Wolverine Claw Fix

When you buy a carded Wolverine from any series, from any manufacturer, you will see that his claws are flimsy-ass plastic versions of their supposedly adamantium originals. And when they’re packed wrong, which they are almost 100% of the time, his claws are all sticking together or pointing somewhere they shouldn’t be and they just look really stupid. Wolverine ends up looking like a mentally challenged sexual deviant.

Here at Comicology, we’d like to share one of the techniques we’ve picked up off the Internet and claim it as our own to make us look a dozen times more knowledgable than we really are. It’s really easy, and you can use things you can find in any house.

This is a simple solution to something that fills a lot of collectors with frustration. The Wolverine Claw fix can be used for any plastic part that isn’t pointing the way you want it to, including, but not limited to other character’s claws, swords, staffs, pointy horn things, leg joints, etc. etc.

Here’s what you need:

1. Your bent action figure

2. Two containers of water, at least one being able to withstand boiling temperatures of water

3. A water heater

4. Some ice cubes

5. A high pain threshold

Step 1: Identify which parts of your figure you want remodelled, and figure out what you want it to look like.

You gotta do this now because once you start, you won’t really have much time to pick out the best way it looks.

In my case earlier, we chose X-23’s claws, Wolverine’s claws, Loki’s helmet horns, sword and left leg. So it’s easier to follow, we’ll just show you the Wolverine procedure.

See how his claws are pointing upward and are all sticking together? Those things seem to imply Wolverine just had a good date. They’re hideous. Try posing him in that iconic pose with his arms to his side while having those things limp around. Yech.

Step 2: Prepare your two containers, boil some water, and get some ice ready.

Your containers must be wide and deep enough to submerge completely the part you want to fix. I suggest that one container be big enough for your fingers, as well. You’ll learn later why.

Once the water has boiled, pour it into the container you made sure would accomodate the part you want to fix. Take the ice cubes and put those in the container that’d fit your fingers, then add some water.

You have to remember that the hot water must be boiling before you put it into the container. It cools down quick enough, so you gotta move fast. The best temperature to use, I find, is when it’s still uncomfortable to dip your fingers in. Anything cooler than that tends to give results that aren’t exactly up to snuff.

Step 3: Submerge the part you want to remold into the very hot water.

You don’t have to keep it there for very long; just until the plastic is soft enough to manipulate easily. This takes about twenty to thirty seconds if your water’s really hot. A little longer if your water’s been sitting there for a few minutes. There really isn’t a standard time or rule for it. Just do it by feel. The only thing you gotta worry about is making it too soft and breaking the paint, but I guess you’d need lots of time and much more heat for that.

Step 4: Remold the offending pieces of plastic to your liking.

Just manipulate and mold the claws (or whatever bit of plastic) the way you like it, but remember to mold it 30 or 40% more into the direction you’d want your plastic bit would look. Why? Because eventually, the plastic reforms itself into the position with the least resistance, which is the condition in which you found it in the first place. By bending the plastic a little more extreme than you’d prefer it, by the time it tries to revert to its original shape, it’ll just settle for a midway point between the extreme pose and the original ugly-ass pose.

If you don’t bend it to an extra 30 or 40% more, when it reverts, you’ll end up with almost the same mold you had before you started. Not cool.

Step 5: Quickly dip the remolded piece of plastic into the cold water.

After you’ve gotten the plastic the way you want it to look, with a little bit extra, quickly dip the plastic into the water to rapidly cool it down and harden the plastic. I find that it reverts much closer to the original position if you just let it set without rapidly dropping its temperature.

Remember in step 2, I said that your second container should be big enough to fit your hands? That’s because, if you want to make your remolding precise, you should keep your soft plastic in place with your hands, and then quickly dip it, hands and all, into the cold water.

Keep the figure in the cold water until you are sure that the plastic has hardened. Bringing it out prematurely may cause your remold to go out of shape and you have to do it all over again.

Step 6: Dry off and enjoy your newly fixed figure.

After that, dry it off and see if it’s satisfactory. If it isn’t, just do it again. If it is, then proudly display your figure for all to see. However, you shouldn’t do it to a figure too often. Rapid heating and cooling to any material results in it being brittle. It might break if you do it more than enough times. Just ease up on it. But trust me, if you’ve got a Wolverine with super straight claws, they’ll ask you how you did it.

Let’scheck out the before and after for X-23 and Loki, shall we?

Loki’s horns were crossed and ugly.

His left leg is freakishly skewed to the left, like he just got chop blocked by a car bumper.

His sword looks like the phallic symbol for impotence.

But afterwards:

The sword’s a symbol of virility!

Loki’s leg has miraculously healed and his helmet doesn’t look stupid as fuck anymore!

—-

X-23’s claws were kinda touching.

But after:

They weren’t touching anymore. Kinda.

There you go. An easy fix for a satisfying collection. Enjoy, guys!