PCS Starscream statue

[gem_mint]

i inspected it and even picked at the corners to try to peel one off...i dont think they are decals. But can't say 100"%.

[Commander0Zero]

Not decals per Ant in the Grimlock thread. when he states "not the same" below he was referring to decals.


"Not the same. When people hear decals they think stickers. Water slides we use are cured into the castings, painted using the layout out from the water slide, and then sealed again like all painted statues. Hope that helps."

[Phoenixblazes]

Originally Posted by Commander0Zero

Not decals per Ant in the Grimlock thread. when he states "not the same" below he was referring to decals.


"Not the same. When people hear decals they think stickers. Water slides we use are cured into the castings, painted using the layout out from the water slide, and then sealed again like all painted statues. Hope that helps."

I just went through that thread. And water slides are decals. Just a different type, which are thinner that I’ve used plenty of times on model kits.

And I can’t say for certain about any of the other pieces in the line, but while the water slides on the Optimus were probably sealed somehow as they do wrap around the entire figure somehow, the top coat applied isn’t too thick at all as the water slide did easily crack in places. Nor were they positioned all that well either. See below you can see the imprint created from the panel line not matching up with the underlining sculpt. Of course this was just mine, but I had my retailer check others and he said the ones he checked had the same imperfections in places.





I’ve used decals on models and I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually did take longer for the worker to apply than actually painting it.

But I wasn’t kidding when I said the entire Optimus piece was decals, as if you really look close you can sometimes tell the difference between paint and decals. And it’s not always a bad thing, as many Prime 1 pieces I assume use decals as well, just that the top coat appears to be thicker is all.

But fingers crossed that all the pieces collectors receive are so much better than the piece I received.

[Phoenixblazes]

Originally Posted by gem_mint

i inspected it and even picked at the corners to try to peel one off...i dont think they are decals. But can't say 100"%.

It looks like they are definitely decals. But it all depends on how well they’ve been applied in the end. But this ‘painted using decals’ is really stretching the definition of painting I’m thinking.

When I was watching your video during the one or two close ups it did look like the same type of decals as it has this dry printed look, but the only way to be sure is to look for misalignment errors like there was on my Optimus piece.

[red_ant]

I’ll go ahead and chime in. These are water slides. Not stickers or the decals that you get with model kits. And these are a combination of water slides (which are cured) and painted and sealed. When you keep saying stickers or decals people think “oh these are going to peal off or it’s cheap”. Which is farthest from the truth. This is the most expensive deco we have ever done. If we did just metallic paint, then the cost would’ve been less then half the cost for the paint. If we did 100% paint cell shaded then the retail price would’ve been closer to $1,500 and probably double the production time. Don’t think anyone would want to pay that or wait. These will last the test of time the same as 100% painted with no water slides. And like you said Prime 1 and others all use water slides. Just about every eye on statues are water slides. But there is a reason you don’t see other companies doing cell shading like us. It’s just too expensive and complicated. But, I think it looks awesome so we did it anyways.

Looks like you got a bad Optimus. And be careful with some of these retailers. They will say “they are all like that” just to not have to deal with exchanges or returns(seen this multiple times). But, looks like the factory knocked this one out the park and the small Soundwave (Optimus was their first time doing a paint job this complicated, which was even harder at the Optimus small scale for the first time). Hope this helps.

[rga321]

[QUOTE=gem_mint;5881943]Just got him in yesterday. Loving it!

Looks cool! expecting my Starscream next week.

[extracomputer.1]

Get thundercracker and skywarp Monday and starscream Tuesday. Looking forward to seeing them. Thanks again red ant.

Also are than any plans on minibots? Wouldn’t want them this size but this scale would be great.

[red_ant]

Originally Posted by extracomputer.1

Get thundercracker and skywarp Monday and starscream Tuesday. Looking forward to seeing them. Thanks again red ant.

Also are than any plans on minibots? Wouldn’t want them this size but this scale would be great.

Right now no plans for the minibots, but have something extremely sexy in the works. Probably no sneaks for this one. Just going to reveal once done.

[Phoenixblazes]

Originally Posted by red_ant

I’ll go ahead and chime in. These are water slides. Not stickers or the decals that you get with model kits. And these are a combination of water slides (which are cured) and painted and sealed. When you keep saying stickers or decals people think “oh these are going to peal off or it’s cheap”. Which is farthest from the truth. This is the most expensive deco we have ever done. If we did just metallic paint, then the cost would’ve been less then half the cost for the paint. If we did 100% paint cell shaded then the retail price would’ve been closer to $1,500 and probably double the production time. Don’t think anyone would want to pay that or wait. These will last the test of time the same as 100% painted with no water slides. And like you said Prime 1 and others all use water slides. Just about every eye on statues are water slides. But there is a reason you don’t see other companies doing cell shading like us. It’s just too expensive and complicated. But, I think it looks awesome so we did it anyways.

Looks like you got a bad Optimus. And be careful with some of these retailers. They will say “they are all like that” just to not have to deal with exchanges or returns(seen this multiple times). But, looks like the factory knocked this one out the park and the small Soundwave (Optimus was their first time doing a paint job this complicated, which was even harder at the Optimus small scale for the first time). Hope this helps.

Thanks for your response.

Just for clarification, water slides decals are offered for many model kits nowadays, and have been for years. They’re actually preferred by modellers as they’re easier to merge with the kit and obviously not show obvious layers on the body of the kit, when painted and or top coated etc. And I’m not sure I’ve ever said stickers, as I’ve usually used the word decals as a catch all.

And as a former modeller I’m not surprised at the costing, as layering water slide decals perfectly was always a time consuming task.

I‘ve honestly have had no issues with returns and exchanges with my retailer of choice. There have been times where they have actually been surprised that I didn’t want to go ahead with a return that they were more than willing to offer, for pieces far more expensive than the Classic Optimus as well.

But I hope everyone receives the statue they want in the end.

[extracomputer.1]

Originally Posted by red_ant

Right now no plans for the minibots, but have something extremely sexy in the works. Probably no sneaks for this one. Just going to reveal once done.

Hopefully with enough time for any potential modification possibilities that the fans may make and you agree with. Big fan of these. Already ordered Megatron to go with these jets. Already have a soundwave, optimus, and unicron but still need the rest.

Hopefully you mean another large G1 statue but preferably not one mentioned above then. Keep up the great work. Man you have a lot of irons in the fire.