"Converting Green plastic army men" Topic

Bought a bag of army men (I've had a actual battalion in my childhood days but) and thinking of gaming them. But as a fan of Combat! I just want to do squad vs. squad, but want to swap figures out to what the figure is actually doing say firing, crawling, moving. So for instance I have 3 bazooka men, need 1 Kneeling and firing, 1 moving, maybe one standing and firing,, but this will require cutting guys in half and reattaching to other figures halves. So how to cut (razor, fine saw?) or is this more of a headache than one needs?

Behead with a box cutter, or utility knife.
It will be the cleanest cut.

There are different makers, some of which make Bazooka Men standing, firing; kneeling, firing; etc. Look/shop around, and you should be able to find them in multiple poses; ditto for other types.

Barring that, I second John's recommendation: using a razor utility knife, with replaceable blades. They are heavier duty, and should withstand the pressure needed to slice through the plastic. I would suggest heating up a small piece of paper clip, cut to size, and inserted into the two halves, to pin them. Few glues will bond with the Polyethylene plastic used in making most Army Men figures, so I would suggest a small Hot Glue gun, with a small amount applied between the two halves, as you push the paper clip into position (I mount them to their bases using Hot Glue -- not perfect, nor terribly strong, but it withstands most gaming wear and tear).

For painting, I recommend using the plastic's inherent color, painting the parts which differ only (link to my Army Men painting guide). Apply The Dip, followed by a matte clear coat, and mount to a base. Bases can be cereal box cardboard, vinyl floor tile pieces cut to size, or whatever you prefer. Bases help immensely, as many Army Men figures won't stand up on just their molded bases.

If you are interested in uniform, helmet, and rank patches, US, UK, German, etc., visit Archer's Fine Transfers (link). I've used their dry transfer unit and rank patches -- seal with either Minwax Polyshades Urethane Stain (aka, The Dip; tudor – black; royal walnut – dark brown/dirty looking, like they've been crawling around in combat), or Pledge with Future Shine Floor Polish (aka, Magic Wash, when mixed with ink/acrylic paint; clear, acrylic, water clean-up when wet). Cheers!

That is helpful, I wondered about pinning and confident I could do that, will airplane model glue work? I have a hot glue gun and was sure most super glues won't work but could try what I have. For now wasn't going to paint them. Converting them right now looks like a challenge, and I do say I do like a challenge.

You would be surprised at how much better the figures will look with a little paint on them.

Painting the figures is absolutely essential to bringing them to life on the tabletop.

Even a simple paint job with little to no detail work will do wonders for your figures, and help mask any unsightly seems in your conversions.

Airplane model glue works for another type of plastic (it actually melts that type of plastic, creating a weld, but it won't dissolve PE plastics, sorry). I agree with dBerczerk, they look surprisingly good with a little paint. I do simple block painting, followed by The Dip, and they look sooo much better -- but that's just my preference. Do what you like, but give painting them a try, to see what you think. Cheers!

Did my first ( standing bazooka man), the connecting is ok but maybe to start faces and hands and go from there. By the way pinning and hot glue seems to work well.

Glad to hear it. Any chance of seeing photo's of your results?… Cheers!

@Ring hand" army men, like some re-issued MPC, Ideal and such, are great for conversions. Usually just have to add weapons/accesories which are easily scrounged or scratchbuilt, and they have enough poses (walking, kneeling, running) to fit most needs.

Hobby Bunker has some Ring Hand MPC army men (including WWII US in green )

Still working on walking radio man, kneeling commander. Someday I hope to get pictures online. My next question to change arms or legs heating would seem to be the way to go but flame or boiling?

Immerse your figure in a coffee mug of water -- heated for about 4 minutes in the microwave; its often enough to soften the plastic so you can make some minor alterations to your pose.

Hold the figure by the base and lower it into the hot water. Be careful not to stick your fingers in. Once the plastic has warmed up / softened, gently bend the arms into the position you want, then dunk into another mug filled with ice water.

It won't allow drastic changes to your figure pose, but can make some nice, subtle changes to the pose without cutting / re-glueing.

That's all I'm looking for thanks.

Yep, dBerczerks system works great. I usually throw mine in a pot of boiling water on the stove, and retrieve with tongs.

Go to Toy Soldier Company website and take a look at their "conversion figures", where they do some pretty cool reposing and cutting and attaching.