Unlimited Supply of 5mm Posts!

JinSaotome · 12-02-2011, 02:32 PM

So here I was racking my brain on where to get 5mm posts. I googled, called hobby shops, but the largest Plastistruct styrene posts was 4mm. So I got out my calipers and went shopping, measuring products off the shelf. In Walmart's soda aisle I came upon Silly Straws. They're exactly 5mm and only a $1.50 a package. These are solid, really strong straws made of ABS/acrylic or something similar that won't bend or squish.

To cut them roll the straw on the table while rolling the edge of your knife along the top the same way you'd cut a Styrene rod, then snap at the score to make a perfect break. They're hollow and octagonal inside so you can insert a screw/post into the weapon for added strength. I recommend prepping them with Loctite's Plastic 2-part Superglue system. Just drill a hole in the weapon you want to add the post to, use the primer, then glue! Now anything can fit into a mech-tech port or hand, our search for 5mm posts is over!

Quote:

Originally Posted by raptordriver

Plastruct does sell 4.8mm hollow posts. With a coat of paint it fits perfectly in a 5mm hole.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thinktank

Here is my contribution: BiC disposable ink pen ink tubes are an easy source
of 3mm tubes for c-clip joints. I used some on a CHUG Warpath to give him
dual 3mm shoulder rungs. Worked like a charm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FakeEyes22

Jin, you are an inspiration.

Maybe I'm wrong here, but since the straws are hollow, doesn't that mean that any 5mm hole could also be converted to a Minicon port? And the opposite: I'm thinking that gun mode minicons with out pegs could have one of these bits stuck into their mechtech port so any figure could hold it.

I tried hollow Lego pieces to get around the additional tiny pegs/holes in the Minicon system that can conflict with some 5mm compatibility, but it didn't quite work. This could be my solution. Awesome. I'm going to try this.

Yep, just tried it, these work perfect as Minicon plugs!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mayhem_Prime

would these work as a method to give some of the pcc minicons better handles to be held in weapon mode?

Doing this to some of the minicons that came with the PCC figs. It works

From RodimusDawg:

"Here is a very handy tool I picked up a few years ago at a hobby store. I think it was of of the bigger named ones like hobby lobby or hobby town USA:

Its a small and fairly inexpensive scoring tool you use for styrene or metal tubes. You open the tool as you would a monkey wrench with a crank and set your tubing inside. Crank it back down to a firm grip and rotate it around the tube. This lightly scores the tube by making a slight cut on the surface. You tighten it a bit after each full rotation until the tubing is fully cut and you now have a handle."