Have you ever had problems with ranking up your models in a unit? Have you ever wished that some of your plastic models were posed differently? Have you ever wanted your model's arms would bend slightly higher? Wanted so much but never thought of how to accomplish that? Bend it! Of course, you don't just bend it with your bare hands, that would break them. So how do we do that without damaging the model?
CAUTION: The method below can and have a chance of damaging your model. Proceed with this method with caution and at your own risk. The owner of this article will not be responsible for any damages caused by following the methods described.
Okay, now that you've read the caution above, please follow the steps here very carefully. Also be very careful as not to cause yourself harm as it will deal with HEAT.
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| Hair-dryer with custom paper nozzle |
First, get yourself a hair dryer. A normal heat producing hair dryer would do. As you can see in the picture above, I used a normal hair dryer but attached to it is a custom made nozzle. Next, get a piece of paper. I would suggest to use A4 sized paper. Roll it up into a cone shape and tape it up that the shape would not go loose. Then you can use a rubber band and tie the nozzle to the hair dryer like in the picture. With that, you're ready to bend!
At this point, you're messing with elements of danger. Both to you and your plastic model. Get yourself a pair of gloves which you know could withstand heat. Wear them.
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| Bent banner can be used as cloak |
Next, place the hair-dryer on the table with the nozzle facing away from you. Make sure you do not have anything else in front of the nozzle area. This is because when you switch on the hair-dryer, the wind will blow away a lot of stuff in front of it. Once you have a clear space in front of the hair-dryer, try switching it on. If the hair-dryer moves, try to anchor it with something (a book or anything that could weigh it down). Switch it off and prepare your model.
Once you are ready, switch the hair-dryer on, move your model with the intended part to bend to the nozzle. Hold it gently but not too soft that the model will get blown off by the wind. Pay careful attention to your model. If the part you wish to bend is very thin, you have to be very careful as the heat might soften the plastic very quickly and bend by itself or worse, melted off! If the plastic part you wish to be is at the size of a normal Empire human plastic model's arm, it will take a few seconds before the plastic softens up for you to bend.
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| Reposition model to pose in the way you wanted |
Try put around 5 seconds and move it away from the hair-dryer and try to use some light force to bend it to the direction that you want. If it's still hard, then put it to the hot air again. Repeat this a few times till if softens up a bit that you can slowly bend it the way you wanted.
This method requires practise and I would suggest that you try it with the plastic sprues first and not on your actual model. Different brands of hair-dryer or different sizes may vary in terms of heat strength and effectiveness.
