Ever since I've had Snarl posing with his decapitated head in hand, Voyager Bulkhead has just been sitting around as spare parts.





I noticed that Bulkhead's hands are almost as big as the Leader version's, and I actually like them better. Articulated claws are much better than a buzz saw or a pinching gimmick.

So while I was poking around in his forearms, I figured that the buzz saw's spring loaded piece could be altered into a launcher for the mace. I know I'll be able to do that, at least.

But I also think his forearm is big enough (with some carving) to add a coiled spring and have the wrecking ball rapidly retract. (Think of one of those key ring retractors.)

I can't do both, so which one sounds cooler?

I may end up doing the launcher anyway, since it's easier. But I'd like some opinions.



~Matt Booker

He's supposed to launch his hands as wrecking balls ... so I say LAUNCHER FTW =D

... and if that works out fine, I'll have to buy a voyager Bulkhead too ... thnx for making me spend my money -_-

edit: while you're at it you should make his head turnable, close those holes around his neck, and if needed rip out the electronics to mabe make his head retractable in vehicle mode + get rid of that turret-helmet-thing and maybe the missiles ... or not, might be a matter of taste

I agree--launcher, man. That will be one sweet mod--keep us posted and good luck with it.

Thanks.



I've thought about that, actually. It's not that I mind the turret that much (if I took it off, I'd also take off the air torpedoes and just have flat panels there, but they all stay for now) but I don't really like the electronic phrases. I actually like the transformation sound, though. So I dunno. Head articulation would be nice though.

So, maybe sometime.




*points at OcTankor*

~Matt Booker

*points at Voyager Bulkheads retail price areound here: 25.99€ = $38.13*

You got me good there Booker

Point taken.

You could always loot the bot and return the wreckage as defective merchandise.

~Matt Booker

... now that would be just wrong.

Please keep us updated on this bash, I'd love to have a Leader Bulkhead w/ Voy BH's hands.

Hence mine still sitting around as spare parts. If I need any particular shaped piece of plastic I can go carve some off of him, and he plays the part of wreckage pretty nicely on the shelf.



Will do. They fit suprisingly well with just a little carving.

I got them both in a trade, but this will be a great project for those of you who bought the voyager before the leader came out.

~Matt Booker

Well, looks like Launcher it is. (Woo! It's easier!)

I've already carved the voyager hand with the wrecking ball, but I'll take pictures from here on out and post a guide when it's ready.

First I've gotta go fix Octane's neck issue and finish modding Blitzwing's wings. Those should be done tonight, though.

Thanks to everybody who voted.

~Matt Booker

I voted for launching. Plain and simple.




dammit that was my idea(s)! jk but still

Crap. Now I need to buy a Voyager Bulkhead. They got me, they finally got me.

I'd say launch it. It sounds more fun to have!

this looks like a great mod any progress on it? I would like to incorporate it into my own LC Bulkhead.

I'm getting ready to start on it again. I just moved and am still settling in. Thanks for the interest, though. Once it's done I'll post a guide as well.

~Matt Booker

hey I know how it is when it comes to moving. I am doing that in about a week....

Yes, moving is kind of a rush to get everything situatied, but it went well and my collection survived the trip. Today I just got access to the internet again. Woo. Gonna post a Blitzwing guide in a few days, and then a Swoop guide, and hopefully by then I'll have more progress on the Bulkhead mod.

Thanks for the interest, though!

~Matt Booker

Hey Matt, you ever finish modding BH's buzzsaw hand? I just picked him up the other night and would much prefer he has two hands/clamps instead of just one. I did flip the saw, so that helps some, but still, two hands FTW!

He's still on my 'to do' list. I was going to start working on Swoop's guide, but bought Classics Ironhide today and had to fix him. And since nobody that I've found (either here or on tfw2005) actually fixed all the issues with his head moving up all the way, I had to come up with a way.

So, the general idea is there. Just haven't done it yet.

~Matt Booker

Thanks for the heads up on Bulkhead, looking forward to seeing it(and Swoop's too!). I got Ironhide last week and went to work on him...damn man, he's a mess.

Something I posted over in another thread, might help you some, no pics tho.

Well, I decided to have a long drawn out talk with Ironhide about his drooping head. Suffice it to say, there is a fix, but damn it's an ugly one.

I started off trimming away the entire bumper section underneath and in line with the license plate in hopes that would seat his chest/abdomen onto the central spine area. Well, that got it part of the way there. I noticed on the upper section at the top square(silver area) that it was about roughly an 1/8 inch to long in front and that was not letting the rest of the unmodified/folded up bumper assembly move far enough inwards.

You can remove the entire upper section of IH(it's red, the lower assembly is the silver molder area) by pulling up on him, and the knob will come out of the socket without much of a problem. This made it easier to trim that piece back some and once I had that done I put him back together, and the problem still persisted!

I reviewed the instruction to make sure I had not mistransformed him, and by the mfgr's instruction, all was correct. This led me back to a detailed investigation of the build of Ironhide and how he transformed. One thing I was noticing was that once you tucked the back tires behind him and in the roof/front windshield box, I could not get his head to move any further than before. If I left the back tires and their panels folded out behind his elbows, then it would fit and all was well. This led me to check out the roof/windshield box to see what was keeping the back tires from fitting properly, still nothing noticeable from several angles. I wound up removing the 5 tiny screws and getting the roof box off and then folding down the flat roof spine and moved the tires back into place, BAM!, we have proper head alignment!

But now poor IH is without a roof and front windshield. I noticed that the roof spine/support and the back panels the tires were pinned to was not fitting flush(if it is positioned like it should be with the roof box attached), the panels were setting like this: "\ _ /" instead of like this "|_|". That could very well be the entire problem. I'm pondering if I want to continue this experiment or not and if doing so would compromise structural integrity of the piece.

Luckily he does not look to butchered up until you see his back bumper in alt mode.

Hope that helps you help the rest of us.

You were on the right track with the stuff in his backpack. I also had to shave down a couple of screw holes, but he really only needs the one in the center. The backpack even folds up better, now.

As for the bumper, I try not to modify things that hurt the figure's aesthetics. Granted, Ironhide's alt mode isn't exactly seamless, but I didn't want to damage the bumper.

Hmm. I'm still working out the kinks on it a bit. My initial mod puts the hips too far forward for my taste.

~Matt Booker

That was pretty much a learning experience. I wish I had thought to give that backpack more consideration before I got trim happy

I was also thinking about his alt mode look as I was posting that, so I put him in it and yeah, he looks like he has a huge spot in the back bumper for a U-Haul tow hitch from hell. I think I'll look into another IH and keep the first one as a prototype/parts horse.

http://forums.TFormers.com/talk/index.php?...p;#entry1435558

~Matt Booker