So I love my Ultra Magnus but it needed some more articulation. I added ball joints at the wrists, neck and and ankles. I cut the waist and added a post that allows a 360 degree rotation. Check out the pics and let me know what you think. If you're interested I can add pictorial instructions to do the mods. Enjoy!

 

Needs work cleaning up.

 

Man, I'd love to add that waist joint to Magnus! I'm assuming it's hollow inside the crotch section; did you fill it in before adding the swivel post to reinforce it so it can handle the weight of the upper body?

 

can you show how you did the neck mod?

 

Love the ankle tilt......did the same thing a couple of months back myself..

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radicons-customs/1054317-building-better-ultra-magnus.html

 

Nice work! I wish I would have seen it. It would have made it easier to do. I like how clean the foot is. I had a ball joint straight down to begin with but it didn't leave the clearance it needed to transform properly. I ended up using constructbot joints for the wrists and feet. I like your use of lego pieces. Good work!

 

The neck joint was easily the trickiest. I ended up modeling the ball joint and printing it to get the head the way I wanted it.

I'll take pictures and show them after work.

The crotch section is hollow. I filled in part of it but there's not a lot of room where you want to put the post. The front and back section are connected by a screw. You want to get as close to it as possible so the the joint is in the center. The other problem is that the lower section has the legs in the center where you want to put the post. This leaves you needing to cantilever the post a little in order to have it where you want it. I did this the first time with a ball joint but it was a little too heavy so I went with the post.

 

These are the basic tools you'll need to do most of these mods. You'll also need a drill, super glue or epoxy putty, screws and a donor construct bot. I used smokescreen. Wish I would have bought more at five below when they were there.

The Head Mod



After unscrewing the head and removing it, you'll find the white, round attachment for the side to side joint. Use your plastic saw and cut the tab off, leaving a flat surface. I designed a ball joint with an extended post to use. You can cut one from an existing figure or make your own. Making my own gave me an advantage for securing and placing the head. Drill a hole the same diameter as the ball joint post and push it through.



For the female part of the ball joint, I cut the hip joint off of a HFTD Legends Bumblebee. I had to make the hole in the head a little wider to accept the joint. I rounded the joint an removed excess plastic due to the limited space. Make sure when you put this part into the head that you line the slit in the joint towards the back of Magnus so that he can look up. I filled the cavity with some super glue and let it set. After, place the head onto the male part of the neck joint. Adjust the head to your desired height.



When the desired height is reached use a soldering iron to flatten the excess joint. This will secure the joint. Place Minimus in the cockpit area and trim the excess so the it sits flat like factory. Voila! Magnus that can look up, down, and side to side.

Wrist Ball Joints



This is the easiest of the mods. Looking in the above image you'll see the cavity just behind the hands. Using the plastic saw cut the hands off leaving a walls in tact.



Once the hands are removed, cut a ball joint from construct-bot smokescreen leaving a peg on the base of the ball joint. Drill a hole in the hand and insert the peg so that the ball of the joint will stick out of the back of the hand. Put a little super glue on it to hold it in place.



Use one of the smokescreen hands for the female connection. Use the plastic saw to square the hands and fit to the opening. Make sure to not make the hand connection too large. The opening is made of pretty flimsy plastic that will push out easily. It is a good idea to leave some of the white plastic between Magnus's original hands when you cut to help secure the walls. Glue the female connectors into place when proper fitment has been reached.

Waist Articulation

There is a natural seam to cut along when separating the upper and lower halves of Magnus. Use the plastic saw to follow the seam. Make sure to keep it flat. The cut may need to be done from both sides and meet in the middle. If the cut isn't done properly they won't meet in the middle evenly.



With the halves separated, fill in the rear area with solid plastic from construct-bot smokescreen. A piece was formed that fit opening with a peg sticking up. It is the black dot that can be seen in the rear of the post base. When placing the post take care to note where it will go through on the upper section. It should be as close to the middle as possible. For this Magnus the post was placed so that it would be against the screw head when inserted. Using one of the wheels from contruct-bot Smokescreen, form the post that the waist will rotate. Don't shorten the post yet. This will be done once a hole is drilled in the upper section. Drill a hole in the rear of the post joint, glue the piece, and slide it over the peg that was created when the cavity was filled. Cut the created post flush with the plastic.



Make sure to screw the upper half back together if it was separated. Drill a hole the size of the post and fit it through the upper half. Use a smaller bit or start a hole with an X-acto knife to act as a guide hole before drilling. This will prevent the drill from walking. Make sure not to be so close that the head of the screw is sheered.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/attac...st-wrist-foot-articulation-img_2613.jpg?stc=1

Once the post is through, fit the waist as desired and cut is flush with the plastic saw. Use a washer or flat plastic and a screw to secure the lower half to the upper half.

Now Magnus can see how big his butt really is. Though is this were the masterpiece there'd be a large flap. http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/images/icons/icon10.gif

Ankle Tilts

This one isn't too difficult but is tricky due to alignment so that the feet tuck away nicely in alt mode. Transform the leg to alt mode and extend the foot so that the pin is easily accessible. Hold the tip of the soldering iron to the pin holding the foot to the white extension. Hold it long enough to get hot but not long enough to melt plastic. When it is warmed enough it will pull away nicely. Take another male ball joint component with a peg and drill a hole in the white plastic extension of Magnus's foot to give it a ball as seen above.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/attac...ad-waist-wrist-foot-articulation-img_2620.jpg

When placing the female part of the joint it is not necessary to remove as much plastic as is shown. This was done because another joint was tried before this one. Place the female component onto the ball just created and transform it to alt mode. This will help to determine placement on the foot. Once placement has been determined remove the required plastic and secure the female component with glue, screws, etc. It was determined that adding extra plastic to the underside of the foot adds stability and the ability to have a deeper cavity given the tilt a larger range of motion.

I hope these help. Good luck!

 

Love that we now have three different ways of getting ankle tilts.

 

Do you mind giving IDW Ultra Magnus a mawashi geri pose? Ankle tilted of course.

 

Sure, here you go!

 

Damn that is a lot of work, but one hell of a result!

I need me one of those hand saws, any suggestions on that?

 

Here's a link to one on amazon.

Amazon.com: Xacto X75300 Precision Razor Saw Set: Home Improvement

You can also get them at a local hobby store. Thanks and good luck!

 

I was looking for an angle like this.



BUt thanks. Reason for it i'm also looking for side movement/rotation. Not sure if it's even possible to get a ball joint placement for it.

 

Maybe this is more of what you wanted.

 

Oh man. Exactly that.

That slight tilt makes the pose!

Thanks!

Lastly, do you think it's possible to place the balljoint on the foot directly and the socket on the white ankle piece? After seeing, other mods I've been wondering why none have gone that way.

What I mean is: Gluing it on the middle portion of the foot rather than the side can achieve a greater rotation but something stopped everyone from doing it that way.

 

I actually did that first, but then I couldn't get the foot to tuck in properly for the transformation. There is actually very little room to add the joint and still have it transform properly. Your idea gives the greatest range of motion but you'll have trouble in alt mode.

 

If you cut the white connector so that the ball joint was the same length as the white extension before the cut and had it fold flat, that would probably work. I'd like to see that tried. That would give an enormous range of motion and would be different from anything I've seen.

 

I felt the same way. That's why a bought a second one when they were on sale. Don't worry though. I'm sure it will turn out great!

 

Buy two problem solved.

I only have one though. You fail it goes as kitbash parts.

Also you have two documented ways of cutting bots. one with long blade and the other a shorter one. Both are good as long as you pay attention to it.

I was thinking of the same thing while shopping around. I ended up with metal earth prime as a project for today. LOL. As if I didn't have many unfinished ones already.