Soft Vinyl, or PVC models are gaining in popularity, and are available
now, not only as figures, but also in the mecha variety. Soft vinyl
models are very malleable, often poseable, and pretty forgiving,
because you can mend slight bends in it by dipping it into hot water,
and then remolding. Remember,
These pictures are courtesy of "New Type" magazine, and the text was translated by me so i fyou have a problem with something, just mail me ne. Also, Ben has inserted some personal opinions and such into the text, so in no way is this the direct trans
One of the first things to do with a soft vinyl model, right after checking to see that all the parts are there, is to clean up any dirt or dust from the parts. You can use some mild detergent and a toothbrush to do this, but careful to not rub off an entire part
At about 50 degrees celsius, the soft vinyl becomes very moldable. So if you see anything distorted with the model (for example, it got crushed in the box) then just heat it up a little and mold. Then wait for it to cool, and it will retain whatever shape you placed it in (note: some people prefer to *boil* soft vinyl parts. While this definitely works, using a hair dryer will give you more control over what part you want to soften--usually just the joint--and not the entire piece. In boiling, be very careful. Vinyl soup doesn't taste--or smell--very good)
Because vinyl is very soft compared to plastic or resin, you can go ahead and just snip off any excess bits off the model parts caused during the cast. Tamiya's short bladed scissors, or any regular craft scissors help in this. But don't don't get carried away since it *is* so soft. Fixing a cutting mistake is almost impossible somtimes, so make sure to establish good cut lines
In order to facilitate the fitting process, take a cutter to the parts that were meant to fit together and clean up the stuff your scissors couldn't get to. This helps the model fit much cleaner and better together. Try to take the excess off in one smooth stroke rather than chopping it up into bits and pieces. The model will look much better for this
