Wow I didn't realize that you had posted this a year ago. Don't know how I missed it. It never ceases to amaze me the great work that is on this site. We are pretty lucky it can all be archived here. I've checked out some of your other work too. All very nice, really like Masterpiece Skids. Whoever started all this reshelling/utilizing model cars must be some kind of mad genius.
It's customs like this that actually make me want to start collecting G1 figures. I would LOVE to see a tutorial on how to do this! It's way overdue. (Apparently...)
Looking at this again, you said the part you cut to make the arms higher is permanently attached that way? How does it transform if that is the case? I had to make that part a thin moving styrene joint on mine. That thin styrene on Ironhide busted months ago, if I could fix it without having to use a joint that would be great.
That's cool. Sometimes you have to take a break on stuff so you don't get burned out and you never want to do it again. It sounds like you almost did burn yourself out, so I'm glad you took a break. In my opinion, you are one of the best styrene builders here and I would have hated to not have any more of your work to be inspired by. I only wanted to revive this thread to remind you and others of the awesome work you've already done and not too nag you or anything. Take your time man.
Thanks! Alright, so the arm hinge actually stays exactly where it does in vehicle mode. It sits a little lower than your version, but I thought this would be more solid. What it did was first add in some styrene to build a solid connection point between the body frame and the black arm joint. Then, once that was secure, I cut the arm joint away from the black frame that rotates with the chest. So now, the chest rotates, but the arms stay where they were. Then, you just rotate the arm up into position. This pic kinda illustrates it. You can see the added styrene connecting the arm joint to the body frame: Yep, totally. I was definitely getting burnt out, but getting back in with that MP Jetfire a couple months back really ignited the spark again. Looking forward to finishing up some long delayed projects, including these guys. Probably still gonna be a couple months...I've got an overdue commission piece that comes first.
Yeah, burnout from projects can really hit hard, especially if you've been working on a project for some time. I like the mods you made to Ratchet; it really brings this figure to life!
Oh, I get it. That's way smarter than what I did, I made it needlessly complex. I'm changing mine to do that ASAP. Thanks!
Here here! I love this upgrade, I'd love to try it on my own Ratchet figure! Please make a step-by step!
What an awesome project. Love the ideas that went into this and your ironhide looks brilliant. Still g1 but looks so much better and fits into the mix perfectly next to Prime and Prowl. Congrats.
Wow! I just had my Masterpiece Ironhide out and was playing with it and wondered about a few details on the sled. One google search later I ended up looking at your masterpiece here! Holy cow, this is a great piece. I wonder whether the Takara Tomy staff took a peek at these details when designing the toy released in 2016... Really nice, @Jarrod. Sorry I'm a few years late to the party!
Haha, thanks for reminding me that I still haven't finished these...5(!) years later! Maybe this year....
Hey Man, I was looking to upgrade my g1 Ironhide and Ratchet when I ran across yours.. They look awesome!! I wish I could get you to upgrade mine.. I'd pay you to do it.
Haha, wow, what brought this up again? Anyway, I have still, unsurprisingly, not even finished my two! I'm long out of the commission business too, unfortunately.
Well, your idea here is a classic, my man! it has been granted immortality in the annals of the Radicons.
