G1 Shockwave skinny leg problem solved??

[primatives]

Hey everyone I just got a g1 Shockwave and the legs were loose and so I left it like this and to me it looks pretty good like in the cartoon. He was short wide and stumpy What do you guys think???

[Lordy]

One of the legs on my Shockwave does a similar thing as well. Cool pic

[SOUNDBLASTER]

But then he's just too short ..

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Looks better that way IMO. Any chance of comparison pics with some of the other notable G1 'con cast? I'd be interested in seeing how he stacks up against G1 Megs height-wise.

[GoktimusPrime]

I agree with SOUNDBLASTER. I think that looks bad. :/ Loose legs are a common problem on 1985 Shockwaves - mine are extremely loose too. But I find that I can get the toy to stand by simply pushing outward from the insides of the feet. It works for me and the outward splaying is so minute that it's barely perceivable. It's really easy to do and works a treat.

In each of these shots Shockwave's stance is being supported by slight outward splaying in his feet.







I find G1 Sandstorm to be the worse when it comes to loose legs, and the worse thing is that because his legs are a single block, I can't try to spread his feet apart like I do with Shockwave. So I just stick two small pieces of blu-tac on the back of each knee. :/

I've heard that applying nail polish can re-stiffen loose joints but I've never tried it myself.

[SOUNDBLASTER]

Here is my solution for SHOCKWAVE..

2matches... Refer to pics .. Simple and effective



Sorry about the view.. Its a good thing he doesnt have janglies like rotf Devvy .

[blackie]

I can see up his skirt.... :P

[kup]

I'll pull mine apart and check if there is a solution for loose legs. Mine doesn't have that issue with the legs, instead his knees are wobbly but not too bad.

[dirge]

I actually took the legs apart and stuck electrical tape into the insides of his shins. It works a treat (:

[kup]

Here are the fix possibilities that I can suggest. I can't directly show you how to fix it since my Shockwave is fine in this department.

Before we begin, here is some mold anatomical background:

1. Unscrew Shockwave's lower leg by removing the 4 screws. The lower legs splits in two - You may need to gently separate the pieces.



2. You will notice that the knee joint has a 'push' tab on it.



3. You will also see that one of of the leg halves has two tab holes



4. As you may have already guessed, the push tab goes into the hole on the upper leg in robot mode to keep the leg extended in robot mode and the lower tab to keep the handle (compressed legs) in gun mode.

Possible Fixes

Fault: Tab holes have become obstructed with dust or dirt preventing the tab from slotting in properly .
Fix: Simply clean the tabs so that they allow the tab inside.

Fault: Screws have become slightly loose and the leg is not tightly close which means that the tab is not fully pressed into the hole.
Fix: Simply tighten the screw, particularly in the knee joint area.

Note: Following fixes would be invisible from the outside as they are done within the leg.

Fault: Your Shockwave can't keep his legs extended is because the tab bed has been bent back too much but its not broken.
Fix: If its bent but not broken, gently bent it so that the tab stick out more - Don't over do it.

Fault: If the tab is cracked then it means that the tab has lost its flexibility.
Fix:The fix will be much more difficult. You need to push the tab back out by using some super glue to push the tab securely in place and reinforce it by gluing a small thin sheet of plastic or metal behind it to reinforce it and keep the tab pushing out.

Fault: Tab is broken off altogether and missing.
Fix: Since the tab is gone, we have no choice but to keep the legs in place using friction. Wrapping the purple joint in tape would be enough to do this as Dirge mentioned.

Reference For tab bed related fixes: