PROJECT NAME -- "Switchblade" Airachnid
[... Table of Contents ...]
0.0 Forward
0.5 Note on "spider mode"
1.0 The origin of "Switchblade" idea
2.0 Preliminary Planning
2.1 Arms Build
2.1.1 Arms Storage
2.3 Optional Waist Widening and Why
3.0 Sample Test Build (will appear in later posts)
X.X Reference links
[ ... 0.0 - FORWARD ... ]
The project I'm working on is a hybrid version of Airachnid which would possibly make her a triple-changer. Robot, helicopter, and jet. (well, quad-changer if you count her "spider" form)
Right now I'm just doing test-fits and building ideas with a spare Hasbro RID Arcee and a spare Hasbro Airachnid. However since Airachnid's "switchblade jet" will require jet engines, I'm holding off until my ebay Tomy Takara Airachnid arrives (within a week or two).
Why use the Tomy Takara version? Since it has a pair of "engine thrusters" made of a sort of brown/copper type plastic. I may even look at hinging them in so that they move from being on the sides of the rotor in helicopter-mode to further back or under the swing-out wings in jet-mode.
In the meanwhile, since both Hasbro and Takara versions are otherwise 98% identical for size and shape, the Hasbro version will work for building up test pieces for the tail and arm-armor. I have a friend who does Shapeways who will do up the orderable arm-armor (once done, the parts will be purchasable on Shapeways from Fakebusker83).
[ ... 0.5 - Note on Spider Mode ... ]
Currently I'm waiting on some additional funds to try to make do a parts-form spider-mode by basically replacing her small 3-blade rotors with 6 long spider-legs made from lego-parts via the parts-shop. While not perfect, the worked-out plan there will produce a sturdy & strong 6-leg set of legs with 3-nice clicky-joints on each leg.
[ ... 1.0 - Origin of "Switchblade" Idea ... ]
The basic idea for helicopter to jet conversion is based on an old 80's cartoon called MASK. (in the cartoon, MASK and VENOM (roughly G.I.Joe type figures with a helmet) had transforming vehicles. Most vehicles could transform from one vehicle to another, through some had more of a battle-station alt.form).
The leader of VENOM had a blue helicoptor that changed into a jet... basically the 3 rotor blades would line up and drop into a slot along the tail. The vertical part of the tail goes from hanging down (like a chopper's tail-fin) to up (giving the jet form a mig-29 type tail). The jet's wings came off the sides of the body/tail. And the chopper's "landing gear" then folds up to become two large guns which are mounted to the underside of the wings.
-- see attached links at end of post for pictures and references on the Kenner "Switchblade" toy --
[ ... 2.0 - Preliminary Planning ... ]
I'm basically thinking that the two dress-skirt like bits on the upper coptor tail (which don't seem to do much other than help hold the legs together and in place for coptor mode) could be replaced by a small set of jet wings.
IMHO Naturally, the Tomy-Takara version of Airachnid would be the better choice for modding to have a chopper-to-jet ability, since Takara has two extra "side engine pods" (which each also feature a 5-mm hole for mounting the "ARMS micron") since these side pods could be somewhat envisioned as both thrusters for the chopper AND jet modes.
Because this would widen the helicoptor a little roughly around her hips area, I figured, "why not?" and am looking to widen the lower-sides of the vehicle form to be a bit more like the VENOM Switchblade's chopper's body, which means I'd have room to fit in a better set of arms (most likely a repainted set of RID Arcee arms). I've seen one or two others do the Arcee arms, but while they looked good in robot form, they didn't modify the side-panels or shoulders any, leaving the vehicle looking improper and clunky.
Frankly, I'm surprised they didn't use a chopper a bit more like the Kenner Switchblade one in order to fit in a better set of arms. Its like a few ppl said, if Hasbro used the plastic from those stupid "web launcher" guns as a slight (5% or so) mass-increase to her, Airachnid's design would have been vastly improved.
[ ... 2.1 - Arms Build and Arms Storage ... ]
So I've decided to go ahead and use arms from RiD Arcee. Each arm is made of an upper arm (black plastic), a lower arm (blue plastic) and a hand (black plastic).
Since Arcee has a small spike/cuff on each arm coming off at the wrist, and Airachnid doesn't, I have several options. I could use a blade to cut the bit off. Or just switch the hands and put the left arm (with a right hand) as Airachnid's right arm (which partially hides the spike/cuff behind the arm/hand instead of leaving it on the front where Arcee has it) -- but I've gone a step further. Why? Because the upper arm is side-unique (that is to say, one is clearly a "left" and the other a "right"). So I only flipped the blue-parts.
[ ... 2.2.1 Arms Storage ... ]
For storing the arms for both helicopter and jet modes, the shoulder bit would click up a bit (just like Airachnid's original shoulders/arms) and rest against the side of Airachnid's body.
Unfortunately, the pocket isn't big enough to do this. So I thought of a few alternatives.
If you're into creating Shapeways custom plastic stuff, you could modify the upper and lower arm to be collapsible, maybe put a double-ball joint on the hand, to tuck the hand underneath the arm. Or maybe remove part of the rear body/copter area and tuck the hand in there (similar to how Arcee's hands hide under the bike-seat area).
Since I'm not much for creating Shapeways, and my project already requires Shapeways, making a whole new arm could/would probably cost as much as buying a RiD Arcee (if not two of them, since if you order Shapeways from Canada and its over $20 USD worth, we get hit with a HUGE import duty cause of Shapeways only dealing with UPS for shipping).
... Its not even really an import duty... UPS tricks ppl into thinking its an import duty/tax, when its just UPS being greedy, resulting in what is basically a cash-grab via a "handling/processing" charge which amounts to anything from $10 to 40% of the packages worth. So if I order $50 of shapeways, UPS tacks on like a $20 fee, of which only about $4 goes to tax and the other $16 goes into UPS's pockets.
Sorry for the mini-rant.
So in my case, I'll be looking to build/modify the flat armor from Airachnid's arms into a slightly more "boxy" shape.
[ ... 2.3 Optional Waist Widening and Why ... ]
I may cut out and file-down the larger blue waist balls/peg from Arcee to fit into Airachnid.
This will widen her waist, but more importantly, provide room to install the flip-around vertical tail-fin bit (one on each leg, approximately pinned at the ankle). Not sure what size or shape it will be yet, since in 'copter mode it hangs down from the tail, in jet mode its up from the tail, and in robot mode it would probably line up with the lower-leg and be somewhat hidden.
The other reason to do this mod would be because I could then use the ball-cups from Arcee's hips on the larger balls from the blue hip plastic... which would free the purple ball-cups from Airachnid's legs to have the flat-end rounded into balls to fit the cups in Arcee's shoulders. (thus keeping the shoulder bits the same purple plastic).
Only problem with this idea is that the black cups in Arcee's hip-joint are a bit too big to fit the socket on Airachnid's legs. I'd have to sand them down to fit them in, or shape/glue some clay, or get shapeways to do a set.
[ ... X.X - References ... ]
-- REFERENCES -- 80's Kenner "Switchblade" --
reference page with more pic's of the old Kenner toy:
http://desmondyoongcollection.blogspot. ... blade.html a youtube reference (old adverts - shows Switchblade's "chopper-to-jet" TF)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVHGVEivW2A best page for Switchblade (includes a vid of chopper TF to jet, jet TF to chopper, multiple pics, even scans of the instructions):
http://borneotip.blogspot.ca/2008/07/ve ... blade.html
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