I'm looking for a guide on how and what to fix on Masterpiece Starscream (its the hasbro edition, doubt it matters but w/e). Does anyone have a link to a guide.
I'd like to know where I need to trip to get the panel on his back to lie flat. I sanded the front edge, but it made no difference. I can tell by pushing it down that something is in a bind somewhere. I just can't find the spot that is hangin so I can trim it down.
you can find/search it on the customs and kitbashes thread, here's some: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/showthread.php?t=156689&highlight=starscream http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/showthread.php?t=157958&highlight=starscream i think there might be more, just run a search on it.
I could never figure out how to get the middle panel to lie flat. I don't what it is, but I could not figure it out. I did notice over time and transformations it eventually loosened up and fit better.
Mine has not broken. They are actually pretty sturdy. As long as you don't apply chemicals that weaken it when you remove the weathering. You might see "stress cracks", but these are normal. It's because the pins are too tight and they don't get any worse. Unless said chemicals are used...
Did yours break? All cases I heard of where with the ones where people used chemicals to remove the weathering.
Its true that alcohol can dry out the plastic and make it more brittle, but that only adds to the main problem. Its just a bad joint and the tolerance is too tight on all versions of this mold. A pretty big production mistake on a Masterpiece grade item. Remember all the MP-03 cracks, including mine, happened when this mold first came out. I'm sure with most of these the plastic just stretches and does not crack, but it's definitely a weak spot.
Nope, mine broke and I liked the weathering and didn't try to remove it. Never tried chemicals on the problem area. Still a good toy, I fixed the crack with modeling glue
It really seems to be a case-by-case thing. I stripped the main part of the weathering off my Starscream... the big black smear down the spine of his jet mode. I just wet a cloth with alcohol and rubbed it clean. Came off real easy. I haven't had any cracking issues (though there are some stress marks on one of my wing hinges), but I also didn't let the isopropyl alcohol splash around much. I basically just wet the cloth. No soaking. I cleaned off the worst of the weathering, but didn't clean the surface completely. It still has some dark in the panel lines, and it looks good that way. The silver on the nosecone on the other hand... THAT required some soaking and some scrubbing. But it finally came off clean, and there was no damage to surrounding parts. Looks great in blue (very G1) IMHO. zmog
This (and wing hinge breakage) have been bugging me all day. I'm fairly certain it isn't the front edge, and TF'ing all the parts underneath it out of the way doesn't help either -- which leaves the metal hinge bar and the plastic it touches. But whittling away at the underside where the metal touches doesn't seem to help much either. That said, whittling down the front edge makes TF'ing that piece considerably easier. -XCN-
