The Energon Pub

Hey all,

Came home to find a package waiting for me. Opening it up I was happy to find the Wheeljack upgrade kit. Here are some photos of the set as it arrived.

Box







White parts including spoilers, roof and the front of the car



The dark parts including the head, wings, engine, shoulder missile launcher and rifle



For the purpose of this upgrade I will be using Universe Sunstreaker. I could have used Sideswipe but as many know, painting a red figure white will just come out pink.



First thing you want to do is remove the roof from the vehicle. This just pops off if you pull it up and back.



Next, attach the new roof on to the figure. Then slide the spoilers into place. They slide on easily and hold very well.



After you have done that you attach the front of the car. The two side panels slot into the screw holes. One of mine doesn't hold in tight and is a little to long but after trimming it down it fits on fine. The middle part of the front slides on to black vent. Be careful with this peice as the plastic is very thin and breaks easily. I broke it but have repaired it with super glue.



That is it for vehicle mode. Transform him into robot mode and remove the head by pulling it back and up.



Next add the new head, missile launcher and gun. The missile launcher is a little tight on my version but the gun slides into the hand very easily and securely.





Finally, attach the engine block on the back (which holds extremely well) and attach the wings with the decorated side facing to the front.





There you have the basic look of the figure. So far I like what I see and am looking forward to the finished figure. I am planning to mod the figure a bit more to look a little more like a Lancia Stratos Turbo. I will be painting over the head lights, sanding down the middle prong on the door, filling in the holes on the bonet to give it a smooth look and adding (paint only) the head lights in the correct place. It wont be perfect but as close as you can get using the mold.

Very nice, I'd would love to do this project as well but I can't seem to get my hands on a kit. Oh well, I guess I'm doom to look in awe at other people's work. Here's hoping you post pics of the finished wheeljack.

Ok, here with an update on the custom. This is what I have done to Sunstreaker:



Here I have disassembled all the yellow parts and got them ready for painting. I have also done my modifications to the vehicle as well. You can see that the front of the car has had it's headlights filed down so they are flush with the rest and I have filled in the two holes just above the headlights as well. On the doors and sides I have also removed the middle piece of raised plastic because a Lancia Stratos Turbo doesn't have them. It was then sprayed with a primer and then with white paint to get this:



I have marked out the mods to help you. The yellow oval shows that the headlights are no longer there and the red circle shows the final door panel. In the blue circles I have added (after painting, obviously) two wing mirrors. This was done by taking two lego levers and cutting the tops off of them.

So, that is how it's coming. Next will be the painting of the body parts and applying the stickers that came with the set. I would like to ask for one piece of advice, the white paint looks like powder on the body work and I want it to look smooth. How can I achieve this?

Vehicle mode







Robot mode





Group shots




Sorry it's blurry

Wow!! Wheeljack turned out great man. I hope to get a kit off of ebay so I can make one too.

EXCELLENT!!! Thanks for the tutorial. The paint needs some touch up though.

Blurrz wrote:

GEEWUN wrote:EXCELLENT!!! Thanks for the tutorial. The paint needs some touch up though.

You try painting with white paint.

Amen, that was my 5th coat of white before there was no more yellow bleeding through.

Sweet! If I get my hands on a kit I'll airbrush it though.