poor knockof companies, they cant even make enough to stay alfloat of stealing other peoples work!!!!!   /s

 

Oh, those are interesting. i wonder what the interior mechanism looks like?

 

So do I. I did design something close which uses screwing rather than pushing to compress the tires, but to make it actually compress like shown, I have to do more work with it.

 

Update. Remember how poorly his backpack looked? So I managed to find a way to reposition his smokestacks, plus red mudflaps to make a better backpack. I also tried to shave down the chest, but while it tabs a little better, it doesn't much. Also, the "Justice for Weijiang" joke accessory did cause some "controversy" in the threads I posted it on. My parents were also not happy when they saw the accessory and discovered that I support IP theft. So I made a new one that says "I AM NOT A FAKE". (The sticky note the police made the mistransformed Black Apple Optimus hold in the extra-offensive image of Black Apple's trial said "Fake" in Chinese, which I'm pretty sure many of us saw as an insult to Black Apple's creativity, so the new one does seem more fitting). New images may come out. The MPM 06 custom was also changed.

 

And before I post detailed pics on my new progress, here are some comparisons with this guy and my custom redesigned MPM 06 Ironhide

Link to the thread is here- Heavy/Scratch: - Custom Redesigned MPM-06 Ironhide


Cutercills 9x9 Ironhide and Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Ironhide and Optimus Prime (Front View, Robot Mode)

Cutercills 9x9 Ironhide and Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Ironhide and Optimus Prime (Back View, Robot Mode)

Cutercills 9x9 Ironhide and Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Ironhide and Optimus Prime (Side View, Vehicle Mode)

Cutercills 9x9 Ironhide and Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Ironhide and Optimus Prime (Top View, Vehicle Mode)

 

And because the "Justice for Weijiang" post did cause a little controversy on the threads it appeared on, I made a new one.

Since the mistransformed one taken by Shanghai's police department (which still boils my blood today) said "fake" in Chinese (or that's what my Aunt said, since she's Taiwanese and none of my translators could read that), I put a new joke accessory- a note that this time says "I am Not a Fake"



Original image (man, I bet it will still offend me after several years)-

 

Now for some vehicle mode comparisons

Cutercills 9x9 Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Optimus Prime (left-front view)

Cutercills 9x9 Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Optimus Prime (left-back view)


And some without comparisons

(top view)

(right view)

(left view)

(front view)

 

And for some robot modes

Cutercills 9x9 Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Optimus Prime (front view, unarmed)

Cutercills 9x9 Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Optimus Prime (back view, unarmed)

Cutercills 9x9 Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Optimus Prime (front view, pointing, unarmed)

Cutercills 9x9 Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Optimus Prime (front view, wielding both Energon Blades)

Cutercills 9x9 Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Optimus Prime (front view, slashing, wielding one Energon Blade)


Cutercills 9x9 Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Optimus Prime (front view, holding two guns)

Cutercills 9x9 Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Optimus Prime (front view, carrying one gun)

Cutercills 9x9 Optimus Prime vs Black Apple Optimus Prime (front view, carrying one gun and one Energon Blade)

 

I guess I just don’t quite understand why you’re comparing the two. I don’t really see the “black apple treatment”.

 

I must say, while I generally believe Black Apple's works were justified (they were changed way too much to the point some like BA Optimus Prime were basically original molds, and he only couldn't give credit because if he did, HasTak would have found out about them much earlier. And even though 3rd parties such as Unique Toys, DX9, and more are technically illegal, since they can be classified as unlicensed merchandise, their original molds, many of them would go on without any legal issues), many other KOs weren't, since they were not reverse engineered or changed, but rather some top managers stole CAD files from official HasTak designers, then silenced them with bribes and money. So only a small percentage of Weijiang's works were ones that could be considered as original molds/upscaled KOs (the ones made by Black Apple, such as Hide Shadow Blackout, Battle Hornet Bumblebee, Detective Hound, Thunder Leader Optimus Prime, and more), and the majority was designs that were not just pirated, but illegally obtained. In the picture of the police studying Weijiang's toys, most, if not all of those toys were just oversized figures that were 100% unchanged. None of Black Apple's work was there, such as the Ironhide prototype and others. And I didn't even see a MPM 04 packaging next to a Black Apple Thunder Leader packaging, while I did see an oversized AOE Bumblebee next to the official AOE Bumblebee, an unchanged TLK Hound with only paint differences next to an official one, and more.

That mistransformed Optimus Prime holding that Chinese note was still offensive to people like me, probably since I was disgusted over the fact that calling this thing a copy of MPM 04 was literally an insult to Black Apple's talent. I mean, why did they even decide to post this picture?!? Do that with an unchanged oversize, not an upscaled KO!

Maybe it should have said "Justice for Black Apple", since at least to many people in the fandom, he never did anything wrong, considering that he had legally bought the toys and changed the designs, rather than ripping them off unchanged, and despite the fact that reverse engineering legally bought items is never enough to justify IP theft, the fact he changed them way too much did to my beliefs. Also, some interviews I saw on Bilibili suggested that he was only helping not for the money, but just to share his creativity to the entire world, just like my dream. One video even had a title that translated to "Crime out of Love", meaning that even if Guoshen (Black Apple's legal name) was paid nothing or little for giving designs, he would still be 100% in. In fact I even did make a few attempts to make a Weibo account just so I could be recognized by a 3rd party, which ended up failing since people can't make an account in the US.

I will not delete that photo, but I might make a new "joke accessory" to go with my "I am NOT a fake" note, this time not defending Weijiang (since the unchanged designs were illegally obtained), but rather my influence to do a Mechanical Engineering major, plus make customs like these.

 

IP theft is Ip theft. Wheather you think its ok or not doesnt really matter in this context. Of course they only displayed the figures that were similar, as that would be an easy way to prove his guilt. The fake sign isnt an insult, its simply a placard from a court case to show people who arent close fans the origional and the copy. I rip Ip's constantly 3d modelling, and accept that if I sold some of my works I would be infringing on IP laws, and that they could be taken down, and me fined, or worse. wheather or not he says he would make the figs even if he wasnt profiting doesnt really matter cause he still did it. Sucks that a decent company got shut down, but theres no defending the legal side of it.

 

Sorry. Maybe I will also make comparisons with the clear LT02 from Legendary Toys in the future, if it fits your view better. I just compared how I tried to make it replicate BA Optimus Prime than how I changed it.

 

Good news- I've been taking a CAD graphics design class recently, and I've made CAD files on my take of the BA Optimus Prime's tires. This one requires less parts, and is probably inferior in accuracy, but at least the tires are a little more accurate. While Black Apple designed one with holes that "caught" the tabs and locked them in place, I am instead using a screw mechanism, since I don't completely understand the "tab catching" design because nobody ever showed me a video taking this thing apart. While I did see a photo of the leg parts being displayed, I did see the tires, but I can't seem to make up my mind on how they would be assembled.

I currently am calling the tire assembly "compression disks". If you wonder what software I use, it's Solidworks (which is what my class required me to download). The scale would fit the official MPM 04 or the LT02 (which are the same size), and the nail holding the hip tires should be able to hold each tire assembly in place. While I haven't printed out any copies yet, I am trying to find how to order pieces from delivery companies or wait until my fall semester starts in order to print them in clubs.

Parts that I may post soon-
-Base (5 tabs, and 1/5 of Disk 2 will fit onto each of the dents, which are tracks. Screwing Disk 1 tightly should be able to move the five pieces away until they surround Disk 1)
-Disk 2 (the files will be 1/5 of the disk. 5 copies will need to be made in order to assemble the lower tire. This should fit into the tab and slide fine)
-Disk 1 (Fits into the screw part. The part hiding the threads will push away the Disk 2 pieces to "coat" Disk 1 once it is in).
-Disk 2 Pin (Nails that will prevent Disk 2 from coming out of the tracks. 5 are needed, with one for each piece)
-Disk 1 Pin (Should prevent Disk 1 from screwing off, since in Vehicle mode, the disk will fit loosely)

And hopefully, I can 3d print more and maybe sell on Ebay if possible.

 

So here's the Base

 

And here is Disk 2. (Keep in mind that 5 of these are needed for one tire assembly, or 20 for an entire set of 4)

 

And late update, but here's my review with some of the latest mods.



And keep in mind that this attempt is slightly outdated, since I managed to somehow remove the parts forming of the sleeper panels that become the backpack.

 

Update, it's been a long time. This guy has gone through lot s of changes after the last video. He tabs a little better now, especially the new way I put the ball joints on the cab. It allows the smokestacks to attached to the neck assembly. I also made a new sliding design on Optimus's forearm interior using Legos instead of magnets. And his blades attach to his hand sockets like figmas with changeable hands. As for his hands, they now come off and hide inside the cab (like the original G1 toy). As for the shoulder assembly's triangular pieces, they broke off during customization. As a result, they now partsform and store under the undercarriage. As for the gun parts, the tanks still come off, but now, the bottom half of the smokestacks do as well, plus the cylinders under the door/shoulder pads. And he tabs much better now compared to previous attempts, probably just as good as my 1st attempt. Might post new images once I get his thigh tires 3d printed.

 

Before I get these thigh tires printed, I decided to mod the original tires by adding bottle caps and "office supply hinges" (hinges made from pen ink filling, rolled paper, and a paper clip, thought this design has no paper). I measured the tires into fifths, and on each one, I drilled a hole with a screwdriver. Then I bent wires in a L shape and glued them into the holes (the glue left white residue, which made it look kind of like the white marks on the thigh tires in robot mode). The bottle cap was cut into 5 identical pieces, and trimmed to match each one. The middle was cut off, and trimmed until it could glue to the ink filling part, which was divided up. While it doesn't give it the "realistic rear tire" look on semi trucks, it is better than nothing (at least for me).

5 wires bent into L s + original tires + bottle cap + cut up pen ink filling = new thigh tires.

Photos of the unpainted result-

 

New review of my current progress-

Please keep in mind that I changed my mind and didn't mod the thigh tires, but in the end, I did give them a different transformation. Thanks to technical difficulties during their construction.

 

Update: after failing 2 classes again, plus ordering a Black Apple Optimus Prime reissue, I've decided to convert my LT02 Clear into one of those non-transformable figures with shell alt modes made from kibble and vehicle parts. Hopefully, this will mean that I won't stay up too late working on this guy again, and if there are any needs for maintenance or repair, it won't take too long. Plus everyone's been telling me countlessly suggestions to improve these figures that I don't have enough time to do that I've just decided this is the best way to go. My MPM 06 custom will probably follow up soon afterwards.