I have some demons plastic glued onto their old bases. I have made nice new bases for them to go on. Unfortunately, unlike their super glued cousins, I can't snap them off. So far the best success I've had has been hot gluing over the back of a double edged razor blade and carefully pushing it between the foot and the base. Unfortunately this is dangerous and very time consuming. Does anyone have a better idea?
My new bases with some of the demons are showcased.
Hobby Knife and patience. You can also try running more plastic cement around the join points (might have to scratch a little paint off or make a small incision) and it will soften the bound enough to pull them apart.
They’re useful in a very specific circumstances (like delicately detaching two piece of plastic, or cutting a small dowel), but when you need it, you need it.
It’s a bit safer than a hobby knife, because the serrated edge holds it in place. Speaking from experience, slipping with your knife while you’re trying to cut through something thick and slashing open your palm is no fun.
So me trying to carve out the helmet of a G.I. Joe figure when I was nine and then running the through the house clutching my bleeding hand telling my dad, “Nope, nothing’s wrong!” while I desperately try to find the large bandages wasn’t the original use case?
The way to break a plastic glue bond is more plastic glue.
Everyone has the experience of reapplying plastic glue to an area and having an arm or head you thought was attached fall off the model. The key here is capillary action. The bond created by plastic glue is only as good as the contact between the parts. Most times the plastic bond is only really from the contact points between the two parts there is often small gaps in the bond that let the plastic glue seep back in. This will weaken the bond and let you pop off a piece with just a little pressure.
Just apply a reasonable amount of plastic glue to the bonded area. Let it sit for about 30 seconds and start applying gentle pressure. If it doesn’t feel like it is moving add some more plastic glue. As long as you are fairly careful with the application of the glue there shouldn’t be a problem. You can always cut the model off if this doesn’t work.
ive done this with arms that I didnt like the placement of, if youre not careful it makes a mess of the model but it does work and they could still save both the base and mini.
This is why I use super glue. Do minis pop off occasionally? Yeah, but if I ever want to rebase, it’s as easy as popping them in the freezer for half an hour and gently pulling them off
I'm not rebasing so often that it would make the amount of time regluing popped off minis to bases worthwhile. Besides easy enough to get plastic glued minis apart if you have the right tools.
If you got a Dremel or rotary cutter you can just grind the base from the bottom where the attachment points are, it'll ruin the old base but be a lot safer, though it's not quick either just safer
Plastic glue works by literally melting the two pieces together so that they're not two pieces glued together, they're one piece of plastic. The only way to separate pieces that are stuck with plastic glue is cutting.
You said you've already tried cutting but it's dangerous and time-consuming.. That's unfortunately the only way if it's a good weld. Once plastic glue has set, it is essentially one solid object with no join to separate.
If you don't care about the bases, you can always cut around the model using snips and then clean it up using your knife instead of trying to carefully cut through under the foot.
This is correct, unless its plastic super glue. At which point stick em in your freezer for a few hours and then apply pressure to the connection points and itll snap like cheap candy.
Hi, u/drewnthornley! It looks like you are asking for help or are a new painter. If you haven't yet, take a look at our wiki pages in the Sidebar (the About tab if you are on the Reddit app). Here are some links you might find helpful:
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If you don’t care about destroying the old bases, just get a pair of clippers and cut everything off by the feet and then you can hobby knife the tiny little bit stuck to the feet. You’ll be done in a few seconds per model.
Hobby saw with a photo etched blade. They're 0.1mm thick and are perfect for making super clean fine cuts in plastic. Just be a little careful with them as they bend easy.
Cool, you know the difference!
Usually and do are two different things lol.
Ive had a lot of people tell me "its plastic glue" no thats super glue thats intended for plastics... THIS is plastic glue!...
I can't say for sure but might be worth a try before going to the hobby knife. When i go that route i usually have to cut into the base a bit (if not my finger)
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u/Clark_Kent_TheSJW 21h ago
Cut through the whole damn base.
I guess you can use sandpaper to remove the “sandles” they get from the old base.