Can anybody point me in the direction of some hints and tips for disassembling transformers? I've been looking around and haven't been able to find much. I'm kind of new to the whole modding thing, but I have a spare :animated Starscream which I want to repaint as :animated Ramjet, and I figure it would be easiest to take him apart as much as possible before doing so.

 

edited to say thanks :)

Takes lots of pictures as you go!

if it's anything like the one I had just give it a slight shake.

To pull pins, I use a pair of slip-joint pliers and a thin screw or pin. It's hard to explain, but you line up the screw with the end of the pin you want to pull (look for the end of the pin that's further into the part, that's probably the end you want to push on), and place one jaw of the pliers on the screw head, and the other jaw on the other side of the part, careful not to block the pin's exit hole. Then squeeze. Use your pliers to grab the end of the pin after it becomes accessible.

 

In practice, it's much more tricky, since the screw you're using to push the pin out will invariably fall or get pushed out of alignment as you squeeze the pliers. Try using a strong magnet on the back of the pliers jaw to hold the screw-tool in place. Also, you may want to use something to keep from marring the opposite surface, such as a thin piece of scrap plastic or cardboard. Try it out on something you don't care about, get some practice. Occasionally, I'll find a situation where you can just thread the right-sized screw into the part and it will force the pin out as the screw bites into the plastic. YMMV, HTH.

I dont do alot of modding but one trick I have found is to use a saudering iron to heat up the pin a little and that will help it slide right out.

Yeah, I read on some modding forums that it is best to warm the joint up that the pin is coming out of to expand the plastic some.