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Iron Man mask help!


GregHyland

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Against my better judgement, I put the Mark III's mask on, even though the pointy mask is my favorite look. Anyway, I can't get the mask off. I've had problems with other figure, but usually get the mask off again (except fo the Civil War Spider-Man, that one's stuck too).

So, any suggestions for getting the mask off? I've tire running it under hot water to warm up the plastic and make it a little more pliable, but no real luck. I'm sure other people have run it to the same issue. So short of CUTTING it off (some thing I had to do with Battlestar Galatica Viper helmets!), what should I do?

-Greg

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You probably know that some Minimate neck pegs are slightly larger than others. Try finding one where the head fits on really tight, and pulling it off that way (I believe some have said that they did this with 2.5" Minis, though I've never tried it). A method that I have used in the past is to stick a small screwdriver in there, and to pull it at an angle. Also, when you are pulling, just try to get your fingernails under the sheath itself, and to pull upward that way instead of pulling by grabbing on the side with your fingers.

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I'd agree with the fingernail trick. Use your fingernails to slide it up on one side, then go to the opposite side of the mask and do the same thing. Repeat all around the mask until it's freed and will slide freely off.

They fit a little tighter than LEGO masks, huh Greg? :D (Welcome to the forum BTW. Say hi to Steve and Ace for me - I haven't talked to them since the Batman LEGO meet in Enfield.)

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Hi Greg,

Yeah it's simply softly sofly catchey monkey with these... Good news is that once they have been on and off one time they are usually loose enough to slide on and off without any further hassles.

Try the side by side trick Reideen mentions as it works well, it also some times helps to put the minimate head on an earlier mate with a tighter/bigger neck stud as it will grip the actual head better and give you more room to leverage the mask off.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

T.

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Hi greg,

I had some similar troube with the civil war set, and managed to get the masks off by using karamazov80's approach of using the fingernail to get it out. I had no trouble with the masks the next time. Another method that people have brought up in other threads is to put the head on the shoulder joint of a 2.5" mate and it will usually be tight enough to just tug it off.

If this works and you get it off, but you get the same problem later, after getting if off try putting all the extra masks on unwanted minimate heads, so that you don't need to worry about it getting stuck, and you only need to switch the heads. Somebody said this in another topic.

Hope this is of service,

Vig

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Thanks for all the help!

Not really having any fingernails, I skipped this suggestion. But I gave the screwdriver trick a try. I thought it would work. I was able to turn the head around, and get about a milimetre of, but no more. I totally doubted the freezer tick, but I thought I'd give it a try... and it TOTALLY WORKED!

I tried it again on my Civil War Spider-Man and it worked again. Plus the mask seems to easliy come on and off now. Then I (foolishly) put the Iron Man mask back on and I couldn't get it off. So Iron Man's back in the freezer!

Besides the fact I scraped up the back of Iron Man's head a bit by first trying to get the mask off with tweezers, everything worked.

Now, to check the freezer...

-Greg

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A method that I have used in the past is to stick a small screwdriver in there, and to pull it at an angle. Also, when you are pulling, just try to get your fingernails under the sheath itself, and to pull upward that way instead of pulling by grabbing on the side with your fingers.

I'll try it but usually.....I just roll-over & fall asleep :P

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A method that I have used in the past is to stick a small screwdriver in there, and to pull it at an angle. Also, when you are pulling, just try to get your fingernails under the sheath itself, and to pull upward that way instead of pulling by grabbing on the side with your fingers.

I'll try it but usually.....I just roll-over & fall asleep :P

And this thread just took a turn for the creepy.

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I've tried the freezer over and ever, and it works everytime! But WHY does it work, and will it damage the figure's joints in the long run (I guess I could just put the head in)?

Now... the next problem is how do I get the big fire balls off the Invaders Human Torch hands? I pull them off and it takes the hands off with it every time!

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I've tried the freezer over and ever, and it works everytime! But WHY does it work, and will it damage the figure's joints in the long run (I guess I could just put the head in)?

Now... the next problem is how do I get the big fire balls off the Invaders Human Torch hands? I pull them off and it takes the hands off with it every time!

Hot and cold make materials expand and contrast. When the stuck items are of different materials I think one expands and or contrasts more, thus giving you the chance to separate...

-CloneMe

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I throw mine in the freezer than slide the helmet off after an hour or two. Works every time I've done it. Hopefully it'll work the same on the newer minis!

thats how it works for me... but i dont put them in for an hour i keep them in there for a good 45mins.

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I throw mine in the freezer than slide the helmet off after an hour or two. Works every time I've done it. Hopefully it'll work the same on the newer minis!

thats how it works for me... but i dont put them in for an hour i keep them in there for a good 45mins.

I'll try it but usually.....etc....etc.

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In order to get the flame blasts off of HT's hands, you need to boil water, submerge both pieces into said water and using a wedge tipped pair of tweezers pull the hand free. If your hand peg is a bit squashed from pulling it with the tweezers, simply resubmerge the hand into the boiling water and the heat will reshape any imperfections. Trust me, as I did this with all 4 of my HTs.

Edited by MINI_MYTE
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  • 4 weeks later...
I've tried the freezer over and ever, and it works everytime! But WHY does it work, and will it damage the figure's joints in the long run (I guess I could just put the head in)?

Now... the next problem is how do I get the big fire balls off the Invaders Human Torch hands? I pull them off and it takes the hands off with it every time!

The freezer trick works because the molecules in the minimate head contract at lower temperatures, making it slightly smaller. Obviously the helmet becomes slightly smaller too but because it's much thinner the change in size is less than the head experiences and a very thin layer of ice occurs between the two making it easier to slide off.

It won't do any lasting damage if you let the pieces return to room temperature before manhandling the joints.

The Eiffel Tower increasing / decreasing in size depending on the season is the same principle!

They put the Eiffel Tower in a freezer,to get its helmet off ? Awesome! :ohmy:

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