need to add some structural beef to the torso, maybe some bars reaching across. The arms pull the torso apart. I'll figure out something!
how about a custom made plate that holds it all together?....maybe have it latch onto the wheels there....
Idea: Give Motormaster some really big smokestacks in truck mode (even better if they're rediculously beyond child safety limits, serving a dual purpose of being awesome and showing just how much MM cares about the safety of human kids) that can attach in Menasor mode to act as crossbar supports to hold the combiner's top together
Can't wait to see this finished. Your heavy mods on this are what got me into customizing large scale stuff. Keep up the awesome work man.
The more i looked, and with a couple extra opinions, i've decided the shoulders are too wide. here's my first attempt at shortening that gap.
I've use many of those parts before, but can they really hold that weight well? or did you do something extra to tighten them up?
Surprisingly the arms aren't that heavy. but yes, they hold weight extremely well. other than kludging two pieces together, i didn't do anything to the joints to make them hold more. i've tested them by having the combined form reaching up. They stay! Also - just to clarify, there IS a chest plate, not seen in these last pictures. there will still need to be some sort of stabilizer inside. in the pics above, you see the Bulkhead caboose with what looks like 2 grey flathead screws. They are more of the two sided pins. They allow the chestplate to peg on, and the bumper to peg on in alt mode. Kalron, thanks brother!!
Aaaaawwww... Cute little kitty, and wow. What a difference the modded shoulder connectors make to Menasor man, looking REALLY good my friend
I like the new legs, although I can't tell if they're meant to look that way for MM himself or the Menasor combination. And looking at the awesome pic of the now-with-arms Menasor, I'm looking at those hip joints and I've got some concerns. It looks like you'll be using MM's own legs as Menasor's, but if that's the case then you'll be putting a TON of weight stress on those hips and I'm not sure Gimlock's ips were build to handle half a Bulkhead leader, two deluxes, and extra combiner kibble. I'm thinking maybe modifying the hips so that they are on strong ratchet joints (Cybertron Leader Prime hips, maybe?) could help make the combined mode more sturdy under its own weight somehow.
Good call, definitely. I'd really like to see if i can swap out hips to ankles from Grim to OP, but if i can put a ratchet in there that'd be nice. I don't want to use MM's legs as Menasor's legs PROPER, but perhaps backwards and use the MM shins as the Menasor thighs. Regardless, definitely stuff to look into. EDIT: Ok, i want to replace the shoulder socket with something that ratchets. any thoughts?
Anything from Cybertron that had strong ratchets could work. Like Cybertron Prime or Metroplex. The strongest I can think of would have to come from a Leader class figure or larger, such as the planetary gods or Cybertron supreme Starscream, or maybe even that supreme Optimus figure. It would sort of clash with the asthetics, since because of the ratchet size you'd possibly need to swap out the entire hip assembly and that could screw with the transformation of Motormaster himself... *inspiration strikes, quickly runs upstairs to grab Leader Megatron* Y'know...looking at my Ani. Leader Megatron, he's got some decent ratchets in his hips (I can hold the figure vertically by only his lower legs and the ratchets do not allow the clearly heavier upper body to follow gravity's pull), and while I don't have an Animated Grimlock I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to say you could swap out Grimlock's hips for Leader Megatron's while retaining the small upper thighs/legs and the Animated asthetic. The knees are also pretty good, so together they might have a shot at being able to support Menasor's upper body. In combined mode, that would look odd even by Animated standards to have such skinny upper legs, but you could possibly use the lower legs of Ani. Leader Megs (the shells that flip around to from the tail end of the helicopter) as combiner kibble "armor" that bulks up the upper legs.
definitely stuff to chew on. I appreciate your input!! as for transformation, as long as it can be installed, there is PLENTY of room to put bigger hips in. Also, with the original configuration - the plan was to splay the upper legs like he's doing a split, cover that with a bulkhead codpiece, and that was the pelvis. The upper legs would be part of that. The lower legs would be Menasor's thighs.
This may do the trick. It's the remnants of a Lockdown torso. I still need to remove the arms. Don't mind the first pic, it's a cellphone pic..
