collapse

* Navigation

* User Info

 
 
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

* Who's Online

Author Topic: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!  (Read 2425 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Alipes

  • Trade Count: (+84)
  • Target Exclusive Winter Pony
  • ****
  • Posts: 552
    • View Profile
    • Custom and Diorama Photo Gallery
Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« on: February 02, 2016, 08:27:49 AM »
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Hey guys!  I hope everyone is doing well!  I've been working on these guys for a bit, and wanted to share what I've learned.  Be warned, lots of pics ahead!

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


I really love the articulated ponies (especially since I'm a sucker for dioramas, and they're so much more expressive with joints).  Here, you can see G1 -> G4 Tickle and Wind Whistler hanging out on a (not quite finished) diorama getting ready for a picnic!  :lol:

I've dismantled several different articulated ponies and taken lots of pictures, so the tutorial will be broken down into three major sections: Basic articulation (the non-"action" releases of Coco Pommel, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle -- I have taken one of each apart, and they are very similar, so I will be showing only one off), Action ponies (the kicking, etc. releases of Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack -- this tutorial shows Rainbow Dash, but Fluttershy should be the same.  I have not touched Applejack, but I'm sure she's quite different), and Re-tailing (this shows off the modifications I had to make to give them a new tail, as well as showing off how I put in a new tail, though the method is very similar to how I normally give a custom a new tail anyway).  Each section is under a spoiler tag, as there are quite a few pictures!

A couple last notes and warnings: this is definitely more complicated than normal customizing, so if you are new to customizing I would suggest starting with a couple of basic ponies before moving on to this.  The methods to get these guys apart involve very sharp objects, so please be careful and don't hurt yourself!  Lastly, I don't recommend trying to dye these guys -- the head and main leg pieces (as well as the wings if applicable) are all the traditional vinyl, but the body pieces and the joints are hard plastic.  As such, what would work on one would not work on another.  Someone more familiar with dyeing vinyl/hard plastics may have more to say about that than I do, but this guide doesn't cover that.

Basic Articulation

Spoiler
These guys are a little misleading -- the screw at the bottom makes you think they are simply held together with that, but the body is thoroughly glued together in addition. 

  • Carefully remove head from body -- my preference here is to soak the whole pony in boiling water until the vinyl has softened enough that I can safely pull the head off.  This may also help to weaken the glue involved, but be careful not to leave in water for too long, since there are metal parts involved.  The neck plug is attached to the top half of the body:

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • Unscrew the screw on the bottom and set aside (you will still want this).
  • Very delicately, use a sharp object like an X-Acto knife and start cutting along the seam lines on the sides of the body.  Under the tail, there is a long, flat seam, and it is easiest to start here.  There is a curved seam at the front that you will need to cut along as well, and depending on how thoroughly glued your pony is, you will also need to cut along the sides.  This is much easier to do with Coco Pommel than with the winged girls.  Gently cut deeper into these seam lines until you can wedge the pieces apart.  Here is an image of the body without appendages to give you an idea of where you want to cut:

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • Try to gently separate the pieces.  Chances are good that once you open the body, pieces will go flying everywhere, so be careful!  Here's a shot of what should greet you when you remove the top:

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • The tail is a bunch of cut hairs held together by a metal piece and lots of glue.  It is usually glued into the top half of the body, but it may have come loose and be easy to pull out.  If not, you can pull it out with a pair of hemostats (or dig it out in the case of big globs of glue).  This is a picture from Action Dash, but the tail is located in the same place on the basic ponies:

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • If you've done accidental damage to the seams trying to pry the pieces apart (which is very easy to do), this is a good point to take some sandpaper to gently sand the edges of the seams.  I like to start with 400 grit, then take some 1000 grit to finish.  If you've got visible spots still where you've sanded, a matte topcoat spray is a huge help to make things look nice.
  • At this point, add a new tail following the re-tailing section (or this can be simply glued into place using your own method, but I'm not a fan of that so I don't cover it here).
  • Re-fit the appendage plugs into the appropriate places -- the legs slot into the bottom half of the body, whereas the wings (if present) slot into the top.  It's easiest to reassemble by having the lower body spread out on a hard surface, then taking the top and gently press it back into place.
  • Hold the whole mess together and rescrew to keep everything where it should be.  :lol:

Action Ponies

Spoiler
These guys are definitely more complicated than their basic counterparts!  Lots of tiny bits, so make sure you don't have critters around to steal tiny springs and things while you work.  :lol:

  • Carefully remove head from body -- my preference here is to soak the whole pony in boiling water until the vinyl has softened enough that I can safely pull the head off.  This may also help to weaken the glue involved, but be careful not to leave in water for too long, since there are metal parts involved.  The neck plug is attached to the top half of the body (shot of basic plug, but action plug is the same):

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • Gently start working on the side seams -- there is a long seam on each side, a long seam on the back, and a curved seam on the front that will all need to be cut through.  When you've cut deep enough, you should be able to pry the pieces apart, but there are a bunch of tiny pieces, so be careful!  This should be the crazy sight that greets you:

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • Let's take a look at those pieces a bit more: there are the legs (of course), a piece I like to call the table, one that kind of looks like an airplane with a spring attached to it, and a little j-shaped doodad:

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • The tail is a bunch of cut hairs held together by a metal piece and lots of glue.  It is usually glued into the top half of the body, but it may have come loose and be easy to pull out.  If not, you can pull it out with a pair of hemostats (or dig it out in the case of big globs of glue).  This is a picture from Action Dash:

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • If you've done accidental damage to the seams trying to pry the pieces apart (which is very easy to do), this is a good point to take some sandpaper to gently sand the edges of the seams.  I like to start with 400 grit, then take some 1000 grit to finish.  If you've got visible spots still where you've sanded, a matte topcoat spray is a huge help to make things look nice.
  • At this point, add a new tail following the re-tailing section (or this can be simply glued into place using your own method, but I'm not a fan of that so I don't cover it here).
  • At this point, you can reassemble everything as it was, but I modify the inside a bit by removing a couple of pieces.  This actually helps to disable the "action" aspect somewhat and let her be treated more as a plain articulated pony (though you will still notice some quirks of the "action" when she is assembled).  Set aside the spring and the j-shaped doodad, as they will not be reinserted.  Fit the airplane piece back into the bottom half of the body (there is a slot that it fits in in the back):

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login


    Then fit the table over it (there are peg slots for it as well):

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login


    The back leg posts fit in under the table, and the front legs fit around the front of the airplane:

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • Reassembly will require glueing the top and bottom pieces together, so make sure you are 100% happy and that everything looks right before you do it.  There are some little pegs on the outer perimeter of the body that will temporarily hold it together, so I strongly suggest doing a test fit and making sure everything looks right (and the legs haven't been confused) before glueing.  I really like plastic cement for reassembly, because it actually melts the plastic a bit and you can use sandpaper to smooth out the seams quite a bit (or, if you get lucky, almost get rid of them!)

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Re-tailing Articulated Bodies

Spoiler
This actually covers part of my normal re-tailing method, but there are a few quirks specific to these bodies due to the strange shape and internal pieces.

  • If you're following along with one of the above guides, you should have a top body piece with no tail in it.  I like to take my hair, fold it in half, then add a zip tie.  Then, to hold the halves together, I add another zip tie.  For G4's, I like to use 2mm ones (I bought a bag of 1000 from Amazon for $5, so these guys will last forever!  :lol:)  The "top" of your tail would look like this:

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • Cut the tails of the zip ties off, then prep your other supplies.  For this, I use a pair of hemostats, the tail, and my homemade re-tailing tool (it is a brass rod bent in half, then bent into a bit of a curve):

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • Insert the re-tailing tool into the hole for the tail:

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • Slide the closed end further through the hole, then insert your tail into the gap in the tool:

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • Pull the tool back through the tail hole, dragging the tail with it:

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login


    Important note:The interior is very small, and the hole as well, so be careful how big you make your tail.  In my experience, the tails end up being a little thin, but there just isn't space for a thick, bushy tail.
  • Pull the tail through, then really cram the plastic zip tie part tightly against the interior, if you are re-tailing a basic articulated pony.  If you are retailing an action pony, you will probably need to pull it in further and fit the zip tied part up next to one of the wings, as space is even tighter here.

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • If you're making a basic articulated pony, you will need to cut the back tab down somewhat to make room for the tail:

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • Continue along with the appropriate section for reassembly!

    visitors can't see pics , please register or login
  • Alternatively, you could glue a new tail into place, but I'm not a fan of doing so, so I don't cover that in this tutorial.

Offline ringwraith10

  • Lake Pirate Pony
  • Trade Count: (+18)
  • Rapunzel Pony
  • *****
  • Posts: 3611
  • Gender: Female
  • Barnacle is my first mate!
    • View Profile
    • Video Games as Literature
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2016, 08:57:19 AM »
Wow, thanks for the detailed tutorial and exhibit! I don't think I'm going to try to customize any of these, but I'm always interested to see the insides of unusually built ponies like these so I know how they work. :) Your own customs are gorgeous, as well. :D

Offline gabumon

  • Daddy Sweet Celebrations
  • Trade Count: (+92)
  • Rapunzel Pony
  • *****
  • Posts: 4004
  • Gender: Male
  • mostly papercrafting
    • View Profile
    • Netroids
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2016, 10:32:11 AM »
wow!  So much good info!  Thank you!!

and your customs look great!

Offline zombienixon

  • Slaughterhouse II
  • Trade Count: (+11)
  • Lil Sweetcake Sister Pony
  • ****
  • Posts: 1088
  • Gender: Male
  • Pink Pony Addict
    • View Profile
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2016, 05:08:36 PM »
The Action Ponies are a little new to me. It looks like moving the wings together activates the mechanism, but what does it do? Does it make the front legs move? And are those magnets in the front leg joints?

Cool teardown, I like seeing how these work, it's actually fairly intricate for what it is. And I love your pictures, these look like a lot of fun to take photos of.

Offline sd_dreamcrystal

  • Trade Count: (+50)
  • MOC Mimic
  • *****
  • Posts: 5402
  • Gender: Female
  • Reach far beyond the boundaries of imagination.
    • View Profile
    • DreamCrystalArt @ DeviantART
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2016, 05:34:20 PM »
Is that.. magnets in the front legs oO?
My DeviantArt, why not drop by and take a look!

Offline pyrodarknessanny

  • Trade Count: (+45)
  • Mommy & Baby Pony
  • ****
  • Posts: 1878
  • Gender: Female
  • banannas
    • View Profile
    • Pyrodarknessanny's ko-fi
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #5 on: February 03, 2016, 03:52:31 AM »
helpfull!

Offline Alipes

  • Trade Count: (+84)
  • Target Exclusive Winter Pony
  • ****
  • Posts: 552
    • View Profile
    • Custom and Diorama Photo Gallery
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #6 on: February 03, 2016, 07:33:10 AM »
Thanks for the comments, guys!  They certainly look like magnets in the front legs, but I was never really able to tell.  If they are, they're very weak ones!

Offline BethMcBeth

  • Trade Count: (+39)
  • Scribbles Pony
  • ****
  • Posts: 1285
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
    • www.BethMcBeth.com
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #7 on: February 03, 2016, 03:23:01 PM »
So awesome!!!! Thank you tons for all your hard work and for sharing! Amazing!! Love that Wind Whistler!! :D

Offline kaoskat

  • Trade Count: (+224)
  • Thailand Tornado Mountain Boy
  • ******
  • Posts: 22270
  • Gender: Female
  • Happy & Odd OT & Customs Mod
    • View Profile
    • kaoskat's Customs FB page
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #8 on: February 03, 2016, 05:56:36 PM »
Those customs are great! Thanks for the tutorial!
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

kaoskat's Customs FB Page, please like!Commissions open & custom trades OPEN!
kaoskat's Sales :hamster::hamster::hamster::hamster::hamster::hamster::hamster::hamster::hamster::hamster:

Offline Emfen

  • Trade Count: (+21)
  • Bay Breeze Pony
  • ****
  • Posts: 795
  • Scented Moonlight Pony
    • View Profile
    • MLW Profile
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #9 on: February 03, 2016, 06:07:48 PM »
Maybe I'll get an articulated pony or two, these pictures makes them look so much better!
~✿~| No longer actively collecting. |~✿~

Offline SunPony

  • Trade Count: (+49)
  • G3 Prototype Pony
  • *****
  • Posts: 2783
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #10 on: February 03, 2016, 08:23:06 PM »
Wow, thanks for posting this!  I think the articulated ponies are really cool but I wasn't thinking of customizing one...this makes it seem do-able  :biggrin:
Thanks to Shimmlight for the new avatar image  :biggrin:

Offline Firecloud

  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Mommy & Baby Pony
  • ****
  • Posts: 1590
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #11 on: March 04, 2016, 09:10:17 AM »
Woow thanks so much!! maybe ill make  one!! AWESOME!!
Mexican Pony Boy

Offline PJSparkles

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Prom Queen Sweetheart Sister Pony
  • ***
  • Posts: 240
  • Gender: Female
  • Here comes PJ Sparkles!
    • View Profile
    • (A) Tumblr :)
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #12 on: March 05, 2016, 10:36:55 AM »
thank you for making this tutorial! I don't think I'd attempt a custom of these (as im a bit clumsy and would easily break the tiny bits :P) but it's always great to see tutorials for the gimmicky ponies like BnGs and BBEs, since they're so tricky!  ^.^

Offline Aitsuki

  • Trade Count: (+8)
  • Mommy & Baby Pony
  • ****
  • Posts: 1764
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #13 on: March 08, 2016, 02:53:28 PM »
I can NOT get my Coco open... I might just need to get a new one, which makes me sad.
My 3DS Friend Code (Playing Pokemon Moon): 2938-6334-2129

Offline Alipes

  • Trade Count: (+84)
  • Target Exclusive Winter Pony
  • ****
  • Posts: 552
    • View Profile
    • Custom and Diorama Photo Gallery
Re: Articulated G4 Ponies Tutorial!
« Reply #14 on: March 14, 2016, 03:13:26 PM »
I can NOT get my Coco open... I might just need to get a new one, which makes me sad.

Aww, I'm sorry to hear that!  Some of them seem pretty easy to pry open, and some much harder.  You really have to jam your cutting tool into the seam line, then kind of wedge it open.  My Tickle custom ended up with some pretty bad damage to the plastic under her tail in the process, because she definitely didn't want to cooperate!

 

SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal