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Hi there. Most of my experience with painted minis involves accidentally bumping into a friend's W40K Space Marine table and knocking them all over (boy was that a chore to reset) so please forgive me if this is the most obvious question in the world.
I am about to acquire a Orc Banebreak rider and a Dwarven Thundertusk Cavalry. I intended to use the Dwarf for my Paladin PC who rides a rhino rather than a boar. The orc was just for fun.
Since the orc comes on a rhino though, I got to thinking about swapping the riders around. I'm not a collector so I don't really care about taking resale value. What would be the easiest but best looking way to do this? Cut at the waist, swap torsos and retouch the legs, or something else? What about the cutting tool? I have a Dremel but the heat involved seems like it might deform the edges of the cut. Sharp utility knife and perseverance? Very hot wire? Also, what is the best way to strip the paint off a small portion of a fig without corroding it, and what kind of paints stick to this plastic?
If anyone would be so kind as to offer advice or pointers I'd be indebted.
Hi there. Most of my experience with painted minis involves accidentally bumping into a friend's W40K Space Marine table and knocking them all over (boy was that a chore to reset) so please forgive me if this is the most obvious question in the world.
I am about to acquire a Orc Banebreak rider and a Dwarven Thundertusk Cavalry. I intended to use the Dwarf for my Paladin PC who rides a rhino rather than a boar. The orc was just for fun.
Since the orc comes on a rhino though, I got to thinking about swapping the riders around. I'm not a collector so I don't really care about taking resale value. What would be the easiest but best looking way to do this? Cut at the waist, swap torsos and retouch the legs, or something else? What about the cutting tool? I have a Dremel but the heat involved seems like it might deform the edges of the cut. Sharp utility knife and perseverance? Very hot wire? Also, what is the best way to strip the paint off a small portion of a fig without corroding it, and what kind of paints stick to this plastic?
If anyone would be so kind as to offer advice or pointers I'd be indebted.
Bearing in mind I don't have miniatures in hand to examine:
1. They're plastic minis and may have been separately placed onto the mount. See if you can't just (carefully) yank them off. If they are firmly affixed/one piecers, then keep reading.
2. If the size of the legs/body look alright, yes you could cut each off at the waist and then swap them--but make sure their torsos are the right width so that the bodies mesh together well.
3. More delicately, I think you could cut off each leg, then cut off the whole figure by the seat of its pants, then reassemble.
4. Tools: I would suggest a jeweler's saw. The blades break easily but for fine work this would be the best thing, and the plastics should be easier to cut through than metal (but I guess that also depends on the kind of plastic). Any VERY sharp blade or very fine toothed saw should be okay though.
I would also suggest if you have one available, using a pin vise to drill little holes in the parts you saw apart, and then insert small pieces of ordinary paper clip to pin them together. This will help restabilize the models once you glue them back together. This is not necessary however.
5. Stripping paint: A very small portion? That's hard. I'd say instead, paint with very thin paint over it. Were it a metal mini I'd say try a small brass brush, but I think that would scratch the plastic.
If you want to strip the whole thing, soak in Simple Green overnight and then under running water scrub at it with an old toothbrush.
6. What kind of paints: I don't have a lot of experience repainting pre-painted plastics, but my understanding is the usual water soluble acrylics that most mini paints are made of will work just fine.
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Bearing in mind I don't have miniatures in hand to examine:1. They're plastic minis and may have been separately placed onto the mount. See if you can't just (carefully) yank them off. If they are firmly affixed/one piecers, then keep reading.
2. If the size of the legs/body look alright, yes you could cut each off at the waist and then swap them--but make sure their torsos are the right width so that the bodies mesh together well.
3. More delicately, I think you could cut off each leg, then cut off the whole figure by the seat of its pants, then reassemble.
I don't have them in hand at the moment, but I do have both at home. The rider and mount are one peice, so DeathQuaker's option 1 isn't really viable, Also, I Think that the rhino is wider than the thundertusk, so option 3 may not be viable either... I would suggest #2 if you decide you want to do this. I'll try to talk to someone I know who has done similar customs on the WOTC minis before and see if he has any tips...
I would suggest #2 if you decide you want to do this.
Yes, just looking at these pictures, due to the angles you're not going to be able to get a saw in under the full length of the legs/butt, which means using a very sharp knife for much of it. I think even somebody with a lot of experience is going to be taking off enough detail doing this to make it not worth their while. I've been converting minis of all sorts for years, and I would not be quick to try it that way.
If you can live with whatever differences in the legs, I would go with that option. Even if you lose a little detail at the waists, or they do not line up 100%, you're going to have a quicker and easier time filling in those areas with Green Stuff or whatever, than doing the whole length of the legs.
Simple Green, as mentioned, is the best thing for taking paint off of WoTC's plastic minis without harming the very soft plastic. But, I'm not sure you'd have to. If I recall correctly, these minis have a sealer on them that takes paint pretty well directly, and if the existing paint is not too thick, you should be able to paint thin layers onto it without losing too much detail. That is, if the paint is not already too thick. That could go either way with these.
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talked to the person i mentioned above here's what he said:
"1st answer - easiest - paint over the mini, don't strip
make sure it is clean (dishwashing soap and a clean toothbrush work wonders)
I would trim the figures off from the legs up
use a sharp X-acto knife
they come in lots of shapes and sizes, and give you plenty of control in cutting
a quick way to fix the cut spots - make a saddle or blanket from greenstuff
if they find it easier - cut at the waist and just pin and glue the other figure
it should look fine if they take their time with the cut
the older WotC minis are pretty soft plastic
so it shouldn't be too hard
the newer ones (Dungeons of Dread and forward are a different formula, and less forgiving)
the coolest thing on the old WotC figs - I've sharpened a second end of a pin, pushed them into the figures with a pair of small pliers, and have had great pinning results without drilling"