Hydra with removable heads?
 

We've got a lot of great figure modders on this site, so I'm going to cast this idea out before I (with zero experiance) start to chop up one of my figs.

I think that it would be a lot of fun to play with a Fen Hydra fig that has heads that can be removed as he takes wounds, then replaced as he is healed, but I'm not entirely sure how to execute this.

My initial thought was to just chop off the heads, drill a hole down the neck-stumps and glue metal pins into the heads that slip into the holes in the body. I'm concerned that the heads would rotate, though, so I thought that using a flat piece of metal instead of a pin would be better, but I don't know how to go about slicing holes to insert something like that.

Does anyone have any suggestions for my idea, or does anyone have a better idea?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Re: Hydra with removable heads?
 

Or you could just buy four of them, cut off 1 head from one, 2 from another, etc. and switch them out. Just sayin'. ;)

Re: Hydra with removable heads?
 

The round metal peg in a slightly undersized hole would be tight enough to keep he heads from rotating. Say a 1/8" diameter peg in a 3/32" hole.

Cool Idea. Woul replace the wound markers nicely on this fig.

Re: Hydra with removable heads?
 

That was part of what I had considered, but eventually the holes would wear larger and the heads would become loose. I don't have any idea how long that would take, though.

Re: Hydra with removable heads?
 

Nice idea.

I am by no means an expert figure modder, by no means good either. But I had the thought that you could use Velcro (spelling is bad, I think). It may push the hydra head and neck a distance apart, but if it doesn't end up working it could be removed and another method could be tried.

Re: Hydra with removable heads?
 

I think a flat piece of metal would work best so you didn't have to worry about the heads eventally turning. In order to make the slit for it I would use a Versa-Tool (about $25 at Walmart in the craft department). Pretty much all it is, is a wood burning tool with different tips that screw onto it. It has this great hot knife cutting tip that would work great for this. I know that $25 is a lot to spend for one mod, but if your going to do more mods in the future the hot knife is worth it alone. I use mine all the time.

Re: Hydra with removable heads?
 

I think you have the right basic idea, Killometer. As long as the cut is angled (i.e. not in line with the rotational axis of the pin) then I don't think the figure will rotate.

Cutting the heads off cleanly will require either power tools, or a band saw and a lot of patience. If the cut isn't clean, then that will allow the heads to rotate.

You should be really careful to match the pin to the drill you use. If the thickness of the pin and the thickness of the drill bit match exactly, the fit should be nice and snug. I would use as long a pin as the curvature of the neck allows.

As an aside, I would mount the pin on the head side, not the body side. That way, when you take the head off, you have a stump (which you could even paint red on the inside) as opposed to a metal pin.

Re: Hydra with removable heads?
 

To stop the pin from rotating, you could simply glue in the pin once you have the hole in the head.

Re: Hydra with removable heads?
 

Right; that works as long as the cut isn't on the same axis as the pin. I would:

1. Pick the longest, straightest section of the neck.
2. Cut the neck in the middle of that section, but at an angle.
3. Pick a drill bit of the same thickness as the pin.
4. Drill a hole straight into both the head side of the neck, and the body side of the neck.
5. Make sure the pin fits snugly into the body side of the neck.
6. Make sure the head side of the neck can be mounted on the pin. (If you didn't line up the two holes exactly right, you will have to widen out the hole on the head side of the neck. Don't worry; you'll be epoxying this side next so it doesn't have to be a snug fit.)
7. Dip the pin in epoxy and mount the head on the epoxy-coated pin. If you had to widen the hole, then you should make sure the pin is glued in at the right angle.
8. If desired, paint the body side of the neck in whatever color you think Fen Hydra blood is.
9. Repeat the process for the other two heads that you want to be removable.

Re: Hydra with removable heads?
 

...except for the fact that you have big holes in your hydra...

if you go with the peg-hole idea, have the pegs be on the body and make them look like vertebrae ;)

Or you could use really strong magnets.

Re: Hydra with removable heads?
 

I'd drill small holes in both head and neck and find magnets that could fit into the holes.

Polly Pockets uses small magnets to make things move. Think along those lines and I think you've got a winner!


Nnja'd - lol!

Re: Hydra with removable heads?
 

How about magnets? Not the fridge kind, but some stronger ones you buy at tool shops.

Neato idea, Kilo.

EDIT: Some people have already suggested it...

MegaSilver