N-Scale De-basing?

[Nostra]

Hey all, I'm currently working on some more N-Scale stuff after my Raptor II post a while back. I got a total of 5 new 'mechs, all Dark Age/Age of Destruction Clicky-tech stuff. Well, after opening the packages, I attempted to de-base them, as I much prefer a solid round or round-lipped base from Games Workshop or Privateer Press for my models. I managed to break four of the five in de-basing, usually with their feet snapping off from their ankles. Does anyone know of a better way to remove them from their bases without breaking? Their feet are too thick to simply cut from the plastic...

[LordNth]

Freeze them.  Put them in the freezer for a day.  Then try to pry or twist them off.

[SteelRaven]

I remember someone posting hot water.

[RotS-Targe]

Have your Dad drop it, works every time...
Freezing works, too, I guess.

[Southern Coyote]

Freezing.  Weakens the bonding agent and should pop it right off.

[worktroll]

Freezing makes the glue used (CA, IIRC) brittle and easier to snap.

Hot water makes the plastic softer. This is usually done to allow bent bits to be straightened, or to make it easier to pop arms/legs/weapons off their sockets. It also makes the plastic easier to cut, so it might help de-base the minis too.

W.

[spaceman spiff]

funny...nobody mentions the proper tools to pop them off the base with. i shall remedy that! if you have a set of precision screwdrivers, the smaller flat heads are easy to worm underneath a mech's foot. then just gently pry up. i suppose a kitchen knife might also work. just don't use the good silverware....

i don't even freeze mine. the precision screwdrivers are that good....when used carefully. ;)

[Weirdo]

I use my razor saw to make cuts, then pry when there's enougg room. If that doesn't work, I find that a tiny tutu and pineapple jam works, though that's a different kind of debasing...

[RacerX]

I generally freeze the model and then use a small flat head screw driver.  Also, if you take the bottom part of the base off you'll find that the top part, the part that the mech is glued too, will bend and help you with the removal process.  Also, wear safety glasses and gloves if you can. 

[glitterboy2098]

sadly, if you buy some of the later AoD sets, they come pre-de-based. quality control got pretty shoddy towards the end.

[Nostra]

sadly, if you buy some of the later AoD sets, they come pre-de-based. quality control got pretty shoddy towards the end.

XD I hear that. God i don't even know how many 'mechs I got that were off the base already. After AoD everything just started going downhill, crappy new 'mech designs (like the violator, night stalker, Mad Cat and Vulture IV, etc...) worse paint applications, no more spiffy clear cockpit, and bad gluing- which often resulted in joints that would no longer pivot because of the glue or paint, and feet that weren't glued on well :P

[LordNth]

funny...nobody mentions the proper tools to pop them off the base with. i shall remedy that! if you have a set of precision screwdrivers, the smaller flat heads are easy to worm underneath a mech's foot. then just gently pry up. i suppose a kitchen knife might also work. just don't use the good silverware....

i don't even freeze mine. the precision screwdrivers are that good....when used carefully. ;)

I have a DA Panther and Catapult I'd like to see your screwdriver take on.  For a while i had a metal center punch that I would wedge under any MW fig and it would take it off the base.  Until I got to those two bastard designs.  Panther has so much surface area, the amount of glue under the foot is a perma bond.  And the original Catapult has feet so thin you rip right through them.  I still have to find replacement feet for a kitbash project I have forgotten about 6 years back.

Freezer for removing from the base.  Hot water for modding or removing parts from the model.  hot water -followed by freezer is for fixing errors.  Like straightening bend barrels or Mechs that are warped from spending too much time in the car during the summer.

[Nostra]

I have a DA Panther and Catapult I'd like to see your screwdriver take on.  For a while i had a metal center punch that I would wedge under any MW fig and it would take it off the base.  Until I got to those two bastard designs.  Panther has so much surface area, the amount of glue under the foot is a perma bond.  And the original Catapult has feet so thin you rip right through them.  I still have to find replacement feet for a kitbash project I have forgotten about 6 years back.

Freezer for removing from the base.  Hot water for modding or removing parts from the model.  hot water -followed by freezer is for fixing errors.  Like straightening bend barrels or Mechs that are warped from spending too much time in the car during the summer.

I actually managed to solve the catapult problem :P I got one too, so what I did was slide the screwdriver underneath the raised bar that forms the "middle" of the feet, it popped off pretty quick and didn't break.

[worktroll]

1) Hot water followed by cold water is usually enough to set re-bent parts - freezing would be overkill possibly?

2) Stanley knives are possibly better than jeweller's screwdrivers - more surface area, and a longer sharp edge. But be very careful not to have any fleshy bits in the path of the blade ...

W.