Customizing Q&A Thread

[tusko]

No idea what I'm doing.... but could you not soak it in a strong acid to eat off the vacuum plated metal and leave the plastic behind? Its probably Cr or Zn so would not a Hydrochloric or Nitric acid bath clean it up nice? Just be careful as the acid will heat up as it reacts. Don't melt the plastic or injure yourself.

[SamiWCP]

I couldn't even begin to answer that Tusko..Chemistry was never my thing..

[Shepp]

Originally Posted by Cliffjumper69

Anyone ever used Mighty Putty on a custom? Can you paint over it? And whats a good glue to use?

Thanks


CJ

I'd be a little reluctant to use that Mighty Putty stuff, or at least to touch it with your bare hands and handle it without a mask.

That stuff looks, feels, and smells the same as some industrial putty I've worked with, and the MSDS sheets on that stuff had some interesting details. Like "Dispose of clothing in accordance with hazardous materials after handling". Not wash, but dispose.

The sheets also said to wear protective gloves to even handle the container (which was sealed inside another airtight container). And to wear a carbon filter mask and splash goggles. If it came into contact with skin, even indirect contact from surfaces or clothing, the area would need to be scrubbed down thoroughly for like 20 minutes.

Now Mighty Putty may not be the exact same stuff, since that putty I was using was highly specialized and used to seal explosion and spark proof mining control equipment. But the stuff looks, smells, and feels more or less the same.

I would advise using caution.

[Nerroth]

If anyone here has both Classics Grimlock and Universe 2.0 Dinobot, I was wondering:

Are the two moulds' heads similar in size?


(I was curious as to whether or not the Classics head would be useful if trying to turn Dinobot into Beast-era Grimlock, or if some other head was better... or, indeed, if a new head altogether would be needed.)

[Ultra Maverick]

^ I've had the exact same idea,
I never actually gave it a try but I believe the classics Grimlock head is a good deal thicker than Dinobot's

[Nerroth]

That could be a problem.


Short of bugging Hasbro/Fun Pub/someone to make a real one, what Grimlock head might do?

[Scrapper6]

I have a question to put to all you customizers out there... Have you heard of anybody making limited runs of Energon Stars for Energon Transformers?

I ask because to me giving the Energon Stars to the Autobots/Decepticons kind of makes me dissapointed because it means the Terrorcons/Omnicons no longer have their Energon Stars to call upon for battle.

I also ask because I'm curious if it might be a project worth investing in. (Doubtful I could invest anything into it at this moment in my life, but perhaps for future considerations.)

Also... Has anyone ever taken apart a Cruellock or Doom-Lock to repaint/customze? I'm not sure where to even start on that guy, he only seems to have one screw and the rest are these odd metal pins. Assistance would be appreciated.

I have it in my head to take either a Junker Cruellock or Doom-Lock and repaint it into a different character. Then I'd deck him out weapon wise with the spare Energon Sword from Galvatron General.

I'm just not too sure yet on who to make, what paint scheme would go good with the mold/transparent purple bits from Galvatron General and also how to go about making matching transparent claws and feet so that he'll be all one transparent color.

I'm not going to jump into this without doing a lot of research before I start. And where better to learn than by asking people who've customized plenty in the past.

How hard is it casting a mold to make those claws and that? How expensive will it be? How much collateral will I need to start saving up in order to tackle this at some future date? It can't be cheap casting a one off production run of a transparent claw or foot.

Should I quit before I even get started or try and stick with the determination of going through on this?

I doubt it'll be too difficult to find a spare Cruellock or Doom-Lock to use if I just keep hunting.

If this works out maybe I can think about making a special Insecticon to store Nightscream Reverse's weapons and Energon Star when he's not using them. Although that one probably only needs a repaint... Maybe I should start with the simple repainting of an Insecticon first and work my way up to the Doom-Lock/Cruellock.

Any wisdom you can share will be most welcome.

[CyberMnky]

Originally Posted by Scrapper6

I have a question to put to all you customizers out there... Have you heard of anybody making limited runs of Energon Stars for Energon Transformers?

I ask because to me giving the Energon Stars to the Autobots/Decepticons kind of makes me dissapointed because it means the Terrorcons/Omnicons no longer have their Energon Stars to call upon for battle.

I also ask because I'm curious if it might be a project worth investing in. (Doubtful I could invest anything into it at this moment in my life, but perhaps for future considerations.)

Also... Has anyone ever taken apart a Cruellock or Doom-Lock to repaint/customze? I'm not sure where to even start on that guy, he only seems to have one screw and the rest are these odd metal pins. Assistance would be appreciated.

I have it in my head to take either a Junker Cruellock or Doom-Lock and repaint it into a different character. Then I'd deck him out weapon wise with the spare Energon Sword from Galvatron General.

I'm just not too sure yet on who to make, what paint scheme would go good with the mold/transparent purple bits from Galvatron General and also how to go about making matching transparent claws and feet so that he'll be all one transparent color.

I'm not going to jump into this without doing a lot of research before I start. And where better to learn than by asking people who've customized plenty in the past.

How hard is it casting a mold to make those claws and that? How expensive will it be? How much collateral will I need to start saving up in order to tackle this at some future date? It can't be cheap casting a one off production run of a transparent claw or foot.

Should I quit before I even get started or try and stick with the determination of going through on this?

I doubt it'll be too difficult to find a spare Cruellock or Doom-Lock to use if I just keep hunting.

If this works out maybe I can think about making a special Insecticon to store Nightscream Reverse's weapons and Energon Star when he's not using them. Although that one probably only needs a repaint... Maybe I should start with the simple repainting of an Insecticon first and work my way up to the Doom-Lock/Cruellock.

Any wisdom you can share will be most welcome.

Darkov on TFW2005 makes energon stars in a variety of colours... along with several energon weapons as well. You may want to check him out.

[CyberMnky]

How would I remove the door panels and the exhaust mounts from said panels off of Animated Jazz? Im thinking i should be able to just heat it up and pull it off but wanted to ask before I broke the figure...

[chans formers]

Originally Posted by CyberMnky

How would I remove the door panels and the exhaust mounts from said panels off of Animated Jazz? Im thinking i should be able to just heat it up and pull it off but wanted to ask before I broke the figure...
Attachment 5363

soldering iron. heat up the pin and pull