Manipulating people

gregh

electronics, computers and scratchbuilding
Country flag
I’ve bought quite a few of these ‘cheap’ people from ebay suppliers such as this one.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/20-Painted-Model-Train-Passenger-People-Figures-standing-sitting-poses-Scale-G-/330718377959?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:AU:3160


You really can’t beat the 50c price, but you do only get a limited number of poses and all just standing or sitting – no walking ones.
This is a sample of the standing male figures I got this time:
mentypes.jpg

I’ve done a few bits of surgery previously, cutting off arms and moving them and superglueing back on.

But today I experimented with boiling them and it works!  The paint even survived.

I put them in a saucepan of water and boiled for a couple of minutes then gently bent the limbs. I broke one limb with excessive force but the others are reasonable.

Here’s 2 men who had their legs bent to look like they are walking:
men.jpg

A lady with her leg crossed, compared to the original
crossed leg.jpg

And a lady with her arm moved slightly.
ladies comp.JPG
OOPS!  right arm is crossed, not left as in caption

Now I just need to get some of those hands out of pockets – I guess I’ll have to cut the arm at the coat and make a new hand from ??

Next test is to put a figure in the oven at 120C and see if it melts. If not I can make hands etc from polyclay and bake the whole thing.
Watch for the next exciting episode….


 
Another little gem to file away for a rainy day.............will pass it on to a friend who has a pack of these on order.
 
Don't you think plastic people have rights? Very interesting, into my collection of things to do to plastic people.
 
There are those who would adjust your limbs into non-recognizable shapes if you don't see things their way........ ???
 
I tried them in the oven at 130C for 15 minutes and no problem. Paint didn't melt. But they seemed harder to bend than when used in boiling water. I chose 130C as that is the temperature that polyclay bakes at, so now I know I can repair or add details using polyclay and then bake the whole thing.
I doubt a microwave would work as there is no water in the figures. But maybe could put the figure in water and then boil in the micro????
 
Back
Top