Reposing metal IS Battle Armor

[Robroy]

So I am finally getting around to painting more infantry, and I want to change some of the arm positions. I am using IWM IS Battle armor.

Can I just twist them around? Because that seems like a bad idea. Is there any tricks anyone has?

I have found ideas for plastic but nothing for metal.

[Luciora]

Depends on the mini, they are extremely small and very fragile to bend.  If you bend it, be careful and don't expect to fix the mistake easily.

[Cache]

You can bend them, just go slow and move them a little at a time.

[Robroy]

I saw some recommending hot water for the plastic. Has anyone tried it on metal? Would it make a difference?

I am thinking a heat gun would be to hot. Maybe a hair dryer? What is the melting point for IWM figures?

[CranstonSnord]

Google says pewter melts around 170-230 Celsius, which heat guns can do. Unfortunately, if you're heating the entire BA up to somewhere near that temp (without melting the whole thing), some of the details may start to soften too. Ideally you'd only heat up the portion you're trying to repose, but that's a very tiny area, and you're using a heat gun.

And I'm not a materials engineer, so I don't know the math on how much the strength changes as you approach the melting temp. I think you're better off just slowly, carefully bending the bits. For BA you're probably safe.

[Cache]

How far are you looking to bend them? You don't need to do anything special to repose the arms a bit.

[Robroy]

How far are you looking to bend them? You don't need to do anything special to repose the arms a bit.

Not far. Just want the arms pointed in different directions so the people in the squad do not look like exact copies of one another.

[Cache]

Not far. Just want the arms pointed in different directions so the people in the squad do not look like exact copies of one another.

It'll be fine. Go slow and easy. Did mine at room temp, bending with my fingers.

[Robroy]

Thanks. Got to admit I was hoping for more. Just goes to show, sometimes the best tip is patience.

[Cache]

1) Patience
2) K.I.S.S.

 ;)

[Robroy]

Ahh. Same school as my Uncle Ed.

[Elmoth]

For metal, heat is not the way. Easiest way will be to cut with a modelling knife or cutter and then attach the cut arm again using cyanocrylate (superglue) or another glue, like 2 component glue (it is called araldit here, but I am sure it will have other names in other places).

After reatacching the piece of metal (the arm) you can fill the spaces using green putty. At this scale you will not need to detail the putty, just cover the gaps. It is more complicated to write it down than to actually do it. :) Green stuff will also help fix the union.

A good way to find tutorials is searching for warhammer 40k modelling videos on youtube. It is the mainstream miniaturs game, so you will find plenty of videos for sure, and the principles apply to any miniature you can lay your hands on :)

Cheers,
xavi

[Cache]

I think cutting the arms on ISBA minis would be a mistake. We're talking about 2 mm thickness here. That's not enough for any glue to get good adhesion and still handle the stress of gaming. And I sincerely doubt you'll be able to properly pin it. No matter how hard you try, you will eventually squeeze the arms when you pick up the squad. That kind of stress on a 2 mm glue joint will break it. Getting over-complicated on a 'Mech-sized mini is one thing, but on infantry? No.

[Colt Ward]

Or . . . the MWDA BA can still be found and are easier to modify.  Another solution would be to put a single BA on a stand to represent the squad/point.

As they said, be careful.  Trying to separate one in the last year, I twisted off a Elemental's leg . . . with the damage to the whole mini, I just decided he would be getting crushed under foot from a mech.  Little spot of red at the end of the leg showed a failure in the Harjel system.