Doing some upgrades to old Ironhide - I rebuilt his shoulders to go higher, I built him a clip-on crotchplate from scratch, and I've done some work on his legs and hips to fill in the gaps. The head is from the Ironhide/Ratchet add-on set. He still transforms, no partsforming at all - the seat the head attaches to swings back and allows the head to fold down. Attached is a closeup of the new arm joint - I simply cut off the arm hinge, slotted a styrene extender into it and screwed it into the black post that his chest hinges on. It swings down and allows the arm to sit correctly. Not too hard to do if you are careful. You also have to make a tiny bit of clearance for the new joint inside the arms so they sit flush again in alt mode. Thanks to L_K and Pun-3X for the arm idea and tips. Next up, on to Ratchet! UPDATES: Created a joint in his ankle to lengthen his legs, gave him the ability to hold his gun. MORE UPDATES: added working elbows (thanks turboedguy)
I am really liking this. I like how it is simple, yet makes a huge difference. Is there any effect on transformation? It looks like it may get caught on that styrene when his arms fold back.
Nope, no effect on transformation. Like I mentioned, you have to hollow out a tiny bit inside the arms to make them fit perfectly flush again in van mode, otherwise they stick out a bit thanks to the styrene panels. You could probably recess the new styrene parts into the black plastic and avoid that. Maybe I'll try that on Ratchet.
Just got them today. Updated first post with finalized pics. I added the head and chromed the waist part. I'm finally not ashamed to own him. I'm considering making the boxes on his thighs slide in a tad, I think that would help a lot as well. LOL at the star ratings - somebody's got a grudge and a posse. Oh noes!
Great job with the mod. If I ever get gutsy enough, I might take mine to this step some day. You definitely pulled it off quite nicely.
Looks fantastic, hope you'll do Ratchet as well. Did you get the parts locally? I may attempt this myself. And thanks for not wasting everyone's time and reporting a low star rating as trolling.
I got everything locally but the head. They have everything needed at the Hobby Center on Penn Ave. PM me if you want part #s and such. I just did another mod to him as well - the head no longer has to come off to transform him. The seat it's attached to can now swing back and provides clearance for it to fold in. All you have to do is cut off the tab on the seat that plugs into the dashboard. 100% no partsforming (except the sled, obviously). Thanks, I probably wouldn't have attempted it if not for your input and you trying it first!
awesome work, i love that there is no parts forming on it, too bad they couldn't have modified the mold like this when they originally released him
