Unbasing Help Needed

[Cleon]

Any tips for unbasing figures? Ive been trying to unbase augamo to get him onto the proper base but its been like impossible to get him off. I've never done any customs before so its all new to me. Also, I think I'll use a hot glue gun for rebasing them is that fine?

[dok]

When it comes to Augamo, all I did was trim the base down to D3-base size with a pair of scissors. As long as you put his toe at the very front of the base it balances fine.

The difficulty in rebasing figures varies pretty dramatically from figure to figure. In a couple cases I've had to resort to a hacksaw. Others can basically be pulled apart clean with your hands.

Hot glue gun should work fine...

[Ninja Status]

I personally either pull figures off their bases or use an X-Acto knife (both work well in my experience). Good luck.

Edit: ninja'd by dok

[Xotli]

Originally Posted by Cleon

Any tips for unbasing figures? Ive been trying to unbase augamo to get him onto the proper base but its been like impossible to get him off. I've never done any customs before so its all new to me. Also, I think I'll use a hot glue gun for rebasing them is that fine?

Sure, here are some tips:

• Boil. Boiling figures works remarkably well for a number of problems. For instance, straightening out bent swords or spears, or lifting wings out of the way (e.g. Racheim). In this case, you just want to soften the plastic to make it easier to cut. Take a small pot of water, get it just barely to a boil. Just a few initial bubbles is all you need. Hold the figure by the head (either with fingers or a clamp). Dip the base of the figure into the water just barely--the water shouldn't go past the figure's ankles. Hold it for a medium-slow 10-count. That's it. That'll make the cutting remarkably easier. Not all bases require this sort of treatment, but D&D bases are the most likely to need it.
• Clamp. Find yourself something to hold the figure while you cut it. You need something that can hold the figure firmly without damaging it. Pliers are right out. No vise grips either. I have some small ones similar to these and a couple similar to this; you can use the larger ones to hold the smaller ones and the smaller ones to hold the figures. Other good clamps are lab clamps, like this simple one, or this fancy-schmancy one. If you have to skip any of these tips, this is the only one you can get by without. But it'll make things easier if you can use some clamps to hold the figure steady.
• Pliers. Okay, you can't use pliers on the figure, but you can damn sure use 'em on the base. Grab that sucker with a beefy pair of needlenoses or just regular slip-joints and bear down with all your weight. You're just going to throw away that base once you get it off, right? so who cares if you rip it up?
• Knife. You can skimp everywhere else, but, when it comes to your knife, get a good one. Like this one: it needs to be metal, it needs to be heavy, it needs to have a good grip, it needs to pretty much fill your hand, and it needs to be sharp. Once the razorblade gets dull, toss it and get a new one. Replacement blades are cheap.
• Mat. So now you've got your plastic soft, your figure is held down with clamp(s), you're holding on to the base with a pair of pliers, and you've got the knife in your other hand. Next most important thing is to have something under the figure: a mat, maybe a cutting board ... anything that your knife can dig into without causing permanent damage. You want to be putting your weight on the knife, and you don't want to be worrying about slipping and plunging the blade into your leg or something. You want to go straight down into a mat, with a nice, solid hunk of wood (i.e. a table) between it and any fleshy body parts.
• Technique. Start at the front of a foot and work your blade under the toes. Don't saw back and forth; rock. Imagine there's a post going through the center of the foot and you have to cut around it. Just rock back and forth. Be patient. Use your weight, and keep the blade flat against the base to avoid cutting the dude's heel off. For something like a 'clix base, where the figure is just glued to the base, this should take about 2.3 seconds, and you'll often have just as much luck twisting the blade a bit to pry the figure off. But for a D&D base, where the figure is molded to the base, keep your blade straight and be patient.

Good luck!