Using Sculpey on a Vinyl Toy

Intro: Using Sculpey on a Vinyl Toy

This piece was DLi$h's first attempt at working with sculpey on his toys. Looking for a new way to manipulate the custom toy 3D medium, the KidRobot Munny provided the ideal platform to make a dry run at it. This tutorial will cover some of the basic procedures with sculpting onto vinyl so that you can work on your toy designs in 3D.

You can also view this tutorial directly on Delicious Drips.http://deliciousdrips.com/sculpeyonvinyltoy/

Materials:
1. Super Sculpey (available for around $11 at an art supply store)
2. DIY Toy (you can purchase a bunch of different types at Delicious Drips)http://store.deliciousdrips.com/collections/d-i-y-2
3. Oven/Heat gun/hair drier
4. Varnish (optional)
5. Acrylic paint
6. Paint brushes
7. Dremel tool (optional)

STEP 1:

1. Toy Design: On this particular design, DLi$h wanted to remove the face to make an enormous mouth. That was the only feature that was for sure going to be part of this toy&for now.

2. Get your grind on: To remove the vinyl that resides where the mouth should be, DLi$h used a Dremel with a router bit to carve the mouth out. Once the vinyl was removed, he finished it with a sanding bit to get all the excess shavings off.

3. Sculpey Time: DLi$h took a big chunk of Sculpey and then stretched it out to make an oval disk. He then rammed the disk into the Munny's mouth and formed it so that it wrapped around the eges of the toy to create lips. Once the lips were in place, he sealed the edges of lips to form a nice tight vacuum fit on the toy. That's one of the coolest things about Super Sculpey; It doesn't require any kind of adhesive. it basically holds to the toy by itself. Be sure to seal the edges of the Sculpey onto the toy so that the Sculpey has lots of surface area on the actual vinyl. It should almost create a suction to the toy surface.

STEP 2:

4. Getting Half Baked: We say half-baked not with reference to that stoner movie, but because when you bake your toy, you should do it around 200 degrees Fahrenheight. This is actually lower than the specified temp on the Super Sculpey package, but this is done so that the vinyl doesn't burn. If you use a heat gun, always make sure that you're moving it around the toy so that you don't burn anything. Keep it around 6-8 inches from the toy at all times. We found that Sculopey actually cures quite well with just a 10-12 minute heat cycle.

5. Chill out: Let the toy come back to room temperature on its own. You should take this time to clean your hands, eat some yummy food, get a drink, and check your email.

STEP 3:

6. Color him silly: Once your toy is cooled, you can tap the sculpture to make sure that all the sculpted areas have properly cured. It should be noticeably harder than before. If there are any uneven edges or cracks, patch them up or sand them down before painting. You will have to apply heat again if you apply more sculpey to the toy. When you paint him, be cautious that paint will not hold on the sculpey as well as it does on vinyl.

7. Varnish (Optional): If you like to protect the paint surface while also getting that bling glow to your toy, spray some clear coat varnish on there. I've found that this Grumbacher Spray on varnish has been really good. I know the paint on varnishes can work well too, but out of expedience I always go spray on and I'm totally happy with the results. If I'm not happy, I just put on MORE!!

Note: Don't put TOO much varnish on. Like all spray paints, they always work better when you do thin coats.

I know you may be wondering how I did those Stitches on the head. Well fortunately I will be making an entirely separate tutorial specifically on the stitches, so stay posted!

Comments

[OgnjenK1]

I learned that we can bake Munny, from this tutorial, thanks for that :)
The only think I would recommend is taking the head of and baking just the head if you do not have sculpey on the body. Since head and arms are removable, that sounds like a logical thing.

[CheerySquish]

Hey Ddrips, your tutorial is the only vinyl toy design I found on this app, but it's awesome! Not sure if your even still active but if you are I'm attempting to teach myself to sorta do something like this, I read on a munny site, that if you use sculpy you need to also put primer on it so the paint stays on.. If your around let me know, cuz I've got some q I would like to ask a real person ? thanks Sarah

[elizabeast]

I was just wondering if you need to sand the area where the sculpey attaches to the toy, to give it something to hold onto? Or will it just go on the plain plastic?

I was thinking of trying one, but my guy needs big hair =)

I was gonna try to make Moss from "the IT Crowd" with his funky fro

[ryanninjasheep]

i want my munny!!!! :(

[creator 1]

If those 100's are too much for you to handle, I would be more than happy to help take them off your hands for you.

[volquete]

cool!

[TimTheScarecrow]

this is so awesome! those stitches are the best! good work

[Lancer G]

This is an excellent Instructable! Good job, and I cant wait for more! Definitely trying this!

[carowilk]

That's incredible! My kids and I are definitely going to try this one! Great 'ible!

[Tape-structable]

I love the back of the head. Came out great.

[mbudde]

This is really cool. Now I've just got to order a munny.

[SinAmos]

CUte.

[superman2009]

wow whats with all those 100 dollar bills in the picture of the toy on your coffee table?!?! haha

[DeliciousDrips]

oh it's cuz we're starving artist and we wanted to be ironic.... No really though, we used them to do a photo shoot about being a mass production artist.

http://deliciousdrips.com/startingyourowntoyline/

[ikoda]

To show off that he's loaded.

[phapboy]

this is sweet!

[Doctor What]

Wow! Fantastic job! I am beginning to love your projects!

[xwx]

shaweet!

[wilcurt]

Wow. Wonderful job! I just may have to do this.