HOW-TO: DISMANTLING McFarlane Toys Action Figures for Customization

Void City Customization
Episode 006
Dismantling McFarlane Action Figures
In this episode, Toast goes into detail on how to dismantle most modern McFarlane Toys action figures. He demonstrates the process of breaking down an action figure into it's many pieces, and shows off the two main McFarlane action figure inner-mechanics styles. He also has tips for when it comes to mix-and-matching the pieces afterwards, and how to get the best results.
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#McFarlaneToys #McFarlane #CustomToys #CustomActionFigure #ActionFigure #DCMultiverse #DCComics #HowTo

[@r.davidhill7639]

hello my friend. great video for people wanting to know how to. i personally use a hair dryer with low and high heat setting to warm up figures instead of hot water. i find it easier and am able to warm up specific areas when needed. hopefully this tip will help others who are attempting customs.

[@benquirobiequiratman4646]

And knowing the anatomy of the action figure

[@LTlem27]

Very informational video

[@VoidCityReviews]

Glad you think so!

[@exoticcarfactsofficialchan7050]

Great Kitbashing tutorial video 👏😎👍 cheers. #subscribed

[@benquirobiequiratman4646]

the new TmNt Nickelodeon figures had parts like These Mcfarland Figurs a similar join similar parts on. removing the Gear Off or Clothes

[@benquirobiequiratman4646]

i just Hot Lucky with my jack sparrow & Dredd Pirate Roberts

[@jqteddy]

Love your videos! Learning a lot! I have a question. I’m currently customizing my own figure and having trouble in how to take apart the shoulder peg. As mentioned in your video it is too short to connect to the torso. Was hoping I can swap the peg for a longer one. Is that possible? Thanks in advance!

[@VoidCityReviews]

It's possible, but requires cutting; the shoulder doesn't pop apart like the rest of the body. The inner shoulder piece has a ball on one end and a disc on the other. The outer shoulder piece has a rod through it that the inner shoulder's disc rotates around. The rod through the outer shoulder needs to be cut to remove the inner piece. This might sound worse than it is. Dan and I (Toast) have both done it and the shoulder still works fine once the transplant is complete. Heat everything, of course, to make the plastic pliable.

[@jqteddy]

Thanks!@@VoidCityReviews I will surely try that! and hopefully post the final product with credits to you ! =D Thank you so much for the quick reply!

[@ElVaqueroTiano]

So how do you put it back after you’ve painted it? What do you use to seal?

[@VoidCityReviews]

Model Master lacquer or Rustoleum Top Coat to seal. Toast will eventually have a painting (and sealing) video, but it will be a few weeks at the earliest.

[@baumer2504]

Yeah man you should start putting those in water from the beginning before you start breaking figs. Even if you aren't breaking them you're certainly creating stress fractures.

[@VoidCityReviews]

Dan here! I have told Toast the same thing as well. it freaks me out every single time he just grabs a figure and pulls it in half like he's King Kong! 😂 usually after you do the water treatment before disassembling, you can kind of get an idea of which joints are loose enough to be pulled apart without it afterwards, but for myself, I always put them in the warm water before I take them apart. Every single time. usually before putting them back together as well if I haven't done anything to them that the water would destroy. Thanks for the tip and comment!

[@baumer2504]

@@VoidCityReviews yeah scared the heck outta me when he was popping those feet off. Sometimes those pins are so small it doesn't take much to break them.

[@VoidCityReviews]

@@baumer2504 that is very true. at least in my experience however, the pins don't actually break, the two halves will just come apart. And then you can just stick them back together. part of me thinks they may be designed in that way so that they don't necessarily break if pulled apart, but it is still highly possible if done multiple times I'm sure.

[@danielgambito9962]

Can you remove the articulation that connects the arm with the torso?

[@VoidCityReviews]

Yes, but it's not easy and requires cutting. There's a rod going through the shoulder, and the disc that connects into the torso rotates around that rod. For the Superman figure shown off in the video, I heated the shoulder until the plastic was very malleable. I then sliced through that rod and removed the disc. Repeated that with a shoulder from a different figure (Fortnite in that case). Finally, swapped the Fortnite disc onto the Bloodshot shoulder. This gave the shoulder more distance from the torso, allowing his arms to be lowered closer to his body. So while it's possible, I thought that was a level beyond the simple dismantling shown in the video and decided against including it.

[@shawn4137]

How do you take apart things like the elbow on thinner figures like mandarin spawn ? I broke the lower peg going in the lower arm ☹️

[@VoidCityReviews]

If you're talking about the 2021 Mandarin (not the original) those elbows are just like McFarlane wrist and ankle joints. I'd be surprised if heating and pulling didn't work. What are the specifics of the break?

[@shawn4137]

@@VoidCityReviews the part that broke was the peg it's inside the lower arm and yes the 2021 version . I got the actual elbow area out of the upper arm using hot water but it only got one peg now.

[@benquirobiequiratman4646]

what kind of Kitbashing Can u fo with McFarland Figures

[@VoidCityReviews]

... Any kind you want. We have a whole play list full of customs, and more on the way.

[@mmsthunder7951]

How do you put back the head?

[@VoidCityReviews]

I tend to just push until it pops. You can heat it up to make it malleable, though, if there's too much resistance.

[@brunneng38]

Great video. The King Shazam figure i just bought that has a really messed up lower torso/hip brought me here (not sure how they assemble these things in China but they really messed this thing up). What I'm wondering about is- the steps regarding the repainting/reassembly. Does the heat affect the repaint? Do you paint in sections than reconnect?

[@VoidCityReviews]

Yeah, I mean they are assembling so many thousands upon thousands of these things and as quickly as possible. The thing I noticed with King Shazam is his paint seems to be especially sloppy especially on his hands and sometimes on the face. It almost looks like he got rushed a little bit or something. plus when they are assembling all these things everything is still all pliable and warm so it's probably really easy for them to get stuck in a goofy position inside the plastic. Good thing in most cases it's pretty easy to fix. The hot water trick has worked for me every time. As for the paint questions, and this is just for me, Toast may have a different answer, but one of the things I tried to do when I make custom figures or do repaints is I try to look for opportunities where I don't have to paint in those areas specifically. As often as possible I try to use parts that will fit together and either hide the connection point once painted around it or where if I do have to paint it it's at a place where it doesn't rub together. A lot of times just using a nice sealer over it will do the trick. I use dull coat, but you can also use spray sealers as well. if the areas do rub together one way you can avoid the paint rub off is to do some sanding of the area before you paint over it so that way it kind of creates a space. But sometimes that will make the joints looser. As for heating when reconnecting, I've used water thus far and as long as you're not really rubbing on the paint area, I haven't had any trouble with water taking any paint off. I will usually just dab dry afterwards or blow the rest away with like a hair dryer or something. I just actually did a few figures the other day where I had to heat up a few painted areas using a mug of hot water from the microwave, two and a half to three minutes. I just dipped in the very tip of the piece that I needed to connect so that the connection area would become pliable but that the rest would stay dry. hopefully that helps and in a few of our future videos coming up in the next few weeks on customization we will probably go into it again as well. Thank you for watching! Dan

[@brunneng38]

@@VoidCityReviews I repainted the figure. Was surprised I was able to do it all in one day. I was able to reconnect the entire figure without heating except for the waist. I did the hot water thing and submerged the bare minimum and it popped back together with little effort. Also was able to fix the goofy hip/leg area but it still resets to the wonky look if I mess around with the leg. But once I pick a pose I’ll leave him like that. Great video and I subscribed.

[@VoidCityReviews]

Thank you very much! And I'm glad that the repaint and reassembly went well for you, minus the remaining leg issue of course! We will have not only some new reviews but also plenty of new custom videos coming very shortly, and they have plenty of new tips and tricks as well!

[@VoidCityReviews]

Toast here, I meant to get back to you yesterday. We haven't covered this on the channel, but I did a Midnighter custom a few months back. I used Dullcote and water-based paint, and then used hot water to heat the joints for re-assembly. I should have known that would be a problem, but my paints ran and smeared after submerging. I fixed the paint, and applied a top coat the second time. I can't remember which but have a few different ones. We have a Sandman re-paint video in which I used Rustoleom. It's supposed to have a flat finish, but I think it still has a slight sheen. My favorite top coat is Mr Hobby for giving things a very flat finish. Both are good, and there are other options, but it all depends on the look you want. Either way, top coat before using water to soften plastic. Alternatively, plenty of people use a hair dryer to heat plastic. I haven't done this because I'm certain I'll somehow screw up the piece I'm working on. Using a hair dryer negates the dangers of water and paint.

[@brunneng38]

@@VoidCityReviews Thank you for all the advice. So far, I’ve only done two complete repaints- Dr Fate and King Shazam, and I’ve been okay with just my trusty little bottles of Vallejo, Army Painter and a few other brands which I think are just more rebranded Vallejos. I bloodied up the What if Cap zombie and also “battle damaged” the heck out of the Hydra Stomper, but that was quick and easy. I don’t have the imagination to do any true customs but knowing I can repaint any figures I buy makes it kind of fun. Stuff I wouldn’t usually buy I’m now looking at and thinking “I wonder what I can do with that?”

[@benquirobiequiratman4646]

removing The Vloak Is Alwys Tricky u half To realy Cut into it

[@eddyspurlock1299]

Anyone have any luck swapping the lower legs of deathstroke? They obviously switched the left and right at the factory.

[@VoidCityReviews]

I mean it would be easy enough to pop the pins out and switch the lower legs, but I'm looking at them right now and they look fine to me. the problem with that would likely be that the legs might lean in a different direction or the ankles might not be aligned correctly if you switch them. But looking at the way the feet position those appear to be correct. Maybe your copy just got switched? I got a Red Hood with two left hands once.... Typically though all of the major pieces once you disassemble a figure, have somewhere on them a large capital L or capital R, at least most of the ones that I have taken apart. so if you do take yours apart to switch them, you may be able to see right away if they were reversed or not.

[@Primal2229]

As great as these McFarlane figures are for customs I just wish they were a bit more universal part wise. The example with the Wonder Woman joints is frustrating when you see them and think it should be a straight forward swap... nope. Not even close. My ideal project was going to be Last knight and Death Metal Wonder Woman mashed up to make Angela, not quite as easy as socket poppers swapping. Either way anything McFarlane these days is top of the list when hitting Value Village. 2$ for Hellsuit Batman? Hell yes.

[@VoidCityReviews]

Agreed -Toast

[@VoidCityReviews]

Indeed agreed!!! I can definitely feel some of that frustration especially when you have a project lined up and get to a certain point that you think should work perfectly and it ends up not working at all. usually in those cases for the most part I have gotten lucky by just looking at other figures that I didn't think would work and then somehow they magically had the same piece or same size. for me, the worst is still the interior of the figures, specifically their midsection and pelvis. Those skeletons inside have two basic designs, and it really stinks when you have one figure with one design and the other has the other design and you need to swap parts back and forth. I've gotten around it with some clever surgery a few times, but if it can be avoided, I will do anything not to go that route. -Dan

[@benquirobiequiratman4646]

McFarland figurs

[@amusedjester]

Dismantle the hydra stomper next.

[@VoidCityReviews]

I'm waiting for Toast to pick that one up myself. I believe he's waiting for the price to drop (that thing costs more than Violator right now!), but I know when he gets it, he's going to repaint it so it may indeed need to be disassembled!

[@amusedjester]

@@VoidCityReviews I bought some fine saws and will attempt to make the cockpit open, bought an extra one for that little test. I was hoping to see a video to see what to expect.

[@VoidCityReviews]

@@amusedjester good luck! With how heavy it is, I wouldn't be surprised if you opened it and found it was just straight up filled with lead. 😂😂

[@weapontheory]

@9:50 What character is this?

[@VoidCityReviews]

Those are Fortnite Raptor legs

[@weapontheory]

@@VoidCityReviews Darn. Was hoping it was from a McFarlane fig. Thanks for the reply.

[@VoidCityReviews]

It is a McFarlane figure. Fortnite.

[@benquirobiequiratman4646]

This is why I don't work with Tom McFarlane figures you're so complicated to take apart by every inch

[@VoidCityReviews]

They are actually incredibly simple to take apart, that's kind of what this video illustrated......? 🤷🏼🤷🏼🤷🏼

[@benquirobiequiratman4646]

i had to Boil hot Water. i almost did not Have any back how to swap parts I up graded My Princess Btide Sread Pirate Toberts With Jack Sparrows Parts