Basic Mech Maintenance
               copyright 2003 by Dave Van Domelen

     This file is intended to help those of you without extensive rebuilding
and modification experience tweak your Mechwarrior figures and fix minor
problems.  It will not cover more advanced repairs, such as those that
require building new joints or gluing tricky bits.  If you have the tools for
more advanced work and want advice, feel free to ask me at dvandom@eyrie.org,
but this file is for those who only have common household stuff and no real
experience.  

WARPED PARTS:

     Warped pieces are probably the most common problem with ClickyGame
units.  No matter how careful they are with packaging, you'll end up with
drooping axes, bent barrels and flattened infantry.  Fortunately, the plastic
has a sort of "memory" of its original shape, and can be coaxed back into
position.  
     Application of heat will let you unwarp bent pieces.  For thinner bits a
soldering iron held near the part will do a good job, but it's not really
appropriate for a thicker piece, like a Mech leg or a cannon barrel.  Hot tap
water is hot enough to let you reshape most parts (I reshaped the bent leg of
my Catapult with it), but do remember to remove all the bits with paper first
(more on that below). 
     After the piece is in the desired position, switch to cold water to
"fix" it there.  
     You can also deliberately introduce a warp if you want to reposition a
limb or an infantry unit.  If you go away from the original mold shape it
might not stay for long, but small changes are usually held.

PAINT LOCK:

     Sometimes a joint will get "paint lock" and may snap before it can turn.
Sticking the figure in the freezer will help stiffen the plastic to the point
where you can safely break paint lock.  I tried heat expansion first, but the
softening of the peg outweighed the size increase of the hole.  WARNING!
Cold also makes the plastic more brittle, and you can snap a limb off,
especially on badly designed joints like the Ryoken II's.
     If the paint lock is particularly bad, running the joint under water
before sticking the figure in the freezer seems to help.  The expanding water
in the cracks forces bits apart and helps unlock joints.
     Also, if it's humid at the time, you may want to remove the dials before
putting the unit in the freezer.  A cold figure taken out of the freezer will
get water condensing on it, which can damage the dial stickers.

BROKEN PIECES:

     Sometimes superglue will fix a break, especially if it's not right at a
joint.  I recommend a gel superglue.  Most breaks are pretty tricky to deal
with, especially ones caused by paint lock, and you might be better off
taking advantage of WizKids' replacement policy if the unit was broken in the
box (or broke the first time you tried to move it, thanks to paint lock).

STICKY MAIN DIALS: 

     Sometimes a dial won't turn well.  Pop it off either with fingernails or
a thin knife.  Exactly how depends on the kind of unit:
     - Mech: Warp the base and pull away three adjacent gripping parts.  This
will usually let you pop it off the rest of the way.  Alternately, insert a
thin knife between the halves at one of the low parts of the bottom.  But be
careful you don't carve up the sticker.
     - Vehicle: Just pull down hard on the lip of the moving part, it'll pop
right out.
     - Infantry: Pretty much requires a knife inserted up between the halves
of the base.
     Once the base is separated, take a knife and scrape (DO NOT CUT) at the
inner wheel part (the bottom piece on infy and vehicles, the upper piece on
Mechs) to remove bumps and generally reduce the size.  Also be sure to remove
dials this way before putting a piece in the hot water flow.

HEAT DIAL REMOVAL: 

     Carefully use a pliers (or your teeth if you insist) to pull a heat dial
straight out.  You may need to do this to either reposition stickers, or glue
down a sticker that's coming loose.  You will also want to do this before
running any Mech under hot water.  Pushing straight in to replace the dial
may require more force than you're comfortable with, pressing the dial grip
against a tabletop or wall helps.

MISAPPLIED STICKERS: 

     This is tricky.  You can USUALLY pry up a sticker with a very thin
blade, then carefully reapply it.  Because a heat dial sticker sticks to
itself and not just to plastic, it can be hard to get back down after
repositioning.  You may need to use a tiny bit of glue, then let the dial dry
overnight before putting it back into the base.