kitbashing with Sunstreaker

[Dominic]

As many people have noticed, Unverse Sunstreaker is pretty much made for conversions.

(Thanks to Crossrook and Scourge for pointing this link in the hauls thread.) http://www.angelfire.com/mech/jinsaotom ... punch.html

And, of course, everybody knows about the upcoming Sideswipe figure that will use a Sunstreaker body with a few parts reversed and a new head mold.

As O86 pointed out, this presents a possibility of making new-Diaclone variants of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe by swapping the heads and reversing a few parts, creating a red Sunstreaker and a yellow Sideswipe, (aka Tigertrack, owing to a recent EHobby exclusive).

I did some exploratory surgery on an extra Sunstreaker yesterday. The arms segment nicely. The only parts that need to be swapped from one to the other for any of the above kitbashes are the hands and heads. (If you make the Doublespy figure, you will have to swap the hands every time you change the toy and its faction.) It also helps to swap the shoulders (at least on Sunstreaker), to keep the painted sides towards the robot's front.

Note, the colored shoulder bits are connected to a black armature that also comes off. Be careful to put the armature back onto the shoulder it was intended to be on, or the toy may not transform correction. Additionally, the arm sections with the door-kibble chunks need to be kept where they were placed at the origional design stage, as they have stay on the same side of the *car* regardless of configuration.

The heads are easier to remove than one might think. The screw holding together the two sections is there to keep the head halves together, and need not be removed to swap the heads. The heads are mounted on a ball-joint, and can be popped right off. The plastic feels sturdy enough to endure these at least a few times, and the mechanism the heads are mounted on is sturdy enough to withstand the process. If you do take the heads apart, be wary of the springs in Sunstreakers's head. They pop out easily, and are nearly impossible to restore. (I lack the tools and motor-control to restore mine. The ears on my "scrap-streaker" still stay in place, but they no longer flip out automatically.)

Dom
-might just use the manual ear-flipping head for a Counterpunch figure

[onslaught86]

We're petitioning the TFCC for a Double Spy, and have proposed that as well as a new head with faces on both sides, they create a new fist mould - one with two thumbs. That way, using one mould, the same new fist could be use for both left and right, and work without swapping for both robot modes. It'd be perfect.

[Dominic]

Maybe some kind of ambiguous claw hand?

All the same, I would rather see the Club making toys we cannot make on our own. (And, if they may it, it will probably have context bad enough to make me hate it.)

Dom

[onslaught86]

Well, I can't make a two-thumbed hand with extreme ease, or a double-sided face that fits on the ball joint. Plus, paint as a factor. It'd be possible, sure, but a polished official release would do a lot more for me. And it'd be a lot more creative than the previous exclusives.

[Dominic]

I also get wary of exclusives as the profiles are terrible.

I am happy with Sunstreaker's transforming head on my faction switcher. But, I take your point about thumbs.

Dom

[badwolf]

Well I think because of this molds versatility we may see more of it. Red Alert anyone? I was looking at Streaker last night & his engine could be replaced with lights.... or some other mold to help distinguish between Bots.

[138 Scourge]

Well I think because of this molds versatility we may see more of it. Red Alert anyone? I was looking at Streaker last night & his engine could be replaced with lights.... or some other mold to help distinguish between Bots.

For Red Alert, even repainting the current engine, say, a grey swap into red, or even casting the grey bits in translucent red, that'd give you some lights right there. The engine rests kinda ridiculously far up on the roof anyhow, and looks non-specific enough to kinda double as a lightbar.

And by the way, Badwolf, I love your username a lot. Weird, I seem to keep running into those words...

[Gomess]

Weird, I seem to keep running into those words...

Doctor Who and Bad Wolf in the same month??

What did I DO, god?!

Seriously though, welcome badwolf!

[Dominic]

Actually, the roof of the car has pleny of peg-holes already molded in to the top, not just the back. Likely, this is to accomodate Sideswipe's backpack. So, Red Alert is a real prospect.

Dom
-wants Red Alert.

[badwolf]

Thanks for the welcome guys. On the old board I was badkarma. If you like badwolf, then you would love my yahoo ID... badwolf359 (badwolf + wolf 359). I'm a geek what can I say.