I wouldn't even call it a mod because of how easy the assembly is to remove and put back in. I only hit it once with a pin punch to get enough pliers-grip on it, and it pulled right out. When I realized the possible conflict a few days ago I reinstalled it by pushing the pin back in with my fingernails. Anyone who wants to do the same could probably do it with a small screwdriver.

Now that I think about it, installing the neck kit takes more work than removing the jet nose.

I'm not totally sure it's necessary. I cut a fraction off the back of the assembly so it wouldn't cover the cannon mount, and the new part should only be a millimeter taller than what came with the figure. The nose may only point an extra 5 degrees down with the kit, which would be almost unnoticeable.

That said, I can tweak my old V1 model by thinning the neck plate a little. The reason I haven't done that is because the mod has to set the head a little higher off the body than it would be if directly plugged into the old piece with the Titanmaster port, which made it look like a turtleneck. The collar detail I've added to my V2 is a way of raising the figure's collar space to rebalance the proportions.

It wouldn't on a print in Strong & Flexible plastic. That stuff is what it says on the label.

Though if I do make a version with the hole extension, the jet mode almost certainly wouldn't be compatible since I'd be adding material right in front of the hinge where it makes the most contact. And like the jet mode problem, it may not even be necessary since the peg seems to grip the hole at even a shallow depth.

 

best looking upgrade yet!!! kudos!

 

Yes!!! I'll take 1 each of Galvatron, Hot Rod and Scourge please!

 

I have no idea how to make a Hot Rod or Scourge kit work. I only did Galvatron because I knew how to incorporate a non-transforming head into the transformation.

 

Looks beautiful! Can't wait to purchase! If you managed a smirking or more 'unhinged' face variant I'd get them too!

 

My order shipped earlier than estimated and actually arrived today. The neck kit is perfect!



Here it is with the updated head model. That part has some issues, but I'll get to it in a minute.







Cannon mode still works right.



Jet mode is mostly okay. The nose points down a little now and the vernier doesn't fit flush over the purple fin, but the mode is still attainable.





So, to reiterate: The neck mod works perfectly. But what about the modified head? Uh...



It didn't fit together for some reason, despite nothing being changed between my last version and this print except for the taller cranium. When I pried the two halves back apart to see what was wrong...



...the eyes and connector peg snapped off into their slots.

So what happened? Well, right before I placed my order, Shapeways began advertising that Frosted Detail plastics now print faster than before. I'm guessing they changed something chemically, and apparently this new material has more sizing variation than the last while being slightly more brittle.

What's next: I'm going to make some adjustments to the head model tonight by scaling the post and eye holes up slightly. This should prevent another wedging and breakage. Afterwards I'll list the neck kit and the modified head on Shapeways for sale, but the latter is going to be under beta until I order and receive my print of the (hopefully) final product.

Lastly, here's a pic of my original head print on the new neck. It'll have to do for now.

 

When will you release the neck piece ?

 

Sometime tonight after I make the updates to the head model.

 

And we're live. I made the ball on the neck unit slightly larger for a better fit, which is why White Strong & Flexible Polished is still listed as First-to-Try. For the head I made the eye holes and peg hole slightly larger than they were before, so hopefully it works better than the one I got today.

Alternate Head for Titans Return Galvatron by energonhotshot04 on Shapeways
Transforming Neck Unit for TR Galvatron by energonhotshot04 on Shapeways
Titans Return Neck Plug by energonhotshot04 on Shapeways

If there are any issues, please let me know so I can correct the models.

 

You think you can make a new back fin to replace the cockpit?

 

I've been thinking about it. It's likely the next project I'll start.

 

I am damnably impressed with how well that neck assembly looks and works. Color-matched, I could easily believe it was part of the original toy (like, pre-titanmaster first draft). Definitely will have sale(s) coming from me on that. Haven't decided on the head yet.

Maybe it's the lighting, but Galvy looks EXTRA-grumpy in that photo.  

 

Back Spike Thruster for TR Galvatron by energonhotshot04 on Shapeways





Finished this up tonight. I'm not sure why this wouldn't work out-of-the-box, so it's available already. I'll be placing a new order tomorrow for this and my other beta prints.

 

Really liking what you did with the neck, very clever. If I hadn't already modded mine I would be all over this.

 

i dunno man...the entire galvatron's head looks abit off.....but keep up the good work, im sure u can fine tune it to become the perfect galvatron!

 

just bought the neck upgrade, hope your right about using the original head on the ball joint

 

It should work. My previous test batch used two different ball sizes: a smaller one for the neck unit, and a larger one for my optional TR neck plug. The latter fits into Nucleon and my original head design perfectly while the former was a loose fit, so I updated the neck unit to match its joint size before I made it public. My newest batch of prints arrives tomorrow so I'll be able to confirm it then.

 

I got my 'baggie of necks' from Shapeways a while back, and I'm suitably impressed. The part(s) themselves are great, and 3-D printing texture aside, look like it belongs on the toy. I gave mine a quick spray of silver paint before installing.

I can report the Titanmaster works fine - just open it up and screw it back together with the neck piece ball replacing the head bit on the titanmaster. If you glue the Galvatron mask to the Titanmaster face, I'd recommend the standard de-headmastering step of clipping off the Titanmaster's legs to de-bulk the head, or making a replacement head-back (or using Hot Shot's custom head). It's not necessary, but the de-legged head doesn't need to swivel in quite as far to get the chest cavity closed around it, and is easier to get back out as the mask horns are less likely to hang up on the internal framework. Might be a similar issue using 'helmet' additions like Fakebuster's or Toyhax's with this neck - I haven't tried though.

Overall, excellent stuff though. I'll try to get photos out when I can.

 

Great to hear!  

 

My newest order arrived yesterday. Here's the print for my back vernier.



The sides of the print have some stippling, especially the left side. I took some sandpaper after it, but WS&F is a really stubborn material so I could only smooth it out halfway. In retrospect I think an alternate solution would be to use a small amount of filler putty on the surface before sanding.

So I spent the next day painting and here's the finished set:



















The only model I had to modify this time was the vernier. The pin hole was too small and there wasn't enough friction being applied to the octogon hinge. I've already made the appropriate fixes and updated the listing on Shapeways, so I think my Galvatron project is finished. Like I said in my op, Fakebusker's cannon adapter makes a guest appearance, so show them some love as well.

One final note: I've had a really hard time matching the purple shade exactly. I settled on Citadel's Xereus Purple, but I think it needs some neon blue mixed in. Tamiya has been my go-to paint for years now, but their blue and red paints seem to have some yellow hue naturally mixed in, so I had to experiment around with what the local Hobbytown had. The closest I ever came to matching the color was a mixture of Model Masters "Hot Pink Pearl" and "True Blue Pearl", but I couldn't get an even coat with a brush or my novice airbrush abilities since it's a mostly transparent paint.