The Energon Pub

[Frappster]

(Not sure where to put this, it's not exactly a bash...)

The other day I was just admiring my small Optimus Prime collection, when I noticed something I had never really realized before. My G2 Optimus Prime was old. I'm not sure if it was just him standing next to a shiny new Pepsi Prime, or the way the light of the room was reflecting off him, but my beloved very first TransFormer was showing his age.

Now, I played with Prime heavily as a child. Because of this, he's got loose joints, massive sticker wear, yellowing chrome and a few paint scars on the face mask. I want to know how difficult it would be to undo the years and give this toy the shine I remember when I first opened him for Christmas.

Dust (years of caked on)
Yellowing Chrome
Sticker Wear
Loose Joints (Waist, Left Elbow, Left Shoulder)
Tough Joints (Right Elbow, Right Shoulder) - feels like they'll just snap eventually.
Paint scar on face
Cab Windows Yellowing

I figure for the sticker wear I can just Reprolabel and be done with it, but what about the rest of him?

Dust on Head, Cab Horns

Dust inside Arms

Yellowing Chrome

Chips in paint job (tip of top of silver mask and down mask seam.

[jimsloth]

canned air can get rid of a lot of the dust. you can also unscrew parts and wash them with soapy water (like liquid dish soap). That can actually go a long way to making the joints better (at least I know the arms and knees from experience). The waist in this bot is a beast. Maybe someone else can help there, I've never gotten mine apart. Stupid axial pin.

And silver enamel paint will look like crap on most of the chrome, but it works perfectly for the face plate. Mine had the same thing, and I not only painted it, but also the bridge of the nose and the eyes light blue. Also, if you run an exacto knife blade under the chin to snap one of the pegs holding his head, he can then rotate it.

I don't know if transrepro parts will ever be back running, but they cast replacement windshields. Maybe someone else here knows.

[Greyryder]

Weird, I've never seen chrome yellow. Canned air won't get all the dust off. It always leaves a light coating. You'll want some kind of dust mop. I use a rouge brush, but any soft paint brush should do. For any dust that doesn't get off, I'd suggest a damp (not wet) paper towel.

I don't really know what to tell you for some of the repairs. Paint touch up shouldn't be too bad. The only thing I can think of for the windshield, would be to replace it with a new unit made of CD case plastic. It won't give you the tint, the orginal windshield had.

There's always the option of getting a junker to scavenge for parts.