The Energon Pub

Yeah, I know Sideways would take some salvaging to make him actually cool, but I have found a way to improve his posability.



I figured the shaft which allows his lower leg to slide up and down could actually serve also as a hinge, so I filed down the squared posts to a curve, and cut a panel out of the back of the knee.

Voila!



After all, you can't be a ninja without knees...

Whoa. Killer mod! Now if only I had one of these figures to do such a thing to...

One thing struck me now. As that dont mess with quality how come Has/tak never thought of that

Because they are more interested in sales over articulation in most cases! these are just the regular line not a line built for collectors so the less articulation the cheaper the build and the cheaper the build the more money in the pocket!

Normally that might hold true, HP, but in this case, I'm not sure it would make it any pricier. Remember, all I did was file down a post and cut a square of plastic out of the back of the leg. No extra components, no more springs or screws. Just a quick redesign of the existing pieces...

Indeed, LESS plastic is needed for this :p

I remember years ago when someone figured the trick, several threads talked about it

either way, looking good man!

I totally agree with you, I was just using that as an example of when the design and tooling is done it's done! If there was an oversight that would have allowed more articulation they won't spend more money to have everything retooled!

well, it might be harder to keep the knee slid all the way to the end, and also to keep his knees bent if you file down too much... maybe a spot of glue on the sliding part to help lock it in place, and maybe some flattened off edges instead of completely round, to give his knees a sort of ratcheting effect.
*checks* Bodycount did some more extreme modifications of his, giving him neck articulation, more arm articulation (elbows, and I guess swivels)

RavageX-9 wrote:well, it might be harder to keep the knee slid all the way to the end, and also to keep his knees bent if you file down too much... maybe a spot of glue on the sliding part to help lock it in place, and maybe some flattened off edges instead of completely round, to give his knees a sort of ratcheting effect.

This actually works fine - I was careful not to overfile it, so it bends nicely while still being relatively stiff so it stays in place.

RavageX-9 wrote:*checks* Bodycount did some more extreme modifications of his, giving him neck articulation, more arm articulation (elbows, and I guess swivels)

Really? I haven't seen this - are there pics somewhere? I was hoping to add more articulation to them both, along with a couple of other mods (the guys are going to be different characters when I'm through with them, natch). If I can take some inspiration from Bodycount's version that'd be an enormous help...

Bodycount?s Sideways was show accurate, but non transformable

Ramrider wrote:

RavageX-9 wrote:well, it might be harder to keep the knee slid all the way to the end, and also to keep his knees bent if you file down too much... maybe a spot of glue on the sliding part to help lock it in place, and maybe some flattened off edges instead of completely round, to give his knees a sort of ratcheting effect.

This actually works fine - I was careful not to overfile it, so it bends nicely while still being relatively stiff so it stays in place.

RavageX-9 wrote:*checks* Bodycount did some more extreme modifications of his, giving him neck articulation, more arm articulation (elbows, and I guess swivels)

Really? I haven't seen this - are there pics somewhere? I was hoping to add more articulation to them both, along with a couple of other mods (the guys are going to be different characters when I'm through with them, natch). If I can take some inspiration from Bodycount's version that'd be an enormous help...

I have pictures, but I don't know where they would be online. Let me know if I have to put them up on photobucket or whatnot. but yeah... I guess it's not transformable. the knees do look like they're glued onto the ends, and his elbows wouldn't allow him to form that shell on the underside... basically the elbows are added on in between the two parts, making the arms longer. you'll have to think up something new in order to make that transformable.

Just finished doing this mod today. Had the legs of my Sideways taken apart for a couple of weeks with the intention to eventually do this, so I'm glad it's done. It's definitely much nicer this way--the increased articulation is such a vast improvement. I wish the elbow joints could be acheived so easily.

Yeah, I know. I've been looking at how I might be able to do that myself - along with how to achieve the head swap I'm after. Tricky business...

Ramrider wrote:Yeah, I know Sideways would take some salvaging to make him actually cool, but I have found a way to improve his posability.

I figured the shaft which allows his lower leg to slide up and down could actually serve also as a hinge, so I filed down the squared posts to a curve, and cut a panel out of the back of the knee.

Voila!



After all, you can't be a ninja without knees...

i have got to get a Rapid Run and do that. i'd be happy with the existing arm articulation if he just had better leg movement.

ZOMBIE THREAD ARIIIIISE!

Well, saves making a new one.
Over a year after the previous post, too...

Anyway, just thought you might be interested to learn that my Rapid Run fig is slowly developing elbows! Well, he actually developed them pretty quickly, but he's slowly developing new forearms. No pics just yet, but suffice to say that unlike previous versions, this will still transform. Once I've got a forearm in place, I'll show you how it's done.

Shade wrote:Whoa. Killer mod! Now if only I had one of these figures to do such a thing to...

sadly...i have both.

I dunno about 'sadly'. The figs are okay, I think it's mostly the lack of articulation that lets them down... and that's fixable. Although I am losing the headswapping gimmick as well, which I thought was poorly executed anyway.

Hopefully we'll have a pic or two tonight. I (reasonably) successfully cast a resin copy of one of Cyb. Hardtop's arms, and it fits quite nicely onto the elbow bracket. When my batteries are charged, I'll snap a couple of shots and see if I can't get 'em up.

I am, however, looking at alternative arms, from Cyb. Hot Shot, which I'm in the process of moulding. They also seem to fit quite nicely, and should look better on the Deluxe fig.

Here's Take 1 - this is based on the Hardtop arm.





I basically made a latex mould from the arm, and then filled in with epoxy resin in layers. A couple of small drops of black acrylic in each batch of resin gives it the colour. The cast's come out okay, barring a couple of air bubbles, and it also means that he can hold a gun if I decide to give him one.
Like I said, though, I'm currently making moulds from Hot Shot's forearms. I just need to add one more layer of latex, and once they're set I can try casting them.

Ramrider wrote:I dunno about 'sadly'. The figs are okay, I think it's mostly the lack of articulation that lets them down... and that's fixable. Although I am losing the headswapping gimmick as well, which I thought was poorly executed anyway.

Yes,but energon and armada weren't too popular,and yet i bought two characters of the same mold.

Well, personally I've never cared how popular a line is, I just get figs I like...

agreed. who cares if it sells millions of figures.. if i like something imma buy it.......

I've now cast a Hot Shot arm, and again, except for a couple of fixable air bubbles, it's come out great. It's still a little flexy at the moment, so I'm going to leave it till later to set up, then I can file it to shape and attach it. It should look a lot better than the Hardtop arm...

Nice improvement. it looks better.

I really liked Sideways and I think you've done a great job on him. You certainly make it look easy!