I've
been itching to post this thing for ages but I thought reviewing my own
custom would be somewhat pretentious and there didn't seem much point
as the only other custom I've ever undertaken is slapping a bit of black
paint on RotF Sideways. So I thought I'd just do a write-up here.
I say "my own custom" but this is probably one of the easiest customs since everyone realised turning Universe Sunstreaker's head and legs around to make Tigertrack.
The very simple steps are as follows: -
1: Pick up this Binaltech Hound
knock-off. It's generally very good quality with diecast parts and
substantial retooling from the original. It's basically a re-shelling to
make the thing look more like a Hummer. Obviously the scale of the
alternate mode is miles off in reality, being the same basic size as the
original Jeep Wrangler (it's actually slightly lower).
There
are only two problems with the KO in itself - firstly it's quite
difficult to get the shell of the enclosed cab all tight together,
usually taking a couple of tries; secondly, the hip joints are very,
very stiff which can cause some problems in terms of balancing the guy.
All in all though I'd say the toy justifies its' price of $16 in itself.
Incidentally I did order my example from Chimung via his site and it
arrived very promptly and in excellent condition.
2: Buy a Hasbro Alternators Swindle or Rollbar.
This retooling of the Jeep mould was actually intended to be
Trailbreaker until some exciting copyright reason or another intervened.
While the toys came out in lousy colours with random names slapped on
the head cast is unmistakably based on a blend of cartoon/comic and original toy
likenesses of Trailbreaker. Get one as cheap as possible - it probably
won't be much because no-one liked either figure and both came out at
the time the line was beginning to warm shelves.
The
only bit you'll need is the head so if you find some junker with no
legs or something that'll do. The heads simply pop off both figures.
There's an easily-accessible screw at the back of the Swindle/Rollbar
head that allows you to open it up and remove the visor. You can then
either paint it red (toy) or blue (cartoon) according to your preference
and just put it back together. The generic head off the KO is all-new,
so if you're a prolific customiser it can probably be used for something
else.
3: Get the Reprolabels' "Classics" Trailbreaker sticker set. The Autobot symbol, windscreen decal and face aren't much use, but the doors of the Movie Voyager Ironhide
toy it's intended for are so close to the Binaltech KO it's unreal. I
had to trim some of the clear edges off and use a little improvisation
around the rear wheel hubs but generally the fit is so good it's hard to
believe they weren't designed for the process.
4: For the final touch I just added the Radar Scanner from the original toy. Well, technically it was the one that came with Encore Hoist.
With very slight whittling to the width of the end few millimetres of
the post it can fit snugly in the screw hole on the back of the head (if
done carefully there's still enough of the post to allow it to connect
to Hoist).
It
can't stay in there for transformation but it adds a lot to the robot
mode. The other change I made was removing the spare tyre as with the
additional roof kibble it makes the legs look a bit too cluttered and it
adds a little more variety when displayed alongside Hound.
A
more accomplished customiser might want to paint his legs and torso
silver - I briefly toyed with transplanting these parts from a spare Hound but
wasn't entirely sure it would work, besides which I've got very used to
the dark green and don't think it hurts the figure.
So there we go - if I can do it, you can do it too =)
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