EDIT: finished, pretty much. More pics in the middle of the thread...









And bot-mode. I've taken some of the glop off and have to recoat. Most of the face is still black, so I should be able to recover without stripping it down completely.

Oh, and I gouged the engine blocks a couple of times when my Dremmel slipped. >.< If I can find some matching paint, that could be fixable.





And the wing hinge mod, once again.



New pics of painted face



And I painted the eyes with fluorescent orange. Doesn't do much without the black light, but whatever.  


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original post
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Well, I knew I was going to do this as soon as I heard we were getting him Stateside. I'm going to mod the wings and permanently fix the VTOL engines into the wings. Already cut up the pieces for the job. I'll likely cut slots into the sides of the engine blocks to fit onto the main wing (and for the bits at the ends) for better stability.



The head is missing as I'm painting the face at the moment.

I also did the wing hinge mod that has been discussed. I'm sure I'm not the first to do it, but here are some pics. It does, indeed, create just the right amount of clearance for the arms to post straight at his sides for those of us that want to transform Thrust with his wings down.





And yeah, just a simple matter of rounding the bottom of the hinge the same way as the top (or as much as you prefer). I should have pics of the finished wings soon, hopefully.

 

is there a link for the wing hinge mod that has been discussed?

 

As Pun-3X said, it's literally just rounding off that one hinge to allow it to fold down as well as up. Couldn't be easier.  

Nice to see this Pun-3X. Will have to steal the VTOL mod off ya if you make it work (i've been far too scared to cut up mine).

 

Cool. I'll be watching this one. Might end up doing the same to mine.

 

Can't wait to see how this turns out. What wing hinge mod?

 

Okay, i hope Pun-3x doesn't mind me taking up his thread a bit, but i'll do the wing hinge mod to mine, and post pictures here since there are obviously some problems for some people.

If i get it wrong, please correct me Pun-3X. Will, edit asap with attached pics, hopefully.

EDIT: Pre mod shot, to show the joint in question. The red circle shows the wing joint (you can get to this joint simply by pulling the wing off, literally just pull) that's used to allow the wing to flip up for robot mode. The green circle highlights the sharp corner (note, the other side is rounded). It's this corner that we need to round down, so it matches the other side.

EDIT 2: Post Mod shot, again, red circle is the joint we're modding. The green circle this time shows where there used to be a sharp corner, but now we've rounded it off. This lets the wing transform differently, more like G1 i believe.

Final Edit: Comparison shot up, on our right is the modded wing, the left is the original untouched wing. It should be noted that you can achieve the new transformation without modding the joint, but you'd have to pull the wing off and reattach it each time.

 

^^^
Ah! Cool. Thanks!

 

Yeah, that's it precisely. Sorry--took the pics last night just before going to bed (was working on the mod just before bed, too) and didn't really take the time to get some good ones. I was also being lazy and didn't take the wings off while modding the hinges (it's a good idea so you don't scratch up the wing with your rotary tool, but you can still pull it off).

Today, I attempt the VTOL mod. Will have to see how it goes.

 

Good to hear i didn't screw it up for once.  

I hope to be able to steal the VTOL mod soon. I really don't like this hole and peg thing they've got on this mold, it's annoying. And a tip for those doing the mod, don't be like me and do it an hour and a bit after midnight. It's not a good idea to operate rotary tools at that time generally speaking (esp. if you're waiting for the World Cup).

 

Heh, been contemplating that wing hinge mod for three or four years now.

 

i,m doing the same just can,t bring myself to cut up my henkie thrust

 

sweet, can't wait to see this finished!! Good luck to ya!

 

Don't blame you one bit, but that's why the Generations Thrust is such a great kit--only $11-$13, so if you mess up it's not that big a loss.

But the mod is real easy. You might even be able to do it with a file and some patience. Dremmels are just faster.  

 

^5 minutes with a Dremel, maybe less if you have it on a high speed setting.  

BTW, Pun-3X, where did you cut the wings for your VTOL mod? I see the original sockets are now scrap, though exactly where the cuts are is beyond me.

 

Cuts were relatively random, revolving around where the sockets were. Although I'll have to shrink them down even further, it looks like.



The block sides are drilled, but nothing is glued just yet. With the tips added, the VTOL blocks are too far out from the body. You can definitely see how this is going to work, but they need to be closer in. Luckily, I have some room towards the back of the engine to extend the groove, so when I cut the wings down further, it'll still be able to sit nicely.

Oh, added note: if you're going to do this the same way--the "fan" portion is a separate piece of plastic. I've cut it a bit inside, and it's done nothing to hinder or loosen the piece, but just be aware.



You can use that front panel line on the engines as a starting point for where to cut, then work back from there however far you need to go to make it fit. I'm using a caliper to measure the wing distance from inside to end, so when I come to the length I want, I'll let you know.

 

yea yer right they should be a bit closer in

i might get a generations one and try this myself

 

Oh I'm doing this! Looking great!

 

Ah, thanks Pun-3X. But what did you do about the bottom of the VTOL's? Obviously no one wants to see that ugly peg. Did ya remember to fill it in?

 

No plans at the moment, but I might do something later. Right now, it doesn't bother me at all. (it's really no different from the G1 version, just less detail)

 

Not sure if I'll try this as I only have 1 Thrust at the moment, but I'm looking forward to seeing the end results. What color are you painting the face? I went gunmetal/red eyes with mine. I also swapped out the missiles for a pair from Classics Ramjet.