Ed-209 vinyl

[S5 modeller]

Hi chaps.

I've decided it's high time I started a sci-fi build. I'm not going to reveal straight away what it is yet, but I'm going to give you lot a chance to guess what it is.

It's rather iconic, I think, and harks from the 80's.

I'll give you a clue.....

 

Hope I haven't made it too easy.

Feel free to have as many guesses as you like.

 

Matt

Edited January 9, 2017 by S5 modeller

[BIG X]

Is it...

"Liberator" - the ship used by the crew of Blake's 7 ???

[mekon]

Hmmm, ED-209 ?

[Will Vale]

ED-209 was one I was wondering about. Although it looks a bit space-suity too.

 

Will

[Hunter Rose]

Yeah ED-209, i had that in my stash waaaaaassy back when it was totally beyond my capabilities and it had a fast angry journey to the bin!

 

Look forward to seing this come together matt

[Blastvader]

You are in direct violation of penal code 1.13, section 9. You have 5 seconds to comply etc.

 

Great film (which, like me, will be 30 next year). 

 

Will you be building some stairs to go with him? 

 

Toodles,

 

Paul

[S5 modeller]

Hmmmmm...... looks like it was an easy challenge. Ed-209 is indeed correct! 

Thanks for guessing. 

Like the idea of the stairs Paul. 

Hunter, your comments are scaring me a little, as this will be my first serious vinyl build. 

Got some more pics for you.....

 

The head, with the ubiquitous tamiya paint pot for scale. It's gonna be big!

 

 

Some nice detail, but some nasty distortion and sink marks.

 

 

 

 

 

Again some nice details, but soft. Found a few holes too. Got those for free! 

 

 

Upper leg unit. I think these need a bit of work. They're supposed to be made of sliding rails and angles with a jack screw inside, but they're moulded solid. 

 

 

Hip joints, again with some nice pistons, but yet again moulded solid. 

 

 

Elbow joints.

 

 

 

Hmmm, think I might call this the groin area. I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be round.

 

 

The rocket launcher and guns. The launcher is nice,but the guns have got to go!

 

A toe unit, again showing sink marks. This just about sums up the quality of this kit. 

I purchased it off a uk seller, as uk stock. Turned up in a box with thai postage marks on it. So much for uk stock. For the money I paid for it, I could have got 2 direct from Thailand, or maybe an original horizon kit.

Plus being a recast kit it doesn't have instructions with it.

 

 

That's all that was in the box.

Sorry for the long post. Hope I haven't bored you to death with it.

 

Matt

[Will Vale]

Doesn't look too bad to be honest. Vinyl is quite nice to work with - heat it up before trimming and it glues very well with CA.

 

I used a "Miliput wash" (Miliput let down with water to form a slip) for Judge Anderson's hideous holey face and it worked really well.

 

Cheers,

 

Will

[Hunter Rose]

Oh dont be scared matt, im talking about like 15 years ago before I had even thoughtabout getting an airbrush or getting serious with modelling.

[oileanach]

3 hours ago, Hunter Rose said:

Yeah ED-209, i had that in my stash waaaaaassy back when it was totally beyond my capabilities and it had a fast angry journey to the bin!

 

Look forward to seing this come together matt

 

Coffee everywhere, now where did I leave that cloth...

[S5 modeller]

Thanks for the encouragement chaps.

Some of the parts need a bit of manipulation with hot water, then I've read it's best to fill the parts with expanding foam. Helps to stabilise the parts. Need to work out the best way to locate some of the parts. Also seen another build here (http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=200801) where the chap drills out all the bolts and replaced them with micro socket head bolts. Think I might attempt this, along with some of the other fixes he does.

 

Also found this site...http://www.robocoparchive.com/

Seems a good source of photos and info.

Be prepared for lots of silly questions, especially when it comes to the subject of the main body colour. 

Got a huey cobra to finish, so updates will be a bit slow to start with, so please bear with me.

 

Matt 

[S5 modeller]

Hello again.

So.... Decided to have a play around with this. Just thought I'd try to get the two halves of the head together.

 

 

 

 

I've trimmed a majority of the spare vinyl off the parts.

Here's where the fun starts!

 

 

Hmmmmm... The parts kind of fit, where they touch. 

 

There's a rather large bulge on the right hand side. I would trim this off, but the back of the head butts up against it.

It also bends up, and produces a lip. I think it's supposed to be flat.

 

It's more visible here, on the left. I'm not sure if the left hand has bowed outwards or not.

Now where did I put the hairdryer. 

 

Matt

[Hunter Rose]

Man vinyl can be a real b****** at times! Especially recasts, lots of hairdrying and filler methinks, I will be following with much interest mate

[S5 modeller]

Cheers hunter, thanks for the support. 

I've only tackled one other vinyl kit, that was a horizon t800 endoskeleton. Never finished it, but the kit was much better quality than this. There's lots of reshaping going to be needed, plus filling of pin holes. I think a lot of the details are going to have to be replaced, as they are rather soft. This is going to push my skill level to the max and beyond. 

[Will Vale]

One thing I found that was really good was heating the parts before joining them - that lets the softened vinyl conform and can deal with some of these "distortion gaps" quite well.

 

I don't disagree that you've got plenty of work ahead though!

 

Will

[S5 modeller]

Thanks for the tip Will. I'll give it a try.

[S5 modeller]

Hi again. 

Been attempting some work on ed, but not got anything to show yet. 

I do have some questions though.

 

I've tried reshaping some of the parts with a hairdryer, which works well, but a few days later they return to their old shape. Is this normal? 

 

I want to fill the lower legs with plaster of paris, for stability. I know it generates heat when it sets, so would it be advisable to stand them in a container of cold water? Maybe to prevent the heat distorting them, but would that affect the plaster setting? 

 

Will filling the parts with expanding foam help them to keep their shape?

 

How much do I need to heat the parts to make them easier to trim? I don't want to go too mad, and start having the parts deforming again.

 

Sorry for all the questions, but if anyone can help, I would greatly appreciate it. 

 

Matt

[Hunter Rose]

I've had issues with vinyl returning to shape before, happened on an old ABC warbot kit i worked on. It was on one of his legs, so i filled it after i warped it which helped, also as soon as you shaped it hold it and plunge it into cold water, that works well for me.

Plaster of paris is fine, i use it all the time in vinyl kits and at times in quite big volumes so don't worry.

And in terms of heating for cutting, its just a matter of getting it soft enough so the cutting is easy. If your having to use a lot of force you need to warm it more.

 

Hope that's of some help matt, im not a vinyl expert but I've fumbled through a few kits and fully understand how infuriating it can be at times!

[S5 modeller]

Hunter, those tips are invaluable, thank you.

I was worried that the heat of the plaster setting might warp the parts, but I can rest easy now. Sounds like the best way is to correct the shape of the parts, then fill them with plaster/ expanding foam before they can move back to their original shape. I swear the vinyl has a memory, like some thermo plastics do.

 

I'm getting nowhere fast trying to reshape the head, so drastic measures need to be taken.

 

 

I'm thinking of removing the material on the back of the front part of the head, marked in black. It's supposed to be flat.

I've tried numerous times to reshape it, but it's having none of it. The vinyl isn't very thick here, so I don't think thats helping. A thick piece of plasticard will be substituted. Do you think it's a good idea?

 

 

Whilst I'm chopping things up, I think the base of the head is going too. It's to thin, and large to get flat. I have some nice aluminium plate I can use to replace it with. Might add some strength too.

It's a shame there isnt a set of scale plans available. I'm sure they would help me determine which half of the head is the correct size.

 

Matt

[spruecutter96]

Good old re-casts, eh? I've bought a number of vinyl figures from the Thai merchant previously mentioned. I would say the quality ranges from reasonable to "just what the hell were they thinking!?". I know that many model-makers would happily throw all re-casters in jail for what they do, but I take a slightly more philosophical view of the subject. 

 

The fact is that I would never pay the large sums for the original kits (simply don't feel the typical cost is justified, particularly if the kit's gone OOP and is considered rare), but I would pay around 15 quid for the knock-off re-casts.

 

I guess it's a case of what are you prepared to pay / just how much do you want this kit?

 

What does anyone else think?

 

Chris. 

[Hunter Rose]

Matt in all honesty mate i would say dont stress over it too much, get it as best you can and just accept with a recast theres always some warpage. After paint and weathering i doubt it will be that visible and i always think (especially as its your first vinyl kit) fix what you can and dont sweat over what you can't, but it sounds like you've got a handle on it now which is good.

 

And Chris, i think a lot of it comes down to availability as well, getting a recast of some kit thats long out of production and beyond rare is often the only option, but it just means its a lot more work to sort out!

 

 

[S5 modeller]

Hunter.

I think I'm guilty of setting myself really high, nigh on impossible, targets for myself. Usually end up attaining a lower standard. 

 

Chris. To be honest, I don't overly condemn recasters out of hand. I think it is fairly acceptable for certain subjects. 

For instance, I really fancy a set of cenobite figures from hellraiser, have done for years. If not for the recast trade I wouldn't be able to get any. The thai market sells a complete set, for a lot less than a single genuine pinhead.

My main problem with the websites used by the recasters, is that they invariably show pictures of the genuine article, and not the mass of deformed vinyl you invariably receive. 

[Carts]

I have bought a couple of far east re-casts and they haven't been to bad,although they tend to be smaller than the originals,its a grey area so i set my moral compass to "If its out of production I will buy it" mode.

Do you know if your ED 209 is a horizon copy,cause I have the original (that I built ages ago and is on the "to re-do" pile) and I recall it being a fairly easy build.

[S5 modeller]

Hi carts.

Yep, pretty sure it's an horizon copy. The cheeky blighters have even left the copyright data on the bottom of the foot. 

 

This is the best photo I could get,using pencil lead to highlight the text, with my camera phone. You would have thought they would have least tried to remove it from the moulds they made.

 

Matt

[Hunter Rose]

17 hours ago, S5 modeller said:

Hunter.

I think I'm guilty of setting myself really high, nigh on impossible, targets for myself.

 

we're all guilty of that at times, man I've lost count of how many projects I've started with every intention of lighting and then just gave up in the end. All I'll say is its good to push yourself  but at the same time just keep in mind whats realistic, only reason I say that is I've found its always after feeling disappointment at not achieving high goals that things tend to end up on the dreaded shelf of doom!

 

But anyway good luck with it, I'm sure he'll turn out great!