Customizing Q&A Thread
 

Post here for any questions on customizing, or any useful tips and hints.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

DAK's Random Tip #1

Lets say you have a cube with no roof and one of the side walls missing, and you want to fill it with a putty to make it a solid object. Because putty can be so thin, how can you fill it so it's solid, and doesn't leak? Here's the tip:

Take a flat, glossy piece of plastic and use a very small amount of super glue to stick your piece to the surface. you may now fill your object with putty. When it hardens, simply remove the Glossy plastic.

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/787/photo542kq8.jpg

The glossy plastic acts as a temporary wall and a simulated non stick surface. As mentioned in the class, super glue holds, but not forever, especially on a glossy surface.

So remember, little amounts of glue, and a glossy piece of plastic.

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4137/photo543fm2.jpg

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

If someone would make these for me I would be their bestest friend :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8146180607.jpg

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

those would be fun.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

Okay. I'm totally new to repainting/kitbashing, and I've got an Alt Skids that I would like to repaint. What's the best way to remove the decals that are on his front body panels/windshield? I've heard that you needed to soak them in some type of alcohol.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

Nail Polish remover tends to work really well.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

Yes, use nail polish remover and some cotton, and it'll come off nicely. Use cotton pads rather than cotton balls for a lease likely chance of leaving cotton fibers behind. Cheapest remover is the pink "Life" brand found at Shoppers.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

LOL, nail polish remover, that's a good one. I work at an autobody shop, I use wax and grease remover. Not sure if it works on those TF's plastic, but it works on cars, rubbers, etc, as long as u don't soak it for too long, it is easy to clean afterward. U can actually put it in water to soften the sticker decals. That way u can also remove all the wax and grease, next blow it off, or let it dry. This way u haf less chance to get fisheyes on your paint job, cuz i am not sure if the polish remover has wax or grease in it. It is a pain in the @ss when u get fisheyes....

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

What do you think about using the same paint used on warhammer figures to be used on repainting transformers?

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

I think those paint u use for war hammer should work, but make sure u clean the plastic properly before u paint. I dont' think u want your paint peel or chip off.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

Nail Polish remover doesn't dry greasy. It dries like alcohol.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

What would be the best way of cleaning the plastic....alcohol and a match disinfects well :P

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

Dak, this is an awesome thread, and that was a great tip.:)

Us TransformersCon fans are really fortunate to have your expertise.:cool:

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

And your random yet totally related TF quotes JL :P

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

Cool, haha~ Now I learned something from u, so the nail polish bascially act as a wax and grease remover. Nice trick :)

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

HAH!:D
You hit the nail (polish remover) on the head.;)

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

For those of you that were not able to attend, or did not get the chance to see it up close, here is the before and after of using Nail Polish Remover on TF's:

Subject: Classics Starscream
Piece: Right wing (looks like the left because the image was reversed)

Before:
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/8458/photo544oq3.jpg

After:
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/6771/photo545fx3.jpg

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

So is there an easy way to determine what will be removed by nail polish, and what will remain? Will it take off everything but the base plastic?

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

all paint will be removed, along with the gloss coat. what would be left behind is the plastic. It will not remove the color from plastic.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

Interesting to say the very least...

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

2 Customizing Questions

1. How could I remove remove the pegs holding movie Jazz's hands in so I can turn the hands on him so there on properly? (Many may want to do this too, they look totally off)

2. How would I go about painting black plastic yellow? I want to costomize my movie BB but the yellow paint doesn't spread very evenly on black plastic.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

i can answer the second with my really limited knowledge. you need a primer before you can paint a light colour on a dark colour. at least thats how it goes with wall paint.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

I read what you said, and looked at my character and did some research. On the back of the box it does have the hands the opposite arms. I decided to make this into a small tutorial. Here ya go:

Subject: Movie Jazz
Operation: Hand Switch
Difficulty: 7/10
Time: 10-15 min

First I'd like to say, as easy as it sounds to switch the hands, it really isn't. 2 things 3 things make this difficult.
1) You're working with really small pieces.
2) Some parts are thin and could easally break if not careful.
3) There is a really stupid barrier preventing this project from being easier than it is.

so lets begin:

Take the hood off the rest of the body, and know where the right and left side are. All you will be doing for this is removing 2 pins, switching hands and replacing the pins.

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/5...o554mq2.th.jpg

Take the side you would like to start with first, and grab a small screwdriver. Jewlers type is prefered. You will want to push the pin from the center of the hood (where the screwdriver in the pic is pointing) to the outside. That little tab that is covering the pin hole is what's going to make this difficult. The reason you want to push from that side is because the jagged side of the pin is on the outside of the hood

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/2...o555im8.th.jpg

If you can put the Screwdriver on the Tab side of the hood, do it. The method I used is a little trickier and a little more dangerous. How I did it is, I pushed the pin from the outside of the hood, going in. this closed the gap between the pin and the tab. what this also does is frees the one side of the hand from a pin. Take a small flat head screwdriver and wedge it between the tab and the pin. Push the pin in away from the tab and back to the outside of the hood.

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/3...o556kg4.th.jpg

What has happined now is the one side of the hand is free and you are pushing the pin through to free the other half. The pin should bend the outside of the hand and not re enter the hole. go slowly, and the hand should be free of stress marks and cracks. When that's finished, move along to the other side.

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/3...o557fw2.th.jpg

As I mentioned before, this method is risky and would be alot easier if that damn tab wasn't there. You do run the risk of streaching and cracking the part that is attached to the hood, as pictured. as long as the piece hasn't fully come off and is only stressed, you can easally dab a bit of super glue on it and it will mend it. Make sure the glue is totally dry and hasn't covered your hole before you continue.

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/5...o558sw5.th.jpg

When both pins are removed, switch the hands. and test fit them on the arms with no pins. For this character, the underside of the hood should be facing up, and the 2 fingers are on the upper side aswell. Always make sure you do a test fit cause you don't want to put something together and realise it's wrong, especially with a pin joint.

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/1...o559ka4.th.jpg

When you are satisfied with how it looks, simply slide the pin in towards the tab clean side first. The easiest way I find to putting pins back is just using my teeth. bite the top of the pin and the end point and it should slide in. Other methods are to use Plyers, or vicegrips. but don't apply too much pressure, cause you don't want to mark up the plastic. And then, you're done!

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/8...o561bh9.th.jpg

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

As for paint, on a dark surface, use a primer, and then use the paint over top. Use a Krylon Primer cause it will stick better to the plastic. be sure not to use too much primer, and make sure you mask your surface.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

Always helpful, thanks Dak. I'll put up pics of what I've done with my Deluxe Movie BB...it needed some more silver (especially with that face plate) but still needs some yellow accents.

Need Help - Kitbash/Repair Masterpiece Starscream
 

Okay, here's the issue. A few days ago, Starscream took a dive off a high shelf onto a wooden floor. Damage? A minor chip to his foot, which is easily repairable (Got the piece, not load bearing) and the ball joint that holds the hip kibble on snapped clean off.

It's the second that's the issue. As this is a load-bearing piece, subject to torsional stress and constant weight, I can't see any glue or epoxy holding it satisfactorily, so I have two options.

1. Drill a hole in the ball joint and hip and attempt to use a screw to pin the two back together.

2. Perform a customization such as this: http://www.tfans.com/talk/index.php?showtopic=54417

Unfortunately, aside from doing the arm mod on Armada Prime (To allow the arms in super mode to free-rotate) I've never done any customizing or repair work. And Masterpiece Starscream is kinda expensive to learn on.

So I was hoping there was a Toronto-area transfan with experience with this sort of thing that could help guide me? I'm willing to do the work myself, I just kind of need a mentor I can post questions to, who can give advice on tools, glues, how to do things like those custom posts in option #2, etc.

Anyone willing to help me out?

Re: Need Help - Kitbash/Repair Masterpiece Starscream
 

I had a Kotobukiya Armored Core action figure, busted the foot off its ankle balljoint. What I ended up doing was boring out a hole in both the ball and the foot, inserting a bit of paperclip wire as a rod, and supergluing the whole thing shut. I haven't looked at it in a couple of years but at the time it seemed okay.

Anyone else?

Re: Need Help - Kitbash/Repair Masterpiece Starscream
 

You know you can pose it with the wings on the legs, not on the ball joint? He does not stand straight up when they are on the legs but he can do some good action poses that way.

http://agesthreeandup.com/sites/age3...3/IMG_1088.jpg

The ball joint is not cruical when in the jet mode as well so you can just dissregard it all together if you do it this way.

Spencer.

Re: Need Help - Kitbash/Repair Masterpiece Starscream
 

phy's method sounds pretty stable, i might try something close to that.

i'm also having this sort of problem with a galaxy force optimus prime. the gear-like piece that connects the arm to the shoulder has been sheared off.

its a high load bearing joint, and using superglue didnt hold as well as i had hoped. on top of that, i only have half of the gear-like piece. so i'm in a bind as well.

perhaps the answer to polenicus' problem will work for mine as well, but i'm open to suggestions.

Re: Need Help - Kitbash/Repair Masterpiece Starscream
 

I'd need to look at my SS, at some point to give you a better description of what to do, but if it's just a ball joint, you should take some super glue, stick the piece on, then drill a screw into the shaft for secure support. I've had to do this a few times. I would not suggest using anything other than a screw, cause the thredding on a screw will hold it on alot better than a smooth object.

A few note:

-Predrill your hole so it is a tad smaller than the screw.
-Use a super glue to hold the piece a first, then when it totally dries it can leave behind a white frosty residue. Just wipe away with a damp cloth.
-after all glue is dry and the screw is in, add a bit more glue around the outside edges to fill in the cracks and add extra support.
-BIG NOTE: take your pieces appart, as best as you can before starting.

If the joint is not actually a ball joint, and it is a clicking type.... this method will not work.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

I've also merged this into the Customizing thread.

the gear i speak of within cybertron GF op's shoulder is not of the clicky kind (which makes me wonder why it was a gear shape in the first place). there is a hole in the midle of the gear already, but my main problem is the fact that i'm missing half of the gear. is there a way to build up plastic to get it up to the original shape? or should i find something else to put in its place?

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

I wouldn't try to build up on a broken piece like that. Try to find a replacement, or if it's easy enough, scratch build one. Building up on a clicking disk could make it crumble when re assembled.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

If you have a pic, that would be even better.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

okay, here's the joint that needs the fixing. there are no ratcheting parts inside where it connects to. hopefully this means it can be repaired.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

also, i have tried using superglue already without success.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

that's a tough one. I'll need to take a look at mine to see ecactly where things go. or if you could take a pic of it even more together, so I can see exactly where each piece goes and I can see the stress points.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

well, anymore together and it will look pretty much like the regular arm. that small gear piece that broke off is all that holds the arm onto the figure.


but i'll see what i can do.

edit: i only removed the rest of the arm for clearer shots, the only thing needed to access this gear is to unscrew the red anchor that lock into prime's side in robot mode. the one on the hinges, that allow the arm to move from vehicle mode to robot mode. just 3 screws and bam, that gear is open to access. there's no need to mess with the ratcheting shoulder joint, i just removed it for clearer pictures.

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

Just throwing this out there but how hard would it be for a novice such as myself to kitbash movie Barricade? Thinking about doing one up as a OPP or RCMP cop car. I dont know but I'm thinking about it, one of the few inspirations for a custom I've really had.

http://www.meaford.com/town/opp_car.jpg

http://www.tfw2005.com/gallery/data/...ade_Car_10.jpg

Re: DAK's Customizing Discussion Thread
 

would you just repainting it or re molding the car?