The Energon Pub

Hi Everyone

Im sure most of you know about this issue, well i recently got Henkei Grimlock with along a great toy haul (Strafe, FP Springer, FP Prime Trailer, City Commander) and i really like the figure, but of course a big part of me wishes that this figure should go back to R&D for a much better outcome, but we all know thats not gonna happen, at least anytime soon. So, has anyone come up with a fix for Grimlock or HTS Overkill where their arms are suppose to lock or latch some how on too the side of their chest or maybe shoulders? My Overkill is not too bad, but Grimmy is and i've thought of just keep applying nail polish to the tab until his arms latch on to it or going to a hobby shop and trying to something to use, but at the sametime i dont disfigure this figure i got for my collection. Any help would be great for this fix or any ideas just lay it on me...

Stockade wrote:Hi Everyone

Im sure most of you know about this issue, well i recently got Henkei Grimlock with along a great toy haul (Strafe, FP Springer, FP Prime Trailer, City Commander) and i really like the figure, but of course a big part of me wishes that this figure should go back to R&D for a much better outcome, but we all know thats not gonna happen, at least anytime soon. So, has anyone come up with a fix for Grimlock or HTS Overkill where their arms are suppose to lock or latch some how on too the side of their chest or maybe shoulders? My Overkill is not too bad, but Grimmy is and i've thought of just keep applying nail polish to the tab until his arms latch on to it or going to a hobby shop and trying to something to use, but at the sametime i dont disfigure this figure i got for my collection. Any help would be great for this fix or any ideas just lay it on me...

Actually, it's a misassembly issue, for the robot mode. You see the tabs on the panels next to his head? They're supposed to fit into the grooves of the shoulder parts, but the panels are swapped. Worse, it's not an easy fix as we're dealing with metal rods.

I swapped it all out once, and I'll tell you now, mine still doesn't line up very well...

I don't understand the problem. I'm happy with mine!

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Stockade wrote:Hi Everyone

Im sure most of you know about this issue, well i recently got Henkei Grimlock with along a great toy haul (Strafe, FP Springer, FP Prime Trailer, City Commander) and i really like the figure, but of course a big part of me wishes that this figure should go back to R&D for a much better outcome, but we all know thats not gonna happen, at least anytime soon. So, has anyone come up with a fix for Grimlock or HTS Overkill where their arms are suppose to lock or latch some how on too the side of their chest or maybe shoulders? My Overkill is not too bad, but Grimmy is and i've thought of just keep applying nail polish to the tab until his arms latch on to it or going to a hobby shop and trying to something to use, but at the sametime i dont disfigure this figure i got for my collection. Any help would be great for this fix or any ideas just lay it on me...

Actually, it's a misassembly issue, for the robot mode. You see the tabs on the panels next to his head? They're supposed to fit into the grooves of the shoulder parts, but the panels are swapped. Worse, it's not an easy fix as we're dealing with metal rods.

JelZe GoldRabbit when i came home from work yesterday i checked out my henkei Grimlock and i see the flat black panels your taking about on each side of Grimmys head and i saw the grooves on his shoulders too, but it looks like one panel can fit Ok, but the other doesnt line up at all! And you said they have to be swap to make it lock correctly right? if so, how hard is it to get the metal pin rods out and placed back?

Stockade wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Stockade wrote:Hi Everyone

Im sure most of you know about this issue, well i recently got Henkei Grimlock with along a great toy haul (Strafe, FP Springer, FP Prime Trailer, City Commander) and i really like the figure, but of course a big part of me wishes that this figure should go back to R&D for a much better outcome, but we all know thats not gonna happen, at least anytime soon. So, has anyone come up with a fix for Grimlock or HTS Overkill where their arms are suppose to lock or latch some how on too the side of their chest or maybe shoulders? My Overkill is not too bad, but Grimmy is and i've thought of just keep applying nail polish to the tab until his arms latch on to it or going to a hobby shop and trying to something to use, but at the sametime i dont disfigure this figure i got for my collection. Any help would be great for this fix or any ideas just lay it on me...

Actually, it's a misassembly issue, for the robot mode. You see the tabs on the panels next to his head? They're supposed to fit into the grooves of the shoulder parts, but the panels are swapped. Worse, it's not an easy fix as we're dealing with metal rods.

JelZe GoldRabbit when i came home from work yesterday i checked out my henkei Grimlock and i see the flat black panels your taking about on each side of Grimmys head and i saw the grooves on his shoulders too, but it looks like one panel can fit Ok, but the other doesnt line up at all! And you said they have to be swap to make it lock correctly right? if so, how hard is it to get the metal pin rods out and placed back?

I pulled out my Classics Grimlock just to be sure. To recap for everyone:

1) The black panels on either side of Grimlock's head have two tabs molded into each of them on the outside. On mine the tabs are on the back. Of note is that the space for the hinge is not exactly centered.
2) The grey shoulder pieces have two grooves molded into each of them, supposedly for the tabs to fit in. However, since the tabs are in the back of the panels they don't line up.

That has led me to the theory of a misassembly. Trying to fix it is a hassle, because not only are the panels attached by metal rods, the third black panel for holding the tail is in the way. Metal rods have to be hammered out, but I haven't had the guts to try that.

Mykltron wrote:I don't understand the problem. I'm happy with mine!

Then you haven't looked closely enpugh.

Anyway, it's a surprisingly difficult fix for a small misassembly.

I'm still checking into this, just been kinda busy at home with multitude of stuff too do. And i really do appricate everyone's feedback on this and at the sametime im trying to come up with a fix and like Jelze Goldrabbit said, you have to hammer out the pins and i can already tell that it might not be worth it since i just got Grimlock and definitley dont wanna break him. I'll keep everyone posted on what i'm gonna do. Thanks everybody.

Here's a small tutorial on what I did in order to swap out the shoulders on Grimmy, it's a bit long:

For this, you will need:

1, small screwdriver - To take apart the figure to reach the necessary parts easier

2, vice - to hold the shoulder/head part tight

3, rag - to prevent the hard metal vice from contacting the plastic directly and munching it up

4, very small precision screwdriver - preferably with a flat head, this is used to drive the pin out

5, hammer - for hitting the screwdriver to knock the pins out

6, Vice grips - just in case.

Instructions:

Step 1, Disassemble figure at upper torso via the two screws in the back (one's a bit hard to reach but with a thin enough screwdriver you can get it) This should allow you easier access to the whole shoulder/head assembly

Step 2, Wrap the part you're working on in the rag (with the pin you intend to dislodge uncovered) and put it in the vice. Tighten the vice so the part won't move, but not tight enough that you do it harm. (This may take a few tries) NOTE: The pin has one smooth end and one rough end (the rough end is the one that holds the pin in place) visually examine each pin to find which is more likely to be the smoth end because that's the side you're going to be working on (so the rough end has less distance to travel and doesn't bore out the entire hole)
Note 2: Start with the pin holding the back/tail holder section as it needs to come off to get at the shoulder pins)

Step 3, Position precision screwdriver on top of pin, HOLD STEADY

Step 4, Starting with light taps, begin hammering the screwdriver into the pin. (While doing this check to see if the part moves in the vice and if it does, correct via step 2) Increase the strength of the hammering incrementally until you have the appropriate force.

Step 5, Once the rough end of the pin has been pushed out completely, stop hammering as the pin should be able to slide right out, if it doesn't this is where the vice grips come in handy, grab and pull.

Step 6, Once the first pin has been removed and the tail holder part has been removed, repeat steps 2-5 for the shoulder pins.

Step 7, Swap the parts as necessary.

Step 8, In a reverse order to how you took them out, slide the pins back in, the rough part will be tricky to get back into the hole, so put the whole shebang back in the vice and hammer them gently back into place. Another thing you can try is using the clamping power of the vice to push the pin in, making sure to put that rag between the metal and any plastic.

Step 9, Reassemble figure and enjoy proper looking shoulders.

I did all of the above, but the shoulders still will not line up perfectly. No matter how I switch them, the tabs and the slots just do not line up all the way. This did, however, give Grimlock more proper looking shoulder slopes.
Overall I'm still very glad that I did this, because the figure looks better now, but it really didn't help the functionality at all. It's a lot of work for what essentially amounts to a cosmetic change. (That is, unless I missed something entirely and there's a way to make the whole thing line up better... if there is someone please correct me)

Anyway, all up to you in the end, but just figured I'd give you a look at what work is required. Hope this helped.

- Sam

Samsonator wrote:Here's a small tutorial on what I did in order to swap out the shoulders on Grimmy, it's a bit long:

For this, you will need:

1, small screwdriver - To take apart the figure to reach the necessary parts easier

2, vice - to hold the shoulder/head part tight

3, rag - to prevent the hard metal vice from contacting the plastic directly and munching it up

4, very small precision screwdriver - preferably with a flat head, this is used to drive the pin out

5, hammer - for hitting the screwdriver to knock the pins out

6, Vice grips - just in case.

Instructions:

Step 1, Disassemble figure at upper torso via the two screws in the back (one's a bit hard to reach but with a thin enough screwdriver you can get it) This should allow you easier access to the whole shoulder/head assembly

Step 2, Wrap the part you're working on in the rag (with the pin you intend to dislodge uncovered) and put it in the vice. Tighten the vice so the part won't move, but not tight enough that you do it harm. (This may take a few tries) NOTE: The pin has one smooth end and one rough end (the rough end is the one that holds the pin in place) visually examine each pin to find which is more likely to be the smoth end because that's the side you're going to be working on (so the rough end has less distance to travel and doesn't bore out the entire hole)
Note 2: Start with the pin holding the back/tail holder section as it needs to come off to get at the shoulder pins)

Step 3, Position precision screwdriver on top of pin, HOLD STEADY

Step 4, Starting with light taps, begin hammering the screwdriver into the pin. (While doing this check to see if the part moves in the vice and if it does, correct via step 2) Increase the strength of the hammering incrementally until you have the appropriate force.

Step 5, Once the rough end of the pin has been pushed out completely, stop hammering as the pin should be able to slide right out, if it doesn't this is where the vice grips come in handy, grab and pull.

Step 6, Once the first pin has been removed and the tail holder part has been removed, repeat steps 2-5 for the shoulder pins.

Step 7, Swap the parts as necessary.

Step 8, In a reverse order to how you took them out, slide the pins back in, the rough part will be tricky to get back into the hole, so put the whole shebang back in the vice and hammer them gently back into place. Another thing you can try is using the clamping power of the vice to push the pin in, making sure to put that rag between the metal and any plastic.

Step 9, Reassemble figure and enjoy proper looking shoulders.

I did all of the above, but the shoulders still will not line up perfectly. No matter how I switch them, the tabs and the slots just do not line up all the way. This did, however, give Grimlock more proper looking shoulder slopes.
Overall I'm still very glad that I did this, because the figure looks better now, but it really didn't help the functionality at all. It's a lot of work for what essentially amounts to a cosmetic change. (That is, unless I missed something entirely and there's a way to make the whole thing line up better... if there is someone please correct me)

Anyway, all up to you in the end, but just figured I'd give you a look at what work is required. Hope this helped.

- Sam

Great step by step instructions Samsonator, i will try to give this a shot this weekend to see how it turns out. Thanks again.