Have you been wishing for WizKids to put out some of your favorite heroes
or villains? Well with a little patience you can do it yourself. In this column
I'll teach you how to take some of those extra Heroclix you have kicking around
and turn them into completely new figures, or simply help you make them look
that much better. I will tell you about the tools of the trade, and some of
the tricks to use them. And if you’re up to the challenge I'll give you
the full list of parts to create some of the toughest Clix I've ever done.
The Basics
by Keith Dobranski
 I'm
here to teach all those interested parties about customizing your HeroClix.
First: the basics.
REPAINTS - As with any project you must do some research. In this case, read
comic books or watch movies. Once you've picked out the figure you want to repaint
you'll need to clean the figure. What I mean by this is you have to remove the
"flashing" off the body. Now "flashing" is a sculptural
term that refers to the excess plastic that is attached to the figure. This
will appear as a raised line running across the figure. If you leave it on,
it will look very noticeable when the paint is applied. Several tools can be
used to clean the figure, a hobby knife (for the heavy stuff), a small steel
file (for the shaping) and some wet dry sandpaper if you want to get everything
nice and smooth (this part is optional). An important note, when using a hobby
knife, you should take off little bits at a time; you're not in a race. Oh and
those things are really sharp; I've been cut several times and I always kick
myself for not being more careful.
 Once
the figure is clean, you may want to change its pose slightly. This is accomplished
by using a small reading lamp; those ones with the clamp attached are the best.
Grip the figure by the base and hold it just slightly above the bulb. (Don't
touch the figure to the light or it will melt and burn.) After a minute or so
depending on the thickness of the figure, reposition the figure as you wish,
holding it steady until it cools down again.
Now you're ready to put on a primer coat of white paint. Since this is a figure
that you will want to play in tournaments, you don't want to drip paint on the
base. Cover the whole base with masking tape. If it's a flyer with a post in
its foot, just use a flying base you won't care if it gets paint on because
no matter how careful you may be, when the tip of the brush gets to the edge
of the figure it can flick and spray a fine mist of paint everywhere you don't
want it to be.
Next week: painting tips.
Check out part 1: The
Basics
Check out part 2: Painting
Check out part 3: The
Heavy Modifications
Check out part 4: Mephisto
and the Gang
Check out part 5: The
Marvel Ladies
Check out part 6: The
Serpent Society
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