“To rectify past blunders is impossible, but we might profit by the experience of them.”
-George Washington
This was as far as I could get.
Like most minimate fans, after I saw pictures of the Minimates Max Sentinel statue, I wanted a fully articulated version. About a year ago I decided to pony up the money and give it a shot. It couldn’t be that hard, right?
I had hoped the statue would be a fully functional minimate that was simply glued together so DST could stay within their contract with Marvel. This was definitely not the case. I belive it was originally created as an articulated minimate, but when the resin cast was created, the joints ceased to exist, and were simply surface detail. My plan was to cut the statue into pieces, and add articulation back in using different methods.
I used my dremel tool to start cutting away at the statue. The first thing I learned is that dremeling through resin is a nasty process, as it is extremely dusty. I had to use a face mask because the air was so thick with dust, and I even had proper ventilation. It was hard to see what and where I was cutting.
The second thing I learned was that the resin was very brittle. While I was cutting apart the elbow joint, the piece broke apart above the joint. I would have to secure this later and patch it with some milliput.
The third and final thing I learned was that there is a metal skeleton underneath the resin that is 1/4″ thick. I busted a few different dremel tips trying to cut through it. I bought a new diamond cutting wheel, and after 15 minutes of hot sparks spraying in my face (always wear goggles kids!) I was able to cut through one part of the skeleton. There were still many more cuts to be made through the metal. This was the largest wheel available for the dremel, and it wouldn’t even reach the metal in some key points on the figure. I tried using a coping saw and a hacksaw, but these would not cut through the metal. I was basically stuck.
So there I was, covered in resin dust, surrounded by broken dremel tips, with a handful of Sentinel pieces. I can’t glue him back together, because so much was lost while cutting him up. I can’t finish him without some seriously expensive tools. So what should I do with him now? I am thinking of making a diorama of a damaged sentinel lying in pieces in some rubble, but still trying to attack. What do you think? Any other ideas?
Wow. They…uh, really made this difficult. Thanks for experimenting with this so we don’t have to! 😀
And actually, I’d say your diorama idea is great, and your best bet in salvaging that figure. I’d even go so far as to say chew up the joint parts (where the legs connecting to the crotch, the arms to the shoulders, etc.) a bit more, repaint them with some dark, metallic colors, add some wiring and “mechanical-looking” junk, and make him look torn apart. You know, like the technological insides are being shown after his legs were torn off by the Juggernaut, or something. Even add some metallic dusting to it.
It’d be a really cool juxtaposition of gritty and realistic, and colorful and blocky. Just a thought.
OUCH!!! That is so… A BD Sentinel is your best bet. I hope you’re able to get another sometime. You took one for the team dude. I handle my Sentinel and Galactus like new-borns.
Wow! I was wondering if someone was going to try to unfreeze the joints on one of those statues. I had thought along the same lines that it was just a standard ‘mate with the joints glued or something, but it makes more sense from a potential lawsuit standpoint to not go that route.
Of course, I went my own route in trying to articulate one of the “maximates” but the project is far from ready to be shown.
I had also considered trying this myself at some point. Damn shame that he can’t be posed.
Huh. Well, I thought about trying this. Glad I didn’t now. Though I probably have some tools that are better equipped, which I am about to suggest to you.
You might try finishing this off with either some high end wood working tools or some masonry tools. A scroll saw might do wonders on those joints. Personally, looking over your work, I think it’s still salvageable. Though, that is indeed your call.
Something else I just thought of, you might try re-casting the mold parts (head, torso, ect) and working the molds into your OWN version. It’d be a lot more work, but it’s guaranteed to be articulated.
That’s not a bad idea, Dinobot. The materials for molding and casting would be a hefty investment, but then I could make as many Maximates as I wanted.
Daaaaaaaaaaaamn…ouch, dude. Ouch.
(And, I’D buy one from ya!! ~_^)
Heck, I’d buy one too. I thought of doing this too. But the whole recasting thing is something I always thought of.
omg i tried the exact same thing with my sentinel…