Working on some Dragon Figs., during assembly How do you position the arms and hands to fit, so they look natural while holding a weapon or other object. So the fig. actually looks like he is grasping the object. I can't seem to guess the correct angle or hand position. How do you get the fingers to fit into the trigger? A little conversion work with a knife and some putty? Thanks For Help, J.C.

Jeff,

Some careful use with the other halves blow dryer and a lot of patience. Some of the Gen 2 kits come several hands to position as needed for the look you want but the old kits can be real fiddly.

Try it out on an old piece of sprue to get a feel for it , then when comfortable do it on the real thing.

Hope this helps out some.

P.S. You won't be FNG long here with so many to help out.

Steve, Thanks for the reply. Give Me some details. I'm building an "older kit" from Dragon. Tell me more about the halves, and the blowdryer? Any specific solution for the older kits? Or is this what the halves and blow dryer is about? I was thinking of sawing off the weapon hand, and inserting wire to cuff and hand, and then puttying, smooth, and sand. Maybe cut into the hand, carve out a trigger finger? Seems a little advanced for me though . I just don't like the look of the trigger hand, all the fingers ...molded together, Hard to fit a trigger finger in that way . The Hands don't fit naturally around the weapon, in this case Kar 98k. Thanks Again...............J.C.

Jeff,

The other half is the wife. Not having much in the hair department precludes the need for a hair dryer, so I use hers. Sorry to have thrown you a curve ball there. Just use the hair dryer to heat the parts you need to soften up and carefully turn, twist, push or pull to fit your needs. Be careful not to get to hot or the part will melt, and that would suck. A good hobby knife like Exacto, or Excel, or even a scalpel would be necessary to get into the fingers that are molded together, to spread them apart. The same principle applies to the steady hand on the fore stock. Most times the hands on the fore stock aren't open enough for the rifle to set in right. But try all this out on a piece of old sprue to get comfortable and get a technique down before trying on the figure its self. Also be careful not to get burnt by the warmed up plastic. That's not much fun either.

Feel free to ask more questions any time. Hope this helps out some.

A jeweler's saw can be used to separate the fingers for a more realistic look. Your idea about cutting of the hand and repositioning it is a good one, and will work. Just practice with some old figures first.

I have a pair of jewelers needle nose pliers that I use but didn't know if Jeff would have those or not. Still not a bad idea though 18 Bravo. In fact almost any stiff piece of metal even a butter knife filed down some would work for what he is trying to accomplish.

Steve, 18 Bravo, Thanks for the Replies. I Get it ....the other half....My Mind was on Figures.....LMAO. Steve, I'm really not that slow....ya gotta believe me....lol. Hey, thanks for the extensive, step by step walk thru. That is just what I'm looking for. I'll try the blow dryer, had thought about heating an exacto knife blade, but will instead try the blow dryer. A little practice....I should get a feel for it, and be ok. Thanks Again, and SEMPER FI, J.C.

You might also look into Michael Roberts replacement hands. They come about 10 to a pack and have at least one right hand in a firing positoin. Remember, though, gun safety says the finger should not be on the trigger or in the trigger guard unless you are ready to fire.

Jeff,

At least we got a good laugh today. HoooooRahhhhhh

Good Tip AJ, I'll check those out . They would definitely come in "Handy". LOL. Yes, Steve we are having a few laughs. J.C.

Could that also be applied to the Vietnam war era?

Thanks in advance,
Angel