How seriously warped are they, and how flexible are the walls? I just put together a Walthers building kit with noticeable warping of the main wall. I assembled the kit with its roof and base, and with a good clean, solid plastic-to-plastic joint, these pieces acted as interior bracing and held the wall straight enough that I can no longer notice any warping. If there's too much curvature for just the roof and base to fix, try some interior bracing. Put "floors" inside the building between the rows of windows, supported with thin strips of styrene or balsa wood glued to the walls.
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ironrails A hairdryer can be too hot. I've had plastic parts distort badly on heating when the plastic has softened enough to let internal stresses left over from the casting process take hold. I don't know the real technical explanation, but the part could distort (warp) itself badly if heated. The reason the part is distorted to start with is probably because it was ejected from the mold before it had cooled enough to hold its shape properly. I'd stick with hot water, almost boiling, and you will probably have to over bend it to get it to take the shape you want. It will probably not flatten enough with weight on it. Good luck, and be careful! Mike MacLatchy
A hairdryer can be too hot. I've had plastic parts distort badly on heating when the plastic has softened enough to let internal stresses left over from the casting process take hold. I don't know the real technical explanation, but the part could distort (warp) itself badly if heated. The reason the part is distorted to start with is probably because it was ejected from the mold before it had cooled enough to hold its shape properly.
I'd stick with hot water, almost boiling, and you will probably have to over bend it to get it to take the shape you want. It will probably not flatten enough with weight on it.
Good luck, and be careful!
Mike MacLatchy
Distort as in warp, yes. I've seen that a lot.
The question was "distort the detail in the bricks" -- as in get the plastic so hot that when you press it, you flatten out the detail on the surface. That's what I was referring to.
I've used hair dryers on shrink wrap tubing, styrene parts, and linoleum floor covering, all without a major boo-boo.
Either way, the applicable point is, use care when performing the operation.
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lone geep I somewhat worried that the hairdryer would wreck the wall by warming it too much and then distorting the brick detail. Would that happen?
I somewhat worried that the hairdryer would wreck the wall by warming it too much and then distorting the brick detail. Would that happen?
That would have to be one heck of a hairdryer to generate that much heat. Obviously, you want to exercise care not to overheat your material, but simply pointing a hairdryer at it for a few seconds won't do it.
Lone Geep
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Heat from steam is your best bet as it is hot enough to cause shaping but not too hot to cause deformity. Just don't burn your fingers as steam heats hurts big time!
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I would heat the parts first, then place them in between two very flat surfaces to press it flat again.
You could also try soaking parts in nearly boiling water before bending back to shape.
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NO! just kidding.. it is worth giving it a try, worse that could happen is you still have a bent wall.
I have some slightly bent Walthers walls and to fix the bend, I thinking of placing a weight on top to flatten the wall out and then blowing warm air onto it with a hair dryer. So my question is "Is it wise?"