More Breyer repair questions - warped legs

So in the past I have tried to adjust warped legs with boiling water, without success. On one, the moose, the steam discolored the paint and the leg never budged. On the other, Misty, the plastic texture changed, though the leg did straighten. How do you straighten legs without the negative effects? I have several I would love to correct, like this guy's hind leg (sorry about the incredible photo quality).

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I'm afraid I can't help much with alternative ideas, I've always used the water technique and only had one model it wouldn't work on (that clear one from a painting set, where I blame the plastic itself for being too different), and no adverse effects to paint or plastic. Possibly it's because all my models are new-ish, and perhaps the plastic is slightly different now compared to vintage ones? Only a guess, otherwise I can't understand why it works for me but not everybody

I have heard of people using a hairdryer or one of those heat guns intended for decorating or crafts, but no experience myself cos I don't own either of those things, so I've no idea how safe/non-damaging it is for the model and paintwork.

I don't have much experience with repairing Breyers, I'm afraid. I've never tried the hot water technique, but I've heard about

The only alternative that comes to my mind would be cutting off and re-attaching the leg again. It would also need re-touching the cut area afterward (with epoxy clay and paints). So it would be a more time-consuming option!

I can really recommend the heat gun. I got a not to expensive one and it works a treat.

Thank you guys! Hmmm . . . there do seem to be some $20 heat gun options. Those are intimidating, but maybe less unpredictable than hot water. I am not sure why it didn't work for me! Other people have had great success with it, but I don't know if those particular models were not good choices or I left it in too long or not long enough or . . . The moose is in pretty bad shape all around, I could try the heat gun on him and see how it works and then if it's a failure at least it wouldn't have made him much worse than he already is.

I don't think I could cut off a leg and reattach it! That sounds beyond my skill level at the moment.

Sometimes I have to re-boil the water and hold the leg in a bit longer, a second heating immediately after the first if I test it and get no movement. Especially if it's a thicker area like above a knee/hock, or a really chunky breed, or even just a bigger scale. Breyer plastic does take much longer to soften than Safari/CollectA horses I've found, they go super-soft and floppy in just moments, where Breyers need holding in there for up to a minute to get flexible enough to bend, and you do need to apply a bit more force.

The moose sounds like a good test subject, if he's already too spoilt to be a perfect OF you wouldn't feel too nervous about the possibility of any further marks you might make. Maybe one day you'll feel up to painting something much bigger and he can have a brand new paintjob (maybe...I'm still afraid of Trads )

Hot water will work, but you need to leave it in for a while. I pop the leg into a zip lock bag first as some paint can discolour with heat. I then put the leg (in the bag) into a mug and fill with boiling water. I leave it for about 5 minutes and then carefully try and move the leg, if it's not soft enough I repeat the process with more boiling water. When I'm happy it's soft enough and have moved it so it's straight again I run the leg under a cold tap to 'set' it.
I've not tried the heat gun method but it does work, you just need to be really careful, and not hold it too close.
These blog posts might help?
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And if you do a Google search you can find lots of other helful advice including many videos on YouTube too.
Hope this helps and good luck

Thank you! That sounds like a better approach than the one I took years ago and maybe might help fix whatever I did wrong. I will try that before going with a heat gun. I will try it on the poor moose first, haha.

George wrote:

The moose sounds like a good test subject, if he's already too spoilt to be a perfect OF you wouldn't feel too nervous about the possibility of any further marks you might make. Maybe one day you'll feel up to painting something much bigger and he can have a brand new paintjob (maybe...I'm still afraid of Trads )

That would be a long way away for sure. I am still eyeing my little Funrise custom nervously as he sits judging me on my art table across the room.

Well I gave it a try this morning, with mixed results.

First I started with Swaps, who is in pretty rough shape already. Here are his befores:

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And then afters. Having two warped legs made it hard to get them both in the correct place, especially since every time I reheated the front, it just went back to its original warp, so I had to get it right in one go. The steam did discolor the front legs, but not the back for some reason. I used a plastic bag, but maybe I got the water too hot on the front legs. I did get them both straight enough that he stands better, but he rocks because not all feet are flat together. Both of them seemed to gradually go back to closer to the original warp as he cooled as well, so I am thinking I didn't set it enough?

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Then I tried to moose, who was in better shape than I remembered when I pulled him out. Just the broken antler and the three warped legs, with the discoloration from attempts to fix it in the past. The three legs and the size of the legs really made this one much harder. I had good luck with the back leg, but both front legs seem to be warped up high near the shoulder where I couldn't submerge it and it was too thick anyway. Once again, despite the bag, the paint discolored. Since he was already partially discolored, I'm not too worried, but I am not sure I want to try on my Sham. I also tried the hair dryer but I think that did nothing at all, really. Perhaps I didn't get it enough time.

I also struggle with "setting" it in cold water. I had to hold the warm leg in place, so I couldn't dunk it in a glass. Is it supposed to be malleable enough that you can move it and it stays? Both of them I could move, but if I release them, they went immediately back to their original position. So I just ran them under cold water, but I don't think it was for long enough maybe?

The moose is actually less stable than before, because that warped back leg was giving him support where his front leg didn't. Now that it's back where it goes, nothing is holding that side up very well.

Before:
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After:
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