Modding the new plastic miniatures - a question of solvents

[ANS Kamas P81]

So I ordered a Rifleman and an Archer that I plan to swap the arms on, and I'm wondering about how to go about doing it.  Cutting with an exacto knife is doable, though will take time to get it right without losing detail.  Has anyone tried something to loosen the glue solvents that the factory used to put these together, and if so what success did you have?

[CranstonSnord]

Salt water will dissolve super glue, but you may have trouble getting it into the joints on the Archer, so it might require lots of applications; the Rifleman arm joint has a little more gap, so salt should work better there. Freezing the mini may make the glue more brittle, but the plastic may be more likely to break.

[Luciora]

I am a big proponent of Tamiya razor saws, personally.

[worktroll]

As mentioned freezing can make joints brittle, but the new minis are pretty solidly made.

I'll use either a razor saw (but that can be hard to get into angles, and does remove a little material), or a classic Stanley knife. The trick I find is not to press massively hard; medium pressure, and rock the blade back and forth around the contact point. Less likely to taste blood when you do get separation.

[Daryk]

Wait... it only takes salt water to dissolve Super Glue? ???

[Failure16]

Never tried that...but I do know that moisture is an accelerant for CA+ (I use it routinely for work, let alone our shared hobby/addiction).

I will say that, due to the Archer's build at the shoulders (dem flanges!), that one in particular should likely be quite the pain to separate the arms.

[ANS Kamas P81]

Yeah, the -5R Archer mini that comes with 15 LRMs in the torso (I forget which box it's in) has much flatter flanges, and cutting the shoulder off was easy enough.  Looking at the -2R, it's got those shoulder pieces that stick out, so I can only cut from below which is gonna be a pain.