How to Fix Those Warped Minis

How to fix warped minis is a skill that all gamers should learn. The recent release of Hero Quest was nothing short of nostalgia drenched awesomeness. What was not so awesome, was the packaging that the miniatures game in. There have been several reports (myself included) of the minis being packed really snug in the insert. So tight that several of the minis became warped and disfigured.

I have heard customer support has been good at resolving the warping issue but if you don’t want to wait for new minis to be replaced you can use this technique for correcting them. Hot water. Before I layout this tried and true process, passed down from generations before, water gets hot and hot stuff can burn you. Kids, you should have an adult help you with this process if you are going to try it out.

I have also heard a hair dryer would work for this, but I have also stories of people melting their minis using a hair dryer. I have never heard of melting happening using hot water.

Preparation

Before we get started, there are several things that need to be set up. The following is what I used to fix my minis:

A pot of water big enough to dip the minis in.
A stove/hot plate.
A ladle or spoon to submerse the minis preferably one with holes for drainage.
A bowl of ice water.
A mini that needs straightening.

Fixing the warped minis

These instructions are straight forward and if you have several minis that need to be straightened, you can get an assembly line going.

Start by getting all of the items above ready since the process is pretty quick and you will want all of these things near by.
Bring the pot of water to a temperature just below boiling. You should just start to see the formation of bubbles on the bottom of the pot. Trying to do this with a pot of boiling water will cause the mini to fall off the spoon.
Once the water is up to temperature, place the mini in the spoon and gently submerge it in the hot water for 10 seconds. During this time you should start to see the mini snap back to its original form. This may be all that is needed to correct the figure.
If the figure is still warped after submersion, CAREFULLY bend the mini to the desired position. It will be hot and flexible so take caution and be gentle when adjusting.
After adjusting, place the mini in the bowl of ice water to lock the shape in.
Rinse and repeat with the rest of your figures.

Once the water is up to temp it should not take more than 20 seconds per miniature. I was able to do all of my Hero Quest figures in a matter of minutes once I got going. Here is an example of the gargoyle I had to straighten using hot water. Apparently, he was shipped with a boomerang.