I've purchased a handful of resin cast heads (not sure that's the right term, but hopefully it makes sense) and while most have neck holes that are slightly too large (easy fix), some are too small and will need to be opened up a bit. The material feels a bit more brittle and less forgiving than plastic, so I'm afraid to damage them. Any tips? Am I safe to carve/Dremel?

i have opened some up. several colors so each one was slightly different, but a dremel and a large bud or cone bur opened them right up. it does flake some compared to the softer factory heads. anything can have a bubble of void on the inside too. i just drilled a (light blue) head someone filled with green stuff and was surprised how rubbery green stuff is.

for a quick and easy tightening up/fitting a head with too big a hole consider heat shrink tubing. it's nice because you can add as many layers as you need, and it isn't permanent so you can experiment with builds quickly. i use it on any and all parts that needs a little tightening to attach or pose better. i'll also over drill out holes and add heat shrink on projects that will need a lot of taking apart as it gets built/painted to make sure it comes back apart easy.
http://wiki.joecustoms.com/wiki/Heat_shrink_tubing

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Years ago I purchased a bunch of ARAH torsos and heads from nova. No issues with them. They haven't broken down.

Then, with purchases from the three major casters, no issues with them. I guess taking in slowly and not rushing, while stopping to check progress is the way to go.

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Older resin casts were more powdery when you dremeled them, so I'd have to stop frequently and blow out the dust (being sure not to inhale and die). The stuff people are using now is either more plasticy or has more give to it like modern Joe heads. Regardless, a dremel will do the trick without destroying the head.

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Thanks, all! Very helpful info.



That's an awesome trick! Definitely going to try that. Thanks for sharing.

It really depends on the resin the caster is using. You can get resin that behaves like anything from PVC to ABS to a 60 year old bar of soap stored in grandma's medicine cabinet, when working with it. Your best bet is to, as others said, go slow and test a small spot of the head before hitting it hard.