Ok so i'm currently assembling a whole bunch of figures for a dio, Tamiya's 1/35 russian assult infantry. For the price they are surprisingly good, but almost all of them are holding wheapons, and this is where i have encountered a problem which i'm sure must be familiar to a lot of people. The hands which are supposed to be gripping stuff just don't do the job really. They just sort of 'palm' objects.
I was wondering whether there is any way to manipulate the fingures so that they hold wheapons better. Is there anything that i could use to soften the plastic without damaging it? Or is it safe to bend the delicate looking fingers and thumbs without much risk of breaking them? I am aware that clenched fists can be used to make good gripping hands but i don't currently have any spare so i need to make use of the existing parts.
Cheers,
Luke

The method I use is to very slowly and very carefully seperate the fingers from one another with a sharp blade, which makes them easier to bend. This is difficult with some tamiya sets as the hands are a bit lumpy to start with. Another way of doing it is to make a cut across the fingers and then bend the hand as you would bend PE along a fold.

I've found separating the fingers and then either heating them with a hair dryer or in very hot water, bending them to fit, and then holding them like that and sticking them in ice water seems to work pretty well.

Matt

You can even go this route, using Hornet replacement hands:

http://www.coloradominiatures.com/index.asp?PageAction=PRODSEARCH&txtSearch=hands&btnSearch=GO&Page=1

Luke, which ever way you go ( I use both mentioned methods ) make sure you are able to place said weapon in hands after bending. Sometimes the pose makes it difficult to slide the weapon in the figures hands as the stock is quite large.

I saw a short while ago a Japanese model making video, where the modeller was adjusting the hands of a set of Dragon's figures to fit better around the weapons - he cut tiny "v" shapes across the palms and halfway up the fingers, then applying a little liquid glue to soften more, then he made them grip the weapon. Once gripping the weapon, a little Mr Surfacer dabbed underneath the hands helps complete the illusion... - it was very convincing, if a tiny bit fiddley... I have tried the same technique with varying success, mostly chopping the hand off at the palm!
Resin replacement hands, in my experience are even more brittle than the plastic ones.
HTH

Richard

Top suggestion Richard, I'm definately going to try that!

Stu