Cybertronian's current projects - 11/2/2009

2 Novembre 2009
This is a quickie list on what I'm working on so far. Most of my work includes the Custom Go-Bot Project, in which I will compose my own group of 6 Autobot Mini-vehicle retoolings. (I'm still scrounging for parts for my 3 Guardians -- Zeemon, Staxx, and Small Foot, now based on Swerve.) All 4 will also be wearing the Decepticon banner, but future Autobot projects will eventually turn up. This is merely what I've laid a brush on so far.
What I've finished (but may look at later):
Bug Bite
Faction: Renegade (Go-Bot)
Built From: Bumblebee (facemasked), with yellow Cliffjumper's head.
Notes: The easiest to work on, I simply got a rub-sign (yellow) Bumblebee, cleaned him up, and gave him a Decepticon rub-sign on his roof. I also painted the tip of his head crest (inspired by Megaman X, but meant as an homage to original Bug Bite's sunroof) and gave him a glossy black goatee. For extra detailing, I plan to add 2-3 red stripes on the side of his thighs. I view Bug Bite as an excellent shock trooper or insurgent fighter due to his common (worldwide!) and unassuming vehicle mode. From a distance, he even looks like Bumblebee. Once he transforms, it's a completely different story. Upon getting a 2nd one, he will be armed with Fireflight's double-barreled photon displacement gun (likely called something else).

Goliath
Faction: Decepticon
Built From: 2007 Movie (Target excl.) Armorhide
Based On: Garthe Knight's "Goliath" armored semi (from Knight Rider; it was coated with K.I.T.T.'s molecular bonded shell, making it nearly impervious).
Notes: Outside of the purchase of a Wal-Mart Planet X/Decepticon cyber key (to replace the blah Sector 7 one), and a redundant swap in of Cybertron Armorhide's missile rack, the only things I've done here are to add Decepticon symbols to the cab doors and left shoulder. What I want to do next is repaint his yellow "builder's emblem" into a multicolored one, paint his eyes red, and possibly add silver to the bolts on his hands (identifying his "weak spot"). I've also acquired a Hot Wheels trailer and missile-firing vehicle in the hopes of giving him something to tow. With my black Windcharger (keychain) serving as K.I.T.T., rivalry ensues when facing this imposing intimidator.

What needs more (extensive) work:
Herr Fiend (a.k.a. Dr. Go)
Faction: Renegade (Go-Bot)
Built From: Hubcap, with Bumblebee's facemasked head
Notes: I decided on Hubcap instead of the easy choice (black Cliffjumper keychain) because his original Porsche 928S form had a small spoiler, much like the 924/944. I decided he would look most like the mad scientist he his with Bumblebee (facemasked) head. (If you have access to reprolabels' "Upgrade" decals, use a set of these to give Herr Fiend silver forearms.) Currently, I'm partially finished painting the head black, and still need to paint the yellow car parts. Since Bumblebee's head decal is worn, I plan to replace it with a Reprolabel. I can't decide whether to use a Decepticon symbol or rubsign on his roof. Also of note: If I get some numbers to use on his hood/feet, should I use "32" or "64" (or neither)?

Buggyman
Faction: Renegade (Go-Bot)
Built From: Beachcomber
Prim. Color: Dk. Blue (G1 Frenzy's shade)
Sec. Color: Steel Blue (metallic?)
Tert. Color (optional): Orange (either Huffer or G2 Beachcomber's shade)
Notes: Buggyman was chosen since in the show, he was one of Cy-Kill's top and most called-on agents (Similar to TF movie infiltrator Barricade). Problem was, his color scheme is a dead ringer for Beachcomber's. (His other color scheme resembles H-B superstar Speed Buggy.) So I decided to go with a darker color scheme, leaning towards the original, but with orange thighs (from G2 Beachcomber), harkening back to the repaint. I'm currently in the process of painting his head, arms, and feet in something close to Frenzy's shade of dark indigo (Apple Barrel's 1x True Navy + 1x Royal Violet). His torso has been painted a metallic steel blue (using 1x Folk Art Blue Pearl Metallc + 3x Folk Art Silver Anniversary; Apple Barrel's Sky Blue had to be used as a primer). (Additional coats may be needed.) His chest detailing will be painted black, as will his seats and steering wheel.

In lieu of a digital camera, I figured borrowing Nick Kelsch's icons (and some time with Paint Shop Pro) would help to describe what I'm cooking up. As always, let me know what you think.
-- Cybertronian.

Attached Images

    

Update on Goliath: Upon watching the Knight Rider episode of the same name, I discovered Goliath's missiles were yellow, not reddish. (Meaning I'll have to put Movie Armorhide's yellow rockets back in!)

15 Novembre 2009
A new project is waiting in the mail, but this one is more of a low-budget custom... so far!
K.I.T.T.
Faction: Autobot
Built From: Black Windcharger (keychain)
Based On: Knight Industries 2000 (vehicular star of the original Knight Rider).
Notes: This is merely a placeholder listing, as almost no work needs to be done here. Although I'd like to paint (with GITD Red) a scanner bar between his headlights, I can't see where that would be necessary.
K.A.R.R.
Faction: Decepticon
Built From: Black Windcharger (keychain)
Based On: Knight Automated Roving Robot (from Knight Rider; KITT's (inherently) evil prototype).
Notes: In addition to buying a second black Windcharger keychain, I've also bought a regular version to make use of its (light) gray undercarriage. Although it would be easy to not paint this one, chances are that I will be adding a silver or light gray trim to the side of the car, using the Season 3 way of telling these two apart. He would also get an (GITD?) amber/yellow scanner bar and sound a bit too much like Optimus Prime for some Autobots. What separates KARR from KITT is KARR's emphasis of (the first half of) Asimov's 3rd Law of Robotics over the other 2: A robot must preserve its own existence (so long as said protection does not interfere with the 1st or 2nd Laws).[/list]

19 Novembre 2009
I am happy to report that construction on KARR (and KITT) are finished! KARR is now a Black Windcharger keychain with the grey undercarriage/robot parts of a 1st issue Windcharger keychain. When I find time (after finishing up Herr Fiend and Buggyman), I will paint his facemask silver, possibly a similar shade to his lower body trim.

After nearly destroying the lower front of the black 'Charger robot body trying to get his keychain harness undone, I was able to slip the broken section back into place (will super glue it later) and assemble the orphaned black robot parts with the leftover red car parts. The end result is a Windcharger keychain/Autobot with black parts instead of gray ones. The combination looks so good that I think it deserves a name. What should I call it?
-- Cybertronian.

3 Fevrier 2010
For the past 2 weeks, I've been amassing bits I need to fortify my octet of Decepticon Planes (Seekers). Yes, Octet. After finally mastering how to remove (and swap) the exhaust caps/afterburners on the plane body and pop out (and put back in) the pin holding the cockpit/fuselage onto the die-cast chest/intake, I fulfilled (sort-of) a 10th grade dream of creating {a.} a (female) seeker using all black factory parts and {b.} an extra original seeker based on the new purple G2 Ramjet body. I'll get into the details later.
I now have pairs of black fists for 4 of the 5 planes with black parts. (Starscream and Skywarp, of course, have blue and lavendar parts.)

For the past 2 days, I've been identifying who gets what and have begun work on painting an extra pair of Dirge wings to match Apparition's "G2 Ramjet purple". I've made a very close match of the color using 2 drops of Apple Barrel's "Diva Pink" and 1 drop of Delta Ceramcoat's "Passion". (I think I can get a better match with 3 drps. Diva Pink and 2 drps. Passion, but haven't tested it out yet.)

-- Cybertronian.

More on my new Deceptiplanes:
Darkstar
Faction: Decepticon
Built From: Generation 1 Skywarp, Generation 2 Ramjet, etc.
Primary Color: Black
Secondary Color: Black
Tertiary Color: Black
Notes: Back in 1994, I made up a order form for "Hasbro" to produce custom-colored versions of classic TF molds, giving people something to do with about 10 years worth of saved-up (North American) robot points. Darkstar was one of my first creations thought up from filling out my (sample) form. Darkstar, a she, is made from stock parts molded or painted in black. (The only non-black parts I cannot currently remove and replace are the teal-colored engines on the G2 Ramjet wings. HELP!) Character-wise, she is Dirge's paramour. Both love spreading fear and panic in others, but she is more fearless than he is.
Apparition
Faction: Decepticon
Built From: Generation 2 Ramjet
Primary Color: Purple
Secondary Color: Black
Tertiary Color: Black
Notes: Back in 1994, I made up a order form for "Hasbro" to produce custom-colored versions of classic TF molds, giving people something to do with about 10 years worth of saved-up (North American) robot points. Apparition was one of my early creations thought up from filling out my (sample) form. Apparition's body is made from G2 Ramjet's with all of the teal-colored parts (feet, fists, side of arms) swapped out and replaced with black parts (from Thundercracker and the Conehead Seekers). His wings are an extra pair of Dirge's. Unlike Dirge, his wings will be painted to match his body. In a very '90s fashion, Apparition (and his presumptively "dark" color scheme) are meant to represent stealth. He prefers to cruise into battle quietly and make use of the element of surprise (particularly at night). As a result, he hates fighting alongside those who prefer to "announce" their presence before they arrive.

On another update: the 5th black fist came in this afternoon. Now Dirge can join the other 7 in having 2 hands.

12 Fevrier 2010
Painting has begun on Apparition's G2 Purple wings. {3 drops Apple Barrel's Diva Pink + 2 drops Delta Ceramcoat's Passion} is the chosen mix. When coated with Future Floor Finish (or Pledge Floor Finish "with Future power"), the end result is a dead ringer for G2 Ramjet's main color. After 2 nights, about 50-60% of left wing finished. A bit of advice; even with a primer coat, this color takes at least 2 coats to completely hide the base color (glittery golden orange in this case).

(My 100th post. Yay!!!)
-- Cybertronian.

10 Mars 2010

I think I've finally finished painting Apparition's wings. Now comes the tough(er) parts - slapping 1 or 2 coats of Future Floor Finish on them to get that G2 shine, and securing a set of unique labels. I'm also happy to learn that my 1st Ramjet has really, really loose holes in his black thighs/wing connectors, so the painted posts will not be an issue (I hope).
Although his knee and midsection decals will come from Skywarp, I want his intake (inner and outer) to be "Skywarp violet" versions of the Thundercracker/Dirge pairs. His toe decals can match Thrust (or Skywarp). As for his wings, I just want the bright red from Dirge's wing decals recolored sky blue.