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The BP8 Project


P.W.Royce

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I recently had this piece break on a friends VF-1J. After recieving no help through the official chanels ( HLJ said "Yamato is out of stock on this piece with no plans to reproduce it in the near future"), we decided to take matters into our own hands. Some silicone, resin, and a few weeks latter the end result can be seen belowe installed on the VF-1J. The part is pretty nice, its very close to the size of the original, installs easily, and holds better than the super glue many of us have probably been using. Load it up with some FAST packs thought and the fact that it is resin and not plastic becomes aparent. Still, it's better than nothing. The piece shown installed in the photo is one of the first shots, no paint. I'm having trouble getting one or two stuborn bubbles out of the finished piece. They appear near the circular detail and can be easily fixed with some filler.

Which brings me to the point of this topic. Would anyone else be interested in one of these pieces?

post-4-1086586619_thumb.jpg

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well...you said it becomes apparent with FAST packs,....how so? I want something less prone to breaking with the weight of the almighty packs on.

Also any way you could cast it in POM or diecast metal? Diecast would be the best cure I believe but as it seems molding it would be expensive(or else someone would have made parts long long ago in diecast)

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well...you said it becomes apparent with FAST packs,....how so?  I want something less prone to breaking with the weight of the almighty packs on.

Also any way you could cast it in POM or diecast metal?  Diecast would be the best cure I believe but as it seems molding it would be expensive(or else someone would have made parts long long ago in diecast)

it becomes aparent in that the piece flexes a little bit. It's actualy pretty strong. I droped the back pack w/FAST packs while transforming and the piece held strong, of course you would have to be more carefull than if the original piece was in place.

I also thought about making one out of cast aluminum, but the process of casting a wax piece, investing it, and then vac casting the metal is sort of complex and time consuming. Maybe someday. . . <_<

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Nice job but a few other MWers were also working on a recasted BP8, which I was waiting to see before spilling the beans.

Good to have options and I'm sure you can hitup all those guys on the parts thread (pinned) for your support.

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If you have a pressure chamber you could try smooth-on's 1509, it cures to a material similiar to good tuperware, it will flex without breakage and machines nicely. You must have a pressure tank though and it takes a while to cure so you would only be able to do one a day, unless you made a gang mold.....

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i know lots of people who need this part. when your ready to go, i'd suggest posting it in the (pinned) spare parts thread at the top of this section. we're charging $10 for the original, so as long as you offer it below that cost, i'm sure many will take advantage of your recast. :)

ncie work.

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Hello:

I just received my 1/48 Hikaru Super Valkyrie from www.hlj.com and of course the back pack hinge snapped. :angry:

I guess I was really lucky with my 1/48 vf-1s.

I'm emailing HLJ to see what they say.

So, put me down for 2 backpack hinges. I can pay by paypal.

boinger5@mts.net

thanks

Edited by boinger
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To those who expressed interest in these parts: I have been hard at work producing some nice examples of the hinge. I still need to make a jig to accurately drill the holes in the finished pieces. That will probably get done a work sometime this week. I will be out of town next week, so expect a little more time before the finished pices are ready to go. Thanks. :)

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I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE I WANT ONE!!!!!!!!

PM MEEEEE!!

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So, I emailed HobbyLink Japan about a replacement part.

They emailed back today and said that they contacted the manufacturer and were looking into. I'm hoping.

I will still buy 2 of the recast parts.

Even if I get a new part, I think the recast parts look more durable.

Thanks for working on this project.

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HobbyLink Japan was able to ship me a BP8 part for my vf1j super.

How about that?

______________

I bought the super vf1j from them recently, so they were able to get a part from somewhere (I'm guessing Yamato, since they said they would contact the manufacturer).

I still think that I'll need the back up bp8 recasts because you never know with this hinge.

Edited by boinger
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HobbyLink Japan was able to ship me a BP8 part for my vf1j super.

How about that?

:oGET OUT! :o

i thought HLJ stopped doing that. :unsure: did you buy your valk from them? or another source? i can understand them hooking you up if you bought from them but someone else? :huh: i guess their back in action! :)

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  I also thought about making one out of cast aluminum, but  the process of casting a wax piece, investing it, and then vac casting the metal is sort of complex and time consuming. Maybe someday. . .

I used to work in a dental lab and had access to all the equipment necessary for that sort of thing.

Alas, no more, though. I guess creating the original out of wax would probably be the hardest and most time consuming part.

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I'm in dental school now and will have access to the lab next year. I'm hoping to make a recast of a part of the ED209 resin kit that I lost. Perhaps if I learn how to do these things I can be of help to other forum members.

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HobbyLink Japan was able to ship me a BP8 part for my vf1j super.

How about that?

______________

I bought the super vf1j from them recently, so they were able to get a part from somewhere (I'm guessing Yamato, since they said they would contact the manufacturer).

I still think that I'll need the back up bp8 recasts because you never know with this hinge.

What ! :o I just emailed them a few weeks ago and they turned me down flat. 'Said Yamato was out of stock for BP8 and had no plans to make more. Their words exactly. Wierd. I find it hard to believe they are tearing apart their stock to part out valks, but maybe. . .

Anyway, I just got back from rafting the Tuolomne river yesterday (a class 5, hard on personnel and gear). As soon as all the cuts and bruises heal I will be back in the shop compleating the first run of replacement parts (probably Monday). I am a little bit hesitant to take people's money untill the part if well sorted and ready to ship, but that could be very soon, end of the week maybe.So don't worry, I'm on it.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Can someone show or tell me where on BP8 does it break or begin to show stress signs?

Why is BP8 breaking, anyway?

1. Is it because it looks like it's suppossed to hinge upward (ala IHP transformable Hasegawa kit) but it really doesn't, and people are forcing it to go up and then end up breaking it?

2. Or is it because to add the support latch on the back hatch over the tailfin pack means slightly bending BP8 upward a bit for tension?

I did notice that BP8 doesn't really seem to be able to sit flush in battroid mode when you click the support latch over the tailfin pack because it seems to need a degree of flex in order for it to latch that way. Perhaps this is why that part is made of plastic versus metal, because it is suppossed to flex; only they should have made it out of a less brittle plastic it seems.

Seems to be a a few parts on the 1/48 that need to be flexible, including the hinged shoulder mounts (that have to flex when transforming from fighter to gerwalk/battroid mode), and even the plastic landing gear doors (which seem to need to flex to snap shut or open....if they were rigid metal I don't think they'd be able to close.), and of course, also the back head hatch which has to flex when snapped into its recessed position for fastpack mode.

Edited by redemption
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Of the two BP8's that I have that are broken, they have both broken one of the tabs that hold the pin for the tailfin pack. That small section of plastic seems incapable of holding the entire weight of the tailfin pack, especially if the valkyrie is dropped onto the tailfin pack in battroid mode...

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Of the two BP8's that I have that are broken, they have both broken one of the tabs that hold the pin for the tailfin pack. That small section of plastic seems incapable of holding the entire weight of the tailfin pack, especially if the valkyrie is dropped onto the tailfin pack in battroid mode...

Thats exacly where my Dad broke the BP8 on his RoyVF1S that I bought him last Christmas.

Edited by 1994cobra
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