[Zap Rowsdower]

Quote:

Originally Posted by truejoefan

Got mine already installed and its by far the best 3d replacement part I have ever owned bro. Absolutely perfect.

Thanks, glad you're enjoying it!

[Zap Rowsdower]

Good news! I'm almost ready to launch a version of this mechanism for the modern-era mold of the Skystriker...


There have been some major advancements in my upgrade for the wing sweep and landing gear mechanism for the 30th Anniversary mold of the Skystriker. I have some refinements to make still, but the basic design works now.

Here are some comparison pictures with the original factory piece (in black, with the handle snapped off) and my latest prototype of the upgraded mechanical piece that allows independent control of the wings and gear:







There was a lot less space to work with in this modern-era version, and the designers made it a lot tougher to add what I needed just due to placement of internal support fins inside the shell so the design had to be a lot different from my vintage Skystriker upgraded mechanism, unfortunately. Thankfully, it is still a lot like the design for the vintage Skystriker in the sense that it is made up of three parts that can be swapped in and out of the Skystriker at will without any permanent modification to the plane...except for the initial disassembly of the Skystriker itself in the case of the 30th Anniversary mold. It's factory glued together in two locations so breaking loose the glue is the only permanent modification required. After that, it's a free-for-all.

Here's the design:




The main mechanism still works like the original and is operated by the handle on top of the plane, but the wing synchronizer piece is able to pass freely along the top of the mechanism to move the wings independently of the landing gear (but still in synch with the other wing).

Here, the landing gear is in the up position and the wings would be in the swept position just like the way the original mechanism would work:


And here, the gear is still up but the wings would now be in the forward position which was previously not possible to do:


And here we are with gear down and wings spread like usual:


And now with gear down and the wings swept, which was previously impossible to do:


It's a bit easier to show off when it's all together, but then you can't see the mechanism that makes it all happen:

[Zap Rowsdower]

A bump in honor of the Haslab Skystriker...

I have adapters for both the vintage and modern-era builds that allows independent operation of the wings and gear. The control knob operates the gear and the wings move as a pair when you position either one by hand. Full range of motion is maintained and no permanent modifications are required.



I also make TCS/IRST chin pods, working tailhooks, engine intake fans (vintage only), engine exhaust nozzles, LANTIRN targeting pods for the wing glove, replacement seats with RIO instrument panel and joystick (vintage only), and I'm still tinkering with a 2-seater interior for the modern-era body. The 2-seater works and includes pilot's instrument panel (panel details not yet fleshed out but there is a chunk of plastic in its place to show where it's going to go), a RIO instrument panel, and seats that resemble actual F14 ejector seats...but you have to remove the lower legs from both figures to get them to both fit in the cockpit. Not enough room for the shins!

[Zap Rowsdower]

By request, I modified my vintage-compatible intake fans to work in the modern-era Skystriker:

















No glue or screws required, but you do have to have your Skystriker main body opened up to get these installed.

[lightning530]

Hey Zap can you send me a message please about one of your products your message box is full

[Zap Rowsdower]

Latest batch of parts...

[jlw515]

Zap,

With all your Skystriker upgrades, have you given any thought to making a Jet Fire-like attachment to the top? Even if people had to paint it, it would be cool to be able to have available to customize a Skystriker or two.

Maybe even something closer to a Sky Fire (animated) attachment as opposed to the Jet Fire twin-turbo pods.

Jason

[Zap Rowsdower]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlw515

Zap,

With all your Skystriker upgrades, have you given any thought to making a Jet Fire-like attachment to the top? Even if people had to paint it, it would be cool to be able to have available to customize a Skystriker or two.

Maybe even something closer to a Sky Fire (animated) attachment as opposed to the Jet Fire twin-turbo pods.

Jason

I hadn't ever really thought of it, but I guess it would be possible. It could just use the mounting points for the original vertical stabilizer wings to attach the booster pod/pack/thingamajig to the vintage plane body shell. It seems like that bulky pod would interfere with the landing gear lever though, so it may take some problem-solving to make that work.

With that said, I'm not much of a Transformer guy and I'm definitely too lazy to learn what the exact shape of that booster pod is and try to model it from scratch. Is there a good public domain model of it anywhere (or a crisp 3d scan of an existing Transformers toy's booster pod) that I could modify to turn it into a simple Skystriker plug-in part?

EDIT: As I was getting ready to submit this reply, I did a quick search and it looks like this is exactly what Hasbro already did with a modern-era based SDCC Jetfire Skystriker back in 2013:

https://generalsjoesreborn.com/revie...c_jetfire.html