Minor/Repaint: SS 86-06 Neck Fix: The Grimlock that Almost Was

Discussion in 'Radicons Customs' started by ZYXD, Mar 9, 2022.

?

Which take on SS'86 Grimlock do you like the most?

  1. Original: painted neck and a clear chestpiece

    10 vote(s)
    21.3%
  2. Both a clear chestpiece and neck for toyetic flair

    9 vote(s)
    19.1%
  3. Same as above, but lighter clear parts to see more details

    15 vote(s)
    31.9%
  4. No clear parts; just clean cartoon colors

    13 vote(s)
    27.7%
  1. ZYXD

    ZYXD Shattered Glass Sharkticon

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2016
    Posts:
    788
    Trophy Points:
    192
    Likes:
    +613
    This figure's fantastic, but it's also in some ways the definition of "8.8/10 not perfect" in that just about everybody I've seen who's got one has made some kind of cosmetic change, with the neck being no exception. Because I found the DNA Design's offering to be way too saturated and the rest of the third-party market's takes too expensive, I thought I'd take matters into my own hands and make what may have been the designers' intentions all along.

    First step was cleaning the paint off the neck case. One hour-long bath in 71% IPA got most of it to rub off almost instantly, with a second taking care of what was left.

    Disassembly and painting were absolutely no sweat. Bless the designers for going back to using screws on pretty much the entire figure. After getting the vertebra removed and primed, I did some quick attempts at color-matching with a base coat of Tamiya TS-47 chrome yellow followed by a sprinkle of TS-21 gold.

    IMG_0225.jpg

    Results were surprisingly close if not a tad lighter, not that it mattered too much considering how brightly colored it would have to be just to be seen from the other side due to the smokey plastic's opacity. I'll definitely have to see how it looks in a lighter colored case if I ever find a matching pair of the dino-mode neck and bot-mode chest, but for now it's nice to see some color consistency in that the bot chest isn't the only clear piece.

    IMG_0221.jpg IMG_0223.jpg

    A side-by-side comparison with a copy of the original that I bought as a failsafe. At the end of the day even I don't know which one I like enough to keep, but I'm still pretty happy with the results. Hope you enjoy!

    IMG_0227.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

    • Like Like x 20
  2. dragonflye18

    dragonflye18 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2018
    Posts:
    1,466
    Trophy Points:
    207
    Likes:
    +3,687
    Twitter:
    cool well done i tryed removing the neck paint on my copy and it melted but i used 91% IPA i think that made a diffrence .
     
  3. shiftypenguin

    shiftypenguin Fancy-Pantsless Dancer

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2008
    Posts:
    9,492
    News Credits:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Location:
    Iowa
    Likes:
    +5,727
    Nice work!
     
  4. Hooper_X

    Hooper_X hit dogs holler

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2003
    Posts:
    3,597
    Trophy Points:
    312
    Likes:
    +4,432
    I'm impressed that you used IPA and the clear plastic didn't just turn into dust like Thanos stopped by.

    Looks solid.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  5. SMOG

    SMOG Vocabchampion ArgueTitan

    Joined:
    May 13, 2006
    Posts:
    23,164
    Trophy Points:
    412
    Location:
    Robot Narnia, Quebec
    Likes:
    +9,488
    Like others, I'm just amazed that this clear plastic didn't crumble to dust after being soaked in IPA for an hour!

    I didn't realize the neck was clear under the gold... crazy! I imagine this means Hasbro will offer some "toy-style" exclusive down the road at double the price.

    Nice job. The clear plastic might be just a bit too dark to show off the gold internal bits, but this is still really neat.

    z
     
  6. Snaku

    Snaku Primes Don't Party

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2006
    Posts:
    15,788
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    387
    Likes:
    +45,614
    Ebay:
    I didn't realize the neck was that clear black under the paint. You can get straight up clear replacements for both if you so desire. That's what I did and then I used thinned down acrylic inks to darken them. Nice that you were able to match the gold so well - if I'd tight I could, I would've, but I just repainted all the good parts on mine.
     
  7. ZYXD

    ZYXD Shattered Glass Sharkticon

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2016
    Posts:
    788
    Trophy Points:
    192
    Likes:
    +613
    The clear plastic was definitely something I wanted to plan ahead for considering how allergic it can be to IPA. The trick was to soak it in a weaker solution for a longer period of time so it only affected the paint and not the plastic underneath, as opposed to a half hour in 91% which surely would've led to at least a crack. All things considered though, it helps that Grimmy's neck is also much more pigmented compared to infamous cases like Jazz or the Datsuns, meaning it could take more exposure without splitting.

    Glad you guys like the end result, and best of luck if you ever plan on doing the same!
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2022
    • Like Like x 2
  8. ZeldaTheSwordsman

    ZeldaTheSwordsman Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2018
    Posts:
    381
    Trophy Points:
    142
    Likes:
    +884
    Definitely doing this.

    I tend to prefer to scrub with the alcohol using cotton swabs and cotton balls. Worked a treat for removing the cruddy paintjob I did on Armada Unicron.