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hey guys, i'm hoping to do a conversion on a kit that i want to buy and wanted to see if anyone has ever tried the FW resin warm water and bending trick on GW plastic. namely, i want to take a piece that was molded with an angle and flatten it. i don't currently have any bent pieces on sprue so don't really have a way of testing it out beforehand so i figured i'd ask. i'd assume the water would have to be warmer than that required for resin (which i have done a couple of times on small pieces) but not hot enough to melt the plastic. hot water instead of heating on an open flame or boiling water dunk.

Have you seen this thread yet? :
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/341024.page

Don't do that...

The detail will most likely soften, you'd probably lose the sharp edges and what not.

I've tried reshaping a piece of tubing cut off a guardian weapon arm. After I put the fire out it was pretty much the right shape and still had enough detail. It wasn't the most precise, but I imagine it could be done without setting the plastic on fire.

Ive recently done it with WoC cloaks by slowly going back and forth over a candle flame, though in all honestly it was taking for ever so I eventually just put it close enough to hit the flame and become extremely bendy...

However, this was mainly possible since I could do it on the inside of the cloak and as such not loose any deatil.


So its definitely possible, just don't let it catch fire (odviously) and be extremely careful (even more odvious).

i think the technique i'm going to plan to use is to let it soak for a while in hot (but not boiling) water and then simply stack heavy books on it after taking it out. no pounding, no open flames. it's a fairly thick piece with only a slight bend so i don't think the detail will be harmed much using this method.

I read about a tutorial where you use a low-heat stove and gently nudge the plastic in the general direction you want. There's also the Salt Dipping method (dont ask me, I dont know. And I'd only recommend it if you can find the tutorial and take sufficient safety procautions). Both methods seems to have no detail loss, but are dangerous and tedious, to say the least.

Try googling Salt Dipping. I remember seeing an article about it somewhwere.

You heat up salt in a tin and dip the piece into for a few seconds. It prevents direct heat from melting the plastic.

hmk17 wrote:Try googling Salt Dipping. I remember seeing an article about it somewhwere.

You heat up salt in a tin and dip the piece into for a few seconds. It prevents direct heat from melting the plastic.

thanks, that's a great idea. i had seen the technique on a blog a few years ago but completely forgot about it.

Polystyrene starts to soften at about 90 degrees.

Put the part in nearly boiling water and it will soften. It will harden again when it cools.

Practice first on sprues.

Salt dipping tutorial can be found at Bolter and Chainsword.