The Energon Pub

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Hey everyone, yet another one looking for help from the experts of kitbashing.

I got e-Hobby Clear Blue Hot Rod in the mail yesterday and after fiddling with him a bit I discovered a blemish: a plastic part has warped out of shape. The worst part is that it's clear plastic (yes, the sturdier kind) and the location is a doozy as well:



I'm using BiS Rodimus for your reference since on him the pieces are a different color, but anyway, the warp is on the piece that forms the roof and windshield (red on BiS, clear on all other versions), to be exact it's the ridged area that ends up behind the head. The warp makes the piece bend to the outside, that's my only stroke of good luck I guess.

I don't have any tools to disassemble him aside from a screwdriver, even then I'm extremely hesitant to use it since clear plastic is prone to scratch marks. I know I can bend plastic back into shape with heat (still remember that from shop class in junior high), but all I got is a blow drier.

Any tips will be extremely helpful. I really love this figure and I'd hate myself if I ruined it with my handywork.

[Skyfire77]

Any chance you could post a picture of the damage? I'm not quite sure I understand on what part the problem is, exactly (No can brain today, I has teh dum )

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Can't post pics yet, sadly. But what would greatly help are tips on how to bend plastic with heat, without risk of damaging the surrounding area.

[Skyfire77]

Well, a hair dryer will work, it'll just take a while. Crank it up as hot as it'll go, and keep it about six inches from the part. Might take anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes, depending on the thickness of the plastic. Once it's hot enough (check every so often, you'll feel it start to get soft), you should be able to bend it into the right shape. At that point, dunk it in icy water to shock it into holding.

If you can get him apart (the screws are easy, the pin will take a hammer and nail, plus a vise or willing assistant to hold it), and if you're comfortable with trying, you can do salt bending:



I'd recommend getting some scrap plastic to experiment with first though.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Hm, guess I'll have to try that over the weekend. This'll be my first steps into TF restoration. Thanks a bunch