Well I tried it out over the weekend...
Whilst going through my old warhammer dwarf stuff to sell, I came across one of my old broken gyrocopters... now back in its day, over a decade ago if not more, I was mighty pleased with this piece and even though I rarely played the game, I had this piece on display in my lounge, riding atop my CD stacking unit...
One day I came home from work and noticed it missing from its usual perch...
A quick search round the room found it just under the sofa... the base of the flying base was missing and part of one of the rotor blades had been broken off... it looked like it had been bent back and forth until it snapped!
I never found out the culprit but I had my suspicions... with various cats, dogs and people the potential suspects!
Anyway that's ancient history... since then its languished forlornly in a box...
So coming across it at the weekend, and remembering the Instant Mold, I thought I'd see what I could do.
The Instant Mold is fairly easy to use ... just put it in some hot water and wait a few minutes for it to soften, then press the item you want to copy into it, then drop it into cold water and it sets firm though malleable enough to get the copied item to pop out of the mold... so it's effectively a single side press mold. You could get clever and copy both sides of an item and put the two halfs together, but for this test I just did it single sided.
Basically I copied the top half of the intact end of the rotor blade. Then I mixed up some regular milliput and pressed it into the mold, and let it set for 24hrs...
Next day I popped it out of the mold, trimmed and filed it down, and glued it into position...
It came out like this...
Sadly the light glare has hidden the copied detail, but the mold and milliput have taken the detail of the copied rotor blade well, including the surface detail...
With the fixed blade in place, I was able to repaint up the model sufficiently enough to make it sale-able, and made a new base out of 3mm MDF.
Et voila! Good as new again, and will hopefully net me a few dollars in auction sale...
Personally I think this style of gyrocopter looks far better than the current 'flying boat' model GW have released as a gyrocopter... it looks bloody horrible!
Must admit I did ponder keeping it and converting it for Empire of the Dead... but I think its just a little too warhammer-ish and substituting the dwarf with a human would be a tall ask... so happy to sell it on and use the funds for some more LOTR goodies...
I have this very same model and have the very same opinion of its recent replacement! Good luck on the sale Scott! Put the dosh to good (ie hobby) use. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Curt - will certainly be doing so... I need some Rohan Royal Guard...
DeleteInstant Mold is great stuff. If you decide to try 2-sided moulds, use Lego blocks help make the 2 moulds and ensure they line up properly with enough pressure.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I also much prefer the older Gyrocopters to the more modern boat things.
Thanks for the tip, I'll see if I can pinch a few of the lads Legos... yeah those 'boats' just don't look right...
DeleteInstant Mold is great stuff! Now that its fixed I bet you don't want to sell it.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.... Ah well, its a nice model and all, but I know I'll never get round to playing with it again. someone else should get some fun out of it now...
DeleteThe fairground carousel gyrocopters? Bleh!
ReplyDeleteLOL, yeah... ;-)
DeleteLooks like it did the trick.
ReplyDeleteInteresting product that looks like it is worth a go.
cheers
Cheers Brandon, yep certainly worth a whirl, easy to use and the Milliput sets rock hard in 24hrs...
DeleteVery nice effort to save a nice model! And the new flying egg is really far from the best offerings that GW has
ReplyDeleteThanks, couldnt agree more
DeleteFunnily enough I bought some of that, again thinking that it would come in handy, but haven't been brave enough to have a go; love this though Scott, what a result.
ReplyDeleteThanks Michael, give it a try, the possibilities are endless...
DeleteLooks like great stuff Scott! I should get myself some!
ReplyDeleteThanks Roger, certainly worth a go...
DeleteThat's come out very well. I'll have to see about getting some Instant Mold.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Yep give it a go, great thing is its re-useable too
DeleteWell done on the repair and good luck with the sale on him.
ReplyDeleteChristopher
Thanks Chris :)
DeleteHuzzah! well rescued and it is back in its rightful place?
ReplyDeleteLOL, for now yes, though the auction site beckons...
DeleteInstant Mold is cracking stuff. I've repaired a number of broken items using it and I'm always amazed at what fine detail it is capable of reproducing.
ReplyDeleteHey Millsy, couldnt agree more
DeleteThank you for reviewing this product. I think I shall give it a try, too. I could see quite some uses for it and it being reusable is a plus. The replacement for the copter looks perfect and as you say, the old one does indeed look better or lets say has more charm.
ReplyDeleteNo worries . Most certainly!
DeleteVery cool copter, Scott. Excellent repair work; the history of the damage sounds like an "Unsolved Mystery" episode ;)!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dean... Yes must admit there were a few 'stern stares' at the time to say the least... but no-one owned up to it...
Delete