The Upgrade Kits Thread
- Thread starter unluckiness
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I know it's Godbomber, but the proportions look very Animated to me.
If they release it in Nemesis colors to match the version of the mold I actually have, I might go for it.
This version is meant to go with their Stormbringer Optimus, hence that one photo of trailer mode being pulled having colors that don't match at all. They're reissuing the Stormbringer Optimus to go with this, as well as having a boxset in Ginrai-inspired colors but less accessories.
That said, I like it in concept but it costs about as much as the base figure and I'm not a huge fan of how fiddly the base figure is on account of all the moving parts, and one of the rear shin fillers on my Scourge got stuck and I dunno how to dismantle this thing to fix it. I don't know if it's amusing or depressing that outside their MP stuff, MMC's exclusively been releasing endless iterations of this mold.
That said, I like it in concept but it costs about as much as the base figure and I'm not a huge fan of how fiddly the base figure is on account of all the moving parts, and one of the rear shin fillers on my Scourge got stuck and I dunno how to dismantle this thing to fix it. I don't know if it's amusing or depressing that outside their MP stuff, MMC's exclusively been releasing endless iterations of this mold.
I applaud the ambition but am not counting on this being any significant improvement given the legs still look like crap
Have any of you tried one of these Renderform heads on AOTP Prime Cliffjumper?
I like this. It's a simple set but it adds a lot. Not sure if I like changing the squid motif to crab but whatever. The new spikier head is a big inmprovement
The height issues with SS86 Galvatron and Shockwave really bothered me quite a bit. I tried a couple options for Galvatron. The DNA kit helped quite a bit, and made it so virtually every one of his features lined up perfectly with SS86 Megatron... except his head. I also didn't like how long it made his legs look. I also tried the Achai Studio shoes, but they're too thin to make up the difference. Not surprising since they were intended to just provide his cartoon shoes, not match his height to a Megatron that didn't exist yet.
Anyway, during one of my searches, I came across an eBay seller offering 3D-printed shoes for both Galvatron and Shockwave that are explicitly stated to be for the purpose of making up for their shortcomings. I decided to give them a try.
They're not perfect by any stretch, but they accomplish exactly what I wanted, so I'm pretty happy with them!
Pros:
Cons:
For whatever reason, this seller apparently only puts two of each up for sale at a time and creates a new listing when a batch sells out. Seems like they normally do that pretty quickly, but I had to wait several days after deciding to buy them before Shockwave's set was available again.
Anyway, during one of my searches, I came across an eBay seller offering 3D-printed shoes for both Galvatron and Shockwave that are explicitly stated to be for the purpose of making up for their shortcomings. I decided to give them a try.
They're not perfect by any stretch, but they accomplish exactly what I wanted, so I'm pretty happy with them!
Pros:
- They provide pretty much exactly the height boost they each need. Galvatron can now look Megatron in the eye. Shockwave can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Soundwave. They perfectly address my biggest issue with these two.
- Easy installation. They just peg into the bots' feet.
- The molded details match up pretty well with the base figures. There's obviously a line of separation between the base foot and the addition, but the detailing on Galvatron's shoes looks at home on the figure, and features that reach to the bottom of Shockwave's feet continue onto the shoes.
- At $10 per kit, they're much cheaper than the alternatives I've seen.
Cons:
- They're 3D printed. Shockwave's shoes actually do a pretty decent job of adding a bit of surface texturing that hides it a bit, but there's an obvious transition from the normal foot to the add-on.
- That disconnect is only made stronger by the lack of color matching. Galvatron's new toes do come painted with a darker gray that actually does match fairly well with his normal painted toes. However, both sets of shoes are printed in the same medium gray that doesn't match the light gray on either figure. They're thin enough on Galvatron that I don't think it's a big deal, but with how well the molded details on Shockwave's match his feet, the color transition really jumps out at you. I'm no good at painting, but I might have to give these a try.
- Shockwave's shoes are only connected by a single round peg. They fit snugly enough, but it leaves them free to twist independently of his feet. The only way to make them stay stationary while handling him much would be to glue them in place, which I'm not willing to do. I wish they included some tabs or blocks or something that would stick up a bit into Shockwave's feet to prevent them from turning. If I can find some scrap that would fit correctly, I might try to glue something to the shoes to accomplish that.
- Galvatron's shoes are a tight fit on the toes. That's kinda nice compared to the Achai shoes, which leave a gap that lets you easily see his normal toes failing to hide behind the shoes. The trade off is that it's going to rub off his paint if you take them off and on repeatedly. These are best as something to put on and then never remove.
- Neither of the shoes have any detailing on the bottom. That's not a real problem in robot mode, but both of them have their feet sticking out the back in alt mode. Galvatron's feet are mostly gaps, so this might actually be an improvement, but it would have been nice to have something other than just 3D printing texture back there. It's a bigger problem for Shockwave since it means he loses his thrusters. At least they're easily removeable, so that's an option.
For whatever reason, this seller apparently only puts two of each up for sale at a time and creates a new listing when a batch sells out. Seems like they normally do that pretty quickly, but I had to wait several days after deciding to buy them before Shockwave's set was available again.
Shockwave:
If i were more skilled at crafting stuff and or more enterprising, I'd probably make a partial torso/waist replacement that's longer and mounts the hips lower then combine it with shorter platform shoes. Help spread out the height increase.
There is another kit I've seen for Shockwave that does exactly that.
It's apparently available via AliExpress for $40. It's not bad, and I could see potentially spending that much if a group like DNA did such a kit at their usual quality.
Yeah, this is more my speed, or it would be if I had a Studio Series Shockwave. Kind of want more info on the whale before pulling the trigger.
This kit showed up on Chinese social media. It's an injection molded plastic set of replacement chest parts that looks to make Magnus less thicc. There's a video review on Chinese web platforms and transformation is preserved, although the ratchet joints have been removed and the kit converts the shoulders into strictly friction joints. Engineering looks simple but effective overall, though installation will probably be a hassle. Pending more reviews, I'm interested unless there's some mishap of QC that plagues these kits.
DNA’s Ss86 Megatron full upgrade and weapons only kits, AotP Alpha Trion kit and Timelines Hearts of Steel Optimus kits are shipping to retailers. Was waiting on the Megatron kits to paint one into MP-05 colors but considering buying a knockoff to apply the addons to instead. Hasbro shifting to mostly pin construction is a detriment to customization.
Chinese video shows installation and results. There's some distortion of detail due to molding problems,though it's just aesthetic. This kit needs pin punching with pins that are at an awkward position to push and are very, very long. The finished product comes with the drawback of turning the shoulders into somewhat loose friction joints. The new parts also only clip into the torso with one tab-slot connection, making it somewhat unstable. I guess that's why HasTak kind of had to give Magnus the proportions of Swole Doge in the first place.
I got that in a few days ago, I've already upgraded my copy, aside from the light that goes inside of the head aside from the fact it needs a battery to operate, I just not bothered to put that in as I would need to buy batteries for it, with the chest star, I had a bit of trouble screwing the replacement in as it doesn't quite want to screw in fully thus the panel is in and out a bit, at least on my copy, there's some parts that go inside of the legs as stabilisers, that's pretty straight forward to install and then there's the bad ass sword which is HUGE and looks cool, plus thanks to a part can be stored on his back in robot mode or in truck mode with no problems, the shoulder cannons are also pretty cool, just make sure to get the panels for the cannons to rest on, on the correct sides, so overall its a good kit, it take a little while to install everything with the screws!
I'm intrigued by this, and it does deal with one of my main issues with this Magnus. He's still a bit overbig, but the narrower frame looks a lot better. Still, all that finagling sounds like something I'm likely to botch, and to possibly-questionable stability. Still, idk, depending on how reviews go it might be interesting. Then again, what it REALLY comes down to is cost -- which in the past has ruled out better kits and ones I'm more interested in.
It’s ₱989 on Shopee. I was able to find a listing by sheer dumb luck because it doesn’t include the usual search terms most people would use. I gave it a shot and should arrive in a few days.
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