I need help because it\'s soft, not hard...

[vincegamer]

plastic.

(treading the balance between an attention-getting title and one that will send the thread spiraling into irrelevancy)

My question is this:
how do I go about removing flash from soft, rubbery plastic?
I have some minis that are made of a soft, flexible plastic - children\'s toys really, but I think they would look great with a top notch paint job (and at least pretty good after I pain them).

If I try filing flash off I get nasty rough areas with stringy bits of mangled plastic hanging off, and if I use a knife, I get these scallopy cut out places where the knife cuts in and it\'s easy to push a bit too hard and lose an arm (the mini\'s, not mine).

 

[supervike]

I think the e-xacto knife is going to be the way to go. But you\'ll have to be very careful. Then when you are done, you\'ll probably have to \'smooth out\' the areas with a bit of putty. The file (as you\'ve noticed) is just going to leave a huge mess.

I take it you are not talking about \'action figure\' type toys, as usually the mold lines on them are more firm, and do tend to come off.

Maybe somebody else has a thought, before this \'spirals into pornograph---er I mean irrelevancy)\'

Good luck!

 

[vincegamer]

Originally posted by supervike
I take it you are not talking about \'action figure\' type toys, as usually the mold lines on them are more firm, and do tend to come off.

Correct. These are toys from a coin-op \"gumball\" machine.

 

[Dr Sanch]

Have you tried a Scalpel? They are easier to control then some other knives. If you hold the scalpel at a right angle to the mini and gently go along the mold line or flash it cuts it off without cutting into the mini.


Or try an Emery board (what the ladies file their nails with) it\'s not as rough as a file but should still do the trick

 

[Wolf_Fang]

be very very carfulle and use a hobby knife..... tis what i did!

 

[frenchkid]

..... viagra !!

I saw a tip for those kind of plastique a will ago wich is to pass some acetone with a brush along the mold lines. Think it was from cyril. Might be worth a try.

 

[supervike]

It seems Frenchkid both derailed and rerailed the topic, all in one fell swoop.

That\'s some serious good posting FK!!lollol

 

[Mosch]

I have a wrestling mini I butchered because I wanted the arm for Trogdor. The plastic is pretty soft, but I was able to easily remove a mold line with my scalpel (I have never used an Exacto knife, so no idea where the difference is). I have scraped, not cut the mold line off. Also, somewhere I have read about the idea of applying plastic cement, which will melt the plastic - haven\'t tried it yet though.
Depending on the material, maybe even your fingernail is enough. It seems the trick scraping, not cutting.

 

[Sturmhalo]

I hate that kind of plastic. Had some battletech models made out of that sh*t that came with the old 3rd edition game.

 

[Legacy Account]

I used some very fine grade wet and dry on mine. It worked pretty well...

 

[Infidel Castro]

Along the same lines as chemicals, maybe a little touch of flame will do the trick. As long as the water is handy

 

[Duende]

How about nail clippers? Or just any kind of small nippers?

*snip, snip* no more flash!

 

[Equus]

Originally posted by Duende
How about nail clippers? Or just any kind of small nippers?

*snip, snip* no more flash!

Oh man that\'s either really scary or really mean when you think about the double entendre. lol

 

[Duende]

Originally posted by Equus
Oh man that\'s either really scary or really mean when you think about the double entendre. lol

LOL! I did mean it for vince\'s flash on rubbery plastic problem. Filing it\'s near impossible and cutting it with a single blade is difficult. Snipping it would be easiest.

Well, Equus, if you\'re so worried, don\'t go about \"flash\"ing people and I won\'t have to break out the nippers! lol

 

[vincegamer]

Yikes!
First Tooshy (IIRC) gets the mole grips, now Duende has the flash nippers!

 

[Evil Dave]

Originally posted by vincegamer
Yikes!
First Tooshy (IIRC) gets the mole grips, now Duende has the flash nippers!

I prefer Nip Flashers myself.:innocent:

 

[provoke_me]

ive tried to do this before myself. i ended up using an xacto knife and then useing putty on all the places i messed up on.

 

[Modderrhu]

Originally posted by Duende
LOL! I did mean it for vince\'s flash on rubbery plastic problem.

Duende! This is a family forum, I\'ll have you know! vince\'s indeed... now we know, Duende.

I\'m rather glad for this thread, since McFarlane\'s dragons have been looking at me for all the world as if they need a new paint job. The Komodo dragon in particular, has a rather bad case of tartar (and breath to match). What\'s put me off doing anything about it is the mould lines on the soft plastic parts. They\'re obvious enough, but fine enough that any substantial removal will require resculpting.

 

[Equus]

Originally posted by Evil Dave

Originally posted by vincegamer
Yikes!
First Tooshy (IIRC) gets the mole grips, now Duende has the flash nippers!

I prefer Nip Flashers myself.:innocent:

Don\'t we all?

@ Duende - Nippers? I\'m offended. It would at LEAST take...umm...something larger...I hope. :~(

 

[Duende]

My flash nippers...

Originally posted by Equus
@ Duende - Nippers? I\'m offended. It would at LEAST take...umm...something larger...I hope. :~(

Well, here\'s my collection of nippers to remove those extra bits. Take your pick.

They work well on minis, too!