I've gotten closer to what I want now but it's not 100% just yet.
Below is an example of my code:
And this is what's happening:
The Sprite 2 is now just a little too close to/far from Sprite 1 anchor to make a stable shape, and the other instances sometimes overlap. Also, upon Space being pressed ALL instances have the bullet reaction instead of just the one connected.
Still, I consider the appearance of anchors on Sprite 2 a success over not having them before.
I think I'm missing the 0/1 variables for those, but tell me, is there something else on top of that I might also be lacking?