I just picked up MTMTE (#29 I beleve) to play catch up with the newest release and it's an amazing feeling seeing Chromedome and Nightbeat out and about while I have two Nightbeats staring back at me from my desk. I can't wait to order my chest pieces! (They have to wait until next Thursday, almost there though!).  

Can't wait to see what Cheetimus does with this!

 

Its cool to even have my idea considered...if you do get around to it I'll be first in line to grab it...you have threads for you Pretender projects...

 

Awesome stuff, Crim, and yup, I can't wait to see how it turns out.  

Heh, no worries, it's a good idea, I just don't want to say yes, and then find I don't actually have time to carry through on the promise.

As for the Pretenders, I don't, as yet; I'll make a new thread when I have something physical to actually show off. I will tease you a bit, though, by saying that I want to make the outer shells super-poseable, with ball joints in the neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and ankles, and swivels in the waist and wrists (and for every one of them besides Bumblebee, I'll also be modelling the inner robot in a non-transforming stylee, and those inner robots will also have an ab crunch, as will the Action Masters I'm working on (the first two of which, I hope, will be Mainframe and Rad)).

However... I do have a question for anyone who's perusing the thread, or intrigued by the idea of new Pretenders:

Would you prefer the outer shells to have organic human/monster faces, like in G1, or more metallic robot/robot-monster faces, as in IDW?

Lemme know what ye think!

 

IDW, all the way. But for others that disagree, is it possible to make swappable heads?

 

I'd like to see the Pretender shells be able to to contain existing Legends class figures that can be repainted to match the inner robot, like Cybertron Defense Red Alert for Landmine's inner robot, TF Cybertron Soundwave for Bomburst's, etc.

 

Hmm, 'tis feasible, aye.

I've looked into that, and in fact, one of the first ones I design will work exactly that way (with Legends-class Bumblebee). It all depends on whether: 1/ I can get hold of the Legends figure in question; 2/ how big each particular Legends figure is; and 3/ whether they can be compacted and folded down small enough to fit in a roughly deluxe-sized body.

I reckon I've figured out how to do it for Bumblebee. The other one I'm working on is indeed Landmine ('cos I had him as a kid), but I've modelled the inner robot for him already.

In fact, sneak peek...  



It makes it easier for me, in the long run, since I can use the same basic skeleton for each inner robot, and then guarantee they'll fit inside the shell.

However... having said that, if I can get hold of Legends figures appropriate to each character I want to have a crack at (Skullgrin and Bomb-Burst are two I want a go at), it should be possible to re-jig each design, slightly, to fit the Legends figures in.

It'd just make the backpacks bigger.

Yeah, when you see the designs, I reckon you'll go, "Bet I know where the robot's hiding..."  

 

Finally got around to upgrading my Nightbeat. Awesome new chest and yellow thighs  

 

Win!  

 

Of course, my opinion may be biased because I want IDW-esque figures of Pincher and Sky High for my Lost Light

 

Heh, don't we all!

Pincher was one of the G1 Pretenders I never had, though. Doubleheader for me...  

Right, I've been researching this, and... I think I can design the shell for Landmine so that a Legends figure will fit in it, but I really can't lay my hands on a Cybertron Defense Red Alert, nor the Perceptor repaint, for love nor money!

So, quick question to see what ye think: do you reckon Legends Beachcomber would work as Landmine? 'Cos I can get hold of one of those, I reckon, and it's about the right size, too.

EDIT TO ADD:
Sod it, I grabbed a Sandstorm repaint of that figure on eBay, just now, 'cos it was dirt cheap, and rather adorable. So, therefore, I shall be designing Landmine's shell to also fit around the Beachcomber/Sandstorm mould!  

Oh, and since I also feel like being a tease, my Action Master Mainframe is now officially in official development (and I've submitted it to SuperFanArt, natch):



He'll be a bit pricey (around FansProject Causallity prices, I reckon), but that's mostly due to him being the size of a small deluxe, and I've tried to make him as poseable as possible. And yes, those are his IDW shoulderpads.  

 

oh lord, it's beautiful

 

I just had a thought for what might also work for Pretender shells where I can't easily get hold of an older Legends figure for the inner bot (like using Cyb. Soundwave for Bomb-Burst)...

Possibly could repurpose the little buddies that came with this year's Legends figures; f'r'instance, Flanker might work as Bomb-Burst, Blazemaster could work as Sky High (since he also has the detachable rotors) and so on, and they'd almost definitely fit in the shells I'm designing.

Thoughts?

ETA: Orrrrrrrrrr... there's also the Minicon Assault Team. I already own that, and it'd give me three bots to use as Sky High, Skullgrin and Bomb-Burst.

 

Well I got the chest plate and I've been trying to fix it. Ya see it came out... weird. Not on your part at all. Shapewas printed it oddly. In the finish you can see every single line as it was printed. I've never seen that before in their stuff. I'm trying like hell to smooth it out properly with putty.

 

That is weird, did you try contacting Shapeways about it? I think they've been having teething problems since they upped sticks and moved to their new factory (although I thought that only affected orders in Europe); there were a couple of spots where the Nightbeat gun I ordered had some dinks in it (contaminants in the print medium, thankfully, not a problem with the 3D model, so I told them to send it anyway, as it was a one-off that I could fix myself).

That is indeed an odd one, I've not seen that on any of the prototypes I bought myself.

If you can't get it sorted with putty, or if ye don't have any joy with Shapeways, let me know.

 

Time for a big update, since the prototypes arrived today, and a load of new things are now on sale!

Gen. Siren head



Gen. Minerva head



Gen. Windcharger/Decepticharge head (paging Hooper_X)



Gen. IDW Tailgate head and chestplate (yo, Shaddo)



They're all on sale now (I know some people have been waiting for the heads to be completed... well, they now are, and I've tweaked the joint so that installation is a lot less fraught with peril; simply turn the head sideways when installing or removing, as there's a chunk cut off the wide bit of the mushroom joint, so the fragile FUD plastic doesn't snag and risk getting broken).

Knock yerselves out.  

 

Is it just me or does Tailgate's head look a tad small? I've been waiting for that Decepticharge head!  

 

just saying....  

 

It does look a tiny bit smaller than the norm, aye, but that's down to it not being quite as tall; the face is built from the same block as the other faces, so it's the same width, but it's shrinkified a little, vertically (it was originally about the same size as the others, but it just didn't look right until I squished it a bit to make it more square when viewed from the front.

And awesomes on the Decepticharge head. I'm really glad Hooper_X suggested him as a character, since he'd not even crossed my mind, and that chestplate ended up being one of the most satisfying of those chestplates to build.

ETA:
With the Tailgate, I also reeeally designed it to work on the stock torso more than on my height increase kit, since he's a minibot. I found it looks a bit more in proportion when you look at the whole body rather than just the chest (since the chest is more barrel-y, it tends to make him look a bit more buff):

You do the subtlest hints ever.  

So, Cliffjumper head next, then? I'll see what I can do.  

 

 

And yeah, seeing the whole torso does make it look more in scale.   I can't wait for these!

 

Yup, Tailgate works a lot better when he's a stumpy little bleeder.  

They're all on sale, now, fill yer boots!