*** NOTE **** ---- Mar 10 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have merged images from another follow-up thread I did with an advanced update of this same bash. Now you can see below both the early mock-up version, and the later version, which is more or less where this project has been stalled for quite some time The changes made include: - BW Tigatron head modded, sanded and painted to better resemble Prowl - head attached to new ball joint, now stows away in chest in alt mode - forearms replaced with G1 Prowl arms and white poly-cap Gundam fists - space drilled out in alt mode to allow for modified transformation elements - new ball joint waist joint installed to allow hips swivel (problematic solution) - car rear fenders attached to legs on swivel pin for G1-style legs. Not sure when I'll bring this mod to the complete stage... for now, I hope folks find it interesting. zmog -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I posted a digibash for this idea a while ago... well, now I have a Barricade figure, so I've actually gotten started! First off, I was really quite impressed with the Barricade figure. I don't like the design much "as is" but he's a very nicely put together toy, and has a lot of versatility. I think once I get a few quirky bits ironed out, I might use it for other customs. So this is very much "in progress"... I still have some problems to solve here and there, and some supplementary painting to do. However, I'm really liking how it's coming together. It's really starting to say "G1 Prowl" to me. zmog
Thanks! Prowl is sort of a dick, particularly in the IDW comics... but he's also a sentimental favourite of mine, since he was the first TF I ever owned and he also had great G1 box art. zmog
As I have not received my Barricade yet, it's hard for me to visualize it, what did you do to the legs and feet exactly?
I removed the forearms (the giant claw bits) and attached them to the legs (this is where they attach in vehicle mode, so transformation is not affected). The legs have a rotator joint at the knee, so I flipped the lower legs around backwards for the boxier "G1" look with the car elements showing more... The problem with that is that the wheels and fenders are on the inside of the legs instead of the outside. They look okay, but I think it would be better the other way. This would be a really easy fix if Barricade could just rotate at the waist, but he can't... and the hips don't have much space to add rotation. Not sure what to do about that. Currently his feet are facing backwards, giving a flatter look to the front, but the ankle has a nice full rotation, so I could face his actual feet forward too. Oh, and I cut into the knees a bit so he can stand straight, rather than "crouched", which is the Barricade figure's default leg posture. zmog
... Is that a Cheetor head? (note that I am vaguely against G1-ifying the Movie toys, but if you do this, I heartily suggest that you do him up in a panda-bear white/black scheme. Alternately, go out of left field and do a blue/white one like some State Patrols use, ala RiD Prowl)
Really awesome idea! He looks great as good ol' Prowl. I'd suggest cleaning up the red on his forehead, but other than that, he's pretty hot!
Well, technically a Tigatron head (it's white). I trimmed his "horns" down a bit. The problem with that head is that the back half is a "mutant" head, so I'm going to have to find (or make) a decent back for his head. Maybe half a Gundam head? For some reason, I kind of like the predominantly black deco, though I definitely will be adding some white here and there, just for some contrast. As for G1-ifying movie toys... I'm not trying to subvert the movie design for Barricade here, and say "This is how he should have been done!". I'm just thinking that he's got the parts I need to make a fairly classical Prowl. He's just raw materials in my eyes. (evil laugh) Also, I buy TF toys based on whether I like them, not how they fit into whatever series they occupy. I don't really like the movie-style, but I love some of the toys. As soon as they fall into my hands, they cease to be Bumblebee or Barricade, and become whoever I assign or modify them to be. I do this with TF's from all lines, not just the movie stuff. Thanks! The red on his crest is just some red marker I put there to help visualize how the colours would look. I plan on painting it properly. Oddly enough, that head by itself looked a bit too large on that body, but once I attached the missle launchers, it looked perfect! Yeah, I was noticing how he started to resemble the Alt Subaru... which of course, is pretty close to G1 Prowl. When it comes down to it, Barricade has the basic workings of that traditional TF tranformation (Prowl, Jazz, Hound, etc)... which is why it's tempting to use this mold to do other characters too (Bluestreak would be pretty easy). Nope... doesn't change a thing. The ratchet joint in his knees only has notches for the regular rotation but there's still plenty of tension when you straighten the legs. The only weird thing is that his legs are sculpted to be "crouched" at the hip too. The ball socket is a bit tilted, so there are some slight limits on how his legs can be posed compared to a straight ball joint. However, his ball-joints are also on flexible posts, so that makes up for pretty much any posing restrictions. It's quite surprising how flexible this mold is... probably the most interestingly jointed deluxe so far in the movie line. I should point out at this intermediate stage that besides cutting at the knees, and removing the forearms, I haven't really done anything to this figure. The forearms can still be reattached, and with 2 minutes and a screwdriver, I could have Barricade back again (though I did have to cut his annoying "power punch" levers off to detach the left arm). His head is even still tucked away in there, though eventually, it will have to come out. zmog
Dude. Totally my idea. You have to document this step by step, new piece by new piece. This is exactly what I want to do, and I wasn't quite sure how to do it. Looks amazing!! So, which Tigatron head do I need? Where do I get the rocket launchers? My painting idea (feel free to consider or disregard) was to paint the hood and roof white (leaving the black "w" at the end of the hood), and that was it. Leave everything else black.
Nice. That looks very good. I'm planning a kitbash out of Barricade, myself. I may end up doing the arms similar to what you've done. Excellent work.
Gentlemen, gentlemen... it's ALL our idea. As for documenting the steps, I'd be glad to... once I finish the steps. This thing sure ain't finished yet! I still need to remove the Barricade head, and graft the Prowl head onto the post. I have to give Prowl a back half for his head, along with peg-holes for the missle launchers (clay won't do forever). I also have to permanently affix the rear fender sections of the car to the legs, with some pivot allowance, and maybe replace the current forearms with more flexible ones (ball joints maybe?). And then after all that... then I have to puzzle over whether there's a feasible way to give him a waist rotation. Gah. No rest for the wicked. Thanks for the kind words everyone! With this kind of encouragement, this might turn out to be one of my kitbash ideas that actually makes it to the finish line! Incidentally, Onesock, do you still have your digibash? I haven't done anything permanent on mine yet, and it'd be cool to see what other people were thinking of. Was there a thread for it? zmog
Well, I never concreted the idea, but what I had in my head didn't look anywhere near as good as your DB...
