Hi guys,
Rather than continuing in my other post which was specifically about Prime's restoration and end up having naysayers get upset about my new post about this new restoration, I decided to do a generic ongoing restoration page [that way I won't be going off topic, cause it is ongoing ].
So as I mentioned in my other post I picked up an original G1 Air Raid for about $4 at our local Sunday market.
Now he is in pretty bad condition [worse than my Prime] he has severe sticker wear, no rub sign, no arms, accessories and he is missing his left rear landing wheel.
Still all in all I think he is great and I am going to make him like new again! Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3
So first things first . . . . he needs a good clean.
I pulled him apart and found out that he has a lot of rust!
Also he was starting to yellow [though more on the inside then the outside, go figure! ], I will have to get some peroxide tomorrow and give him a good soak.
In the meantime with a lot of effort and several rinses he is clean once more.
It was at this time that I noticed that his afterburners were originally designed to be hollow but they were later capped.
Since I also planned to do some detailing on him I decided to remove the obstruction and reveal his afterburners. Pic
After he had been cleaned I also decided to fix his cockpit paintjob.
Not sure wether it was originally chromed or just painted grey I decided to chrome it. Pic
So now that he has been cleaned, de-rusted and re-chromed, I just need to repaint his chest, order his repro stickers and fix his broken body parts.
On that, I frequently come across a cheap asian knock off that looks just like him [even has all the same stickers].
So I think I will get it and cannibalise it for its parts and weapons.
Stay tuned . . . . pic
Ok it took the better part of a week but the hydrogen peroxide whitened the yellow parts [granted the only real day of sunshine was the last day but still].
So I painted his chest piece and reassembled him. Pic
Also during this time his replacement decals arrived and that is when I noticed a few problems.
his transformed body shape was different then the instructions for applying the stickers.
I remembered when I was a kid that his legs slid out of his body but when I tried to do that with him during initial inspection I found that his legs didn't come out, I chalked this up to a false childhood memory and dismissed it.
But later I noticed that the instructions show his legs coming out and I thought that maybe I had a clone or cheap knock off after all so after the cleaning and reassembly I gave it another go.
To my surprise they popped right out quick 'N easy, I guess the peroxide loosened them up.
Yay!
Secondly as I was getting ready to put on his stickers I noticed that many of them covered up screw holes, this could be a problem.
As you can see my Air Raid doesn't have his arms yet and whilst a replacement set is on its way I don't want to apply the stickers if I have to disassemble him again.
Does anybody who have a G1 Air Raid know if his arms can be reasserted without pulling apart his body to do so?
Hi guys, it's been awhile but I thought I would give a quick update.
As you can see:
My TF collection has started to increase [though not by design], it's ironic that most of my TF's are the byproduct of organising deals for specific parts to fix another TF.
I currently have about 3-4 kilos of spare parts plus a dozen complete robots [lovely, I can actually start trading now].
Anyhow the main reason here today is to get some advice on fixing my most recent acquisition, a G1 Blaster
Structurally he is in really good condition [no breaks, cracks, stress marks, chips, etc]
Unfortunately his stickers are shot, he is missing his rifle [hehe didn't want to say that Blaster was missing his blaster, lol] as well as his handle.
The last thing he is missing [that the more observant among you may have noticed] is that he is missing his clear view window from the tape deck door.
Now the rifle and stickers are easy enough to replace, I already have replacements on the way, but the handle and the door insert are troublesome.
As I see it, I have three options:
1.) buy another blaster in even worse condition and merge the better parts from each.
2.) Wait patiently for the parts to appear on a site somewhere and make an offer for them.
or
3.) Make my own.
I really don't want to do 1. it feels wasteful, as for 2. HEY, that's what this post is for, if anyone here happens to have these parts available then I am all ears!
Unfortunately I don't have any real expectations that that will happen so I am wondering if anybody else has ever gone down the road of option 3. and custom making their own replacement parts?
Any tips or suggestions?
Given that I am a 3D modeler the most logical thought I have is to carefully measure and recreate the pieces as a 3d model and then have them printed
G'day guys! Long time no see . . .
Been too busy lately to indulge in my favourite little hobby, but all that changed this week.
I bought a G1 ironhide in fair condition [minus tyres & head] on ebay, should get that this week sometime.
Also I just came back from my first trip to the markets in many months, and I picked up a few new additions . . .
I will start with the little guys first . . .
On the left we have a badly weathered and slightly battered GoBot "Water Walk".
He is in good shape, tight joints, all stickers ok top stickers missing, the only real damage is his right wing tip is broken off.
Next up in the middle is a G1 Bombshell . . . minus leg . . .he has heavy chrome & sticker wear and yes his antenna is snapped off.
Also I can't move his right arm, I suspect it has been glued [there is evidence of superglue around where the antenna was].
Finally on the right we have Skydive or rather his evil chinese counterpart.
Still he has some remarkable good parts on him unlike other copies I have come across.
And now the best for last . . .
I came across a stall selling vintage magazines, newspapers and the odd matchbox car, hidden in a box under a table was three solid boxes [like the one shown] filled with action cards!
Now unfortunetly I only had $40 on me otherwise I would have gotten the lot!
Instead I was able to convince him to let me go through all three boxes and pull out one of every card I find at 50¢ a card . . . nice!
In total I found 79 out of a possible 100 cards [bear in mind there was about 800-900 cards per box].
Plus I noticed one of the boxes was half empty and contained a nasty gash [located on the inside] so I convinced him to part with it too so as it won't get destroyed further.
In the end he dropped the price down to 25¢ a card but the box brought the total back up to $40 [there goes my pocket change].
I plan to keep the box as is but I am going to make a two part container for it.
Using clear acrylic sheets I plan to make a box to go inside and a box to go outside with just enough room to hold the carton pressed together in its original shape.
I imagine that this will keep the box protected for years to come.
* * NOTE * *
Just pulled apart Bombshell, no the shoulder wasn't glued, . . . well technically it was I suppose . . . I found bubblegum [rock hard bubblegum!]
Last edited by FoxMalcolm on Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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