The Energon Pub

I write this in the hopes that some of the more SUPERIOR kitbashers out there might bestow upon me their valuable knowledge.

OK. So I finally got my hands on Alt Mirage. GREAT freaking Alt. Only a few issues.

Mold Problems:

The hood doesn't close smooth. This is apparent on every one I have seen online. I think it has to do with the two grille pieces (from the elbows) not being molded corrrectly and lining up. Even without closing the hood you can see gaps between the fenders and the center piece of the front of the car. Any thoughts?

Rear hatch panel doesn't close on the left-hand side. The pins seem to line up but it still doesn't fit snug. Anyone else have this problem?


Pins:

The pin holding the right-side door is really loose. Hence the door flops around. The pin that sits ON the Y-bar at the back edge of the roof is loose and rotates around too easily. Also the light-blue plastic piece that connects and pivots the hatch itself is REALLY loose and flops not only up and down but side to side as well.

What can I do to strengthen these areas? Especially the light-blue bit on the hatch.

More importantly, has ANYONE thought of a better way to store the back kibble? Even if the rear hatch wasn't there, the "B-pillars" (the arches of the roof that connect to the 3/4 panels by the door) impede mobility.
I had an idea of taking the bar under the roof of Meister or SmokeScreen and allowing the WHOLE roof section (including the rear hatch) to swivel (like on Meister for instance). Any advice on how to do this best?

i myself have started converting my Mirages. the second one had the same problem with the back hatch, but it was just a small lump like it was melted on the post.

Converting you say? What kind of plans you got? Currently in the planning phase of reshelling Mirage with a Ferrari Enzo...

Do tell...

well im going with more kibble anyways heres a link.
http://www.tfmaster.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5545

Right. I saw that. Don't know if I like it myself, but good on ya for coming up with something different. Once the next one I ordered gets here I am going to start on the Enzo bash. That will look so good and I think it should be relatively easy.....we shall soon see.

I did a simple leg transformation to mine that I like much better than the orig. Just basically rotate the thighs 90' so the entire white part becomes the thigh and the knee is where it meets the black. Then just open the undercarage plate in the back if you want him to bend his knee like he's kneeling. plus, it puts the rear bumper kibble to the outside of his leg as opposed to having it right infront of his kneecap. Oh, and you need to spin the waist around. Sorry, no pics right now.

I got my First Mirage today and so far the only problems I have experienced is floppy Back kibble... Everything else that has been mentioned by everyone so far I have not incountered no issues with the Hood/Grill lining up... nothing just the back issues i mentioned..

my issues were a clear glob of paint on the hood that when I tried to remove left a discolored spot and a missing passanger side window:(

and the back thing

Well, as for the hood..I think I found a solution. Annoying, but, well I needed to take the car fenders off to get them out of the way. Then using a nice file, I filed down the little recess where the hood is supposed to fit into on the interior of the fenders (black plastic). I basically doubled the depth it recessed from the car fender along the top. Then I filed the little groove where the hood "notches" into it. If this isn't clear pm me and I will take some quick pics to show. I need to do this again because I didn't take it down enough. My hood fits ALMOST flush now.
As for back kibble, I am going to attempt to graft the piece from Meister that allows his roof to rotate and swivel. If it works, I will paint it like an overhead console when I finally repaint the whole figure. It just screams for a paint job and since there isn't gonna be a BINALTECH (only Hot Rod) version.....