Head Swaps

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Head Swaps; How Difficult are they to Do?
Tweet Topic Started: Sep 20 2010, 11:49 AM (631 Views)
Golan2072	Sep 20 2010, 11:49 AM Post #1
Cannie! Posts: 743 Group: Members Member #231 Joined: Sep 16, 2010	I'm considering trying my hand at a few head-swaps, especially since 15mm-scale gas-masked heads are available from GZG. This will allow me to convert a few generic minis, maybe even fantasy ones, into post-apocalyptic miniatures. However, I'm concerned about its difficulty, as I've never tried anything like it before. How difficult it is to swap the heads for 15mm miniatures? How big is the risk of permanently damaging the miniature in the process? Exactly how you do this? Which tools are needed?



Mal	Sep 20 2010, 12:48 PM Post #2
Road Warrior Posts: 1,125 Group: Members Member #124 Joined: Dec 11, 2009	Head swaps can be tricky, espically at smaller scales, if your unsure of your abality to patch up any unintentional damage then you'll need to be careful in your choice of base mini, generally you want a mini where there is nothing obscuring their neck. I use a flat bladed saw myself and gently drag the saw over the point where you want to cut until you have a good guide line in place, then carefully saw through the rest, with 15mm it won't take much effort, and you may even be able to cut the next using the method to get the guideline as its much harder to have an accident or slipped saw that way, it just takes longer. Once you've removed the old head you'll want to put a pin in the neck and the new head so it stays in place, this is a simple matter of using a pin vice and carefully drilling a hole, just be sure to line the hole up or your mini will look like its got a broken neck. Once pinned and glued in place, use a little greenstuff/other putty to rebuild the neck and/or obscure the join. Ohh depending on how careful you were with the saw you may have some flashing to clean off of the neck before attaching the new head.



Golan2072	Sep 20 2010, 04:06 PM Post #3
Cannie! Posts: 743 Group: Members Member #231 Joined: Sep 16, 2010	Thanks for the info Mal



mattblackgod	Sep 20 2010, 05:15 PM Post #4
Big boss warlord dude! Posts: 15,699 Group: Admins Member #1 Joined: Jul 22, 2008	I have never tried it with 15mm. On 28's I simply clip the head off and file the area. Pin and glue the new head on. Do a dry run as you might have to fill some gaps. I then add greenstuff to add hair and such like.



Ross	Sep 20 2010, 10:27 PM Post #5
Wasteland Warlord Posts: 5,396 Group: Members Member #2 Joined: Jul 24, 2008	Those two nailed it



Golan2072	Sep 20 2010, 11:40 PM Post #6
Cannie! Posts: 743 Group: Members Member #231 Joined: Sep 16, 2010	Thanks for all the info; once I'll have available funds, I'll buy a few expendable minis from GZG as well as the GZG heads and try my hand with head-swaps. At worst, I'll waste 5 UK pounds (2.5 for the minis and 2.5 for the heads). At best, I'll learn how to convert minis into Stalkers with the gas-mask heads! Edited by Golan2072, Sep 20 2010, 11:41 PM.



Mal	Sep 20 2010, 11:57 PM Post #7
Road Warrior Posts: 1,125 Group: Members Member #124 Joined: Dec 11, 2009	head swaps are easy if you plan it out well and take your time with the tooling, providing you don't slip up there then you'll be fine.



Golan2072	Sep 21 2010, 08:46 AM Post #8
Cannie! Posts: 743 Group: Members Member #231 Joined: Sep 16, 2010	Mal Sep 20 2010, 11:57 PM head swaps are easy if you plan it out well and take your time with the tooling, providing you don't slip up there then you'll be fine. Thanks for the reassurance, Mal



mattblackgod	Sep 21 2010, 08:01 PM Post #9
Big boss warlord dude! Posts: 15,699 Group: Admins Member #1 Joined: Jul 22, 2008	They stopped Mal from having pets for this reason!!



Mal	Sep 21 2010, 08:36 PM Post #10
Road Warrior Posts: 1,125 Group: Members Member #124 Joined: Dec 11, 2009	well taxidermists do it all the time, how was I supposed to know it was going to be soo messy...



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