ORIGINAL: mustclime
a candle to make plastic workable/ bendable, a butain torch for shrink sleeves.....a good sodtering iron with different tips.
I just got a Kendai SMD soldering station for $88 shipped on ebay. It has a heating element with blower for shrink tubes and desoldering, but with all the tips, it's perfect for softening plastic too. It's also the best multi purpose soldering system I've had, full digital temp control, etc. It's goes up to 500 degrees and I've used it for making schurzen and frame out of brass when I thought I'd be torching it.