Star Wars Vintage X-Wing Restoration - Part 2 - Kenner 1978

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RetroBlasting's epic X-Wing restoration continues!
RETROBRITE RECIPE!
Hydrogen peroxide 40 vol - 1 pint (2 cups)
Xanthan Gum - 2 heaping Tbsp
Glycerine - 1 level tsp
OxyClean - 1/4 tsp (mixed into tsp hot water)
Combine Hydrogen Peroxide and Xanthan gum in blender and mix for 5 sec. Add glycerine. Mix 5 seconds. Rest mixture for 1-5 min. Mix again for 5 sec.
#RetroBlasting #XWing #toyrestoration

[@elbosausage]

fantastic job so far and your wife is a saint for helping on the project too!

[@TheMGSFan141]

I just love how much you guys care about other's childhood toys. You guys are the best!

[@retroblasting]

TheMGSFan141 Thanks!!!!

[@endersftd]

Seriously. The recognition of the sentiment towards each toy... gets me right in the feels.

[@advancedrebel]

you should seriously reconsider renaming the RetroBlasting Archives. The RetroBlastin garage. Love the restaurations. There's something soothing about fixing old toys.

[@bretmiller1134]

You guys are awesome at retroblasting . I lost all my childhood star wars my mother through them in a dumpster. Have been collecting them back . Have learned a lot about restoring them from you.I tried doing inside and outside. Got better results outside. Amazing how great my x-ing turned out. Thank you so much. Keep up the great videos .

[@pferreira1983]

It's looks great with the Retrobrite.

[@Idreamofpins]

Nice work. Doesn't even look like the same toy. That must have been a pretty expensive concoction to make but it worked wonderfully.

[@Portal2099]

Melinda is a babe! Especially more since she not only allows the collection nonsense, but she actually gets involved with it. :) no offense or anything, I just need to find one like her :) Also, with the micro cracking/reinforcing, I've found that nail glue (for holding fake fingernails on) works pretty great for me. It's really strong stuff and seems way better than super/krazy glue. Great video as always!

[@tanaknight2311]

I want to thank you for the tutorial on the motor and light. With new movie out, and my niece getting into Star Wars now, I pulled out my X-Wing. I tried cleaning the contacts, but it still didn't work. (They aren't rusty) After coming across this video, I took in apart, and following your instructions, hand cranked the motor. It works! The light too! Still has some sticker damage. Missing canons and the landing foot broke ages ago. But now I know what to do to make some more repairs :)

[@LaughItupFuzzball70]

An on-going sympathetic restoration which I think is the appropriate way to go. A great watch, Cheers, Fuzz.

[@retroblasting]

LaughItupFuzzball70 Thanks Fuzz!

[@nikolabakich9709]

+RetroBlasting about the r2d2 wearing of the foils opening shutting i have a tonka 95 x wing that im fixing the lip on the bottom of the r2d2 has nearly snapped off could i just glue it and turn r2 around?

[@RiFFxxx]

Excellent work guys.

[@batangbatugan]

No wonder it took this video a while longer, I understand how cautious one can be especially on a process you haven't tried before. Glad to see the results were more than satisfactory =)

[@HappyvilleProduction]

I'm loving this restoration, I have a yellowed G1 Jetfire that I might try the retro bright process on. keep up the good work it's looking great so far

[@HappyvilleProduction]

***** Thanks for the advice, I'll do that

[@jimkhana007]

How did it go?

[@OIFEagle]

I am looking forward to part 3. You guys always inspire me to start new projects. My collection is still safely in storage, but I'll let you know when open that gem of a time capsule!

[@metrabear]

Thank you for helping me repair my x wing

[@Puuch44]

Great series Mike n Melinda (: You guys do incredible work. Looking forward to part three! I am included in the group of individuals who lost most of our childhood collections through evil mothers and garage sales. Oh, the conniving mind of the mom who wants to clean her son's room for him....

[@tikifire]

Too cool! My original X-Wing bit the dust when I was a kid. I played with that thing so freakin' much. My wings fell apart at some point.

[@bricago2302]

Another great rust remover is Evapo-rust. I restore metal tools, and soaking parts in it for a few hours (overnight for heavy rust) usually has them looking like new. It's environmentally friendly, too.

[@jamesalejandro4832]

Thanks to this video a brought to live my 1978 X Wing. Greetings from Puerto Rico

[@Jedi3671]

Really awesome video guys! The whitening is amazing! I had a ton of trouble with the R2 wing mechanism when I restored my X-wing. Great info and I think I will go back and glue the release mech. Thanks Mike and Melinda!

[@professionallyunprofession5729]

Wow! Great job guys!

[@madtech72]

Awesome Video :) happy to see that Xwing come back to life

[@transfan83]

I really like your videos ,they've inspired me to fix some of my childhood toys.Keep up the good work.

[@Sturmdude]

It's looking like Matt Weber is going to have to give his old X-Wing a kick ass name when it's done being refitted.

[@lostonwallace1396]

Very nice video series! To add something helpful in terms of restoration advice: Once you clean the screws with vinegar, it's always a good idea to coat them with WD-40, then wipe them clean. This will keep them from re-rusting later on.

[@meatloafknight]

Very nice! Looks like it's time to break my x-wing out for a little TLC.

[@shawnhenry1310]

You all to do excellent work

[@wedge9986]

Mattel attempted to fix the problem with the s-foil release switch by using a rubber band. Amazing, after 30 years both the rubber bands on my x-wings were still intact. Still a pretty cheap solution though.

[@ShenValleyPicker]

Nice work as always guys!

[@schwartzhoffsteven]

You have inspired me to see if I can get my X-wing´s motor running again after 20 years. The light works fine. If you have any ideas for improvising home-made parts it I think that would be interesting. My cannons were lost years ago and I just can not bring myself to buy replacements (mostly beause I do not mind them being missing that much and I would not have the emotional attachment to non-original parts) but I think it would be cool to really create something which would be mine (like modifying black plastic chopsticks) and thus mean something even of they do not look perfict. Great work.

[@TheJediJoker]

I'm sure I'm far from the first to point this out, but OxiClean reacts with water to form hydrogen peroxide, so you're just adding more peroxide at that point. Might as well leave it out.

[@huskydad72]

Just thought I'd mention. Apple cider vinegar works much better and faster than white vinegar for rust. I've used it on motorcycle restoration and its awesome.

[@Thor13332]

I may use this. I have a yellowed Imperial shuttle pod from the old ROTJ line this would be perfect for.

[@jokerproduction5135]

great videos guys keep the videos coming

[@Aprilseahorse]

The Oxiclean eats plastic!

[@RobertReno1]

Here's an idea for removing the rust from those small parts: I wonder how it would fare if you got an inexpensive tumbler/polisher and then chose whatever safe polishing/scraping medium (like walnut shells for example). There are many to choose from, from what I understand. It seems to me that this process would be safer and turn those metal hard to find parts parts into "like new" without damaging them. Then you could brag that they are still original parts! lol Just an idea. :) Good vid! Glad you choose retrobrite process too! Thumbs up!

[@CuteFluff8]

Thank you for this! Amazing video. Very good info. :D

[@irishhips]

Looking forward to part 3 :)

[@professionallyunprofession5729]

I've been going back and watching your videos and I noticed a large gap in retro history. By this I mean the Mego/Takara Micronauts/Microman toy lines. These were really the first fully articulated 3 3/4 action figures and spawned directly from the 12 inch Joes. These figures were way ahead of Star Wars and came out a year earlier. If you are interested in the story of how the line began please contact me. Other than that great job on the videos and keep up the great work. Thanks.

[@retroblasting]

Gabriel Mangum Hard to call it a "gap" when we're not exactly producing videos in a chronological order to history...

[@professionallyunprofession5729]

***** Good point, but I do think that would be a cool video.

[@elizabethlockaby5537]

Hey guys! I know this video is several years old but do you remember where you got the uv light kit? Thanks for the great and very intuitive videos!

[@ryro1975]

Melinda , can you make more 80s horror reviews PLEASE

[@clone_trop_ben6445]

Nice

[@fader2701]

i use the 40 volume cream under a uv cfl bulb from amazon. it works flawlessly without any other ingredients

[@Tclans]

+Richard Ricketts. Wanted to pitch in too and say i did the same. Though i used the sun, therefor it took me two day. Other than that great tutorial.

[@RedUncle]

radical!

[@mrald5924]

Thanks, good stuff! I was inspired to restore a junker that someone had given me years ago. Regarding the motor: Does it naturally spin clockwise (if you were sitting in the cockpit)? Where did you put the oil? On the gear stem, or in one of the holes on that side of the engine? Thanks!

[@mrald5924]

To answer my own question, a working motor spins counter-clockwise, if you are looking from the rear of the ship.

[@cernstormrunner7263]

Would it be a good idea to give the toy a quick clearcoat to keep the oxidation from reoccurring?

[@supersupercookie]

Hi guys, another great video. Couple of questions, what was the arm and hammer baking soda for and How do you clean the blender afterwards? Basically is the wife going to kill me after I try this?

[@retroblasting]

Chris Cooke I don't think cleaning is an issue.

[@robertjones5982]

My 2 gripes about the X- Wing was the R2 Unit was not removeable and the ship its self was not built to scale.

[@ashokupad]

I am thoroughly enjoying your videos, particularly the restorations. A nice mixture of sweet and hilarious, nerdy and nostalgic. Nice work! I'm not sure if you've addressed this in a previous video--but what is the story behind your theme song? How was it written? I can make out a School House Rock influence (The Great American Melting Pot, to be exact), which is appropriate. Are there lyrics? It is clear where the "Re-tro--BLAST-ING!" should go.

[@retroblasting]

ashokupad If you watch the feature videos - MASK, Silverhawks, Ghostbusters, etc - you can see and watch and hear the entire theme song.

[@ashokupad]

***** Oh crap; actually I've already heard it many times, but in the moment I forgot. What I really wanted to ask was whether the lyrics are written out somewhere? And I'm still curious about School House Rock influence. Thanks.

[@retroblasting]

ashokupad It was inspired by the themes to shows like Pole Position and Wheeled Warriors.

[@ashokupad]

***** Thanks, will check those out. Here is the SHR it reminds me of--one of my favs! kzbin.info/www/bejne/eaOapaWVgtFooZY&google_comment_id=z13jgjexjpjaexciw04cg3iqqomgibrrylw0k

[@brett8481]

I've watched some other videos on the retro-brite process, and seen it turn X-Wings and TIE Fighters bright white. I'm a little leery of this, because I don't remember these ships being that white. They were more of a creamy white or off white. I've got my childhood ships from 1978, and my brother's, and they have not seen much yellowing but under the stickers and inside the ships is whiter but not bright white. Of course it's hard to tell the color from a video image, but I think you got the color of this X-Wing much closer to its original color with the restrained treatment.

[@brett8481]

***** Agreed. That's my memory of the white toys then. More creamy or eggshell.

[@brett8481]

***** That would be my concern, that the life of the plastic would be shortened. We don't know how the treated plastic will age for some time. It would be a good idea to apply a little science here, taking some unusable pieces like broken wings of the X-Wings and treating one while leaving another, then store them for some time and see how they age in comparison to each other. My ships are still pretty close to original color, so I'd rather wait and see if they get worse down the line, and how the treatment holds up over time before I would try it on them. Then again if something is totally yellowed and pretty fugly, I suppose it would give it some useful life as a display rather than discard it.

[@brett8481]

***** From the look of it in the video (given the look of something in a pic or vid is never the same as seeing it in person) this X-Wing looks much closer to the off white I remember them being originally, than the retro-brite results I've seen elsewhere. I'd say your timing was pretty good.

[@clive800]

Brett Fraser Take those broken wings and learn to white again, learn to live so clean.

[@smoluk1]

Nice!

[@stevenhibbrt5432]

Xhathum gum sounds like a Star Wars characters name

[@kenneththomas4694]

Would you guys be interested in refurbishing a g I joe sky striker? It has most of the parts just needs some work. The stickers are rough bit the plastic is not yellowed. Would be a great video!!! :)

[@ebkas]

Finally!

[@ryanbarker5217]

have you ever used evapo-rust on hard to clean screws?

[@woofan25]

Love these videos - I'm inspired to do my own restoration on my vintage Star Wars figures. Can you guys recommend a good place get vintage accessories (not 1990s repos?)

[@retroblasting]

Ben Penserga Rebelscum forums.

[@The1queencollector]

excellent video as always, when is part 3 available?

[@willferrellformvp2330]

Rip headphone users with the blender

[@kidcollector776]

Hey Micheal, I recently acquired a 1984 panosh place Hunk that has yellowing on the chest. Do you think that the retrobrite would work on it? as I am afraid of removing paint or damaging the figure.

[@georgecrowder885]

Can you pin your recipe for the brightening formula at the top or in the description? Looks amazing! You guys are my heroes, living the dream!

[@retroblasting]

George Crowder We will post the recipe soon.

[@MorleyRobertson1975]

You DO NOT need to do this! 6% hydrogen peroxide is all you need to bleach out plastic parts. I found this method years ago from "Toy Polloi" and there is no unnecessary and dangerous mixture of chemicals. Your plastic will actually turn out whiter with his method.

[@leeross573]

The x wing i had as a kid I could put R2d2 in it yours is different

[@kenneththomas4694]

Would you guys be interested in refurbishing a g I joe skystriker? It has most of the parts and the plastic is not yellowed. Stickers are a little rough

[@michaelcabrera794]

Michael & Melinda, has any of the whitened plastic re-yellowed after time?

[@retroblasting]

Michael Cabrera Not really. But we didn't push the process.

[@albertmealer3169]

Can I use this cleaning formula on the POTF x wings?

[@aWhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Ha!...I have the same GO-Bot command center.

[@johnfaulk7775]

My Kenner x-wing has upswept wings in the closed position. Is there a fix for that?

[@drapedaddy]

You mention 3 in 1 oil in the video; I'm curious how and where it would be applied. I'm assuming it's used on the motor?

[@retroblasting149]

Yes - use it sparingly. I overused it on my childhood X-Wing and while it doesn't damage anything, my X-Wing has been slowly weeping oil for *months.* On the X-Wing in this video, I was far less liberal with it and it still did the job of loosening up the dynamo nicely. Use it on the gear post and drip it into the holes on the one end of the metal housing. Let it soak in for a while.

[@retroblasting149]

Also, watch our Millennium Falcon restoration series to see where on the motor it is applied. While the motor in the X-Wing cannot be removed, it will show you where on the motor to put the oil.

[@drapedaddy]

***** Thanks for the tip! Looking forward to taking a crack at my old X-Wing. Keep the videos coming!

[@MJKToys]

I opened my 1978 white X-wing to find out it has the later mechanism for the wing button...running change I suppose.

[@phoenix11364]

Do they sell this product already made?

[@cnrrnc5279]

Do you have any idea how to repair a spring-loaded wheel on an MTV-7? The front "leg" on mine appears to have lost its spring. :(

[@retroblasting]

***** No idea. I will look into that. It would be tough. No screws to access the internals.

[@FieroScooter]

so i pulled my x-wing apart and every wire connection has green corrosion all over it. can i clean that stuff? by the way my x-wing is grey in color how ever still has 1978 stamped on the bottom.

[@tombofthesith2024]

+FieroScooter That's when the mold was date marked (1978). The Grey is representative of the Battle Damaged X Wing and KENNER simply kept the mold. As for the green corrosion use CLR. It'll eat away that battery acid residue :)

[@y11851]

thats alsome thank you guys

[@retroblasting]

jok gttt You're welcome!

[@ShadowcasterZero]

I like the retrobright use and review in this video. However, I've come across some cautionary tales of the yellow returning on some computers retrobrighted. (www.classic-computers.org.nz/blog/2013-01-15-retr0bright-only-temporary.htm) is this the case with classic toys like this one? Revenge of the ABS Yellowing?

[@primusvsunicron1]

When will we see the next part?

[@darthnosdrol2220]

does anyone know, what is the equivalent of xanthan gum, in Spanish?

[@retroblasting]

Probably xanthan gum

[@justinenglishh]

how come u just didint paint the rust stain

[@JoelMcLaughlin]

Actually the only thing you need is the kind that is a creme. Look up the 8 bit guy who restores 8 bit computers.

[@blammers]

What the heck does the motor do?

[@retroblasting]

Benbot Makes the sound

[@luke9511]

if yall dont know already this www.sallybeauty.com/creme-developer/SLNCAR63,default,pd.html can replace all of that as it is retro brite in a bottle and you can see it being used here kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIaap4uDmt-Klas

[@Eyebrows842]

really Kenner couldn't see 4 skrews

[@baron7755]

Can I come over and help?

[@CastelDawn]

lol, pointless to fill up the glass with vinagar, just a bit is enough

[@banzaibobA7V]

Worst smoothie ever XD

[@sonydesrosiers]

The worst restoration video I ever seen.

[@plzfollow]

Nice! My light works but my motor doesn't move or make a sound.

[@retroblasting]

VJ PLZ Spin it while batteries are in and the button is depressed. Keep spinning it. It should come to life on its own.

[@plzfollow]

It took about 30 seconds but your tip worked liked a charm!!! :D pew pew pew! So happy I found your channel, keep up the great work in 2015 and beyond!

[@retroblasting]

Well done!

[@kenneththomas4694]

Would you guys be interested in refurbishing a g I joe skystriker? It has most of the parts and the plastic is not yellowed. Stickers are a little rough

[@retroblasting]

Kenneth Thomas Are any of the parts broken? GI Joe vehicles are tough to "fix" like Star Wars vehicles. No screws or detachable parts.

[@TFfan75]

when is the last part coming??