Sure thing. Most fo what I work on is sensitive and is not for sharing, however there is some old stuff. First things first Jetfire sans Reprolabels and a new canopy which will also be cast.



I'm going to make a canopy mold tomorrow. I also need to make a new back plate mold. I primed the master pattern to smooth some build lines out which tweaked some dimensions around the wing hinge points. No biggy.

Some Zebco work. This is a model of a fishing reel. This whole thing is machined by hand from aluminum, and made from 3D printed and chromed/painted parts. Some carbon fiber too.



I used to work for Zebco and we did a charity Gravity car race once so I made a bad ass carbon fiber gravity racer.



Here is a cast urethane flashlight for hazardous areas.


I have done work for a lot of major consumer product companies over my career which means a lot of what I have prototyped or made models of is not shareable.

 

So, what you're saying is, you could make this toy from scratch if had the resources, that about right?

 

Oh, I think he has the resources. Just not worth the extra effort since he can pick up junkers and start from there.

 

I have access to the technology to make original figures yes. Having the cash to do a quality production run correctly no. So for comparision here is Jetfire before



and after bleaching, new cast back plate, and repaint.



Needs Reprolabels, and a canopy which I have to cast yet.

I should be ready to offer parts soon. Jetfire back plate, canopy, and some Metroplex parts when I get the tolerances worked out. I can make nice looking parts but they have to fit in order for them to be usable. Material shrink can be tough to overcome sometimes.

 

"He has the technology, he CAN rebuild them"

Sorry, had to say it 

Anyways, that Jetfire is looking GREAT so far. As is all that other stuff you showed off. Out of curiosity, would it be possible for you to do one-off casts? I ask because a Dune Runner mini-con that I got second hand is missing the roll cage that attaches to his back, and I'd like some way to replace it.

 

I could that would be more costly since t would literally be a one off. Unless there is a huge demand for Dune Runner roll cages.

 

Reprolabels and a new cast canopy. It needs to be darker. However this was the first atempt at a tint match for this part.




Soon I hope to have tolerances dialed in. I also need to redo some molds to make them better before I offer parts to others.

 

IMHO restoration on a damaged toy/s will significantly reduce intrinsic value of a vintage simply because it isn't original or retains the same minty value as before. So I will be one of those collectors whom will pass on these kinds of toys. If I had restored toys, I would only personally keep it for my own private collection and not try to sell it/ pass it off as an original and mint one.  

 

I agree. Jetfire has always been a want of mine,and this one was cheap couldn't pass it up. The restoration was totaly for myself and to see if I could do a restoration. I don't think I could sell a restoration. If I did I would disclose that it is a resto. I also plan to mold in a mark when I offer reproduction parts so they can't be passed off as real.

 

i think its super cool what you can do.

ive been waiting for someone who could/would do reproductions of the complete fast pack parts (the red back pack parts) for both the 1/55 vintage jetfire and the 1/48 vf-1s jetfire.

the only authentic ones are super expensive and id love to make both of mine look like the real tf jetfire. i think you could make some good coin selling those. you could even make them red so people wouldnt need to paint them.

of course disclosing exactly what you are selling is important. i for one wouldn't mind either way. for example, i like my g1 collection to be mint, so i only buy reissues. there are all different kinds of collectors and some are looking for exactly what you can do.

there are also lots of little gi joe parts to be made and sold as well. steering wheels, headlamp lenses, all the fragile/easily lost pieces from days long ago...

 

Mighty FINE work!

 

One thing the peroxide bath did do to the plastic is it made it grippy. The surface is still glossy, however it doesn't have that slickness abs should have. Like if you take the flat sides of legos and slide them against each other they slide. If you did a peroxide bath on them they would look the same but would no longer slide. Something has leached out of the plastic. The plastic is not brittle at all. I'm going to try to find a surface treatment to correct this the hands and elbows are really tight.

 

Great work nonetheless.  
awesome restoration skills, dude. Looks brand new!

 

It basically sounds as though you're basically reproducing parts (granted to an exact tee, from what it sounds like). I could see that definitely change the value, though I'm not sure good or bad. Now, the real awesomeness that you've given us is that... You can pretty much CREATE YOUR OWN figures..... As in like.. maybe make current figures like say.. movie voyager blackout and make him about 3x larger??  .. wonder how much that would cost,  . I hereby volunteer you to make super awesome toys for us! Lol, jk... Kind of..

Oh, as for restoration, I'd say try the peroxide solution before painting it. See how that works, and go from there.

 

Danke.

 

Ah, I see.

Also, that Jetfire is GORGEOUS. Personally, I think the tint color on the cockpit, while not the same as the original, still looks good as it makes it easier to see the cockpit detail.

 

Very very nice work. I agree with everyone else thats looking forward to what else you'll be bringing to the party.  

 

Wow, I really should of looked through this whole thing before posting last. Very cool stuff you've got going on here though,  .

 

I would seal the parts in future. It's a fantastic solution for this. It will be smooth as a babies bottom.

iDD

 

That restoration job is positively fanastic, man! It looks brand new!