promethuem5 Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Hi all, I recently purchased one of the small Gakken Alphas that only transformers to Armo Soildier and Armo Diver. Its is in moderate condition, but there is some metal chipping, the right arm is waaay loose, and the left arm was painted white by someone to be accurate. I would like to compeltely disasemble the figure and strip it down, and then give it an anime accurate model kit quality paint job complete with markings and weathering. If anyone has any tips to start, or some advice on how to match the mettalic blue used on teh plaistic... (I'm sorta hoping to save this, but I will ahve to repaint the die cast legs and torso to match) Thanks alot, I would like to do this as a walkthrough, so as I begin, I will try to get up some pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promethuem5 Posted January 31, 2005 Author Share Posted January 31, 2005 Guys? Anything....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
do not disturb Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 you can use clear nail polish to tighten the joints. its only a band-aid type fix but it does work. painting...you're on your own buddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promethuem5 Posted January 31, 2005 Author Share Posted January 31, 2005 I'm not sure how to get the thing apart first.... the two mode Gakken Alpha has funky hips that I cant figure out... and I was wondering if anyone had some really good clear pics of teh paint scheme. I Googled it adn didnt find anything good, just alot of Cyclone pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanata67 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 paint scheme I can't help with... just do what you want and call it custom... As for general painting tips... They have been said often enough in enough places I won't bother repeating them. as for refurbing an old toy your in luck. The first time I took apart a 1/55 I was nervouse as heck, especially when bits flew out and I had no idea what they were for. I've gotten better and have fixed a large number of 1/55's since then [i keep meaning to upload a walkthrough... one day, honest] I've also rebuilt sdf-1's [1/3000 scale], taka destroid monsters, various 1/144 destroids, gi joes, etc. It's all pretty simple once you get a feel for it, not counting getting the stupid 1/55 nose landing gear spring back in place D'oh. Tips I've learned that work for general refurbing of toys... Have a set of percision screwdrivers in phillips and flat [radio shack sells a 5$ set] Have a set of needlenose pliers Take pictures of each step as you diss-assemble so A.) you know how to put it back together, B.) you know where the mistery part came from, and C.) you can post a walkthrough. Look for obvious screw holes to work with first. The monster had this one part on it's butt that you had to remove before you could split the body and tighten a leg. You had to remove the sdf-1's arms at the shoulder to replace anything lower as the parts were nestld inside each other... you get the idea. Remove any screw you can see and see what comes off before you even THINK about forcing parts apart. also... make sure you look UNDER decals, stickers, rubber feet, etc for screws you may not be aware of. I had lots of trouble with that first jetfires legs till I figured that one out. If you reach a point from which you can't progress, take a pic and ask more questions. I had a bugger of a time with my first jetfire trying to get the nose to split. I had removed every screw and was stumped till somebody pointed out I had to slice a sticker with and exacto. Yeah... a sticker was what was holding the thing together. be careful about "snap tabs" [those stupid bits of interlocking plastic that hold things, like remote controls, together]. Some times you can see the reverse of the tab and just push it down and work it out but other times you don't even know it's there till you break it. IF a part still sticks together and you have removed all the screws there might be a snap tab holding it together. Take a small [precision] flat blade screw driver and CAREFULLY work your way between the seam where it's loose. Then work your way towards the problem area gently... This way either the tab will come lose on it's own or at least you can see where it is and figure out a better way to cope. hope some of this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promethuem5 Posted February 1, 2005 Author Share Posted February 1, 2005 Sounds like a start mate! Thanks alot. I will keep that in mind.... I've got one other project to finish first that I am waiting for parts for, and then I'm going into this puppy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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