So I had an RID Magnus head lying around and I got to thinking. After looking for bodies for an Ultra sized Overlord, I hit on Classics Silverbolt. And then Darkwind. I bought it immediately. The alt mode is spot on for his plane and the body colors are already very similar which means very little painting. My plan is the robot body will separate via magnets and become the tank (will bulk out his legs and arms a bit). In the combined mode, the turret will go on top of the plane like a tank/jet/tank sandwich. Anyway, this is last on my list of customs... and now all of a sudden I have an Ultra sized Double Dealer head...

 

That's actually a brilliantly simple, yet effective, idea. Good call! Even the RID Magnus head works pretty well! Making the body into the tank is smart... considering that on this mold, the body really is just extra kibble stuck to a plane anyway.

What about keeping the arms mounted on the jet as engines or something, so the jet feels like an integral part of Overlord, rather than just a "cape" for a tank-bot?

zmog

 

That sounds... pretty complicated. I want to keep it as simple as possible, but his cape does get in the way, so I'm not sure. I'll have to think about it once I finish the four customs ahead of him and get some tank parts. Does anyone know how to unscrew this guy? I remember I tried it when I had Silverbolt, but I couldn't separate the plane and robot at all.

 

What I meant was just find a way to leave the shoulders and arms attached to the underside of the jet, so the tank alone can't become a whole robot all by itself. I guess I was just thinking that if the whole underside/body section becomes the tank, then effectively Overlord becomes a tank transformer who just happens to have a jet that sticks to his back. It diminishes the sense of the jet being an integral part of Overlord, rather than just being an add-an accessory or whatever.

I like this mold, but that is one of my main complaints... fundamentally, it's a jet with a robot stuck to the bottom who just happens to transform into a barely-disguised box. There's also the dilemma... do you design the nosecone so it can pop off and attach to the forearm just like the G1 version, or just leave it folded up behind?

Great idea... can't believe I never noticed the Overlord potential in it.

zmog

 

Definitely the fuselage will become his shield. I also have to give him pink cones on his shoulders. I totally agree that he is just a tank robot that wears a jet on his back. This is partly why I posted this in such an early stage, I want a discussion about how he should transform, what should make up the tank. In the original figure, the tank just forms his legs, right?

 

It's been a while since I messed with this figure, but despite appearances, the robot mode doesn't have a "back"... it's just the plane. If you detach that front chest area, the head and legs and stuff just kind of fall out, don't they? I do remember it being a lot more annoying to disassemble than expected.  

zmog

 

Cybertron elite scatter shot might be a bit to small but ive always seen potential with him as the lower half of overlord.

 

I don't know if you've figured this out already, but this was just posted in Sculpt-bot 's Swoop thread (also based on Silverbolt):

zmog

 

Yeah, me and SMOG were talking about using his treads for the tank mode in another thread. That's definitely the way I'm gonna go.

Oh cool, that's definitely what I was looking for. I was on the fence about this project, but I think I'm definitely going to do it afterall. I think I'm going to leave the arms on the jet like you suggested because otherwise the tank will be as big as the jet, which isn't like the original figure. Still open to other ideas on how to make the jet more integral to the robot.

Holy crap, I just took him apart and there were screws hidden inside screwholes. Screws underneath screws. Wtf. His body does have a back, so his legs and inside column don't just fall out. Haven't past the point of no return yet, I was really tempted to just rip out the 8 wires that were all over the place.

 

Damn, I need a spare one of these to pull apart. I was thinking of using it for Swoop myself... and now we know how to get the damn thing apart!  

zmog