Transformation to Robot
Upside down, the main connection studs are unpegged.
Legs are formed by folding out the nosecone. From above, you can see how the minifigure pilot can sit still inside the vehicle mode: By having his feet firmly pegged to the light gray bracket.
As the nosecone split to becomes the legs, you will notice the legs are not symmetrical. One has a gray studs that helps to secure itself to the other legs to form a stable nosecone.
The cannons on the side of the helicopter are swivelled to the back of the legs to increase their mass. Mini balljoints allowed the feet to be rotated to the front too. These balljoints act as ankle tilts in robot mode as well, albeit with minimal range.
Complete transformation doesn't hinder the pilot's position. However... his presence there will prevent robot waist from being rotated.
The arms are formed from the speedboat spoilers.
Hands are folded out and head rotated to the front. Note the head is making use of the mini balljoint, tremendously improving his range. He can look up,down, left and right with ease.
The tailfin, consisting of more than 30% of the whole MOC, dangling at the back of the robot mode....
...and they can be folded up to form a better-looking kibbles that won't hinder the poseability later on. Note that the yellow c-clip is slotted into the gap /hole in the tailfin to prevent it from collapsing down easily.
The Pilot's Predicament
He tried to jump down but seems like he's currently hounded by 2 mean looking critters on the ground.
Apparently these critters are friendly and helped cushion his fall.
Robot Mode
I am very happy to find out the range of arm motion made possible by the mini balljoints used for his shoulders. Unlike bigger balljoints used from past years, his arms now can be used to cover his face, among other cool gestures.
With Weapon
The rifle with the handle folded out.
I just found out the cannon barrels tucked at the back of the legs are pushing against the heels,causing the yellow slopes to easily detach from the feet.
But no matter how hard he tried to show off his skills in battle, he's no match for big guy with white hands.
Do revisit this post again as I might just publish some more images of this MOC in the coming few days. I think I'm not done yet having fun with his high articulated limbs =)
This is one of my favorites of your models. I really like how you went about making this. I must say, though, I feel like "coastguard", as cheesy as it sounds, would be a better fit than "stormracer", though not to say that that is a bad name by any means. Also, there's a certain hand design I think you may find interesting. It can be seen on this Lego Optimus design, for example: http://images.mocpages.com/user_images/23530/12733530891_SPLASH.jpg
ReplyDeleteOnce again, I am very impressed with this - keep up the good work!