I received many nice comments and messages regarding my review of the CJESIM ninja suits. I was a little surprised at the requests for a how-to write-up. Since I had to order more suits, it seems like the right time to go through the process with you guys.
One of the best parts of CJ’s work is that there are many options for color and fit. For the ninja I’m working on today, I’ll be using the red male ninja suit in the “small Marvel Legends” size. For the base body, I’m going once again with the Mezco One:12 Previews Exclusive Daredevil. My preference for this particular base stems from its size; lack of shoulder, elbow, and knee pads; and the occasionally low price. I’ve managed to score several via Ebay, Amazon, etc. for under $50. The red suits obviously are a great choice for Cobra or Hand Ninjas, but the black and white are super sharp too. The male uniforms all have about the same cut, so any will work pretty closely to what I have here.
For tools, it’s a pretty light list, but here’s what I recommend: a good pair of fabric shears and/or a seam ripper, some liquid super glue (possibly some fabric glue), and a heat gun or hair dryer (for removing parts). You’ve heard Robo espouse the benefits of the heat gun before, but since we’re dealing with fabric here, you’ll want to be extra careful with its use — low head and a good distance from the figure. The CJ suit comes with some elastics for the arm and leg wraps, as well as the belt and to rig a sheath. I’m just going to be using Daredevil’s gear for a more modern look, naturally you can apply them however you see fit.
First step is to get the red and yellow off of Daredevil. For the red unitard, I have only really come up with one good way, and that’s to cut a shoulder strap right on the seam. Anything else just destroys the poor thing.
Once that’s freed up, we can open up the bodysuit on the back seam. Just look for the stitch holding the sides together and grab it with the seam ripper. Or just cut that bad boy off. The belt will usually separate behind the pocket with a little pressure, or just a little heat will open it up, and then you can remove it easily. I also remove the leg strap, since it may interfere with the way the pants flare later on. Now that we’ve opened the body suit, both slide off pretty easy, we just need to …
… yep, heat up those gloves and boots. The gloves are the hardest part, due to the wrist peg and forearm cuff being separate pieces. Work the heat on those cuffs slowly, not getting too close, and as they begin to flex, you should be able to pop that wrist joint out of the forearm and the cuff should come along with. Again, sloooow. The only instances of breakage I see on Mezco figures is this wrist peg, so make sure it’s pliable before you pull.
The boots are much easier, not really different than your average ML boot system. Just heat and pop. Then the uniform will slide right off.
Now we can get the ninja outfit going. I usually start with the pants. They’ll slide on with no problems. Let them ride high on the figure; we’ll adjust those later.
Now here’s the part that makes me cringe every time: Daredevil’s shoulders and arms are just too big for the “hoodie” portion of the uniform. So, I’m going to cut those sleeves off. This is a bit different than cutting the sleeves off your t-shirt, in fact you’ll want to do the opposite of your “V” cut I’m showing — instead of cutting outward from the bottom, your going to cut inward, or as straight to the seam as you can. You might need to open those arm holes up a little, so getting into the sides is not terrible either. And again, we’ll get that cleaned up and hidden when we’re done. Depending on the look, now might be the time to bust out some glue and secure the halves of the shirt to the front of his chest, to cover the peg hole in the center, or to line up the hood where you want it.
Once all that fitting is handled, we can get the boots and gloves back on. For the boots, push the pants up to where the shin pegs are just visible, and then heat and re-apply the boots, with just the cuff of the pants tucked in. With the boots back in place, we can adjust and bunch the pants more appropriately, flaring them at the knees and so on.
On the gloves, we need to heat those forearms again, then the cuffs. Basically, all three parts need to go together at about the same time — cuff on the forearm, then peg (mushroom side going in) through both.
With all the parts back in place, we can get this guy put together. You probably noticed Daredevil’s very yellow neck on top of an otherwise flesh-tone body. Of course, you could always heat this up and swap it with another neck, but thanks to the mask in the CJ kit, it’s not overly necessary. I just set the mask up on the unmasked head, keeping it across the nose, and then pop the head onto the joint, letting the bottom of the mask cover the neck. Piece o’ cake.
Now we can fit the vest. It’s a fair amount roomier than the shirt, so it goes on Daredevil without modification. Just get any excess material tucked in, and everything folded and set where you want it. To secure it, I’m just going to reattach that Daredevil belt, re-gluing the peg. And with that, it’s done!
Weaponry for mine comes from that old ToyBiz Ninja Wolverine, since it fits in the existing holster, but obviously you can do as you like there. Once he’s got some sharp objects, you can call this one ready to fight your impending Deadpool or Wolverine!
Thanks again to CJESIM for getting me some more suits so quickly. You can find them easily for sale here, and of course check back for future sets, which I’ll do my best to review as well!
