Two quick customization questions

Hi, all.

So, I know next to nothing about customizing/modding/fixing figures, so proceed with that in mind. There's two things I want to do. Firstly, I want to tighten the loose shoulders on PRID Ultra Magnus. I've had some success in the past tightening joints by coating one end in Crazy Glue, then leaving it to dry. I might do that again, unless there's a superior way.

The other thing I want to do is remove a tiny bit of paint on BH Smokescreen. The stripe on his hood in car mode isn't applied perfectly evenly between the two halves it splits into, and as a result the very front end of it goes a bit lower on one side. So we're talking like, a couple millimeters of paint removal to even them out. Alternately, there's a molded line on the front of the hood I'd be fine removing both ends to, if that's simpler.

So, with both things, what would be best to do and use? If anyone mentions any materials, please note where the best place to get them is.

PRID Ultra Magnus hammergun question

Blame this one on the search function not serving me well.

So, PRID Ultra Magnus has finally shown up in Canada (this should give you an idea of our distribution) and I snapped him up to repurpose as his G1 self on my Classics shelf.

Now, I can't figure out a good way to mount his weapon in vehicle mode. The instructions seem to suggest fitting the two clear blue pegs on the hammer head into the two flip-up mounts on his leg piece, but they're way too close together for the two tabs to fit in, even if I bend them. And any other solution leave the weapon off-center, whick doesn't look very good.

I seem to vaguely remember SOMEONE on these boards figuring out a really good way way to mount the weapon that left it centered. It made use of some sort of obtuse bit of engineering. Does anyone remember how, and can tell me?

Trades and the IDW Annuals

So, in what I'm sure is a common trend for a lot of TF fans who aren't comic people, I read IDW fiction entirely through their TPB collections. Usually they're pretty good about collecting everything in them.

I just finished MTMTE Trade #2, which has issues 4-8 in it. I noticed in issue 8, they actually make an annotation to see the MTMTE Annual, which.....wasn't in this volume.

It's a long shot that anyone on here knows, but are the two Annuals going to be collected in a trade eventually? I'm not really sure how an "Annual" works aside from "We release it once a year," but is there some reason why they can't or wouldn't collect it in one of the TPBs? Or will I have to hunt down the single issues to read those stories, something I never really do?

Come to think of it, what about that new crop of Spotlights being put out? Any news on collecting those, too?

G1 (encore) Swerve's Knees

Hi, all. So I just got my hands on an Encore Minibots pack, mostly because of James Roberts's MTMTE series. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble with the one I wanted the most, Swerve. He really does not want to stand up in Robot mode. Basically, his knees (which are a transformation joint, as his lower legs are car parts,) don't want to stay straight, and are constantly causing him to tip back and fall over unless I am REALLY careful. I don't see any obvious way to lock them in. Am I missing something? Is there a particular direction I can push them to make them less inclined to tilt and tumble? Did I get a bum sample, and they're not usually this loose? He has to stand up long enough to fistbump Tailgate.

The 20-Year Season 3 G1 Timeskip

So, I was discussing timeskips in TV shows with my friend earlier tonight, when I brought up the G1 toon's massive 20 year one. It was while discussing it that I realized I still have no idea why they actually went and did it, why they skipped ahead from 1985 to 2005. Has there ever actually been a stated reason from any of the writers or anything? Was it done by the movie people or by the TV show people with the movie picking up on it? Where did the idea originate?

It just seems so odd when I stop and think about it. I mean, it couldn't have been just to introduce new characters. They had no trouble doing that in season 2. And I'd be surprised if they just wanted to shake up the status quo. Maybe they wanted to shift the setting to a more Sci-Fi oriented one and decided for some reason that'd be the best way?

I don't know. So, what do we know?