Crap. If Arcee was in stock or preorder, it's out of stock now... I want another. Did my mods on her. She looks real sweet. But I want another to see if I can do a "more clean" mod. Btw, when I did my mod, I only realized after the fact (& after I kinda messed up some stuff) that you can disconnect the front waist piece entirely from the front of the car/robot chest. then when you do the mods, you can attach the upper part of the cut off waist to the rest of her torso. That way there's no piece to flip over on car mode, it all fits underneath. I know I made that sound more complicated than it actually was...
You know that the waist mod sacrifices the storage for her smaller gun, which also pegs her hands in place?
Well, I managed to get another Arcee. Now I see why her stomach was designed the way it was. Thanks to blastpak for mentioning that her smaller gun stores under the car mode and the hands plug into it to hold everything together. It's an interesting design to do that. Now I don't know if I wanna do another waist mod or not lol
Thanks for the idea for the flightpack Goosefish! I combined your idea with Naztok's to remove the back kibble. here: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-feedback/1003537-generations-deluxe-arcee-44.html I cut down the friction clips so that the piece could come off and go in easier. Looks a little more G1ish with those nacelles separated and a less heavy back.
I've been trying to remove the friction clip from the takara version but those friction joints don't want to budge and I don't want to bend or break it. Update(and now the waist snapped) Glued it together, but had to order another arcee. Any tips in case I want attempt this again?
I tried this again last night for my buddy's Arcee and broke her waist too. Guess I was lucky with mine. I popped it out from the inside no problem and on his I tried a flathead from the back but made the mistake to use the lower waist as leverage. Maybe a bath in hot water is the solution to soften up the joint. I also think it really has to do with the angle it is pulled out. Sorry this happened to yours too.
Hello, I've been following this thread without posting for a little while. I worked on applying all of the mods with an exception of the waist ball joint modification. Also a few of my own involving paint (and the removal of some for a different effect regarding the face). Sorry for the shoddy quality I don't have a very good camera for the current lighting conditions. Or a very good camera— period! Regarding Arcee’s colour scheme… The paint modifications were a personal touch of mine, that includes, but is not limited to; her face plate, her forehelm, and her aft in addition to some touch ups. I used an ultra fine point sharpie permanent marker in hot pink for Arcee’s lips. (This comes off her face with rubbing alcohol if you make a mistake the first time.) I rubbed away at half of Arcee’s factory pale pink face paint leaving behind white parts to give the illusion of shading. The Aqua/tiffany blue dot on her forehelm was painted on using “Shell Me More” by Pop Arazzi an acrylic based nail polish. While Her aft was painted with “Tip Toe Pink” by Milani an alcohol based nail polish. Bonus: After cutting, filing, and what have you. To smooth down those parts even more, get a very thin q-tip (or pluck at the head a bunch) and a container of 100% acetone. If interior matters to you in cleanness as well as exterior then you can get very nice clean results on the inside by using acetone by lightly rubbing the plastic so it melts into place. You can even use it to melt away pesky parts of the plastic alternatively to cutting and filing too! As I did for the small peg on the inside of the fender here ⇨ This is not an actual photo of mine, but mocked up to look like what I did. My result came out smoother looking than my digital edit mocked up to look like what I did. I didn't think to photograph it before assembling it and I really don't want to unscrew everything. Sorry. ☆If you end up using acetone I recommend using a mask and an open window!!! Super toxic!☆ I have a few questions for anyone willing to provide an answer… What tools should I use to cut Arcee in half? I am considering shop tools because I know a carpenter that has a few cutting saws (that also work on plastic). Also how does one fashion a ball socket joint? Can these be purchased online or at a hobbies shop? I noticed the ball socket images explained in Taiwanese (Chinese). I unfortunately couldn't follow, but the pictures were very helpful at least I have some idea. ( ᵔ◡ᵔ; ) Also what colour are Arcee's ankles suppose to be? Pink, Black, Dark grey or is white actually the colour? Absolutely love the tips and awesome walk throughs everyone here is super informative!
Alternate solution — If you're not able to afford such a tool use a small flathead or tooth pick and dip it in 100% acetone (this is nail polish remover of the strongest type). Repeat diping and light touching and rubbing to the plastic to melt away the pin connection by dipping and running the acetone over it. Takes a lot of time and is also very toxic! Recomend an open window and mask! It loosens it up qute a bit, but there are better methods posted in here. However I just thought I'd throw this in here.
Thanks for adding to this awesome thread. As far as cutting tools, for this I'd use a hacksaw with a fine tooth blade. I find that the flat blade of a standard sized hacksaw keeps the cut straight. But practice on a junker first! Ball socket joints are available here and there but getting harder to find. Hobbybase is a brand but be sure you check what you are actually ordering. Some sites have a stock photo that isn't necessarily the size/type you'll get. Another option is cannibalize old figures. There was also a tutorial on how to make a balljoint socket side for any sized ball side, but I can't find it. Good luck, thanks again.
Minor/Repaint: - Modified G1 Arcee After months upon months of searching, I found a thread explaining a modified version of the process right here you’re welcome lads
