"Bending bones..." Topic

Got some great Reaper Skeletons from their Bones line. Just spent the last hour dipping them in boiling water then into an ice bath to straighten them out. But they were a really good price, so a few burnt finger tips on one hand and frost bite on the other was worth it…

Yes, I was just making Bones soup a week or so ago. I got some cheap bamboo tongs to save myself the burnt fingers, but I agree about the frostbite! :-)

Every kind of figure has it's own issues to deal with; and given their price, I agree that a little repositioning is well worth it.

Chris, did you get the DDS pieces to lay flat? I tried mine, and got the major undulations out, but they still curl up a bit.

Xin

Xin- I got my pieces about 90-98% percent flat. The smaller pieces are near perfect, but there is still a little bend in the bases of the larger pieces. However, I do not think it will be noticeable at all when put on a felt ground cloth.
I let mine sit in the boiling pot for 15-20 mintues (depending in size), and then put them one at a time in the ice water, which I had put in a pot that had a perfectly flat bottom so I could press the pieces down flat on the bottom of the pot while they cooled. (That was cold work!) I held them for as long as. I could stand it, then let them just sit in the ice water for a few minutes more. When I took them out I set them on towels with heavy things like books and mugs full of water on them to help them maintain their shape. And I let them sit that way for several hours.

I never let any of my Bones sit in the water that long. I was worried that if they touched the bottom of the pots they might melt. I either held them individually or had them in a strainer held off the bottom for a few minutes max. I need to reboil the DDS terrain because I didn't do a good enough job and they warped again. The old pot I'm using was a bit to small to do a full dunk of the large pieces. Next time I plan on using the biggest pot we have while the wife's not looking. I figure one use won't poison us and everything else fits in the smaller, Bones designated pot.

Well, I have only ever done those times for the DDS pieces. And while I let the pieces sit on the bottom for short periods I was constantly stirring them around with the tongs for just that reason. Intestingly enough, the DDS pieces kind of took care of moving off the bottom themselves. Most of the pieces have large cavities molded into the bottom, which would fill with the bubbles from the boiling water and left them up to release the bubbles and then drop them down in a new position. :)

I actually don't use this method for smaller pieces as I can't be bothered with the effort of the filling and boiling the special pot and all. For the small (I'm talking human sized stuff) pieces, I just use the tongs and a pair of Ove-Gloves to hold them in the steam stream from our boiling tea kettle for a minute or two, and then quickly pop them under the cold water stream from the water faucet. Call me lazy :)

Edit: I just wanted to add that I went to local Goodwill trift store and for a few bucks got a nice big pot I knew the DDS would fit in and fully submerge.

Boiled bones, delicious :)
Cheers I've got to ge a few just to see how they paint up mind you (any old excuse :)

Some DDS results with Secret Weapon Stone wash!

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