Experiment - (1/2 - KO) Henkei-Classics Skyfire Prime

A small experiment while rearranging the mis-assembled parts of my recently acquired KO Classics Optimus Prime and Nemesis Prime... and this is also 1 of my main reason why I want to buy the KO Classics Primes... and it WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Skyfire Prime
Used the clip on Youtube to guide... basically I got it to combine, but its kind of loose... wonder if it is because of the KO is slightly undersize or something else... anyway, don't think I will combine and leave it for a long time, the heavy weight of Skyfire combined with the weight of is quite bad for the feet of OP...

Nevertheless it is still quite impressive... Did not like to put his helmet on cos it makes the head looks a bit too big... but nevermind, maybe it may look good on Nemesis Prime with Universe Threadbolt???

Anyway, some pics of KO Classics Nemesis Prime in vehicle mode... strange that the shoulder-to-arm joint piece is assembled wrongly but the other Prime is assembled right...

When got time then will touch up these 2 Primes.. and the other recently bought ones...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (41) - KO Marvel CrossoverThor, ROTF Legends Devastator, KO Classics Thundercracker, Nemesis Prime, Optimus Prime

Sweet! Finally my order from Kotoys.com arrived yesterday... Very happy... After opening up the box, realised the packaging is quite neatly done, commendable!!!! (A pity some of the cards with the softer plastic bubble still come out.. but not of a problem for me as I am not going to keep it MOSC...)


KO Marvel Crossover Thor
A bit disappointed for this piece... First, the plastic is of poor quality, something I don't quite expect for this package... The legs are most obvious, thin plastics... each side missing a piece for the cape in bot mode... arms assembled wrongly, which initially I thought can just switch, but can't, need an operation... side abs cannot fold in in bot mode... head seems can never be able to hide when transform to plane mode, so not able to transform into plane mode so far... maybe wrong transformation I hope... anyway, most of these can be solved, hopefully... Finally, I just felt this might be an under-sized version, it seems small!!

Edit: Seems some website found this piee on the Kotoys site, and felt is a good piece... I agree, but if you buy, need to work on the head issue (hope is just my one piece only and not all of this KO). I tried fiddling with the head issue, and realised it is because of a wrong assembling fault. The red piece connected to the head's piece(blue) needs to be flipped over so that the blue piece can sit down more on it (red piece) when transforming... which means needs to knock out the metal pin connecting it to the other red pieces, and this is very very fragile...

Edit #2:
Fiddle with it some more, to try to transform it to plane mode needs LOTS of touching up, eg. swapping arms, shaving off bits of plastics to secure the tabs of the turbine engine legs, etc etc... tough... needs more work to fully touch up... next time then do...


KO ROTF Legends Devastator Set
Sweet!!! Finally gotten this set, cost around SGD 31.50 from Kotoys.com... Heng!!!! Resist the temptation from Toys R Us last December to buy at $70++!!!! And this set seems to have no simplification, unlike some newer sets... solid...


KO Classics Thundercracker
The chest wheels are still there, and the arms have elbow joints, and clear canopy windows!!! ... Plastic quality does not seem so nice though.. but still yet to be confirmed until opened up... anyway, will not do any touch-up to become Thundercracker, but will let it be another character in the rain-makers seekers trio... no name, so called it Thunderclap (its foreign country's cartoon name)... Lots of mods to do... Like knees assembled wrongly, fists assembled wrongly... but can be done...

Edit: Rearrange the mis-assembled parts - fists, upper legs and knees, and the tail-fins. Won't put up pics, cos someone already put up a very complete guide of how to do here. I also remember someone in forum says that the fists will be very tight to pull out from jet mode to bot mode after fixing, which is true. So my suggestion is to shave off some surface from the thumb (facing front), and also a bit of the edge of thumb, making the thumb to be slightly smaller, should be beter.

KO Classics Nemesis Prime
Again, resisted to buy the original at SGD 35, and got this for $24.40!!!! From past reviews, this piece seems to have no reduction in parts... finally a KO Classics Prime mould that is decent... If you look closely at the Decepticon insignia at his shoulders, you will find a mouth, hahaha... well worth the money... Smokestack gun and wind vane gun are around, sweet...


KO Classics Optimus Prime
Reason I bought this is because last year saw someone combine him ad Classics Jetfire! SO wanted to get one, but the real one is too expensive..Quite tight joints, plastic quality seems good, and the whole piece actually feels some substantial weight, very unusual for a KO!! Eyes are clear!!! Windscreen is clear!!! (Same for Nemesis Prime above) Will try to combine him with my Henkei Skyfire, and the above Nemesis Prime to combine with my Universe Threadbolt!


Very happy... but unlikely to buy new KOs in near future.. cos no place to store liao!!!

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (40) - KO Universe Onslaught (Mini), KO Universe Inferno (Mini)

Was shopping in Bedok Central and pass by the photostating/photo-printing kiosk... and saw these 2... Amazing, good thing did not order from kotoys.com, was so tempted to buy the Inferno earlier...

KO Universe Onslaught (Mini)
From Ultra size to Deluxe size... 2 levels down... looks ok... the optimus prime head is actually a mask, there is still a head behind...think the gun included is Inferno's... think shield is missing too... anyway, if can bash will bash one for him...

KO Universe Inferno (Mini)

... in Grapple's colour... so tempted to buy earlier from kotoys.com, but luckily did not... Think is slightly undersized, not very sure... hmmm... no more construction hook... need to make one.. or get one... to become my Universe Grapple, hahaha...

Finally my haul is shipped.. takes around 4 days.. sigh, that means only around Wednesday then get...

Edit: Sigh, actual shipping date is today, so estimate around Friday then can receive... hopefully goods received will be same as goods ordered...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of (non-)KOs (39) - Encore Ironhide & Encore Ratchet

Ok, title says it all.... Encore 05 Ironhide and Encore 06 Ratchet are bought at CSC today... again in the same shop that always seems to sell some products at a very low price almost every week... How much do these 2 Encores cost? A pair for total $30... $30??!!! Yeap!!!


Encore Ironhide
Initially hesitant to buy these 2, as I did not quite like the headless designs (fist-less is another I don't quite like... ) but then gave in to the very low price, and decided to bash some heads for them to fit behind the windscreen... next time.. Oh, did not find the fan-made heads except in 1 shop but since it was placed a a very funny area, and without price tag, did not buy... anyway can make myself, more fun...



Encore Ratchet
*Same as above*... except, I got 2 left caterpillar-thread pieces!!!... sigh... nevermind, can still bash.. but need to find some silver-reflective paper...

Update - KO Kabaya Kits #12 : Skyblast (Energon)

KO Kabaya Skyblast (Energon)
Finally assemble the KO Kabaya Skyblast from the Energon line... yeap, the one bought in Genting last year... very nice piece... just a reminder, the plastic used is the rigid type. While this may result in a "better" piece, it also means that the joints are more difficult to fit in when assembling... and some parts need to be careful or assembled first... anyway, very pleased with this piece, as the 4 basic humanoid joints (arms and legs) are there and more... in fact I like this piece slightly better than its oversized KO counterpart which I bought long time ago... Maybe its because of its size...

... jet mode... the "claws" at the bottom need to be cut off to reposition so as to close the "claws" properly...


... powered-up jet mode... impressive... Perhaps I should return the weapons for the KO oversized counterpart?... hmm...


... bot mode... couldn't help but applied 2 pieces of the stickers onto the shoulders, else the pin/hole will show (like the ones above the stickers... ) The only bad thing is the cavity in the forearms... will cover next time...


... with weapons... need to mod the side missiles to be able to combine with the gun to form the big blade-staff...


When will my haul come...

Edit:
Cut off one of the symmetrical "claws" and re-glue to allow the "claws" to grap properly.

... and make pins to join the 2 wing halves to form the "blade"... also added the handle (longer yellow pin)...

Now mini Skyblast has the BFS, Big Fat Spear!!!

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (38) - KO Animated Jazz, Sentinel Prime

KO Animated Jazz
Very close to original colours. Good - head is white (like the G.I. Joe white ninja). Bad - fists and elbow joints are brown, and nunchuckus are molded together... can bash, yes...


KO Animated Sentinel Prime
Very close to original colours again... No knee-joint simplification compared to some newer versions... Bad - Lance is TOO SHORT!!! ... can be bashed, yes...


Hmm, read from some forum someone ordered from kotoys.com on same day as me but received today (or yesterday) liao... seems S'pore area takes longer... if all goes "well", then I should receive my haul after end of next week... Looking forward to my haul... Thor!!!!! EZ Devastator!!! Classics Prime!!! Nemesis Prime (heng did not buy one last time, cost $35!!!), Classics Thundercracker!!!! And I am SO tempted to buy from kotoys.com again, I feel so like a child in a candy store, hahaha... now only if the price can be lower... hahaha...

Update - KO Kabaya Kits #11 : Getaway

KO Kabaya Getaway
Finally took some time to de-stress and built the KO Kabaya Getaway... yeap, very stressed up these past weeks... actually months already... nevermind, post in another blog...

Anyway, finally got a complete G1 Powermaster Getaway... the original-sized one is a Bumblebee coloured one... and the non-transforming powermaster actually from the deformed mold of (indestructible) G1 Dreadwind ... ugly.. so cast it aside...

This kit has quite good plastic, think is the same as the KO Kabaya God Bomber one... It has a "workable" engine cover too! hahaha.... Only thing is the white wheels... a bit mis-coloured...


... extremely small powermaster!!!!... The details in him are incredible... Sorry can't show here with the flash... and shaky hands so can't use non-flash...


..."Transform!!! Powermaster!!!".... Funny cartoon line...


So in cartoon, once the super-engine is popped in, the vehicle turns into....


... into...


... Getaway!!! ... .... ..... find it funny that the Autobot Powermasters in the cartoon seem to be lousy.. like no special powers and only average fighting abilities... unlike the Decepticon counterparts... sigh...


The head now no longer has the "auto-morph" gimmick which originally pops up when the car top is rotated... have to use fingernail to pull out... Of course got to use my reliable Selleys Plastic Glue to tighten joints etc... but its not much for this piece, not too bad...


Sigh, stupid blogger website just now... having so much difficulties in uploading the pictures...
Anyway.. Finally gave in to temptations and order, from kotoys.com, KO EZ Devastator! Together with the new KO Classics Optimus Prime, KO Universe Nemesis Prime, KO Marvel Crossover Thor, and the new KO Classics Thundercracker!!! Buy 4 get 1 free!!! Sweet!!!Prepared to do some "surgery" on Thundercracker, after reading that the legs might have been assembled wrongly... Mike / Kate has been nice in explaining to me how to order, through the online-help chat...Thanks!!! Looking forward to my haul.. hope it comes soon... and now I am also tempted to get the KO Oversized EZ Devastator...

Mods - KO Ravage (Slight Oversized)

Oh, before I commence, I just realised this blog is linked in a website that has lots of photos of KO toys, thanks!

KO Ravage
This KO Ravage belongs to the Oversized G1 Soundwave pack. It is slightly oversized. The lower limbs are moulded as 1 piece, so the feet are oddly posed in beast mode. Thus I cut them out and used thicker polystyrene sheet to cut out the connector pieces (with some more mods..). The pins are from the Tamiya plastic pins, as usual...


...Done... Now the feet looks better...


... a bit off alignments in cassette mode, but it will do fine...


... beast mode...


... and my own Hound and Ravage!!!!!!


For those who frequent kotoys.com, the website has a Buy-4-get-1-Free for KO (less KO reissues), till Mon 11 Jan. I tried to email to Mike over at kotoys.com but he has not reply to how I can order yet. Hope hear from him soon. KOtoys.com is a very tempting website for ko toys lovers...

Kitbash - KO Grapple; Mods - KO Energon Inferno, KO Binaltech Hound

Its supposed to be my last post for 2009, but turns out to be my first in 2010, hahaha... anyway, here goes: my last mods for 2009...

KO Grapple
First of all, it is kitbashed from the rigid plastic KO snap-assembly (a.k.a. Kabaya style) Energon Inferno kit, with the hook from the Oversized G1 Devastator... Repainted the kit to orange, and realised the kit doesn't take spray paint very well... but way better than the oily KO Ramjet and much superior to the KO G1 Kabaya kits... Anyway, the idea to kitbash this comes from one day I need a scout size transformers... Saw this kit and thought to myself," Since I will not be buying the KO orange-coloured Classics Inferno, I might as well make one.. since in G1, Grapple and Inferno share the same mould, why not I use the Energon's to bash into Grapple?... since I have lots of extra hooks, surely 1 will be able to use...." and after some sweat, curse and swear... Grapple is born...


... bot mode... actually I sprayed it some time ago, but did not proceed to bash... problem with the kit is that the head has no face shield, so need to redo the head, such that now he "looks down" when transformed into the vehicle mode... nevermind lah, face not exposed ok already... Put the stickers supplied in the kit.. looks good...

KO Eenrgon Inferno

Remember this piece? Bought in April... One of the vainest TF I gotten... I mean, look at the lipsticked-coated lips, hahahaha.... so earlier repaired the head and repainted... now only the head... which I WANTED to be better hidden in vehicle mode...

...so I come up with this solution: Trim off parts of the shoulder pads and lower legs' knee area, and it worked! ... ok, not very snug, in fact, very tight... but the vehicle is able to maintain and not break apart, so what more can I ask for...

... hey, the gun barrel turns together with the "battery" (???)... I am leaving the missile out to let the gun look more like water hose...

... bot mode... oops, forget to push back his right face-mask...

...btw, for all the mods, I try my best to tighten all joints if possible... which actually is HARD WORK... tedious, I mean...

... Inferno & Grapple reunites!!!!...

KO Binaltech Hound

Haha, till now I cannot forget someone wrote in a forum to warn others not to buy this, which is a complete waste of money... which I somewhat agree... as I have been seeing many more better quality ones appearing after I bought this piece... but still, it is playable...

and sometimes, to me, simplified is not really a bad thing... Some parts/transformations need not to be so complicated... A good example I can think of now ... hmm... Oversized Classics Grimlock... You won't notice much difference in the bot or beast mode but the transformation is greatly simplified... back to this piece...

Got him a new gun and his infamous missile... did not like his given gun... and the missile seems to be also not included in the original Binaltech/Alternators version... yeap, the missile is from the retooled Doubledealer-wannabe in the KO Leo Kaiser set... cut off the whole body just to get this missile, hahaha.... The added a holding pin to the missile's holder (and drill a hole at the top of the back-wheel cover to insert this pin), drill a small hole at the holder's side, and then 1 holding pin to the side of the gun to put into the hole... confusing.. see pic of vehicle below to clarify...

... oh, and covered the slot that has a swivelling back door (the one with a spare wheel cover) to prevent it from sliding out during transforming...

Finally done!!!.. Ok, I know in the cartoon, there is no missile to be seen in vehicle mode.. but my missile is too big to store anywhere, so decided to just put the gun besides the missile, to at least leave some accuracy to the cartoon version... What I did not do also: replace the windscreen with transparent material... could have done it, but, heck...

...bot mode! ... Drill a hole at the shoulder joint to put in the missile... The colours are supposed to be a bit darker, by the way...

Hound!!!!!!

It suddenly strikes my mind that Classics Hound is sold together with Ravage is because they are both... dogs??? (Hound - name of a type of dog... , Ravage - looks like a dog...), in addition to the caging scene in one of the cartoon episode...