HG Double Ball Joints - Now I see why they never caught on

[Silver_August]

So I got the HG Stargazer and Strike Noir both are AMAZING really fun kits but my Stargazer has a problem...i know ball joints because I'm a transformers fan but also heard of issues people have long term with these kids due to the use of this experimental idea.

So my Stargazer has the misfortune of its one right shoulder double-ball joint being...loose out of the box basically and unable to hold the arm up in place. now I've tried using glue and for most part its worked.. and by glue i mean i dipped it in a glue stick and let it try and popped it in
worked pretty well but its wearing off of course because...its cheap glue and definitely not how u deal with these things.

Question is! How do i properly fix this joint to be tighter? both professionally and.. DYI casual on a budget with stuff I may be able ot find in my house...assuming such a method exists.

Because if any of you have the Stargazer..you know you CANNOT just stand by while it cant pose with its arms spaced apart looking all...sauve in space...espically while the Strike Noir tries to shoot at it with pistols.

But yah, i'll take AGE shoulder joints any day of the week, thanks

[joelfinkle]

A couple suggestions:
1) Paint on white glue. It's tacky and dries clear
2) Sticky-tack (aka museum putty) can sometimes be used to form a non-permanent joint that is strong enough to keep things from bending, but it does take up some space.

[Gone Astray]

Clear nail polish can work, and takes up less space than other methods. Just the problem is, any method you use will eventually wear off.

[Silver_August]

if I use nail polish is it just a quick thin coat? because I worry it'd be too thick and i wouldnt be able to stick it back in...normal white glue sounds like an idea that prob wont last but worth a shot...

good lord I do not know what they were thinking when they made these joints?

Were these joints used in many kits or was this jsut...an expiremeted they tried int he Stargazer line? because man this don't improve poses honestly, if anything I find they hinder possibility because it essentially takes out the ability to fully move the arm 90 degrees outward without taking the entire shoulder armor with it...eh i gotta try these technics

[Heecarl_Reez]

I assume the part is D17 and D30/31? My usual emergency fix is by putting a small piece of paper~ in this case on D30/31 parts and then put the D17 parts back. If you're using a thicker paper it'll usually stay longer. If it starting to wear off you may want to replace the paper.

[Gone Astray]

if I use nail polish is it just a quick thin coat? because I worry it'd be too thick and i wouldnt be able to stick it back in...

It should run thin, so you can layer it on. Heecarl_Reez's paper method also works, but I find nail polish less of a hassle to apply.

Were these joints used in many kits or was this jsut...an expiremeted they tried int he Stargazer line? because man this don't improve poses honestly, if anything I find they hinder possibility because it essentially takes out the ability to fully move the arm 90 degrees outward without taking the entire shoulder armor with it...eh i gotta try these technics

They also used them in the Akatsuki mold and the DSSD Astrays. They're an experiment in ABS joints on a smaller scale, and I think they also used them to make the shoulders move more "naturally." I like the way they look, but yeah, as far as posing goes, not so great.

[Silver_August]

I assume the part is D17 and D30/31? My usual emergency fix is by putting a small piece of paper~ in this case on D30/31 parts and then put the D17 parts back. If you're using a thicker paper it'll usually stay longer. If it starting to wear off you may want to replace the paper.

what kind of paper? note pad paper? printing paper?...news paper? never ever heard of this trick but it sounds like its worth a shot.

Also on the topic of ABS joints... are the plates used to make up the joins/innerframe (usually I find they're the D plate) made of a different plastic then the others? because they always seemed toucher in the sense that I HAD to clip them out and i couldnt just... pop them out with my fingers - yeah I know that's a no-no, I don't do it often if t all anymore.. but I always found it considerably tougher and more durable.

[Derringer]

Use some Pledge with Future floor shine or any sort of tile acrylic coat on the joint. What this will do is put some friction on the area.


ABS plastic provides rigidity and is stronger structurally than polystyrene. However because these are model kits and are likely to be painted, ABS plastic is more prone to reacting to all types of paints leading to parts cracking. Though ABS joints do not wear away as much as polystryrene on polystrene, it is more sensitive to temperature and humidity and can loosen more quickly depending on where you live (which may be why one of your sides is messed up)