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Moebius Models 1/6th Robot B9 from Lost in Space TV show


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After being chastised (not really) for posting the Tardis somewhere else in this site (that Mike kindly moved here) I was made aware of this section.

Seeing the high level of the builds it is not without hesitation that I post here a couple robots, made for my son (I am a 1/72 civil airplanes modeler).

This is a build from four years ago, bear that in mind as you read about the issues, that hopefully by now may have been corrected.

 

 

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Danger, Will Robinson!!!

I have read an online review of this kit in Amazon. That customer was extremely wee weed because the oily residue of the de-molding agent prevented the paint to properly cover the kit's parts' surfaces. So I dutifully washed, scrubbed and rinsed the parts...to no avail. After airbrushing many of them I stopped and noticed that the paint will start to pool, areas of plastic will start to appear, etc. The tell-tale signs of greasy de-molding agent residue. I had before this problem -after carefully washing parts, the paint won't adhere-, with a ICM kits and other obscure Eastern European spawns. 

Once I noticed the problem with the Robot parts I had to stop, and since I was using enamels I had to clean all that mess on the parts with paint thinner.

A lost afternoon and the Frustrati-O-n-Meter needle in the red area.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I commented on the venerable and honorable ancestors of the Chinese manufacturer and the employees that selected or authorized the use of that particular de-molding agent, plus the quality control people here in the US. 

De-molding (or release) agents are part of the injected styrene molding process, normal for any kit so produced. So all kit parts have to be washed, preferable before starting the build and after the sub-assemblies are ready to paint.

But this substance the Chinese are using, is either discarded engine oil or pig fat.

It just won't go away easily, apparently.
I wrote to Moebius customer service who replied immediately and are taking that issue to the production people.

Meanwhile, no matter what you do, the residue will remain if the parts are only scrubbed with detergent, paint thinner or alcohol.
I did not want to use harsh chemicals (like lacquer thinner alone) to avoid altering the finish or melting the  smaller parts. 
So I went for the Alclad primer (which is kind of harsh) and that did the trick, even if here and there tiny spots of residue will still hinder good coverage. 
Now, normally, if I have a good, already cleaned surface like the one on this kit, I just go for the enamel, and it always works...unless you are building this kit.
This kit prevents the use of acrylics, they will just pool, so gunky, oily and inadequate is the coat of release agent. 
So Alclad it is, provided you exercise due caution using it.
Pity such a good kit is marred by a bad choice of release agent that prevents -no matter how hard you scrub to clean the parts- good paint adhesion. 

 

 

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The summary

Pros:

-Very appealing and popular subject

-Parts well molded and detailed, clean appearance and definition

-Overall good fit (but there are some very annoying exceptions)

-Nice amount of parts that make the build fun

-Good subject representation, very accurate impression

-Fair price for what you get

-Presence of decals, P.E. parts, very nice clear parts

-At 1/6th scale, big size for those so inclined

-Torso and head freely rotate, programing bay has sliding hatch

-Extended/Retracted arms option (have to chose one)

-There is a "soil sample probe" that extends from one of the legs. You can pose it in various forms

Cons:

-Abhorrent mold release substance used at the Chinese factory, almost impossible to be properly removed, jeopardizing painting and good finish

-Flawed "accordion" parts

-Instructions that look good, but have some obscure points and can be confusing

-Very poor solution at the "knees", with feeble parts that easily come apart/brake

 

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Cheers

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Did you know that Robby the robot appeared in at least one episodes of 'Lost in space' if memory serves me well...

 

Cheers, Alan.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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