Converting weapons?

[Blofeld]

I'm planning to remove a pistol and add a new gun. How would I be best going about this?
Thanks in advance
Blofeld

[von Lucky]

Do you want to keep the pistol?

Easiest is to use clippers to remove the gun, file the top of the fist flat and glue on the new gun.

[von Lucky]

I'm trying to search Google/Youtube to show how easy it is, I can't find anything

[The Dozing Dragon]

Carefully with a sharp blade....as von Lucky says clippers are better and safer. I then drill out the hand which allows a better bonding area. Work on the hand before attaching the new weapon and it can look ok.

[Mr Tough Guy]

depends on the mini, is it metal? plastic? how big is the gun you want to remove and do you want to keep it, and how big is the replacement gun and will you be able to put a pin in it. in some cases it might be easier to replace the entire hand

in most cases I would echo what's been said, remove gun with clippers or a sharp blade, clean up the hand and drill a hole in it, and pin the new gun in place, and clean up any damage with greenstuff if neccesary

[JollyBob]

Depending on what you are planning, the absolute easiest way is to snip the whole hand off at the wrist and replace with a hand holding the new gun. May need pinned as well as glued, depending on the material.

Plenty of manufacturers make spare hands with weapons, either as extras (see Heresy Miniatures) or optional parts in plastic kits(Warlord, GW).

Of course, if the figure is in a pose that makes this impossible, this advice is completely useless. 

[eilif]

Good advice all around.
If you can find a company making a hand that's similar to the model's other hand and holding the kind of gun you want to use then that's a great way to go. In addition to JB's suggestions, Reaper also has some nice hands holding pistols.

Otherwise I just remove the handle from the pistol you want to add. Then clip away the pistol you don't want, file it smooth on top and attach.

If working with metal, it's best to use a different clippers than the ones you use for plastic.  You can usually find a cheap pair of "Flush" clippers for not much $ at all.  Metal will quickly make a set of clippers bad for plastics.  Also, if using metal, I prefer a rubberized superglue such as Gorilla "impact Tough" or one of the BSI rubberized glues (Instaflex or IC-2000) as they give a bit more flex and aren't as brittle as other cyanoacrylates.

If you are using metal and want to be really sure the bond is tight, drill a hole in the top of the hand, and then clip the handle of the gun you want to use into a peg.  Then glue together.  It's basically pinning without a pin.