So is THIS The RIGHT STUFF... Naphtha Head Shrink Question.

[Nostalgiabuff]

the head is definitely smaller today. I am using a Mirror Kirk head for comparison and Trelane is now almost the same size. I will give it till morning and then take it out to cure

[Nostalgiabuff]

thanks for the advice. I will leave it in longer to see what happens

[EMCE Hammer]

i am trying my first soak on a Trelane head. it's been about 24 hours so far and I have not noticed any change in size yet

I have soaked some heads for *months* - just check it daily. Spock's head took forever relative to others I've shrunk.

[sprytel]

i am trying my first soak on a Trelane head. it's been about 24 hours so far and I have not noticed any change in size yet

I have only had that happen once (it was one of the figures I purchased for the Cage style uniform, so it was either Sulu or Scotty). Not sure if it is the sculpt or just dumb luck that causes it. I'd give it a little longer because... why not... and if it still doesn't shrink, try pulling it out and giving it a really tight squeeze. You can sometimes "sculpt" a little smaller by squeezing it down. Just be careful not to flat spot the top of the head.

[Nostalgiabuff]

i am trying my first soak on a Trelane head. it's been about 24 hours so far and I have not noticed any change in size yet

[battmasterson]

Just a follow up. I shrunk a 9" Playmates Captain Kirk head down to MEGO size. It took a couple of days. It is currently very hard, but, I am going to try and place it in hot water so that I can get it able to work with.

[SeattleEd]

Jumping in here.

Anyone shrink the Bride and Creech heads from the DST/ EMCE line? I was thinking of doing it and how long would one recommend to soak and dry in Naphtha? How much is meeded to soak?

[battmasterson]

No discoloration at all, and the paint stays intact. The only downside I noted is that the head, once removed from the naphtha, continues to shrink slightly as it cures.

Thanks. Sounds Good.

[PNGwynne]

No discoloration at all, and the paint stays intact. The only downside I noted is that the head, once removed from the naphtha, continues to shrink slightly as it cures.

[battmasterson]

When you soak the heads do you have any major discoloration?

[Tiberiusguy]

Ha, I was wondering what magic would be needed to pop the now solid head shrink. I was relieved to find that hot water did work. I’m shrinking a guinan head now, hat and all. I expect the hat to stay unchanged.
I wonder if the naphtha wouldn’t stop reacting, when water was added

[PNGwynne]

Good observations, I found, too that heads continue to shrink as they cure,

[ddgaff1132]

Some observations I'd like to add to this thread.
Firstly this solved the FTC or CTVT over-sized head issues in many cases.

Second. Craft or Female Cake topper heads seem to be mostly vinyl and take to this method very well. I got some 1/6 scale female craft heads and they shrunk nicely. With NO hair loss !!!

Lastly I noticed that some heads shrink more over time. I decided to try several other 1/6 brand's head's. I was shooting for Big Jim scale. I soaked for 3-4 days and let dry outside for a day or two. One head was Lanard and the other was a Knock off GI Joe. Both did not shrink enough to be used on a Big Jim. So I threw them on a shelf and moved on. I guess the Lanard (Corp's 12" BTW) still had some Naptha to vent off as it had lost some more volume. (Still unfortunately too big for Jim though).

One more note. A head may feel ROCK Hard after a Naptha shrink, but I found that some dunked in warm to Hot water will soften them enough to work with if need be.

[Tiberiusguy]

I shrunk original Charlie’s Angels heads, for a week. They are Mego sized now. A little pinkish, but not noticeable. I was afraid that they were too rigid to connect, but worked a charm with boiling water! Still soft.

[PNGwynne]

I'm finally trying this on a slightly large head to shrink for 1/6 use and I'm impressed. Sprytel and EmceHammer advised me.

I can see this working wonders on the slightly-oversized FTC heads--if they aren't already too firm.