Getting Figures off bases.

[Old Guy]

A long time ago I glued (Bostick, clear adhesive) my WotR onto plastic bases.

I had decided to rebase them all and 'modernise' them. I managed to pry three contingents off no bother (they belong to my son who must have used the glue sparingly). But now that I have moved on to my guys, the knife just will not pry them off, I even tried heating it and running it under the base, but again no joy, I have some 500 figures to remove.

Any thoughts?

[anevilgiraffe]

belt sander?

[Cubs]

I use small sharp wire-cutters to nibble them off if I can't get a chisel blade underneath.

[jthomlin]

In my experience most bonds deteriorate with heat, try blasting the joints with a hair dryer.

Soaking the bases in water may also help.

Cheers!
Joe Thomlinson

[pacarat]

A long time ago I glued (Bostick, clear adhesive) my WotR onto plastic bases.

I had decided to rebase them all and 'modernise' them. I managed to pry three contingents off no bother (they belong to my son who must have used the glue sparingly). But now that I have moved on to my guys, the knife just will not pry them off, I even tried heating it and running it under the base, but again no joy, I have some 500 figures to remove.

Any thoughts?

Are the WOTR figs metal or plastic?

Maybe try the freezer....cold will contract material - maybe loosen the connection.

[Ninja]

Acetone removes super glue. It will actually break down the bond.

[gamer Mac]

Razor saw

[ErikB]

I have had good results with acetone using my wife's nail polish remover.

Orcs and Space Marines look cute in a stinky pink bath....   

Good luck.

[redzed]

hammer and chisel.

[zemjw]

Pictures would be handy if you have them.

I've removed a few figures from bases with different approaches. For metal tabs glued to slottas I used a side cutter to destroy the plastic base and release the tab.

I've also used a side cutter to slide under the foot and cut the figure off that way. However, it is easy to damage the figure if you're not careful, and you can end up with a bit of a V-shape.

I've also had some success using a scalpel blade (Swan & Morton, so proper sharp) to cut between the foot and glue, but again, care and patience is required.

The side cutter should scale to 500 figs, but I doubt the scalpel would

[Dr. Zombie]

Acetone removes superglue BUT also plastic! So if the miniatures are plastic you should not use that option.

I have had great succes with putting stuff in the freezer. The cold weakens the glue and makes it brittle and easy to remove the glued parts. That might not be a good option for you if other parts of your minis are glued and you only want to remove the bases.

In general I find rebasing to be a real hassle and I try to avoid it as much as possible. I have had a few times where i simply used a pair of clippers and destroy the base.