Statue Repair Question!

[Magdaddy]

Hey Guys, I'm fairly new to the site. Ive been checking site out alot for the last few months but have'nt really posted.

I had a really bad crash putting together a new display case about 2 years ago, a few of my statues were badly damaged. Bowen Dr. Doom, Fathom, witchblade, Batman Strikes Again, Hush Catwoman & the most painfull of the bunch was my Hush Batman.

I was able to repair most of them with epoxy and touch them up with paint, but after spending so much time on the site, ive been inspired to go back and repair them much more accurately.

The Batman was always the most painful, the tips of the cape broke off in about 3 or 4 spots and one of his ears broke off, wish I had take some pics (before & after). Last nite I finally finished repairing and think you would really have to study it to find any flaws.

Finally my question, I used some stuff to repair the cracks that i got from a modeling store, comes in a little tube, but Im not really to crazy about it. In the cavetroll repair sticky the guy mentioned some kind of aves, and when I looked online, there were a few different kinds. Does anyone know or recommend what exactly to use to fill cracks and even re-sculpt those missing gaps, thanx...
Doug

[Vince-Vell]

See this thread here about Aves Apoxie Sculpt


http://www.statueforum.com/showthread.php?t=55526

Aves Apoxie Sculpt - Soft and very workable but sorta falls/gravity if you sculpt thin and heavy. Depends on where and how much you use.

Aves Fix-It Sculpt - Stuff is amazing, very workable. Doesnt fall, keeps it shape etc...

You mix A and B together (equal amounts) got about a hour or so work time. Over night dries hard as a rock, can sand it, dremel it etc... Prime and paint.

[collector49]

So if you use the Aves stuff on a crack in a statue, are you guaranteed that the crack won't reappear? I am thinking of all those statues with broken/cracked ankles.

[Vince-Vell]

I had a issue with broken ankles on my Magus custom i just completed. Filling in the crack on a area like that with the weight of the upper body wont work.

What i did was dremel around that crack to make it bigger, and dremeled lines like a zipper effect. Then i filled it in with the aves and didnt have any problems after that.

But if you plan to fill in a crack as a patch, then paint over it. They might reappear if handled carelessly with moving it around and in time.

But if its a crack where the weight of the statue isnt on it, aves and a paint over will work just fine.

[RickDTM]

If you're concerned about the crack re-appearing, you might look into re-enforcing the joint by pinning. Probably the easiest way in this case would be to glue the joint together, drill upwards through the bottom of the heel, then glue a piece of coat hanger wire or brass rod into the hole. This will help make the ankle joint much sturdier.

Then you can repair the crack w/ Aves and not worry about it cracking ever again.