Have any of you modelers ever tried using maybe a soldering iron to heat thr arms and legs on those little people to move there arms to another position to suit the application you are trying to model? Mike
I had no luck with that. I settled for cutting and reglueing with CA. Some of the small cracks can be filled with acrylic paint when painting. There are some fillers I have heard about, but I never tried any.
We discussed this topic (of modify figures) recently, and a few people indicated they had good success with the heat and bend method - I never do, so count me in as a chop and fill type of guy (plenty of Squadron White, or my own ‘home brewed’ styrene putty (1:2 testors cement to white styrene clippings and leftovers) which when carved and sanded hides a multitude of sins. Either method of repositions, the problem is retaining a realistic angle/proportion to the repositioned limb(s) (i.e. don’t make the modification too short or too long, or outside the usual range of motion for an undamaged human limb). Of course, with a metal figure chop and glue is pretty much your only choice, as bending brittle metal castings usually cause breakage and fracturing where it’s most inconvienent.
I had not considered the possibility of carefully heating a figure and bending limbs to the desired shape. Sounds like a workable idea if the limbs can be bent with minimal damage to the paint, where a quick touchup with a paint brush would all that would be needed afterwards.
Some of you may have seen my thread on figures. I was looking for male figures in casual dress (jeans or khakis, button up or polo shirts) to use as locomotive engineers in some of my HO diesel locomotives. From many photos I’ve seen, most engineers after the 1960s dressed casually and were not wearing the “traditional” pinstriped overalls.
In looking through Presier and Woodland Scenics products, I found a good number of figures that would work quite well. However the arms on some of them were in the wrong position (raised, crossed, etc). I’d like to have it in which the left forearm is in a horizontal position for the AAR throttle/ brake in 1st and 2nd generation US locomotives.
I have a batch of unpainted figures that I purchased 20 years ago and did nothing with.
Well, it looks like I’m going to be doing a bit of experimenting![(-D]
I have used heat to bend some figures, but the rule is slow and careful , or you end up with a bunch of melted plastic. I have a small heat gun used for electronic work, it blow very hot air through a very fine tip, works good , I haven’t done that many yet so my failure rate is ok right now.
I don’t know what on earth plastic is used for figures but it doesn’t seem to like to do anything at all. Even CA glue seems to have hard work with it - they seem to fall apart again after time.
Soldering irons are almost a no-no unless you don’t mind a high risk of ending up with a blob of hot gooey plastic… and probably burnt fingers.
An air gun might do better?
VERY hot water can work… the clever bit is not scalding yourself.
GOOD LUCK!
…and please let us know what works!
[:P]
Since I posted this, I have re-positioned a figure to put in the window of a loco. He was an un-painted man that was holding a lantern up in the air (probley to go on the caboose), I cut off the lantern, heated his sholder and re-positioned his arm so he is waving an everyone. I took a dremmel tool & cut out the window, had to cut the poor man at the waiste, and glued him in the window. Here is a pic, tell me what you think. Mike
Sorry about the detail, My old eyes are not like they used to be
Good going Mike.
What company made this figure?
I’m hoping that perhaps Presier and Woodland Scenics figures are as malleable.