Ross' Tutorial #1: ritdye

[Ross SC]

Ok, thought i'd start posting the odd tutorial, i realise a lot of you on here are very competent as far as customs go, but there are a few newbies as far as customising goes & i find it always good to read these things, quite often learn a few tips!

Anyway, this one isnt much as i didnt take any pics but it's pretty simple.........

ok, the big news is...........
ive found the answer to where most people seem to go wrong..... dont leave the parts loose, or loosely screwed together, screw them back together tight! the insides of the pieces end up patchy, but who cares about the insides!
the only visible place that didnt dye was on one elbow, & isnt that bad. if you dont screw the legs together with the lower parts in then the holes shrink & you have to file it bigger to get the legs together afterwards.

i used half a pack of ritdye & half filled a smallish pan with water, you need to be really careful when you bring it to the boil, as it boils over really easily! once it boils, turn it down & keep it just simmering & add the parts in a sieve.

now i found most stuff is done in around 5-10 min, but i kept lifting the sieve & gently shaking the parts & checking on them every couple of minutes.

the only part i lost was a beach head torso (melted & warped) & a couple of the legs dont quite meet properly but i found if you screw them together as best you can, then dip them in a cup of boiling water for a minute then screw them tighter & they are almost as good as new!

so, like i said the secret is to keep everything screwed together tight, & the legs together @ the knee. this was all just trial & error & if you do this the results are good.

will add a bit of paint to my roboskull pilot & then post a pic! i so found the perfect head for him!

[Ross SC]

had good results with this guy: http://www.yojoe.com/action/89/lowlight2.shtml
was the only low light i couls lay my hands on, & hated how garish he was! this was the figure i left totally screwed together & he is perfect! didnt dye the head, will just repaint the hat & goggles. the dark green & the brown turned black, the light green a very very dark grey, & the blue turned grey.

[Andy1672]

Nice one Ross, I had a nightmare with my ninja torso, the back half warped to hell !

I had the legs loosly screwed together and the werent too bad.

having said this I used a full bag and boiled for about an hour ... total overkill but I did manage to achieve quite a nice darkish red.

the torso was my biggest mistake, wish I had screwed it together now

[Ross SC]

i was using black, which is probably more resilient! the low-light looks great, v.1 wet suit turned out ok, had a bit of a problem with the legs but not too bad. he is mostly black with grey stripes & his head needs a paint coz the yellow is a funny color. if you want to dye back packs insert the peg into a torso, or the pegs warp slightly.

[Andy1672]

Cheers Ross, I think it may have been long enough for me to try again ?

...... even tho i said I wouldnt !

Have you tried any palitoy parts ? The plastic is softer so Im guessing it wouldnt take as long ?

[Ross SC]

will try some palitoy & let you know........
heres a pic of low-light, not the best of pics........

Photo 16.jpg (67.65 KiB) Viewed 302 times

[Andy1672]

Looking good ! you seem to be having more luck than I did.

[Ross SC]

just keep em screwed tight! im not sure if i will bother with other colors, just black but i can get my hands on any color, about 4 or 5 quid a pack, i only used half a pack & dyed a lot, about 4 lots.

[The Kraken Wakes]

looks cool, am definately interested in this for my sas guys as id much prefer dying to painting to avoid rub... will have to track some down on ebay...

[Ross SC]

im sending you some mate!