Grandus Having previously found luck with making citybot out of Cyberverse sets (Trypticon) - I decided to challenge myself with salvaging Optimus Maximus. It was a large base-bot - it had to be good for something! Looking at the wide build, the lack of articulation, and the very vague base mode, Grandus sprang to mind. He was the aircraft carrier who was essentially a box with runway lines painted on. He was the base with arms and a head, who was nothing more than some platforms, an elevator, and a few computers. If anyone was due for an update - it was Grandus. If any figure needed a homage to be worth something - it was Optimus Maximus. It was not an easy task. All of the black paint and a few other colors were done by hand, with only the white being sprayed. All Citadel/Games Workshop products. The figure doesn't show it well with the bland red plastic, but it is insanely detailed. The movie-ish holes, bars, and general pointy body bits provided countless tight corners to brush around and brush through. As for mods - To get rid of the hollow look and to homage Grandus' base mode, I added two ramps to the figure. They attach to the chest and to the base mode via rare earth magnets (two each). The radar dishes came from the Energon Combaticon tanks. The hip guns from the helicopters - attached to Grandus via ball joint. The elevator works - raising and lowering when the searchlight is spun. It came from a clearanced robot playset at TRU whose name escapes me. This, the helipad, and one of the base mode cannons combine to form a shoulder mortar for robot mode. Optimus Maximus' arm joints were cut off and replaced with two ball joints each - from Lego Bionicle. It allows his arms to bend twice, swing outwards, and twist. The hands were cut off and replaced with Grandus' pincher claws. The foot cannons are connected via ball joint and are used as pedestals in base mode. Being the legs of a Universe Treadbolt, the tips open into feet - making a secure stand. This was a necessity, as I removed the Op Max arm joints and replaced them with ball joints - which do not lock in place. The three computer displays in the chest cavity and the computer lab on the lower level come from a chopped up Generation 1 Countdown. The robot mode chestplate connects to the back as a giant antenna/radar dish. Base Mode
nice, any chance you can shoot it on a less busy background? It's hard to tell where the bot stops and the stuff starts LOL
Very interesting... Ya know, if you can fill him with parts from figures like Energon Omega Supreme, Unicron, or even Primus... this idea can go even further. As is though... this is pretty damn cool. Seconded. Though a clean shot of that massive Marvel wallpaper would be nice too... haha
As good as this custom is, it can't fix the knock-offish plastic the thing is made out of. However, my props to you, op, for taking this and doing something cool with it
I'm going to try and take some pics in a plainer area. My figures, pictures, statues, and teaching stuff (certified Soc. St. 7-12 and looking) is all on a small enclosed porch in my apartment. I have two young daughters and not a lot of space, so I have to have a very busy/packed display area. It's the only place where "my stuff" can go. The pic in the background is a huge banner/poster that was released during the Marvel Comics "street-level" mini-event: Shadowland. I had it custom framed at Michaels Arts and Crafts.
Great job! Has anyone else tried this? I just bought an Optimus Maximus and plan to turn him into Metroplex. Hopefully I can make the shoulders boxier. I plan to re-sculpt the head/face.
Thanks. It's always nice to hear something positive on a custom like this. (5yr bump, someone was searching for Grandus, lol)
