Hey everyone, I recently purchased Encore Ironhide and Ratchet and despite they're shortcomings, I love these! Here's my question though.... arent they're rifles supposed to store underneath them in vehicle mode? They should peg into what is the waist in robot mode right? On BOTH of mine the rifles barely stay in place (no big deal really, some clear nail polish can fix that) but they also stick out/down so far that the actual rifles are what sit on the ground rather than the vehicle tires. I'm attaching a pic, you can barely see it, but you'll notice that the vehicles are actually resting on the rifles and the front tires are ever so slightly lifted, and keeping them from actually rolling; Each weapon is facing different directions in car mode, so being backwards is ruled out. If this is where the rifles are supposed to store, is there a flaw in my set or was there a change from the originals to the Encore that would make these stick out further? Thanks in advance everyone! Later
I do not think that the gun was supposed to store in vehicle mode. It is not in the instructions. Also, if you like these guys then I highly recommend the Best Toys Ironhide Ratchet head upgrades. Only $20.
Oh that is definitely on my shopping list! In fact, while watching reviews of the Best Toys heads I saw some reviewers also storing the weapons under the vehicles. Thanks! Later
Funny, after reading this I somehow remembered being able to store the rifle underneath also...probably the power of suggestion.
The gun totally stores underneath the figures in vehicle mode, but they have been reissued three / four times now hence mold wear preventing a tight grip.
There's a red peg section that attaches to the rifles. You need to remove it before you attach them to the underside. That then of course leaves you with a random red peg with no place to store it... Also totally recommend looking into those Best Toys heads. They make the final product look a lot closer to the show. Too bad the arms look a bit awkward with them though, but you can't have everything.
The red pegs are removed, you actually cant peg them into the waist piece if they're still on. I keep those in the back of the van when in car mode along with the missile. The rifles not holding tight is not really an issue, that can be fixed with some clear nail polish, but they seem like they maybe either thicker than they should, or the waist piece they peg onto is out too far because the vans are resting on the rifle itself, not the tires. I'm just wondering if that's normal and has always been that way, or is it an issue caused by multiple re-issues of the mold, or a change in the toy itself. And yeah, I'm definitely wanting to get a set of heads for these guys. Ive looked into the Best Toys set, but I also recently saw someone makes a set of heads, feet and arm extensions too. Anyone know anything about these? I saw them on Youtube. Are they good? How's the maker? Anyone here have experience with this other set? Thanks again everyone! Later
Mine peg in, they are actually too tight on mine so I don't do it often so that I don't chip the chrome. There is a little clearance on the bottom, but not enough for me to go rolling him around on the concrete.
When I had Ironhide and Ratchet when I was a kid, the weapons stored in alt mode no problem, but with my Encore Ironhide, I have the same problem you have. Maybe they had to change that part of the mold?
actually, i have never tried storing the weapons ike that since i keep my Encore figures in their boxes. the only problem i have had with my IH/R figures is one of the silver tank tread pieces being loose and coming off easily. Clear Nail Polish fixed that in no time. I endorse the Head add-ons as well. they take the creepiness out of 2 great figures, lol.
Here's my reissue Ironhide with the head add-on - and several other mods Mine also had the gun storing issue, but I never use it anymore now that he has the custom waist plate.
I considered making them for people after a few requests, but I don't really have the time and I'm not comfortable cutting up other people's toys.
Dude, that looks really good! Have you posted that in Radicons or made a tutorial for it? I understand you not wanting to cut up other peoples' toys, but I'd be very willing to try it myself if you made a tutorial so I knew what you did! Awesome work! Later
There is a thread in there somewhere - First I did Ironhide, and people wanted to know how to do it so I started a tutorial on Ratchet. I got as far as how to make the crotch plate but I lost the pics for the following steps. I did post a general synopsis on what I did with a few key pics, though. Here it is: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radicons-customs/271444-g1-ironhide-fixes-wip.html
So did you ever finish the tutorial with Ratchet? I want to try this myself but I'll be asking lots of questions LOL! I want to try mainly the shoulders, feet and gun mod. Shoulders: Where did you make your cuts and what did you use to cut with? In my experiance with Dremmels, they melt plastic as they cut and can get messy. Feet: how did you remove them and where did you attach the new joint? Gun: what did you use for that added pin and what size hole did you drill in the hand? Thanks in advance, again that Ironhide is sick! Great work! Later
I used an exacto saw for the cuts. The feet hinge on the existing toe screw, I just cut a bunch of material out with a dremel to allow them to swing up. The gun pin is just some random nail I had and I found a drill bit that was about that size. Check out the pictures and posts in the mod thread - they should help.
Where did you attach the new syntra tab on the shoulder joint? Did you go on the end of the joint "ball" or more centered? Baically, A or B? Or am I completely off? LOL!!! Thanks for pointing me to this, cant wait to get started!!! Back on topic, I was looking at both my figures yesterday, and I noticed that on BOTH of them, the waist piece was not pushed in all the way, I pushed them in but now instead of the front wheels being up, the back wheels are. Guess my figs are just not meant to store they're weapons like this LOL! Thanks again everyone! Later
You pretty much got it with B. Looking at the black part unaltered, just imagine a styrene tab parallel to the flat black part that slots into the circular black part that the arm swivels on. You want the new joint to hinge back to the original position. For Ratchet I sunk the styrene part into the flat black part so it was flush with it, that avoids having to hollow out the arm to make space for the new tab. That alters the placement of the slot in the black circle joint more to the center and is harder to do, but I recommend it. As for the gun not fitting underneath - all you have to do is scrape some of the chrome off the gun right at the angle where the post meets the gun. If you look at my pics you can see I did that - it was before I modded him and didn't care about that anymore. You'll want to use some good, strong glue when attaching the new tab - the joint will take a lot of torque when used.
