Some quick questions for those of you who are experienced builders.

1.) I'm going Dremel shopping in a weeks time so I was wondering what I should be looking for in terms of quality/tools/cutting devices for this sort of thing? Recomendations would be great.

2.) In terms of Alt Trailbreaker I'm going to go with Alt Sideswipe for head/arms because there is no way Alt Hound's appendages will fit. Is there a right way or a wrong way to take him apart, as far as metal pins go? Arms/wheels. I've noticed very few screws and the rest is pins. :tdown

 

Thanks. :thumb

Dremel tools are Great (for 'Bashing AND Otherwise). DREMEL's website can help you decide which model will do what YOU Need

 

The extras are helpful, too but can be Pricey...(I found a 'SuperDeluxePack' at my local flea market for $10 - 1/5th of the cost of the same thing at WalFart).

 

Cordless models are convenient, but lack the overall Power of Corded versions (Though most Plastics require slow speeds to cut Anyways - to avoid Melting).

 

My Variable-speed Dremel cost More than most others, but Quickly adapts to jobs that need extra 'torque'.

 

The pins on TFs can be a real Headache, Pushing the pin out is tricky, but Using the right Tools is Critical. (I use a VISE with several Nail-punches & a 'Scratch-Awl', Tapping LIGHTLY with a Jewelers hammer, then grabbing w/Pliers as soon as the pin is out enough). Just remember to be Patient (Probably the hardest part)

 

Hope this helps =)

For help with the pins, check out page 4 or 5 of "The Idiot's Guide to Kitbashing"

 

http://www.TFans.com/index.php?showtopic=13908

Thanks JetfireAlt, and Dark Lord Prime, that deffinitely answers most of my questions for the time being, and the kitbashing guide gave me a really good idea where to go with this. :thumb

Thanks JetfireAlt, and Dark Lord Prime, that deffinitely answers most of my questions for the time being, and the kitbashing guide gave me a really good idea where to go with this. :thumb

:thumb

 

NP! Things have definitely gone smoother for me since I figured out that "hot pin" trick. ;)

 

Last night, I completely dismantled a minicon and finished building a new leg for my G1 Cliffjumper. I probably never would've even got the minicon apart without using the hot pins technique.

 

Soon, I shall have (as far as I know) the first articulated G1 mini-bot!

 

 

 

 

Soon... yes... very soon..... :mwahaha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

er.. *ahem* Don't mind me! Carry on! As you were!

Great luck with that Dark Lord Prime, sure it'll look awsome. I like the hot pin technique and deffinitely plan to use it but one thing still plagues me in terms of dismantaling Alt Sideswipe. I notice a lot of the pins that go through the shoulders/conecting the legs are completely blocked off by molded red plasic. How do you pop the pin from one side or do you sacrifice the plastic. I completely unclear about how to approach this. :tfhuh

Great luck with that Dark Lord Prime, sure it'll look awsome. I like the hot pin technique and deffinitely plan to use it but one thing still plagues me in terms of dismantaling Alt Sideswipe. I notice a lot of the pins that go through the shoulders/conecting the legs are completely blocked off by molded red plasic. How do you pop the pin from one side or do you sacrifice the plastic. I completely unclear about how to approach this. :tfhuh

Good question. I'm gonna quote this and address it in the Idiot's Guide. :thumb

 

[edit]

http://www.TFans.com/index.php?showtopic=1...80&entry329763

Thanks again Dark Lord Prime, I'll see what happens when I reach that bridge. It'll be a while before I pull apart Sideswipe but it's a good idea to know what you're getting into well before you get there. R/D, preperation are key when building a successful progect. Now that I have a pretty good idea about what to do with Sideswipe I want to adress a thought about plastic model stability. For Trailbreaker I'm using a 1.25 scale 84 GMC pickup with a body lift. The way I've got it designed I plan to use a lot of the kits underside/ axle assembly which will neatly fold out away in bot mode. The front tires will come loose from the axle assembly and with the use of shock mods will fold neatly inside the chest cavity which will drop doww very much like G1 Trailbreaker. The wheel idea is being borrowed from Universe Nemesis Strike. The middle section of the assembly will protrude through a hole in the chassis when the entire cab is flipped backwards and pushed up to form a backpack. The back wheels will fold over the legs, and the split assembly attached to ech wheel will protrude through hinged opening doors in the box liner. My main concern at this point is stability dince the axles are essential to the design and model parts are characteristically very week. What would you recommend to strengthen such parts. I've read about the plastic welder and that may be possible but is there a spray or adhesive available for this kind of thing?

 

Thanks again,:thumb oh and so you know what I'm working with heres a link to my original thread.

http://www.TFans.com/index.php?showtopic=18569 :

Thanks again Dark Lord Prime, I'll see what happens when I reach that bridge. It'll be a while before I pull apart Sideswipe but it's a good idea to know what you're getting into well before you get there. R/D, preperation are key when building a successful progect. Now that I have a pretty good idea about what to do with Sideswipe I want to adress a thought about plastic model stability. For Trailbreaker I'm using a 1.25 scale 84 GMC pickup with a body lift. The way I've got it designed I plan to use a lot of the kits underside/ axle assembly which will neatly fold out away in bot mode. The front tires will come loose from the axle assembly and with the use of shock mods will fold neatly inside the chest cavity which will drop doww very much like G1 Trailbreaker. The wheel idea is being borrowed from Universe Nemesis Strike. The middle section of the assembly will protrude through a hole in the chassis when the entire cab is flipped backwards and pushed up to form a backpack. The back wheels will fold over the legs, and the split assembly attached to ech wheel will protrude through hinged opening doors in the box liner. My main concern at this point is stability dince the axles are essential to the design and model parts are characteristically very week. What would you recommend to strengthen such parts. I've read about the plastic welder and that may be possible but is there a spray or adhesive available for this kind of thing?

 

Thanks again,:thumb oh and so you know what I'm working with heres a link to my original thread.

http://www.TFans.com/index.php?showtopic=18569 :

That, I can't help with. You'd probably do better to post all that in the Idiot's Guide thread, as I'm sure WraithVerge is probably more knowledgeable about that.

 

I'm probably gonna be looking at the same issues (at least a couple, anyway) when I start working on my Alt Bumblebee.

 

 

As for the scale.. things might be a teensy bit tight, since you're trying to put parts designed for a 1:24 car into a 1:25 truck, but it probably depends on how things are folded and placed.

Thanks again Dark Lord Prime, I'll see what happens when I reach that bridge. It'll be a while before I pull apart Sideswipe  but it's a good idea to know what you're getting into well before you get there. R/D, preperation are key when building a successful progect.  Now that I have a pretty good idea about what to do with Sideswipe I want to adress a thought about plastic model stability. For Trailbreaker I'm using a 1.25 scale 84 GMC pickup with a body lift. The way I've got it designed I plan to use a lot of the kits underside/ axle assembly which will neatly fold out away in bot mode. The front tires will come loose from the axle assembly and with the use of shock mods will fold neatly inside the chest cavity which will drop doww very much like G1 Trailbreaker. The wheel idea is being borrowed from Universe Nemesis Strike. The middle section of the assembly will protrude through a hole in the chassis when the entire cab is flipped backwards and pushed up to form a backpack. The back wheels will fold over the legs, and the split assembly attached to ech wheel will protrude through hinged opening doors in the box liner. My main concern at this point is stability dince the axles are essential to the design and model parts are characteristically very week. What would you recommend to strengthen such parts. I've read about the plastic welder and that may be possible but is there a spray or adhesive available for this kind of thing?

 

Thanks again,:thumb  oh and so you know what I'm working with heres a link to my original thread. 

http://www.TFans.com/index.php?showtopic=18569 :

That, I can't help with. You'd probably do better to post all that in the Idiot's Guide thread, as I'm sure WraithVerge is probably more knowledgeable about that.

 

I'm probably gonna be looking at the same issues (at least a couple, anyway) when I start working on my Alt Bumblebee.

 

 

As for the scale.. things might be a teensy bit tight, since you're trying to put parts designed for a 1:24 car into a 1:25 truck, but it probably depends on how things are folded and placed.

Thanks, I will do that. Also I think Sideswipe will work all right for this since the appendages are fairly small and can fold together tightly. My original intent was to use Alt Hound but the arms are way to bulky for where I want to place them. (firewall). With zero room for the head the only thing I can do is hide it beneath the engine and have it flip up and rotate in place similar to Rid Ultra Magnus. With the body lift and suspension in place hopefully this will hide some of the kibble I have to deal with. :thumb