The M12 is the most iconic skate on the marked. It can be best compared to the status of a Converse Allstar shoe. The skate was the first hardboot on the marked in 1981 under the Rollerblade brand and was used for their famous TRS Lightning amon others.. It was released as a Roces skate in 1991 under names such as the ATH, FCO, Street, Lowrider and Impala and was even used as the shell for the Valo brand (2003-2018). Any of these boots can be used to convert to a modern Roces M12 type skate with the Roces M12 soulplate
Note customizing any of these old type of skates is a pretty advanced modification, that will take several hours for you to complete and will go along with the necessary frustrations.
The modification described in this blog post is very similar to the proces needed to put a different brand soulplate on a Razors Cult, Mesmer Throne, Them 909/908 or USD Sway/Zoom. If you can not find the right soulplate for your boot, then look at this article helping you find what aftermarket soulplate fits on what boot:
https://www.thisissoul.com/blogs/custom-tutorials/customizing-your-skate-with-a-different-soulplate
THE SOULPLATE
Things to buy after getting your hands on a pair of vintage Roces boots:
- Roces M12 soulplate
- Roces M12 soulplate bolt set
- Possibly any UFS type frame to go with the new UFS boot you are building
- Possibly wheels and bearings to accommodate your new UFS type frame.
You can buy the soulplate and soulplate bolt set right here:
https://www.thisissoul.com/collections/soulplates/?pf_v_brand=Roces
To know what size soulplate to buy, have a look in your oldschool m12 boot. Take the liner out and search for a number 4, 6, 8, 9.5, 11 or 13. It can be found right here:
These numbers stand for the following soulplate sizes:
4 = 36-38eu
6 = 39-40eu
8 = 41-42eu
9.5= 43-44eu
11 = 45-46eu
13 = 47-49eu
UNMOUNTING THE OLD FRAME
Taking the old frame off of the skate requirs an electric handdril with a 6mm iron drill (dont use the drills ment for wood or concrete)
First take off the liner out of the skate.
Take the skate in one hand and put the drill on each of the rivit heads on the inside of the skate to weaken the rivits. you do not need to drill all the way through and destroy the rivit. If the rivit starts spinning along with the drill then you can try to hold the drill in more of an angle towards it.
Be aware of the drill slipping out of the rivit head and digging a hole in the boot.
If you can not reach the 2 rivits at the toe area then just leave them
Because you now weakened allot of the rivits you can try your first attemt to take the frame off of the boot.
To do this take the strongest, thickest slotted screwdriver and jam it in the little space under the heel between the shell and the frame. If you manage to jam it in, then wiggle and use the leverage to pull the frame and boot appart. Do this in multiple spots untill it all comes loose.
NEW HOLES
Now that you only have the shell in your hands, you might notice that the soulplate bolt holes are almost identical to the holes on the shell. You will only need to drill out the holes in the shell a bit to accomodate the soulplate bolt t-nuts. Use a 5.5mm or 6mm iron drill for this.
MOUNTING THE SOULPLATE
First thing before mounting the soulplate is to check if the UFS T-nuts are attached on the soulplate. 2 of them. you are going to hate yourself if you are all done and find out they are not there.
You are probably going to destroy one or two of the bolts or T-nuts in your attemt to mount the soulplate. First do all of them loosly and only then when you have them all in make sure that they are tight.
If one or a few of the holes in the shell and the new soulplate dont align properly and you start to cry because it already took too long, then the best thing to do is to take your drill again and re-drill the hole in the both the soulplate and shell, when the soulplate is already attached on the boot with a few of the other bolts.
THE REST
If you manage to have the soulplate correctly mounted, then congratulations! The rest should be peanuts for somebody like you.
