Make your Own Rampage!
by: Perceptor@unicron.com

<< 1.How in the lord did you make his missles? >>
Well, after taking the gun apart by undoing the 3 screws that hold the barrel to the rest of it, I used a dremmel tool to smooth/flatten out the ugly grooves at the ends of each gun barrel. For this I used a very small/fine bit for the dremmel tool. I think it's actually made for etching in glass! Anyway, after the grooves were removed and the barrels look smooth and round, I changed bits to the round (big) flat one used typically for cutting, and I cut one of the shorter barrels so each barrel would be a different length. Then I cut each missile the length it needed to be to fit just inside each barrel as you see in the picture. Once the missile was cut to the proper length, I painted it red, and then a coat of clear protective varnish. I fit the missiles inside the gun barrel then super glued them into place. Then I put the gun back together. So no, unfortunately they don't shoot, but they do look pretty cool!

<<2.How'd y'get his legs mounted onto his shell?>>
Mounting the legs to the outer shell was a little tricker but fun. Okay, you know the black triangle piece that the to beast crab leg attach to? I'll call that "triangle" from now on. First of all, remove the triangle from the underarms by undoing the screw that fastenst it in place. I found a drill bit that was just the right size and I drilled into the underarm post so the grooves (left by the screw being in it) are smoothed out. This is important because you'll want to reattach the triangle back under the underamrs when it's in beast or tank modes.

Okay, do you know the cylindrical protrusions in the middle of each crab shell piece? There is a pretend screw made of plastic painted purple on top, (this is where the triangle is going to mount on the shell in robot mode. I'm going to call them "cylinders" from now on. Well, I started by filling the cylinders with molding epoxy from the under side so they are more solid. Once the epoxy is dry, drill a hole through the cylinder lengthwise (starting at the purple screw end so it's in exactly the right spot.) using the same drill bit you used on the forearms of the robot (this is important.)

Now you need 2 nails that are the same diameter as the holes drilled in the cylinders and the under-arm posts. (This is crutial so they the triangle can mount to the shell or the underarm posts securily!)

Okay the last step (the trickiest), is to mount the nails to the triangle parts where the screw used to exist. I don't want to go into a lot of detail about exactly how I went about doing this because one could do this any number of ways. What's important is that the nail is long enough so it goes deep enough into the shell holes you drilled, BUT, the nail cannot be so long that the triangle can't be mounted all the way onto the underarm post. You'll probably have to cut the nail so it's exactly the right length. It's crutial that the traingle be able to fit back on to the underarm exactly the way it did before you started, so the legs and wheel are in the right position in tank mode. The nail also needs to be mounted onto the triangle so it's straight. I recommend mounting it while it's on the underarm post. Secure the nail in position with molding epoxy, then paint it black so it matches the rest of the triangle. Good luck w/ this.

<<3.what'd color you use for his face (teeth thingys and spikes sticking out of head)>>
I used that very fine dremmel bit to etch out the plastic in-between each spikey thing on the side of his head. So it looks like the show. It doesn't matter if the plastic touches at the tip point areas because they often do touch in the show. (you also want them to remain sturdy enough.) But it doesn't look right to me unless 'holes' are cut between each side spike thingy. His eyes are just about perfect so I didn't touch them at all (other than to remove them when I painted the face). I used a chrome spray paint which I sprayed a small amount onto a plastic baggy. Then applied the chrome paint with a paint brush. It seemed to work pretty well, but I had to give it a second coat as it's pretty thin.

ADDITION!
<< Hi, its me again. Can you tell me what colors you used to paint Rampage's
head with? I read that you colored the gold with chrome spray paint, but
what did you use to cover his gold "mowhawk" and purple eyebrows?>>
Ah-HAW! NOW I know what you're asking! I didn't paint the mohawk or his eye brows! I used nail polish remover and a q-tip and slowly, gently not too messily remove the paint, rubbing it off bit by bit. You have to be careful not to use too much nail polish remover, it will dissolve the plastic and make it look clompy and sticky if you're not careful. Just get the q-tip damp w/ the stuff and rub. Small area at a time until there's no more ugly purple where it doesn't belong! Good luck

Any other questions? Let me know! But after all this writing and explaining you had better send me pics of your creation when you're done so I can add it to our Alts section (and give you credit for what you made, of course!) Thanks for visiting our web page and stay in touch.

Perceptor@unicron.com
www.unicron.com/bwtf