. That and a nice gunbelt makes a difference also.

 

[King Darkness]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

Hi Les

 

[Les Walker]

Re: LES WALKER - All NEW Custom Works 2009

Hi Les

Howdy King!

thanks les.

i use these paints as of right now, and they are great for canvas art, and at first for the figures, but then they started chipping...

i actually bought the smooth-on pourable beginner's kit, and i love the silicone, but sadly hate the plastic...it chips a lot, and the bottom of the neck is not flat (for a 2 part mold.) do you do one part, or two? i have only done two part, and was not happy with the outcome.

OOOH, ok. No wonder you are having troubles.
Those kinds of acrylics are for canvas paint only. They have a difference polymer base, that does not adhere to plastics. They are a gummy type of paint, with their own plasticity, so they never stick to models.
What I use, the Testors brand ACRYLS, are indeed an acrylic paint, but not the same base mix as the canvas types.
Go here to order you some: TESTORS ACRYLS

They are kinda expensive for the amount you get, and they dry fast if you leave the bottles out, as I do, (Don't even ask all the pain in the butt stuff daily painting with these does to you! No bad vapors or anything, just a lot of drying up if you aren't careful!), BUT, they work great on most vinyls and plastics. Wood, and cloth and all that pourous stuff also, but there is something in them, that they call them Acrylic Enamels (not to be confused with regular, oil based Model Enamel type paint, which will NEVER cure on a vinyl-plastic surface! You'll know it, as it smells of paint thinner and chemicals and is a pain to work with, although, the metallics in that kind of paint are SUPER if you can get them to adhere!).

So, try some of the base colors, and some skin tones.
I use Burnt Umber and Sienna and almost all the skin tone shades. I mix what I need also.
There is no perfect caucasian skin basetone in a bottle. I have to mix a base of a mix of the peachy looking Skin tone and the skin tone light, and sometimes with even other colors to make for more realistic skins. I do find that their color "Leather" is a nice, rich tone for African type skins. Looks better than you might think and can be altered with other skintones to lighter and darker, so consider that also.

If you are painting to match Hot Toys muscle bodies, get a bottle of Orange Ochre also. A very small amount of that (it's a stong color!) added to a skin mix will get you that bronzy color in those rubber bodies. A HARD color to match! You can't paint the rubber though. You can mist or airbrush lightly on them, if you never touch them, but it will wipe off. So far, no good paints for the rubbers yet. Yet... But, that will help you match to the HT rubber bodies better.


Anyway, hope this helps you. Save the canvas paints for canvas art, and invest in some Testors Acryls. You'll be glad you did. And yes, they can be airbrushed, even though I don't. Just so you know. (The bottles are sized for many inexpensive airbrush kits)

Good luck.