For Phicen’s TPE material, saturated colors are best achieved using oil pastel. The ideal color match to classic Hulk is found in Staedtler’s packs of 25 or 48 or jumbo 24, which I recommend for its ample size. Using a regular size pastel, I nearly ran out before finish! If not Staedtler, choose a high quality brand that claims its waterproof or water resistant.
For best results, stroke over the same patch of skin from different angles. Full coverage for a male body should take around 2 hours. It took me 3 hours but I’m extremely fussy. Mixing color by layer is inadvisable in oil pastel. A secondary application will dilute parts of the first layer and cause unevenness. Also, its colors do not ‘mix’ in the way of paints.
Upon full coverage, prop up a hair dryer on table/chair and massage the body for a few minutes in its heated air. As how oil pastel gets soft in warm hands, that heat will spread the pastel more evenly across the body surface. Next, a thorough wash with dish soap. Just a few drops will remove excess color and lower the saturation for a nice even tone. Without this step, skin surface will look chalky and artificial. Last, brush on baby powder.
As for the recommended pants, even with the aid of baby powder, those particular pants are hard to fit on an M35, but I found the resulting tought and dynamic stretch lines to be worth the effort. Make sure to cut the pants before fitting and careful... jean fabric is thin!
For hands and feet, Tamiya Lacquer paint is essential. Phicen’s male body hands/feet of recent years are found to be Lacquer-coated. Acrylic and enamel paint cannot cure over it and will easily wipe off no matter how long left to dry. Only lacquer cures over lacquer.
To thicken the neck, cut a rubber/silicone tube to a 3cm piece (exact length of neck rod) and split it along its length so that it can be rapped onto the neck rod without resistance.
I am currently sculpting a 1/6 Classic Lou Ferrigno Hulk head of gritted teeth expression and will be crafting a batch of painted rooted heads in the coming months so stay tuned!