So, as some of you may have known, this happened. The shoulder connector stalk snapped off. After taking it apart to repair it, I could see the problem. It is a very weak piece. So I made a direct copy of the other side. That side too ended up breaking straight away, just like the original. So I figured, "Hey, just make it one solid piece instead of three, but still leave the ratchets so it can move." And that's what I did. You can see how the original broke, and my first copy broke exactly the same way. I needed to prevent this, so instead of using 3 case parts I just made it work with one. I made a copy of the piece that I wanted and got the inside how I wanted it. Then I made a mold and cast the piece in resin. You can also see I used too much resin and came away with too much flashing. Here I dry tested the new shoulder connector port, just to make sure everything is fine. It ratchets and everything! Next I just added a quick coat of paint. It doesn't have to be perfect, because it's really going to spend most of its life inside the port. Here I used Gunmetal Gray. Gunship would have been closer, but all I had was enamel and I wasn't willing to rish a violent reaction. My Menasaur is complete for the first time in as long as I can remember! He sports full articulation! I'm not going to go all Vangelus and throw him against the wall, but he can hold his poses. My favorite combiners. Well, minus Rex and MBC. And adding Intimator. Not actually a fan of the guy. But at least he's got both arms now! Yay! Thanks for looking!
Okay, I've had a few people ask for these now, so here are the prices. 2 Intimidator shoulder pieces, cast, sanded and painted: $20. Unpainted: $15 Just one piece: please contact. Shipping will be under $5. LMK if y'all are interested! I am more than happy to help out my fellow fans.
The first batch is ready to go out. Thank you to everyone who ordered a set! Would y'all like to to do an installation guide?
Do I need to hot iron the pins on the outer shoulder? I got my set today. The piece I am asking about is the connector for the limb piece
So you do have to completely disassemble the shoulder assembly. Twist the last piece out to get it all to come apart. The replacement is solid, and working nicely!
Hey, Received your package. I tried inserting them into the port hole. I realize that some tabs have to be removed in order to insert the port into the shoulder hole. I removed the smaller tab. As the new port is inserted into the shoulder hole, it's a nice tight fit. But as I rotate the port, the main tab broke off. After removal of the main tab, it's still a nice fit and enough friction to hold the arm in various positions. Thanks for the replacement part, I will use this when my Intimidator plastic wares off over-time. I noticed that when you rotate the arm, the 2 clips (the ones that i broke off on the new replacement parts) are spring-loaded on the original port. When you rotate the arm, the shoulder port causes stress on the plastic area that supports the shoulder (that's the part that broke off on TM2 Dinobot's Intimidator). There is a trick to reduce this stress on Intimidator's shoulder, I did this several weeks after owning Intimidator (almost a year ago) and noticing that it's putting a lot of stress on that weak spot on the shoulder when I rotate the shoulders w/ the cars on it. You can dis-assemble that port w/ 2 clips/tabs and cut a small amount of spring off. Just like how you lower your HONDA CIVIC w/ out buying new shorter springs, you can cut off some of the oringinal spring (one small spring at a time, don't over cut but cut as much as you need as you re-assemble and test your new spring results). You can cut small pieces of the spring until you achieve a result when rotating the arm; it will not put any stress on the weak spot area. The pro result is less stress on the shoulder portion of the port and your Intimidator will last longer. The con result is that the arms can lose traction and cannot perform a stable arm pose. Personally, i rather sacrifice a lil bit of arm stability than breaking the shoulder port. Feel free to experiment this on your remaining functional side of Intimidator, just cut very small portions of the spring-loaded 2 clip/tabs and rotate the arms to make sure it doesn't stress out Intimidators shoulder. You will lose some arm stability but it will reduce the stress on the shoulder area. Mikey
Thanks Nelix! I've been meaning to make an installation video actually, or a photoguide at the very least. Key points: Because they are no longer spring loaded, there is a smaller tab on the top of the piston that needs to be sanded down at your discretion. Secondly, the shoulder, when installed, needs to be not screwed in all the way. Again, because it is a solid piece instead of spring loaded. I will try and take some photos at the very least this week.
