Customizing Q&A Thread

[dak]

I had it happen on a Prop I was making. I think the cause for that one was putting a new, fast drying coat on a not fully dry surface. I've also had Clear coat do that on a normal plastic surface. I assume it's because the plastic was too slick or it had some stickers on it and when it dried it "shrunk" and couldn't grip.... that's the best explination I can think of. a good coating paint that has a surface it doesn't grip to well..... Best thing I can think of. I'd need to research it a little more.

[alicethegoon]

Dak your example about the problem in painting the prop you made and why you thought the paint problem occured is exactly correct. I am an Autobody Mech-Painter by trade and deal with paint problems all the time on a larger scale, but the same rules apply. When any kind of paint or curing type material is used, the drying process always releases a gas or vapour of some sort depending on what it's base is. Anyway if you trap the vapours before they are fully cured they find a way out...cracks..pits..looks like crap. The Transformer doors I observed from our fellow collector either suffered from above or the door was contaminated with grease fromfingers or something paint will not stick to. ArmourAll very bad (Silicone) anything slippy. Always clean the item to be painted with diluted iso or grease remover. Mixing products (Company Brands) can cause problems too. Applying paint too thick can be a problem also, because it dries on the top and traps the vapours. Think multiple thin coats of paint everyone! Let the proper drying time occur between coats as recomended, the manufacturer does not make up these times because he is bored.

[Buhawi]

i see my errors now. learned and thanks for the advice. both of you.

[chans formers]

just be careful with the wax and grease remover.dont get it anywhere near the clear pieces.it could cause the clear pieces to go foggy or in my case,crack the clear platic.lesson learned.i like to use sunlight to wash the bot first,then its onto 90 to 94 proof alcohol for decal removal.i have yet to have a part melt or become disfigured with the isopropyl alcohol method.

[Devastator]

I'm just wondering what kinds of glue you guys use for your mods and customs. I need a kind that I can use for:

- gluing on styrene parts/model kit parts
- fixing/sealing small cracks and loose/open seams in TFs

Any recommendations and where to buy would be great. Thanks.

[dak]

I just use Super Glue. but i make sure what ever the surface is that I glue to, i sand it a bit first to roughen it up and give the glue a better surface to grab on to.

when I have a crack caused by me putting 2 pieces together i just use a Plumbers putty. when it's factory and there is a crack I don't really do anything about it.

[TTT]

Question about:
Taking apart MP Prime's head...

Originally Posted by Dark Rage

So the title says, I wanted to fiddle with the head, since I'm curious to see the teeth underneath. Has anyone had any success?

Answer from TFW2005.com

Originally Posted by Glue

For DVD Prime's head, the pin holding his two "antennae" together needs to be removed. The pin runs from one side to the other through the center of a horizontal "tube" section which is all one piece with the left antenna. The right antenna is just a shorter piece that caps over it on the side with the pin's head.

What I did was drill through the plastic of the left antenna side right through the center of the circle. I used a 2.5 or 2.75mm bit in a pin vise. It's just a layer with a round cavity behind it of 2.8mm diameter. When I drilled through, I could see the other end of the pin.

This seems like a fairly clean method which lets you tap the pin out. Unfortunately, I did not have a proper implement with which to do this so I just got impatient and clipped the plastic part behind Prime's face that holds his head on the ball joint of the neck. =) (Don't do that, btw, if you want to keep your head.)

Yah there are teeth but it's nothing special...trust me.
Try to keep questions like this in Dak's custom discussion thread/sticky...that's why it's here...to discuss...

[Dark Rage]

Thanks TTT, I totally forgot about this thread (Even though it IS a stick). And I thought it would be easy to display a MP Optimus with a smile

[Nemesis Predaking]

Hey guys. Don't know if this is the right place for this.
I'm trying to find somewhere to get a hold of some Styrene (sp?), preferably in blocks.
I've looked in craft & hardware store & I'm coming up empty.
Anybody be able to point me to a place I can find some ???

[Devastator]

I've been meaning to ask the same question too, except I'm looking for sheets, and ones that are lined if possible.