As we from time to time see questions how to disassemble the models from one of our favorite pastimes without destroying them too much, I thought having them in one thread might help.

A classic for LED modding, Rebel Gr75 :

Start from the underside, you can pull off the side clamshells. They sit with 2 large and 3 three small keys on the shell per side, corresponding slots on the underside.

According to others you can pull off all containers as well, using pincers, I have not tried this.

Then you can seperate the main hull, 7 round keys on the lower half, slots on the "roof":

One of the larger small bases, the G1A .

That one is more difficult, 2 larger round keys and 1 small in the upper half, slots in the lower half. Risk that the canopy gets fissures while trying to pry the halves off.

And the tugboat Quadjumper.

You can pry off the 2 shells on the upper sides, but I think it is not worth it for painting only. They sit really hard, 3 huge keys starboard side, 4 slimmer but still big keys port side. Risk that the Quadjumper's small fins break off while applying the necessary force.

Maybe the model can be dissambled further form the underside, but I am not sure, have not suceeded.

The fins and tops of the engines also come off from the G1a, just to note. Handy if you're considering taking it apart to put the fin on a Scurrg.

E: and I really must remember to take photos when I disassemble stuff...

I'm not the best at remembering to take WIP pictures, but here's what I have.

CR-90: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LEDHangar/photos/?tab=album&album_id=767280303451635
VCX-100: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LEDHangar/photos/?tab=album&album_id=767282063451459
GR-75: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LEDHangar/photos/?tab=album&album_id=767302380116094
Raider: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LEDHangar/photos/?tab=album&album_id=767315040114828
ShadowCaster: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LEDHangar/photos/?tab=album&album_id=767329540113378
YT-1300: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LEDHangar/photos/?tab=album&album_id=767338356779163
And video of the YT-1300: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDxpFKXLb7E&t=8s
Attack Shuttle: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LEDHangar/photos/?tab=album&album_id=767371506775848

If you rock the cockpit of the quadjumper back & forth, up & down, the glue will crack and you can slide it forward. Furthermore, you can pull the guns off the cockpit if you care to paint them separately.

Just a quick question on the VCX, does the middle section on the upper hull come away without needing to seperate the upper and lower hull sections? i'm going to take mine apart to put magnets on the upper hull but dont want to split it in half if i can help it!!

Requesting : Take apart the Wookie Gunship please....

3 hours ago, taulover55 said:

Just a quick question on the VCX, does the middle section on the upper hull come away without needing to seperate the upper and lower hull sections? i'm going to take mine apart to put magnets on the upper hull but dont want to split it in half if i can help it!!

Yes. There's a peg in the front and back, and the middle attaches with those two wings.

Anybody know about the YT-2400?

I 've gotten this far:

With the guns removed and the rear arm with the escape pod.

...but I can't figure out how to separate the cockpit from the forward arm. That cockpit seems to be the lock for two halves too, but I don't know if I should be twisting, pulling, or prying. I've definitely tried stabbing, swearing, and squinting (in fear because I don't own safety classes...).

I'm going to throw it in the freezer for a bit to make the glue brittle, but then what sort of torque and technique do I need?

As someone who has not had the guts to start modding his ships yet I have question. With some modeling I've done in the past freezing a model has helped me make the glue brittle and easier to break. so my question is: has anyone here tried it and has it worked?

I'm honestly not 100% convinced it makes a difference, I suspect there's some confirmation bias at work - I've tried with and without and it's not been a huge change.

But it can't hurt.

I tried it once on a small ship, the Hawk I think, but it didn't do anything. It could have been the ship type OR it didn't make a difference.

Having said that, twisting & rocking the ship parts will typically get the glue cracking, then depending on the part, you can wedge a hobby knife or other flat implement to pry them apart.

It's really jarring when you first hear the cracking.

I've tried it a couple of times with no success... each time trying longer in the freezer - even a full 24hrs didn't seem to make a difference (I even blasted it with warm air bringing it back to room temperature to exaggerate the different rates of expansion).

21 hours ago, Impulsive said:

As someone who has not had the guts to start modding his ships yet I have question. With some modeling I've done in the past freezing a model has helped me make the glue brittle and easier to break. so my question is: has anyone here tried it and has it worked?

I've never really noticed any difference. I figured it was just because it heats up to room temperature quickly. But then Spellscape went and debugged it with liquid Nitrogen.

The Upsilon shuttle with wings in upward position was a bit too wide for my storage and transport boxes, so I opened the hull and detached the wings. When assembled, the model is fully playable: for example, even with a weighted base, you can lift it from the table only holding from the wingtips.

I started from the seam in front hull, sawing the front peg with a thin hobby knife. The circular rear pegs came loose alternatively twisting from the front seam and rear hull corner seams. There were two smaller square pegs in rear corners that broke/were cut.

I removed the front peg and its socket and replaced them with disc magnets. I also cut down the rear socket a little to make the hull easier to open. You open the hull by grabbing the top and bottom parts from rear corner and pulling apart.

I haven't painted the model yet. Since the plastic is black, the cutting marks and scratches at the seam are not noticeable during play.

Cool solution to the Upsilon storage problem.

I do a similar thing to my B-wings for storage. I noticed about half the people that have them over here have broken cannons. So for storage, I cracked them apart (each one breaks down into 3 pieces) and now they lay relatively flat in their cell instead of resting on their all too fragile cannons.

On 10/31/2017 at 10:35 AM, Force Majeure said:

Cool solution to the Upsilon storage problem.

I do a similar thing to my B-wings for storage. I noticed about half the people that have them over here have broken cannons. So for storage, I cracked them apart (each one breaks down into 3 pieces) and now they lay relatively flat in their cell instead of resting on their all too fragile cannons.

How do they breakdown? I'm looking to mod my B-wings so that their cockpits match their differing orientations and I know I've seen some online, but I haven't found them as of yet.

The wings come apart where they cross. The short wings are one piece and the long wing separates into two parts.

You have to gently, but firmly bend and twist back and forth. Just a little mind you. After a few repetitions you'll hear this awful sound of the glue cracking apart. Eventually they'll come apart.

For the rotating cockpit, you can magnetize, or "pin" it. If you don't have magnets, pinning could be a cheap solution.

Pinning is the modeling term for drilling a small hole and putting a pin or other small diameter rod into two parts in order to reinforce two pieces and glue them together for greater strength.

On the B's cockpit, after separating it, you can drill a hole into the back of the cockpit and affix a length of a paper clip in it. It will look kind of like a push-pin. Then after drilling an appropriate diameter hole into the corresponding part of the fuselage, you can slide the "push-pin" cockpit into the hole and rotate it to wherever you want. Don't make the receiving hole too big or it won't hold the cockpit in very well.

Truthfully though, the rotating cockpit isn't really useful outside of looks. Being able to rotate the B-wing on it's stand both looks cool and is useful.

Excellent, thanks a ton, Force!

That is a much easier way to do it than what I did. I cut off the cockpit and the cone at the back, drilled a hole through the collar and attached the two pieces on an axle. It works, but the magnet would have been a lot easier.

On 10/3/2017 at 5:15 AM, taulover55 said:

Just a quick question on the VCX, does the middle section on the upper hull come away without needing to seperate the upper and lower hull sections? i'm going to take mine apart to put magnets on the upper hull but dont want to split it in half if i can help it!!

Yes

Not my pic, but here:

4 minutes ago, Force Majeure said:

Not my pic, but here:

Hey I recognize that pic

It's not exactly a "showcase" of any particular ship, but I think it this thread deserves to be in the Showcase Index.

Adding it!

Cool! Here's the YT-2400

@Sekac , does that answer your question? Sorry, not the best picture. That cockpit just pulls right off of the front.

55 minutes ago, Kieransi said:

Cool! Here's the YT-2400

@Sekac , does that answer your question? Sorry, not the best picture. That cockpit just pulls right off of the front.

Yep I got it pulled apart, and LEDs installed. I need to rework the circuit to install a proper switch, but it works.

Thanks for sharing!