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[joss789]

Be careful with the Firebat, the plastic is thinner than figure.  The first I tried melted.  The other one i did was not perfect,  plastic does not absorb the dye evenly.  It was good, but not perfect.  I paint it black!  I didn't remember if i use 3 or 4 boxes of powder.  It was very concentrate.   I tried two boxes, it was not enough.

[morgardee]

Ah, there's the problem. The plastic you are trying to dye won't take the dye.

A lot of plastic won't take the rit dye. If it could then it would have been easier and cheaper to keep the Hailstorm from 2010 convention set "in house" and not shipped off to a professional to be painted.

Your Firebat idea won't work. The plastic won't take it. You also run the risk of warping the plastic.

Same goes for the bodies of the 25th anniversary figures. The arms and legs are softer rubber and will take in the dye much easier then the bodies. I ran into major issues with the coyote trooper back in 2011. At first I couldn't find a dark brown so tan was the best option. I did 1 figure in tan and the whole figure came out perfect. When moving forward with production I tried to do a batch of 10 and ran into huge issues. The arms would take the dye but not the bodies due to the increase in volume. I tried more dye powder but had no luck.

This is why I had to hand paint all the Coyote Troopers by hand and that ultimately resulted in me pulling a muscle in my neck / head giving me daily migraine headaches and why my doctor told me "Dave, stop painting army men". After about 1 month and $350 of Physio I was right as rain, but that was the main reason I had to stop production on my end for the 2011 set.

Back on topic, it's easier to go black. You can cook them longer in black and what doesn't take you can paint. Just keep the temperature low when you do it or else parts will warp and keep your ARAH bodies attached.

25th anniversary are harder to pull off so it's easier to stick with ARAH figures.

I've never had a vehicle rit dye job complete successfully, or at least nothing I was willing to post on line with the exception of rit dying a vehicle you chromed. Chromed vehicles LOVE rit dye. Look at all those SNAKEs I made back in the day.

Martin, if you really want to make something cool I suggest getting a Firebat chrome and then rit dying it. If I were still in the game I would chrome a Firebat and then rit dye it blue. That would look professional and be something I don't think anyone else has done.

Good luck!

      

[martin-montreal]

Your Firebat idea won't work.

Now you tell me  I tried today with the Firebat... with powder this time. I used 2 boxes! I first wash each part with acetone. Than I put everything in Rit dye. Everything became Black in few minutes!! I was very happy!!! Then, at the end of all my work, I bring inside all my parts and I wash them under cold water. All the extra Rit dye went out, leaving my Firebat... red  so, it didn't work at all... again. Even the canopy... mine is now smoked yellow  . You read it well, I used 2 boxes of BLACK powder Rit dye and got a smokey yellow canopy 

Question:

• Am I missing a step between the moment where I take out the parts from my pot and the moment I rinse them in cold water? I know when you Rit dye fabric, you can use vinegar to help ink stick to the fabric. Or, should I wait a bit, so the plastic become colder before putting it under water?
• Even my Tele-Viper is not coming Black. He is now... dark purple... 

It's easier to go black.

I'm only doing Black at the  moment.

You can cook them longer in black and what doesn't take you can paint. Just keep the temperature low when you do it or else parts will warp and keep your ARAH bodies attached.

I put apart all the arms, legs, torso, etc.

Questions:

• One torso part melted a bit. Is it why I should have keep all the parts together?
• How long should I expect to keep the part in he pot? I mean, is it minutes? hours?

25th anniversary are harder to pull off so it's easier to stick with ARAH figures.

I'm only doing ARAH.

I've never had a vehicle rit dye job complete successfully, or at least nothing I was willing to post on line with the exception of rit dying a vehicle you chromed. Chromed vehicles LOVE rit dye. Look at all those SNAKEs I made back in the day.

Martin, if you really want to make something cool I suggest getting a Firebat chrome and then rit dying it. If I were still in the game I would chrome a Firebat and then rit dye it blue. That would look professional and be something I don't think anyone else has done.

That might be the route... but also will make cost jumping 

Good luck!

Thanks!!

[morgardee]

When I say keep the body together I mean just the torso. When I do do an ARAH figure it's broken down into 7 pieces:

1) Head (usually doesn't get dye unless in a full helmet)
2) right arm
3) Left arm
4) right leg
5) left leg
6) Torso (front and back still together)
7) Crotch

Yes you could take the legs apart but that gives it more chance to warp the thighs and if that happens they won't go back together again. Your best to keep the knees, elbows and shoulder pegs all pointed straight up then half way through your dye job remove them from the pot and bend them all as far as you can. Otherwise you'll have void in your dye job. Make sure you wear some latex gloves.

Usually you can get your dye job done in 10 - 20 mins. Always start low and build it up. I don't recommend going in hot and fast. You'll get loose fitting pieces if you do that and possibly have the pot boil over and leave rit dye all over your stove. It gets messy fast.

Answer to your question about missing a step. Typically I would do the dye job in black, pull them from the pot and rinse them off with cold water then put them in a larger plastic pot with a bit of salt in it. I read once that it helps the dye take. No idea if it helps or not but it hasn't hurt anything.

Also, not ever piece of plastic will take the dye. That is what happened to your Tele-Viper.

[martin-montreal]

Also, not ever piece of plastic will take the dye. That is what happened to your Tele-Viper.

You mean... "not every"?

But.. but... but... the 1985 Tele Viper is :

• ARAH style
• a fig (not a vehicle)
• Blue going Black (so from a "lighter" to a darker colour)

It respects all the rules!! My plan was perfect:

• Getting the TV Black (except the arms and heads)
• I was getting the arms from Pathfinder (not a bad idea  )
• I was getting the head from 1989 PP Tele-Viper (so the neck and around his head was already black... I just needed to paint the yellow)

Someone was successful Rit dying a 1985 Tele-Viper?

[morgardee]

You mean... "not every"?

Boo! Spelling / grammar checking me when I rush through these posts in order to help you with your project negates my desire to help. 

[martin-montreal]

Ha! ha!

Would you like to try Rit dye a 1985 Tele-Viper (legs, chest and waist)?

[morgardee]

Ha! ha!

Would you like to try Rit dye a 1985 Tele-Viper (legs, chest and waist)?

I don't have any plans to rit dye anytime in the near future to be honest. I got bored with seeing everything dyed black. That's not to say I won't ever do it again, same as chrome. never say never and all that. I'm just enjoying the simple things like painting.

I've gone "back to basics" lately and produced some pretty decent stuff in my spare time. One of these days I'll get out my camera and update my customs.

[latinjoe22]

Would you like to try Rit dye a 1985 Tele-Viper (legs, chest and waist)?

You're not giving up so easily are you? 

And what kind of question is that? We all know that Morg doesn't have to try. He just does it....because He's the CHEF  .

My advice or reminder, don't give up. Every customizer has to make mistakes sometime. And thanks to those mistakes, you become closer each time to becoming an expert    If you take the easy road, you will never truly understand the limitations of rit dye, even if you understand the principles of it. Practice makes perfection. So take all the time to enjoy it, even if you don't have much available time to give to it, eventually, you will become master of your domain... .

[martin-montreal]

I tried twice... and I can try again and again and again...

I'm probably doing something wrong... or these vintage parts can't take Rye dye... or Rit dye change their formula so it won't work anymore. If someone want to Rit dye a TV (torso, waist and legs), I will buy it. In fact, I want to know if the problem is the plastic or me. If it's the plastic, then I will know I'm not doing this wrong.