By Generation: Cybertron Downshift Head Fix!!

Discussion in 'Tutorials and How Tos' started by REDLINE, Feb 21, 2006.

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  1. REDLINE

    REDLINE longer days, plz? Veteran

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    Hey guys, for reasons unknown, today after I got home from work, I got the sudden urge to attempt to fix Cybertron Downshift's head. This is a big deal, cause I NEVER mess with my toys! If you didn't know, you can wiggle Downshift's head ever so slightly, just enough to know that it can and will rotate, but the head doesn't raise up enough out of the hood in order to clear the body and be able to fully rotate.

    Guess what? I was successful!! I have very few tools, so I actually used a cordless drill since I don't own a Dremel (boy do I wish I did!) Anyways, if you have a Dremel, please use it; if not, a Cordless drill with a 3/32 drill bit will work just fine. The only other tool you will need is a tiny screwdriver :)  I've come up with this nifty guide, including pictures, so that any of you who are brave enough can also surgically remove the Viagra pill from your Downshift's neck!

    OK, here we go. First, get a hold of your tiny Philipp's head screwdriver. Transform your Downshift into robot mode, and also insert his Forcechip to activate his claw gimmick.**

    **this isn't a must, but trust me, you will thank me when the spring doesn't go flying across the room and disappear into the void!!**


    Now that you have the toy prepared, un-pop the waist from the body, so that the legs will be out of the way. Notice that there are four (4) screws here: one in each corner. I've circled them in red in the following picture:

    [​IMG]


    Remove these screws carefully. Of note is that the two orange headlights WILL fall out when you do this! The front bumper also comes off; if it doesn't on its own, lift it off yourself and set it aside with the screws. Its easy to forget how the headlights go back into the car, but don't worry, I took a photograph to keep this from plaguing you like it did me. Now, notice that the claw has a long small spring connecting it to the back, and the head has a big spring on it:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    Carefully remove the claw, its small spring, and slide the head down (as if it was going INTO the body) to remove it. Okay, here's a picture of the head. Look at the red circles. See the tabs? You can only see two of them in the picture, but you should also note that there are FOUR circled!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    Okay. The next picture shows you the SLOTS that those four TABS slide up and down when the automatic head operates during transformation. These SLOTS are where we are going to be doing our work!

    [​IMG]


    Before we start work, I want to point out some things first. The reason Downshift's head is flawed, is that these SLOTS are too short, not allowing the tabs to be able to move enough to allow the bottom of the head to clear the hood. We're going to increase the length of these SLOTS, but to different lengths. If you look at the head, you'll notice the front and back TABS are not at the same height as the two on the sides! Alright, here's a picture from the top after I finished to show you where you can see how much clearance you want to finish up with. The circled areas show you how at the different points the clearance is different:

    [​IMG]


    Now we're ready to do surgery! Take your Dremel or your drill, whichever tool you're going to be using, and carefully start working on the front groove, making it continue all the way through the top. Do the exact same thing for the one that is centered at the back of the head hole. Once you've done this, its time to do the two grooves on the sides.

    I didn't do exact measurements. Just work them up a little bit at a time, inserting the head through the hole until you get it just right. I did however notice a guide to help you speed it up just a little bit . . . if you look in the hole, there's a seam in the plastic that travels horizontally around. you need to at least get past that, to approximately 1 mm or so short of going all the way through. DO NOT GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH!! These tabs are necessary, for without them, when you transform him into robot mode, the spring would shoot the head clear of the body because there would be nothing to hold it in place! Use the head's tabs (their distance to the bottom of the actual head) as a gauge as to how far you need to go. The whole process only took me about 5-10 minutes. Since I didn't know what I was doing, nor what to expect when I first cracked him open, I went really slow so I ended up after about 20 minutes, but it shouldn't take you that long from beginning to end.

    Once you've got the 4 SLOTS finished, its time to reassemble. Lay the hood upside down, grab the head by the sides, and use your fingertips to push the ears up with the one hand, line the head up with the hole, and (if you need to), use your other hand to actually push it up in there while you're holding the ears closed. Once the head is in the hole, lay the whole thing down. If your head spring came loose, lay it down over the little circle molded into the head plate. Get the small long spring for the Forcechip gimmick, and attach one end to the orange round tab at the back right corner (opposite of the hook for holding the claw in when not engaged), then take the hook at an angle and stick the orange tab on it to stick in the other end of the spring. Now you can just gently lay the hook down onto the underside of the hood, where it normally is when its extended. Now, take the lower body and carefully line up the four corner pegs with the holes of the lower body and press the two together.

    This part was the trickiest for me, I had to try it twice to get the spring of the force gimmick to cooperate, but no big deal. Okay, go ahead and re-insert the two screws into the rear two holes, and tighten them up all the way (don't strip them!) you only need to get them snug. Lay the front bumper over the front screw holes, and before you screw it into place, take your two orange headlight pieces and lay them into their homes. They have a little tab on their tops and bottoms, but that's just to line them up properly, I have a pic to show you which way they go in if you've forgotten:

    [​IMG]


    Once you have the lights in place, insert the two screws in the holes in the front that go through the bumper, and tighten (remember, just make them snug!!) Guess what? we're done! you now have a MUCH improved Cybertron Downshift :rock 


    Here's a picture after everything is done, for your motivation:


    [​IMG]


    -Andy

    From MegaMoonMan:

    I just did it, and I gotta say, BE CAREFUL. I shaved a bit off the head posts so I didn't have to go all the way through. Those front and back slots won't go much deeper, and there's JUST enough room to go farther in without going through the plastic.

    Done right and carefully, it works great!
     

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