Here is how I transform him:

 

 

 

 

 

sorry for the lousy pic quality

:argh

Here's what I do:

 

The red crotch piece that forms the underside of his dino neck has to be swung forward before it locks in to the black leg/waist/hip/whatever connector behind it. Otherwise he won't stand up straight.

 

 

see my handy visual guide (this is a view of the piece on his right side)

 

 

Huh.

 

Taking advice from posters here, and Madhammer's pics, I think I've got him in a slightly better position. And what's more, it's flexible. I'll have pics shortly.

 

 

Basically, I think the inherent problem with transforming him is that he has a ton of tabs and notches. And everyone knows you are supposed to fill the notches and insert the tabs, right? So that leads to one putting his neck/hip piece into the black T that the front legs are attached to, or sticking his dino mode nose into said hip piece, or leaving the front chest out in front of his shoulders/sides because they are curved that way. But here's what I've found:

 

1) When the shoulders are fully extended and plugged in, the neckpiece can fold all the way back, such that the red flanges are in front of the neck. This creates a recessed cavity that lets Snarl's head get much closer to his center of gravity.

 

2) the leg "T" (the black piece) has a tab that fits into the bottom of the neck / hip piece. BUT, that same T has a curve to it -- a curve that EXACTLY matches the bottom of the neck! So if you rest the neck into that curve, you get a situation where just a small part of the tab fits into the neck piece. It still secures, although not as well. My guess is that with some fiddling, one can find a position where that tab can fully insert. As it is, like this the black T extends just a bit lower than the neck, but I don't think that is a huge deal, aesthetic wise.

 

3) With the two above positions for the neck, the dino head becomes much easier to deal with. If you extend it downwards, you get Madhammer's pic above, which has a much, MUCH smaller gap between the dino head and the body. But if you want, you can leave the head up and use the crown to cover the holes. I personally like it where Snarl's autobot logo is parallel to his spine, standing proud. He can still see over his dino head in this position, and there are no major gaps on the top (although there is one on the bottom).

 

 

I think the main problem with this guy is that he has a REALLY funky piece in the arm that holds the dino head. It reminds me of the piece on Alternators Skids, which again causes a lot of consternation to transformation. But it also leads to flexibility. Transform him how you like, damnit! :D

 

 

Edit: Damn, two posts while I was writing this! And with a diagram to boot! My methods above don't match Madhammer's, so I'll have pics soon.

I'm really looking forward to getting this fig. Though I'm a little strapped for cash. (spent it on all the wave one deluxes, Grim, and OP :shrug )

(Edit: Images broken because of better ones below)

 

Alright, incoming! (I should mark this thread NSF56k, I swear. And I am shocked my Photobucket account hasn't gotten pissed.)

 

 

 

Here's my preferred transform for the guy right now. Again, this isn't Madhammer's transform, so I'm still playing with things.

 

 

[i.mg]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/Athenor/slagjoints001.jpg[/img]

 

 

 

[i.mg]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/Athenor/slagjoints002.jpg[/img]

 

 

 

 

Now that's with his crown/cowl partially up. Here he is with it down:

 

 

[im.g]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/Athenor/slagjoints003.jpg[/img]

 

 

 

Here's how the joints look in side profile:

 

 

[im.g]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/Athenor/slagjoints004.jpg[/img]

 

 

 

And here's the inside:

 

 

[im.g]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/Athenor/slagjoints006.jpg[/img]

 

 

I'm still playing with it / perfecting it, so expect more as more opinions come in! :D

Yeah dude all you have to do is pivot the crotch piece back at the bottom, then it'll line up perfectly with the black hip tab.

 

edit: that is, move the TOP of the crotch piece forward as you move the BOTTOM of it back.

That's how I did it before this, and it's still easy enough to do. What I'm looking for is a way to have the top piece as far back as it can go and have the bottom piece in the tab.

 

Edit: There's one place where the top and bottom parts line up that the tab fits, but that causes the head to stick out. So... yeah. I'm just playing around.

That's how I did it before this, and it's still easy enough to do. What I'm looking for is a way to have the top piece as far back as it can go and have the bottom piece in the tab.

 

Edit: There's one place where the top and bottom parts line up that the tab fits, but that causes the head to stick out. So... yeah. I'm just playing around.

You've already got the top piece as far back as it will go. ...Well, okay, I can get it back 1/8" more if the bottom piece isn't connected to the tab, but it's a negligible difference.

*stares at diagraim*

 

... OH, shot Madhammer! I need to apologize. I was reading your diagram wrong -- I thought the left side was the front, when it was the RIGHT that was. Lemme try that... I think it'll work better and line up his spine better as well.