I got my POL from BBTS and it included PC-02 combiner upgrade kit. While the hand/guns from it will stay in gun form for Dragstrip to use (I'm sticking with the Dead End/Wildrider hands), the feet are phenomenal. The ankle tilts, the size (I had completely under-estimated just how big they'd be), all of it is just awesome. I was one of those few people (seemingly) few people who was pleased with Menasor beforehand, but with those big solid feet making him even larger and giving him a firmer stance on the ground, he's easily my favorite combiner that I've ever owned.
ugh...just read through all 59 pages, hoping to find more information on fixing the loose shoulders...but didn't really find what I was looking for sure, the Nonnef "shoulder locks" will work, but IMO they look kinda weird in MM's alt mode. I think I saw some comments that "Future" or glue would help keep them secure...is that right? Like, really secure? Or, just better? any other suggestions?
I got one of the Motomasters with the fixed hips and the shoulders on mine are very secure in Menasor Mode. You could try the future polish trick too and see if that helps my them tighter.
Posted just in case late-to-the-party collectors like me are starting to warm back into Transformers collecting lol: 3d printed Summersideguy's (thingiverse) Combiner Wars Generic Feet, it has side ankle pivot and front toes pivot. Really recommended if you want something similar to Perfect Effect and/or don't want to print out the balljointed feet on thingiverse (which can be a bit of a hassle to prep with ball sanding and whatnots). He also has custom made ones for Superion and Bruticus. For the shoulder lock, you can search up Dencio's air vent arm lock on Tinkercad. You need to print it 40%-50% smaller because Dencio never went back to finalized the model. If you print it as it is, its like 140% bigger lol, end up wasting 2 hours printing that thing. Battle Ready With his Autobot counterpart
Unite Warriors Menasor was such an elusive set, that it was actually the last Unite Warriors set I managed to get. Not even Devastator or Computron were as hard to get as him. But I finally have him in hand, for better or for worse, so let's take a look. Does he live up to his name as the worst CW/UW style combiner, or is there good to be found in him? The packaging is standard Unite Warriors fare. The art is gorgeous as always, making Menasor look a thousand times better than he actually is. The lid can be opened to view the figures inside, packed in alternate mode. The individual Stunticons were actually enjoyable as standalone toys. All put together they exude the 'street gang' vibe as a team like the Stunticons rightfully should, particularly so thanks to Motormaster's burly physique and Dead End & Wildrider's pipe weapons. The other two fit in well also, as Drag Strip's weapon resembles a shiv and Breakdown's a machete. Takara's alterations with Motormaster work wonders - the darker colors make him look much more accurate, and it's amazing how something as simple as 'standing straight' makes the figure look loads better. They also scale perfectly in alternate mode, thanks to Motormaster being a cab-only truck this time around. The only nitpick I have is that Dead End doesn't have his iconic gold stripe, but that's the cartoon's fault, not the toy's. Combined as Menasor, however, is a different story. He was actually more stable than I expected him to be when I first assembled him, and I also learned that there were tabs dedicated to fastening Motormaster's thighs and legs together so the whole thing would function as a single-piece thigh. That alone exceeded my expectations, as I didn't think he had that function based on the pictures I saw. I could also easily angle up the car fronts on the arms for a more G1-accurate silhouette. Even the horned head didn't look as bad in person as it did on the pictures. So I almost thought his notoriety as the worst CW/UW combiner was misattributed... then I attempted to pose him. The biggest problem is, as many have pointed out, the hips. Not only does the official configuration leave Menasor's hips with an uncomfortable 45-degree cut like the old NECA action figures, there is no thigh swivel for the combiner unlike the Silverbolt and Hot Spot torso molds. The shoulders unpegging when moving the arms was a far lesser problem, albeit still definitely present. It's doubly a shame as all four limbs are splendid in their role, and simply a better torso mode would have made Menasor such a better combiner overall. I have no idea why they didn't use a collapsing mechanism on Motormaster's legs like Hot Spot/Onslaught, that alone would have made the hips so much better. This doesn't mean that it's impossible to pose him, however, it's just a lot more frustrating than other combiners. It's even starkly contrasted because my last Unite Warriors combiner was Bruticus, who was an absolute gem to handle. However, he wields his (slightly short) sword well, and I like how the smaller sword and gun come together to form a larger sword. That was quite clever, and not something any other combiner had (except Superion, but only kinda because the smaller piece from Superion's gun has no discernible use.) Obviously Menasor is a must-have, since it's unlikely Hasbro will revisit the classic combiner teams in the foreseeable future. However, he still does have room for improvement... a whole lot of room. At least he looks good on display, which is where he'll stay for now.
Be mindful of the waist on the Unite Warriors Motormaster. It's been known to self-destruct, in a way similar to GPS. It might be worth it to obtain a Hasbro Motormaster, just in case.
That's pretty cool. I'm also going to steal that crotch piece as sword hilt idea. Does it just clip on or did you have to mod something to make it stay?
Its held on by friction, I just added a thin cellophane tape into the ready made hole under the crotch piece and crammed it to the peg on the sword. Worked quite well. I think Hasbro meant it for sword storage in the first place but it was loose out of the box.
Also, I heard the leaks only had Motormaster and Drag Strip - which makes sense because they were the only real issues with Menasor. (Motormaster should be obvious, and Drag Strip only has 4 wheels unlike the G1 design.) Depending on how things look, I may simply swap those two for the new versions and keep UW Dead End, Wildrider, and Breakdown.
It still boggles my mind that the wing-ax that came with Blackout, which was CLEARLY meant to be the hilt of Menasor's sword, can't connect to the sword in any way, and was never retooled in later sets to connect.
Well, my opinion of THIS set has only gone up after having a peg shear off of Legacy Motormaster after owning it for just over a year. For all its faults, nothing on CW Menasor ever broke.
