if the waist can rotate decently maybe keeping the buttflap down isn't a bad idea.

 

Yeah, leaving it down works okay, but it does hinder the waist articulation.

 

is it really that far out of the realm of human movement though? I watch reviews when they complain that it rotate at the waist at 90 degrees from the upper body which is totally ridiculous. If you can get a decent Weaver/boxing stance then it's good enough.

 

I agree, when people complain that a figure can’t rotate 360 at the waist I just kinda shrug my shoulders. To answer your question, yes, you can probably get all the waist articulation you need/want with the nose straight down.

 

Here are my pics after transforming him at my office. I was skeptical about the nose piece after watching a review. It does work though. I may lightly sand it or barely trim a tiny angle on each side when I get home, just for future transformations.

 

I just got both Deathwish and Overheat and transformed both. Thanks to some tips about some breakage points here, I managed to get them both in bot mode.
Deathwish had little issue other than getting his legs unfolded was a bit tight on clearance.
Overheat, I didn’t bother forcing his hood piece and folded it in towards his back, it keeps his backpack up a tiny bit but otherwise gets itself out of the way without risking snapping the joint. I also left his front wheels vertical because that rotation joint seemed really tight and I prefer the stacked wheels better anyway (more toy than toon look, you could say).
Overall, great figures with interesting although somewhat fiddly transformation and fantastic looking alt modes (this really goes for all 4 cars imo).

 

It doesn't really work with the flap down, though. The front of the car is meant to push into his back. If the flap is down, it doesn't go in all the way. You can see in @inturnmike's pic below just how far it's meant to go in. If you tried to keep the flap straight, it would not only prevent the waist turning, but it would run right into his butt and keep the back from closing up. To get it to work, you have to leave his back out a ways. I tried it that way at first when the flap didn't want to fold back but I could tell it wasn't seated right. Once I broke it, it went in like it was supposed to and it felt more solid.

 

Yeah, I like it down at an angle this way to lessen the silhouette. BUt to turn his waist you need to bring it up closer to 90 degrees. I do wish there was better clearance when you fold the nose, though.

 

If I learned anything from my history with XTB purchases, it's to never buy their first run!!! I can go down a list of all the problematic first run figures in their product line. That's why I'm switching to their G2 Stunticons. If anyone is interested in acquiring Crackup & Flipout, PM me as I'll look to offload them.

 

Who's that big babe ? (@ibot )

 

It's cartoon accurate so gets a thumbs up from me.

 

If anyone in the UK who has Overheat fancies selling on the spare head for Savant/Skids, hit me up

 

Shit I fucking hate these notification settings. Who’s out now?

 

Everyone except Gravestone.

 

Correct, the nose down configuration does also prevent everything from tucking into his torso the way it’s intended to. That’s the main reason I decided to go ahead and shave some plastic off the edges so it would flip the proper direction.

 

Patiently waiting on email from tfs express....

 

You may take more pictures in both modes with the MMC Mirage, especially the alternate F1 mode, thanks

 

tfdirect is getting their stock delivered on foot it would seem

 

TFS express has finally shipped my two from their UK site! Yay!
Hopefully have them by Saturday.