Rebasing miniatures advice needed

[Kikuchiyo]

I have some 20mm metal minis I would like to rebate. Currently they are superglue to metal bases with some pva flocking. I've got lucky with some of them but others are being quite stubborn, Anything I can use to weaken the bond?

[swiftnick]

You wouldn't believe how many times I have rebased.
What I normally do is stand the figures on something like a baking tray. Then pour boiling water in the tray up to about the feet on the figures. Leave until cool. Then you should find glue is now weak enough to slip a blade under and ping figure off.

[Major_Gilbear]

I do as swiftnick does, although this sometimes only works for getting flock/sand off rather than releasing the figure itself.

To get the superglue bond to break, you might need to put the figures in the freezer to make the superglue joint brittle, and then try gently prying them off with a strong blade. If you soak all the PVA and flock off, you may be able to get away with using a little bit of superglue debonder under the model to help break the glue too, but you risk damaging the paintjob like this, and the debonder is not especially cheap.

I'll be honest though; if the models are only painted quickly, and everything is metal, it can just be easier to dump the lot in paint stripper (acetone or something like Biostrip 20) and then rinse off the models, rebase, re-prime and re-paint. It may seem like more work, but if you're struggling to get the models off their old bases, and you can't cut the old bases off or incorporate them in the new bases, and if they only had a basic paintjob anyway, you'll spend more effort and time (and risk damaging the models) than just starting again with them.

[Silent Invader]

The boiling water method works as does dettol but I’m sometimes too impatient for that or don’t want to risk the mini PJ. If this is the course (TBH it’s now almost always the case!) I grip the metal base (in my case a 25mm washer) with two pairs of needle nose pliers and bend. The washer gives and the bond breaks.

[Kikuchiyo]

Thanks tested the boiling water method, so far it works a treat

[vodkafan]

The boiling water always works for me, most come away first time, a couple of stubborn ones might need a second dose.

[JollyBob]

The only advice I will offer is if you are trying the "slip a blade under and wiggle till it pops off" method is to wear a thimble on your thumb as I now have a lovely scar where I was a bit too successful.
Who knew sculpting tools were that sharp?

[Emir of Askaristan]

If it's superglue and metal bases then there is a product called De-Bonder or debonder which is be available online from model shops. This breaks the chemical bond and softens the joint allowing you to separate the two surfaces. It only works with superglue - not plastic cement or Pva glues.

I used it recently to rebuild some 40k stuff my son built roughly when he was a kid. It worked well and I didn't need to stress the parts by pulling hard or using blades or pliers.

[Kikuchiyo]

The boiling water method has so far worked perfectly. Thankfully I had been quite conservative with the glue

[Easy E]

My advice is to simply never re-base.  If a system demands you rebase, choose a different system.   

[Kikuchiyo]

My advice is to simply never re-base.  If a system demands you rebase, choose a different system.   

Wasn't for a system, it was for an upgrade in bases but I agree although I'd rather think of it as an excuse to buy more minis