Here is one of my projects at the mo. This is a G1 Silky Sullivan that my friend Kati gave me. The poor fella took an unfortunate dive due to a reckless boyfriend & suffered not just a broken leg, but a splintered leg & missing piece! Kati didn't want to see Silky Sullivan anymore so he came to me! I can see the potential in this guy though! So he needed a new leg!
I filed down the splintered part of his leg to the knee & drilled a small hole as deep as I could with my Dremel. I then took a length of 18 gague brass rod & supper glue/baking soda attached it to his stump. After that set I roughed in a leg with A + B epoxy putty (which, so you know, is THEE SAME as Gapoxio in every way right down to the packaging!). A + B is the densest epoxy I have found to date so I use it for the more breakable parts. It is hard to work with though, so once it set I detailed over it with Aves Apoxy Sculpt. Carve & file in some detail & contours, & he now has a leg to stand on! I also did a bit of sculpt work on various other parts, particularly his head which looked stubby to me. Bit more sanding & then he'll get a paint job!
I took a few pics of the tail making. Not enough to be any sort of a tutorial unfortunately. Manes & tails are a pretty fast paced deal for me, there is little time to take pics in-progress before the epoxy sets. I really need someone hanging over my shoulder taking pics & notes as I do it!
Anyway! It turned out quite well & with a bit more added here & there for depth it will look pretty good!
For the armature I drilled a hole & used 12 gauge brass rod for the main piece, glue & baking soda attached. I also ran three pieces of 18 gauge brass rod along it in the same manner, just to have more support. I A + B epoxied over that. Then, with a bit of a struggle I glue/baking sodad three lengths of 12 gauge aluminum wire to form the skirt. That wasn't enough to hold it there though so I wired over that with 34 gauge wire to 'tie' it on as well. Then I A + B epoxied over that. Then I took this really cool wire armature mesh & filled the gaps for support. It doesn't take much.
To do the sculpting I started it with Aves Fixit epoxy (the brown), it is the next densest epoxy to A + B. It is easier to detail though. The rest I sculpted with Apoxy Sculpt, it doesn't matter if you do both at the same time, they cure all the same even together. For tools, I have a mish-mash of things, official & unofficial. My favorite is an etching tool from one of those picture etching kits. The other two are actual sculpting tools, but they are plastic so they are slowly whittling down every time I scrape the built up epoxy off of them. I also use a number 2 round brush with water to smooth down the harsh edges from sculpting.
It is nice & bright (love my new LED overhead light!), & it is a dream to be able to just sweep it out with a broom now that the hateful carpeting is gone!
Two new additions are a China cupboard (it was free!), & a small fridge/freezer that I more or less inherited. No more paint in the household refrigerator! I also happened to pick up a new lamp a week or so ago for a song at my favorite thrift shop. It's a weird lamp but it SO works for me! It is a floor lamp, but it is bendable! So I can bend it over myself while I am painting! I gave it a stylish pie pan shade, & we're good! I am now on the hunt for just the right shelf to put inside the door where I have room. Hopefully one will turn up at the thrift shop!