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Thread
: Discussion
Retro Figure (Vietnam Mold) Swaps and Breakdowns
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06-20-2021, 01:53 AM
HissHissFangFan
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Kansas
Posts: 981
Chapter 27: Will it fit in there?
I was going to leave Clutch as previously shown (Cobra Trooper full torso on Stalker legs), and call it good for now, but I remembered something from 46Zone’s complete part breakdown from page 3: the lower waist is removable from the lower torso, with pics as proof. That would seem to solve the all my issues: slimmer CT upper+lower torso and Stalker waist that fits the upper legs. So…
2021-06-19_04-53-51
by
HissHissFangFang
, on Flickr
Above is a pic with the swapped waist pieces. Both combos work well—the holes and large (LARGE) pegs are the same size. Also, the waist lines are the same so both actually look correct. I wasn’t expecting this to work so well for both figures, and leaves for interesting things for future figures. But…
Clutch on the left had already been painted because I forgot to take a photo the night I did the swap (Thurs nite). I forgot because I was tired and my hands were extremely sore. This is because swapping the waists was physically VERY DIFFICULT. I had done this swap on some older Star Wars legacy figures, but nothing like this. If you go back to 46Zone’s pic, you’ll see that the peg is huge, and not shaped for easier insertion.
It will take a lot of heat to get the plastic soft enough for semi-comfortable removal. Even then, you’ll have to really work to get it pried out. I was worried about tearing off the peg, but breakage shouldn’t be a problem given how wide the smaller diameter is (I should have studied the photo first, and saved myself worry stress). Also note that the lower waist is hard ABS plastic, so all the softness for removal occurs at the torso, none at the waist. Technically, removal is the easy part.
From 46Zone’s post, for reference here:
Replacing the peg back into was the most difficult and stressful part. The parts were reheated (hot water baths in a bowl, at least a minute), but after several attempts I could not get that big peg back into the hole. I tried tipping in one edge first, but the edge on the opposite side was nowhere near being able to fit into the whole. Same unsuccessful results when I squeezed the peg into a football shape—the opposite side of the peg was just too far off. It was late, and I was getting nowhere, hands were sore from all the work trying to jamb it in, and hands being soaked with hot water for so long. Also, none of my adult industry friends were returning my messages for industry tips and tricks…
The trick that finally worked was to heat the peg up really well, then take some pliers and squeeze the large peg head into a smaller and taller diameter. Keep it in a circular shape, not oblong else the last end you try to plug in their will never make it in. Squeeze it hard and tight without worrying about permanent damage. It should eventually bend back into normal shape. Plus if you’ve gone this far you really don’t have any other choice, as I felt when doing this that night.
After squeezing the peg into a much more workable round size, you’ll have to work hard and fast. The peg enlarges pretty quick once away from the heat (maybe shape the peg while still in the hot water will help?). One my final try I got maybe half in, and had to push really hard and keep twisting/screwing until it was finally in, still afraid of doing permanent damage during the whole process—but again the plastic is pretty thick and strong (hence the difficulty in the first place). Also, it’s a little hard to get a grip on the smaller (and wet) pieces when replugging—especially that lower waist (nothing to grip).
So we can confirm that the waist IS removable from the lower torso, and has good probably of being swappable with other new build figures (the waist hole and the plugs look to all be the same size on these two). The process is physically difficult and potentially stressful, pushing the plastic’s strength to limits you may not be used to or comfortable with. As we continue to work with these figures, hopefully with get improves ways for the process. I myself won’t be doing this again anytime soon, but it was worth it to try and luckily it worked out as well as I hoped:
2021-06-19_03-01-54
by
HissHissFangFang
, on Flickr
Above, maintaining the Stalker torso kept the legs to torso fit as good as it gets, while swapping for the CT upper and lower torso let the MTF vest fit with fully closed clasps and room to spare. The overall chest and vest is more normal looking, less bulky and puffy, and visually consistent with the Stalker build. Note that carving down the underside of the vest was done and helps a lot for the final look, though not needed for fit. The lower waist is a little wider all around to the middle torso piece, but maybe only a thick belt’s worth of thickness. And could be concealed with another belt piece (or vest in this case). Waist twists fine still, feels just as strong before the swap.
20210619_035541
by
HissHissFangFang
, on Flickr
And now we come to full circle back to the original vest, which also fits the CT torso. As shown above, the chest below is slightly exposed, but nothing compared to what happens with the Stalker torso, and even a little less than what’s exposed on the original 25th figure. I think the vest is a little thick, and can be cut done on the underside to better fit the new wider neck, to sit lower on the shoulders cover more of the waist belt, and to give more room at the arms.
I won’t be doing that vest work described above on the vest pictured above because it’s from my DO NOT MOD OG13 25th set, and I don’t have any spares on hand (and really don’t want to get another 25th Clutch, four total was enough, most of them just for that vest). Instead, I will keep working with the MTF vest, despite being pretty busy looking and not as accurate as the 25th vest.
2021-06-19_05-40-23
by
HissHissFangFang
, on Flickr
Above is a composite of the 2 vest options I played with, for reference for others who are looking to do this custom, or even using the MTF 86 vest for other customs on the new figure build. Also, Sbarty hinted at a whole other vest option that he will hopefully unveil soon.
To close, I did composite of my one-week study for Clutch custom possibilities and early refinements possible. Thanks for checking in, and sorry if this all wasn’t more compacted. But time to move on to things—still so much to unpack with these figures…
PhotoGrid_Plus_1624095694274
by
HissHissFangFang
, on Flickr
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Last edited by HissHissFangFan; 06-20-2021 at
02:39 AM
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