mechaninac
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Everything posted by mechaninac
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^ Keep it in Battroid, or GERWALK, mode forever; that, or use it for BB-gun target practice... maybe strap it to a M80 and watch the pieces fly in a most satisfying fashion...
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The only thing I can think of that might work for a fix on that particular part would be to: Disassemble the relevant parts to free up the broken shoulder bits; Temporarily cement the two pieces back together with CA or 2-part epoxy; Wait for the glue to cure; Mark the center of the ball joint sphere by tapping on it with a center punch or hard nail; Secure the part on a vise so that you can drill into it from the front (the tip of the ball joint) with a small diameter (no more than 1/3 the diameter of the thinnest portion of the ball joint's shaft) drill bit that is part of a tap and drill set; Make sure that a machine screw of the appropriate diameter and thread pitch to go with the tap&drill combo chosen, and of sufficient length to span the whole part, is available; Slowly start to drill at the center point mark in-line with the ball joint's shaft all the way thru the part until it breaks out the opposite side; Tap the hole you've made with the tapping tool to create the threads necessary for the machine screw; Counter bore the hole on the back side of the shoulder part (opposite to the ball joint) with a conical Dremmel bit to create a recess for the screw head so that it will be a flush to the part's surface as possible; Work the screw in all the way; File any exposed bit of the screw that pokes out of the ball joint's ball until it is flush with the ball; If desired, add a little solder to the shaft and ball tip for a smidgen more strength. I know it's quite involved and requires some specialized tools and materials, and it's not without pitfalls that may ruin the part further, but this is a metal part we're talking about, and if the repair is successful the fixed shoulder will be stronger than the original. I hope this information is of some help. Good luck.
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Well, I'm all in, and hopefully Bandai will burrow further into this particular rabbit hole and give us M2 fans, at least of the mecha, a Hi-metal-R version of the striking VF-2JA, and maybe the Destroids too.
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Yamato 1/60 VF-11C replacement hinges. 3D Print?
mechaninac replied to BluprinT's topic in The Workshop!
Unscrew the whole hinge assembly from the toy. Prop the hinge assembly, perpendicularly, on the jaws of a small vise, or small pliers if that's all you have. The trick is to rest the plastic on the tool and leave a gap for the pin to exit the assembly. Use a metal rod, or small hex key, of a smaller diameter than the hinge pin to push the pin out of the hinge. Push slowly with steady pressure -- if necessary, use a hammer or anything that can be used as a hammer, to tap on the end of the rod-tool while it sits squarely on the hinge pin -- until it starts to slide out; push it at least half way out and then pull with a pair of needle nose pliers if desired. Make sure to take your time and push straight down into the hinge pin to avoid damaging the plastic. -
Yamato 1/60 VF-11C replacement hinges. 3D Print?
mechaninac replied to BluprinT's topic in The Workshop!
Once you disassemble the hinge, that part looks eminently fixable without much fuss. I recommend liquid plastic weld for ABS: Apply to the crack with the bottle cap's brush (touch the saturated brush's tip to the split and let capillary action carry it in); clamp the part with a clothes' pin or a any type of spring clamp (watch for molten plastic oozing out of the repair... a very good thing); let cure for at least 24 hours (36-48 would be even better); scrape/file/sand the "scar tissue" off the repair to clean it up; buff the repair area with the coarse surface of a fingernail polishing stick to restore the parts surface finish. Done correctly, it will be hard to even tell the hing split in the first place. But, by all means, meticulously measure every last nook and cranny of the hinge and record the dimensions on a 3 view sketch so that one of the 3D modelers among our forum members can generate a proper mesh file to upload to Shapeways. Best of luck. -
They did somewhat screw up on the Beta on 3 points: The limited range of motion of the head, the lack of opening top shoulder missile hatches (present on the CMs version), and the omission of a cockpit "box" cover for the cockpit when in Armo-Soldier mode... to mote closely match the line art. They did nail it down in everything else, though... far better IMO, at least in looks and its Alpha connectivity, than the CMs. It's also likely it will remain the best Beta/Tread toy made, perhaps ever... ET's upcoming Legioss is just too big, and its quality too much of an unkownn in light of their lackluster VF-2SS toys, to expect a link capable Tread will ever be produced. If only Banday, or MegaHouse, or Arcadia would take a stab at toys from this license...
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^ Toy Induced Financial Ruin TM: Proudly brought to you by Macross World since 1999.
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That's a nasty crack alright, but since the plastic is ABS it should take to plastic weld like a champ -- STAY AWAY FROM CA GLUE (superglue); I can't stress this enough, not only will it make a mess and look ghastly when cured, but it also won't hold. It is definitely fixable. Proceed as follows: Clamp the peeled flap down with a wood clothes pin, any other type of jaw clamp (you may want to use a piece of flat wooden stick on each end of the clamp's jaws to prevent marring the toy's surface... a Popsicle stick would be perfect). Apply Ambroid Pro-Weld or Tenax, or even Testor's plastic cement (or any other methylene chloride based plastic weld) on the crack. Let capillary action carry the liquid down the seam; if necessary, release the pressure on the crack to allow it to open and make it easier for the weld to spread thoroughly along the crack. Look for a bit o oozing of dissolved plastic along the crack -- this is a sure sign it's working -- that will leave a thin scar tissue tha can be sanded/polished smooth later. Lastly, if extra strength is desired, use a pin vice to drill a couple of small diameter holes diagonally (bridging the repaired crack) into the part so that you can insert metal pins (seamstress pins) inside. file flush and add a dab of matching paint on the exposed metal to finish. Good luck.
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There is absolutely no way that hideous color is simply due to lighting conditions, background scatter, or camera settings. I could live with beige with a violet tint, but full-on violet toned down with gray is so wrong that it's going to take a serious amount of rationalization, or a fantastically great price, to make that right finger click the preorder button on this HM-R... How could you Bandai? How could you so massively screw up so horrendously on the color specs for the most iconic and anticipated Destroid of the all?
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Damn! That's about 1K yen/cm MSRP... more if you factor shipping.
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1/48 MOSPEADA INBIT KIT REVIVAL?
mechaninac replied to captain america's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Oops! Wrong franchise... -
1/48 MOSPEADA INBIT KIT REVIVAL?
mechaninac replied to captain america's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
If you really want a Gurab (Shock Trooper), Captain's is certainly the best, if not the only, option out there... the chances of any company releasing a mass market, or even limited release, plastic kit are near zero. Finances permitting, I would recommend you get one and put it aside until your skills catch up with the resin kit's required competence... and it's not that much of a challenge if you have a few models under your belt; more difficult and demanding to be sure, but not overwhelming. -
It wasn't the alcohol that left the shiny spot, but the rubbing that did it. The matte finish isn't a coating that can be removed, it's a surface texture built into the mold tooling; in essence, you polished the spot into a shine. Your solution to sand the shine away was the correct one as it "restored" the rough texture to the surface... I like using the roughest end of a buffing stick to tone down glossiness on plastic as it leaves a very fine matte finish with very little chance of residual scratches; it all depends on the end texture desired, however. -- General Warning: Bandai's matte texture on their DX Valks is so fine that regular handling will also cause shiny spots over time as your fingers rub and tug on some areas that undergo the greater amount of skin contact. -- Another option for removing paint would be Oven Cleaner spray as it eats all kinds of model and toy paints for breakfast. Spray some of it into the cap and use an old paint brush apply it liberally over the area to be stripped... the stuff is thick so it spreads like a gel and gives you quite a bit of control -- Oven Cleaner is perfectly plastic safe but do not breath in the fumes as the stuff is brutal on the sinuses.
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If your wings are flat, then just about any orientation is fine, but keep in mind that whichever surface is facing down will have the worst finish. However, if you've designed your wings with any curvature at all, then the best orientation would be vertical to minimize the severity of the stair-stepping typical of 3D printing; each wing standing up on its root (wing tip facing up). Or, if that's impractical for any reason: vertical with the trailing edge(s) facing down.
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^Not another Sybok type, half-blood or otherwise , just no!...
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I got invoice for an extra 300 yen for the packs, which amounted to less than 3 USD, but it's still annoying, specially when just about every other retailer would honor their original charge. Oh well, I suppose these quirks theirs are the price we pay for the convenience they offer in securing these web-shop exclusives.
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I got the payment request for my Spartan preorder with HLJ today; paid for it, and it's now sitting in my PW... to be shipped with my DX VF-31F and 1/1000 Andromeda kit.
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2014's The Book of Life from 20th Century Fox.
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Watch me... I actually like this announcement; it gives me the opportunity to take a breather.
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I decided to go with N-Y... with SAL shipping, the total came out to just 530¥ more than Amiami's before-shipping PO price, and 1030¥ less than HLJ, and that's before their mandatory EMS/FedEx shipping.
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HLJ request received and paid... and into the PW it goes.
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Available for PO at Big in Japan also
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STAR WARS Merchandise Episode - 2
mechaninac replied to Black Valkyrie's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Oh goodie, another rabbit hole to fall into... Who am I kidding? Bring it on Bandai; show us what you can do; impress us, and we'll be tripping all over each other to buy them. -
You're right... saw it wrong, silly me. But it's still a few hundred Yen too far for what this is, so the PASS stands.
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17480¥ + shipping + no pay later option (it's their current policy pertaining to Special Editions and Exclusives, I know)= PASS It looks nice, but not THAT nice. Oh, well
