First off, I really, really, really like this guy. After approaching ten hours in the custom class, I developed an extreme dislike for this mold. That soon changed as soon as I cracked open this years box set (my first) and started fiddling with this 'bot. Armada Sideswipe homage aside, he is pretty damn cool. That being said, my Treadshot does have a an issue. Like voyager FE Optimus Prime, Treadshot's head balljoint was not sitting in socket. Unlike FE Prime, it wasn't super easy to fix. This wouldn't be a big deal, except that that turning the head left or right pressed on the back of the hood and forced it to start flipping up from the front. I found this unacceptable so I resolved to fixor it. One side of the head was glued together for some reason; a quick blast from a hair dryer losened it enough for me to pry it apart after removing the screw. The new head's socket is just slightly too small for the ball, so even when I pushed the ball into the socket it would pop out after moving it around a bit. I tried trimming the ball joint down with an exacto knife but it didn't really help. I ended up jamming a wad of masking tape behind Treadshot's chin, which is just empty space, to prevent the ball from popping out. While not the most elegant solution, it worked. This actually brought up another issue though; clearance. Since the head now sits a little bit more forward, I find that it sometimes doesn't quite clear the top of the hood. It can if slowly lift the hood and adjust the head a bit, and this was deemed an acceptable trade off. Another downside is he can't look down because of the tape but, eh. I'm OK with it. The tape idea actually came from one of the FunPub guys during the custom class. He was suggesting using masking tape on the alternate Shockwave head for Longarm to shore up the ball joint, instead of nail polish due to possible negative effects on the resin. I think his name was Sean? Anyway, thanks for that suggestion even though I used it on a different version of the mold!
