MP-01 Optimus Prime Modifications
Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2014 10:20 pm
I was taking a look at my Masterpiece Optimus Prime (MP-01)....
(I forgot to take a pic before I began!)
I was seriously starting to dislike the head.
Now, I know Igear came out with the "anime accurate head", but aside from the price (no money right now), I didn't like the eyes or the shape of the face (another thing bugging me about MP-01. I looked at MP-10, liked the head and all, but too small (and I have no money for an MP-10 anyways).
So, with that:
First, I disassembled his head. I then took and trimmed up the sides of the head (the second "horns" on either side), and smoothed out/reshaped the cheekpieces-
Then, I glued extra plastic to the face, and reshaped the nose and eyebrows; I also glued the face plate on permanently, and then reshaped the visor on the helmet-
After some painting, the finished piece:
I heated and "smashed" some clear plastic over the eyes, then painted the eyes and used elmer's glue to glue the clear plastic over them. I also reshaped the eyes a bit.
Now, another thing I noticed was the shoulders:
MP-10:
Mine:
Since I like the MP-10 shoulders better, iI decided to do what I have never seen done before...
...modify the shoulders.
SO...
1) I removed all the pistons from the arms, ground down the biceps and fitted some heavy sheet styrene to the shoulder:
2) I then checked the transform to make sure nothing got in the way:
3) Detailing the shoulders came next:
4) I then did my best to match the existing paint job I had:
5) Finally, the labels (and silver bicep stripe):
And MP-01 now had detailed shoulders (that transform!) that are more in-line with MP-10's.
Final result:
Yeah,. the paint looks a little streaky, but eventually, this is going to get a total repaint/relabeling when I have the money to do so.
Then, I decided to do the nigh-impossible: give him a new neck.
First, my battle plans--er, blue prints:
Then, raw materials:
I cut everything into rough shape, then I began gluing sheets of plastic together into a block:
Comparing it to the plans to ensure specs:
The finished block, marked for shaping:
Sanding, phase 1:
Beginning the scary part: cutting into the figure itself. No turning back now; if it doesn't work, I'm in a world of deep doo-doo! First, I ground down the plate the head and neck sits on:
Complete removal of the old "neck":
Continued shaping of the neck block; the "ears" are the revised version of the "box" I originally envisioned, held on with a metal pin that goes through the neck block:
If you thought the removal of the neck from the head-plate was scary, routing out the bottom of Prime's noggin was absolutely terrifying! :
Test fit of the new neck:
I then attached the pivot peg and drilled a hole in it for the screw to attach:
I drilled a 2-step hole into the head-plate: 1 large enough for the pivot peg; the other just big enough for the screw to come through on the other side:
Test-fit of the new neck to the head-plate; I was tempted to put the "ears" up and paint it blue :lol :
Full-up test of neck on head-plate, with head set in place:
Side-view:
Transform test; this was to ensure the neck didn't make the head too tall to fit into the back properly to transform:
Results:
The head is glued to the neck "ears" supports now; I have to sand and paint up the neck and smooth out the work done to the bottom of the head. The ears still move smoothly, and the neck has full movement. it just looks better to me now.
Next on my list: fix the thighs and "skirt".
Stay tuned...
(I forgot to take a pic before I began!)
I was seriously starting to dislike the head.
Now, I know Igear came out with the "anime accurate head", but aside from the price (no money right now), I didn't like the eyes or the shape of the face (another thing bugging me about MP-01. I looked at MP-10, liked the head and all, but too small (and I have no money for an MP-10 anyways).
So, with that:
First, I disassembled his head. I then took and trimmed up the sides of the head (the second "horns" on either side), and smoothed out/reshaped the cheekpieces-
Then, I glued extra plastic to the face, and reshaped the nose and eyebrows; I also glued the face plate on permanently, and then reshaped the visor on the helmet-
After some painting, the finished piece:
I heated and "smashed" some clear plastic over the eyes, then painted the eyes and used elmer's glue to glue the clear plastic over them. I also reshaped the eyes a bit.
Now, another thing I noticed was the shoulders:
MP-10:
Mine:
Since I like the MP-10 shoulders better, iI decided to do what I have never seen done before...
...modify the shoulders.
SO...
1) I removed all the pistons from the arms, ground down the biceps and fitted some heavy sheet styrene to the shoulder:
2) I then checked the transform to make sure nothing got in the way:
3) Detailing the shoulders came next:
4) I then did my best to match the existing paint job I had:
5) Finally, the labels (and silver bicep stripe):
And MP-01 now had detailed shoulders (that transform!) that are more in-line with MP-10's.
Final result:
Yeah,. the paint looks a little streaky, but eventually, this is going to get a total repaint/relabeling when I have the money to do so.
Then, I decided to do the nigh-impossible: give him a new neck.
First, my battle plans--er, blue prints:
Then, raw materials:
I cut everything into rough shape, then I began gluing sheets of plastic together into a block:
Comparing it to the plans to ensure specs:
The finished block, marked for shaping:
Sanding, phase 1:
Beginning the scary part: cutting into the figure itself. No turning back now; if it doesn't work, I'm in a world of deep doo-doo! First, I ground down the plate the head and neck sits on:
Complete removal of the old "neck":
Continued shaping of the neck block; the "ears" are the revised version of the "box" I originally envisioned, held on with a metal pin that goes through the neck block:
If you thought the removal of the neck from the head-plate was scary, routing out the bottom of Prime's noggin was absolutely terrifying! :
Test fit of the new neck:
I then attached the pivot peg and drilled a hole in it for the screw to attach:
I drilled a 2-step hole into the head-plate: 1 large enough for the pivot peg; the other just big enough for the screw to come through on the other side:
Test-fit of the new neck to the head-plate; I was tempted to put the "ears" up and paint it blue :lol :
Full-up test of neck on head-plate, with head set in place:
Side-view:
Transform test; this was to ensure the neck didn't make the head too tall to fit into the back properly to transform:
Results:
The head is glued to the neck "ears" supports now; I have to sand and paint up the neck and smooth out the work done to the bottom of the head. The ears still move smoothly, and the neck has full movement. it just looks better to me now.
Next on my list: fix the thighs and "skirt".
Stay tuned...