(Special thanks to TFW member Demonss for the video tutorial and lending an assist on this tutorial. ~Superquad7)

(Original source:

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The chest plate that makes Silverbolt look so bulky is actually better-proportioned for the gestalt, and it looks a whole lot more like Superion!




I don't even think it needs painting, actually.

I have a more elegant solution, using the existing hinge on Silverbolt's chest:




Push the pins out to remove the hinge, and find a replacement pin (of the same diameter) five or six millimeters longer. The pin I used was from Animated Voyager Optimus, but most Transformers have similarly-sized pins.

Then you'll need to drill parallel holes of the same diameter at the bottom of the chest plate, just below those contentious abdomen flaps:




The yellow line indicates how the replacement pin will be orientated.

Install the hinge with the tab facing downwards; if you've lined up the holes properly, the hinge will fit perfectly in the space between the abdomen ball joints, and the tab will fit into the pre-existing channel at the base of the chest piece.




Finally, reattach the other end of the hinge to the chest as it was originally attached, using the original pin. That's it!




Now that the hinge is attached to the bottom of the chest plate, it's a hell of a lot more useful.




Fold the chest plate down, and it locks onto Silverbolt's chest exactly as it did before:




Fold the chest plate up, and now it's the perfect height to cover Superion's neck and shoulders.




No parts-forming required, and the chest plate still fits as snugly on Silverbolt as it did before!

I'm glad you asked. This mod also totally solves that problem, giving a great deal more clearance for Superion's swelled head*.

*Seriously though, if you were the first and best of the Autobot combiners - and your name was "Superion" - you'd probably have a swelled head, too!




It goes in and out much more easily now!




Honestly, if this simple design adjustment had occurred to TFC at the time, I'm sure they never would've bothered with Phantom Ray. He's totally superfluous now.