Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[woodsider]

@Papa RatLooks like there's an IPMS event in Albany, Oregon in September. Just finished my Hikaru Special and bringing it to an IPMS show in Fremont CA this Sat. Also if anybody didn't know, Macross is the theme for this year's SCGMC. I also got a Monster on the bench @Cheese3, but first I gotta wrap up my Kakizaki Special!

[Papa Rat]

10 hours ago, woodsider said:

@Papa RatLooks like there's an IPMS event in Albany, Oregon in September. Just finished my Hikaru Special and bringing it to an IPMS show in Fremont CA this Sat. Also if anybody didn't know, Macross is the theme for this year's SCGMC. I also got a Monster on the bench @Cheese3, but first I gotta wrap up my Kakizaki Special!

Hey, thanks for the heads up. I’ll look that up. Also great work on the Hikaru. Love it!

 

I didn’t know about the IPMS. I joined today. And I might see if I can go to the Albany show with some of my builds.

Edited yesterday at 01:36 PM by Papa Rat

[Thom]

@woodsider Have fun at the show and great looking battroid!

[Papa Rat]

So taking apart the MG Tallgeese after test fitting is so sketchy. The fit on everything is so precise and tight I’m thinking I’m bound to break something. Do people who build Gundam kits skip the test fits because of this or do any of you have pointers for parts separation?

[pengbuzz]

50 minutes ago, Papa Rat said:

So taking apart the MG Tallgeese after test fitting is so sketchy. The fit on everything is so precise and tight I’m thinking I’m bound to break something. Do people who build Gundam kits skip the test fits because of this or do any of you have pointers for parts separation?

I'd use the minimum force necessary to pull the pieces apart, and something to get between parts that is a little softer than the plastic so as not to bend or mar it. You can also try wiggling parts slightly to get them to come loose; just take it slowly and stop if you feel something may break.

[sketchley]

57 minutes ago, Papa Rat said:

So taking apart the MG Tallgeese after test fitting is so sketchy. The fit on everything is so precise and tight I’m thinking I’m bound to break something. Do people who build Gundam kits skip the test fits because of this or do any of you have pointers for parts separation?

Do you have any spudgers in your tool box?  While an Exacto blade or other thin metal tool can work in a pinch, plastic spudgers are best as they're less likely to damage plastic model kit parts.

Also, top tip: try to tease the parts apart a little bit at a time from each edge (front, back, left, right, etc.)  That should limit any stress on the part per se, as well as ease the process of separation.  While the pointy end of spudgers (or Exacto blades) are great for getting in between the parts, the more surface area you can use on the spudger, the less likely you'll damage the parts (or worse: yourself!)

[pengbuzz]

18 minutes ago, sketchley said:

Do you have any spudgers in your tool box?  While an Exacto blade or other thin metal tool can work in a pinch, plastic spudgers are best as they're less likely to damage plastic model kit parts.

Also, top tip: try to tease the parts apart a little bit at a time from each edge (front, back, left, right, etc.)  That should limit any stress on the part per se, as well as ease the process of separation.  While the pointy end of spudgers (or Exacto blades) are great for getting in between the parts, the more surface area you can use on the spudger, the less likely you'll damage the parts (or worse: yourself!)

That's what I was thinking with my suggestion; I just couldn't remember what those things were called!  And yeah, that's why I suggested wiggling the parts: the biggest enemy of styrene when disassembling something is stress on the plastic in a specific, concentrated area. Too much, and you just bent a part, or worse, broke it!

Often, I'll use this if I need to get things apart:

 

Edited yesterday at 02:43 PM by pengbuzz

[MechTech]

@pengbuzz THE Masking Tape Master!!!

@Cheese3 Cool to see those ole' tiny kits being built! I like the highlighting on the Defender.

@woodsider That 1J looks beautiful! I think you'll win some medal with that one!

ALCON - Here are International Plastic Modeler's Society (IPMS) judging guidelines (there is a Gundam section): - MT

https://ipmsusa.org/about/competition-information/ipmsusa-competition-handbook-2024

Edited yesterday at 04:50 PM by MechTech

[pengbuzz]

1 hour ago, MechTech said:

@pengbuzz THE Masking Tape Master!!!

@Cheese3 Cool to see those ole' tiny kits being built! I like the highlighting on the Defender.

@woodsider That 1J looks beautiful! I think you'll win some medal with that one!

ALCON - Here are International Plastic Modeler's Society (IPMS) judging guidelines (there is a Gundam section): - MT

https://ipmsusa.org/about/competition-information/ipmsusa-competition-handbook-2024

Thanks MT!!

That reminds me: I need to look up the IMPS standards for real space and sci-fi modeling (for both my shuttle and TOS Enterprises).

[Papa Rat]

@pengbuzz @sketchley Thanks for the tips. 
 

@MechTech Thanks for the link. There is a lot of great details in there. 

[Big s]

8 hours ago, Papa Rat said:

So taking apart the MG Tallgeese after test fitting is so sketchy. The fit on everything is so precise and tight I’m thinking I’m bound to break something. Do people who build Gundam kits skip the test fits because of this or do any of you have pointers for parts separation?

I’d stay away from metal tools since they can scratch or damage the parts when disassembling. Sometimes a piece off the sprew like the long rectangular bits with one end beveled by a quick sanding can do the trick.

personally if I’m working with modern kits, I’ll often trim the peg at an angle to do test fitting so the part is far easier to pull apart, and in final assembly I’ll use a dab of cement to hold it in place permanently. I’ll attach a couple images to show a bit later

[Papa Rat]

@Big s Such a smart and simple idea on trimming pegs at an angle. Brilliant! Once I ease this kit apart I’m going to trim down those pegs. 

[Big s]

14 minutes ago, Papa Rat said:

@Big s Such a smart and simple idea on trimming pegs at an angle. Brilliant! Once I ease this kit apart I’m going to trim down those pegs. 

If you do it at an angle, it keeps the part in the exact spot it should already be in, but makes it loose enough to easily pull apart 

[Big s]

So just for reference here’s the pegs on the lower leg of my hg psycho doga. The pegs are trimmed at an angle to allow for easy part separation. There’s other parts of the inside that had some other surgery to allow the knee joints to be added later after the seams are removed, but the main focus here is just the simple diagonal snip to the pegs for test fitting.wasn’t an original idea of my own, but I think I got it out of a magazine many years ago. It’s been so long I kinda forgot exactly where I saw this idea first

[derex3592]

Another very simple solution I've been using lately (especially on modern kits with VERY tight tolerances), use Tamiya Extra Thin cement to "soften" the peg and especially the receiving hole for a few seconds. Like old Dad told me one time ....."a little lubrication helps everything son" - He wasn't wrong....😂

[Papa Rat]

@Big s thanks for the reference. 👍

@derex3592 😂