“HAIR DRYER OVEN RIG” – CUSTOM ACTION FIGURES: 101 – TUTORIAL TUESDAY

CUSTOM ACTION FIGURES: 101 – “HAIR DRYER OVEN RIG” – TUTORIAL TUESDAY
By Rob Panick

This week on Custom Action Figures: 101 we’re going to take a look at one of my favorite homemade tools that I use for customizing. Almost every customizer you ask will tell you that your greatest tool when disassembling or reassembling a figure is heat, though there is often debate about the best method of heating up your figure. Many customizers prefer the “boil and pop” method, where you boil water and soak the figures in it to soften them up. I personally prefer using a hair dryer to heat up my figures. Not only is it more convenient, it’s much faster than having to get out a pot, boil the water, and wait for the figures to soften. What would take 20 to 30 minutes to do with water can be done in less than 2 minutes with a blow dryer.

One thing you do have to be particularly careful of with a blow dryer is melting your figure. If you hold the dryer too close, the plastic can and will melt. The way I’ve come up with to eliminate this problem is I’ve created a “hair dryer oven rig” to hold my dryer steady and keep it a safe distance from the figure I’m heating up. Today I’ll show you how I built it.

Here’s what you’ll need:
A 6” X 6” X 1” BLOCK OF WOOD
2 WIRE COAT HANGERS
HEAVY DUTY ALUMINUM FOIL
CARDBOARD
2” WIDE MASKING TAPE
SUPER GLUE
4 – 1” WOOD SCREWS
DRILL WITH A 3/32” DRILL BIT
SCISSORS
BOX CUTTER
A BLOW DRYER

Begin by cutting and straightening two approximately 24”* section of wirer hanger. (*This length will vary depending on the size of your blow dryer.) Bend the sections as seen in the photo to create the frame for your dryer oven. Once you have the hangers cut and bent, use your drill to make two holes in the front side and back side of your wood block, approximately ¼” from the sides and ½” deep. Bend a 1/2” “tab” into the ends of each of your frames to fit into the holes and glue them in. Cut two 3” pieces of hanger and attach them at the top of the frame to create spreaders to hold the dryer in place and keep the frame sides from separating.

Using your box cutter, cut a section of cardboard to make walls for the back and sides of your oven and a door for the front.

Wrap your cardboard panels in heavy duty aluminum foil and use your masking tape to tape the ends of the foil down. I do not suggest using duct tape because the glue will melt from the heat that your oven produces.

Once you have all 4 panels covered in foil, use your masking tape to tape them to the coat hanger frame. For the back panel, leave an approximately 3/8” gap at the bottom for a vent, but make your side panels flush with the bottom. For the door, tape one side to create a hinge, while leaving the other side free.

Screw the four wood screws into the bottom of the oven at each corner about a ¼” in to use for leveling the oven but adjusting the screws in or out as needed.

Now you can place your hair dryer into the hole left at the top of the oven and you are ready to heat up your figures. I advise only using the low setting on the dryer and closely monitoring your figure while you are heating it. Never leave your oven unattended while it is on and make sure there is no flammable liquids or substances around it while you are using it. Remember, SAFETY FIRST!

And there you have my “Redneck Engineered” figure popping oven. I hope it helps you all as much as it’s helped me!
You can see my own oven in action in some of my past tutorials:
GalacticPlastics.net: How To Disassemble Modern G.I. Joes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf3V6Wxknyk

CUSTOM ACTION FIGURES:101 – “ASSEMBLING GI JOE FIGURES” – TUTORIAL TUESDAY\
https://serpentorslair.com/2015/10/27/custom-action-figures101-assembling-gi-joe-figures-tutorial-tuesday/

Click over to check out our video tutorial!

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