MINIATURES REFERENCE:
Converting


Amputating Figures How to remove a head from a figure.
Figure Conversions Alvan Fishers' series on figure conversions, with an emphasis on casting your own figures.

AMPUTATING FIGURES
Pat Marstall (marstall@aol.com)

I use the Xacto jewler's fret saw or an Xacto razor saw depending on the job. Although they appear expensive, Xacto prices are really quite reasonable when you see the quality of the tool... admirable when you consider the virtual monopoly that Xacto has in the detail-tool market.

The fret say looks like a miniature hacksaw, and it goes through pewter and lead much more quickly than you'd think. The only problem is that the blade is about a mm thick, which doesn't sound like much, but you'd be surprised how much metal gets sawed away (like an entire neck of a 25mm-scale figure!).

The razor saw has a thinner blade, and is essentially a serrated razor blade - a hobby knife with teeth. It takes off less metal, but it is so rigid and the blade is so broad that it is difficult to get into tight places (the fret saw, while a larger tool, is easier to move into tight areas due to the lesser breadth of the blade.


Last Updates
20 January 1997added Figure Conversions
restructured
26 April 1996reformatted
4 May 1995new email address for Marstall
22 March 1995flag material moved to Flags web page
Comments or corrections?