Haruda Anime » Figure Modeling Part 2 - Flash Removal and Cleaning

Figure Modeling Part 2 - Flash Removal and Cleaning

Prior to starting all of the puttying and priming and painting, you need to fix the model up a little by removing some obvious, nasty things and cleaning it.

Flash

These are the little chunks of resin attached to the model which are left over from casting. At least that’s what the internet tells me. I guess it doesn’t matter why they’re there; they’re there and need to be gone.

Here is an example of the largest piece to be found on this model right on top of Kaworu’s arm:

For large pieces, you can use pliers (the type that can cut things) to snip off the excess. In most tutorials, the next step is to use a file, but I just went straight to sandpaper. It works, but filing would probably be better for your overall sanity, as sandpapering can take a while. On the other hand, a lot of pieces, at least on this kit, were in the most inconvenient locations, and you had to be certain the keep the shape of the part (like on the front of his foot, where I basically had to reshape the curve). Sandpaper gives a greater feeling of control than I’d imagine a file to have.

One thing that you should always do is wet the sandpaper. Don’t be like me. I scoffed and thought ‘Hah! Resin dust isn’t going to harm me!’ only to find out that it wasn’t very fun at all. I mean, it’s not going to harm you, but it’s going to be nasty and annoying to breathe, not to mention that it’s going to get all over everything within a 5 ft. radius or so.

Once you’re done snipping and sandpapering, the excess should be gone to leave you with something like this:

Mold Lines

The second big annoyance that needs to be eliminated at this point comes in the form of mold lines/seam lines/whatever you wish to call them. They’re little raised lines along some pieces along where the two halves of the mold fit together. Just sandpaper them away. This recast had them on almost every part, although they weren’t horrid. I have no pictures because you can’t see them with the flash on and I suck at taking pictures so that everything without flash comes out all blurry.

Cleaning

The kit will have mold release agent on it, which will not get along well with paint. I’ve never tried to paint something with this stuff on it, but I imagine it’d be about as successfull as trying to paint plastic with acrylic. There are many different methods (or supplies, at least) to clean a kit; I chose to let mine soak in detergent overnight and then scrubbed away at it with an old toothbrush. I think that did the trick, but I won’t know for sure until I get to the priming stage. With my luck, I will have missed spots all over it and will have to do this stage all over again.
To dry it, I just dabbed at it with a paper towel for a while and then let it air dry.

Next up: Pinning!