Well here is yet another Year of the Horse MP10 Optimus Prime repaint. I started this project this weekend, and originally I only thought about repainting the area around his eyes and the eyes themselves. But after that I thought why not just repaint all the red and strip the gold parts then paint those parts silver. I should be able to finish reassembling him tonight after work. I actually like the darker blue, so I'm going to be keep those parts as is on the figure. To me the Darker blue kind of gives it a G2 Prime look to it, so I may end up painting the trailer in G2 colors. To keep from having a clearance issues on the chrome parts I stripped all the gold chrome by soaking them in oven cleaner. It also helps the new paint adhere to the parts better by stripping the chrome off the parts.
What kind of oven cleaner? Would you be willing to detail out the process for those of us that are not familiar with how to strip chrome? Nice work! I really like the silver on the arm joints and the black around the windows!
Thanks, I really like how the red turned out as well, and I think it's a Chrysler color if I remember correctly. I'm enjoying the project Thanks, for this kind of stripping I use a Spray oven cleaner like easy-off or a generic dollar store brand. I put the parts in a seal-able container (I use a old plastic butter bowl) then I spray a generous amount of cleaner onto the parts then seal the container and let them soak over night. When you open the container the next morning most if not all the chrome as dissolved off the parts. If there is any remaining chrome you can use an old tooth brush to brush off the remaining bits. But do use rubber gloves, because the oven cleaner can cause chemical burn to your skin and soften your fingernails. The oven cleaner is one of the best paint stripper I have found for plastics it removes the paint without hurting the plastic, but don't use it on translucent plastics though it will melt them.
Well I finished reassembling him last night, and I'm liking how the how the darker blue looks with the more vibrant red.
Looks fantastic! What paints did you use and did you disassemble the arms from the chest when painting or just masked off where needed?
Nice job on Prime! Wish I had an MP-10! (although Sideswipe looks a bit constipated in that last shot...)
I don't know if you've experienced it yet or not, and judging by the pictures you probably haven't, but you should avoid using oven cleaner on any parts that still have the steel pins in them. I found this out the hard way by soaking some previously repainted seekers in oven cleaner to remove the paint. For some strange reason every part that had a pin still in it became brittle and fell apart around the pins. I lost 4 figures that day, painful lesson. Hasbro's newer plastic may be a little more resilient to this effect, but for those who are planning to try oven cleaner as a stripper, test areas first to avoid this happening. Perhaps it's best if you share the exact brand you used, as I've found that "Easy-Off" is quite destructive.
I love it! These kinds of customs inspire me. If only YOTH Optimus wasn't so expensive. Or better yet, if only I ever got the original TRU release!
Thanks Thank you... Yeah Sideswipe needs to take some more fiber with his energon Yeah the oven cleaner will cause screws to rust, and will actually dissolve some metals. Before I learned that lesson I had rivets completely dissolve. But most plastics are completely safe in the oven cleaner. I've actually had some parts soaking in the stuff for years with no ill effects. Not that it took that long to work they were just from an old project that got sidelined. I've used easy-off before, but I just use the cheap dollar store version of the stuff. I lucked up with my YOTH Prime the cashier girl scanned a 20% off coupon when I checked out, so I got him for $103.99. It's still expensive, but I was happy to get the discount. But now I'm thinking about buying another to display in his alt-mode.
