Looking for: Mattel Vacuform Machines and Plastic Sheets
michaela rhea drapes
Dad's looking for anyone who might have infomation on where to find
Mattel Vaccuform machines (he's got one, but its broken.. ): ) and
plastic sheets that go with the machine. If anyone has any information
on where to find these items, email Dad at mjdr...@cibola.net
thanks! (it would make him *really* happy!)
Michaela, asking for Michael Drapes (aka Dad) (:
Charles T. Davenport
I've got one that is missing the platen but otherwise functional, no box
or anything. No plastic. Styrene works sort of.Willing to sell for $20
plus postage. Regards, Chuck
--
Regards, Chuck
You're only young once but, you can always be immature. (Motto: Arcola IL, Lawn Rangers)
RAYMOND J. MEHLBERGER
Cope Plastics Co., here in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is where I get the
plastic for my Mattel. It is called "rigid vynl". You have to cut a big
piece of it into the 4" x 4" squares. At first I tried to drill all the
hundreds of holes around it's edge so the the holding pins would hold it
in the machine. This was a lesson in frustration. I found out later that
if you slightly heat it then clamp it hard it usually didn't pull out of
the clamp in the machine. However, a friend of mine who operates Roberts
Models in W. Hazleton, Pa. revamped my machine so that it works 10 times
better than it ever did before, he also told me of a newer plastic
(again from Cope) that works better than the rigid vynl. He says this
newer stuff looks to have a blue cast to it when you get it and finishes
to an absolute crystal clear after forming. Forget what he called the
new stuff, have to ask him again. As far as the machine itself, they are
as scarce as hens teeth. You'd be very lucky to get a person to part
with one of the old Mattel machines. They were taken off the market
years ago because kids were burning themselves on them. I got mine from
the Sears catalog, which was the last hold-out for selling them.
However, Sears no longer has them either. There was a recent thread on
RMS about some machine currently sold at Toys R Us stores. Claim it
works on the heat of a light bulb. Can't see where this would get hot
enough to do much, but don't have any experience with it. Hope some of
this info may help. Happy modeling :-)
Speedy01
In article <32035F...@dhinternet.com>, "RAYMOND J. MEHLBERGER"
<rese...@dhinternet.com> writes:
> However, a friend of mine who operates Roberts
>Models in W. Hazleton, Pa. revamped my machine so that it works 10 times
>better than it ever did before, he also told me of a newer plastic
>(again from Cope) that works better than the rigid vynl.
I would really appreciate details on both the mod and plastic.
Thanks
Gene K
Mark V. Frankson
If you hurry Toys R Us has them on clearance for $5. I was gonna buy
one but looking at the box it looked like it could only form to a
concave mold. Am I wrong?
Stephen Tontoni
In article <320590e4.4736491@news>, Mark...@aol.com (Mark V. Frankson)
wrote:
That's the new kind that uses light bulbs to heat the plastic. Doesn't work
on clear plastic. Need a different heating source. I tried to use a hot air
gun (for stripping paint) to heat the plastic and it didn't work well; I
think that it mostly heated the surface or melted all the way through the
thermoform that I was using. Those old machines are gems.
---Stephen Tontoni
Todd Enlund
spee...@aol.com (Speedy01) wrote:
>I would really appreciate details on both the mod and plastic.
>Thanks
I've gotten really good results using clear butyrate with my home made
vac-form "machine". I get it from a shop that deals in R/C... they
use it to stretch form canopies. Comes in .005 through .040 at
least... For cowlings and so forth, I use styrene.
Todd Enlund
"Bandits at 3 O'clock"
"Roger. What should I do 'till then?"
Frank Henriquez
In article <tontoni-05...@blv-pm0-ip20.halcyon.com>,
ton...@halcyon.com (Stephen Tontoni) wrote:
>That's the new kind that uses light bulbs to heat the plastic. Doesn't work
>on clear plastic.
Same results here. Higher wattage bulbs, pumping while heating, thinner
plastic (I even used clear bubble pack plastic). No way the sucker is
going to form clear plastic.
This *drastically* reduces the desirability and usability of the machine, IMHO.
Frank
--
Frank Henriquez UCLA Astronomy Department
fr...@ucla.edu
Toby B. Martin
In article <frank-05089...@ts34-12.wla.ts.ucla.edu>, fr...@ucla.edu
(Frank Henriquez) wrote:
I used some clear butylrate (as someone else mentioned). And the bulbs
just don't get hot enough. Besides there's a thermal cutoff that shuts the
bulbs off if they get too hot...maybe I shoulda disabled that thing first.
I dismantled mine and placed a piece of mesh (metal speaker mesh) over the
top of the little box, made a frame for the plastic with some brass angle
(clamp the plastic with those little binder clips) and heated over the
stove (maybe I should get a hot plate). The pump is pretty good and I was
successful in forming a 1/72 P-47D canopy.
-Toby
P.S. clear butylrate can be had fairly cheaply from MicroMark.
--
Toby B. Martin mar...@sed.jsc.nasa.gov (713) 244-5133
Automation & Robotics Division NASA - Johnson Space Center Houston, TX
Oskee-wow-wow alternate e-mail: tma...@gp301.jsc.nasa.gov
Wayne C. Morris
>>That's the new kind that uses light bulbs to heat the plastic. Doesn't work
>>on clear plastic.
>
>Same results here. Higher wattage bulbs, pumping while heating, thinner
>plastic (I even used clear bubble pack plastic). No way the sucker is
>going to form clear plastic.
Have you tried painting the clear plastic with black paint to improve its
heat absorption, then forming it, then removing the paint? (Just an idea,
I haven't tried it myself 'cuz I don't have that toy vacuformer.)
Frank Henriquez
In article <AE2EA8F1...@ppp112.gatewest.net>, mor...@gatewest.net
(Wayne C. Morris) wrote:
>Have you tried painting the clear plastic with black paint to improve its
>heat absorption, then forming it, then removing the paint?
I've thought of that, but haven't tried it. Hopefully it won't cause the
paint to bubble and peel off...
Mr. Archer
In article <frank-08089...@ts39-15.wla.ts.ucla.edu>,
fr...@ucla.edu (Frank Henriquez) wrote:
> >Have you tried painting the clear plastic with black paint to improve its
> >heat absorption, then forming it, then removing the paint?
>
> I've thought of that, but haven't tried it. Hopefully it won't cause the
> paint to bubble and peel off...
I came in late here so excuse me if this has already been suggested:
Try putting a sheet of glass over the plastic. It traps the heat and you
can see when the plastic begins to sag.
Worked for me.
Woody
.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Woody Vondracek, proprietor
Archer Fine Transfers IPMS30182
1205 Silvershire Way
Knightdale, NC 27545 Flew high, fell far
http://msowww.anu.edu.au/~dfk/companies/archer/archer.html
.....................................................................
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Phillip Huston
michaela rhea drapes <ole...@mail.utexas.edu> wrote:
>Dad's looking for anyone who might have infomation on where to find
>Mattel Vaccuform machines (he's got one, but its broken.. ): ) and
>plastic sheets that go with the machine. If anyone has any information
>on where to find these items, email Dad at mjdr...@cibola.net
>thanks! (it would make him *really* happy!)
>Michaela, asking for Michael Drapes (aka Dad) (:
Any .001 sheet styrene will work with the Mattel Vacuform. What I do
is cut squares that fit the opening and put a block of wood that is
also the same size over the plastic to hold the heat in. Check the
sag in the plastic in a couple of minutes and when it is where you
want it remove the block of wood and throw the lever and pump like
hell. It works just fine.
Phillip Huston
Blur00023
Excuse me, but I really don't think you use plastic that is .001 thick do
you? if you do, where can I get some?
Paul
mercurym...@gmail.com
> Dad's looking for anyone who might have infomation on where to find
> Mattel Vaccuform machines (he's got one, but its broken.. ): ) and
> plastic sheets that go with the machine. If anyone has any information
> on where to find these items, email Dad at mjdr...@cibola.net
>
> thanks! (it would make him *really* happy!)
>
> Michaela, asking for Michael Drapes (aka Dad) (: