With Generations Skids, the figure originally had a running error of its hips being assembled the wrong way. This affects the alt mode, and mainly the leg articulation (and it could even result in the ball joints at the waist snapping off). This is a simple fix, as the hips can be popped off and swapped around. The later run of this figure was fixed by Hasbro.

That said, this tutorial is still useful, as some may still need to perform this modification. Several contributed to this, so let's begin:

Peaugh details:

"Just a heads up, make sure your Skids' hips aren't reversed. Mine were and it prevented him from leaning forward at the hip joint. There's a small L and R on them so you can tell, and they correspond to their position in robot mode. So if you can't bend the leg forward at the hip, check those pieces that connect the hip balls to the upper thigh."

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Also, the hips in the correct position make the legs sit a smidgen further back and helps with balance."
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(Some other members have shared some additional thoughts as well; you'll find those posted below! ~Superquad7)

eriku writes:

"It's amazing how much of a difference a small and easy to miss step in the transformation can make. I was ready to write this thing off as being unable to stand until I read through this thread and saw mention of the shins being able to click forward further. Moving those shin sections all the way forward until they click is the key. That combined with the knees clicked one notch back and now Skids is rock-solid. Here’s a photo to show how the legs should be positioned."​

I really love this figure. Between the design, transformation, paintjob and overall build quality it truly feels like a return to how 'Classics' toys were a few years ago. Also, I love how the shoulder cannons can pop out in alt mode. Just lift up the windshield and BLAMMO!" ​

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jamspeed replies:

"I removed the lower leg first and then just pulled to the side while slightly rocking the upper thigh piece out. You might have to use some force, [but] just don't pull straight down - pull away from the hip. Pulling down is how people are breaking them I think."​

OCProwl answers:

"You have it correct now. If you are facing Skids, then the L leg will be on YOUR right and the R leg will be on YOUR left. I think that is what you mean although your description has some typos.

In the correct configuration you should be able to move his legs forward at the hip. With the incorrect configuration, you cannot move them forward at all, making him harder to stand/balance.

To those afraid of breakage, someone suggested pulling gently but firmly on the legs directly outward to get them off the ball joint, as illustrated by my crude stick figure below. Once you have the legs off, you can then remove the thigh/lower leg from the small hip joint and swap them, then re-attach the legs to the torso with the L on Skid's L and the R on his right. This worked for me and the switch really makes a dramatic improvement for this guy."

..................... O
...................--|--
..................... |
.................... / \ ---> pull leg off this way, 90 degrees from vertical.​

POSSESSED_DIGIT writes:

"I recently bought a Generations Skids. Since then, I've talked to somebody who also has him, have seen five (5) more in stores, and all have had this EXTREMELY MINOR assembly error. All of them seem to have their hips on backwards. It's easy to spot-look at the hip: if you're looking at the left hip & there's an "R" on it, and hip won't rotate forward, then it's misassembled. Just pop the legs off at the hip ball joint, then the hip ball sockets from the thighs. Swap, then reassemble. Now Skids legs should work fine.


As I mentioned, the hips are labelled with a molded L and R on them. Just look at the Skids in package. The left hip is easily visible. Look for what letter is on it. If it has an L, you're good to go. If it has an R, either find another or swap the hips around.

One issue people seem to have is getting him to stand properly. I've noticed this being missed in most pictures I've seen. There's a bend under the knee joint that is part of the transformation. If you bend this in even farther, it removes that gap in the legs, and pushes his "knee pads" out further (and won't hug his thighs). This gives him some better stability in mine.

Next, the shoulders joints actually can extend out from the shoulder a bit, and allow the arm to raise more to the side."
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Stuntastic shares:

"So, y'all avoid breaking the joint:

Rotate the hip 180*, so that if he were to move his legs, he'd make a W. This way, you'll add the right amount of pressure since the joint can't fully rotate in a full 360*, which will then pop the hip right off without putting any pressure on the post on the ball joint.

Nothing is worse than breaking a toy, so hopefully this helps y'all out and no one has a broken Skids!"
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E. C. R. Former adds:

"I think the confusion is stemming from the terminology: when POSSESSED_DIGIT said "hip pieces", what he's actually talking about are the two upper thigh pieces. You just need to remove both legs at the ball joint, then switch the two upper thigh pieces. I was really frustrated by the difficulty of standing him. This has solved that problem.

I think this was the fault of the person who labeled the hips, though. Most likely the assemblers mistook the L and R as their left and right rather than the toy's left and right."
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Jerrymiru adds:

"For the sake of it:

Here are pics of the correct configuration.

I bought three (3) at the store and ALL had this same issue. The hips are labeled in reverse to what the legs say and that might have been the cause to the confusion at the factory.

In the first pic this is HIS left leg. You can see the red in the front crotch and can make out the 'L" on the hip. THAT is what you want to look for if you want to get one without having to 'mod/fix' him. You should be able to see this in package. "L" on HIS left leg. The R is a little harder to spot:




In the second pic I turned the lower leg around to show that the thigh is labeled 'R' in the circle of the knee:



(The above two Photographs courtesy of Jerrymiru)


The ones I bought were for other fellow local collectors, by the way; we try to take care of each other here."
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Nevermore clarifies:

"Place the legs split like this (except the painted red section should be on the other side - if it faces forward like in this photo, there's nothing to fix anymore):




Then apply gentle force and carefully massage the legs until they pop off the ball joints.

Detach the upper sections of the hips at the swivel joints and swap them, then reattach the legs to the ball joints."​

x BlackMagnus x details:

"After hearing about members breaking their Skids attempting this fix, I thought I would have a go at trying to find an easier way of doing it. I think I may have found one.

First, you want to take him apart at the waist, the same kind of peg that connects the hips to the thighs is used to connect the upper body to the lower. Why do you want to do this? This gains better leverage, and also not have to worry about the rest of the figure getting in your way.

So, now with Skids severed in half and having some room to work, take the lower half and turn it around so the rear is facing you. Put your thumb on his butt and get a good grip. Now take the leg and rotate it back towards you so you are now looking at the bottom of his foot.

Next, take the leg and pull it out to the side (away from the waist), from here you can see the cup and ball socket. Now take just the hip and rotate it counter clockwise until it stops. With firm grip on both the hip and waist, SLOWLY and steadily continue rotating the hip. The entire leg will then detach easily and smooth as silk."​

Judging by what I've seen in this thread (as well as others), what seems like an easy fix at first glance, is still resulting in breakage. So a step by step process is needed for some. Especially if this fix is to be added to the tutorial section.

Adding one extra step (in an attempt at making this easier) is hardly Rube Goldberg and may be worth the added five seconds it will take.​

Sweep:

"Thank goodness for these forums! I fixed mine easily. Popping the legs off are easy, you don't have to pull the legs off AT ALL. Just move each leg inward, like how a woman would cross her legs. It pops off the hip effortlessly if you do it like this."​

LazyAza and POSSESSED_DIGIT reply about the hindered shoulder articulation:

LazyAza:

"The shoulder joint limitation is due to its shape and design, their is nothing you can do about that."
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POSSESSED_DIGIT:

I just move the over-the-shoulder cannons back, and his arms move fine(enough) at the shoulder.​

daimchoc posts photos of his using the information here with the fix:

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