Windblade heel alteration

[CBratron]

I love her but one of the problems with Windblade is her balance issue. Her wings shift her centre of gravity directly over her heels. The fact the heels collapse only exacerbates her situation.

But I reckon extending her heels a few millimeters shifts her center of gravity towards her toes and angles her heels so they're less likely to inconveniently fold up.

Figuring out how far the heel extensions need to be.
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e175/cbrate/IMAG0080_zpsnfcwr0kp.jpg

Drilled the heels with a pin vice (pictured) and glued in cut lengths of paperclip to help anchor the extensions. The same idea as steel reinforcing rods in concrete. There's two in each heel to stop the things twisting right off.
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e175/cbrate/IMAG0078_zpspi0mwnne.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e175/cbrate/IMAG0083_zpszkpswv6h.jpg

I've just put the putty on. I'll take photos later today when it has had some time to harden..

[CBratron]

The extensions are done and solid enough to stand on.
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e175/cbrate/IMAG0087_zpsroovdfal.jpg
Here's the finished result. She doesn't look drastically different but now she doesn't need to do the TF Animated pose to stand up without falling backward. I'll need to cover the green with black paint and maybe a coat of varnish too.
Best thing about this little mod is it's so minor, that transformation is completely unaffected. I've seen people talk about making heels that lock in place or extend backward. I've even seen an attempt to fix this on Shapeways.
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e175/cbrate/IMAG0088_zpsne1abjmw.jpg

[UltraMarginal]

that's a pretty elegant solution, thanks for sharing.

[lancalot]

very nicely done bro .... yeah that was annoying me as well...

[liegeprime]

where do you get a pin vice? sorry not a customizer here so have no idea on where to get these things and the putty as well...:)

[CBratron]

where do you get a pin vice? sorry not a customizer here so have no idea on where to get these things and the putty as well...:)

It's no problem. Hobbyco and other hobby shops should have both pin vice and putty (often called Kneadatite or Green Stuff). Hardware stores are less likely to have them but still might. Games Workshop definitely has them but they overprice everything. You could probably get both from ebay for less than $10 together.
Sometimes the pin vice doesn't come with the tiny drill bits. You may need to buy those separately.

You can use any superglue, even those cheap mini-tubes from the reject shop. And while you're there you can pick up a wire cutter to snip the paperclips (don't even try scissors).

edit:and I just realised I've been misspelling Pin Vise for the past 15 years. Vice is immoral behaviour. Vise is a clamp.

[prjkt]

edit:and I just realised I've been misspelling Pin Vise for the past 15 years. Vice is immoral behaviour. Vise is a clamp.

hmm, and a vise vice is not something we want to think about.... (or do we?)

[Lint]

Great idea! I'd like to do something similar