Return to the BUILD

“Attach the side muscles to the torso using ball-joint connections, and prepare another muscle for future integration.”

Much of this issue is repeating steps from previous issues but with new parts.

Contents

Parts

Materials: All of these parts are plastic.

Magazine

• T-800 Assembly – Model Instructions
• Sci-Fi Cinema Legends – Stargate
• Real World Science – Chariots of the Gods?

Build

Assembling a Muscle and Attaching the Side Muscles

Steps 1-2

Slide the thinner end of the Inner Muscle through the Outer Muscle via the wider opening, as shown:

Step 3

Apply a thin line of super glue along this ledge of the Muscle Cap:

Step 4

Slide this Muscle Cap over the exposed end of the Inner Muscle until it seats into the Outer Muscle, as shown:

Don’t worry about alignment; there is no specific way this needs to be secured into the muscle:

Steps 5-6

Retrieve the Muscle Connection from the previous issue. Apply a thin line of super glue along this ledge of the Muscle Connection:

Slide the glued end into this end of the Outer Muscle, as shown:

Don’t worry about alignment; there is no specific way this needs to be secured into the muscle:

Steps 7-8

Retrieve your T-800 endoskeleton. Slide the thicker end of the Inner Side Muscle into this opening of the left Thoracic Cage Joint, as shown:

As I mentioned in the previous issue, these Inner Side Muscles wobble around a lot! I was not happy with this, so I took some steps to stabilize them within the cylinders. First, I needed to remove the two Thoracic Cage Joints by taking out these four screws:

By carefully separating the front and back thoracic cage frames, I was able to pop out both joints:

Next, I cut some long 1″ strips from 2″ wide gaffer tape. The reason I used gaffer tape here is that is that many kinds of tape (such as duct tape or electrical tape) are plastic/vinyl based and the non-adhesive side tends to be a bit ‘grippy’. Gaffer tape is cloth-based, so its non-adhesive side is much smoother and ‘slippery’. Therefore, it works well sliding along the inside of the joint cylinders.

Then, I wrapped the strip around the thick end of one of the Inner Side Muscles until the tape was about 3/16″ thick:

I removed the ‘head’ from the Thoracic Cage Joint and continuously checked if I needed more or less tape. I wanted this to be able to freely slide up and down within the cylinder, but have minimal side-to-side wobble:

Once I was satisfied with the fitment, I slid the muscle through the cylinder and replaced the ‘head’:

I repeated this process on the other muscle/joint assembly and re-secured them into the endoskeleton. They are much straighter now and have hardly any side to side wobble at all:

Steps 9-10

Press the balls on the end of the each Inner Side Muscle down into these sockets on the pelvis assembly. This may require a little force to snap them into place, but do not use any glue here:

Thoughts

The center section of the T-800 now has a bit more girth, which I like. And, the thoracic muscles look so much better after the simple modification! We did not use the Leg Joint Section in this issue, but keep it nearby.

Next Up

 Issue 55 – Right Thigh