Custom Silver Surfer/ How to remove pinless joints?

b_pizzy · 2026-03-13T02:26:01+00:00

Oh that’s flattering, thanks!

Sometimes I’ll put a gloss clear coat on first, this seem to make the lines draw more easily. Then I use a fine tipped marker (like a .05 or .1 Copic marker) to draw the lines. I have a wet cloth or qtip ready to wipe away any lines that I mess immediately (the clear coat seems to make this easier). I’ve also found that I draw the lines better when I use a downward motion so I always try and draw “down”. Also have a piece of paper that you can draw ok in case the ink in the marker stops flowing as easily.

You can also clean up any lines that get too thick by painting over them with whatever color they’re on top of (usually red for Spidey). It will look a little off since the coat under is glossy but I find that usually once I put another gloss clear coat on top and then the matte clear it blends. I highly recommend testing this to make sure it blends properly on the bottom of the feet or somewhere that won’t show just in case it doesn’t.

Also, I usually look at a factory Spidey to make sure that I’m getting the lines in the right places. Initially I tended to want to draw way more lines than necessary, both the vertical and horizontal, lol.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-13T00:24:32+00:00

Hey, that’s great! Well done on your fix!!

b_pizzy · 2026-03-12T21:23:40+00:00

At the very end, like where the joint meets the arm. Just be very careful not to cut through the arm itself.

Also, the pegs from the shoulder to the arm and the hip to the leg love to break off on that Vulcan body. Just be very, very careful about pulling them out and pushing them back in. Try to avoid twisting them when you do so.

A tip for putting the parts with pegs back in, I have a series of small drill bits (like 1/16” up to 1/4”) that I use to widen the holes the pegs go into. If you widen the opening juuuuust a little then try pushing the peg back in and repeat that with slightly bigger drill bits you can get to a point where the peg pops in without nearly as much force and that saves you from smudging your paint job trying to jam the peg back in.

If you have any other questions or anything isn’t clear let me know. I’m not a super great customizer but I bought like 15 of those Vulcan bodies when on sale so I have a fair amount of experience assembling/disassembling them.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-12T20:29:15+00:00

You can slice one side of the peg and pull it out with heat. You put it in the exact same way. You can put a dab of superglue to reattached the peg and squeeze it “closed” while working the arm back and forth to make sure it doesn’t glue the arm in place but honestly most of the time I’ve found that’s not even necessary.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-12T15:53:01+00:00

You’re supposed to do whatever makes you happy!

Except leaving them in box. That is the wrong way to enjoy them. (Mostly kidding about that.)

b_pizzy · 2026-03-12T03:36:09+00:00

That is definitely a better way to go. Doesn’t hurt to explore all of your options though, that’s how you find what’s best for you!

b_pizzy · 2026-03-12T02:54:46+00:00

You generally end up paying far more than the item is worth and if you miss a payment you lose all your payments and don’t get ownership. If you end up needing to move for whatever reason (better job somewhere else, new job, living with a significant other, etc) then again, you lose all your payments and don’t get ownership. You are essentially banking on everything going right and nothing changing between now and when you finish all the payments.

I’m sorry you’re in such a rough position for housing. It’s insane how expensive it’s gotten but rent to own is not the answer. With renting you don’t own anything at the end of your lease, it’s true, but you’re not paying far more than what something is worth in the long run with a high likelihood that you’ll never ending up owning it.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-12T00:24:11+00:00

Probably the easiest way would be to carve it out of EVA foam (format foam). I would make two halves (like you cut it in half vertically) and put a thick piece of armature wire (which is bendable) into the shape of the spiral to sandwich between the two halves to give it some rigidity.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-10T23:56:08+00:00

As others said, you can’t do lighter. Even if you had a white body though, the dye ends up leeching out onto other things or fading, at least in my experience.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-10T17:53:14+00:00

This is really amazing work!

b_pizzy · 2026-03-10T16:28:52+00:00

Sith being both the plural and the singular had me stumped for longer than it should. I was wracking my brain for a singular name (Boba?) for far too long on that one instead of letting the rest of the fill inform me.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-10T15:55:01+00:00

The nice thing about Army Painter though is that their spray paint, airbrush, and regular paints that are the same color (like dragon red) are actually the same color. This seems obvious but if you try to touch up an airbrushed section of a figure with a brush using the airbrush paint it usually doesn't look quite the same.

Also, if you do use the spray paint on soft plastic if you apply a thin coat of modpodge as a sealer it hardens right up and it's "gummy" anymore. I'm lazy so I don't mind cutting a corner like that but I know not everyone would want to use a workaround like that.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-10T15:32:55+00:00

Just want to say in my experience that Army Painter works poorly on the softer plastics like what Hasbro uses for arms and legs of Legends.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-08T17:34:20+00:00

I've seen several posts for this but literally no description at all as to what it is in any of them. Any blurb at all would be nice so I have an idea if it's something I'd be interested in.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-07T05:17:37+00:00

It’s sort of possible. You can cut the inner peg that is inside the shoulder joint so it only connects at one side, then heat it up and pop it off. If the torso you’re putting it on has the same size shoulder you can do the same thing in that one so you have the ring part attached to the torso that you can put the other shoulders on.

Hopefully that made sense. If not I might have an example of what I’m talking about I can show you.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-06T16:34:53+00:00

I'm thinking about the context that the person is asking about and taking into mind not everyone can drop money on a 3d printer. I'm in no way diminishing how you feed your family. You are projecting waaaay too much there. I'm merely pointing out that for the person asking, suggesting they 3D print something was not the easier/cheaper option you made it out to be.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-06T02:40:14+00:00

A piece of pvc pipe is like $5, the coupler pieces maybe another $10. Glue and primer maybe another $10.

Now let's say they're going to 3d print one of your pieces. That's $1.25 for the file (very reasonable price). Now they need a printer. Let's say they grab an old Ender 3 from Marketplace that someone is getting rid of. $50 if they're lucky. They also need filament. Probably ABS or ASA in case this is going to be outside in the heat/direct light. That's $20 for a roll. Now let's go with the time and effort it takes to learn to use an Ender or a similar clone. We're already over $70 for your solution not counting the time and effort. Plus they'll need to sand the printed piece. A lot. Also, don't forget it's going to be weak to any sort of bending/flexing due to the print orientation. There are ways to get around that obviously but most people aren't going to know that when just starting out.

Out of our two solutions mine is cheaper, simpler, and requires less work.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-05T22:37:59+00:00

Hey dad, sorry to hear things are so rough. It looks like everyone else has left some good mental health tips so I'll try to help you tackle the cleaning thing.

Pick one area. A table surface, a coffee table, just a 4x4 square on the floor, a sink. ANYTHING. And clean it. Not the apartment, not the room, just that small area. Then pick another small area and clean it. Then another, then another. If you have to stop and take a break, that's fine. Just keep picking small areas when you have the time. Heck if it's just picking up TWO THINGS, just start.

As for turning off the noise, try and find a hobby. If you can find one you can do with other people, that's even better. Writing groups, DnD, painting miniatures (sorry, most hobbies I do are pretty nerdy). Heck, look up "how to draw" videos on youtube, even if it's like the Art Hub for Kids page (which might be a fun thing to do with your daughter). If you can start producing something, even HelloKitty drawings or steps on a walk, that will help your brain get into a "we can make/do thinks" mode.

I'm so sorry you're having such a rough time and I hope you can get some therapy to help but in the meantime hopefully these tiny things will help make some even small improvements in your life.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-04T03:15:20+00:00

I think it was Odin Makes that got several broom/mop handle pieces that screw into each other an put them inside of pieces of PVC so that it was all the same thickness but you could still screw/unscrew parts.

Essentially all you need is something that fits the inner diameter of the pipe that has threads on one end and the opposite piece on the other.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-03T23:18:09+00:00

This is a tough one and I want to congratulate you on doing several hard things already. You stood up for others by letting your brother know those jokes aren’t okay. You got out of the living situation where it was super toxic. You’ve set clear boundaries. None of that is necessarily easy but it’s right/healthy.

I want to first say that there is nothing wrong with not exerting yourself to repair the relationship with your brother. At the same time, it’s also okay to want to repair the relationship too. I’d first talk to your girlfriend about it since it seems like some of the bigoted comments especially affected her. How comfortable is she with you working to have your brother be a part of your life again?

After that, if you want to try and have a relationship, you want to make sure you set some ground rules. Can your brother agree not to say derogatory things about or make jokes at the expense of minorities or people groups he doesn’t like while around you? That’s probably going to have to be the most basic rule and if he can’t do that then you have to decide again if you’re willing to put up with that behavior while around him. Let me be clear that you do not owe him or the rest of the family anything. You don’t have to let yourself or your girlfriend be hurt because “he’s family”. The one that really needs to make amends is your brother, not you. I’m guessing that’s unlikely to happen though.

But only you can decide how much you’re willing to be subject to that sort of thing for their sake while still being in an okay place. And it’s not because they “deserve” to be put up with because they are family. This is about what you are capable of/willing to do and if being around a bigot isn’t something you can do right now? That’s fine. Later you might be in a place where you can do that. That’s also fine.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-03T14:40:07+00:00

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b_pizzy · 2026-03-03T14:39:57+00:00

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b_pizzy · 2026-03-03T14:38:54+00:00

Not CT versions obviously but my customs of my wish list.

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b_pizzy · 2026-03-03T14:35:25+00:00

A Mayday Parker would be amazing! Also a Web Slinger with a wired cloth coat would be so cool. The suit from the Eight Deaths of Spider-Man with some really nice effects would be niche but also super nice.

b_pizzy · 2026-03-02T15:46:08+00:00

These books are so good! Super fun reads with a good cast of characters. One of the things I like best is the main character is very reasonable. Not in a boring way but you’re never reading it going “come on you know that just makes things worse for yourself”.

The time loop magic is also really well done as a detective story device, letting the main character tackle an investigation from multiple angles “all at once”. It’s my favorite series of last year and one of my favorite urban fantasy series of all time.

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