attaching metal heads to plastic figures

[Ochoin]

I have a pile of spare Tumbling Dice heads wearing the ubiquitous Scottish bonnet &, fortuitously, an equal number of TYW Revell musketeers. The heads are cast with a short nubbin where the neck would be.

The art of securely attaching one to the other is as follows:

Remove the head of the plastic figure cleanly at the shoulders using a sharp blade.

Using the largest bit in a pin vice, drill a shallow hole into the body of the figure where the head once was.

Apply a mixture of two part epoxy (for long term strength) & super glue (for immediate gluing ability) to the nubbin of the head.

Push the head, nubbin first, into the drilled depression.

Wait for the glue to go off (ideally 24 hours).

Undercoat. Etc.

The resulting figures look a little archaic for Covenanters of the ECW but are serviceable enough.

donald

[Bluefalchion]

Would you be willing to post some pics of your technique? I love doing head swaps, but they don't always work too well...

[FredG]

Pin vice? I use my Bosch ISO screwdriver with a 0.3 - 3.6mm hex shank chuck. We impalers need a little more oomph than using a pin vice, particularly when impaling metal victims.

[Ochoin]

Pin vice? I use my Bosch ISO screwdriver with a 0.3 - 3.6mm hex shank chuck. We impalers need a little more oomph than using a pin vice, particularly when impaling metal victims.

Not that I'm doubting you, Fred. but how many fingers do you have left?

donald
I'm not sure photos of the completed figures would be much use.
I've unfortunately completed the project: no spare bodies & just two heads left so at the moment, I have 12 undercoated figures. The heads aren't quite as strong as if I'd used the piano wire & glue technique on all plastic bits but it does take an effort to wrench them off (I was disatisfied with the angle of one on an earlier batch).

[FredG]

Not that I'm doubting you, Fred. but how many fingers do you have left?

I have 4 fingers and a thumb on the left and a thumb and 4 fingers on the right Donald

That's counting from the left palms down of course

It's a lithium battery powered screwdiver Donald the revs are quite low.

[Emperor]

@Donald- I had made few figures by removing heads, but I stopped doing it...I usually would chop off head, drill a hole (with pin tool I created) both on head I want to put and on place where head was, I would take a long but tin whire, cut it long, put in hole where I would put super glue, than after it dry I would cut wire only how deep hole of head is, put glue in hole of head and attach head on wire on body.

[Ochoin]

, but I stopped doing it....

Why?

A head swop is the easiest, most effective modification. So many soldiers wore the same uniform but with a different hat. And it's useful to get a bunch of figures in identical poses & give them individuality by repositioning a head.

donald (glad to hear that Fred is still perfectly formed, despite using a power tool on miniature figures).

[Bluefalchion]

I do like head swaps a lot. I have only just used a knife and glue, though, so the heads sometimes fall off and get lost forever...

[Wiking]

Attaching metal heads to plastic figures.

Like this?

http://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/sites/d ... k=59s33g4A

[Wiking]

[Emperor]

@Donald-Well it doesn't have to do with figures...I stopped because my hands are shaking too much for applying such a small wire...So the process got me anoyed...For painting figures is easy, I put both of hands on table and paint, since hand shaking doesnt come from hands it comes from arms, and hands don't shake since table helps them be steady, but for appyling wire into figure thats a different story...

[FredG]

Like this?

I prefer this

[KGV]

Phwoar................................

She can assimilate me anytime she wants.

[Beano Boy]

I have match boxes full of heads that for many a year have not seen the light of day. A few years ago upon opening one box, I had to issue them all with sun glasses and they certainly were such a cool spectacle for my Napoleonic infantry display! BB