The figures from Hong Kong turned up and although they were good value for money, there were several duplicated figures. I needed a driver figure so I used the tried and tested 'tea light' plastic forming method. It worked quite well 
Before:
After:
I'm probably teaching Granny to suck eggs, but just in case you've never used the process, here's what you do...
Hold the figure about 1" above a tea light/candle flame (not too close or you'll get a sooty deposit and very, very soft bit of plastic :impatient
and keep turning it so that the heat is evenly distributed. Frequently test the figure for pliability (you'll soon feel the plastic 'give' a bit) and then form the figure to the shape you want.
A certain amount of practice is needed but I found that the plastic used in these figures is very soft and doesn't need a lot of heat. Some polystyrene ones take longer to warm up and can be a real b++++r to do but these cheap HK ones are made from a very low melting point plastic - ideal for this process.
A coat of paint and job done! Blondie now drives my loco
Before:
After:
I'm probably teaching Granny to suck eggs, but just in case you've never used the process, here's what you do...
Hold the figure about 1" above a tea light/candle flame (not too close or you'll get a sooty deposit and very, very soft bit of plastic :impatient
and keep turning it so that the heat is evenly distributed. Frequently test the figure for pliability (you'll soon feel the plastic 'give' a bit) and then form the figure to the shape you want.A certain amount of practice is needed but I found that the plastic used in these figures is very soft and doesn't need a lot of heat. Some polystyrene ones take longer to warm up and can be a real b++++r to do but these cheap HK ones are made from a very low melting point plastic - ideal for this process.
A coat of paint and job done! Blondie now drives my loco
