tom
Turbofox
Posts: 59
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Post by tom on Jul 6, 2011 14:29:11 GMT
On the subject of repairs and restoration, I'm going to start using nail varnish to tighten some of my toys' balljoints, but I just wanted to know whether anyone has done it on really small toys like mini-cons, and what the results have been like.
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Post by mabus1984 on Jul 8, 2011 11:32:35 GMT
I used superglue on Universe Inferno to tighten his arm joints. Whilst not a small figure like a mini-con, as long as you keep moving the piece about until the stuff dries it won't stick together.
Unfortunately i found out afterwards an even easier way to tighten my Inferno's joints... screw the screw in a little tighter did an even better job. But then again mini-cons don't have them.
In response to stomski, i recieved the Classics Soundwave boxed set over a year ago and it smelt badly of cigerettes. I just left it in a box beside my window to air out for a week or two and now it doesn't smell at all.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2011 5:57:13 GMT
Great!! i can't wait to see it in a new and restored. Can you post it in here?
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Post by Pinwig on Apr 16, 2019 21:42:39 GMT
I'm almost done sprucing up Countdown but one piece worries me. The two long flaps on the piece with the red lift are incredibly stiff to transform, to the point it feels like they might snap. Had anyone ever tried to lubricate joints like that? I'm wondering about a light application of WD40 down the metal pins holding those bits.
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Post by shadowynne on Apr 17, 2019 7:53:15 GMT
On the subject of repairs and restoration, I'm going to start using nail varnish to tighten some of my toys' balljoints, but I just wanted to know whether anyone has done it on really small toys like mini-cons, and what the results have been like. Yes, it works well but patience is key. If you put too much on or reattach joints while the nail polish is still tacky you risk breaking the joint. The Americans touts floor polish as the best thing but the preferred brand is to annoying to aquire in the uk. I found through search and experimentation that astonish floor polish works very well, is safe and smells quite nice. Also the peroxide soak works very well indeed for restoring colour. |
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Post by shadowynne on Apr 17, 2019 8:00:06 GMT
I'm almost done sprucing up Countdown but one piece worries me. The two long flaps on the piece with the red lift are incredibly stiff to transform, to the point it feels like they might snap. Had anyone ever tried to lubricate joints like that? I'm wondering about a light application of WD40 down the metal pins holding those bits. First try a littl bit of warmth and a bit of washing up liquid with a drop of water. Wd40 can cause discolouration and can also cause some plastics to become brittle. I have see toys literally crumble after aplications of wd40. So I wouldn't recommend it. A tiny drop of 3 in one oil (wick away excess with the corner of a paper towel) works very well, keep the joint moving to really work the oil in. |
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Post by Pinwig on Apr 17, 2019 8:05:20 GMT
Ta. I'll try that. I can't quite tell if it's the plastic tabs that are making the joint pop as it's moved, or if the pin has got stiff. At any rate, I think I'll keep the replacement stickers off this part until I'm comfortable with it. I might look out for a junker to see if I can get another part to compare.
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Post by Pinwig on Apr 18, 2019 19:27:54 GMT
Tried the oil. Top tip there! The arms are moving back and forth now just the way they should do. Nice click, but no wrenching grind or fear of snappage. Countdown is almost back to complete!
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 4, 2021 9:58:44 GMT
I'm sprucing up the Hooligan Phil sent me - broken socket glued shut, pin inserted through chest using a folded paperclip (for a bit of spring) but I now need to tighten two ball joints, one particularly in the leg to help him stand. What's the current method of choice for that and which specific product do I need?
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 4, 2021 10:13:27 GMT
Clear nail varnish I believe
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 4, 2021 10:29:36 GMT
I will see if Mrs P has some. I also read a lot about a variety of different floor polishes. I wondered if Blue or Bogatan had an opinion.
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Jim
Thunderjet
Micromaster Backside Monitor
Now in glorious Ultra HD 4K
Posts: 4,922
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Post by Jim on Jun 4, 2021 11:57:49 GMT
Clear nail varnish hasn’t failed me yet!
Never heard about floor varnish in that context, but I did see a floor product recommended once for protecting chromed parts
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Post by Bogatan on Jun 4, 2021 15:51:38 GMT
I've not messed about with it much but I know Ive used super glue a few times, the trick is that you have to keep moving the joint till it sets or it obviously gets glued in to place.
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Post by Bogatan on Jun 4, 2021 15:52:28 GMT
I probably used super glue because i didnt have nail varnish on hand.
Superglue is probably overkill.
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 5, 2021 8:23:19 GMT
Zap's head comes off all the time because he has two holes in his neck that push onto bumps on the body to hold it in place by force. The bumps on the body had worn away, so the head comes off every time it moves because the friction isn't strong enough to hold it. Yesterday I put a couple of little blobs of superglue where the bumps had worn away to try and recreate them, this morning Zap's head is now back in place and rotates freely without falling off. Pleased with that!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 5, 2021 8:29:25 GMT
Well done!
How is Hooligan doing?
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 5, 2021 9:39:38 GMT
Waiting on me finding some nail varnish. I will need to buy some when I'm in town later. Apart from that, he's looking pretty good.
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 5, 2021 10:10:20 GMT
If you can't find any and need to ask a shop assistant I do hope you tell them why you need the nail varnish.
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 5, 2021 10:16:43 GMT
I will make sure I do. Mrs P doesn't have any clear.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 5, 2021 10:44:03 GMT
Then "The Mrs asked me to pick some up" is a valid cover story!
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 5, 2021 15:36:20 GMT
Who would have thought this would be so complicated?!
I am reliably informed by a helpful shop assistant that nail varnish and nail polish are the same thing. So I have procured from a local emporium a bottle of Extreme Last Base Coat nail polish because no bottles on the shelf said VARNISH. Just POLISH. Which claims to provide 80% LONGER WEAR.
I have no idea if I've done the right thing, but I'll try it on Hooligan's leg.
What I would like to know, as a confused consumer, is why shops sell nail polish to put on, but nail varnish remover to take off. Why the hell do these things have different names?! I would have employed Mrs P on this, but she is out today enjoying the benefits of not having to live in isolation with a Transformers fan any more.
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The Huff
Thunderjet
Hufferlover
Posts: 4,243
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Post by The Huff on Jun 5, 2021 15:41:59 GMT
I probably used super glue because i didnt have nail varnish on hand. Superglue is probably overkill. I used superglue on my T30 Rhinox joints (about a week after buying the thing) to tighten them up and it worked. It still moves/transforms but now has the wonderful added ability to actually stand up! And we say the toys don't have gimmicks anymore! |
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Post by Llama God on Jun 6, 2021 9:03:47 GMT
What I would like to know, as a confused consumer, is why shops sell nail polish to put on, but nail varnish remover to take off. Why the hell do these things have different names?! I would have employed Mrs P on this, but she is out today enjoying the benefits of not having to live in isolation with a Transformers fan any more. I have no idea. All I know is that I use a dual top coat/base coat thing that does both jobs. It seems to work. Or at least I used to. Having a baby got me out of the habit of doing my nails. But he's a year old now, and I spend plenty of time sitting at my desk working from home, so I really have no excuse. I need to get back on it... |
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 6, 2021 10:25:36 GMT
Yeah, you need to nail this problem.
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 6, 2021 11:26:52 GMT
This pot is a base coat thing. One cost seems to have done the leg, it's tight when in robot mode, but I see looking at the actual joint if you rotate at the knee 90 degrees the leg is supposed to come loose and floppy anyway as there are some little raised lines that hold it in place when its straight. So I think that's done. Arm joint will need a second coat as that was still loose.
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 6, 2021 19:10:13 GMT
At least it's not Footloose.
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 6, 2021 19:18:24 GMT
Second coat worked on the arm. Nice and tight now. Hooligan is now as good as I can get him!
I learned a few things there. I might give Side Burn's feet a bit of nail polish to help him out.
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Post by Pinwig on Apr 2, 2022 22:50:56 GMT
Regular readers will recall my dismay on the zoom call a month back when I thought I'd fixed the broken peg on Stalker's big missile with superglue, but it snapped off straight away at the slightest twist when removing the missile from the hole it goes in in his shoulder. This was an eBay purchase that I got cheap because the broken peg was stuck in the tank mode hole, but I got it out.
Bogatan recommended Plastic Weld instead as this melts a thin layer of the plastic to allow it to form a stronger bond. I got a bottle but kept putting off using it for fear of being disappointed. I tried it today and it seems to have worked. The missile plugs into and pulls out of both the sockets it's supposed to go in without any trouble and it hasn't broken again. It's weird stuff. Looks like water - I painted it onto the broken pieces and because it was so liquidic couldn't see how it was going to work, but I pushed the pieces together and left them for the evening. Now the joint is rock solid. Stalker is now standing proudly with his missile on his shoulder.
Worth remembering for fixing broken plastic.
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Post by Llama God on Apr 3, 2022 8:34:26 GMT
I wonder if that'd work on "gold plastic"-style fractures such as the one suffered by my Transmetal Megatron, or whether it'd be kind of futile, since there are too many other weaknesses waiting to happen?
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Post by Pinwig on Apr 3, 2022 9:25:06 GMT
I could try that. I have a junker Armada Optimus with a snapped arm, that failed when I tried to transform it a while ago. I didn't realise at the time that was a GPS problem and was a bit rough with it. I could try the Plastic Weld on that as I still have the pieces. However, I'm not sure in the long run if that would help in that case as the joint was incredibly stiff in the first place. I can still see that snapping regardless of how good the weld is.
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