"Conversion equipment??" Topic

To be more precise: Could anyone help me with some advice here, I am trying to find out how to get a hold of the proper equipment to do minor conversion work on 15mm figures. Im thinking of doing some head-swaps, repositioning of arms etc.
I have understood that I need a small drill to drill holes in the heads and necks after cutting of the heads, but what kind of drill do I need? and where to get such a drill?
Also, what kind of tool works best to cut the heads of the figures?
One final question, everyone is talking of "green stuff" to use for modeling, but where do I get this?

I would be very grateful for some guidance here from the good people of TMP!!:)
Oh, and if anyone knows of any good tutorials for this kind of thing, then please share them!

Regards
Dr. J

A pin vice is what you need for drilling:

It's been awhile since I've looked, but most hardware/DIY carry them – and of course modelling stores. I recommend finding one with a knob on the end (as in the photo) soas to prevent wear on the hand. My advice is to avoid electrics (eg: Dremel) – the speed with which they drill makes mistakes (and holes in the user) just as quickly.

A thin razor saw is good for severing pieces-parts:

A little wax (a candle works fine) on the blade helps to ease things along.

You can get greenstuff or equivalent from hobby shops. Greenstuff is a two part epoxy that is one part yellow and one part blue and it comes in the form of a two colour putty tape. You cut off what you need and work it until it turns green and then you shape it, sort of like putty. Some metallic fine sculpting tools or a large darning needle would be useful to manipulate the putty into shape as required.
As you can imagine it will take a fair bit of practice and trial and error but it will be worth it in the long run.
I hope this helps

Thanks allot guys, this IS good help!! Well, off to the hobby-shop and hardware-store it is then..
I have seen what some guys manage to do with green-stuff, and I can imagine it will take some practice;)

Have a nice weekend!

Dr. J

The original Greenstuff (also comes in white) is a putty made from polystyrene and a solvent, its made by Squadron and is available in better conventional hobby stores. For metal miniatures it advantage is that it does not generally require mixing and you can scoop up a tiny amount on the tip of a modelling knife. The disadvantage is that it is not an adhesive although it sticks in place on metal or resin fairly well.

Two part epoxy is a different thing. The type that is commonly found in shops today is a tape or rod made of two different colored pastes that you cut a bit off the end of & mix up with a spatula.

The 'greenstuff' (no capital) designation was a bit of clever GW fluff, initially to make out their modelers were using some secret formula & then for marketing. Originally the preference among sculptors & model makers was for 'Milliput' epoxy, which comes in variety of formulas depending on finess of the filler & viscosity.

Two part expoxies are an adhesive, may cause dermatitis after repeated exposure and make you waste a fair bit of product as you have to slice off a bigger chunk to make sure it mixes properly.

When you are drilling miniatures, it may be a good idea to put some wax or a similar lubricant on the drill bit to stop it sticking in the hole – it all depends on the alloy used by the manufacturer of the miniature – most modellers have a story about getting a tiny drill bit stuck & having it break off in the figure.

A jewelers saw can also come in handy.

link

I have one with fine blades that I use for making intricate cuts.

Chuck

Jeweller's saw is a great investment. Games Workshop used to sell one…..relatively inexpensive. The finest blades are a must. I have an Exacto blade which I hardly ever use. You'll soon learn that sawing metal figures is different to slicing with a scalpel. With the former you end up with much metal dust and a loss of some of the figure. In other words, in decapitation, are you after the head or the body? Set your cut accordingly, seems obvious I know, but rebuilding a lost neck with greenstuff is tricky.

Greenstuff is just amazing. It stays pliable long enough to be worked. A scalpel can score the most intricate surface detail, but you do need a few fine moulding tools for best results. It is just amazing for building up feathered plumes, fringed epaulettes, ostrich feather plumes on bicornes etc. Great fun to use.

I have two mindrills. One set in a vertical stand, one with a handgrip and I hardly ever use either in the end!. Drills are too fast, grinders not as good as simple files. They look professional though, covered in cobwebs

Green stuff is trade name Kneadatite epoxy putty which comes in two parts, yellow and blue that when mixed properly turn green. The ribbon variety makes it easy to estimate even proportions. You can get it in other formats; advanced sculptors prefer these because they use different proportions or mix it with other epoxy putties.

Kneadatite: link

The Squadron green putty mentioned by someone else is more usually used as a filler, not a sculpting medium. It is also available in white.

Squadron filler putty on Amazon: link

Thank you for the help, and the info om the mysterious "green-stuff":)!! I went to the local hardware store yesterday and tried to find some of the things you guys recommended. The clerk just looked at me with an empty gaze when I tried to translate into Norwegian that I was looking for a pin vice, a razor saw and two part epoxy!!
I did however end up spending maybe ten times what I was supposed to when he finaly pointed me in the direction of some electric jewellers equipment, and I got carried away…

I know the advice was to not go for the automatic drill etc, but I couldnt help myself, so I got a small powerdrill, the size of an electric toothbrush along with a bunch of drill-heads (from 0,3 to 2 mm diameter), tiny little circular saw-bits (much like the kind you use to remove a cast for those who have been around those)etc. Hurried home, set it all up and did a trial-run on a figure. It worked ok, but I see what both deadhead and bsrlee are saying! That little drill is dangerous!!:) and sure enough thd drill head got stuck in the figure!! Also, when I cut the head of with the electric circular saw, the neck and top of the shoulders went up in metalic dust as well! I was hoping to use both head and body for conversions, so I might have to reconsider and get a small hand held saw after all..I wish I could just use a scalpel but then I would have to go back to plastic figures, and I am way to far down the metal-napoleonics-rabbit hole..

Doing conversion work on 15mm figures is not easy at all! All the more respect to some of the conversion work I see people have done..

I will make another run to the local hobby shop for the two part epoxy, and try to get a hold of a saw and give it another go;)
Thanks again guys!

Dr J

For using power tools safely on miniatures, get a hobbyists vise to hold the figure. Gives you a more steady drilling platform, and saves your fingers.

You can find several by googling "hobby vise". I have had the X-acto for years; it looks like there are better models out there nowadays.

Google search "hobby vise": link

Note my experience is with 28mm mostly but I imagine the advice translates pretty well to 15mm.

I'd add a bench peg (wooden piece with a V-shape cutout), which I find is a very useful adjunct to a vice.

I missed this post 1st time round. Easiest way I've found to taking the heads off from the neck and not destroying the collar or heads is slowly working your way round the top of tge collar under the chin with a scalpel. Slowly and carefully until the head can be pushed around to weaken the remaining metal holding on the head. Takes time but works well.

the pin vice is much easier to use on 15mm than a power tool of any size, again takes time but does the trick drilling out neck and head. Also a set of files, from a hobby store are very helpful for cleaning the collar and under head. Used to use paper clip to attach head but found that cut flag poles are best as they bend cut and file easier and remain solid when glued. I use a liquid superglue for fixing the new head to body. Dry fit first to make sure all goes together well.

Just done a load of head swaps on AB's using the above method.
Cheers
Paul

1. Xacto knife with #11 blade.
2. liquid steel epoxy
3. Jeweler's files
4. Jeweler's saw

The Xacto knife with a number 11 blade is my oldest tool. My father bought me a set in the 1940's, and I still use it. I use dull blades to carve lead away, to shape "liquid steel" as I build up features of my figures, and even to decapitate figures for other conversions. I find a new, sharp blade a bit too dangerous!

Today I took 29 Victrix plastic 28mm back packs, and enlarged them by using liquid steel on the two sides and bottom. I will then use jeweler files to shape them correctly, and possibly add a thin "bead" of epoxy to shape the edge of the top flap, with a final filing for shape.

I first cut away the vertical pack straps across the lid of the pack. I later added the epoxy with the #11 blade to the sides and bottom face of the packs, while the epoxy was wet and flexible.

Years ago I used a jewelers file to behead several horses, then cut them in half from front to back. I then try to epoxy the right half of horse A to the left half of horse B to make horse C. I understand other have done this, then scoured out the bodies of the horses, and used them to make plaster of Paris molds for casting. By hollowing out the both, one uses less metal, and reduces the weight of the figures.

By the way, I recently saw a feature on the internet where people have been pouring liquid aluminum down fire ant mound openings, and then digging out the mound. The aluminum hardens, does not seem to go anywhere except the tunnels and chambers, and makes an impressive sculpt!

Has anyone ever tried aluminum with tin or other metals for castings?

GdeP

I never thought scalpel blades could cut through metal. Let's just say I have access to an unlimited supply every day at work……..might just try them. Again the snag otherwise is you lose so much of the neck when you saw. You cannot get both a body and a head. I have four Guard Artillery bodies totally amputated at the shoulders, just to harvest four peaked bearskin heads, with some remnant of a collar

Many years ago, I used to add 1 grenadier in bearskins to my French 7YW 15mm battalions – at the time using 18 figures to represent 1 grenadier, 16 fusilier, and 1 "chasseur" company. I recall taking the heads from MiniFig Grenadiers de France with bearskin, and putting them on French fusiliers advancing, and it worked well. The #11 blade was thin enough to leave enough to work with, so scalpel should work as well. I used the liquid steel epoxy to secure the head to the body, and sometimes used a brass "pin," inside the head and body.

I also tried to convert British Minifig troops to Hanoverians by drilling into the back of the head, and inserting a "Queue" made of narrow brass wire. It worked, but I did not find it satisfactory.

Freikorps made a fine French fusilier with double turnback, and I simply added one of their Grenadiers with bearskins to each unit, again total of 18. But that grenadier figure was good to convert to Grenadiers Royaux – with tricorns – by switching heads. All 15mm, and no problem.

The main problem at that time was that Freikorps used an awful, brittle metal, and figures accidentally dropped shattered like glass. Crazy glue put them back together!
I believe their metal is much more forgiving now, but I went on to Old Glory 15's since.

I never used a saw on anything but 30mm horses. One loses a lot of metal on them, so I found I had to use the liquid steel to build up the body to original thickness.

I have been making simple changes to 28mm Victrix plastic Peninsular War British, using the xacto knife, watery glue for plastics, and currently using liquid steel to alter the shape of back packs. I v-notch inside the bend of the arm holding the musket at the balance allows gluing the arm in a 45 degree angle for variety. A v-notch behind the knee allows extending a leg to look like standing, and another bent back to simulate running or moving forward.

I never tried such change to 15mm! Beyond my capabilities!

GdeP

GdeP

Hi Deadhead,
If you take it slow you should save both the heads and the bodies.

the scalpels are the sharp pointed type not rounded.

I took the landwehr heads off these and they are still useable as are the bodies:

link