Boil Question

[smokingwreckage]

Dunked a painted unicorn in off-the-boil water, reset.

 

No damage to paint, some reversion to bent position after a fortnight.

[GeraintElberion]

So a few of you guys have said boiling them for long periods shouldn't hurt them.. but how do you insert them into the boiling water? Do you just drop them into the pot? Do you have to lower them in on a rubber spoon or a metal strainer or something? Do you need to worry about them sitting on the bottom of the pot?

 

Use a colander. I have one which fits in one of my pans and the handles just hang over the edge.

 

Use a metal one though, I once left a plastic colander in a pan of boiling water for a long time and the colander warped.

 

I used a metal colander and boiled about 40% of my bones in batches to get out even the slightest warps and leans. Then I checked them all over and had to redo about three (including the aforementioned giant's sword).

[kyshwn]

Use a colander. I have one which fits in one of my pans and the handles just hang over the edge.

 

Use a metal one though, I once left a plastic colander in a pan of boiling water for a long time and the colander warped.

 

Thanks, that's actually really useful information. Maybe I'll see if I can pick up a small-ish pot and a colander that fits it... to use just for this, so I don't contaminate any food-use pots, if there were any kind of possible contamination.

[MarshallJansen]

You can always pick up a wok Spider strainer, it should work for reasonably large things, and is what I've been using...

 

http://www.amazon.com/Helen-Kitchen-5-inch-Spider-Strainer/dp/B000PKQ3YW

[OneBoot]

I've got a small one of http://www.amazon.com/Trudeau-Stainless-Steel-Vegetable-Steamer/dp/B00062B0K6/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1376335502&sr=1-4&keywords=metal+folding+colander'>these that I use. Not only does it fit to darn near any size pot out there, it's got a spiffy handle on it so I can lift the entire batch right out of the pot at once (I use an oven mitt while doing this to minimize any potential burning!)

 

Huzzah!

--OneBoot :D

[JeffStray]

I've got a dedicated pot and have just let them sit in the rolling boil for 10-15 minutes (place a burn-proof spoon/spatula handle over the pot to kill any chance of overboil). The boiling seems to bounce them around enough that they don't touch the bottom for long enough to cause damage. Then I just lift them out with an old slotted spoon.

[Laoke]

I just use a $2 sieve. Holds the figures suspended in the boiling water away from the sides / bottom of the pot and makes dunking in ice water a breeze.

[Slendertroll]

I've been using mugs of water, microwaved until they're boiling, but I have also used pots of water heated on the stovetop on other plastic minis, and never had a problem with melting. No scientific testing though, of course.

[Cassu]

I boiled half of my minis tonight while making a lasagna and I was pleased (and surprised) how easily the figures, mostly weapons in particular actually form themselves back into their correct shape just by putting them in the boiling water. A few extremer case of bendy-legs required me adding a little assistance, but apart from that the entire process was very simple.

[Simon]

 

Various people have discovered that the boil method is useful for reverting figures to their original shape, but not very good for repositioning the figures. Ion order to reposition the wings, you'll need to cut and glue. You might be able to insert metal wire and bend that, but gargoyle's wings might be too small for that too work.

 

 

In my experience, this is the case. I bent Flit's wings to an extreme angle and they reverted to the normalized position (but not the initial out of package warped position). Boiling seems to work well as a corrective to get the intended position, but not very well for a new position entirely.

 

Yeah, mine reverted too, eventually, though it took a good while, at least several weeks.

[Corporea]

ok, just a quick update on the boiling. Just boiled ebonwrath to reset his legs. Um... learn from my mistake. Don't let ebonwrath's tail hang over the edge of the pot or he will no longer have a tail tip. Yeah, I'm going to have to do some resculpting...

 

What we have learned: Bones will melt!

[Starlight]

I did a little boiling this morning to straighten out some weapons as a quick proof of concept - it worked like a charm :)

I didn't do the boiling pot thing though, I used a water boiler and two bowls instead (one with ice water). To move minis I used rubber-ended BBQ tongs.

They really did not need very long in either bowl, and pretty much straightened themselves out without any additional coaxing from me.

 

Before/after photos below for the curious.