Trains and Dianauts......don't know about that

I'm waiting for some parts, but have a plan to make one of my small HO scale layouts with a "secret" Dianaut base. I'm using the Dianauts as a Halo Spartan-type of character - in HO scale, they'd be around 7 feet tall, about the size of Chief.

Nice. I'm thinking I really do need to order some of those little LGAM and paint them up, and maybe get a train I can paint into the GI Joe train, or just track down one of the Joe trains. Maybe with Titan Metroplex in the center of it.

EDIT:

Even better. Hit Ebay and found one of the old Tyco Transformers train sets (train only, no track or figures/accessories) for $25. Since the figures and stuff won't fit in with what I'd want in a display, and I have tons of track already, this should be great!

The early Hero Clix figures were between 32 and 36mm tall. I use to articulate them a decade + ago (wow..time flies) and their heights were of the utmost importance back then (ha!). When i cut them off of the base and added articulation they ended up being 35mm standing up straight. In stock form (crouching poses often) on a base they were 32 ish mm's.

Picked up my first power suit and another set of pilots from someone clearing out their stuff on eBay. The power suit is awesome and I'm happy I got it......but I'm also really happy I didn't pay full price for it. Yeah, these guys don't have a big customer base and Takara needs to make it's money back, but $40 is way too much for these fellas. And that definitely weighs on my mind when I look at the larger robots.

I'm not ashamed to admit I will consider the knockoffs being shown on some other forums if they are ever produced....and at a more reasonable cost.

Also picked up a Votoms Fatty to use with my guys. Kinda in a tossup of which one I prefer. I like the size of the Votoms, but the Takara seems more solidly built. Right now, they work in a good tandem - I use the Diaclone as a AA unit working with the heavy armor (Votoms).

Yep.

I'm looking forward to more news regarding those.

I *still* haven't had time to mess around with my Powered Suit and 8 pack of pilots. However my pilot i acquired loose has had the bejeezus posed out of him along with my custom figures.

Same and same. Oh, and your loose pilot got off lucky. His pack-mates have been dremeled, sanded, painted, cut... mwahahahahaahaa

I had an opportunity to use my dremel recently......


to remove excess plastic from my water hose reel before re mounting it to the wall with anchors and lag bolts post renovation. I swear that dremel has seen more jewelry box, bracelet holder (for the lady) and renovation work than action figures lately.

That's what I've been "customizing"

The solo diaclone pilot makes me smile though so I'm thankful for that. Eventually I'll get around to sculpting a head on him and adding new articulation.

I need some red torso pilots ...

The biggest things I'm getting out of the dianauts - a new found appreciation for G1 Transformers.

Until these guys came out, I was not aware of the diaclone history with Transformers. A few months back, after seeing some pics online, I pulled out my reissue Ultra Magnus and put a dianaut in the crew compartment - it was truly one of those moments where you never knew something was missing, but now that it was there you saw how right it was. This gave me the kick to go back and finally add some G1 pieces I've never owned - first, a knockoff Optimus Prime (the trailer alone was worth it). Today, it was the Insecticons (I didn't realize until recently they had cockpits in their chests). And, I have a set of Platinum Seekers on the way to go with my Thundercracker and Skywarp. Also, its given me a newfound love for the Grapple I bought years ago. He had never clicked with me before. Now, I have him front-and-center with his own driver and thinking I need to find an Inferno to go with him.

Morian have you seen any updates regarding the 3rd party Diaclone product?

I can relate to your perspective regarding new found appreciation for varying TF toys. I didn't expect this to happen but I've found the Diaclone figures themselves (as opposed to the mechs) have stealthily become the toys I think about the most which is "practically" equivalent to being my favourite toy. They've replaced Mega Construx, figures which i consider to be technically superior figures with better articulation, because of the things the Diaclone figures fit in. They have become the constant consideration when thinking about buying a new toy and the reason I've bought or made toys recently that I wouldn't have in the past . I've got cheap toys that I damn sure wouldn't have bought in the past on the chopping block ready for modifications that allow Dianauts to fit in them. It's like being a kid again.

These little dudes have the magical "it" factor.

Agree 100%.

Haven't seen any more talk about the third party sellers.

I see the new repaints of the pilots are on sale. Surprised some of the shops who had the pilots last time, and seemed to sell out quickly, don't even have them up for preorder. Think I'll be going to BBTS just to make sure I get them (only one set this time, for now).

I need the DA-04-2 set. Black and silver base body colours are a must. Have you swapped the blue and black body parts from the first dianaut pack to create all black or all blue dianauts?

I haven't messed with swapping the lower legs. I have changed a few at the mid-torso so they are solid blue or gray, with alternate colors for their lower legs. I usually consider those guys pilots and have them in my jets or mech suits. The solid color trooper I consider foot soldiers. I haven't decided if I'll modify the silver and black ones or keep them as is.

I haven't swapped any parts yet but I share the same perspective regarding solid color troops. You mentioned jets and mechs . Are you using toys from a different toyline? I've recently stocked up on cheap mech suit fodder .

I think it may be time for me to show you guys a piece of piece of garbage (actual garbage) I've been working on to see if I can improve the articulation of the dianauts. Some input from other dianaut owners might help.

Here's my dianaut "motor pool" - three G1 TF jets (with three more on the way), G1 Grapple, G1 Optimus trailer, Insectioncons, two McFarlance Halo Warthogs, one mini HISS, one power suit, and one 1/48 armored VOTOMs. I'm trying to figure out how to build a base for them on a train set I just built, but that is still in the early stages. Also, need to divide my 'nauts into factions - haven't figured that out yet. Last, I need to find a good alien/insect head to bash onto a few of these guys to make insecticon drivers, but haven't found one I like (correction - I like the 1998 Matchbox aliens, but those are few and far between on eBay)

If you're wanting more machines/mechs for your Dianauts, look at some of the Titans Return figures, especially ones like Wheelie or the Titan Masters packs with the head and a vehicle/weapon. The heads in bot/human/nebulan (take your mythos pick) are roughly Dia-sized. I like this one as a little UTV for them: