I finally added the paint and cleaned up everything else needed. This thing is done. I figured it'd be better to just make a new topic instead of digging up the WIP one. All the pics will follow, but I'll give the details about what I did first.

We've all been saying this HISS would be a lot better with a full covered back and fold down ramp. I had to give it a shot. I started off thinking about having a small ladder flip out of the back and the full hatch rise instead of drop. After some deciding and pre-fitting, that turned out not to be a good idea. There's things like the foot peg on the back and the inner portion of the frame being oddly shaped that prevented that. The fold down was the better option anyway.

I cut the bumper and half wall. Fitted some plastic to the opening and dremeled the "triangle" details in. I had to build up the opening inside so that it wasn't just an open hole. I had to make a hinge so the door would flip down. The guns were made from Superhero Showdown launchers and some wood I turned on a lathe. The rockets got cut down and the inner parts were reshaped so the rockets would fit inside.

That's pretty much it. It was more figuring out than work. Once I got an idea everything pretty much went together. So now for the pictures:

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Looks awesome! The detailing on the door is amazing - did you have a jig for your Dremel, or is that freehand?

That one pic looks like the 'Creeper is checking out CC's package under the turret, though

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It was all freehand. I have one of the bits that has a flat head but rounded on the sides and it works great for this type of stuff. Sucks if you want a corner though, hehe. But yeah I just sketched out where I wanted the detail to be and went at it. I figured if I messed up there's always greenstuff to fix it, or just start over.

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Looks great! If Hasbro'd made it this good I would've bought one without hesitation!

This takes all the best parts of the HISS and the HISS V and puts em all together!

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What he said...

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Sweet! I'm loving the flip-up sides! This is like the definitive HISS right here.

The flip up sides is how the DTC HISS comes out of the box, hehe. All I did was the fold down back, guns, and reworked the missile pods on the sides. Thanks for the compliments though from everyone!

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Yah, nice work J. I've got 1 more HISS than I thought I had, so I may have to fix it like this.

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Almost as astounding as the triangle insets is the working hinge! Can you tell us how you made that work, please?

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Yeah, once I got the door made I measured the size I needed for a hinge to fit under the bumper. I cut the round part from a model "tree". I keep a ton of that stuff around along with model pieces. I try and grab most models when I see them for a buck or less. I filled the part glued to the door with green stuff so that it had a tight fit. The parts sticking out has some plastic pieces I shaped to fit the bumper and a rounded area where the door's plastic parts rest for holding the door in place. When gluing the small parts on, just be sure no glue goes in the holes where the door's pegs are resting. If some does, keep working the door (open and close it) until the glue dries so that your door doesn't mess up. Once it's all in place, sand any part of the door that's rubbing too much so that it closes. I always put a tab on the door too so that it snaps closed.

This works for any door. You can have it swing down, up, or to the side using this type of hinge. As long as it doesn't have to clear the body you're fine. If it does have to clear the body, then you have to make another type of hinge.

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