NEW methods added.

Hello friends!! I want to share my experience fixing figures over the years. When the articulations are loosen, the people tends to use aggresive materials to tight them, like chemical cleaners, waxes, superglue, Kiki (a floor polish mixed with something more...), etc. I never understand why the people uses that kind of things but I respect it. In my opinion I won't never put solvents, parfums, waxes or cleaning chemicals on my figures... but everyone is free to use whatever works best for them.

After years and years taking comissions and fixing figures (or customizing) I'll share you three methods very easy to apply:


1 - Premium Vallejo Reducer 62.066, difficult: easy.

The best material I used for tight the figures it's just a painting product. A paint Reducer (not a thinner, just a reducer, it's different) and I assure, once you use a paint reducer of pure Polyurethane, you won't never use any other product to tight the articulations.

A Reducer is basically a very VERY liquid hybrid resin of polyurethane waterbased, odourless, without pigments, without solvents, without alcohol or chemicals. The polyurethane basically is used to reduce paint in the airbrush. It's very slow to dry but makes a very thin layer of tough resin, flexible and durable, hard as hell without flaking, cracking, etc (applying in the correct measure).

I usually put one drop in the articulation, I move it gently and then let it dry one or two days (if the drop comes out from the articulation, clean it, don't worry). You will see magic on your articulations, and if you want you can repeat the process the times as you want.

The best product that I found (and I also use it with my airbrush) is Premium Vallejo Reducer 62.066. 60ml bottle for 6$ (there's a more expensive bottle of 200ml, but's not necessary).

Cheap and easy to apply with a dropper.

Why this product in particular? Why this brand? because the Premium series are paints used for real vehicles, surf tables, big surfaces, etc... The Premium colors of Vallejo are very VERY tough. I painted dozens of things that are hitted constantly (sports material, action cameras, guns, rifles, etc), no cracking, no fading, no flaking.

Obviously everyone is free to use the product that works best for them... I only recommend the cheapest and the easiest solutions.

The important thing is not the brand, it's the composition.

FIND ALWAYS pure poluyrethane (waterbased obviously), avoid thinners with alcohols, solvents, enamels and agressive products used on Miniatures or modeling, because they can melt pieces (like some Tamiya products) or get very dirty articulations (like waxes or superglues).

Polyurethane is clean, cheap and easy to apply. And the most important thing: it's very useful.

I recommend Premium Vallejo Reducer 62.066 because is the best product with the best results I ever used on my figures articulations. Of course there's another brands overthere, Vallejo it's the easiest to find (and cheap).




2 - Vallejo Water Textures, difficult: medium.

There's another awesome material that I used for tighten articulations, but in this case, it's a little more hard to apply because you will need to pop-out the articulation. I recommend this method specially for balljoints or flat surfaces like friction joints, not complex articulations. Vallejo Water Textures it's like a silicon liquid, sticky and a little messy to handle but with great results. Once it dries, makes a layer of something like clear rubber.



There's two types, Still Water 26.201 (more fluid) and Transparent Water 26.201 (more dense). The result will be the same. You can use what you feel more comfortable with. Use a small brush to apply it on the ball joint or the ball socket. Be careful, don't apply too much because when it dries it's VERY hard to remove, just put a little portion and let it dry until it becames totally clear (it needs several hours until became totally clear).

Assemble the balljoint again and you will saw magic in your joints. Again, DON'T put too much, never. Be patient and let it dry. Too much not means better, with one thin coat you will notice an improvement.


3 - PVC tapes, circles, etc. difficult: hard.

The last thing I use is an adhesive PVC tapes or circles. It's the hardest way to fix an articulation but it works amazingly well in big figures (MP, MPM and Oversized dudes). It's pretty hard to explain without pictures but basically is to "put" something inside the articulation to get more friction without stressing the screws. Dissasemble the articulation (this is the hardest step), be careful and memorize how is assembled the articulation. Then you have to give shape to the adhesive; squares, circles, etc... whatever it fits better, you should give it the correct size and shape, put it between pieces and then, assemble again the articulation without forcing the screws.

Don't use the cheapier tape, neither the thicker tape. Cheap tapes can left lots of adhesive residues and becoming an ultra sticky tape on touch. Thick tapes won't let you assemble the articulation again.

Enjoy fellas!!.

 

Cool. Great advice

 

Thank you very much!.

 

Thank you for the epic and well explained tutorial! I’m definitely gonna try this out on my Lemontree Optimus and maybe my future figures.

 

You're welcome! Hope you enjoy your new tighted articulations!.  

 

You're welcome! But try to use Reducer instead or Varnish, they are very different between each other. Reducer is cleaner and more fluid.

 

@ManelFigures Some questions:

• How long does it last before you have to re-apply it on the loose joint?

• Since it's very liquid, I'm assuming it's easy to drip it into hinge joints?

• What do you do for ball joints? Coat both the ball and the socket and let it dry before putting it back together? Or just drip it into the ball socket and move it around?

• Works well for all kinds of joints?

• Have you also tried using clear gloss acrylic paint as well, and are the results the same?

 

Blue is your color!  

 

It doesn't flake easily for me, but I dont use Vallejo, I use Mr Hobby. I would say it's a good method of fixing as well, especially ball joints.

 

Then you know the answer.  

 

Thanks for the tips, man. Some further questions:
1) What do you think about the enamel polish those Gunpla builders often use?
2) Would other industrial strength reducers - as long as they are water-based and made of 100% polyurethane - also work?
3) Can we get more in-depth explanation for tightening the joints on bigger figures, like what you did with your OSKO Gravity Builder?

 

Gonna use this on the toyworld freedom leader smokestacks as they are too loose to stay put while posing

 

Answered in black.  

It will work!.

 

I assumed it will work i just can't find a dropper/pipette so I might try a brush, nvm found one

 

Take the drop with a toothpick.  

 

Finally got around to buying a bottle of this reducer, as I wanted to tighten a couple of my Legends for the longest time, now. I'm looking forward to try this out next week when it'll arrive. Thanks again for this guide, buddy!

I'll make sure, thank you!

 

Message me if you need help!.

 

Hey buddy, I was about to message you, but then I thought this could be helpful for other newbies like myself, so I'll post my question here. How does this thightening process actually work?

I'll try to explain myself better: I got the Vallejo Reducer, a couple of days ago, and I did some tests on a spare/guinea pig MST Red Alert... I tried to strenghten the hip/thigh joints on the figure - they weren't loose, just soft - by applying a drop of product per joint, wiggling them around for a while, making sure there was no residue (this reducer is very cool, you can really clean it out super easy!) and then I let it rest for a day.
Now, I just came back to it and I immediately noticed that the joints holds the pose much stronger than before, but then if I apply a minimal amount of force and move the legs, they feel just as soft as before. It's not like the legs became harder to move: they surely hold a pose way better than before.

Is this the correct/expected result? Or should I apply more product, in order to get a generally stiffer movement as well?

Thank you as always, pal. ^_-

 

The polyurethane is a very thin product, I recommend you to let it dry two days before touching anything. Test it and if you need harder articulations, repeat the process. I don't usually repeat the process more than two times but if you play a lot with your figures, the articulations probably will be loosed again eventually. I didn't notice loosed joints on my MPM and Legend figures but in bigger figures, I recommend other methods.

The articulations gets harder because the "plus" of the material inside. You can put inside what you want but I think polyurethane is clean and safe.