How do I fix a bent or warped Warhammer part?

Resin or plastic? Check first

Plastic kits come on frames, called sprues. Resin kits are cast, come without frames and are cut free at points called casting gates. Thin resin parts can bend.

To tell them apart: a frame with parts hanging off it is plastic, and loose pieces with stubs where they were poured are resin.

Resin: Games Workshop's own fix

Games Workshop's guide to its resin kits says thin parts often bend or twist while the resin cures, and that this is easy to fix.

1. Heat the part. Immerse it in hot water, or use a hair dryer or hot air gun. Thicker parts need longer.
2. Often it springs back to its original shape by itself. If not, gently twist it back into position.

The guide notes the same method works to pose parts on purpose, for example the mechanical tendrils on some Mechanicum models. It also warns that glues for plastic kits do not stick resin, so use superglue after you straighten the part.

Plastic bases and thin plastic parts

Games Workshop's guide covers resin only. For polystyrene plastic, such as a warped base, the advice comes from hobbyists. It is the same idea. Heat until it softens, flatten it, then set it with cold water.

• One hobbyist suggests trying about 10 seconds in water at 80 degrees, because boiling leaves dents where you grip the base.
• Another soaks the base in freshly boiled water for about half a minute, presses it flat and runs it under a cold tap to set it.
• Lift the base out with tweezers or tongs, because hot water scalds.
• A heavy book on the base while it cools helps keep it flat.

Start cooler and go hotter only if nothing moves, because you can reheat a part but you cannot take a dent out. Do it before the model is glued on.

When to leave it alone

A part that is cracked, snapped or badly twisted at the root will not be saved by heat. Glue a clean break with the right glue for the material (see plastic glue or superglue) and fill any seam that is left (see gaps and seams).