So here is what we are gonona try and accomplish today


the first thing i noticed when i got kup was how much i disliked his arm pads they hindered everything so i saught out to fix it at any cost!!!!

and as much as i hate parts forming due to transformation i couldnt find any other options but i am super pleased with the look and well who cares if he parts forms he's kup!

things required



a soldering iron (for pin removal)
a drill
and a 5/32 drill bit

and a kup

first up we are gonna remove the pins from his forearms so we can take thte door panel off (which would be in the pic below if i hadnt done it already but lets pretend there is a pin here.


now take your soldering iron and place it on the top of that pin for 30-45 seconds (the goal here is to make the pin hot enough to make the plastic soft and if you go too long on this it may deform the plastic)


once you heat the pin enough the door panel will come off with very little effort like so





part 2 of this is to make a hole in the back of the leg using the 5/32 drill bit
now i have already done this on mine, and i dont have any pics of it before the holes were made so again we are gonna use our imagination (that sounds so lame) but as you are looking at some of the detail on the legs noice the things that kind of resemble mufflers parallel to each wheel. i used these for a starting point for the holes i drilled. on the outside half of the leg in the second notch down take your exacto knife and make a starter hole so when you start to drill the bit will not walk.



now that you have marked the whole drill it out



now test fit you panel to see if it works (and it should)



and that is it you are done!! and you should be left with this







and to transform him back to truck all you do is put the panels back where they go on the arm (just dont put the pin back in)



and you get an arm just like this


and you can transform him just like you did before the panels were removed




none of this affects poseability either so there you go if you feel the same way i did, here is the means to change it!

guns gracioulsy donated by ROTF brawn

thanks guys hope you enjoyed and that it helps

 

Interesting, I'm going a different route with it but I like this.

 

nice. i have a kup on the way to me and i may just have to do that. i might see if i can do something about the wheels near his shoulders when i get the figure.

 

i really wanted to put a hinge on the back of the knee, but the hands are in the way so i just said screw it and when with this (mine stay in bot mode anyway)

 

Nice work! And I thought I was being original when I found Brawn the other day and immediately gave Kup his guns. They look damn close to Kup's guns in AHM.

 

Good concept. My only gripe, other than the head was the panels on his arms.

 

wow killer job.

 

Nice job. Where did you get the guns?

 

cool mod bro
that terrarium is still empty ?

 

Ya I'm slacking ..... and I don't know what to put back in it

 

Great idea! IMHO, partsforming is fine if it results in a better figure, what this do.

I carved off some of the backs of his thighs to let the knees bend further, so I might have a little interefence with your mod, but I'll give it a try.

 

Parts former Kup ? Why not , it made him look better  

 

Great mod! I was trying to figure out a way to instal hinge so maybe they would at least fold in half or something, but this is better and much easier. Will definitely do this one!

 

So you had the same in mind. Looks better w/out panels:Race

 

This looks cool! If some of the rest of you guys do this, be sure to take some in-progress photos! I think this tutorial is taking off  

 

To remove the arm pads did you need to heat the pin with the soldering iron? I can't think of another way they would be detachable.

Looks brilliant btw.

 

I initially wished Hasbro had hinged the door panels onto the legs, but the legs look too bulky already. Then, maybe the backpack. Either way, once the panels are removed, the arms look unproportionately thin. If they folded onto themselves, as it has been suggested, it would be an improvement.

I really dislike arm panels, like in the Sideswipe/Suntreaker mold, but mostly in the Astrotrain mode.

 

Nice work. Got my igear head today and did the arm mod all in like 5-10 minutes

 

WAAAAAAAAY better!! I am doing this tonight, excellent and thanks!!

 

glad this is taking off and i wasnt the only one (i cant wait to get the iger head)

and to answer your question Lord T

yes you take a soldering iron and hold it on the top part of the pin for 30-45 seconds (depends on the iron) and you can pull the panel right off. but i will see you need a fine tipped soldering iron i always use a butane one i got at radioshack

good luck and if you guys need more pics (allen if you need them for a tutorial) i would be happy to add them to the original post and expain more


And I missed that link you provided simonatmac. I guess great minds think alike