Well, sadly the pin on mine didn't really want to come out. By the time I got the thing to come out, i snapped the front part of the right hinge on the cockpit body. (black piece) It's stressed on the back part of the hinge, though it's still attached.

 

I'm using epoxy to set it back in place. Otherwise, I was able to pull off the same mods. The canopy opens properly, though I have to be careful it doesn't pull that one hinge out of place.

 

Anyway, I'll go ahead and vouche for the mod ability you've discovered here. Hopefully, others won't have the same pin problems I did.

yah had the saame pin problem, when removing it take careto force it be smart about it.

how do you remove the pin? I don't kitbash much, and pin removal isn't something i've ever attempted :tfhuh

Personaly I used a small srew driver and a hammer, but Rodimus wasnt COMPLETELY unscaved from it though.

I use a finishing nail and a hammer, then pliers to pull it the rest of the way. And yeah, I've scratched some paint on mine. I have a few small gash marks, plus that inner hinge I'm still working on. (epoxy didn't quite grab, and I have it all assembled now--NOT about to take that pin out again)

 

If it doesn't work out, I can always put that one screw back on and go back to how it was.

:schin Hmmm...I got to try this I wish someone would photoshop circles around the parts he is talking about, with a quick description of what needs to be done in some zoomed in higher resolution pictures. It sounds like an interesting concept, but I'm not quite sure what he means.

I unfortunatly didn't do any progress shoots and now I'm afraid taking him apart may do more bad then good. But as far what I did where I'll see what I can do/describe.

 

Step 1:

Remove screws from "Piviot" and "canopy"

Once removed, it should look like a closed version of the 1st pic in post 10.

 

Step2:

Remove Pin holding the whole thing together, *BE CAREFUL* using any uneccesary force may break the black plastic that will be your hinge, also be aware my Canopy was mildly glued in.

 

Step 3:

*using what ever tool you wish, I used a sharp knife but a dremel may work better*

Round off the black plastic bits so the pieces turn into a hinge, but before you put the pin back in theres a lil problem...

 

Step 4:

There is a bit of black plastic surrounding the black "Hinge" part thats keeps the whole mod from working, what you'll have to do is (use what tool you feel you need) Remove the plastic the run "flush" with the interior, what you want is to have it "step off" just before the hinge so it looks like its part of the lower "layer" of plastic, once thats done you're almost there.

 

Step 5: (not needed but a good idea)

This Step is more playability then "mod" to get the Canopy to open once completed and in car mod what you'll need to do is trim off some clear plastic so it opens around the engine.

 

Step 6:

Put the pin back in and re-screw back onto Rodimus and bravo instant Hot rod with interior some Acylic paint and presto.

 

Thats all I could come up with off the top of my head I did it a few weeks back, so considering this was my first TRUE mod, trial and error the best teacher.

*snip* I cut it out using a xacto-knife and may it flush if you do it right it opens freely, but dont forget to not around the motor or it wont open in Car Mode.

 

**close ups**

[#1]

[#2]

[#3]

 

Beyond the green its filled down to be flush with the next "layer" of plastic depth below

 

When I first got my Rodimus, I actually tried to open the canopy only to be disappointed that it didn't open as a factory feature of the toy. This mod is really cool because of it's practicality.

 

I'd love to see better in focus photos of images 2 and 3 especially, though I do understand the need to cut off the excess (I'd just like to see your work clearer :thumb )

 

BTW, that lil' pin is a tough dude to get out, but I was able to alternate between a screwdriver and a small nail while tapping with a hammer (and also a mild use of my trusty hair dryer) with minimal damage (you just gotta be careful). :tfhuh :tfgrin

Being that this is where it all started, I thought I'd post my pics in here as well--also to help people get ideas of what it looks like/different ways to do it/etc.

 

Now, in my case I only designed it to open part way. I did all the cutting around the black piece that the seats are molded into in order to make the thing open cleanly.

 

 

 

 

There are two crevices in the legs just behind the canopy. What I did was cut out the solid piece that caps it off (circled in green)

 

 

 

The back of the canopy fits right under the new 'lip' quite nicely. This is just a different way of doing it.

oh yah I forgot I filled those down a lil bit, yah by removing a bit of plastic behind the caopy it opns without causing the other pieces to "shift" a bit (trust me the lil bit of plastic you take away is hardly noticable, you never miss it)