Okie-doke - I'm trackin' - thanks! Stupid question, though - that sucker's on that tight. Any quick fixes (aside from brute force) to get that spring off? SUPPLEMENT: FOLKS, let me tell you - once you do manage to get that spring off, whoa - consider this. Take a set of needle nose pliers, place the nose around the post, and go back 'n forth, back 'n forth. It'll take the post's paint and coating off, but the goal is to get a layer of the metal down (making that spring fit looser). After I did this, I then took a file and whittled down the post even further. Put the spring back on by hand, screwed the foot back together and WOW - what a difference. The foot clicks/ratchets as it should, is easily movable, no spring troubles....this foot seems to take a beating and no ill effects now! I've made it move back and forth like crazy and not a single problem. Consider not only loosening that spring, but also, sizing down that post inside the foot (the post upon which the spring sets). Fantastic difference! YMMV.
Just make sure you let the glue on the pegs dry before placing them in his hands.. Otherwise he'll REALLY hold his weapons well.. But seriously.. I can pick up rodimus and give him some gentle shaking back and forth without them falling off now.. Where it used to be that if my dog decided to scratch himself the vibration he'd cause on the floor was enough to make the guns fall..
I used Superglue on the leg panel that popped off mine. I put a dab in the hole, squeezed the metal screw back in and kept rotating it as it dried. it is in there nice and solid now, and I haven't had any trouble with it since.
I think I'm going to try that ball joint piece with my leg panel. Think I have some extra Gundam pieces that should fit. How long did you keep rotating it before it dried?
I can't remember how long it took, but I think I rotated it on and off for about a half hour. let it sit for a minute, rotate for about 2 minutes. keep that up for a while untill its nice and tight. just make sure you push that screw/pin in as far as you can after you dab the glue in the hole. This fix may depend how how stressed the hole itself is, but It worked great for me.
I did a similar method. i took my brushed super glue dabbed it in the hole while the panel was off.. then let it dry for an hour or so. Once it was dry I just pushed the screw back in (it didn't stress anything anymore or anything) and holds the panel on much more securely.
The reason I didn't go with the screw but used the peg method is so that the screw won't have a chance to strip the plastic again, the glued connection is at the inside of the leg panel, there are no glue at the swing arm connection at all, it's just that the peg is short enough so that the ball joint end is connected tightly and allows it to turn.
Word. I was just wondering if a more poseable set would be beneficial/more functional for robot mode. It'd be pretty easy to fabricate a disc to the back of a hand so it could attach like the current hands. For alt mode I was just gonna put the og's back on. I'm just gonna use the super glue trick for now.
Upon cracking mine open, one of the feet had the spring issue. Was having the darndest time pulling the thing out (that sucker's on tight), so I gave the whole thing another lookover. One end of the spring is firmly seated into the diecast foot, so that wasn't the problem. The spring itself is designed to apply lateral pressure, rather than rotational resistance (that's what the ratchet teeth are for), so I reasoned that it was the sharp, exposed tip of the spring digging into the plastic ankle joint. So, took my file to the spring and smoothed out that tip, chamfering it so that it can't dig, closed the foot back up, and I haven't had any problems since. And yeah, I superglued in the metal pin from one of his leg panels that popped off. Hadn't had any more problems with that, either.
Words to the wise trying to prevent spring warpage, don't use a knife to try and pry it from the groove, if it was stuck as much as mine is, the knife WILL slip and you'll run the risk of cutting yourself, at least...I did and she's a bleader. And I still got a spring to pry free.
use a needle nose plier, put one end on the spring and the other against the end of the post, apply pressure, the spring should come off with ease.
has anyone thought of trying to find a spring that is slightly looser than the ones in the feet?? If you could do that, couldn't you just then swap the springs out??
I'll be getting my replacement Roddy back tomorrow and I plan to do exactly as you say...can you post a pic or two of how your MP-9's foot looks now? It would really help us know what the end result needs to look like. Thanks man
Reposting this from the feedback thread, because it's applicable here, too: Superglue is this guy's best friend, seriously. Ripped off a leg panel? A bit of glue on the pin, and pop it back on. More solid than it was out of the box. Loose gun grips? A little layer of glue on the tabs, and they'll hold solid Floppy wrist hinges? A drop of superglue in the hinge, continuing to work it until it dries. Now mine can even hold the rifle without it sagging under gravity. Loose chest clip? Unscrew the red panel on the windshield (just so you don't accidentally get glue on it, where it's easily seen), and add a thin layer of glue to the clips and clip it in place, then pop the chest back out again and let the glue dry. (interestingly enough, the chest tabs do clip naturally to the clear blue window piece, and quite solidly. There's something about the red cover that prevents the clip from doing so, but it's impossible to tell just what) For the things that glue doesn't fix, 10 minutes with a file and/or a hobby knife does the trick. I filed down the sharp tips of the ankle springs (didn't even have to remove them), and no more ankle spring problems. Filed off the paint in the trailer slot. No more paint scraping. Sliced off the raised ridges on his canopy tabs. The backpack now clips in place fully. All incredibly easy fixes. Maybe half an hour of work at most, most of that just testing the fit of various parts, and the figure goes from "impressive, but flawed" to flat-out perfection. I'm in love.
Did you mean these sharp tips? I am filing them right now...glad to know I don't have to take the spring off! Those suckers are tight
I went ahead and filed the prongs on my Rodimus down last night. This works well. I'd file for a few seconds and then try the backpack. I kept at it until the backpack fit on and there was a hair of clearance above the filed tabs. On mine this isn't a complete fix as the backpack doesn't lock down. However, the backpack is worlds better than it was. I haven't transformed him yet, but it doesn't look like this will interfere with the transformation at all. It's a great fix. I opened mine last night. This fix works great for springs that haven't unwound. Unfortunately the spring in my Rodimus' right foot had already unwound, so i had to take it off and rewind it. That sucked. I would recommend doing this fix early (definitely before your first transformation) in order to maximize its effectiveness. Both fixes are great.
