The Energon Pub

Wasn't sure if this was the right place, but I have a couple figures with quirks:

Siege Jetfire's front landing gear is very hard to unfold - I have attempted to loosen its screw and that makes the whole thing too loose. Any other ideas?


My SS86 Swoop'a right knee does not ratchet like the like even though it appears to be a solid friction joint. His right hand is also very hard to unfold. Any advice on fixing these two things?

Thanks in advance!

For Jetfire's landing gear and Swoops hand, I would try moving them through their full range of motion 10-20 times in a row and see if that helps. Carefully of course and making sure not to push them beyond where they are supposed to go.

Also, I have to laugh (and cry) about memory and getting older. I saw this thread come up with a new post and thought, wow a thread I haven't seen before. Then I clicked back one page and then saw I made the 4th post on that page 7 years ago. *sigh*

TF-fan kev777 wrote:For Jetfire's landing gear and Swoops hand, I would try moving them through their full range of motion 10-20 times in a row and see if that helps. Carefully of course and making sure not to push them beyond where they are supposed to go.

Also, I have to laugh (and cry) about memory and getting older. I saw this thread come up with a new post and thought, wow a thread I haven't seen before. Then I clicked back one page and then saw I made the 4th post on that page 7 years ago. *sigh*

Time flies as they say. Thanks for the recommendation! That was my first idea actually. Didn't fix the issues, but I appreciate the response!

Oh what an interesting thread that was deeply buried!

I recently bought a G1 Trailbreaker that was cut in half. the plastic part under the hood had the hinge broken. Fortunately, not only did I had I had the spare part, I also had a spare front of the car in better condition. It was only two screws and a pin that can slide on and off easily that hold everything in place.

Now, to find a pair of hands for the right price...

I need some help figuring out how to repair Transformers G1 Kaltor (the calculator watch). I've oddly got two versions of him ... the actual G1 version and the Takara WatchRobo version. The toy is identical. I can't find any differences between the two other than the Takara one comes with a sticker sheet for some additional stickers that I don't think Kaltor included.

Now that I have two, I was able to successfully remove the inner leg sticker without damaging it to figure out what's going on with the inner leg and how it connects to the upper "thighs"/legs. It turns out that it is a mushroom peg, similar to modern Transformers, that is on the inside of his leg where his "knee" would be. The black plastic that forms the "peg" with the mushroom head is apparently fragile and this is a common problem with this item.

I'm determined that this can be repaired. I tried some superglue, but it wouldn't bond to the black plastic. So I need a different solution. The part is too small to drill a pin into it. I thought I had some tiny laptop or harddrive screws that might work as a mushroom peg if I screw them into his "thigh" but the tiny screws are still too big. So I'm back to thinking I need to somehow glue the peg back on to his leg.



What do you customizers suggest? I really need to restore this figure so that I can sell one of them. I think it will be worth more if I can repair it (with full disclosure) because that's better than a figure that is broken and since this is a common problem on Kaltor, I think I would be doing it a favor figuring out how to repair both of them at this point.

Once that's all set, I'll need to figure out if I can "rechrome" G2 Autobot watch or if I should just buy another one next time the opportunity arises.

Something I could do is to find a part that have a similar peg in my pile-O-scraps, then sculpt and paint it so that it will look as close as possible to the original.

The best solution, and the most expensive one, is to scan and 3D print the part in black nylon via Shapeways.

Apparently when it comes to chrome, modelers are having really good luck with metalic nail polish powder. I picked some up for some Voltron parts but haven't tried it yet myself, but from pictures I've seen people are getting mirror finishes with the stuff.



Second video is basically the same stuff, just sold to modelers, but with the nail powder you can get a brighter chrome silver.

Emerje