Image set 3 for the posts

This is just a image set update to comply with the forum rule. All updates will be made to the first post  

Thank you all for taking such interests on this project.

Zebu.

 

Image set 4 for the posts

This is just a image set update to comply with the forum rule. All updates will be made to the first post

Thank you all for taking such interests on this project.

Zebu.

 

Great idea. When in doubt, call it a "Mech Tech!".... that may become my new motto  

Honestly, I got lucky with fitting PC into his forearms (I cut first and ask questions later he he).

Yes. Exactly  

I like my IH tall and with big-O ape hands. He looks very sexy now don't you think?  

Bull... huh? Perhaps I can add some horns to him? LOL? Just kidding. I think I'll paint the body without LED and add custome made MechTech weapons with LED like MaverickPrime mentioned above.

 

Photos for update 3: Weapons  

All updates are posted to the original post.

Thanks for reading~

Zebu

 

That's looking great! I tried your pin mod last night to attach the doors to the truck and it worked like a charm. I used my dremel and it didn't take long at all.

Unfortunately, I can't go to the first post in this thread. It loads way too slowly. I wonder if it would work better to put different mods in different posts, and just put links to the individual mods in the first post. You could edit the posts you've already created as needed...

 

Update 1: Arm kibbles MOD

Update 1 (15 AUG 2011)

Arm Kibbles

1. I was highly inspired by http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radic...-arm-kibble-removed-mod-bonus-sneak-peak.html. Here is some WIP pictures. First, remove the pin... It's fairly easy to do. I've used a small nail and a hammer... nothing fancy. Just be mindful of the direction. It is also a good idea to put something on the other side of the pin hole. I used a paint bottle.






2. Here is IH without his arm kibbles. At this time I was thinking....(SH!T, now what? LOL)


3. I've installed neodymium magnets (10mm) from "K&J Magnetics" to hold the kibbles in the right places. Now, these are very powerful magnets. How strong? Well, check it out~


4. I've used some epoxy to secure the magnets to the IH arm kibbles and window (marked the attractive sides to track them).





5. I've also added small magnets (3mm) to his left mech tech cover to keep it from flapping around.



7. Now, this is where it got interesting. I liked the magnet idea but also wanted to retain the ability to secure the arm kibbles back to orginal place during tranformation. These arm kibbles being secured by the pin does help the "alt mode" to stay tightly secured in its place. I didn't know how to accomplish it. So...... I just...."started cutting SH!T" LOL.



8. Seriously though, all I did was put the pin back in its place and cut it little bit pass the original pin hole.


9. I've carefully filed the excessive pin bits (seriously, it was a "very slow and painful" process. I've filed it one stroke at a time until the desired length was accomplished).



10. Next, I've made small grooves on the arm kibbles so that it will snap on to the orginal place.


11. Here is the kibble snapped back into its original place and holding the entire figure. Now, we have best of both worlds~!!


12. Here are some finished shots and close-up details





Oh, by the way, I've changed his head LED to blue. It is a bit too bright at the moment but it will be dimmed once I paint the eyes.

Thanks for reading~

Zebu

 

Update 2: Leg MOD

Update 2 (16 AUG 2011)

Leg Mod

Today, my IH went under the knife (well, dremel to be exact  ).

It is faily straight foward process. I really took my time making small cuts so I won't cut away anymore than what was absoultely necessary.

1. To start, I've marked the area that needed to be cut away. Then.... just start cutting SH!T LOL...
Seriously though, I've put some detail shots as reference photos. I hope these will help.








2. IH's knee joints have total of 7 rachet levels. However, his right leg only uses 2 levels (so only one click) and his left leg uses 3 levels (which gives 2 clicks). After MOD, both knee joints use 5 rachet levels and give about 90 degrees of mobility.

Before: Right Leg maximum extensions.


After: Right Leg maximum extensions.


Before: Right Leg minimal extensions.


After Right Leg minimal extensions.


Before: Left Leg maximum extensions:


After: Left Leg maximum extensions:


Before: Left Leg minimum extensions:


After: Left Leg minimum extension:


3. Here is IH with leg MOD.

Frontal view:


Side view: I did different arm kibble configurations. The front window is transformed correctly (as shown on the instruction. Arm kibbles stay nicely).


Rear view: You can see the arm kibble configuration that is different than upate 1.


Here are mobility shots with his knees bent all the way.



IH walking straight saying "Who want some!?"




Thanks for reading~

Zebu 

 

Hey I took advice and moved the posts on different pages. I hope this will decrease the loading time. First page will only have the latest updates.

Thanks  

 

Thank YOU! You're putting a lot of great work and time into this so everyone can see it  

 

No problem. I'm glad people find it useful.

 

I have an idea but it will make the figure more fragile.

Yes, I totally agree. However, I couldn't come up with any easy fix. Perhaps it will be done on "DOTM Leader Class Ironhide Project MKII by Zebu" (hint hint  ).

I agree with you. I hate it when figure is so fragile, that it can not be play with.

 

DOTM Leader Class Ironhide hang upgrade:
________________________________________________________________

I found this 1/60 (1/72) gundam hands from G-system on e-bay:
G System - 1/60 or 1/72 Injection Made Full-Action Hand | eBay

This was also discussed on this forum as well :http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/creative-general-discussion/327740-wanted-gundam-1-60-hands.html

Well here we go~

HANDS:

1. Articulated hand set from G-system comes in a package like this.


2. Here is a quick size comparison with "a pathetic excuse for figure hand that is called" original leader class ironhide hand.


3. I've used left over PC(polycap) joint from my Gundam Model kits.


4. Following few steps will test your nerves......first~ CUT THE HANDS OFF!


5. Drill a hole using dremel tools. Start small and go larger (to decrease the chance of making mistake). Test fit PC often to make sure that holes are not too big.



6. Once desired size of hole is made, secure the PC using epoxy.



7. This step is not required, but I've added some detail using styrene strips.



8. Sanded, surfaced, airbrushed (Mr. Color Flat Black), and dry brushed (Mr. Color Chrome Silver).


9. Here is Ironhide with "Hand Job" completed (LOL I couldn't help it~)  


10. Does he transform? Absoutely! My custom "transformers" WILL "transform" no matter how much custom works go into them. Notice the only differences are that his thumbs must be tucked to the side and fists are upside down.




_________________________________________________________________

Now, some may think that his hands are out of proportion. I respectfully disagree. As you can see from following action shots, his new hands fits perfectly with his overall proportion and give his "Gorilla" like presence and "personality" he he he.

To start off, here is Ironhide holding his old hand and gives "thumbs down"  


Ironhide in Autobot Hangar with closed fists




Ironhide with gatling gun. "Ironhide LIKEY~"




Ironhide asks if he can use Lennox's bike for his weapons upgrade 




"You feeling lucky punk!?"


Ironhide says PEACE!


Ironhide rests on Hangar railings.



________________________________________

 

Picture sets #2 for weapons update

Hello, this is just an addtional pcitures for my IH weapons upgrade. See first post for the latest updates  

Zebu

 

Weapons are done~

Next step is paiting and then.... find this baby a nice home!  

Thanks

Zebu

 

Hey man you should put the big guns that he had hanging on his back . Can't wait to see it finished . Great job man .

 

This is just amazing.

 

Update 3 (18 AUG 2011)

Weapons

1. I used ROTF Voyager Ironhide's weapons. I wanted to add LED and add details and have them attach to the figure in robot, alt, and weaponized modes.

Here is some interesting procedure for LED. I found this "safety light LED" at the store. It is called "Nite Ize" it costs about $5 and store had both white and red.


2. Here you can see, the entire LED assembly comes apart and it has toggle button that turn on LED on first push, make LED blink rapidly on second and off on third. I thought it would be awesome if I could intergrate this system into the IH weapons.....so...... here....we.... go......


3. As I do with all my project when I have very good idea but unsure of the exactly how I should go about executing it (in another word, when I "doubt"), I just started to cut IH weapons apart. You can see picuturs below for reference.



4. Next, I dug groove and tunnel inside of the grey tube for pushing mechanism (will show later in WIP).


5. I've also used "Rain dot" sticker (got them from wal-mart awhile ago) to add some details to weapons.



6. Using epoxy, I've reassembled the weapon (left weapon) as shown below.


7. Using left over spur three from gundam model, I made a "push rod" for the taggole switch of LEDs.



8. Notice the toggle switch shown below (marked as red X)? the "push rod" will go in there and secured by the rear cap of the weapon itself.



9. Now, on to IH's right arm weapon. Here is the cut reference picture.


10. Just like his left weapon, I've dug a groove and tunnels inside of the grey tube.
NOTE:His right weapon had many gears and parts I had to gut large amount of plastics out.



11. Here is reassembly picture (using epoxy).


12. and zebu said..."LET THERE BE LIGHT!". Cool huh? again, one push they turn on, second push they blink, and third push to turn off (I will post video link later.... much later  ).


13. Now to attach the weapons. For vehicle, magnets that were installed for his arm kibbles do just fine for the "weponized mode". For his vehicle mode, I've used a material called "polymer plate". "Polymer plate" has UV sensetive plastic side and steel plate on the other side. In short, it is an art supply and my wife (who is an awesome artist) happens to have some for me to use. Why did I used "polymar plate"? Well as you can see below, it can easily glued to plastic using modeling glue(with out using super glue and have ugly white stuff all over) and essentially, my IH now have steel plate on the back part of truck to attach his new weapons. The "polymar plate" itself is only about 2 mm so it does not interfere with the figure at all. I am sure that after I paint the figure, you can't even notice that there is anything different about my IH except magnet attaches to its back very firmly.



14. Lastly, for his robot mode, I've added two magnets to his arm kibble attachment part.


15. Here are more pictures after detail and painting of the weapons. To start, you can see all the magnets and steel plate installed (marked with red circles).


16. Here is IH with vehicle mode with his new Mech Tech weapons attached to his back. The weapons themselves attached each other with hinge so it has great mobility.



17. Is the attachment strong enough? YES, as you can see you can flip it upside down and it won't come off.


18. You can store his new Mech Tech like this.


19. Here is his weaponized mode with his Mech Tech attached to the side (lower magnet that is also used to attach his arm kibbles to his back).




20. here is his weaponized mode with his Mech Tech attached to the window (higher mangnet that is also used to attach his weapon in robot mode).




21. Here is the Robot mode and detail shots.




22. Since I'm using the grey part that was ment to hold the arm kibbles to attach his weapons, his weapons themselves have some about 90 degree mobility around his arms so if needed, his new weapons can be swing behind his arms. Here are some comparison shots.



23. Here is IH with his new weapons tucked behind his arms.



24. "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIENDS!~"


O.K, I am done with the MOD. On to painting~


Thanks for reading  

Zebu

 

Image Set for Update 4 (paint and eye LED)

I am DONE with this project. More photos are comming.
I haven't decided if I'm going to sell this figure just yet. Let me have a week to think about it. Meanwhile, feel free to PM me for questions and tips (even offer if you got one ).

Thanks

Zebu

 

you've eaten this guy right?


Pure genius!

 

Ha ha... thanks buddy.

No, i just spend looooong time planning my project before I start and adjust fire when needed (Also, got really lucky as well).