Tips and Tricks for popping on (& off!) block figure ball joints

[minimateship]

I know I could probably trawl a few review sites for this, I know there's something about using hot water (or cold water?) on the socket and other home remedies but thought it might be a good idea to put it to the group and compile the knowledge  :

 

What are your tips & tricks and things to keep in mind when putting limbs onto, or taking limbs off of, older block figures? specifically working with ball and socket joints

 

I'll start and say that while it may be tempting when removing a limb to use the torso for leverage, try to avoid this as you can snap the joint to the ball! this seems to be a bigger issue on figures using clear plastic in my experience

[minimateship]

Here is a question i have for the group: what are some of the ways y'all deal with getting a minimate head out of a full face covering headpiece?

currently stuck trying to get Space Suit Lamberts helmet off

[cylonchaney]

A pair of needle nosed pliers in the peg hole with pressure applied to open them can offer some grab. I'd be careful with this technique and it's definitely not good for really stuck ones.

[NerdyTrev]

3 hours ago, minimateship said:

Here is a question i have for the group: what are some of the ways y'all deal with getting a minimate head out of a full face covering headpiece?

currently stuck trying to get Space Suit Lamberts helmet off

Stick it in the freezer overnight and it should slide right off. 

[minimateship]

thank you very much, i'll give that a go this evening : )

[buttheadsmate]

I  once read on this forum that an absolutely foolproof way of separating stuck minimate parts is to place the Minimates in a fridge & then  boil them in a saucepan.

 

What a ridiculous  suggestion , who the helI owns a saucepan big enough to fit a fridge in ?

 

 

[cylonchaney]

6 hours ago, buttheadsmate said:

 

What a ridiculous  suggestion , who the helI owns a saucepan big enough to fit a fridge in ?

 

Lot's of people.

But I fail to see how the fridge offers any advantage over just plain boiling water.

 

[blogzilly]

If I could offer a tip…use heat instead of cold. Plastic polymers, when frozen, become brittle and that temp shift can result in micro fractures in the material. The act of separating those parts could result in shattering pieces of plastic away from the main structure or damaging some of the linked internal chains that may not be noticeable now but could affect the figure down the road (warping, discoloration, leeching binders, etc). 

First thing is to try to figure out what you think might be causing the sticking. If you think it’s plastic to plastic (bad fit or something) then gently increasing the heat is a good bet. But if it’s dried paint you’d need to try something else. Some methods work better than others and they depend on plastic types and amount of paint and a person’s, I dunno…their overall feelings about risk/reward! 😆 

I’ve got some chemicals in my garage I use, I could go take a look when I get a chance. But they’re last resort stuff honestly.

The first thing I usually do is bathe the thing in hot soapy Dawn water, washing with a fine brush around and into the cracks around that helmet. After patting dry, as gently but firmly as possible Vice clamp the helmet or hair (covered with cloth), insert something like precision needle nose in the neck hole so I can work a grip and do my best to turn the head inside the helmet or hair. That usually does the least damage and works on light paint sticking.

[minimateship]

Apologies on the delay in providing a dispatch from the front, I was too busy having my sides re-assembled (a fairly common ailment when dealing with clyonchaney and bhm, it must be said) thank you all so much for your assistance and giving this thread a chance

I got Lambert's helmet off, with a tiny bit of scrape damage around the chin (confirmation at least of the snugness of the fit in one particular point of the 'lip' of the helmet) but it's no bother :') though in light of blogzilly's comment I feel it may well have been more a tiny shatter on the overhanging helmet bit OR resolving a dried paint calamity by force, as I certainly put my back into pulling it clear. Took a few good yanks and I'm not just talking about all you helpful souls on here!

On a related note, but pushing clear as opposed to pulling clear, any good tips for working with ball joints in transparent plastic? Specifically I've been trying to pop the clear skeletal arms on to the (positively exquisite) Master Pal from Buffy Palz and they pop on so good they can sometimes tear the connecting peg from shoulder ball to torso when i attempt to pose them (though this could well be a factor of my enthusiasm 😛 as it stands, i just pop them off and then gently back on in the pose i want, but I'd love to be...crystal clear, on what one techniques one should and shouldn't deploy when working with transparent plastic?

Another, quicker question I'm a little far from home at the moment to test, but how does plastic cement shape up in regard to the plastics used in block figures?