Disassembling a female Marvel Legends

With the Thundra (and Valkyrie) figures you don't necessarily need to crack open the lower torso unless you're wanting to replace the legs entirely. If all you're doing is painting there is enough movement in the hip joints to allow you to sand them in place, you just have to do it a bit at a time. As for the disc pieces of the joints I use a couple of small files (one flat and the other triangular which tapers to a point) and I'm able to sand the discs pretty much all the way up to the peg at the top of the joints. I picked up a set of files at a hobby shop last year and prefer using them over the Dremel for joint prep. It's a bit more work but the results are better imo.

You can use a hair dryer or heat gun to pop off the upper torso from the lower, same thing works with the arms and leg joints, just be sure to hold it about 6 inches from the piece in the middle setting or you'll melt the part, now if you want to separate the joints from the arms, hands, & feet to paint use a very sharp exacto knife, heat the part and pry it open gently to get the joint out of the feet, hands and shoulders, for the knees just heat and pop out eh pin with a small screw driver. Thigh joints are a pain in the ass tho, use a drill with a small bit to make a hole on the seam and use a fine screw driver to pry it open, or use a small flat head and a hammer to pry open along the inner seam, either way you're going to have to have to use putty to seal it up when you assemble.

Oh, yes! I've been studying many of the tutorials extensively. I feel like I've been getting a bit ahead of myself, so I probably should just rein in and study 'em some more. Thanks!

There are also several excellent tutorials covering a wide range of subjects on figuerealm. Give them a look over before you start.

http://www.figurerealm.com/customtutorial

Thank you so much! I need to go dig out a hairdryer that isn't two decades old now and see about separating the pieces. I'm very excited to get started, and I hope to also be able to share the finished products on here!

That's some excellent advice! Thank you again.

On the recent Wasp, the top part pops off when heated, just like any arm or leg. It's a simple peg in a hole. Red She Hulk is built the same way, so I assume Thundra is too.

After you pop off the upper body, I suggest you shave some material off the peg in the torso (make it skinnier) so it's easier to pop on and off without reheating it all the time while working on it.

Thundra is the same assembly, just heat and pop.