Hot Toys - QS002 - The Terminator: 1/4th scale Endoskeleton Collectible Figure

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This endoskeleton is electroplated, is it possible to rust? I am not sure but hope it's not rusting under his cheeks, because it looks like it doubled in size compared to two weeks ago since it got hotter more humid and maybe due to sweaty thingers that I didn't realized I left a sweat mark?? If it is rusting, is it possible to remove the rust or am I screwed?

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- Bafflingly inaccurate
- Overpriced
- Fragile like artisanal glass
- Loose joints

And now it can rust. The sad, sad thing is this is still the best endo figure available :monkey2
 
what was it electroplated with if it can rust?...

If I recall correctly, the original prop endos were covered in a special kind of copper paint and then electroplated with nickel, then chromium, in an LA auto shop.

Looks like what's happening in the pics above is actually the layer of electroplate wearing off and the copper showing through beneath. If that's the case, HT did a really shoddy job with the plating process, maybe just one thin layer. Unfortunately, if I understand this correctly, once the chrome plating is compromised like this, the decay spreads very rapidly and can't really be fixed :(
 
I don't really like the chroming on this thing anyway. Too damn bright and excessively reflective

A few hours with an airbrush, some transparent blacks, umbers, violets, etc, some black oil paint and a rag would work wonders for this thing.
 
If I recall correctly, the original prop endos were covered in a special kind of copper paint and then electroplated with nickel, then chromium, in an LA auto shop.

Looks like what's happening in the pics above is actually the layer of electroplate wearing off and the copper showing through beneath. If that's the case, HT did a really shoddy job with the plating process, maybe just one thin layer. Unfortunately, if I understand this correctly, once the chrome plating is compromised like this, the decay spreads very rapidly and can't really be fixed :(

i see.
so it's like with HT rubber.
there are lots of rubber parts around us in houses, cars, etc - and that rubber doesn't rot. HT managed to make a rubber that does.
there are lots of "chromed" plastic parts around us, like plastic mirrors, plumbing and bathroom parts, and they don't decay despite extensive usage... HT manages to make plating that does.
HT engineers are the best.
 
i can't describe how heart broken i feel right now...

it could be my heart broken talk but, i feel like if i'm going to have to watch him decay i rather trash him myself.... theres no way fixing it??
 
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i can't describe how heart broken i feel right now...

it could be my heart broken talk but, i feel like if i'm going to have to watch him decay i rather trash him myself.... theres no way fixing it??

Before jumping the gun on that, could you post more pictures of your figure and the existing damage?
 
people chrome their skeletons all the time, why would you trash it? dismantle it and read some lessons on chroming. that what i'd do.
 
people chrome their skeletons all the time, why would you trash it? dismantle it and read some lessons on chroming. that what i'd do.

like i said, its my heart broken talk. in reality i have no skill in anything like this and i couldn't even trust myself to even airbrush anything let alone dismantle it. i would be just watching it decay, unless there's someone in my area who knows how to do it.

i already put him back in his box to avoid anymore exposure of anything, just couldn't watch.
 
I don't think this thing is electroplated with anything. HT wouldn't go through that much trouble. Looks like straight vacuum chromed black plastic to me as I'm dismantling mine. This thing is, I'd say, about 85% vacuum chromed plastic. There are some bare-metal parts (I'm speaking of the knuckle joints and the pins that hold the pistons on, specifically) that obviously have some zinc in them. Zinc has a tendency to corrode. The corrosion looks like brown spots similar to rust. The pins and some of the knuckles on mine are doing this. The rest of the chrome on mine is getting pretty dingy, but nothing that looks like rust. The only parts on the head that are actual metal are parts of the light up feature. The skull itself is pure plastic, so nothing there to "rust."

I'm recasting and resulpting certain parts of mine, and my original thought was to have the parts vacuum chromed to match the rest of the endo. I'm starting to dislike the toyish vacuum chrome myself, and I'm starting to lean toward just alclading the whole thing, and then giving him a more muted shine and some dirtiness like the end of T1. (Like he should have been to begin with.)
 
and then giving him a more muted shine and some dirtiness like the end of T1. (Like he should have been to begin with.)
soot, i believe you should aim for soot effect. figures.
 
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