The Energon Pub

soundwave13c wrote:thats really cool! How much does this cost again

The pre-order was for $100.00 shipped. I picked mine up from the post office today, mine's labeled 79 of 100. Have to admit I'm a little intimidated by this kit. Not so much by the difficulty but the price, and knowing that if I screw up I can't just run down to the store and pick up another. The assembly looks easy enough, but a lot of the parts are going to require quite a bit of clean up before assembly. Also there are a lot of small parts that look very fragile. One of my spoilers was broken in the package, I think it will be an easy fix though. I'm going to start sanding, cutting pegs, drilling holes, and dry fitting parts tonight.

El Duque wrote:

soundwave13c wrote:thats really cool! How much does this cost again

The pre-order was for $100.00 shipped. I picked mine up from the post office today, mine's labeled 79 of 100. Have to admit I'm a little intimidated by this kit. Not so much by the difficulty but the price, and knowing that if I screw up I can't just run down to the store and pick up another. The assembly looks easy enough, but a lot of the parts are going to require quite a bit of clean up before assembly. Also there are a lot of small parts that look very fragile. One of my spoilers was broken in the package, I think it will be an easy fix though. I'm going to start sanding, cutting pegs, drilling holes, and dry fitting parts tonight.

Good luck, Duque! Just be careful with trimming off the extra bits. Not all of them are extra and you won't realize it until assembly! And check your sticker sheet, mine was cut off center making most of the useless. Another detail I didn't notice at the start. If you finish before me, feel free to post pics. I won't bitch, promise.

zodconvoy wrote:

El Duque wrote:

soundwave13c wrote:thats really cool! How much does this cost again

The pre-order was for $100.00 shipped. I picked mine up from the post office today, mine's labeled 79 of 100. Have to admit I'm a little intimidated by this kit. Not so much by the difficulty but the price, and knowing that if I screw up I can't just run down to the store and pick up another. The assembly looks easy enough, but a lot of the parts are going to require quite a bit of clean up before assembly. Also there are a lot of small parts that look very fragile. One of my spoilers was broken in the package, I think it will be an easy fix though. I'm going to start sanding, cutting pegs, drilling holes, and dry fitting parts tonight.

Good luck, Duque! Just be careful with trimming off the extra bits. Not all of them are extra and you won't realize it until assembly! And check your sticker sheet, mine was cut off center making most of the useless. Another detail I didn't notice at the start. If you finish before me, feel free to post pics. I won't bitch, promise.

Thanks, I have a feeling I'm going to need. I'm a little concerned about the little grey sliders that go in the lower legs. Those four little pegs on the corners look delicate, in fact one of them had the tip broke off in package. It still fits and stays in place okay so I guess it will be fine.

I'm not expierienced with resin kits. What kind of paint will be best, I was considering Krylon fusion for the white.

El Duque wrote:I'm a little concerned about the little grey sliders that go in the lower legs. Those four little pegs on the corners look delicate, in fact one of them had the tip broke off in package. It still fits and stays in place okay so I guess it will be fine.

I'm not expierienced with resin kits. What kind of paint will be best, I was considering Krylon fusion for the white.

Those four pegs were twice as long as needed on mine so I had to cut all eight of them to fit the slots.

I'm just using my standard craft acrylics. Putting it on in thin layers, the paint really highlights any molding defects like bubbles.

Just finished assembling this guy. I'll try to snap some pics tomorrow. Not for the faint of heart, it was touch and go for a while. They didn't include enough of the 3mm PVC rod, but I worked around it substituting the 2.5mm in the elbows which actually worked out better in the end. I wouldn't recommend this unless you are a hardcore Drift fan or just really good at building models. I'm neither really. I would say this is on par with the Titaniums in terms or transformation and posibility. A display only piece for sure.

I've been assembling the kit too over the past couple of days.... he's finally starting to take shape - there's been some 'creativity' required - ended up using lollipop sticks when the 3mm ran out to hold the shoulder wings to the arms - they seem OK.

I'll be constructing him fairly loose at the moment - i think the arms and legs are easiest transformed away from the body and reattached with the 2.5mm joints.

Been good to hear/see from others putting him together - very helpful, thanks!

I've completed the assembly and will disassemble and begin painting shortly

Hmmm... much more impressive looking than I assumed he would turn out.
Don't hate me for my next comment, but..
I wish they would pull a Fansproject and release a new awesome version for everyone.

nice work El Duque! Heck yeah, I CANT WAIT to get mine in! I will post any problems I have when I build him as well. I should get my kit in middle of next week and I am literally 'taking vacation time' just to paint and build this thing. As a modeler, I have a question...would it be easier to paint some parts then assemble and follow up with details or, just paint the damn thing after the build process? (Based on complexity of the build process, scratching paint ect.)

Good to see one up close and fully assembled. I will post pics of my progress as well once I start the build.

OPTIMUS MAGNUS wrote:nice work El Duque! Heck yeah, I CANT WAIT to get mine in! I will post any problems I have when I build him as well. I should get my kit in middle of next week and I am literally 'taking vacation time' just to paint and build this thing. As a modeler, I have a question...would it be easier to paint some parts then assemble and follow up with details or, just paint the damn thing after the build process? (Based on complexity of the build process, scratching paint ect.)

Good to see one up close and fully assembled. I will post pics of my progress as well once I start the build.

I decided to fully assemble the figure and work out the transformation before painting. I figured if I painted first the assembled any problems I ecountered would result in modifications that would have to be repainted. Once you get him figured out assembling and diassembling his easy anyway.

Here are the problems I encountered. The outside part of the right knee joint broke when I was trying to pin it. Luckily it was a clean break and superglue and resin work well together easy fix. I accidently drilled through the front of the chest when drilling out the holes for the shoulder pins. The front of the chest where the details are is extremely thin. Be careful when you drill out the shoulder hole, when you start getting close slow down and go easy. I just barely hit it and the drill went right through. I just drilled the other side out to so they would match. I've since decided I may try to repair the detail and plug the holes with some modeling epoxy. There are also some small detail pieces on the top of each side of the chest that are paper thin and when he transforms the shoulders go right over these. The first time I attempted to transform him one broke off. I was so small and thin I couldn't glue it back, I just removed them both. The legs have sliders inside that are held in place by four small tabs that fit into groves inside the leg and these are very delicate and probably longer than they need to be. I had one snap, but luckily found it and glued it back, I then shortened all of them. Lastly they didn't send enough 3mm PVC rod with mine, this is what you will use to pin most of the joints. I would recommend using the 2.5mm rod to pin the elbow joints. It works just as good and should ensure you have enough of the 3mm rod. I also added a couple of additional pegs in the lower legs to make the rear section of the alt mode more stable.

El Duque wrote:

OPTIMUS MAGNUS wrote:nice work El Duque! Heck yeah, I CANT WAIT to get mine in! I will post any problems I have when I build him as well. I should get my kit in middle of next week and I am literally 'taking vacation time' just to paint and build this thing. As a modeler, I have a question...would it be easier to paint some parts then assemble and follow up with details or, just paint the damn thing after the build process? (Based on complexity of the build process, scratching paint ect.)

Good to see one up close and fully assembled. I will post pics of my progress as well once I start the build.

I decided to fully assemble the figure and work out the transformation before painting. I figured if I painted first the assembled any problems I ecountered would result in modifications that would have to be repainted. Once you get him figured out assembling and diassembling his easy anyway.

Here are the problems I encountered. The outside part of the right knee joint broke when I was trying to pin it. Luckily it was a clean break and superglue and resin work well together easy fix. I accidently drilled through the front of the chest when drilling out the holes for the shoulder pins. The front of the chest where the details are is extremely thin. Be careful when you drill out the shoulder hole, when you start getting close slow down and go easy. I just barely hit it and the drill went right through. I just drilled the other side out to so they would match. I've since decided I may try to repair the detail and plug the holes with some modeling epoxy. There are also some small detail pieces on the top of each side of the chest that are paper thin and when he transforms the shoulders go right over these. The first time I attempted to transform him one broke off. I was so small and thin I couldn't glue it back, I just removed them both. The legs have sliders inside that are held in place by four small tabs that fit into groves inside the leg and these are very delicate and probably longer than they need to be. I had one snap, but luckily found it and glued it back, I then shortened all of them. Lastly they didn't send enough 3mm PVC rod with mine, this is what you will use to pin most of the joints. I would recommend using the 2.5mm rod to pin the elbow joints. It works just as good and should ensure you have enough of the 3mm rod. I also added a couple of additional pegs in the lower legs to make the rear section of the alt mode more stable.

VERY useful info, thank you so much! I am sure I will be referring back to this thread while building him. It is sad to hear that so many pieces snapped so easily though. I hope I do not have these problems. I have built plenty of complicated models in my life however, from the reviews this one seems to be a hell of a challenge. So, as a fellow Drift fan and someone whom is willing to spend 100+ hard earned ducketts to build a pain-in-the-ass transforming model just to have the Cybertronian mode of a bomb-ass character....overall....do you think the headache was worth the shelf trophy and the price?

I think so yeah. It really isn't that complex, I haven't built a model in years and as you can see my results were decent. The difficulty for me was dealing with the fact is was a resin kit and had so made delicate parts. I mean on of the spoilers was broken in the box, there are some parts of this that are literally paper thin. The two smaller knives for example are extremely delicate and are made to fit inside the holsters, be careful there for sure. If you are an expierianced model builder you won't have any problems. I'm sure when I get the remaining kinks worked out and fully painted I will be happy with him. I've been comparing him to the comic and they actually did a really good job of capturing the character especially with this being a resin kit.

Oh yeah, I was sold as soon as I seen the promo images. He looks DAMN near the comic character...almost perfect. I think he could use more of a neck but hey, can't win em all. Plus, I HAD to have a copy of his Cybertronian mode since (I hope...fingers crossed.) we may see an earth mode in TFU 3.0. Thanks so much for all of your comments and things to look out for. Like I said before, I will most DEF come back to this thread and read yourn and Zodconvoy's warnings and tips. I look forward to your painted pics dude! I will post up mine once I begin working on him! I think yours looks great....I didn't even notice the holes in the chest until you pointed it out.

You guys don't forget to post some painted pics! Can't wait to get mine and do it up...

I'm painting the black parts right now, oddly it seems like there are certain areas on some of the parts where the paint refuses to dry. Not being an expierienced modeler I have no idea why this is happening, any thoughts anyone?

Hmmm...that is weird. I have never had a problem painting resin in the past. What kind of paints are you using? I plan on spraying everything except details so I guess I will lay a base coat on all of the barts after cleaning and cutting and, before assembly. I can do small touch up's once he is built and proceed with details.

I had a similar problem as you when re-painting the Classics/ TFU seekers with the nose cone. That thing would NEVER dry! It is still tacky 6 months later! I am not sure if it was because of the rubber surface...(I sanded and prepped it too..)It has been an ongoing pain in the arse. I am not sure why parts won't dry though...I don't think it could be the resin since we have already seen this kit fully painted. (Pics from the toy carnival.)

I used Testors the first time. When that didn't work I removed all the paint from the piece and tried Krylon Fusion. The stange thing is there are only small spots that won't dry while the rest of the piece seems to take the paint fine. I'm getting a little frustrated.

Did you clean and do a light sanding and then a cleaning with dish soap? That works sometimes. So does Bulldog Adhesion promoter. (On plastic anyways...don't know what it would do to resin. May have to try on a scrap piece first.) other than that, I am not sure. I have used Krylon Fusion on plastic with pretty good results...then again...SGC Drift is resin. I have always used Testors on resin and it worked fine....I don't know...I am stumped...someone who knows whats up come help us!!! lol...

Try this link:

http://www.gremlins.com/jim_bertges/first.html

They say that:

"Resin kits accept nearly any kind of paint you'd use on a styrene kit; enamels, acrylics, lacquers or oils, or any combination. On the other hand, vinyl kits can be very picky about paint and it's best to stick with the water-based acrylics since enamels and oils won't fully dry on a vinyl surface. Once your figure is primed, you can test nearly every painting technique you know."

I have acrylics to paint my 2 Mashin Eiyuden Wataru resin kits, but since I haven't started them yet I have no idea if it dries well or not...

capellamusic wrote:Try this link:

http://www.gremlins.com/jim_bertges/first.html

They say that:

"Resin kits accept nearly any kind of paint you'd use on a styrene kit; enamels, acrylics, lacquers or oils, or any combination. On the other hand, vinyl kits can be very picky about paint and it's best to stick with the water-based acrylics since enamels and oils won't fully dry on a vinyl surface. Once your figure is primed, you can test nearly every painting technique you know."

I have acrylics to paint my 2 Mashin Eiyuden Wataru resin kits, but since I haven't started them yet I have no idea if it dries well or not...

I have actually already been to that site, but thanks.

OPTIMUS MAGNUS wrote:Did you clean and do a light sanding and then a cleaning with dish soap? That works sometimes. So does Bulldog Adhesion promoter. (On plastic anyways...don't know what it would do to resin. May have to try on a scrap piece first.) other than that, I am not sure. I have used Krylon Fusion on plastic with pretty good results...then again...SGC Drift is resin. I have always used Testors on resin and it worked fine....I don't know...I am stumped...someone who knows whats up come help us!!! lol...

No, I didn't actaully clean the parts with soap and water or anything like that. They seemed pretty clean already, and the first piece that I painted with testors that I ended up removing the paint from I used testors paint thinner. I would think the the thinner would have removed any release agents left on the piece, but when I painted it the second time with Krylon I had the same problem. The parts have been drying for 24 hours and are still gooey. I think I may stop while I'm ahead and send this off to a professional, or at least see if I can find someone who will entertain the idea. I would really like this to turn out nice.

Wow, I am sooo sorry to hear about that dude. I will make sure to research before painting this figure. I am still awaiting the arrival of mine from Singapore. Best of luck dude and keep us updated!

I actually found a guy in my local area that does customs and from what I've seen does a great job. I've handed Drift over to him. He seems to think he won't have any problems getting him painted. He's also going to repair the chest where I accidentally drilled through, sand out all the seams and ridges in the resin, fill in any air bubbles he finds, and just overhaul him in general. He wants to put the head on a ball joint and improve the way the torso connects to the waist so it doesn't want to pull apart during transformation. Can't wait to get him back, I'll be sure to post pics.

El Duque wrote:I actually found a guy in my local area that does customs and from what I've seen does a great job. I've handed Drift over to him. He seems to think he won't have any problems getting him painted. He's also going to repair the chest where I accidentally drilled through, sand out all the seams and ridges in the resin, fill in any air bubbles he finds, and just overhaul him in general. He wants to put the head on a ball joint and improve the way the torso connects to the waist so it doesn't want to pull apart during transformation. Can't wait to get him back, I'll be sure to post pics.

I for one eagerly await the pics of the finished figure!

Convotron wrote:

El Duque wrote:I actually found a guy in my local area that does customs and from what I've seen does a great job. I've handed Drift over to him. He seems to think he won't have any problems getting him painted. He's also going to repair the chest where I accidentally drilled through, sand out all the seams and ridges in the resin, fill in any air bubbles he finds, and just overhaul him in general. He wants to put the head on a ball joint and improve the way the torso connects to the waist so it doesn't want to pull apart during transformation. Can't wait to get him back, I'll be sure to post pics.

I for one eagerly await the pics of the finished figure!

As soon as I get him back I'll take a bunch of pics and post them. For that matter if he sends me WIP pics I'll post those as well. Hopefully this will turn out good considering the initial price of the figure plus what I'm paying this guy for his work.

i just recived this kit and i was wondering if anyone knows what size drill bits to buy.