David Hingtgen Posted June 8 Posted June 8 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. Quote
Chronocidal Posted June 9 Posted June 9 I should pull out a set to compare myself. Might be the perspective on the photo, but it looks like those beveled surfaces are wider on the Jetfire version. Thanks for the illustration though, that's exactly the edge I rounded off. You make a good point about it fitting easier on the Yamato though. One difference I did notice, and it's probably also related, is that Yamato never glued down the tail plate to the backplate. In all the ones I took apart, once I removed all three main screws (wings and under the hip bar) the whole backpack would fall off, because it was only held by that locator pin. On Jetfire? Those pins are glued in, and from what I can tell, while they're not exactly sticking up, I don't think the backpack mounts are sitting all the way flush. Those pins were probably glued specifically because the parts weren't fitting together well enough for that third screw to bite, and hold it down. The end result is that the backpack mounting plate is sticking up for the booster bracket to catch on. In other news though, just got a notification that my pair of Su-27s is on the way (I know, they call it something else, don't really care ). I don't know if I'm adventurous enough to do a full Yellow 13 scheme, but it's very likely they'll both be getting new insignia. Quote
David Hingtgen Posted June 9 Posted June 9 Ironically, they're not glued in ENOUGH now, I think. Looking carefully at how the backplate flexes etc, on Roy----I actually decided to glue down Jetfire's as flush as I can. Then will reinforce it THEN see if I can get it to clip both in and out, nicely. The screw just isn't enough, at least not with the cheaper (more translucent?) plastic Jetfire's made of. It's definitely lighter/more flexible it seems. (also, a Roy booster really doesn't want to fit onto a Jetfire clip) Quote
mikeszekely Posted June 13 Posted June 13 Dunno about the slippers, but the rest of that kit really looks like it improves those two. Quote
M'Kyuun Posted June 13 Posted June 13 (edited) 10 hours ago, mikeszekely said: Dunno about the slippers, but the rest of that kit really looks like it improves those two. I was thinking the same thing. All I really wanted were two longer forearms with retractable hands for Bonecrusher, but I'm impressed by how much better his torso appears and by the range of gained articulation. Upgrade in the truest sense. I'm fine with Bonecrusher's stock feet, so the slippers 😄 will stay in the box along with the bugles. I was fine with the hollow bits on Scrapper, but it's nice that they're including fillers for him in the same kit. I have to smile at the presumption that if you have one fig, you're going to have the other one too. 😁 The fillers for Scrapper's calves seem a bit superfluous as they don't really fill the hollows but merely add another couple mms of plastic to their interiors. I hope the new piece that attaches directly to Bonecrusher's shovel has a tight joint as well as a well toleranced tab otherwise his shovel is just going to fall off of his chest. It's not a bad idea to impart some articulation, but the downside is having his chest fall off all the time having lost its anchor to his groin. Nevertheless, I want this kit, if only for those replacement arms. I'll try the rest to test their efficacy, but I have a bad feeling about Bonecrusher's chest. Casting about, it appears that it's a TFSource exclusive for now. I don't want to pay their markup, so I'm waiting to see if TFSafari gets it. Edited June 14 by M'Kyuun Quote
Chronocidal Posted 8 hours ago Posted 8 hours ago So the post office dropped a monster on my doorstep today. I'd been waiting on my pair of Su-27s from ShowZ, and when I saw the size of the box, I guessed they must have doubled them up. No. This thing is huge. I happened to have my Jetfires handy to pose for comparison in both modes, and they're not too far off in scale, but it just emphasizes exactly how big a plane this is. Comes in at near 16 inches long, so roughly 1/54 scale. Given the sizes of the previous ones, I did not expect something this big at all. Maybe I'll transform him.. but I might wait for the second to arrive before I mess with it. The manual is just as much a monster as the plane, so I expect it might take an hour or two to get through on a first run. Just in general though, I think a new bar has been set for plastic airplane origami. Looking over the jet, I think the only corner they cut was that the belly is a bit thicker than it should be, but it's completely hidden unless you view it head-on. I'm no expert on the Su-27, so the proportions of the nose might be a bit inflated, but without comparing it directly, I'm really not seeing anything stick out as being off-model. Quote
M'Kyuun Posted 3 hours ago Posted 3 hours ago 4 hours ago, Chronocidal said: So the post office dropped a monster on my doorstep today. I'd been waiting on my pair of Su-27s from ShowZ, and when I saw the size of the box, I guessed they must have doubled them up. No. This thing is huge. I happened to have my Jetfires handy to pose for comparison in both modes, and they're not too far off in scale, but it just emphasizes exactly how big a plane this is. Comes in at near 16 inches long, so roughly 1/54 scale. Given the sizes of the previous ones, I did not expect something this big at all. Maybe I'll transform him.. but I might wait for the second to arrive before I mess with it. The manual is just as much a monster as the plane, so I expect it might take an hour or two to get through on a first run. Just in general though, I think a new bar has been set for plastic airplane origami. Looking over the jet, I think the only corner they cut was that the belly is a bit thicker than it should be, but it's completely hidden unless you view it head-on. I'm no expert on the Su-27, so the proportions of the nose might be a bit inflated, but without comparing it directly, I'm really not seeing anything stick out as being off-model. Just checked tracking on mine; it's currently in LA, presumably at LAX waiting for transport. I figure it'll reach me around Thursday. Appreciate the pics, man. Having watched a transformation vid for this thing, it's going to be a slow, meticulous process the first time I transform it. Once I get it in bot mode, I probably won't touch it again. I appreciate the engineering that goes into these complex toys and the toys themselves for the wonders that they are, but there's little fun to be had when transforming the majority of them for fear of breaking something, missing a step, or getting it something wrong and fouling the whole process up. The hard part will be deciding whether to keep it in bot mode, or tackle the transformation once again to get it back in jet mode, as I've long wished for a decent MiG-27 transformer and this is so much better than I ever expected it could be. Knowing myself, it'll just stay in bot mode, but the satisfaction of knowing it can be turned into this gorgeous plane will remain and keep me contented. Quote
mikeszekely Posted 2 hours ago Posted 2 hours ago 1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said: MiG-27 Su-27 (technically J-16, if we're being pedantic). MiG-27 is a totally different (and far uglier, IMHO) beast. Quote
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