Saving Rin Tohsaka
April 16th, 2007
My Rin has slowly started to lean. That’s the big crap-shoot with collecting anime gals, whether she’ll stay out of the box perfect perky or if she’ll be leaning like a smooth criminal in 48 hours. Figure warp is not limited to the lesser manufacturers. Even PVC figurines from the top companies lean, for example Max Factory’s Ignis or my Rin Tohsaka from Alter. So, why do figures lean anyway, how to prevent warping, how to predict if a figure will lean, and how to fix it if she decides to play limbo?
Why Do They Warp and Lean?
Figures warp because the PVC material that the figure is made out of is not rigid enough to support its mass. So why don’t manufacturers just use harder PVC? The PVC composition used in most figures is a balance of flexibility for injection molding and finishing purposes so that our anime girls look as pretty and detailed as possible while trying to be rigid enough to keep its shape. Some figures just have more stress at their support points than they can handle and some aren’t given enough support in the base (RIUVA, for more information on bases), so they start to lean.
How to Prevent Figure Warp
Other than keeping your fingers crossed, there isn’t much you can do to prevent figure warp. Still, it’s not a bad idea to make sure that your shelves are level, both side-to-side and front-to-back, so that you don’t create an imbalance. The main enemy though is heat. I got my Feena figure on a 100 degree Fahrenheit day and she was jiggly like lime Jello. Keeping temperature below 80 degrees Fahrenheit helps to keep the PVC from growing too soft. For some people that’s just not practical, so you might want to box up the one’s you think will lean during the hottest months, but that’s a crappy way of avoiding the problem.
Spotting a Potential Leaner
A figure with fewer points of support, such as a figure standing on one leg, is more likely to warp (Mikuru at animerunner.net) than one that is kneeling. All the standing on one leg figure has is one ankle supporting all of that weight. On the other hand, the kneeling figure has four points of support making it far less likely to warp because the stress is distributed over four points versus over one point.
More Tips:
Erwin expanded on his comments below in this post on his blog.
The other thing to look out for is does the figure look like it is well balanced? If it weighs more on one side than the other, then it’s creating stress, which makes it more likely to lean, like Rin. She’s carrying that inner tube. It hardly weighs a thing, but it’s enough to create an imbalance. Also, if you look at how her feet are arranged she doesn’t offer very much side to side support to counteract the skewed weight. I’ve had her for over a year now and her leaning was very very gradual. What slowed down the warp was likely the fact that she is screwed onto the base — the metal screws add support.
The truth is, you really can’t tell if a figure will lean or not. For example, everyone pretty much assumed that Iroha would be kissing the ground in a week, since she is on one tippy toe. But, here we are four months later and she’s standing just as she was before. So you might as well get what looks good to you. One foot, two foot, dynamic pose, or standing straight up, most figures don’t lean anyway. Sure some do and some are more likely than others, but I really don’t worry about it or let it spoil my fun. Out of almost fifty figures, only two of mine have warped slightly. While some warped anime figures might be difficult to fix (usually because they are flawed and instantly lean), fixing some figures that gradually lean over time is easy. Luckily, fixing Rin was easy.
How I Fixed Rin Tohsaka
There are several ways I could have fixed leaning Rin. I could have gone the Tsubaki, route and used some Blu Tack to stick Rin to the side of a book case and let gravity pull her figure back into shape. Another method could have been to put her back in the box to let the figure rest back into shape, but that method seems to take a while.
Heat softens PVC, so I decided to set Rin’s legs in a bowl of very warm water for a minute to make the PVC pliable enough to where I could bend her back to an upright position. I then dipped her into a pot of cold water to cool the PVC to set it. How healthy a quick cool-down is for the longevity of PVC, I don’t know, but you can hold her in place and let the air cool her cool down over a couple of minutes if that’s something you’re worried about. An alternative to warm water is a hair dryer, though starting on a low setting is probably the way to go to avoid damage. Either way, wet or dry, it doesn’t need to be too hot (not melting) to reshape them. Hopefully, this is all you need. Here’s Rin all straightened out:
Anyway, in about five minutes from set-up to clean-up I’ve got Rin back to her normal position. I fit her back in the box and she fit into the mold just fine (sorry no picture of that). Maybe I should have over compensated just a smidgen, because even though she’s back to spec, she could stand to be a little straighter.
If anyone has another method, please share.
Alter’s Rin Tohsaka swimsuit version was the first figure I took with my desktop lighting thing, gallery is here.
42 Responses to “Saving Rin Tohsaka”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- Katamari on the rocks · Alguns links interessantes:
- Gunslinger Girl ~ Henrietta « Spare Change Anyone?
- Figure ou Garage-Kit ?? - Desambiguação « Persefone Loki
- Figure collecting and you at AnimeSugoi
- Figure Review: Tomoyo with Apron (Ohtsuka Kikaku) « Animentality
Leave a Reply
Register your own Gravatar comment icon, unless you really like being a prinny.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:28 am
nice tips, very useful
going to try with my leaning figure
April 17th, 2007 at 1:46 am
One major factor that I have seen in a lot of figures that cause the leaning, especially in female figures, is the hair. Girls with a large volume of hair are the ones that are most likely to lean if the pivot points are not reinforced. Generally in some cases some figures can’t be fixed from their leaning. My Shuffle figures, about 3 of them lean and I’ve tried hanging them sideways, but alas no luck.
Though at least the figure companies are now taking into account the possibilities of a figure leaning and with the recent purchases of this year, not one has started to lean at all.
April 17th, 2007 at 2:37 am
It’s a fallacy that the top companies’ figures don’t leave. Max’s Ignis is a leaner. Which is the biggest reason why I sold her away.
GSC”s new Shinku is pretty unstable too.
This is probably the reason why I never display figures for long periods of time, but prefer a rotation policy.
April 17th, 2007 at 2:47 am
I blue-tacked my Ignis to the ground. It’s a real pity because I have to sacrifice the base since it was the reasoning why she kept leaning.
I might try the hotwater treatment though. My Arika’s bending is ridiculous.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:45 am
Ron: It’s pretty easy.
Adun: I don’t seem to have as many problems as other people with leaning, but that’s probably because I like to keep my apartment colder than most people. But, yeah I can see that about the hair since it is solid pvc.
tjhan: Yeah, I’ve seen people post things like only bootlegs lean and stuff like that, which isn’t true.
Tsubaki: My Ignis is only leaning very slightly. One thing I was thinking of doing was maybe gluing her right heel down on the base as like an anchor point.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:26 am
I fix mine the resin way. Locate the warping point mostly it occurs at the ankle area, choose the size of support. Brass rod or 1 mm paper clip. Soak it in hot water, drill a hole through and insert the support. Might not work for some PVC
April 17th, 2007 at 8:47 am
Thanks for the tip Kippei. I imagine that for those figures that start leaning right away that this is a way of fixing them. Fortunately, I don’t have any like that, but if I do (and I hope I don’t) I’ll definitely try that.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:00 am
My Mamiya Ayumi figure by Max Factory looks too be leaning >
April 17th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Very nice entry. Informative. The rotation suggestion is helpful too. ^_^
April 17th, 2007 at 10:39 am
Now that I’ve seen this post, it looks like my mahou shoujo rin is leaning abit too.. =_=” might need to try that hot water treatment someday as well. >
April 17th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Noo.. Rin Tohsaka :O She might give you a ‘dere dere’ treatment for saving her :p
I had my Asuka Summer Version bend real bad, placed it in the box for like a month or so. It did help just a bit but I’m going to try your warm-water-cold-water method anyway.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
It’s true, but when she zaps you it’s because she really cares. =p
April 17th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
Hmm.. My Ignis is leaning too but I don’t think I’ll try to save it..
“PVC figures that are prone to leaning are very troublesome. IMO, I don’t think they’re worth the effort of trying to drill holes in them or do other things to keep it from leaning. I just think to either keep it inside the box or just not buy it at all. When you do actually see it lean, you’re going to be saddened, so better off not buying it in the first place.”
This comment was made by some who’s a great figure collector lol…
April 18th, 2007 at 6:11 am
They are troublesome, but I think the problem is overstated sometimes. When people see a new figure, sometimes the first thing they say is, it will probably lean. It might, but it might not. It sucks when it does. I just think as collectors we sometimes get hung up on it, at least I know I have. I’m not saying don’t get pissed when it warps, because you should be pissed since you spent a good bit of money to get it.
In the end, I just appreciate it as an art form and separate out annoyances with manufacturing from the art form. It might be easy for me to say since I’ve managed to avoid some of the more problematic figures.
April 18th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Damn, I’ve always wanted to know how to fix some of my “leaning towers of …” Think once I have free time I might need to do a ‘dr.black jack’ on them and maybe put back some into their boxes. Thanks for the info ..V, ^_^
April 18th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
nice tips. I just hope you won’t over-bend the legs/waist.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Now that would definitely get me zapped.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:16 am
wow .. thats a nice tip. I shall go try it out on my henrietta
The problem of warping is such a headache for every collector. Thats why I always think carefully before I make any purchase. Thats one of the reason why I gotten the alter ignis instead of the max factory one.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:47 am
If a figure is known to be one that leans after a week, then I probably wouldn’t get it either no matter how sweet.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
My Ryomou meido (with the cuffs and the sword) started to get their bend on only hours after I got it. And this was in January. The soft PVC sort of fucked me over.
Still, I sat her up against the wall, to counter act her ridiculously heavy dress, and after about a week she was back in good shape. Now I have some artistically placed props/trading figs in place to better her support. But I have a few leaners. I spend more time considering structural integrity these days. Still, I will get ones that might lean just because I like them. Leaning ain’t enough to dissuade me! BWAHAHA!
April 22nd, 2007 at 8:56 am
I just put the figure back in the box, and it eventually takes care of itself. I suppose it’ll be a bitch to allocate space for that, but whatever works, I guess.
April 22nd, 2007 at 8:31 pm
I will need this info if my figure starts leaning, hopefully it will not come to that. Thnx for the tip. I usually leave my figures out, though this leads to a lot of dust gathering on top and taking the dust out of every nook and cranny is a pain.
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:08 pm
I think figures should be “balance tested” prior to displaying, where you ascertain whether a figure is likely to lean or not (as laid out in the paragraph “spotting a potential leaner”). Observe where the base has placed pegs/screws, and note the gravitational forces that will work on both base and figure. 2 pegs in front on a figure with a central center of gravity will likely induce forward leaning, etc. When you’ve evaluated this, take proper procautions on locations which require additional anchorage. Many figures have a well balanced support system, but variations in PVC density, heat & UV rays, poor display surfaces, or bad bases altogether, can cause leaning.
For example, my trick for preventing the MaxFac Ignis from leaning was to stick a tiny bit of poster putty on the heel of her left shoe. This is a place where there should’ve been an additional peg: her hair is clearly too light to establish weight posteriorly, thus resulting in a center of gravity that is located anteriorly, stressing the front supports.
The tiny, unintrusive, removable, inexpensive and frankly weak, piece of adhesive has prevented my Ignis from leaning, and she’s been on display for about 5 months now.
So personally, I think prevention is key here. Once a figure has leaned, this means the PVC on that location has already lost some of its structural integrity (mostly the rigidity of the plastized exterior). Applying “rescue” forces may, and often, will, bend the figure back into shape, but leaning will occur very easily again.
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:11 pm
PS: I put the putty on Ignis’ *right* shoeheel. The left one hangs in the air, that wouldn’t have helped. Sumimasen.
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:26 pm
That’s a great bit of information. Thanks very much for posting your comment.
April 26th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
It would be great if you could post pics on how Rin looks in a month or something, to know if this is a semi-definitive solution or if it’s something you have to do after 2 weeks.
I’ve read that for less complex PVC things (like tubes) they use a heater, when it gets to 170 degrees (has to be ºF), they preheat the exterior (with a heat gun or something) and then they let it rest somewhere cold.
PVC shrinks when cooled, so the expect 1/16″ to 1/8″ shrinkage.
However, this method seems less extreme so there should be no significant shrinking.
Anyway, I’m also having leaning problems with a MaxFactory Ignis and tried to put a couple of small things under her base so that gravity forced her back. After a month, that didn’t work. Maybe it stopped the leaning just a bit, but she didn’t go back to her normal position >_
April 26th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
(Continue)
I’m planning to get an Alter’s Fauna figure, but her position and the way she’s floating on top of that metal piece makes me wander if she’ll be a leaner. I really REALLY like her and her pose… should I buy her? :/
April 26th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
I’m keeping an eye on Rin. After Erwin’s post, I suspect she might be back to where she was in a month, making this only a temporary fix. It’s been pretty cold lately, so I haven’t noticed much leaning, but it should warm up soon and then we’ll know how much the pvc has really weakened.
I have Fauna on pre-order. Because of the pose it’s more likely to lean than some, but one of the possible saving graces is the metal support, if it really goes through most of her foot. Hopefully the boot will let them reinforce her ankle somehow.
April 30th, 2007 at 12:58 am
Hey there,
I’m a complete noob to the figurine collecting scene, not having even heard of leaning until just now.
The first (and currently only) figurine I’ve bought was Max Factory’s Mizuho-sensei from Onegai Teacher. I’m not sure if this is due to some crazy leaning because she has an extremely large base, but the joint holding her legs together is clearly visible when viewed from a back angle. Not only that, but the part of her shirt that goes over her right leg seems to be completely disconjoined from the rest of her shirt, looking more like a dislocated piece of cloth rather than anything else.
Looking between the box art and my figurine itself, it seems like her legs are up higher than they really are supposed to be, which could explain why that part of her shirt got disconnected in the first place.
Aside from that, the condition I got her in was kind of disappointing as well… She seemed to be covered in some weird black residue, which was easily cleaned off by just rubbing it with my finger.
But is there a better way to clean PVC figurines in general? Do’s and dont’s? What type of cleaning material or solutions I should use, if any?
There are some spots I missed, but I can’t reach them because they’re in some tight crevices. ( … >.>;)
April 30th, 2007 at 6:57 am
Without seeing it I can’t be certain, but I’m 99.99% sure you got a bootleg figure, rather than the real deal. Bootlegs are known for poor quality, for being dirty, sloppy, ill fitting parts, and looking a bit different from how they are supposed to look.
Where did you get the figure?
May 1st, 2007 at 7:27 am
I successfully fixed my leaning figurine with this method, 100% working!!
super rats is the best for cheapest solution
(see his cheap lighting solution as well!)
December 31st, 2007 at 3:54 am
whether its the blow dryer method or warm water method, does it affect the colour in any way? also, is this just a temporary solution? i.e. will it start leaning again in a few weeks?
out of 18 figures, im having this problem with 2. the mikuru-chan mentioned above, and the 1/6 Saber, Holiday Dress Version ~ by Good Smile Company.
while we’re on the subject of bootlegs, does anyone know how i can tell if its a bootleg other than from the quality of the figure? i bought the following two from ebay:
http://www.hlj.com/product/KBYPP-76
http://www.hlj.com/product/ATS82008
im pretty sure the boxes are real. but the skin colour on them are a little off; belldandy’s eyes are looking slightly in a different direction; and the hands on tessa arn’t positioned properly to grip the shirt (suppose i can use the warm water/ blow dryer method to fix this part).
from the above, im pretty sure we can tell that they’re bootlegs. but my question is, is there a sure-sign that says they’re bootlegs? im thinking of selling these somehow and buying the originals, but i just hope that THEY dont have these same defects as well.
December 31st, 2007 at 2:55 pm
It shouldn’t affect the color, unless you go too hot where you’re melting things. These methods are a way of reshaping the figure, but if you don’t solve the imbalance issue then it is only a temporary solution.
Do the boxes have the hologram sticker on them? How much did you pay for the figures? Skin color being off is hard to tell as variations in lighting and camera sensors and image-post processing can make it seem different. Now if the body and limb positions and shapes are different, that’s a very good indicator of a bootleg. Those pictures you link to are from HLJ, which is a reputable place…are there other pictures you meant to link to?
Anyway, until you get to know what is and isn’t a bootleg, it’s probably safer to avoid eBay for figures. There’s some good sellers on their, but there are more bootleggers than good sellers.
December 31st, 2007 at 5:29 pm
THANKS FOR REPLYING! SO DAMN QUICK! ^^
“Those pictures you link to are from HLJ, which is a reputable place…are there other pictures you meant to link to?”
>i just used those links just to let you you know what figures i was refering to
“Do the boxes have the hologram sticker on them?”
>hologram sticker? nope… as in the silver one thats about 1cm^2?
“These methods are a way of reshaping the figure, but if you don’t solve the imbalance issue then it is only a temporary solution.”
>i guess solving the imbalance issue varies from figure to figure. do you know any solution to those two particularly? the mikuru-chan mentioned above and the saber that is.
April 10th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I keep all my figurines in their boxes ^_^
I like this one, very nice.
April 10th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Anna, you keep them in the box? You make me cry! Well, I guess that’s one way to keep them dust free.^^
June 25th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
After reading all this, I think I’m buying Kotobukiya’s version of Haruka Takamori over Alter’s. I’m sure the base will give her a better support.
As for bootlegs… damn, my Non-non had some stains in her dress. Nothing serious, but it wasn’t that mint look all my figures have. I’ll examine her closely (along with the box).
I’ll have to do something also with my Alter’s Saika Falnese. Bent the day after I bought her.
Thanks for all the useful tips!!