tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37551655145190870942024-03-06T00:47:51.831-08:00Moss EisleyHello and Welcome to Moss Eisley - Toy Collecting and Fixing. A blog covering subjects from Transformers to Star Wars. Reviews of toys new and old, TV shows and movies. And the odd post about some of the games I am working on, including the Bafta nominated Great Big War Game, and the up coming Combat Monsters.
I spend a lot of time collecting and fixing toys and will post anything I find helpful on this blog.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-63642889835302970202014-05-14T01:22:00.001-07:002014-05-14T01:22:51.247-07:00Replacement decals for vintage ImperialsA common problem you find with vintage AT-AT drivers and AT-ST drivers is that the imperial logos on their heads and arms has often rubbed off. This video shows a great way to replace them with decals. Very cool!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/BLDUCLaLwLE" width="560"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-40079120172322442842014-03-27T09:55:00.000-07:002014-03-27T09:55:05.848-07:00Custom glowing eyes for a Vintage Skeletor figuresGreat video showing how to create custom glowing eyes in a vintage Masters of the Universe Skeletor figure.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/WGC1mVPUWY4" width="560"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-46513587657931692232014-03-18T09:32:00.001-07:002014-03-18T09:32:21.619-07:00Removing Crotch rot from Vintage He-Man MOTU figuresAnother helpful video with tips on how to remove crotch staining from vintage Masters of the Universe figures.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-DAg1G0lvMg?list=UUesf-OllvPHb2uHyTRMgKVw" width="560"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-63633202376957943052014-03-18T09:30:00.003-07:002014-03-18T09:30:29.697-07:00Fixing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons figures broken legs.A very helpful video showing how to re-attached the legs to vintage LJN Dungeons and Dragons figures.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/TN8wlG-vPbQ" width="560"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-85559163021593743352014-02-19T06:23:00.002-08:002014-02-19T06:23:39.853-08:00Boil and Pop Vintage Star Wars Figure headsA good video showing how to use the boil and pop technique on vintage star wars figures. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/w-O3Vlb8fqM" width="560"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-80902083902189929092014-02-16T03:29:00.002-08:002014-02-16T03:29:54.839-08:00Making replacement capes for Vintage SnowtroopersA great guide showing how to make replacement capes for vintage Star Wars Snowtroopers. Well worth a watch.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KZcdn0KK5Dw" width="560"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-44749819482897944872014-02-16T03:26:00.002-08:002014-02-16T03:26:45.424-08:00Battlestar Galactica Cylon Raider reviewCheck out this great review of the vintage Mattel Cylon Raider from Battlestar Galactica. Such a cool ship. <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/D7D_1Np_pjw" width="560"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-65879733293586553612014-01-29T01:42:00.003-08:002014-01-29T01:43:37.704-08:00Paint repair on vintage Star Wars Imperial figures<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/37hHVb18qw8" width="560"></iframe><br />
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A helpful guide on repairing paint rubs on vintage At-St drivers, AT-AT commanders, and Death Squad Commanders.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-61094732237313764592014-01-22T08:59:00.002-08:002014-01-29T01:43:01.341-08:00Fixing loose limbed Star Wars figures<br />
A nice simple way to fix loose limbs on star wars figures. I have used this on some of Yellow squadron and it works really well. They are all standing to attention! <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/IbEu1RCgH-o?list=UUesf-OllvPHb2uHyTRMgKVw" width="560"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-83945112660725279682014-01-20T00:45:00.001-08:002014-02-16T03:27:54.897-08:00Terrahawks - Sgt Major Zeroid review<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/yxT95gYM_aQ" width="560"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-67664354757955026382013-12-18T09:17:00.003-08:002013-12-18T09:17:50.110-08:00The many faces of SkeletorAs you may have seen in previous blog entries I went a bit mad and bought a whole load of Skeletors from the 80's Masters of the Universe toy line by Mattel. And one thing I have noticed is how different all the faces are. Some have just subtle differences caused by bad paint application, but some are more obvious.<br />
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I've looked around the web for more info on this, and can't find any. There is a small amount of info on the Hard head version of skeletor, but even that is vague. <br />
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So here is a selection of photos from the many figures I now have.<br />
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First up we have the original skeletor, this guys has a soft rubber head, removable armour and skirt.<br />
Over all of the four I have they all look pretty much the same. The paint is applied with various amounts of accuracy and thickness. His mouth details changes the most with some having nice thin lines added, and others being really thick and blurred. There is also a fair amount of difference in the hue of the paint, this could be due to age, but the second guy from the left is a much brighter yellow than all the other original skeletors I have.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxLkTuawSrN73_qxc-8x6ucuyrUbbAjw52VmYxaTMX-ffIazTVq3MxldtdSsQsnAoUjA4Lbt9cm5kRLm3i9tdmRsRH0Q3g9Wkh07BtmrZZoXFFPEoJQIXbm5jovhpkFIpiT6z-A4B8GI/s1600/skels_orig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxLkTuawSrN73_qxc-8x6ucuyrUbbAjw52VmYxaTMX-ffIazTVq3MxldtdSsQsnAoUjA4Lbt9cm5kRLm3i9tdmRsRH0Q3g9Wkh07BtmrZZoXFFPEoJQIXbm5jovhpkFIpiT6z-A4B8GI/s400/skels_orig.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Next up we have Battle Armour skeletor. I have five of him, again most have small paint defects like the original version. And one has what I would class as a major variation. Old blue eyes. The guy on the right seems has and extra blue colour added to the underside of his eyes. This is the only version I have with this extra blue paint.<br />
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Now for some Hard head Skeletors. I have two Hard head original Skeletors and one dragon blaster.<br />
The colour on the heads is much more vivid, the green and yellow are really very bright, but do go with the much darker blue plastic used for the body on the original style figures. But check out the middle Hard head, he is missing the two frown lines.<br />
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Dragon blaster skeletor also has much smaller yellow face paint and eyes, making his face look much smaller even though the head is the same size.<br />
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And that's it from my current collection. As I find more I will amend this post.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-2770994540817079782013-11-19T08:42:00.002-08:002014-06-17T07:55:12.627-07:00Penny Racers by TakaraPenny Racers are a line of toys that I had not remembered until recently. Made by Takara in the early 80's they were a simple pull back and go toy with a neat gimmick. Put a penny coin in a slot on the back of the car and it would do wheelies.<br />
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At the time I remember there being loads of different cars available, and it seems there were. The toys were a re-branded version of a Japanese toy line called Choro-Q which are still made today in Japan.<br />
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It seems that the Early Learning Centre has the license in the UK now and sells a modern version that looks roughly like the old line. I guess it's an ideal cheap toy line that they can sell for pocket money prices.<br />
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I picked up a carded vintage Penny Racer on ebay for only a couple of pounds. I've not seen another one on sale since, my guess is people don't know what they are unless they are in the packet, so they could be hard to find loose.<br />
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The cars are pretty well made and considering the small details and fiddly bits they can take quite a battering. The pull back action was always a favorite of mine as a kid. I loved the Jumpstarter transformers that flipped open as they traveled along.<br />
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There was another pull back car I had that rather than using a penny to make it do wheelies, came with a small metal weight shaped like a spare tyre. If anyone can remember what those were called, get in touch.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/oWaCT9EGiFs?list=PLrXqR-NE5JruJIzco75snu5yOdfblfCJs" width="560"></iframe> <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-73788318045710751622013-10-29T02:14:00.002-07:002013-10-29T02:14:23.510-07:00Star Wars Mission Wave - 212th Battalion Clone Trooper with Battle DroidI was not going to bother getting any of the new Mission Star Wars figures. They have been getting bad reviews all over the place, mainly for there limited articulation and high price point. But having now found them discounted to £4.99 they were enough of a temptation to pick up one of the double figure packs. So I plumped for the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper with Battle Droid set. As I like the colours of the Utapau trooper.<br />
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Now I have these figures in hand, I really like them. They remind me of the old vintage kenner figures that are meant to be played with and not collected. The are well built and not like to break or lose bits like most modern figures. All you are going lose is the weapon.<br />
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I have written before about my dislike for modern figures: <a href="http://mosseisley.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/modern-vs-vintage-figures.html">Modern vs Vintage</a> and these new figures are much better for playing with. Ok, you can't pose them, but when you are playing with them that really doesn't matter.<br />
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The paint job on both figures is pretty good as is the sculpt. There isn't really much more to say as that's all you get, two figures, two guns. At there original price of £8.99 that would be a rip off, but at £4.99 it's good value. And if you want and army, I would grab loads of these.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-62842681526606857242013-10-09T07:41:00.000-07:002013-10-09T07:41:41.495-07:00Bath and West Flea Market<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9zVWcCm7aBEbmwSpOVlSB-sQGOzfWmnHg0fgdHUVdvMNhe3cp4dUmeNgI6_sIXgHNuj0nhDdCk5IFkmFp8BSljqM047QSg5TNdVx0yUbgoQycsOTYn-b1av4gBNm1dMBwG17jxMpY92M/s1600/IMG_20131007_092959%257E01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9zVWcCm7aBEbmwSpOVlSB-sQGOzfWmnHg0fgdHUVdvMNhe3cp4dUmeNgI6_sIXgHNuj0nhDdCk5IFkmFp8BSljqM047QSg5TNdVx0yUbgoQycsOTYn-b1av4gBNm1dMBwG17jxMpY92M/s320/IMG_20131007_092959%257E01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Flea markets are still a good source for finding vintage toys. This little lot above came from the large flea market held at the bath and west showground in Shepton Mallet. They hold this market a few times over the year, and if the weather is good it can be huge.<br />
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It's £3.50 each to get in, which is on the high side in my mind. Especially if you don't find anything you want (which can happen).<br />
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This time I was lucky, the first find being a bag of figures which included a nice Tri-logo Boba fett. This find more than covered the entry fee. The rest of the figures aren't that good, but better than nothing.<br />
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I found the Chief Chirpa as we were just about to give up and go home. We had been walking around for 3 hours by then. The card is pretty beaten up, but the figure is still firmly held on and in great condition. This is also the UK Palitoy card, not the more common Kenner card.<br />
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We also picked up a few other bits of the non toy related type which I won't go into here. Overall a good days rummaging. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-89741164567695351892013-10-07T03:42:00.000-07:002013-10-09T07:28:13.621-07:00Rebuilding GalvatronThis has been a job on my to do list for ages. I have and old G1 Transformer Galvatron that is in pretty good shape, apart from the battery connector which had partly snapped off. It sounds like a simple job of just taking the figure apart and soldering on a new connector.<br />
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But Galvatron has to be one of the most difficult figures to get to pieces. There are so many parts that stop you getting to the screws you need to. First his chest section needs removing, but this is not at all easy, you have to undo a few screws on the sides, then with a lot of jiggling and bending, ping the chrome ring of that is around his neck.<br />
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Once you've done that you now have access to the main chest area. You have to remove his hip flaps, then unscrew his groin which allows the upper body to be removed. Your still no there yet, now you need to remove his belt and undo a couple more screws, pop off his crown and you are in! <br />
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Blimey. As you can see by the photo you really need to keep track of all the bits as at some point you have to put him all back together.<br />
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After all that it was a simple case of soldering on a new battery connector and he was back in working condition. Which for Galvatron is lighting up of the eyes and making an awful sound. So probably not worth all the hassle. <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-51042661756892388572013-09-06T07:49:00.002-07:002013-09-06T07:49:46.173-07:00Movie remakes - give it a restMovie remakes are starting to seriously get on my nerves now. Why can't movie makers these days come up with something new rather than re-hashing old ones and ruining them. I saw today the trailer for Robocop, and then read quite soon after that they are re-making Stargate and The Blackhole amongst others.<br />
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The Robocop trailer is terrible, they have taken and the basic concept, removed all the good bits, and sh*t out a bog standard dull movie. It looks almost exactly like the bland remake of Total recall from last year.<br />
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It's not like there is a shortage of good sci-fi stories out there. There are some real classics books that have never had the movie treatment. But that seems to be too much of a risk, the lazy movie companies would rather take something old, mess it up a bit, add a load of pointless effects, and rely on some nostalgia to get people to go and see it.<br />
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Tron was a great example of this. The original Tron film is not a great film. It's very dull, and really dated, but it does look great. But it didn't need re-making or a sequel. It should have just been left alone.<br />
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You do occasionally get a good new sci-fi movie come out. District 9 and Moon were both great films. But there should be many more.<br />
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How long before we get remakes of Terminator, Alien, Close encounters, ET, etc. Please stop now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-431932839093829252013-09-03T02:34:00.000-07:002014-06-17T07:53:42.706-07:00Even more Fisher Price Adventure PeopleI picked up a few more carded Fisher Price Adventure People last week. I really love the card artwork for these figures. Modern card art just doesn't match up to the painted images showing a bit of fantasy action. You don't see carded versions of these figures that often, and these are in various conditions, nothing mint, and most have been drawn on with a nice thick marker pen :(<br />
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The space themed Adventure people are by far the best of the series, and I was able to get some of the rarer figures. X-Ray Man and X-Ray Woman are two figures the people like to have as they do look a lot like they should have featured in the Tron films. <br />
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One of the hardest figures to find Brainoid, comes in a 3-pack with Opticon and the Alpha Pilot. Clawtron is another great figure, which like many of the line re-uses parts of other figures. He is basically the race driver figure with green eyes and claws for hands. This is the same for the space commander who uses the frog mans body with a different head.<br />
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Then comes the Astro Knight. I'm not sure what to say about this figure as it really doesn't fit with all the other AP figures. It has a completely unique mold and very few joints. You can't even move his legs, and his arm just sort of rotate out into a Jesus pose.<br />
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All in all a good selection of figures picked up for about £6 each.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLrXqR-NE5JrtxLTp2lp_rgKi9yYL_F87o" width="560"></iframe> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-30193463626032691072013-07-09T08:13:00.000-07:002013-07-09T08:13:22.834-07:00Buck Rogers notice board - upcycled<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkn2z4yr6VAms5D5rHpGOsVIkwoMVl80B0qada8ypUdzwh1eW93yl3L9yW09eM2WNRnbBmlDo6HLeykN6tn_-NTjcyCSbhB7qHB9aAcdPUvbsr3L4plLfjEdhhg0AVpobXf66Ifb78VM/s1600/IMG_20130709_105612" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkn2z4yr6VAms5D5rHpGOsVIkwoMVl80B0qada8ypUdzwh1eW93yl3L9yW09eM2WNRnbBmlDo6HLeykN6tn_-NTjcyCSbhB7qHB9aAcdPUvbsr3L4plLfjEdhhg0AVpobXf66Ifb78VM/s1600/IMG_20130709_105612" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
I've been in need of a notice board to store a load of loose bits I have on my toy room desk. You know the sort of bits I mean, badges, postcards, cool bits of paperwork from toys, that sort of thing.<br />
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Over the years I have picked up all sorts of Toy related bits including some bedding and soft furnishings. The fabric for the notice board is from a pair of Buck Rogers curtains that I bought many years back. They are a cool item, but there is not much you can do with them. I didn't really want to use them as curtains, so this is a good way to get them displayed.<br />
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I have lots of spare fabric, so might make some more to sell on.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-69287775540130901412013-07-02T03:03:00.004-07:002013-07-02T03:04:07.634-07:00Skeletor OverloadThink I might have to many Skeletors hanging around at the moment. I have been bidding on them on ebay when they are at 99p and it's amazing how many I have ended up winning.<br />
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Even the Graded Hard Head Skeletor was a bargain.<br />
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Is it time to stop? Or shall I just keep army building. Only time will tell. <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-678930402386595962013-06-25T09:03:00.000-07:002014-06-18T00:47:01.137-07:00De-Yellowing Vintage He-Man MOTU Figures - Full Guide<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/MAGrIaTtAKI?list=PLrXqR-NE5JrueTjRVQG0eDhEj4wjqqwPr" width="560"></iframe><br />
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What you will need:<br />
2x 200ml Bottles of %6 Hydrogen Peroxide<br />
1x Empty Pint Glass (or similar)<br />
Sunshine – if available
Patience – plenty of it<br />
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I am a UK based collector so I will be talking about shops and brands that are available here.
As with Star Wars figures it seems that the different types of plastic used to make the parts of the figures can become yellowed when left in the sun. With MOTU figures it seems to happen on the torso and groin, with the arms and heads not suffering. Both these parts are made from a harder plastic.
The first thing you need to do is give your figures a good clean to remove and loose dirt and grime. The easiest way to do this is take them as much apart as possible. Remove all armour and then pop the arms and head off.<br />
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As you can see, the figure I have chosen to work on (Skeletor) has some serious yellowing to his torso. The back is pretty much solid yellow. On the front you can see where his armour has shielded parts of his body.<br />
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You can pick up %6 Hydrogen Peroxide from most chemists here in the UK. Some will have it out on the shelves (but not many). You normally have to ask at the counter for it. A 200ml bottle costs £1.
From my tests you will need two bottles of this, but it will depend on what sort of jar you use.<br />
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For star wars figures I normally place the whole figure in the liquid, but as only the torso of this figure is damaged it's best to only cover that part. Fine a glass that is wide enough to fit the shoulders of the MOTU figure in standing on it's neck. And pour enough Hydrogen in to cover the torso.<br />
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Then place the glass and figure on the windowsill in the sunshine. You'll need to leave it in the sunshine for a few days, depending on how much sun you get. You will also need to top the hydrogen peroxide up a bit as it does evaporate. You'll notice your figure will become covered in tiny bubbles. Just give it a slight tap to dislodge these.<br />
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For this very yellowed figure I left it for 5 days. The sun was very hit and miss over these five days. Just keep and eye on it. <br />
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Other sites say you need the sun to get results, but in my experience just a bit of cloudy daylight works just as well. It may be that this affects the speed at which the bleaching happens, but that is only a guess.<br />
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When they are done, and you will just need to judge this. Take them out and give them a good wash. If you don't give them a good wash you may find a powdery coating on some of the painted areas once they dry. This can just be wiped off with a cloth.<br />
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As you can see in the above photos the results are great. It's hard to believe this is the same figure.. <br />
In the old days I would have classed this figure as junk as it looked so awful. But now, it's a pretty good figure and I will happily put it in my collection.<br />
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And her is the final figure. Bought for 99p on ebay as it looked so rough. Now a fine example. <br />
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Sites worth looking at:<br />
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Retr0bright - http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/<br />
Comic Book Bin - http://www.comicbookbin.com/Action_Figure_Yellowing001.html<br />
Exisle - http://www.exisle.net/mb/index.php?/topic/59657-de-yellowing-plastic-the-stain-isnt-permanent-after-all/Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-6903788698040697072013-06-23T03:57:00.000-07:002013-06-23T03:59:27.142-07:00De-Yellowing Motu He-Man figuresI have spent a long time mastering the art of de-yellowing star wars figures (which you can read in my other blog posts), and thought I would give some other figure lines a go. First up He-Man and the masters of the universe. I only have a few of these figures, mainly lots of skeletors, he-man, and mossman (my namesake). One of my skeletors has some serious yellowing going on, which seems to have only affected his torso, this is made of a hard plastic much like stormtrooper bodies. The arms are made of a softer plastic that doesn't seem to yellow. And as the groin of skeletor is black there is no sign of any yellow stains.<br />
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Motu figures are easier to deal with than star wars figures as you can pop the arms and head off and just deal with the torso section. I'm going to use the same 6% hydrogen peroxide I have used previously and just place the torso in this. I've used a pint glass an filled it with enough liquid so that the torso is submerged and the legs and groin are left in the air. This will sit on a window ledge in the sun for a few days. The sun is in short supply here in the uk, it is summer time, but it's not to be seen. So It will need 3 or 4 days to have make any difference. I'll post more when the results are in.</div>
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You can get the 6% hydrogen peroxide at most chemists here in the UK.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-4765737838801208122013-06-14T04:40:00.000-07:002013-06-14T10:40:53.082-07:00Darth Vader stuck in SomersetThere really is very little going on in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England. As this is the the main headline this week.<br>
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The Somerset Journal are really on top form, 'Apology demanded from Darth Vader'. There must have been something else interesting in the news this week?<div><br></div><div>The story seems to be about someone who was upset that the stormtoopers marched behind proper soldiers. Sounds lime he should grow up a bit as they were collecting money for charity. You can't please everyone.</div><div><br></div><div>UPDATE: Having read the rest of the paper now, there are a total of four stories about Star Wars! Is there something I don't know about Shepton Mallet? The worst of the stories is a bad pun about wookey (wookie) hole. You can guess the rest.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-55817066636976834932013-05-20T08:45:00.002-07:002013-05-20T08:45:53.895-07:00More Fisher Price Adventure PeopleAfter picking up a carded Frogman adventure person a few weeks back I started keeping an eye out for more loose figures. They don't really turn up that often on ebay here in the UK, there are loads in the US, but with high postage costs they aren't very good value. Occasionally you will see them turn up on the UK site, and have been bidding on any largish lots of them. And I have got lucky a couple of times and got a handful for about a quid each figure.<br />
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And this is my collection so far:<br />
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The space figures are by far my favorite, they just look extra cool. And the X-ray man reminds me a lot of the vintage Tron toys. There are some figures that seem to be very common, I already have a pile of the orange bike guys, and 3 extra of the blue guy with the headset.<br />
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A lot of the figures re-use body parts from other figures in the line. The Frogman that started me off on this collection is also available in yellow with a mustache, and his head is used in a number of the astronauts. But you will see plenty of other figures that are just straight re-paints.<br />
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These are now on my list of toys to keep an eye out for. And they should be an easy set to complete as there are only 70 odd figures in the entire line.<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-74538540415715535872013-05-16T06:49:00.002-07:002013-05-16T06:49:09.618-07:00Toy room - updateI have had a bit more spare time to spend sorting out the toy room, and it's starting to feel a bit more organized. All the vintage Star Wars figures are now out including the imperial army. Getting the Transformers out has been a bit of a pain as I can't remember what weapon goes with what figure, and some of the newer figures are really hard to transform.<br />
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I still have plenty more boxes to open and sort out. Most of this stuff has been hidden away for the last 6/7 years so some of it I don't even remember having. Which makes it kind of fun. Like going for a good rummage at a toy fair.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755165514519087094.post-41064739733182637622013-05-16T04:02:00.002-07:002013-05-16T06:50:05.143-07:00Alien Resurrection - Atom Zone screen used game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvO51vN1IN4Igj6nzl_ltcKimMxsTUly8tC6GhyphenhyphenPeA8U2drBmClN-6F1j9n7nVlVcLbfODPnFexn7RpEPhSOrmiqH5cTaMpCj98jSbS4Szh0ziQp7a-6JDeTxVIgSE5PKXJzGoZTe3X8/s1600/A4_stills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvO51vN1IN4Igj6nzl_ltcKimMxsTUly8tC6GhyphenhyphenPeA8U2drBmClN-6F1j9n7nVlVcLbfODPnFexn7RpEPhSOrmiqH5cTaMpCj98jSbS4Szh0ziQp7a-6JDeTxVIgSE5PKXJzGoZTe3X8/s1600/A4_stills.jpg" height="174" width="320" /></a></div>
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Back in the mid 90's I was working for a London based game company called Argonaut Software. I was working on the game license for the up coming film 'Alien Resurrection'. The game was due to come out on the PSOne and at the time a few other platforms. In the end I think it only came out on the PSOne. It was one of those games that just went from problem to problem and I left the project before it got finished.<br />
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Anyway, while working on this we were asked by 20th Century Fox to create a playable game that they could use within the film itself. I was tasked with creating the art for this over a few short days as they needed the game quickly. The game initially didn't have a name, but in the movie it was titled 'Atom Zone'.<br />
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You get to see Atom Zone very briefly on the bridge of the 'Betty'. I have no idea why you would have an arcade machine on the bridge of a space ship, but there ya go.<br />
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Recently while sorting out some old boxes I came across the backup CD's from this time and found a disc that contained all the original CGi models used in this game. With a little bit of fiddling I have managed to get them in a state that I can output images from the models. These model were originally created in a dos based piece of software called 3ds4. I have outputted images pretty much as they would have been at the time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZ5ESlpGh2NdEC55LlLQx4_OnhTqaK7y7NOgT0J6RzYoJhG92UmkWvwQ492yjbxX6yB8wx2x9OEzA8Oq29FkQ2L_gNFWcmdgsVxuPYjxmYt4eBmFCVKCmBkg7w-1F0mI-z4tTgeHiPEg/s1600/AZ_arcade_machine_v01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZ5ESlpGh2NdEC55LlLQx4_OnhTqaK7y7NOgT0J6RzYoJhG92UmkWvwQ492yjbxX6yB8wx2x9OEzA8Oq29FkQ2L_gNFWcmdgsVxuPYjxmYt4eBmFCVKCmBkg7w-1F0mI-z4tTgeHiPEg/s1600/AZ_arcade_machine_v01.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The above image shows a CGI version of the arcade machine case that I built to be used in intro sequence to the game. This was created from photos that I took on the set in LA. You don't really get to see the detail in the movie, but the case was fully decorated all round with some great retro art.<br />
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The game is only seen very very briefly in the movie, which is a shame considering the amount of work that went into it. It was fully playable, and had a choice of ships. At the time this was created using the fastest graphics cards around so that it could run at a high-resolution. It ran on a top end PC with two graphics cards to keep the frame rate up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtxrseB9zw6racYI4fz3cNUr-XePDTfuzm5g4R11xPfQU194KHMB_WhHVHf3ieyOnxnA2xVkFRInefhaovWOB0_B5AdVENP-1XqRL4bm13YLD0yOZoYw6lrmeUyvjGlj6g_NermmGF6A/s1600/AZ_lowpoly_ship_C_v01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtxrseB9zw6racYI4fz3cNUr-XePDTfuzm5g4R11xPfQU194KHMB_WhHVHf3ieyOnxnA2xVkFRInefhaovWOB0_B5AdVENP-1XqRL4bm13YLD0yOZoYw6lrmeUyvjGlj6g_NermmGF6A/s1600/AZ_lowpoly_ship_C_v01.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zvhQAH_7ejc_6N8-__1R-VfTTtpjesIVpm36w_E9vtSnw67NphhB6TYyfJp6roeIqSxJCSOZUNKnTSn5v3DJUR9VoH1Z2eDHjnhJIhKgscBLS0jM6J6uE32AIEGl_OFoapp7Zkz95kY/s1600/AZ_lowpoly_ship_C_v02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zvhQAH_7ejc_6N8-__1R-VfTTtpjesIVpm36w_E9vtSnw67NphhB6TYyfJp6roeIqSxJCSOZUNKnTSn5v3DJUR9VoH1Z2eDHjnhJIhKgscBLS0jM6J6uE32AIEGl_OFoapp7Zkz95kY/s1600/AZ_lowpoly_ship_C_v02.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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This first ship is the one you can see blowing up in the still from the movie. It was loosely based on the drop ship from 'Aliens'.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZlcJf00wSvfFfDthmtc432waehs_wRWdG248J_yprORnPutcG4tSyqDIXYAfxOO_5C9SaElLzqOU9TCEG2Efq7hd937Y7YTKSRkR7RLnx7e8Bi4h7kk7d-fwmplzvMAu1CCIjY-xGxE/s1600/AZ_lowpoly_ship_B_v01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZlcJf00wSvfFfDthmtc432waehs_wRWdG248J_yprORnPutcG4tSyqDIXYAfxOO_5C9SaElLzqOU9TCEG2Efq7hd937Y7YTKSRkR7RLnx7e8Bi4h7kk7d-fwmplzvMAu1CCIjY-xGxE/s1600/AZ_lowpoly_ship_B_v01.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KwtdvxHp0iVL66AxVifrx1XSKkhjMdFlbe215ZGHs-5Mjc5fdMHvx1IVNizaKIHoBPwC0pTgMuVzj_oBLosBom5y0sk15ErOZxTOh1gAenZ4dW0XgkFMAtMWIW1zdK-hYpnuKEG4U10/s1600/AZ_lowpoly_ship_B_v02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KwtdvxHp0iVL66AxVifrx1XSKkhjMdFlbe215ZGHs-5Mjc5fdMHvx1IVNizaKIHoBPwC0pTgMuVzj_oBLosBom5y0sk15ErOZxTOh1gAenZ4dW0XgkFMAtMWIW1zdK-hYpnuKEG4U10/s1600/AZ_lowpoly_ship_B_v02.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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This second ship was the one you played as. This could be switched on and off depending on what view you wanted. This was not seen in the film.<br />
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This final ship was a second type of enemy ship. More of a mother ship I guess. Again not seen in the film.<br />
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I have a few other models for the lasers, engine jets, an asteroid, and the explosion, but I have not bothered sorting those out. They are a little dull.<br />
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All of these ships models are fairly low detail compared to todays games, but they were all that the graphics cards could handle at the time.<br />
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The game was pre-recorded and then played onto a monitor inside the arcade machine box. <br />
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In total there were 3 of use who created this game, but we didn't get individual credits, just an overall company credit. You can read the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118583/companycredits">Film Credits</a> here. Atom Zone is listed under Argonaut Software.<br />
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Looking back, it's pretty crazy to have some work in an Alien film.<br />
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The screen captures are the top of this page come from <a href="http://www.mameworld.info/mameinfo/movies/movies6.htm">here.</a><br />
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