Reccoom Kaboom presents: Musclevations! What are musclevations, you may be asking. Well, the Kaboom dictionary of made-up words defines musclevations as any new ideas involving muscle figures that may fuel continued interest in said figures. Now on to the show!   My first documented musclevation, the bionicle display bundles, a convenient and accurate way to display muscles (fig1a).   A new kind of fan art, solely dedicated to capturing the characters of the figures: an idea expanded upon by having professional artists do their interpretations of said figures (fig2a).   A new musclevation (to the boards, anyway):the standing full color collection technique!   All you'll need are the standard solid cheap-o shelves (fig3a).   Now I know what you're thinking; "figures won't stand on that! They'll fall right over!". And you'd be right. That's why…   You turn it over (fig3b)!   The support grid on the underside contains and organizes, so you can store your figures standing upright, in their correct order (fig3c)   And see all the colors of each figure you possess (fig3d).   Before building the racks, You might want to shorten the legs (1&½ inch guys don't need 12 inches space, right?), and create dividers to prevent interlocking shelves. I used dowels that slide into the tubes snugly, and extend out the bottom just enough. This way, you can take the shelves with you for quick confirmation on all those e-bay auctions (fig3e).   Once stacked, you will be able to see just how many square inches of muscle you own (fig3f).   And now, the main event, and reason for all this: the micro action figure ball-joint technique (fig4)!   First, tools and supplies: (fig4a).   The two things needed are ball pins and a dremel bit that is small and designed for engraving/scoring (bit#106 works best for me). The medium ball pins are easy to find and will do most joints (neck, shoulders, elbows, medium waists, hips, and most knees and ankles). The smalls are much harder to find, but will mainly be used only for wrists and other narrow joints (opposable thumbs!). The larges are actually cork pins which I've only been able to find at staples, and only work for big waists like #165 and Wally Tusket (both figures I've done. This big ball joint makes all the difference with figures like this)   Tools that make things easier are needlenose pliers and wire cutters. The dremel extension is a necessity, as the drill is too shaky and cumbersome for such delicate work. To demonstrate how all this comes together, I will, for your viewing pleasure, perform cheap-rubber-lizard-joint-implant-surgery:   (fig4b) our subject.   (fig4c) looks painful.   Before the drilling starts, some things to know: The smaller the piece, the harder it will be to keep the drill from shooting it across the room, so grip tight. The bit won't tear skin, unless heavily provoked by duration or pressure. If you let it, the bit will go off target at the start. This will cause a line to be etched onto the piece, so practice on unimportant rubber lizards first! If drilled too deep or to wide, the piece will be useless, so have spares. So far I've been lucky and needed only one figure each time, but I always have a parts donor.   (fig4d) Now start the drilling in the middle, shallow, and work your way outward in a circular motion, patiently. The interior should be carved out with the shape of the pin head in mind: wider inside than outside to grip. Set drill for lowest possible setting, and stop frequently to test the hole with a ball pin. The deeper the pin head fits, the more anchored the joint will be: a deep joint has much less range of motion than a shallow one. The ground up rubber wrapped around the bit should be removed each time you stop as well. Muscle rubber can be drilled amazingly thin, and stretched (very slightly) around the ball, but proceed at risk of ruining the part.   (fig4e) Leave the pin head in the socket. Swivel and sway it to see if it stays connected. If not, and the pin head is not in very deep, try drilling straight in with a much smaller hole in the middle of the first one: this will add depth and grip without making the hole too big. If the pin head is in deep, and it still falls out, the ball joint may need to be set into the opposing piece with an epoxy filling the failed socket, or the over drilled piece may need to be replaced. A hole cannot be filled in and re-drilled though: epoxy will not grip, and rubber filament will not bond.   (fig4f) Once the ball and socket are satisfactory, you will need the wire cutters. Crimp very lightly, to put notches on the pin: these notches will keep the pin from coming back out. Snip off the excess length of pin, keeping in mind the more motion and stress a joint is under, the longer a pin needs to be (about 3mm in most cases for medium pins, 2 for small, 4 for large).   (fig4g) force the pin in, and you should have a functional and stable ball joint, for poses and animates that exceed what was possible before!   (fig4h) Our not-so cheap lizard friend, after 12 ball-joint implants.   (fig4i) The current champion, standing tall with 18 functional ball joints.   (fig4j) Ball joints work even better for battle beasts!   Ankles are the most important joints, as they will allow for level footing in more dynamic poses.   Knees will be the hardest joints to keep from separating.   G1 muscle rubber does not heat to liquid as fast as G2 rubber.   The pin heads should be chosen in colors matching the figure's future paint for consistency.   For questions, contact me through A.K.I.A., or at reccoom@hotmail.com I should have 2 more major musclevations ready by the end of the year, so stay tuned. - Reccoom Kaboom! 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