XV86 Response Suit (How I did it - Part 2)

This is the second and final part of the XV86 Response Suit conversion.

First we take the torso you made in part 1.

We are going to mount on the thruster assemblies you cut off in the previous part, but in a different way. This creates a more dynamic thruster array that looks like the vents are actually point down. Be sure to attach the small bit to complete the bottom vent on the thrusters. Make sure they attach to the intakes as pictured.

I apologize if these parts seem to be assembled in a slightly random order. This is just how I built them. Now built the pelvis from the broadside kit as normal. The broadside legs and pelvis are pretty good for basic suit conversions like this, if you don't want to make your own salvaged from the crisis torso like I did with the XV9s.

Now we will be using the broadside legs.

Our goal is to thin it down because we won't be using the thigh guards on the legs. Those are reserved for another part. Shave off the little nubs that the thigh guards attach to.

Now remove the calf servos as pictured and cut them down to this. Broadside legs look pretty huge on a basic Crisis torso, so doing these steps will bring them more in line with the size the Crisis suit is. With a little shaving off, the ankles on these legs fit in the basic Crisis feet. The XV88 feet look a little big. They work for the XV9 because technically that suit is supposed to be a bigger size class. But for the XV8 their original feet work fine.

Back to our torso we built earlier, we are going to modify it more. Here we are going to cut off the part of thruster assemblies that stick above the level of the intakes.

Now prepare some aerials from some other kits. These come from the Broadside kits, but even some of the extras from the Riptide would work fine. Just try to keep a uniform design among the same team of suits. These are to be the many little wings and rudders that help steer the fast and complex flight system of the XV86.

I may have skipped a few photos here, and I appologize. But here I cut out some plasticard and covered up the unsightly trenches above the thruster assemblies. Then as you can see, the thigh-guards from the Broadside legs make great coverings for the thruster assemblies. When opened as pictured, it simulates drag like the suit is braking. Opened the other way looks like they are housing another thruster for an extra boost.

I stuck in the servos from the broadside legs so they look like they are the mechanics controlling the covers.

After that the complex parts of the suit are pretty much finished. The rest is up to you. I of course wanted to go for more flightey poses to simulate these things thrusting around allover the battlefield.

Original Crisis suit arms remain the same and the head is up to you. I like these heads from the Broadside kits. They look a little sleeker than the standard Crisis head. I also underslung the guns from the arms rather than mounting them on the side. Everything you can do to make them sleeker looking.

Also the aerials on the sides of the thruster assemblies and above the engine intake in the center can really help sell the 'flying robot' aesthetic I was going for.

Another part I did not cover are the small thrusters on the legs. They follow the same process in my XV9's leg thrusters, and are also made of Space Marine backpack vents.

Closer looks again to the thruster assemblies. On the Full Thrust and Half Thrust modes, there are extra jets hidden beneath the covers. These are cannibalized from Interceptor Drone thrusters. I found them to be the perfect size for this area.