The Energon Pub

Sun Sep 09, 2012 12:30 pm

Hello! I wanted to confirm something about Prime Wheeljack. I noticed on my figure that the ball joint connecting the head to the body is made from the same clear, blue plastic as the light piping. I've had rotten luck with clear plastic before. Is there any concern to be had with this guy's durability? Thanks in advance!

News Credits: 241 · Sun Sep 09, 2012 12:46 pm

Prankmeister wrote:Hello! I wanted to confirm something about Prime Wheeljack. I noticed on my figure that the ball joint connecting the head to the body is made from the same clear, blue plastic as the light piping. I've had rotten luck with clear plastic before. Is there any concern to be had with this guy's durability? Thanks in advance!

You should keep in mind that clear plastic isn't as flexible as regular opaque plastic, so don't twist something too much in one direction, and don't apply a lot of force, and you should be fine.

Sun Sep 09, 2012 2:20 pm

Sweet, thanks! So I just need to not twist it really hard then, which I have no reason to do anyway because the joint isn't that tight. Still a bit concerning though.

News Credits: 241 · Sun Sep 09, 2012 3:20 pm

Prankmeister wrote:Sweet, thanks! So I just need to not twist it really hard then, which I have no reason to do anyway because the joint isn't that tight. Still a bit concerning though.

True, which is why clear figures usually have opaque joints. That shows Hasbro is well aware of the limits of clear plastic.

Sun Sep 09, 2012 4:17 pm

Thanks for the help! I just wanted to be sure since I have not had a lot of luck with the clear plastic in the past. I've actually heard of people managing to do full head swaps on the thing though. If others have been able to completely replace the head without breaking it, I'm pretty sure he'll survive as my little desk buddy for a while.

News Credits: 1 · Sun Sep 09, 2012 7:16 pm

I've had Prime wheeljack as a desk buddy, and he's held up to a fair amount of fiddling and reposing- he's pretty durable

News Credits: 2 · Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:17 am

I head taken his head out, do some works, and then put it back on. No problem during the process and no problem for now. In fact, when I was cutting his eyes from the clear plastic (ouch!), the plastic feels quite hard. Harder than his face plastic. If you have no idea why I'm doing this, you can look at my customs on him.

Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:25 am

Considering that the head gets nowhere near the amount of force (i.e., weight) applied to it compared to the hips (standing, leg weight) or shoulders (arm weight, constant fiddling, etc), I don't think a head joint out of the more brittle plastic is anything to worry about.

News Credits: 2 · Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:39 am

It's only an issue if the clear plastic starts to crack/crumble/shatter on its own over time, something I've heard reported with clear plastic in the past (though I REALLY hope not as some of my fav figs are made entirely or almost entirely of clear plastic).