The Energon Pub

[william-james88]

Hey guys, I just got Slog in the mail and the soft plastic flap in the front of his dinosaur mode is ungodly twisted in a shape that makes it extend outwards to kingdome come.
Also, my Strafe (blue pterodactyl) has his two soft tails pointing the exact same way when I would rather they point either straight or in opposite ways.




Both of these problems are because the soft plastic took a shape an angle the way they were packaged and are stuck that way. Have you had that problem and tried fixing it? And if so, how did you fix it? I can live with Strafe but I really wish Slog's front flap rested gently down along his body instead of pointing outward so much.


(Slog is my pic, Strafe is not, but the tails on mine look the same)

[Fox Thiagarajan]

My Strafe has the same tails as yours. Doesn't bother me but I think you should be able to tuck the sides of that jutting front flap into Slog's front armored should pads. The edges of the flap should tuck in just fine. It worked for mine. Hope it works for you as well.

[william-james88]

My Strafe has the same tails as yours. Doesn't bother me but I think you should be able to tuck the sides of that jutting front flap into Slog's front armored should pads. The edges of the flap should tuck in just fine. It worked for mine. Hope it works for you as well.

Al right, fawking A man! It works beautifully, thanks so much!

[Lockdownhunter]

Strafe's tails should be put in boiling water then you can straighten them.Check optibotimus's review.

[triKlops]

Agreed with water trick; Seibs uses it as well to straighten out plastics.
Although you might want to heed the warning against boiling water from him and use hot tap water instead as too hot may flush out some color from the plastics.

[william-james88]

Strafe's tails should be put in boiling water then you can straighten them.

It worked perfectly. Here is the result:

[Prime Riblet]

What is the general opinion of the Dinobot toys? I have avoided them since they don't look screen accurate to me and I don't know how I feel about the designs yet (or any of the designs for AoE).

[william-james88]

What is the general opinion of the Dinobot toys? I have avoided them since they don't look screen accurate to me and I don't know how I feel about the designs yet (or any of the designs for AoE).

Well, we have a thread about the Dinobot toys and which ones we think are best.

I personally found Evasion Mode Optimus to be the best mold from that set. Galvatron is also very interesting in terms of a design to replicate the way he was portrayed in the film (with a great Alt mode) and I also like Drift. The Dinobots were a bit underwhelming because of their wrists in robot mode. The screen inaccurate deco doesnt bother me as much as the wrists issue. I really dislike seeing the robot hands and feet in dinomode. You would think all these years since Beast Wars we would have gotten better transformations for limbs and hands.

I would highly suggest Slog though (the brachiosaurus) simply because we get so few Sauropod alt modes and this one is a real winner. And it has no robot kibble in alt mode (along with Slug). He also has looks the closest to the deco in the film even though he wasn't in it.

[Lockdownhunter]

Strafe's tails should be put in boiling water then you can straighten them.

It worked perfectly. Here is the result:

Thanks!Glad to help an awesome news staff member!

[Prime Riblet]

What is the general opinion of the Dinobot toys? I have avoided them since they don't look screen accurate to me and I don't know how I feel about the designs yet (or any of the designs for AoE).

Well, we have a thread about the Dinobot toys and which ones we think are best.

I personally found Evasion Mode Optimus to be the best mold from that set. Galvatron is also very interesting in terms of a design to replicate the way he was portrayed in the film (with a great Alt mode) and I also like Drift. The Dinobots were a bit underwhelming because of their wrists in robot mode. The screen inaccurate deco doesnt bother me as much as the wrists issue. I really dislike seeing the robot hands and feet in dinomode. You would think all these years since Beast Wars we would have gotten better transformations for limbs and hands.

I would highly suggest Slog though (the brachiosaurus) simply because we get so few Sauropod alt modes and this one is a real winner. And it has no robot kibble in alt mode (along with Slug). He also has looks the closest to the deco in the film even though he wasn't in it.

Thanks for the feedback. I will check the other thread!

[william-james88]

Thanks!Glad to help an awesome news staff member!

That's very kind of you.

[william-james88]

Got a fun story for you guys. As many of you saw, I got a nice G1 lot totally haphazardly. One of them was Slugslinger who was the rarest in the lot. However, he was also the one in the worst shape.



He was totally yellow in his back. This picture with Silverbolt will make you understand better. I took out the stickers and you can see how much the exposure to UV light has hurt this poor toy.



So I looked up what would be best. Hydrogen Peroxide (what they use to bleach hair as well as paper) was the common answer. But there are a few problems with that.

a) its very tough to get hydrogen peroxide that is stronger than 3% which is what we find at drug stores to help with infections (it actually doesnt help, but old habits die hard).
b) even if I found it, I would need a huge quantity to dunk this very wide transformer in. He is quite big for a G1 and has quite the wingspan that wont fold away.

Luckily, I found that women's hair products found a way around that. To bleach hair, you need a high percentage of Peroxide and you need it a bit thicker so taht it can stick to the hair and spread across it. So, I just bought hair bleach in 12%. This stuff is STRONG, my fingers were white after touching it.



I applied it to the back of the transformer and set it under some black lights I own from my college days. I also put Saran wrap over the applied regions so that it would not evaporate.



36 hours later,I removed it from the light and washed the leftover peroxide cream. This was the result.



And to compare with the initial picture.



As you can see, with Silverbolt as my comparison, I made sure to use the same flash at a similar hight and angle so that you can see the difference between before and after on Slugslinger. It's not perfect, but he looks so much more clead now. The yellow tint is totally gone, leaving an off white/grey collor. Next I will be applying reprolabels when they arrive.

[Lockdownhunter]

Got a fun story for you guys. As many of you saw, I got a nice G1 lot totally haphazardly. One of them was Slugslinger who was the rarest in the lot. However, he was also the one in the worst shape.



He was totally yellow in his back. This picture with Silverbolt will make you understand better. I took out the stickers and you can see how much the exposure to UV light has hurt this poor toy.



So I looked up what would be best. Hydrogen Peroxide (what they use to bleach hair as well as paper) was the common answer. But there are a few problems with that.

a) its very tough to get hydrogen peroxide that is stronger than 3% which is what we find at drug stores to help with infections (it actually doesnt help, but old habits die hard).
b) even if I found it, I would need a huge quantity to dunk this very wide transformer in. He is quite big for a G1 and has quite the wingspan that wont fold away.

Luckily, I found that women's hair products found a way around that. To bleach hair, you need a high percentage of Peroxide and you need it a bit thicker so taht it can stick to the hair and spread across it. So, I just bought hair bleach in 12%. This stuff is STRONG, my fingers were white after touching it.



I applied it to the back of the transformer and set it under some black lights I own from my college days. I also put Saran wrap over the applied regions so that it would not evaporate.



36 hours later,I removed it from the light and washed the leftover peroxide cream. This was the result.



And to compare with the initial picture.



As you can see, with Silverbolt as my comparison, I made sure to use the same flash at a similar hight and angle so that you can see the difference between before and after on Slugslinger. It's not perfect, but he looks so much more clead now. The yellow tint is totally gone, leaving an off white/grey collor. Next I will be applying reprolabels when they arrive.

Nice work!!!!!Oh,do you have BW Tigatron andG1 Topspin?They seem to have the same problem.

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Photodegradation

[william-james88]

Got a fun story for you guys. As many of you saw, I got a nice G1 lot totally haphazardly. One of them was Slugslinger who was the rarest in the lot. However, he was also the one in the worst shape.

Nice work!!!!!Oh,do you have BW Tigatron andG1 Topspin?They seem to have the same problem.

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Photodegradation

As you can see from my picture above, Top Spin was also part of that lot I bought. And yes, he does have some yellowing but not as much as Slugslinger. And he (and tigertron) are not worth the trouble. The reprolabels on Topsspin would cost more than he is worth. For Tigertron, I would not apply this process because of his black stripes. They might either turn grey or dissapear in the process sicne this is strong stuff and can remove paint. This is more for G1 figures which can be taken apart and where a whole plastic area can be covered (like Slugslinger's back or the small parts of G1 Ratchet).

[william-james88]

I got my reprolabels and can finally patch up those G1s.





Also,I am glad a new caliburst target master has appeared in the generations line because now slugslinger can use him again!

[william-james88]

I tested out a new product today, Goo Gone. This is supposed to get rid of sticky residue. I was told it worked for getting rid of stickers on TFs and I can tell you that it does.

I bought a second hand weaponizer Optimus Prime and in Quebec, he came with a caution sticker right in the front of his nose:



Well, I sprayed some Goo Gone, gave it a few minutes and then I took a wet white cloth and started rubbing. Not only did the sticker come off, but it left no residue:





This is what the produt looks like:

[ScottyP]

Yeah that stuff's good for getting sticky crud off just about anything. Used to use that on the appliance show floor in a past life and it was always a godsend for getting old promo material off of things. Have to be careful with it on some painted surfaces, but that goes for just about anything.

[fenrir72]

Always heard it, always planned to get it but always forget once I'm at your handy dandy hardware store.

Recently Maz's article on flawed beauties made mention of "it"

"It" as in floor polish. I'm using what is called Pledge "Wipe and Shine" by J & J.

I used a syringe(2cc) to apply the chemical in tight spaces (i.e. UW ratchet joints etc). Just make sure you don't expel the liquid too much and get rid of the runny excess.

Mind you, I used them not to protect the chrome parts (supposedly it too can be used for that purpose). Just to tighten the loose parts.

I'll do a little practice run on the chrome protection later.

Success rates

1. MP Hotrodimus' ankles no more flopping

2. UW Menasor ratchet joints of the connector parts. Backwards lean improved 97% but it still can't fix the design flaw of the center of gravity issue

3. G1 Landcross reissue. His legs don't flop anymore

4. G1 Superion's thighs minimized the floppiness by 20% . Neck joints tightened when used as legs

5. United Straxxus kind of disappointing. Thighs still flops.

6. Encore Bruticus unification weapons all are tightly joined together

7. G1 Menasor limb connectors. All of the car's neck joints, especially when you use Breakdown and Deadend as legs don't flop forward anymore.

[Rainmaker]

Hey guys I didn't know were else to post this so I'm posting this here. My friend's Combiner Wars Air Raid had it's wing bit in half by a dog. He doesn't know were the other half is and is really upset by it. Anyone know how I can replace the wing for Air Raid? It was the two right tailwings.

[Burn]

Hey guys I didn't know were else to post this so I'm posting this here. My friend's Combiner Wars Air Raid had it's wing bit in half by a dog. He doesn't know were the other half is and is really upset by it. Anyone know how I can replace the wing for Air Raid? It was the two right tailwings.

Short of buying a new one, your best bet would be to keep an eye on E-Bay or opp shops for a second hand one and transplant parts.

You'll be in for a wait though, it's a relatively new figure so he won't start showing up on the 2nd hand thrift market for a while yet.

[Rainmaker]

My generations Megatrno has just arrived except that the clip on the right shoulder is weak and won't clip in place, making playing with it very fiddly, anyway to fix it?

[Bumblebee21]

Pictures

[Rainmaker]

Why does it keep breaking?

The side without the handle of my Generations Megatron fusion cannon has broke apart, it is now in two parts and I can't get them back together.