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So, you’ve ripped opened your figures...
The Fourth Doctor is meeting the Ood for the first time, while Donna Noble is battling the Zygons with the Ninth Doctor, however a darker enemy lurks in the shadows... Dust! Unless you are reenacting scenes from the Christmas Invasion when the ash falls from the skies from the burning Sycorax shiP, you know that dirt and grime on your figures can spoil their appearance and loose that all important detail.
Just take a look at one of your figures right now...
Unless you are living in New Earth’s hospital, you will see that little grey monster smothering your action figure whether it may be on your desk or in a display cabinet. As you may know, normal dusting doesn’t shift all that dirt and grime from your action figures, instead it just gets moved around and tends to settle in all those nooks and crannies. Some say use a paint brush to clean your figures, but if you’ve got a whole army of Judoon to clean this clearly is not an option, unless you’ve got a few hours to spare. You can use a canister of air to blow off the dirt as used to clean your computer keyboards, however this can be expensive and this method does not remove all those stubborn marks. The best way that I have found for cleaning your figures and restoring them to their full “just out of pack” glory is to wash them the old fashioned way with warm soapy water and this is the method I will explain below.
GETTING READY
The guide below is suitable for the majority of action figures, however please do not follow this guide if your action figures contain delicate decor, electrical or cardboard parts (e.g. The Wire or RC Dalek). If your figures do contain these types of parts please resort to using compressed air or a paint brush to clean. If you are thinking, that you will just risk it - don’t - you will regret it!
First of all find a suitable work surface which is clear from any clutter. If you are under 16, make sure an adult supervises you throughout each step.
Ready? - Here we go...
STEP 1
Set out the following pieces of equipment on your clear workspace:
- A large bowl
- A jug full of lukewarm water
- A roll of kitchen towel
- Washing Up Liquid
STEP 2
Gather up all those dusty action figures.
STEP 3
Take your washing up liquid and squeeze out one or two drops - no more!
STEP 4
Pour your jug of lukewarm water into your bowl.
WARNING: Do not use boiling water for this stage - however tempting it may be. You will damage any figures submerged and you stand a very high chance of scolding yourself.
STEP 5
Before you clean your figures, pull off three squares of kitchen roll and fold up into a square and place close to your bowl.
STEP 6
Get one of your dusty action figures and submerge it in the lukewarm water and leave to stand for 1 minute.
STEP 7
After 1 minute has passed, move your figure around the bowl to free all the dirt from those nooks and crannies.
For stubborn marks use a damp cloth and rub the area lightly.
STEP 8
Remove your figure from the bowl and stand on the folded kitchen roll ready to dry.
Make sure the figure is standing upright as it will dry better.
Repeat Step 5, Step 6 and Step 7 for each figure.
STEP 9
Take a look at your bowl, you will be surprised how much dirt has fallen to the bottom of your bowl
If you are cleaning a number of action figures, it may be worth refreshing the water from time to time in order to get the best results.
STEP 10
The worst part of any tutorial - Tidy up :)
STEP 11
Only once your figures have completely dried, return to your display.
FINAL WORD
I hope that you have found this tutorial useful! While simple, it is one of the most effective methods of cleaning your figures you will ever use!
Kind regards,
Justin
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