Minor/Repaint: AOE OS Drift custom

Discussion in 'Radicons Customs' started by tonysandlin, Feb 10, 2016.

  1. tonysandlin

    tonysandlin Well-Known Member

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    Here is my Age of Extinction custom painted KO OS Drift. For a while, I have considered painting some of my figures, but I never really felt it was totally necessary... until I got Drift. Although, I really liked the character design, I absolutely hated the color scheme for the toy. It looked too much like a McDonalds toy or a Chinese knock off (which this one actually is) and I figured I'd do something about it. Since this is my first attempt at painting a figure, there are likely to have been many mistakes. Some of them are a bit noticeable, others aren't, but either way, I am extremely happy with the overall outcome.

    The color scheme is meant to match the on-screen model, but I also drew some inspiration from this custom: and I also took some other creative liberties. I wasn't able to find a deep blue that matched the primary color on Drift, so I just used black. The blue accents are also a little bit lighter than what it probably should be, but I still think it looks pretty slick, albeit not as stunning as others I've seen before.

    Here are some pictures (the lighting isn't the best).

    Robot Mode
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Alt Mode
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Masters of the Swords
    [​IMG]

    Final notes:

    I am more than happy to hear criticism, both good and bad, as well as advice on painting methods for future figures. I plan on giving HA Soundwave a silver coat and some other details as my next painting project. Eventually, I'd like to tackle the OS Grimlock, Leader Ironhide, and some touch work on the remainder of my figures.

    I'd also like to know what I can expect for the tolerance of the paint during repeated transformation. I used Krylon acrylic coating spray to coat the paint so it is more resistant to scratches, but there is obviously a level of stress it can receive before it starts to chip off.

    Thanks everyone for the advice and comments!
     

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  2. harrismonkey

    harrismonkey Well-Known Member

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    Nicely done!

    I did mine similarly. I wish the face sculpt was better, it's the one place where hasbro's is better. I painted my face a bit differently to minimize this, but it never really goes away.

    What did you use for Sideswipe's blades? I've been toying with modding mine for a while. It just seems like to much work and I like him the way he is. I wish they'd upscale Sidearm Sideswipe or DOTM Sideswipe. Both are a bit better than this guy.


    EDIT: you asked for criticisms. I have one. It looks like you repainted the blues from the toy. I think the blue he came with is gorgeous. I left mine with the blue he came with. Just opinion though. Your's looks quite good.
     
  3. tonysandlin

    tonysandlin Well-Known Member

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    I think I should have left the blue as well, so I at least left the wheels. I just didn't want too much contrast between the blue accents painted on in areas where it wasn't already there and the areas where it was. I couln't find the exact blue, so this was the closest I could get. Do you have any pictures of yours? I'd be curious to see how you did it. Mine isn't the best as far as smooth paint finish, but I'm happy with how it turned out, so I guess that's all that matters haha Like you said, the face sculpt is pretty lame and I really do wish there was a better version of that for the OS. I think the dicast one is improved, but it still looks silly.

    Sideswipes blades were actually developed in shapeways and 3D printed. I took to the task a few years ago, but finally got around to finishing it. I'm surprised no one has attempted to give him an upgrade yet, especially with all the other articulated hand sets and weapons that some of the other movie toys get. I gave him bigger, articulated hands on ball joints, and removable swords that are also hinged in the center so that they can angle in like the movie, or lay flat. It also stores in vehicle mode without affecting transformation. I also just removed the backpack :D 
     
  4. Novaburnhilde

    Novaburnhilde Local assistant deity

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    Impressive work.
     
  5. primalxconvoy

    primalxconvoy Banned

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    Nice. However the first two pics are on their side. Could you re-upload them to be correctly rotated, please?
     
  6. tonysandlin

    tonysandlin Well-Known Member

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    I keep trying to do that, but each time, it rotates them. I might have to try a different image uploader.

    EDIT: Alright, all better!
     
  7. harrismonkey

    harrismonkey Well-Known Member

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    I'll try to take some pictures in the next day or two and post them in here for you. :) 

    I've actually considered outright replacing my sideswipe arms with a set off Voyager Ironhide (and building some car parts onto them). Pretty sure it would be an improvement. The thing that's stopping me is that if I got that serious, his legs need more suspension detail as well and I don't have a good strategy for how to make that happen. (also, I don't remotely have time for a project that serious and if I did there are at least two in line ahead of it)
     
  8. tonysandlin

    tonysandlin Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, the entire arms could use improvement. If I ever get this stupid thing finished and if Shapeways lowers their prices, I might put my design up for sale. I think it really improves the look on Sideswipe, but right now the parts are 45 dollars. It was 15 when I first printed them last year, so I don't know what happened.

    My local library has free 3D printing though, so maybe I can make a few sets and ship them out to people who are interested.
     
  9. harrismonkey

    harrismonkey Well-Known Member

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    Here you go.

    A couple of Drift (you'll notice I never got around to painting his car mode). That would have been a spray paint job for me and I wasn't motivated (so far) to tape everything up properly. It's a pain.

    My voyager KO DOTM BB is next to him. I did use spray paint on him. He ended up being one of the most work intensive customs I've done in a long time.

    I also stuck in a couple pictures of my AOE Voyager KO BB (a really crappy KO- the knees don't even bend- but closer to HA size than the wonderful Wei Jiang one), and I included Soundwave since you'd mentioned painting yours.
     

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  10. tonysandlin

    tonysandlin Well-Known Member

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    The face on yours looks much better when its painted like that! Where did you get the DOTM BB? That one looks really nice and I like that size better than the HA one, which is too big compared to the rest in that line imo. Also, do you have the Wei Jiang AOE BB? I ordered it with some others from Sirtoys, but I'm seeing that it is actually quite small compared to the other OS characters available.
     
  11. harrismonkey

    harrismonkey Well-Known Member

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    Thank you!

    I got the DOTM BB from Sirtoys. It should be noted that neither mine or apparently the one he photographed on his website will fully transform into alt mode. Mine comes close, but the window won't seat properly in the hood and floats above instead.

    I do have the Wei Jiang one and he's wonderful. He's a touch smaller than Soundwave, but acceptable as a small HA figure. If I didn't have the other above, that's where I'd display him. He hangs out with the ridiculously small AOE leader Prime. They scale very well.
     
  12. tonysandlin

    tonysandlin Well-Known Member

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    It's a never ending struggle with scale haha Once my Stinger comes in, I'm going to look into how feasible it will be to reshell it with a Pagani model.

    Thats a shame about the alt mode though. Guess I have to stick with a giant BB lol