A question regarding customizing parts

[NicDotFR]

Hi!

I'm starting this topic to ask if anyone knows the best tools to cut through a lego part? Because I would like to cut the shoulder pad (rounded area on the pic) from a part from BrickWarriors because its on the wrong side and I found a better one for my custom minifig, but i'd like to simply keep the torso from that part but i do not know which tool to use. Thanks in advance to anyone who will reply! 

[mindstormsboi]

This might help you.

Edited June 6, 2020 by mindstormsboi

[AmperZand]

I really try to avoid cutting parts but when I do, I use a pair of super-sharp Japanese cutters and then shave off the last few microns with a scalpel.

The best person to ask though is @Wardancer who does outstanding customisation including cutting.

[Wardancer]

Thanks for saying that. Here I am summoned. I have recently cut some parts from an armor for my Gargoyle Queen fig. It was also a BW armor with breasts.

I haven't really understood whether you want to keep the shoulder pad or the armor or both.

This is how I do it:

I mostly use a scalpel. The problem with this is that you cannot use it like a saw to cut through thicker bits. Mine break easily as I use cheap ones. They are for shaving, not pressing the blade through a thicker think with excessive force.

If you want to keep one part and lose the other half of it, use cutters for a rough cut and then shave off the rest with a scalpel like AmperZand said. DO NOT make the cut with the cutter exactly where you want the final edge to be, but a few millimeters away from it - into the part you aare sacrificing. Most cutters leave a crushed disfigured area of plastic, this you will need to shave off with the scalpel later. Shave off very tiny bits, check the outcome, shave off some until it fits. Use sand paper sometimes to smoothen the edge. Practice with a cheap part first if you can.

If you want to keep both parts you might need a perfect cutter or a little electric saw. Both leave ony very little crushed areas. The armor you want to cut though is not very thick, if your scalpel is strong enough it might also work. Be careful, a scalpel breaking right in front of your eyes under pressure is a dangerous thing. I am usually glad to wear my glasses.

But when cutting off the shoulder blade you will be stuck with a asymmetric bit (only 1 "stud" on the one side of the armor, 2 on the other) which will require cutting off the other shoulder as well to get back to symmetry.

 

 

 

[MAB]

For thick areas, I also use a dremel style tool, or a hacksaw. It is also possible to use a hot wire (a taught wire that you run a current through to get it hot) if you are careful. You can score the surface with a thin blade first to keep the cut in the right place.

An alternative to finishing with sandpaper is to dissolve the surface very carefully. Just a single drop of acetone on a q-tip can be used to finish the surface off quite nicely. You could even put a drop onto the part in the area you want to remove, and slowly mould it into the main part. If you cut off the puldron, you could also re-attach it on the other side.

However,  a better route is to start from a part that is closer to the one you want. Brickwarriors do a "harpy armour" that is symmetrical, so you could cut off one side of that if you want the pauldron over the other shoulder.

Edited June 8, 2020 by MAB