GOLDMINE! The GI Joe Wiki

There's an entire wiki devoted to customizing the 1:12 GI Joe figures! That'll be mighty helpful for Project Musa. There are interviews with a number of customizers who give tips and details on their methods, a FAQ, tutorials on EVERYTHING. A must-see. The main site is great too, with an active forum, pix of members' creations, etc.

There's a whole page of links on customizing.

This page on casting parts has some interesting suggestions for both flexible and rigid casting plastics.

Sculpting Eyeballs

Good idea: when sculpting a face out of polymer clay you intend to cast later, put glass beads in where the eyes will be, and sculpt folds of clay over for eyelids, etc. This way, when you cast the face, the eyes will be perfectly smooth and easy to paint.

Found here.

Source for Sulfur-Free Clay

Inexpensive sulfur-free clay can be found at Walmart in the craft section. It's marked on the back "sulfur-free". Whew!

Tip On Type of Soap to Wash Figures In

According to the fine folks at Smooth-On, you'll want to wash your figures before painting them, using Cascade dishwashing gel. Apparently it's highly alkalai, which is good.

Tutorial on How To Cast Heads

http://www.ironcowprod.com/features/molding.html
Nice tutorial on how to cast heads in silicone, including a recommended resin I hadn't heard of: Alumilite. (They have a starter kit for $15)

The Alumilite page also has great photo tutorials on how to use their products, including how to tint the plastic and how to make slush molds. This stuff sets up quickly, so might be good for some particular applications.

Elsewhere on the Iron Cow site, there are tutorials on decal application, painting your figure chrome (!), headswapping, great tips on details such as belts and holsters, comparisons of MagicSculpt and Kneadatite, a nice section that's easy to overlook on Lady Deathstrike which details cutting two figures apart and joining one's top to another's bottom (make sure to also read this tutorial for how to apply paint), a GREAT painting tute, and some good ideas about making capes and whatnot with clear vinyl that's available at fabric stores.

Smooth-ON Silicone Casting Tutorials

The fine folks at Smooth-On have some *great* video tutorials.

Here's the site with the inspiring tutorials:
http://www.smooth-on.com/index.html

Looks like the pourable starter kit is the way to go:
http://www.smooth-on.com/Getting-Started/c4/index.html

Try the second video on this page for a start:
http://www.smooth-on.com/Home-Projects-and-/c1271/index.html
"Making a Simple Block Mold Using OOMOO® Silicone"

Various links for Customizing

http://www.customsbyjomo.com/
Great PDF tutorials on simulating fabric with kleenex, decal application, painting, and photography.

http://www.sportslizard.com/article2.php
Sports-related, but a good general guide to sculpting with air-dry clay and decal application.

http://www.megomuseum.com/custom/resources/head.shtml
Megos! Includes good guides to sculpting heads, as well as Mego-specific items, including patterns for Mego costumes.
Also check out this particular tutorial, includes casting with Bondo:
http://www.megomuseum.com/custom/resources/submariner.shtml
And the head section is the BEST step-by-step guide to scultping heads I've seen yet!

http://www.michtoy.com/MTSCnewSite/supplies_folder/Sculpting/sculpting.html
guide to a number of different sculpture clays.

http://www.angelfire.com/mech/jinsaotome/GeneralGuide.html
Beginners guide to customizing, including boil-and-popping and torso cracking, and some good tips on how to make accessories and whatnot.

http://www.figurerealm.com/customtutorial.php
THE best guide to EVERYTHING. Make sure to check this out. Basics, sculpting, accessories, photography, tips on special effects, pegs, joints, EVERYTHING.

Two Tips On Casting: seam on the seal/ammonia in clay

Can't remember exactly where I read these, but they're good tips to keep in mind when casting:

1. instead of just making keys, like with hex nuts, also dig a trench around the first half of the mold. This will create a nice little seal all the way 'round the cavity, which will help keep the casting medium from seeping out of the mold.

2. when building up a layer of clay in making the first half of the mold, make sure the clay is ammonia-free, as ammonia inhibits the curing of silicone.

Another Good Silicone Mold Tutorial

http://www.instructables.com/id/Mold-Making---Mass-Casting-Complex-Parts-with-a-p/

Silicone Casting Tutorial

http://www.instructables.com/id/SW42OXAF9056ZY6/?InstructImages

Be sure to check step 7, with FAQs and additions. Includes links to where to purchase silicone and other molding materials.

Also, note that Instructables is a great source for all sorts of tutorials!

UPDATED LIST OF CUSTOMIZING PRODUCTS

Recommended paints:
Testors Gloss Clear Acrylic and Flat Clear Acrylic
Tamiya Acrylic
Testors Acrylic
Citadel Acrylic
Model Master Fantasy Acrylic
Krylon Grey Primer
Krylon Spray Flat White (use after primer)
Testor's Dullcote Spray (use after finished painting)
Plasti-Coat Vinyl Color (sold in auto shops for car seats--another Iron Cow recommendation)
Delta Ceramcoat's Medium Flesh (cheap stuff available at Michael's, but IronCow recommends it!)
A recommended sub for the Testors Dullcote is Krylon Spray Varnish in both gloss and matte formulations. It's marked "UV Resistant Clear Acrylic Coating"
Recommended casting/molding products:
Smooth-On 300 Casting Resin
Smooth-On Oomoo Molding Rubber
Smooth-On Ease Release Agent
(Smooth-On has an introductory package called the Pourable Starter Kit)
Alumilite, recommended by Iron Cow for casting action figure parts.

Recommended sculpting products:
Apoxie Sculpt
MagiSculp
Aves Fix-It SCULPT (make sure it's "SCULPT")

Recommended decal products:
Decal paper from Micromark
Liquid Decal (to keep ink from running)
Micro Sol (to soften decal so it fits contours)
Micro Set (makes decals stick better)

Miscellaneous
Styrene rods and strips, for adding details
Superglue
Kneadatite (bonds well and can be used to join things together; not good w/detail)
Parts box (keep ALL parts you ever get!)
tiny, tiny brushes