Tutorials
Need a Hand?
I’ve had a lot of requests for how to add articulation to hand casts after posting on Instagram. So I thought I would write a quick tutorial.
Need:
- Hand casts
- Fodder hands – or joints that would be the right size – i.e. a super large hand for an alien may require a larger joint piece.
First, take a scalpel and whittle down the fodder hand until a small amount of plastic surrounds the joint. I usually try to cut mine into a wedge shape. Cut as close as you dare, closer the better. If you cut or remove too much, don’t fret, it’s still usable but makes things a bit more fiddly.
Next, with a Dremel and small bit, cut and grove into the hand and Dremel out the inside, basically making a hollow eggshell. This needs to be deep enough and wide enough to take the joint you cut down.
Next step…
Option A – using a hot glue gun, pump a small amount of warm – not hot – glue and push the join into the hollow hand.
Option B – using epoxy putty, fill the hole and push the joint into the hole. Once cured, a tiny amount of super glue may be needed to attach them, depending on the epoxy used.
***If you have removed too much plastic from the fodder hand and exposed the joint’s disc, avoid this area with glue and keep the joint moving to reduce the risk of the glue welding the joint.
Then taking a small bit of epoxy putty, blend the sculpt around the joint. And there we go, full articulation added to a cast.
You can take this further by swapping the joints around, i.e. from an up and down motion to a roll of the dice on the hands. Great for gunslingers and swordsmen. For this, just cut the groove in the opposite direction.
This technique also works on elbows and anywhere else you could imagine— using the same steps.
See examples below. I swapped the joint direction on a Mon Cala hand from up and down to dice roll and added a joint to the elbow of a cast arm.
I hope this helps. If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer.
