The Energon Pub

Hey guise, is there a preventive measure or fix for the sword accessories of certain transformers *cough* vectorprime/rotfbludgeon *cough* to stop them from getting all bent and curvy? The other robots in the display are laughing at them. Thanks!

inb4 viagra, etc.

For flat swords just put them under or between something heavy like a hardback book. For Bludgeon store the sword in tankmode for awhile. Because of the way the cavity is constructed it forces the sword to be straight. The book method probably won't work well for Bludgeon's sword due to the angles on the sides.

Thanks Loki, a friend suggested that same fix for Bludgeon. Gonna try it later. I was thinking maybe there was an out-of-the-box permanent solution like spraying the swords with something or soaking them in icy water...

I've not done it myself but I think you're supposed to heat it gently with a hairdryer so soften it then store it flat to cool it.

There's no permanent fix for those swords that we know of yet. I would assume both of those are flexible for child safety reasons. Of the two, Bludgeon is the one that bugs me but I have GF Vector Prime. So no floppy sword for him.

Flux Convoy wrote:There's no permanent fix for those swords that we know of yet. I would assume both of those are flexible for child safety reasons. Of the two, Bludgeon is the one that bugs me but I have GF Vector Prime. So no floppy sword for him.

Unfortunately I have GF Vector Prime too and when he got knocked off his shelf with his sword in his hand it broke clean at the hilt. I appreciate the value of floppiness now.

Diem wrote:

Flux Convoy wrote:There's no permanent fix for those swords that we know of yet. I would assume both of those are flexible for child safety reasons. Of the two, Bludgeon is the one that bugs me but I have GF Vector Prime. So no floppy sword for him.

Unfortunately I have GF Vector Prime too and when he got knocked off his shelf with his sword in his hand it broke clean at the hilt. I appreciate the value of floppiness now.

Replace him with a newly released Korean one. They're cheapish.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/prod ... ode=retail
http://tfsource.com/products/view/product_id/1205/

Flux Convoy wrote:

Diem wrote:

Flux Convoy wrote:There's no permanent fix for those swords that we know of yet. I would assume both of those are flexible for child safety reasons. Of the two, Bludgeon is the one that bugs me but I have GF Vector Prime. So no floppy sword for him.

Unfortunately I have GF Vector Prime too and when he got knocked off his shelf with his sword in his hand it broke clean at the hilt. I appreciate the value of floppiness now.

Replace him with a newly released Korean one. They're cheapish.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/prod ... ode=retail
http://tfsource.com/products/view/product_id/1205/

Hopefully I can find just-a-sword for cheaper.

Is it too late to say "That's what she said!"?

At any rate, I'm afraid I don't have anything useful to add to this discussion.

Nickolai wrote:inb4 viagra, etc.

Dammit.

Flux Convoy wrote:Replace him with a newly released Korean one. They're cheapish.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/prod ... ode=retail
http://tfsource.com/products/view/product_id/1205/

..b..b..but my Vector Prime IS Mocom. Well, one of them. And his sword is as floppy as they come.

Bludgeon fix worked great though.

(Awesome sig Nickolai )

Convotron wrote:Is it too late to say "That's what she said!"?

At any rate, I'm afraid I don't have anything useful to add to this discussion.

Hah. You and all my friends would get along. Are you going to Botcon? I wish I was, I bet hanging out would be hilarious.

I've heard people talk about sticking their floppy swords in boiling water (OMG ), then taking it out and cooling it flat. Much like the hairdryer method, but it sounds more dangerous, and therefore must work better, right? No. Go with the hairdryer method. I'm lucky my Bludgeon's sword is pretty straight. His little gun...unfortunately not.

kirbenvost wrote:Hah. You and all my friends would get along. Are you going to Botcon? I wish I was, I bet hanging out would be hilarious.

I've heard people talk about sticking their floppy swords in boiling water (OMG ), then taking it out and cooling it flat. Much like the hairdryer method, but it sounds more dangerous, and therefore must work better, right? No. Go with the hairdryer method. I'm lucky my Bludgeon's sword is pretty straight. His little gun...unfortunately not.

Hehe, I think we'd get along marvelously! I am probably not going to get to a Botcon for a few years. I'd love to go but the timing of the con and the money needed...

The boiling water method is something I've seen quite a bit too but I'm wondering if things could go wrong where the plastic/rubber gets too brittle. That'd be my main concern.

Nah, I've done the boiling water method before to straighten out warped plastic model pieces with no problems. It works best if you have a hemostat or a pair of pliers to hold the part, but I've not scalded myself yet.

Honestly the best way would be to make a mold of the original (straightened) sword, cast a new one around a reinforcing wire, then paint it. Unless you already have the casting materials, that might be a bit expensive though

Ah, the infuriating wonder of PVC, or what I like to affectionately call "Bandai-Putty", as its use really seemed to begin with Bandai action figures in the early 90's and then spread disease-like throughout the toy industry since. Is it because it's cheap, or is it because American children lack the competence to not kill themselves with their toys, you decide, but it has unfortunately become the mainstay material for our toys with it's accursed floppy, bendy, self-deforming nature. The worst PVC-related atrocity I've seen yet, though is when Hasbro started to use it for 3 3/4 inch GI Joe figures, thus rendering them cheaply made, crappy shadows of what they should be that unless firmly fixed to a stand will shelf dive to their deaths on the first hot day that comes along. PVC is nowhere near as long term a material as ABS, and its overuse in the toy industry can be described as nothing less than a travesty...
But I digress.
Back on track here. Boiling or hair-dryer fixes will work, but I've been told by folks in the industry that this also causes the "plasticizers" to bleed to the surface, thus making the material oily and or aging it prematurely, thus robbing it of its elasticity and making it crack. For Bludgeon, I just have him holding the short blade ( wazishazi or some such Japanese word ) which while not as cool looking as the Katana, is short enough to not have the whole wrestling match with gravity thing going on.

I bought Red Dragon Megs second hand and as he'd clearly spent lots of time standing around in robot mode his dragon neck flopped to one side. I left him with his neck trapped bent the other way for a long time and now his neck is just about straight. So maybe if you keep the sword bent in the opposite direction for a few weeks...