» Custom Head sculpts for GI JOE Dolls

It all starts with a cast of liquid latex rubber. It's better to apply a thin even layer at the beginning. Watch out for bubbles. Allow each layer (about 6 or seven) to dry completely.

After your mold is done, cast the head using casting resin (I used a quick setting white polyester). If you didn't take care of the bubbles in the first step, now is the time to fill in those little holes with some epoxy putty. Sand down any imperfections and adjust the size of neck and drill your connections for the body.

Using an air brush, apply a few coats of primer (Testor's light tan). I also used a brush while the paint was still wet mixing a few reds and skin tone inks (acrylics).

All paints used are flat, to avoid that "shining" flesh appearance. You can also use oil based paints. "Model Master" makes a nice skin tone enamel.

Then the fun begins. The eyes are probably the hardest part. Remember, you can always start over. For the beard I used powdered dry pastels (black in this case).

Mount your new head onto an old body and you have yourself a brand new character. More to come!