Man. Watching these video makes me really fall in love with the vintage STAR WARS spaceships. I need to buy them. I still have my childhood snow speeder (the only STAR WARS ship I had). Later I bought some newer HASBRO spaceships, but I was never completely happy with them. I remember playing with KENNER STAR WARS ships and vehicles from a friend. They were just the best. Seeing them again in these videos proves it to me.
Thank you Retroblasting. After watching your Videos I have restorationed two B-Wing, two X Wing and Tie Fighters. Your Tutorials are very good and have very good Tipps and Tricks for freshing up old Star Wars Spaceships. Next Projekt is the Imperial Shuttle. Thanks a lot for the Vids. Greetings from Germany Thomas
Your restoring videos are how I found you. I've seen modern toys today that don't even allow disassembling. I dislike that ALOT! This looks so fun to restore. 😍
Definitely a project where you will need an extra set of hands. Painter's tape is great for holding the halves together while to try to fit other parts in.
My apologies if someone already mentioned this, but the "B" in B-Wing stands for "blade." This ship look like a "t" to me, too. I always wondered by the production didn't just name it the "T-Wing." I love these videos, by the way. Keep 'em coming.
Fantastic video as always! Putting the 2 halves together with all the bits aligned certainly looked tough and could cause a great deal of frustration! Can't wait to see the TIE restorations...the A-wing would be cool also- I know that one is pricey as only released on the Droids line! Top Job!
***** I have the A-Wing, but it is in working condition. Maybe I will just do a video showing everyone the guts of the ship so they can make their repairs...
Then they could have had a Mr T wing. The ultimate in 80's mashups. Of course this would have made the movie much shorter, as when in the scene where the Emperor reveals to Luke, the Death Star is fully armed and operational. Mr T pops out and says "Ain't got time for dat jibba-jabba fool", and throws him down the shaft right then and there.
The reason why a B-wing is called a “B-wing” is when the wings are retracted… it looks like a lowercase ‘b’. So in other words… this “B” versus this “b”. Cool videos guys. I’ve been watching them for the last few hours. Pretty neat.
Another ship saved from the grave! You do such good work. Not sure if you remember but i told you i restored my childhood falcon. I got all the parts i needed from e-bay, however the ramp struts are proving to be very hard to get. When someone is selling them in e-bay they want something in the region if £35-£50 for the 2. I was wondering if you know anywhere i could get a set at more reasonable price. Im from scotland so if you knew of anywhere in the uk that would be great. Thank you!!! Take care and i look forward to your next video.
I was quite the holy terror with a screwdriver myself as a wee lad. I took apart and somehow managed to reassemble the head of my AT-AT, with all its motorized gearing for those reciprocating chin cannons. It worked, but never quite sounded the same.
I want you guys to know that when I check my subscriptions and you have a new video up, I always watch yours first! Keep up the good work, really excited about the TIE video! -Ripley
>The Old Cricketer returns to the pitch< The B in B-Wing stands for BLADE, as it looks like a knife or sword, with the cockpit end the grip, the wings the guard, and the long part the business end. Learned that back in 83, when I built my first one. Tex (a vast suppository of useless information) PS - KITTY! 21:18
Excellent video.. thank you. going to be restoring a B-wing. the only thing missing is a canopy.. It's turning out to be a bit of a bind to find a replacement. I shall keep searching..but the canopies I can find are going for extortionate prices
What a great service you guys provide! I had a buddy of mine that had a B-wing, and he'd taken it apart, with no idea how to get it back together. I can't help but wonder if Kenner (and now I guess Hasbro) ever made available the manufacturing instructions for any of these vehicles. But I'm doubting it, considering we still can't get a good answer about those darned Yellow Lightsabers!
Another fantastic restoration video! I know you guys are doing the Tie Fighter next along with a Y-Wing coming up soon. I hope one day you can do the Emperor's Shuttle with the common pesky wing that seems to break and won't lock out. Would love to see a video on that! Thanks and keep up the good work.
"Not the easiest ship to put back together." -Michael, Understatement of the Year 2015 I have a quick question about the stickers: How well do they actually stay on after they're removed? I've never had much luck reapplying them and not having them curl up.
Super job on this one, I'm very surprised to see such a sophisticated mechanism in a toy from the '80. Do you know if something similar exist beside the B-wing? Maybe Mask?
"B-wing the space version of the A-10 warhorg ..These (toys) models give you moments to get away from it ..especially when you're down ..All ages from adults and kids too!😇 make someone happy 😊💜. ..(B-wing) d 🤕🗺🇪🇺💜
Excellent video; I really enjoy watching your videos. Regrettable almost none of my toys made it through my childhood and are lost to me. I'm left replacing them with current day reproductions. Oh well. Do you sell stickers that you print out? One of the toys I still have is the B-Wing. Its in OK shape but oddly enough I'm missing that sticker that goes on the back of the cockpit and would love to be able to replace. Thanks and keep make the awesome videos.
It looks like a lower case b when you hold it, make it face the right, and the cockpit is at the bottom. T-Wing makes more sense. It's my favorite of the starfighters. You could also make it a p wing.
What are your thoughts on the retro bright solution on thinner plastic parts? For example, I was able to find replacement control sticks (arms) for my GI Joe Payload action figure's backpack that were original but considerably more yellow then the backpack itself. I was thinking of using this solution on these thin parts.
R F If I were in your position, I would go with a low percentage hydrogen peroxide and submerge the small parts in a glass jar in the peroxide under the sun or a UV light for half a day and see how they turn out.
Thanks for the video! Using the video, I just refurbished an old B-wing I picked up off eBay. It cleaned up real nice and I was able to get the motor/sound working. One question, how did you get the screws so shiny? I soaked mine in vinegar which did remove the gunk that was on them, but they never got shiny like the ones in the video.
Another awesome restoration, Mike & Melinda! I've always wondered if the Kenner vintage B-Wing is the same exact mold as the newer K-Mart exclusive B-Wing Hasbro made for the Vintage Collection. I own it, but it's sealed in its box & it'll likely stay that way. It's a great ship model, so I don't see why not, but is it the same mold or is there any difference? Does the newer one make any sound at all? I doubt it has the scratchy annoying motor sound.
Only 7 years late with this reply but better late than never. You can pull the rear of the cockpit section from the front, it's a single metal ribbed pin holding the two together, grip the two part and give a good tug, they do pull apart without damage making restoration much simpler.
Informative as ever Guys! Do you foresee a problem for toy restoration going forward in respect of pressure fittings and a general lack of nuts and bolts holding toys together? I always love the 'journey' of your vids, tremendous work! Cheers, Fuzz.
You know, Michael, instead of using super glue on old stickers, you can always substitute with pancake syrup for the same effect, without chemical bonding or plastic melt? I've tried it a few times and It does work. If you make a mess, it's easy to remove also.
Superglue, or more correctly in modeling/hobby terms, "Cyanoacrylate adhesives" have some advantages and a lot of drawbacks. In my own hobby of choice, model rocketry, they're definitely a mixed bag, with more drawbacks than advantages except in a few particular cases. For instance, one property of cyanoacrylate can be used as an advantage-- when balsa wood parts, which is a popular wood used in flying models like planes and rockets, is "soaked with CA (the "hobby" abbreviation for cyanoacrylate "super-glue" type products), the ultra-thin (water-thin) CA formulations will be wicked deep into the fibers of the wood grain and then solidify, and basically turns easily broken and dented balsa wood into something akin to fiberglass-- wood fibers interspersed with CA resin. This of course can toughen balsa to the point it can stand up to a lot of abuse and damage that would destroy the finish of ordinary balsa. Paper components like nose cone extensions or parts in paper modeling can be similarly hardened by "soaking" their surfaces with ultra-thin CA, BUT it should only be done on parts that are intended to be painted over, as the CA tends to change the color or cast of the paper and make it somewhat "translucent" so on pre-colored or printed parts NOT intended to be painted, it should be CAREFULLY avoided. Even for bonding such parts it will ruin the finish as it WILL wick deep into the paper and away from the edges out into the piece, following the path of interlocking paper fibers. OTOH, using CA for attaching fins or parts that can experience significant forces in flight can be disastrous, as CA is VERY strong in compression forces pushing things together and in tension pulling things apart, but in *shear* forces trying to rip parts off by shoving them back or forth, it is very weak. CA also gets brittle with age. Rocket fins glued on with CA will often "pop off" on landing when they hit the ground. CA is often used in "emergency repairs" or "field repairs" when a fin is damaged and the owner wants to fly the rocket again that day, but the CA repair will irreparably change the characteristics of the balsa fins it's applied to, as it soaks into the fibers, meaning that a "proper repair" using slower-drying but stronger and better suited wood glues will never be able to penetrate the wood fibers (since they've already been "sealed off" with cured CA) and thus will never be as strong as a properly made repair. The only thing CA has going for it is *speed* since it cures UNDER PRESSURE in thin layers almost instantly. Basically the *only* CA that is involved in the bond will be the actual molecules of CA that are *squeezed between* the broken edges of a repair when a drop of glue is applied and the parts are pressed or squeezed together. Any "liquid" CA on the surface will not contribute essentially anything to the strength of the joint and will only cure later and more slowly. Therefore CA should ONLY be used in the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM AMOUNT necessary to coat the broken surfaces being rebonded together... "excess glue" does nothing when it comes to CA. Granted, *some* formulations of CA (like gels or "thick" CA) CAN be used for filleting and building up areas over a break, and CA can be "hardened" by applying sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to the excess glue on top of a broken area, (which accelerates the curing reaction, releases a LOT of heat in a sudden "pulse", and creates some pretty intense fumes as well!) Thin CA should NEVER be applied in "excess" (where it runs out of the joint) because it will flow down and between other parts, into crevices, nooks, and crannies, like hinges or gears, and then will "lock them up" when it cures in the tiny gaps. CA basically *loves* small gaps and crevices like those in hinges and gears and WILL cure the fastest and strongest in those gaps, rather than "laying on the surface". In modeling, either paper or plastic models, when it comes to clear parts like canopies, CA should be carefully avoided. Even when working with glass in antique or restored automotive applications, CA should be avoided. CA produces vapors as it cures, and these vapors leave white deposits or discoloration on the inside of glass or clear plastic parts that cannot be removed-- My BIL tried to glue a speedometer needle back together in a semi-truck, after removing the glass, and the glass itself turned in the round housing, so he tried to "lock it down" with CA... there's now an ugly ring of discoloration where the fumes wafted up inside the speedometer and left the deposits on the glass. In fact when I was in the police academy, one way of lifting fingerprints off something that had been submerged in water, like a glass for instance, was to allow it to air dry normally, place it in a ziplock bag, soak a cotton ball with some water-thin CA, and quickly drop it into the far end of the bag, and seal the zipper of the bag. The fumes produced are attracted to the oils/residues of fingerprints and will stain them white, leaving a pattern in the concretion that can then be "lifted" in the usual manner like other fingerprints. Interestingly enough, CA was *originally* intended for battlefield wound care in Vietnam... hold torn or wounded skin together and apply a couple drops of CA to instantly "seal" the wound... and CA is "wonderful" at gluing skin together, as anyone who has used it carelessly and gotten it onto their skin has found out. Only problem is, as it cures it produces heat, water and sodium bicarbonate are "accelerators" and cause the curing process to be "sped up" increasing the heat release in short periods of time, (CA can get SO hot in curing that it releases STEAM from moisture in the curing area, and with the human body being mostly water, means CA dropped on wet, bloody open wounds stings and gets very hot!) The other issue is, as CA cures, it produces a strong "ammonia like" odor that literally will make your eyes water and take your breath away if you use it in excess in poorly ventilated conditions. CA also attacks and dissolves foam materials (except the 'odorless CA' formulations which can be gotten at hobby shops, for use in repairing "foamy" RC planes). In most cases there are other adhesives that are FAR superior to super-glue or CA for most applications... each type of adhesive, from PVA or "white glue" or their variants "yellow wood glues" which are excellent for wood and paper products, to urethane glues like "gorilla glue" and such, to epoxies, etc. each has their strengths and weaknesses and suitability or preference for certain jobs over others... Later! OL J R :)
when you take something apart like this, put the pieces in order of disassembly in order on a side table or a few feet from your work area, i.e., the first piece you remove put near the far edge of a table, the next piece you remove place below that, etc.. obviously, when you re-assemble it, those pieces are in order and you won't forget to install some gizmo, lever, gear, whatever. naturally, take tons of pictures because technology has made our brains lazy, but if you don't pile your parts up in a heap causing you to wonder what went where in which order, you should be able to put stuff back together from your memory, common sense, logic and the fact that most of this stuff only fits in one way to begin with as to be fast and easy for the assemblers. :)
Hello Retroblasting. I'm a fan of your videos and love your channel. I got a question for you. I got the POTF Millennium Falcon, Snowspeeder, and a vintage Slave 1.. but I would love to add the B - Wing too my collection. How much does one go for this days? They do look really cool.
Late to the party, but the real reason it was called the B-Wing, is because when they put together the concept art of what became the A-Wing and B-Wing during pre production on Jedi, the concept art pieces were labeled "'A' Fighter" and "'B' Fighter" and that carried through to the naming of the models.
Cool! Sure hope I wont have to open my B-wing again. i did it a while back, to get the motor running again. It turned out great, but the process involved bad language :-)
yeah. for that you just need to get the hatches again. As for a broken tail, that's tough because they aren't screwed together. They're glued/sonic welded. There's no easy way to get them apart...I'd just replace the Blue Lion entirely.
***** ok..ill look online 4 da parts. Thanks so much. I luv u guys vids. Im n Nashville tn an heard u say u was from here once or twice. We prob da same age lol. Mayb u can come here an do the Con thing here. Big fan man....keep'm commin
Etsy can be a good place to look. There are probably sellers who recreate parts. Perhaps ebay. Just keep checking back, you'll likely eventually find what you're looking for.
I believe it's called the B-Wing because it's a bomber class ship. It's flat and wide like past and modern bomber aircraft. That was always my assumption. It reminds me of the "flying wing" bomber class panes.
I do remember being a kid/teen and pouring through the old Star Wars movie and RPG source books and drooling over the ship designs and schematics. I devoured that fluff material like it was going out of style. The B-Wing remains my all time favorite Star Wars space craft (above the Falcon). Something about it's simplicity and strange design sparked my imagination as a child sitting in the theater seat watching ROTJ. I think it showed me for the first time that space ships didn't have to look like air planes.
Just as I was thinking... I never understood why they called it the B-Wing when it looked like a T... Michael voiced my thoughts! I hope someone knows the answer to this...
Hey guys , if you want magic maker off plastic , tooth paste , arm n hammer advance white with baking soda and peroxide rub it on let sit clean off can use your finger , retro please try it out , also if you have sticker residue where the sticker use to be rub it on , also for stickers that you want to take of and reuse , check out "un-do " and if your satisfied give me a shoutout in a video that would be cool thank you
My childhood X wing was ruined by my sister stepping on it and snapping the wings off. I tried superglueing it back together but found it didn't form a bond strong enough and it broke again quite easily, to boot it created a nasty scar in the plastic. I wonder now, 35 years later whether some sort of well-applied epoxy wouldn't be a far better solution in every case where people are tempted to use superglue. Cyanoacrylate "super" glues I think are quite innapropriate for anything apart from polystyrene models. They do melt the plastic while forming a bond that fails quite easily, only tempting the user to reapply and make a bigger mess out of the situation...
CA isn't even good at bonding plastics... they're too "oily" for the CA to get much of a bite, and as you mentioned, they heat up as they cure, particularly when used "in excess" (most folks think that the "the more glue, the stronger the joint" but with MOST glues that is completely UNTRUE-- for instance, you can glue balsa wood fins to a glassine paper tube SO strongly that the wood will break or the paper tube will rip apart before the glue joint itself fails, by using a "double-glue joint", where a THIN layer of glue is applied to both surfaces where they are to be joined, allowed to dry, and then another THIN layer of glue is applied to one or the other, and then the parts pressed together-- in fact this joint will be MUCH MUCH stronger than super-glue joints, and is *almost* as fast as a super-glue joint in setting up (locking the parts together so you can let go) as the thin layer of glue "grabs" very fast.) "More glue" in almost ANYTHING (with the possible exception of built-up applications of epoxy) will result in WEAKER joints not stronger! Actual "model airplane glue" meant for the plastic in question is the "best" way to join most styrene models. These actually "solvent weld" the parts together by softening or "melting" the plastic in the joint where the glue is applied, allowing the softened plastic to "flow together" much like the molten metal in an electrically or gas-welded part. Of course there are many different kinds of plastic, and not one single glue formulation is best for "all" of them... there's different plastic glues for different types of plastic and for different applications. Later! OL J R :)
Paulie Toy Polloi, you will notice, uses super glue very sparingly and purely for bonding specific joints and breaks back together. He also separates the parts from the rest of the toy first before gluing to ensure no surrounding plastic is affected.
Eigggghhhh.....Melinda would you please give Mike a manicure before videos with close up shots of fingers pointing to or holding parts? I see this a lot in review and reconditioning videos where guys just do close up shots of their raggedy cuticles (sometimes with hang nails, poorly trimmed, or even dirt underneath....bleeeech!). I know I tear up my cuticles and chip chunks out of the tips of my nails working on the cars and other things all the time, it's hard to keep purrrrtie when you actually work with your hands. I'm doing some videos of my own and my fingers are in pretty good shape right now, so maybe I should shoot all my closeups now before the spring, when parts start coming off cars and fluids are changed. The story on the A-Wing and B-Wing names is that they just had tagged the two new Rebel fighters as fighter A and fighter B, and so those designations just stuck with them. But with some imagination, the B-Wing sorta looks like a lower case "b".....kinda sorta with a lot of squinting.
I don't give manicures, so that's not gonna happen. I don't know when guys started getting manicures, anyway. Personally I enjoy Michael's hands as they are. He's not a lady, a hand model, or a wall street exec (see Winthorpe in Trading Places, who DOES have a manicure and has "never done a hard day's work in his life,"). His hands are clean and nails are trimmed. It was good enough for John Wayne, it's good enough for us. If you're looking for lovely nails, I can direct you to my friend's page - she's a great make-up artist. Dreadfully Divine - Melinda
Dude, you really skipped the spring part. I really wish you would have gone the whole way through that. Everything else was pretty easy, but well, I just wish you would have at least videoed you setting it in and showing what it was supposed to look like. I’ll keep trying. Regardless, thank you for everything. Just,..
Props to your mom for putting this nightmare back together.
Man. Watching these video makes me really fall in love with the vintage STAR WARS spaceships. I need to buy them. I still have my childhood snow speeder (the only STAR WARS ship I had). Later I bought some newer HASBRO spaceships, but I was never completely happy with them. I remember playing with KENNER STAR WARS ships and vehicles from a friend. They were just the best. Seeing them again in these videos proves it to me.
Thank you Retroblasting. After watching your Videos I have restorationed two B-Wing, two X Wing and Tie Fighters. Your Tutorials are very good and have very good Tipps and Tricks for freshing up old Star Wars Spaceships. Next Projekt is the Imperial Shuttle.
Thanks a lot for the Vids.
Greetings from Germany
Thomas
I have forgotten, Y-Wings are freshed up too 😃💪
Your videos on the B Wing were very helpful in my own restoration. Definitely the most challenging of all the Kenner vehicles! Thank you.
Your restoring videos are how I found you. I've seen modern toys today that don't even allow disassembling. I dislike that ALOT! This looks so fun to restore. 😍
Your the BEST. THANK YOU guys for teaching us how to take care of our childhood. ❤️🙏❤️🙏
Many thanks. These videos were a lifesaver, as my B-Wing had laid disassembled for several decades!
Definitely a project where you will need an extra set of hands. Painter's tape is great for holding the halves together while to try to fit other parts in.
Probably one of the more intimidating fixes you guys have handled like pros! Good job!
The Framemaster Thanks Frame'! B-Wings are complex for sure!
Even as a kid I knew B-wing, was for Blade Wing. With S-foils deployed it's a short sword.
Nice work! That looks like a hellishly complex build of a toy. Must be the most complex SW vehicle ever!
Your videos are the equivalent of Saturday morning cartoons for me as an adult. Even though I'm not a Star Wars fan I really enjoyed he video!
Irvin Harvey III Appreciate that, Irvin! We've got some fun videos in development coming soon!
Thanks Michael, had to replace cockpit and needed a refresher. Parts for this are getting hard to find.
No problem
Your mom must have either been a mechanic or just pretty cool to be able to put your B-Wing back together again!
Another great Restro guys, keep it up. Looking forward to the TIE Fighter.
Just got one of these incomplete in a lot purchase and now I have to hunt down the secondary wings and cannons. Great job Michael!
Great job, she's good as new!
Well worth the wait great Resto video. can't wait to see the Tie-fighter resto video too.
Joshua Grigg TIE Extravaganza and then a Y-Wing resto are on the horizon.
aww another retroblasting patient pulls through,nice work dr. french.
Mark Demeo Thanks Mark!
My apologies if someone already mentioned this, but the "B" in B-Wing stands for "blade." This ship look like a "t" to me, too. I always wondered by the production didn't just name it the "T-Wing."
I love these videos, by the way. Keep 'em coming.
Fantastic video as always! Putting the 2 halves together with all the bits aligned certainly looked tough and could cause a great deal of frustration! Can't wait to see the TIE restorations...the A-wing would be cool also- I know that one is pricey as only released on the Droids line! Top Job!
***** I have the A-Wing, but it is in working condition. Maybe I will just do a video showing everyone the guts of the ship so they can make their repairs...
man I love your rebuild videos,all the vintage star wars.I look forward to the Tie Fighter vid....
Arthur DeArcos jr Appreciate that, Arthur! TIE Fighter resto vid is in prep for sure!
Great video as always M&M.
Very nice job on this one. I love how careful you are with keeping as much original pieces as possible! Keep up the wonderful work!!
Then they could have had a Mr T wing. The ultimate in 80's mashups. Of course this would have made the movie much shorter, as when in the scene where the Emperor reveals to Luke, the Death Star is fully armed and operational. Mr T pops out and says "Ain't got time for dat jibba-jabba fool", and throws him down the shaft right then and there.
The reason why a B-wing is called a “B-wing” is when the wings are retracted… it looks like a lowercase ‘b’. So in other words… this “B” versus this “b”. Cool videos guys. I’ve been watching them for the last few hours. Pretty neat.
Another ship saved from the grave! You do such good work. Not sure if you remember but i told you i restored my childhood falcon. I got all the parts i needed from e-bay, however the ramp struts are proving to be very hard to get. When someone is selling them in e-bay they want something in the region if £35-£50 for the 2. I was wondering if you know anywhere i could get a set at more reasonable price. Im from scotland so if you knew of anywhere in the uk that would be great. Thank you!!! Take care and i look forward to your next video.
Gary Horsburgh Hmm...Have you tried the Rebelscum forum classifieds or possibly Star Wars Forum UK?
Thanks i will give that a try. Cheers!!
Very cool, guys! That thing looked like a pain in the neck to restore.
I was quite the holy terror with a screwdriver myself as a wee lad. I took apart and somehow managed to reassemble the head of my AT-AT, with all its motorized gearing for those reciprocating chin cannons. It worked, but never quite sounded the same.
I want you guys to know that when I check my subscriptions and you have a new video up, I always watch yours first!
Keep up the good work, really excited about the TIE video!
-Ripley
Lt. Ripley Grimes Thanks Ripley!!!
Another great one guys!
Oh boy, the TIE Fighters have always been my favorite Star Wars ships, I can't wait to see that!
cool restoration
>The Old Cricketer returns to the pitch<
The B in B-Wing stands for BLADE, as it looks like a knife or sword, with the cockpit end the grip, the wings the guard, and the long part the business end. Learned that back in 83, when I built my first one.
Tex
(a vast suppository of useless information)
PS - KITTY! 21:18
I just love your videos! Great job as always!
Brilliant as always- love it!
I had one of these as a child. It was my fav toy! ^_^
Excellent video.. thank you. going to be restoring a B-wing. the only thing missing is a canopy.. It's turning out to be a bit of a bind to find a replacement.
I shall keep searching..but the canopies I can find are going for extortionate prices
What a great service you guys provide! I had a buddy of mine that had a B-wing, and he'd taken it apart, with no idea how to get it back together. I can't help but wonder if Kenner (and now I guess Hasbro) ever made available the manufacturing instructions for any of these vehicles. But I'm doubting it, considering we still can't get a good answer about those darned Yellow Lightsabers!
Another fantastic restoration video! I know you guys are doing the Tie Fighter next along with a Y-Wing coming up soon. I hope one day you can do the Emperor's Shuttle with the common pesky wing that seems to break and won't lock out. Would love to see a video on that! Thanks and keep up the good work.
Great job as always.
Love the cat.
"Not the easiest ship to put back together." -Michael, Understatement of the Year 2015
I have a quick question about the stickers: How well do they actually stay on after they're removed? I've never had much luck reapplying them and not having them curl up.
Sharksleep You have to apply a light spray adhesive to the back of them first. Like 3M spray or something similar.
Great work! This does not look easy at all
Super job on this one, I'm very surprised to see such a sophisticated mechanism in a toy from the '80.
Do you know if something similar exist beside the B-wing? Maybe Mask?
"B-wing the space version of the A-10 warhorg ..These (toys) models give you moments to get away from it ..especially when you're down ..All ages from adults and kids too!😇 make someone happy 😊💜. ..(B-wing)
d 🤕🗺🇪🇺💜
Hi.I just got a B wing and want to know the direction
the batteries should face. Thanks.
Excellent video; I really enjoy watching your videos. Regrettable almost none of my toys made it through my childhood and are lost to me. I'm left replacing them with current day reproductions. Oh well. Do you sell stickers that you print out? One of the toys I still have is the B-Wing. Its in OK shape but oddly enough I'm missing that sticker that goes on the back of the cockpit and would love to be able to replace. Thanks and keep make the awesome videos.
It looks like a lower case b when you hold it, make it face the right, and the cockpit is at the bottom. T-Wing makes more sense. It's my favorite of the starfighters. You could also make it a p wing.
Restoring a B-wing myself, still looking for a clear canopy and the two wings.
Bravo M&M!! TIE FIGHTER next?! 8-0
Love you guys and always hoping there is a '1' beside you in my sub pane (:
What are your thoughts on the retro bright solution on thinner plastic parts? For example, I was able to find replacement control sticks (arms) for my GI Joe Payload action figure's backpack that were original but considerably more yellow then the backpack itself. I was thinking of using this solution on these thin parts.
R F If I were in your position, I would go with a low percentage hydrogen peroxide and submerge the small parts in a glass jar in the peroxide under the sun or a UV light for half a day and see how they turn out.
***** thanks Michael, I'll let you know how it turns out
It’s called the b-wing because it is short for blade wing. The ship looks like a blade when the s-foils are in attack position.
Thanks for the video! Using the video, I just refurbished an old B-wing I picked up off eBay. It cleaned up real nice and I was able to get the motor/sound working. One question, how did you get the screws so shiny? I soaked mine in vinegar which did remove the gunk that was on them, but they never got shiny like the ones in the video.
Another awesome restoration, Mike & Melinda!
I've always wondered if the Kenner vintage B-Wing is the same exact mold as the newer K-Mart exclusive B-Wing Hasbro made for the Vintage Collection. I own it, but it's sealed in its box & it'll likely stay that way. It's a great ship model, so I don't see why not, but is it the same mold or is there any difference? Does the newer one make any sound at all? I doubt it has the scratchy annoying motor sound.
Guernicaman I will look into the new one as I don't know much about it aside from it being based on the Kenner mold with some slight modifications.
Only 7 years late with this reply but better late than never. You can pull the rear of the cockpit section from the front, it's a single metal ribbed pin holding the two together, grip the two part and give a good tug, they do pull apart without damage making restoration much simpler.
Informative as ever Guys! Do you foresee a problem for toy restoration going forward in respect of pressure fittings and a general lack of nuts and bolts holding toys together? I always love the 'journey' of your vids, tremendous work! Cheers, Fuzz.
You know, Michael, instead of using super glue on old stickers, you can always substitute with pancake syrup for the same effect, without chemical bonding or plastic melt? I've tried it a few times and It does work. If you make a mess, it's easy to remove also.
Cool review! Where can you download those sticker scans?
you can use double sided sticky tape just enough to hold old stickers in place
I believe that it called the B-Wing because when the wings are folded, the ship looks like a blade.
Superglue, or more correctly in modeling/hobby terms, "Cyanoacrylate adhesives" have some advantages and a lot of drawbacks. In my own hobby of choice, model rocketry, they're definitely a mixed bag, with more drawbacks than advantages except in a few particular cases. For instance, one property of cyanoacrylate can be used as an advantage-- when balsa wood parts, which is a popular wood used in flying models like planes and rockets, is "soaked with CA (the "hobby" abbreviation for cyanoacrylate "super-glue" type products), the ultra-thin (water-thin) CA formulations will be wicked deep into the fibers of the wood grain and then solidify, and basically turns easily broken and dented balsa wood into something akin to fiberglass-- wood fibers interspersed with CA resin. This of course can toughen balsa to the point it can stand up to a lot of abuse and damage that would destroy the finish of ordinary balsa. Paper components like nose cone extensions or parts in paper modeling can be similarly hardened by "soaking" their surfaces with ultra-thin CA, BUT it should only be done on parts that are intended to be painted over, as the CA tends to change the color or cast of the paper and make it somewhat "translucent" so on pre-colored or printed parts NOT intended to be painted, it should be CAREFULLY avoided. Even for bonding such parts it will ruin the finish as it WILL wick deep into the paper and away from the edges out into the piece, following the path of interlocking paper fibers. OTOH, using CA for attaching fins or parts that can experience significant forces in flight can be disastrous, as CA is VERY strong in compression forces pushing things together and in tension pulling things apart, but in *shear* forces trying to rip parts off by shoving them back or forth, it is very weak. CA also gets brittle with age. Rocket fins glued on with CA will often "pop off" on landing when they hit the ground. CA is often used in "emergency repairs" or "field repairs" when a fin is damaged and the owner wants to fly the rocket again that day, but the CA repair will irreparably change the characteristics of the balsa fins it's applied to, as it soaks into the fibers, meaning that a "proper repair" using slower-drying but stronger and better suited wood glues will never be able to penetrate the wood fibers (since they've already been "sealed off" with cured CA) and thus will never be as strong as a properly made repair. The only thing CA has going for it is *speed* since it cures UNDER PRESSURE in thin layers almost instantly. Basically the *only* CA that is involved in the bond will be the actual molecules of CA that are *squeezed between* the broken edges of a repair when a drop of glue is applied and the parts are pressed or squeezed together. Any "liquid" CA on the surface will not contribute essentially anything to the strength of the joint and will only cure later and more slowly. Therefore CA should ONLY be used in the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM AMOUNT necessary to coat the broken surfaces being rebonded together... "excess glue" does nothing when it comes to CA. Granted, *some* formulations of CA (like gels or "thick" CA) CAN be used for filleting and building up areas over a break, and CA can be "hardened" by applying sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to the excess glue on top of a broken area, (which accelerates the curing reaction, releases a LOT of heat in a sudden "pulse", and creates some pretty intense fumes as well!) Thin CA should NEVER be applied in "excess" (where it runs out of the joint) because it will flow down and between other parts, into crevices, nooks, and crannies, like hinges or gears, and then will "lock them up" when it cures in the tiny gaps. CA basically *loves* small gaps and crevices like those in hinges and gears and WILL cure the fastest and strongest in those gaps, rather than "laying on the surface".
In modeling, either paper or plastic models, when it comes to clear parts like canopies, CA should be carefully avoided. Even when working with glass in antique or restored automotive applications, CA should be avoided. CA produces vapors as it cures, and these vapors leave white deposits or discoloration on the inside of glass or clear plastic parts that cannot be removed-- My BIL tried to glue a speedometer needle back together in a semi-truck, after removing the glass, and the glass itself turned in the round housing, so he tried to "lock it down" with CA... there's now an ugly ring of discoloration where the fumes wafted up inside the speedometer and left the deposits on the glass. In fact when I was in the police academy, one way of lifting fingerprints off something that had been submerged in water, like a glass for instance, was to allow it to air dry normally, place it in a ziplock bag, soak a cotton ball with some water-thin CA, and quickly drop it into the far end of the bag, and seal the zipper of the bag. The fumes produced are attracted to the oils/residues of fingerprints and will stain them white, leaving a pattern in the concretion that can then be "lifted" in the usual manner like other fingerprints. Interestingly enough, CA was *originally* intended for battlefield wound care in Vietnam... hold torn or wounded skin together and apply a couple drops of CA to instantly "seal" the wound... and CA is "wonderful" at gluing skin together, as anyone who has used it carelessly and gotten it onto their skin has found out. Only problem is, as it cures it produces heat, water and sodium bicarbonate are "accelerators" and cause the curing process to be "sped up" increasing the heat release in short periods of time, (CA can get SO hot in curing that it releases STEAM from moisture in the curing area, and with the human body being mostly water, means CA dropped on wet, bloody open wounds stings and gets very hot!) The other issue is, as CA cures, it produces a strong "ammonia like" odor that literally will make your eyes water and take your breath away if you use it in excess in poorly ventilated conditions. CA also attacks and dissolves foam materials (except the 'odorless CA' formulations which can be gotten at hobby shops, for use in repairing "foamy" RC planes).
In most cases there are other adhesives that are FAR superior to super-glue or CA for most applications... each type of adhesive, from PVA or "white glue" or their variants "yellow wood glues" which are excellent for wood and paper products, to urethane glues like "gorilla glue" and such, to epoxies, etc. each has their strengths and weaknesses and suitability or preference for certain jobs over others...
Later! OL J R :)
when you take something apart like this, put the pieces in order of disassembly in order on a side table or a few feet from your work area, i.e., the first piece you remove put near the far edge of a table, the next piece you remove place below that, etc.. obviously, when you re-assemble it, those pieces are in order and you won't forget to install some gizmo, lever, gear, whatever.
naturally, take tons of pictures because technology has made our brains lazy, but if you don't pile your parts up in a heap causing you to wonder what went where in which order, you should be able to put stuff back together from your memory, common sense, logic and the fact that most of this stuff only fits in one way to begin with as to be fast and easy for the assemblers. :)
B-wing name came from the ship looking like a big knife with the main wing being the blade and the foils as the hilt or guard.
Hello Retroblasting. I'm a fan of your videos and love your channel. I got a question for you. I got the POTF Millennium Falcon, Snowspeeder, and a vintage Slave 1.. but I would love to add the B - Wing too my collection. How much does one go for this days? They do look really cool.
Prices always fluctuate. Check eBay "sold" listings. Don't be in a hurry. If you rush, you usually over-pay.
@@retroblasting Thank I'll do that.
Late to the party, but the real reason it was called the B-Wing, is because when they put together the concept art of what became the A-Wing and B-Wing during pre production on Jedi, the concept art pieces were labeled "'A' Fighter" and "'B' Fighter" and that carried through to the naming of the models.
hi i was wondering how much do you think i should pay for a b wing complete in the box with instructions and inserts?
Cool! Sure hope I wont have to open my B-wing again. i did it a while back, to get the motor running again. It turned out great, but the process involved bad language :-)
Great work. Thank u can do a 80s voltron. I got a blk lion and yellow lion missin the hatch cover an a blue lion with a broken tail. Any thoughts?
Willie Neblett, Jr You're referring to the Panosh Place Voltron, right?
***** yes i think so. The 1 where the figures fit in.
yeah. for that you just need to get the hatches again. As for a broken tail, that's tough because they aren't screwed together. They're glued/sonic welded. There's no easy way to get them apart...I'd just replace the Blue Lion entirely.
***** ok..ill look online 4 da parts. Thanks so much. I luv u guys vids. Im n Nashville tn an heard u say u was from here once or twice. We prob da same age lol. Mayb u can come here an do the Con thing here. Big fan man....keep'm commin
Thanks Willie! Yep! I was born and raised in Nashville, TN!
Where can I get a replacement bulb for my 1978 X-wing?
trying to restore my old b-wing do you know where I can get replacement bottom cannons can't find any on eBay
Etsy can be a good place to look. There are probably sellers who recreate parts. Perhaps ebay. Just keep checking back, you'll likely eventually find what you're looking for.
@@retroblasting Thanks for getting back to me, I'll try there.
Here's a weird question: do any of these toys have an old toy smell to them? I swear I can still smell the 80s on some of mine.
Do you have a link or file for the stickers?
I believe it's called the B-Wing because it's a bomber class ship. It's flat and wide like past and modern bomber aircraft. That was always my assumption. It reminds me of the "flying wing" bomber class panes.
I do remember being a kid/teen and pouring through the old Star Wars movie and RPG source books and drooling over the ship designs and schematics. I devoured that fluff material like it was going out of style. The B-Wing remains my all time favorite Star Wars space craft (above the Falcon). Something about it's simplicity and strange design sparked my imagination as a child sitting in the theater seat watching ROTJ. I think it showed me for the first time that space ships didn't have to look like air planes.
Just as I was thinking... I never understood why they called it the B-Wing when it looked like a T... Michael voiced my thoughts! I hope someone knows the answer to this...
I wonder how much you would charge to ship a sheet of those stickers? I bought a B-Wing off a antique store but it didn't have any stickers on it :(
You can buy replacement stickers on eBay
Nice work! Did you clone my cat? They look identical :)
Neil T37 Kirby is a Nordic Forest Cat. What is yours?
It is called 'B' for Blade because it looks like a sword blade.
CharlieNagoo Thanks for the intel. Still very inconsistent naming as the others didn't stand for anything themselves.
Hey guys , if you want magic maker off plastic , tooth paste , arm n hammer advance white with baking soda and peroxide rub it on let sit clean off can use your finger , retro please try it out , also if you have sticker residue where the sticker use to be rub it on , also for stickers that you want to take of and reuse , check out "un-do " and if your satisfied give me a shoutout in a video that would be cool thank you
i have one of those but it is missing a lot of missing pieces and the motor is broken, B-Wing stands for Blade Wing
How much was the cost of this restoration?
Matrix8369 $29 for the donor B-Wing. Done.
I guess if you squint really hard, the B-wing looks sort of like a lower case B?
LiamTheGreat HA!
Called B Wing because it resembles a knife blade
Add me to the list of people who wondered why it was balled the B-Wing.
Retrobright?
Restore a 1997 Electronic AT AT Imperial walker also the source to be found.all parts.
My childhood X wing was ruined by my sister stepping on it and snapping the wings off. I tried superglueing it back together but found it didn't form a bond strong enough and it broke again quite easily, to boot it created a nasty scar in the plastic. I wonder now, 35 years later whether some sort of well-applied epoxy wouldn't be a far better solution in every case where people are tempted to use superglue.
Cyanoacrylate "super" glues I think are quite innapropriate for anything apart from polystyrene models. They do melt the plastic while forming a bond that fails quite easily, only tempting the user to reapply and make a bigger mess out of the situation...
johnsonfromwisconsin Agreed!
CA isn't even good at bonding plastics... they're too "oily" for the CA to get much of a bite, and as you mentioned, they heat up as they cure, particularly when used "in excess" (most folks think that the "the more glue, the stronger the joint" but with MOST glues that is completely UNTRUE-- for instance, you can glue balsa wood fins to a glassine paper tube SO strongly that the wood will break or the paper tube will rip apart before the glue joint itself fails, by using a "double-glue joint", where a THIN layer of glue is applied to both surfaces where they are to be joined, allowed to dry, and then another THIN layer of glue is applied to one or the other, and then the parts pressed together-- in fact this joint will be MUCH MUCH stronger than super-glue joints, and is *almost* as fast as a super-glue joint in setting up (locking the parts together so you can let go) as the thin layer of glue "grabs" very fast.) "More glue" in almost ANYTHING (with the possible exception of built-up applications of epoxy) will result in WEAKER joints not stronger!
Actual "model airplane glue" meant for the plastic in question is the "best" way to join most styrene models. These actually "solvent weld" the parts together by softening or "melting" the plastic in the joint where the glue is applied, allowing the softened plastic to "flow together" much like the molten metal in an electrically or gas-welded part. Of course there are many different kinds of plastic, and not one single glue formulation is best for "all" of them... there's different plastic glues for different types of plastic and for different applications.
Later! OL J R :)
Toy Polloi uses super glue all the time. I wonder if he's noticed any molten plastic yet
Paulie Toy Polloi, you will notice, uses super glue very sparingly and purely for bonding specific joints and breaks back together. He also separates the parts from the rest of the toy first before gluing to ensure no surrounding plastic is affected.
The problem with the B-Wing is that it looks like parts could snap off so easily.
Eigggghhhh.....Melinda would you please give Mike a manicure before videos with close up shots of fingers pointing to or holding parts? I see this a lot in review and reconditioning videos where guys just do close up shots of their raggedy cuticles (sometimes with hang nails, poorly trimmed, or even dirt underneath....bleeeech!). I know I tear up my cuticles and chip chunks out of the tips of my nails working on the cars and other things all the time, it's hard to keep purrrrtie when you actually work with your hands. I'm doing some videos of my own and my fingers are in pretty good shape right now, so maybe I should shoot all my closeups now before the spring, when parts start coming off cars and fluids are changed.
The story on the A-Wing and B-Wing names is that they just had tagged the two new Rebel fighters as fighter A and fighter B, and so those designations just stuck with them. But with some imagination, the B-Wing sorta looks like a lower case "b".....kinda sorta with a lot of squinting.
I don't give manicures, so that's not gonna happen. I don't know when guys started getting manicures, anyway. Personally I enjoy Michael's hands as they are. He's not a lady, a hand model, or a wall street exec (see Winthorpe in Trading Places, who DOES have a manicure and has "never done a hard day's work in his life,"). His hands are clean and nails are trimmed. It was good enough for John Wayne, it's good enough for us.
If you're looking for lovely nails, I can direct you to my friend's page - she's a great make-up artist. Dreadfully Divine - Melinda
Dude, you really skipped the spring part. I really wish you would have gone the whole way through that. Everything else was pretty easy, but well, I just wish you would have at least videoed you setting it in and showing what it was supposed to look like. I’ll keep trying. Regardless, thank you for everything. Just,..