A few folks have asked me to provide some tips, steps, and answers about how I do things. This seems like a good week to start. I'm setting up a camera by the workbench and will try to capture things I think are interesting. If there's anything special that anyone wants to discuss, please let me know.
The first subject I'll go into is reshaping warped resin. Unfortunately, sometimes minis will end up getting warped as they come out of the mold, during shipping, or during storage. It's a little frustrating when I'm set to get to work on a project only to discover the resin mini is warped. It's usually a relatively easy fix to correct the problem. The steps are to warm the resin so that it's relatively flexible, reshape the mini, and cool the mini. Sometimes the steps need to be done a couple of times to make sure everything is where you want it.
Here's a resin mini that I had in a storage drawer. The wings and stabilizers are a bit warped.
I've gotten everything I need for the process, hot water, the warped mini, cold water, and a tool to get the mini out of the hot water. I've a reference picture off camera that I'll use to check the mini against.
Here are some minis sitting in very hot water. The water has previously boiled and has cooled slightly. I'll leave the minis in the water until the affected areas are flexible. I generally start by letting the minis sit in the hot water for about a minute. Thin parts warm faster, thick parts take longer.
I'll fish the mini out of the hot water with the fork once the parts are warmed. Sometimes the parts will revert to their originally shape, sometimes I'll have to help them back into shape with a little pressure. The resin will start to cool, if it cools before I get everything where I want it I'll put the mini back in the hot water.
Once the mini is back in shape I stick it in ice water and let it cool.
And here's the result.
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