Not much to really say here (HA! Here comes the novel).....I decided to give some major articulation to my G1 Grimlock using Jaf's idea--the Energon Sharkticon thighs and waist sections. I cut the pegs from the lower legs and glued them into the Grimlock upper leg sections (which were trimmed down a bit). I shaved the Sharkticon legs where the peg inserted to allow it to fit into the Grimlock leg slot smoothly). I cut a bit from the back of Grimlock's legs to allow the upper thighs to transform. I went a bit of a different route than Jaf and kept the ab section from the Sharkticon figure and used this to fill in the gap between the waist and the chest. I drilled a small hole into the back of the waist section, then used a larger screw to screw into the Diaclone pilot area and pull the waist section onto the back section (similar to how the old waist screwed in).
As for the arms, I cut the arm pegs off the chest and cut down the internal arm pegs (cut them roughly in half), then glued ball joint socket into the opening (got these from HLJ about a year ago). I then took the Sharkticon arms and cut just above the rotation joint, then glued this piece into Grimlock's upper arm (which I had now cut just a bit shorter). I cut the fists completely off and cut the sliding mechanism just under the small notch that stopped it from sliding in or out. I then took the inside of the forearms and cut a chunk out to allow the fists to fold in and out (similar to how Sludge's fists do). I took two sizes of small styrene rods and built two hinges for the fists to fold in and out on. I then glued the old internal sliding piece (with upper part with the elbow attached) into the forearm and screwed it all back down. Now the arms bend at the original elbows, the fists fold in and out, and the arms are on ball joints at the shoulders and they rotate 360 degrees around the bicep area.
After the mods were done and the glue was dry, I used some ProCreate putty to reinforce the ball joints and to fill in the inside of the shoulders (around the ball joint socket)--this helped reinforce that and it helped fill in the empty space. This area will probably be covered with thin sheet styrene once I make sure the putty has had enough dry time (either that or I'll add more and sand it even around the area). I also added some putty to he outside of the shoulders to fill in the hole where the screws were--this will be sanded better once they are completely dry.
The head is sitting on the shoulders for now--I still haven't finished with that part yet. I'm using the Classics Grimlock head and I shaved down the sides/hors a bit to look more like the Grimlock images from my Visual Works book. I will also be adding a bit more height to the bottom of the feet with some styrene and possibly some putty (there is a small gap in the alt mode that I chose not to work around because I wanted to give him a bit more height in bot mode).
Still a WIP--I've now taken a break to plan out the foot extension and head mods and I've started work on Sludge. I'm hoping to keep chugging along on these Dinobots and at least get the mods done before painting any of them (and yes, these will be keeping the clear parts and hopefully the chrome). I'm hoping to also finish up a few other 'bashes and repaints in the near future. Anyway, enjoy!
