So I've had this little problem for awhile but haven't got around to fixing, mainly because I prefer to keep him in robot mode, but I'd eventually like to address it. My Battle in Space Cyclonus has a paint-fused nose cone which is proving very difficult to pull out. I've googled a bit and found a few others with the same problem but most solutions suggested seem a bit extreme, such as microwaving him till he's "bendy" or putting him in the freezer.

I've already scratched the tab by pressing it too hard and there's a nasty set of plier marks from when I tried to pull the damn thing out by force. Any help would be much appreciated.