I'm considering buying some alien heads for my Rebel Troopers but I'm nervous about hacking away at those little guys. Is head swapping fairly straightforward? I figured I chop off the old head with a jeweler's saw, use a pin vise to put a little copper pin in the neck, do the same in the new head, super glue it on and use a bit of green stuff on the neck if necessary. Does that sound about right? Any advice is appreciated!

8 minutes ago, Dauerv said:

I'm considering buying some alien heads for my Rebel Troopers but I'm nervous about hacking away at those little guys. Is head swapping fairly straightforward? I figured I chop off the old head with a jeweler's saw, use a pin vise to put a little copper pin in the neck, do the same in the new head, super glue it on and use a bit of green stuff on the neck if necessary. Does that sound about right? Any advice is appreciated!

Sounds about right. The only tricky part is making sure the neck is roughly the right length.

I've done about 2 dozen head swaps on my Rebels. I've used an exacto knife which I found easier than a saw. The material is pretty soft and cuts easily whether its arms, legs or heads. There are some figures that it's easier to do than others. Rebel troopers are a cinch, fleet troopers as well. Some of the commandos are trickier as are some of the Imperial figures just due to position if you're trying to save the helmet or head for another figure.

I’ve only done one, but it turned out beautifully.

I swapped my rebel commander’s head with the duro in the unit.

I cut them off with an Xacto knife and the only thing is to make sure you have enough and not too much neck to make it look natural.

Then I used a small hobby hand drill to make a hole for the copper post in both the body and the head. I used crazy glue to make sure that the post would stay in place and to adhere the two pieces together. Then use very small amounts of green stuff to even things out and fill in holes/the seam.

If the necks are very different (width/angle) you may also have to sand or sculpt a bit with your knife.

I have also changed the arm direction of my unit leader and that just entailed shaving a bit of plastic off the arm stems, so the stem can turn within the socket.

Like I said, I only have done this once (two different minis), so mileage may very as per individual and experience, but hope that helps.

Very helpful advice everyone - I took the plunge and ordered some assorted alien heads. Thanks much!

With as soft as the plastic is, I actually just used my plastic cutters to remove the old head (flat side of tool goes towards the body), and cleaned up the neck area with my hobby knife.