Riders in the sky

While the Enforcer Jetbikes actually came out with the Deadzone 2 kickstarter, a lot more people are getting them with their Warpath kickstarter, and expect even more once Warpath hits retail shelves in the next few months.

Pair of Enforcer Jetbikes

I'm one that had not really looked at them for Deadzone, so finally put a couple together once I got them.  And I pretty much managed to screw up assembling them in just about every way possible. Since they don't come with assembly instructions (unfortunately), here is my guide to assembling the Enforcer Jetbikes.

The jetbikes are hard plastic, but they have already been removed from the sprues.  You get two to a bag (and they sell them in a box of 4 - so 2 bags to a box).

Jetbike parts

The first and most obvious place to start is putting the two halves of the bikes together.  As I've often said at work, for every problem there is a solution that is simple, elegant and wrong.  Putting the bodies together first is such a solution.

Jetbike body halves

First there is a big piece of flash that must be trimmed from inside of the bodies - toward the back. This seems consistent on all four I have done (two to screw up, two take pictures of and hopefully not screw up).  After this bit of minor cleanup, the halves fit together easily.  However there are two pieces that need to be assembled first - or else you will end up trying to pry these halves apart after you have glued them together (as I learned from experience).

These are the engine housing and the instrument panel.

body halves, instrument panels, engine housing

The engine housing fits in the back, there is a rectangular cutout in the back end of the body that fits the tab.  The instrument panel fits in the front.  It doesn't fit fully flat, as it needs to leave a small gap on either side to allow for the riders hands (something else I finally learned).

engine housing and instrument panel in place

Once you have glued these two pieces in place, you can then glue the two halves together.

halved together without these pieces, and with them

Once you have the halves together, then it is fairly simple to glue on the various fins.  The long front fins are actually marked left and right.  There is a small stabilizer that attaches to each of these - the angled side goes toward the lower fin at the front of the bike.

stabilizer on the front fins

front fins attached

The foot rests go in the lower, forward slot in the back end.  The attach from the bottom of the foot rest (I kept wanting to put them in upside down).

foot rests attached

The tail fins point toward the back and go in the upper slots.  The rest of the engine goes into the housing - it only fits one way.

rear fins and engine attached

vie of top and bottom of the jet bike

The jet bike has an option for its weaponry.  These attach to the bottom of the bike.  There are two of the Twin Laser Assault Rifles (as this is the cheapest build), as well as a single Heavy Burst laser and Missile Launcher.

Twin Laser Assault Rifles (left), Missile Launcher (top right) and Heavy Burst Laser (bottom right)

The weapons all fit into a slot in the bottom of the bike, between the main fins.  If you aren't sure if this is the option you want, this slot would make a good place for a magnet - as well as on each weapon.

Weapon placement

The only thing left is the rider.  The heads are obvious, and the arms simply fit into place around a low round nub.

body, head & handles, arms

Next are the arms.  The trick here is getting the correct angle, which controls the posture of the rider.  I struggled when I first put mine together to see where the bike handles went, and as such my first two riders have their heads down touching the instrument panels.

rider assembled

The handles actually go on the sides of the instrument panel, with the hands going into the small gap that was left when this was put in.  So I recommend that you position the arms on the body by fitting them with the driver sitting on the bike.  You should be able to rotate the arms until the hands fit into the gap, then hold the arms in place until they set at that angle.

rider in place

Once the arms are set in place and the glue has dried, you should be able to lift the rider off, apply glue to his hands, butt and feet, and then glue him back into place, now properly riding the bike (or you can wait to glue him on until AFTER you have painted everything, to make it easier)..

There are two flying bases provided, with two different height pieces.

flying base bits

I personally think it is better to use one of each - so that your bikes are at alternating levels.  I think is is visually more interesting, and when you put these into a team tray for Warpath, will help to assure they can both fit.

flying bases, two different heights

And thus you have your jetbikes assembled.

Team of Enforcer Jetbikes

I hope this helps you avoid the errors I made first assembling mine (prying the body halves apart to put a missing part in is quite a pain in the butt - even more so when you have to do it AGAIN because you found another part that must go in first.)

Because it is all fun and games . . .