| ITALWARS | 29 Jul 2016 3:29 a.m. PST |
hello
i have a try with a new caster.not accostumed to cast minis…with a small experimental number of converted masters from my own 28mm line…
the result see ok but the caster told me he could'nt (or want no to) use a more soft alloy..
the result is that a rfle broke and bending of arms ecc..is, in my opinion, risky..
i read quite a few suggestions on the web as how or even the possibiliy of bending metal (heat, hot water, lightr ecc..)…somebody else say is not possibile …
any opinion on the matter..how could i bend withut breaking rifles, arms ec..?
thanks in advance |
| Grelber | 29 Jul 2016 4:55 a.m. PST |
I bought two of Copplestone's diatrymas (terror birds). I tried bending the neck on the second one, so they wouldn't be in quite the same position. The metal started making crackling noises, I thought "This can't be good," and quit. I asked on a different forum, and was told the head would have broken off if I'd kept going. Nobody there had any suggestions about how to bend the metal. I thought hot water was something you use with plastic figures, like Airfix. I've never heard of using it on metal. Gelber |
| freerangeegg | 29 Jul 2016 5:10 a.m. PST |
The new Team Yankee figures are cast in a really brittle alloy. I tried to straighten a couple of figures that were leaning at a slightly awkward angle and both snapped at the ankles rather that move at all. Thankfully it drills and glues ok. |
| Thomas O | 29 Jul 2016 7:03 a.m. PST |
I wouldn't think hot water(unless maybe boiling water)would soften the metal enough to make them bendable. |
| Rick Priestley | 29 Jul 2016 8:22 a.m. PST |
That crackling noise – that's what you get with metal that's got a very high tin content – in fact that how you can immediately tell the difference between a tin 'master' and a production model in a standard casting alloy with a lower tin content. Very high tin and 'lead free' pewter doesn't have that softness that allows you to bend the metal. You won't soften it with hot water – it's the structure of the metal alloy – it's one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of 'lead free pewter'myself – can't bend it, can't easily cut it, can saw it just about. |
Ed Mohrmann  | 29 Jul 2016 8:28 a.m. PST |
Modern figures don't 'bend,' they break. If you have some old soft lead figures, you can alter
arms and legs by making judicious saw cuts and gently
bending the limb the way you want it. But the new stuff – no way. Hack it off, reposition
and adhesive it in place, maybe with a pin. |
| Mako11 | 29 Jul 2016 8:57 a.m. PST |
Make them out of lead. It bends nicely. |
| Giles the Zog | 29 Jul 2016 9:10 a.m. PST |
I bought two of Copplestone's diatrymas (terror birds). I tried bending the neck on the second one, so they wouldn't be in quite the same position. The metal started making crackling noises, From memory, Mark commented years ago that he was making several models like the diatrymas out of pewter – I think also the horses to make them more robust – out of pewter, whilst his normal troops were the usual white metal mix. As per the O/P, hot water won't make much of a difference,if you're going in for mass produced figures trying to retrospectively 'fix" the castings would be an uphill task IMHO. Best get it right first time round. |
| Mako11 | 29 Jul 2016 10:55 a.m. PST |
Seems easy to cast a few in lead, to aid conversion, and then switch back to the harder metals for production. Perhaps he doesn't want to use lead. You could find another caster. |
 Bobgnar | 29 Jul 2016 11:41 a.m. PST |
If I want to bend some longish piece like a leg or an arm or a weapon I will give it a thin coat of UV glue first, or in some cases the thin coat of contact cement (which takes longer to dry) and then bend it, very slowly |
| evilgong | 29 Jul 2016 6:30 p.m. PST |
I have heated up larger items in a boiling water bath to bend them. I used an old saucepan – placed the fig on a stand off the bottom to avoid the direct heat. I used gardening gloves to grab the hot item. No idea if this helps with brittle metal. David F Brown |
| ITALWARS | 30 Jul 2016 7:37 a.m. PST |
evilgong..thanks for your suggestions..but have you heaten , with this technique, metal or plastic items? |
| Pauls Bods | 05 Aug 2016 9:43 a.m. PST |
David is right. Put em into boiling (still on the heat) water. …It works on White (brittle) metal. |
| Zephyr1 | 10 Aug 2016 2:42 p.m. PST |
I make my own figure armatures (92% to 98% tin) and bend them into whatever poses I need before sculpting onto them. It helps if the metal is warm (at least raised to body temperature), but the trick is to bend or twist it slooowly and have the metal thin at the bend (I file a broad V behind knees to remove material so that the thigh and calf gets closer together.) Sometimes they still break, but at least at that stage they can go back into the re-melt pile. |
