So, after some tinkering and brainstorming...I figured out a way to make the arms work PROPERLY.

 

You'll need the following:

 

1 x Razor Blade or like cutting device

4 x Rare Earth Magnets (Radioshack sells these 2 per pack for 1.89 or so)

1 x Brawl Deluxe Figure

1 x Screwdriver

1 x Bottle of Super Glue (I used Zap*A*Gap CA+ - those who have used it before know how strong it is...it's also a liquid so it's easy to apply thin coats)

 

Okie...You'll need to remove the piece that has the housing on the torso for the tabs (ie, the slots) using your screwdriver. You'll need to cut away the housing starting from the outside in. I did this until the magnets were flush with the edges, but I'm pretty sure there is plenty of extra room when he's in tank mode.

 

Glue said magnets.

 

Now, remove the tabs that go in the slots on the arm pieces that swing forward. This part is tricky. You'll notice that the magnet does not line up exactly as before, so you'll need to place the magnet slightly in the middle of the front of the flap (see pic).

 

Couple of things to remember:

 

A nice coat of super glue is needed for these magnets...don't be afraid to have a little excess to secure it around the edges of the magnets.

 

Make sure the magnet polarities are correct when glueing. Nothing crappier than having the arm being repelled from the body.

 

Razors are sharp.

 

It's a pretty simple mod and it's a quick, easy and looks hella nice fix. See the pic below!

 

 

wow. nice work.

um yeah - or you could just fold down the clips on the turret.

Or just put some nail polish in the connecting holes, put the arm peg in for a second, pull it out, and then let it dry. Makes the connection a lot tighter from then on.

Folding the flaps doesn't work on all the figures. Some of their joints are loose and the arms fall as soon as you touch them.

 

Nail polish is a temp fix. I want my figures to be transformable anytime anywhere.

 

I left the magnets unpainted to show in the pic. I plan on painting them to match Brawl's body.

 

Next time either of you guys do something that you're proud of, I'll be sure to tell you your method is crap and lacks any ingenuity whatsoever. Taking a different approached shouldn't be greeted with comments like yours. This forum is for fans to show off their work and THEIR ideas, not to be told our way is wrong. Kthx. Sorry about the rant to whoever this wasn't directed at.

Folding the flaps doesn't work on all the figures. Some of their joints are loose and the arms fall as soon as you touch them.

 

Nail polish is a temp fix. I want my figures to be transformable anytime anywhere.

 

I left the magnets unpainted to show in the pic. I plan on painting them to match Brawl's body.

 

Next time either of you guys do something that you're proud of, I'll be sure to tell you your method is crap and lacks any ingenuity whatsoever. Taking a different approached shouldn't be greeted with comments like yours. This forum is for fans to show off their work and THEIR ideas, not to be told our way is wrong. Kthx. Sorry about the rant to whoever this wasn't directed at.

 

Fair enough.

I'm sorry that you took my comments as offensive,

But, it sort of feels like you are reinventing the wheel - and when there is already a thread about how to do the same thing simpler - then it invites comparison.

Great work, though.

Comparison is fine. However, stating what I could have done instead without comparing them is basically saying the way stated is better. That's how it read.

 

Perhaps priming your statement with 'Well, discussed in this thread is a method of folding down the flaps that works well. Why wasn't this acceptable to you" etc etc. That sounds kind of dorky when read, but it's a short way of saying everything that would need to be said.

 

I welcome criticism - when its backed up with fact or possibly the facts from both sides are discussed, etc. Just showing up and saying "well, there was this way instead of yours" isn't really a good way to give criticism.

 

The wheel can be reinvented, but I wouldn't call the fixes described in the other thread the 'wheel' of the fixes for this figure. If the joints were tight on the figure for the shoulder supports, then yeah, the folded flaps would work awesome. In some cases, I have no doubts that it doesn't work well, but sooner or later, those joints will become weak. The nail polish thing is an excellent idea too - the only problem is that transforming will wear the nail polish down and another coat will need to be applied.

 

Perhaps it's overly complex, but I wanted to go the extra mile and make it both functional once and for all as well as make a fix. These were the ideas behind my fix and I wanted to share those with the community. It's one of my better ideas and it works amazingly well.

 

I forgot to mention, whenever those two magnets join, they want to center themselves on each other - so it's basically like have a magnetic peg. :)

 

Also, thanks for the accolades on the work done.

sensitive are we?

 

as said nice fix great idea but ill stick to folding down the clips ;)

i think this i a great idea. people generally don't like ideas that are not theirs. I put crazy glue on my tabs to make it tighter, it's fixing the problem now, but i'm sure that it'll resurface in time. i think magnets are not used enough in transformers, especially fan kitbashes. they're like the magically joint. the stick, the rotate, heck, they even repel. i don't think you are re-inventing the wheel, because, in this case, there hasn't been a universal fix yet. keep on showing us your ideas.

Not really sensitive about my work per se....the issue was that HunterRose's post basically underminded what I had to show off. It was a simple post and basically, without saying so much, was like "your mod is crap, you can just do this instead." He's since apologized for that post and come forward to say that's not what he meant but could see how it could be construed as such.

 

As I said in an earlier post, I don't mind constructive criticism. This includes not liking my work with valid points - ie, not just saying a different way is better just because. The reason I did the mod was because I was not satisfied with the problems that I outlined above with the previous mods. I sought to fix it once and for all so to speak. Sure, there was modifying of the figure...but we're in the kitbash forum...heh.

 

Thanks evrdazed. I appreciate you seeing past the smoke screen of exchanged comments.

 

I too think magnets aren't used enough in kitbashing. For some reason, when I saw Jango Fett figure with the magnet in his neck so he could lose his head, I was marveled at Hasbro's ingenuity. Magnets don't have too many uses, but the uses they do have, they work amazingly well.

 

I'd also like to see someone make a more solid fix than mine. I've still been pondering over it a little trying to think of a possible way it could be better. Also, don't take it that I'm saying the clip or polish methods are bad. Those are great for if you don't want to physically modify your figure. Me...I don't mind making my figures better in some cases. If I need to re-engineer them, then so be it. Heh.

 

Oh, and Swindle definately needs the neck fix. I picked him up and found that it's absolutely needed. heh.