The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[David Hingtgen]

On 6/4/2025 at 11:44 PM, Chronocidal said:

I had this issue too, and didn't notice it so much with the first release, but I think what's going on is some slight mis-alignment/mis-molding of the plate just above the backpack hinge.

When I took mind apart, I had issues with the tiny screw that's buried under the hip swingbar.  I have a tiny screwdriver that fits in there, but as it turns out, I don't believe those screws were actually biting into the plastic.  If I lift up on the backpack, you can see the two prongs that hold the gnurled pin inserted into the hip swingbar are lifting away from the backplate, meaning that screw isn't holding things together.  When I tried screwing it in, it just spun, so I have to assume those tiny holes stripped out.

I do not know if this is the direct cause, but I think the looseness of that assembly is contributing to the booster mount catching.  Because the panels flex, it's causing the trapezoid panel just ahead of the backpack hinge to lift, and it's catching directly on the booster mount when you try to slide it on.

What I did just now as a test was to file down the squared off edges on the front underside of the backpack bracket to let it slip over that back panel edge easier.  It's the section directly inboard of the booster mounts, and it's already beveled somewhat, but I just rounded off the front underside edge further until it's about at a 45 degree angle, and it helped it not to catch on the backplate.  I can take a picture tomorrow where I mean, I'm about to head to bed.  

Glad to hear the arm repair was a success though!  It's so refreshing working on valks you can actually take apart.  

I compared Jetfire to an early Roy, and I see what you mean----a real one has this edge smooth and rounded, while Jetfire has it quite sharp and squared off:

I do not think that is whole story though--your backplate looseness theory also seems to play a role----Jetfire's clip fits onto Roy pretty well, despite the sharp edge.  I think it's the double-whammy of the sharp edge AND the backplate having issues, that combine to make attaching the booster-clip such a struggle.