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Warped Clear Plastic in a tight spot: Help!

This thread is dedicated to the discussion of Transformers customization. Post tips, ideas and sources here.

Warped Clear Plastic in a tight spot: Help!

Postby Jelze Bunnycat » Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:24 am

Motto: "The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance."
Hey everyone, yet another one looking for help from the experts of kitbashing. :oops:

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:

Image

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.
The resident Rewind... well, half of one :lol:

- Jelze Bunnycat =:3

Looking for:
- TR Furos (Hardhead's head) and Crashbash (lost him :()
- PotP Punch head
- TR Galvatron right arm (the gun one)
- CW Brake-Neck/UW Wildrider, CW Offroad
- TR Twinferno & Grotusque
- Greenlight, Lancer and PotP Elita-1
- Legacy Core Slug, Sludge & Snarl
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Re: Warped Clear Plastic in a tight spot: Help!

Postby Skyfire77 » Sun May 01, 2011 7:30 am

Motto: "Science can't move forward without heaps!"
Weapon: Particle Beam Cannon
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 =P~ I-) )
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Re: Warped Clear Plastic in a tight spot: Help!

Postby Jelze Bunnycat » Mon May 02, 2011 2:12 pm

Motto: "The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance."
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.
The resident Rewind... well, half of one :lol:

- Jelze Bunnycat =:3

Looking for:
- TR Furos (Hardhead's head) and Crashbash (lost him :()
- PotP Punch head
- TR Galvatron right arm (the gun one)
- CW Brake-Neck/UW Wildrider, CW Offroad
- TR Twinferno & Grotusque
- Greenlight, Lancer and PotP Elita-1
- Legacy Core Slug, Sludge & Snarl
User avatar
Jelze Bunnycat
God Of Transformers
Posts: 19417
News Credits: 241
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:45 am
Location: McKinney, Texas, USA; Delft, the Netherlands
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 9
Speed: 8
Endurance: 7
Rank: 1
Courage: 8
Skill: 5

Re: Warped Clear Plastic in a tight spot: Help!

Postby Skyfire77 » Mon May 02, 2011 9:34 pm

Motto: "Science can't move forward without heaps!"
Weapon: Particle Beam Cannon
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.
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Skyfire77
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Posts: 1127
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Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2009 4:03 pm
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Skill: 10

Re: Warped Clear Plastic in a tight spot: Help!

Postby Jelze Bunnycat » Tue May 03, 2011 9:31 am

Motto: "The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance."
Hm, guess I'll have to try that over the weekend. This'll be my first steps into TF restoration. Thanks a bunch :)
The resident Rewind... well, half of one :lol:

- Jelze Bunnycat =:3

Looking for:
- TR Furos (Hardhead's head) and Crashbash (lost him :()
- PotP Punch head
- TR Galvatron right arm (the gun one)
- CW Brake-Neck/UW Wildrider, CW Offroad
- TR Twinferno & Grotusque
- Greenlight, Lancer and PotP Elita-1
- Legacy Core Slug, Sludge & Snarl
User avatar
Jelze Bunnycat
God Of Transformers
Posts: 19417
News Credits: 241
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:45 am
Location: McKinney, Texas, USA; Delft, the Netherlands
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 9
Speed: 8
Endurance: 7
Rank: 1
Courage: 8
Skill: 5


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