# 16" Masudaya Robby the Robot - Help!



## BigGuido (May 7, 2008)

Folks, 

I just received the 16" Masudaya Robby the Robot. I purchased it from Robot Island as I did the 16" YM-3 Robot. Over all, I am pleased with the kits and am looking forward to building (if you can call it that) and finishing them. With that being said, I have a question regarding Robby: I was test fitting the parts and noticed that the clear dome is quite ill fitting. It seems too big for the kit, though not nearly big enough for the 24" Masudaya kit. It is too tall by about nearly 1/8" and too deep by nearly the same measure. There is also no locator peg on the base of the dome faceplate that should insert into the locator hole on the head piece. This will take quite a bit of work to get this to fit properly, if at all. Is this the actual piece that goes to the kit and if so, do you who have gone before me have any sage advice on how best to make this fit correctly? I really want this kit to turn out well and if it were anything but the clear face plate, I wouldn't be too concerned. This piece really makes or breaks the kit and will not be easily fixed if I screw it up.

Thanks,
Guido


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## nautilusnut (Jul 9, 2008)

*16" Masudaya Robby the Robot*

Built this thing YEARS ago for a collector and still have an unbuilt one for myself. The only thing I really remember is that the gizmos on top of Robby's head did not fit under the dome without shortening them! It smacked into the clear part and held it above Robby's head! When I finished it looked like him though.


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

This "kit" is notorious for improper dome fit.

Unfortunately, the fix is not an easy one. Basically, it involves a very laborious puttying, sanding, and priming process in order to build up the head sufficiently to accommodate the over-sized dome. It _can_ be done, but it's a lot of trouble, and I still haven't decided if it's worth the effort.


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## BigGuido (May 7, 2008)

Carson Dyle said:


> This "kit" is notorious for improper dome fit.
> 
> Unfortunately, the fix is not an easy one. Basically, it involves a very laborious puttying, sanding, and priming process in order to build up the head sufficiently to accommodate the over-sized dome. It _can_ be done, but it's a lot of trouble, and I still haven't decided if it's worth the effort.


CRAP IN A HAT! I was afraid of that...hey, that rhymes! Anyhoo, I'm thinking of slowly, but surely sanding the dome along the base of the crown and the base of the face plate until I get it to fit properly. The puttying of the head unit seems like a lot of work that in the end will result with a bit of a shrunken mess a few years down the line. 

I really wish Moebius would give us a good Robby in this scale. I have the Polar Lights kit, but it leaves me a tad underwhelmed.


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

BigGuido said:


> I'm thinking of slowly, but surely sanding the dome along the base of the crown and the base of the face plate until I get it to fit properly.


I considered doing the same thing on my Masudaya Robbys, but quickly came to the conclusion that removing enough clear plastic to ensure a seamless fit would alter the dome profile to an unacceptable extent. Of course, my Robby domes may have bigger fit issues than yours. At any rate, as pointed out above, there isn't a lot of clearance under the dome for the bell crown.



BigGuido said:


> The puttying of the head unit seems like a lot of work that in the end will result with a bit of a shrunken mess a few years down the line.


Work it is, but when properly mixed and applied a superior quality auto filler (i.e. Evercoat) won't shrink on you. Just stay away from Bondo.


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## BigGuido (May 7, 2008)

*Robby is FINALLY on the bench!*

I finally got up the nerve to trim the dome to fit on the Masudaya 16" Robby the Robot I bought nearly 4 years ago. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! I am also going to purchase the light and sound kit Stan at Sterling Tech is selling to install inside it! I wrote him regarding compatibility with the Masudaya 16" kit and apparently he had already created a modified one for someone with a 24" Masudaya Robby! I am going to get this one done and on the display shelf! I am tired of having a pile of kits gathering dust! It's time to build 'em!


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## rocko-0 (Mar 9, 2013)

*the light and sound kit Stan at Sterling Tech*

BigGuido,
What is the web site for Sterling Inc? I have searched and unable to find this particular site? Thanks


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## rocko-0 (Mar 9, 2013)

*Masudaya 16" YM-3 dome*

HELP! I purchased a YM-3 and the bubble dome has a haze and is yellow/browmn. Any idea how I can "clear this up"? lol


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

rocko-0 said:


> HELP! I purchased a YM-3 and the bubble dome has a haze and is yellow/browmn. Any idea how I can "clear this up"? lol


The colour is IN the plastic. Only thing you can try is to do is mould & cast new parts in clear resin. But I don't think it's worth that kind of effort.


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Rocko, it's Starling Tech that makes the sound and light kit.
http://www.starling-tech.com/index1.php?id=electronics

For the dome discoloration you could try Novus plastic polish or meguiar's..
that should fix it....then a dip in future. 

Don't discount the P/L Robbie..with Stan's sound and light kit, it can really be a showstopper..









Click on the link below to see the short vid:







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Steve


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

steve123 said:


> For the dome discoloration you could try Novus plastic polish or meguiar's..
> that should fix it....then a dip in future.


But Steve, the yellowing isn't on the plastic's surface, it's IN the plastic. The only thing that helps a bit is _light_. The longer you leave it out and in the light the less the yellow effect becomes. When packed away in the dark, this clear plastic's molecules tighten up a bit, the longer in the dark, the more yellow. My own YM-3 has been out of it's box for over a year now, and the yellow has faded to an almost negligable level.








BUT, you can see it's still there a bit.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

You can't fix the yellow dome... its the plastic degrading. At this point, unless someone just had to have the Masudaya robot, i would wait for the 1/6 Moebius kit to come out. The Masudaya kit is not very well detailed or proportioned given its large size.


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Oh,... so Photo Therapy... ship 'em all to me..here in the Powerful Colorado sun at 5,718 feet above sea level they will be clear in no time!

I'll be doing a 13" Robbie this month so we can all keep in tough with esch other.

Steve


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

djnick66 said:


> You can't fix the yellow dome... its the plastic degrading.


'Degrading'? Then why is my Robot's bubble less yellow now then when I opened the box?


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

steve123 said:


> Oh,... so Photo Therapy... ship 'em all to me..here in the Powerful Colorado sun at 5,718 feet above sea level they will be clear in no time!


I have no evidence that _direct sunlight _helps, just sayin' that being in a box is not good.


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Maybe the gasses in the cardboard do something to the plastics?

beware collectors!....lol

Steve


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

steve123 said:


> Maybe the gasses in the cardboard do something to the plastics?


That's not likely; but I'd say the _styrofoam packing_ could have an effect...:freak:


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Chrisisall said:


> 'Degrading'? Then why is my Robot's bubble less yellow now then when I opened the box?


That is interesting. In every case I have seen when clear plastic has turned yellow over time it has been the type of plastic used and the yellowing is not reversible. It's not, seemingly, caused by sunlight etc as you can have a sealed kit with it. 

Folks may want to do a search on Hyperscale's plane talking forum about yellowed clear plastic as it is a common topic there although the consensus is that it is irreversible. Someone asks about it pretty much weekly.

I can't recall my Robot actually having a yellowed dome. But that was a long time ago and I got rid of it.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

djnick66 said:


> That is interesting. In every case I have seen when clear plastic has turned yellow over time it has been the type of plastic used and the yellowing is not reversible. It's not, seemingly, caused by sunlight etc as you can have a sealed kit with it.


Here is my Robot (left) with a more newly opened client's Robot (right):









Compare this to when I opened my client's kit months ago:
















(same flash, same camera)
:freak:


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## rocko-0 (Mar 9, 2013)

*Bubble dome*

Thank you guy's for all your help and comments, you are all awesome! So, although not the right thing to do, I shot the dome with some clear nail polish and it brought it back 80% better than what it originally looked like. It wasn't just yellowed but it also had a cloudy haze to it. I just finished two Robots (b9 & Robby), that sold recently on ebay. I tried to post photo's to see what your thoughts, but system not allowing. Not sure if it will pop up, but the custom Robby ebay item# 281068553134 and the YM-3 is 281056394441. I'm going to be working on a 2 foot Robby. Will attempt the sensors/ears to rotate and the upper body to turn side to side. Will probably need some help with a few other things like "missing parts"!!! Why is it when you always get a almost good deal, theres always something negative attached like missing parts...LOL


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## CaptCBoard (Aug 3, 2002)

If that 2-foot Robby is a Matsudaya, whatever you do, don't drop it. The bottom half is filled with plaster and mine shattered when it fell off the work bench.

Scott


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

Hate to say this, but while the dome to the right looks clearer, having it in front of a yellow background doesn't show off it's lack of yellow color too clearly.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

charonjr said:


> Hate to say this, but while the dome to the right looks clearer, having it in front of a yellow background doesn't show off it's lack of yellow color too clearly.


This better?


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