Welcome, Everyone, to my second custom WIP thread!

It's been a while since I finished my ROTF Supreme In-Scale Movie Accurate "Masterpiece" Devastator (http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radicons-customs/272486-sup-devs-more-movie-accurate-closer-scale.html). I thought for sure that was going to be it for me. I didn't think I was going to get the urge to do another one because I'm a "Go big, or go home" type of guy. Sure I have some little projects I'd still like to do, but they seem trivial compared to what I truly like to do...which is to say "engineer" and "build". I didn't want to start anything that I couldn't "out custom myself".

Well, that time has come.

First off, if you don't feel like reading what I have below, please watch my Announcement Video on YouTube:

Announcing my next Transformers Custom! - YouTube

Now then, for those who wish to read:


Well, I wanted to up the ante. I want to do something unique. But above all, it has to be Transformable, and as movie accurate as possible. And the way to that is by creating something truly special.

Here is what I plan to do:

~Leader ROTF/HTFD Optimus Prime will be fitted with an in-scale 53' Reefer Trailer (actual scale trailer will be 21" long).

~This trailer WILL TRANSFORM into both the Weapons Depot Ring AND into his jet pack using the majority of the Trailer shell. (Looking at the concept artwork, and the DOTM Blu-Ray, I have concluded that the Trailer transforms into the Weapons Depot only, and the jet pack is a part of the selection. The original concept artwork hints at this. In the movie, the weapons depot ring is HUGE with a bunch of wings, engine like cylinders, etc all around it. The jet pack he wears at in Chicago is actually quite small in comparison to the ring and Optimus himself. I have to think that they are separate entities. Being that we never saw the Trailer directly transform into anything else but the ring, it is safe to make these assumptions and proceed as planned. If you would like to argue, feel free, and I will listen to reasonable arguments. Until then, onward bound!)

~In addition, the second thing that will set this custom apart, in my opinion, will be the "optional" Jetfire Power-Up suit that will be fully attachable, articulated, and will store entirely INSIDE the Trailer. I always thought it was weird that Jetfire sacrificed himself for one event. I don't know. Maybe I'm weird. I have to think that the Power-Up suit from JF has to have some advantages over the Trailer Jetpack, mainly the protective armor and huge ENGINE-SPLOSION feature that blasted Megatron through a wall. Sure, I can understand that it is big, lumbering, and perhaps a little...restrictive. Hence, the need for a more agile and nimble suit with the Trailer Pack! Anyway, when ever either suit is not in use, they will be stored on/around the ring.

Like my Devastator, everything will have to be housed inside and around this figure so that NO extraneous "drawer pieces" will have to be used for the transformation

Ambitious? Sure.

Intimidating? Absolutely.

Am I worried it's not all going to fit? Um...Yeah!

Short Project? No way!

This is going to time...and a lot of it! But, I am up to the challenge. I love a challenge. I think I have a design in my head that will work on all levels. If something doesn't fit, then I will have to get even more creative! With soooooo many successful Leader Optimus customs to date, I have to try and create something different all the while retaining movie accuracy.

I hope everyone will follow me on this journey as I try to create one of the most exciting transforming/interactive Optimus Prime customs that I can. It will be a long journey, but I certainly hope it will be a worthwhile journey. I am dreading the painting stage again, if only because I have never attempted a "new truck" paint scheme. With Devastator, I got to be sloppy, and grimy. With Optimus, I don't want battle damage. I want clean, pristine, fresh off the showroom floor, in all aspects. Jetfire may be a little beat up, for obvious reasons, but I have not decided yet.

Please step out on this limb with me and hold on tight!! Watch/Subscribe this thread for updates. I will do my best to update more often, trying to take more WIP pictures and WIP YouTube videos. It should be an exciting ride...or an utter failure. We'll see how it goes!

Update #1- 2/7/11 (Page 4):

Well, gentlemen, start your engines! Principle building has begun, and I have a few pictures to prove it.

As a quick nugget, there are TWO amendments that MAY be made to this project:

~First, I am hoping to add yet another feature to this project: Stealth Force (AKA Striker)!! Still waiting to see if everything will fit, and if I have room, then maybe. Right now, I think it's going to be too tight.

~Second, I am going to try to do this with as minimal modifications to the Leader Prime mold as possible. Goal is Zero mods (outside of abs, and new wheels to match the trailer), that everything will attach via other mechanisms. I want this Trailer to be used with any version of Prime, from anyone's collection (not that I would sell it....  .

Anyway, I have to build the Trailer, before I can cut it up. This section you are seeing will be the ONLY shell over in the whole project (that I can think of right now), really because I need a sturdy base start, and I need that reefer condenser. I will be combining three different scale trailers to create the correct scale and side panel texturing, and wheels that the movie had. The only models I could find were either too long, or too short.... so I shall use all THREE! They are the Italeri 1:24 Scale American Cargo Trailer, the 1:25 Fruehauf Van Trailer, and a Snaptite Mack Tanker 1:32 scale. Optimus is about 1:29 scale, hence the need to mix and match to create an "illusion".



You can see what the original Ultimate Op trailer width and height and the section I had to cut out to make it to scale. The new height will be the white piece you see here for reference. The front section here will be "transformable" in that it will retain the ability to split and attach to the ring.



Also, I am playing around with ideas on how to attach the jet pack to Prime, and Jetfire's chest seemed like good way to start so that I could avoid modifications to Optimus.



Update #2- 2/15/11:

Back with another update! This time I am showing a progressed reshell of the refer unit. You can see that I have retained the ability to split open. You can also see where the main wings hinges have been retained and accounted for in the reshell. I know some of you may be thinking, “Geez, he is just copying what Hasbro did with their Ultimate Optimus.” To some extent, you may be right, if only because this one section makes so much sense. The rest is different, I promise.



No worries, the Legos connectors and bits will be hidden by Jetfire’s donated chest plate. The Blue lego is being used for bracing and support so that the front of the trailer does not collapse on itself.





Looking pretty clean! (Yes, I know the refer condenser is smaller than it should be in scale, BUT, I have a method to my madness, I hope, that justifies the decision. I assure you, it will not be a sore point in the final product.)



And finally, here is a scale shot to show the extended trailer wall. I extended it about 2”, now standing at 21” long. I have conflicting reports that Optimus can be anywhere from 25’ to 29’ long in real life. Using proportions, assuming 29’ max, the toy is 11”. So, 11”/29’ = X/53’ trailer. X Comes out to be roughly 20.1”. So rather than split the trailer in a weird place, I rounded up to give myself that extra 0.9”. Again, should not be too noticeable. This picture shows that Leader Optimus is slightly longer than half the trailer, which would be correct (29*2=58, trailer max 53’), so this is pretty close to correct scale.




UPDATE 3/1/12: I'm back with another update, and this is pretty neat one. I'm going to let everyone in on a little tidbit of where this project is headed based on the effort I put in for something trivial or minor.

If you remember, when the trailer transforms into the ring, the wheels have to go…somewhere. That "somewhere" is given in the concept art, and in the movie. The wheels to all collect on one side of the ring, which is a HUGE bonus considering the engineering. This will also be the case in my custom. The wheels also appear to be randomized. So, to avoid the "wheels-go-here-but-are-slapped-on" look, I have devised a plan to make the wheels more dynamic.

First, I have to make independent wheel assemblies. I used the Ultimate Optimus folding hinge as a base for two reasons (explained later**). First, it's a great start, with strong plastic. I also wanted to add detail to them (which is covered by the stupid wheels anyway) from one of the three trailer kits I have. Plus, bonus, the wheels are fully functional and the axle pegs are strong too. Yes, the wheels are plastic. HOWEVER, they are LIGHT (no reason for added weight on the ring) and they are the perfect size for Leader Prime, who will receive an all new identical set.


The wheel position in trailer mode will be adjustable along two guide rails, just like a real trailer. This will be advantageous because I can position the wheels forward for trailer mode, and slide them all the way to the back for the "first panel" in ring mode. I have the lego pegs all lined up to ride this rail I-Beam that I found in the model railroading section of my hobby shop. The pegs could not fit more perfectly.



Second, I want the wheels to offset in ring mode for added aesthetic dynamic. There's a lot of lego bricks here, but for good reason, and will not be noticeable when painted. In the center there is a K'nex rod and guides that will allow the wheel assemblies to offset by the radius of a wheel. This will allow…



…**the assemblies to fold in against each other even further with the wheels going between each other.


If it seems like a lot of unnecessary work, it's probably because it is. However, the final result will look natural and interesting. It's worth the effort. Bonus, I like transforming things, AND this will actually give me some storage room underneath the trailer between the wheel assemblies without being grotesquely obvious. Not sure what needs to go here, but I have the option, which is nice.

Next Update to come will be connecting the sides of the trailer to the front, base, and roof….all before cutting them all up!!

UPDATE 3/20/12: It's that glorious time for another update! And as promised, I bring you the sides of the trailer attached to the roof and floor. But, there's a glimmer of insight as to what is going on in my head on this. So let's get to it, shall we?

First, let's get a couple overall shots out of the way.



As you can see, there are random holes in the top of the trailer, spaced awkwardly, etc. All for good reason, I assure you. They are key in making the assembly of the roof panels (made up of five). These will be less noticeable when painted, especially if I decide to fill them in with epoxy. Have not worked with the stuff yet, so I may be gun shy. You will also see tiny slits with something occupying that space. More on that later.


Next, a shot of the underside of the trailer. A lot going on. Again, these lego pieces you see are inconsequential to aesthetics, but critical for assembly. Again, I will explain in the next paragraph with the last photo why. The Wheel assembly slides up and down the two tracks for selectable position as well as panel alignment for the floor. The floor is also made up of five panels.


Now the fun part. One thing I don't want the TRAILER-to-RING transformation to be is a parts-former like my Devastator. I am not opposed to going that route if need be, but it is a small goal of mine for this project. The picture below is deceiving. Yes, everything is in pieces. However, 1.) there will be MORE pieces when I cut up the sides for the wings and for the "ring supports", and 2.) all of these pieces will be attached to the ring transformation. I cannot give that secret away yet.   I will tell you that the 10 panels you see (floor and roof) will accordion up the lower sides of the ring (5 panels on each side) like a poker hand. This will free up the ring aesthetic from about half way up to the top like the movie, if that makes sense. You can also see the wheel assembly moved to the back of the rails, misaligned, and folded in. Think: Crammed toward the bottom, light on top.

Anyway, one of the challenges I faced were the side panels which will turn into wings in one form or another, and the last thing I wanted was to have grotesque connectors sticking out of the faces of the wings, or have magnets sticking out. I want the wings to be streamlined and unobscured from transformation riff-raff. Speaking of transformation, I have to be able to put thing together and take it apart in a logical fashion. ARGH! Not to worry, got it figured out.

First, I want the roof to separate and "curl" back. To do so, the roof has to lift up off the sides. Hence, the slits and friction flats sticking in them. These slits also help align the side panels even with the edge of the roof line.

Second, the sides have to disconnect sideways and fold at the hinges next to the reefer unit. I elected to put holes in the sides with the connector pins tucked up underneath the trailer, out of sight in vehicle mode. (The front reefer unit splits for flexibility when I attach it to the ring... to be figured out later.... HA!)


Well, that's it for now. Next up, I will be making preparations for the wing positions...because I have yet to figure out how I want to the back half of the trailer sides forming the ring "feet" supports. I will have to get really creative with hinges stuff. All in a Month's work, I suppose!   See you at the next update!

UPDATE 4/5/2012: I'm back with a small, incomplete, but requested update. I wasn't really ready to reveal this yet, but for the fans I shall oblige!

Trying to explain what is going on in my head will be difficult. However, I hope the photos will help tell the story for me.

Taking a page out of the Ultimate Optimus Prime toy, I am using the "wings on the sides" idea, but with hopefully better results. To start, I had to line everything out, trace where I wanted some of the stuff, and start lining up what will eventually be glued down. In this picture, you can see where part of the old "Butterfly" wing was salvaged, and additional styrene was used for proper alignment.


Now i am laying out where the main wing will lay on the inside wall of the trailer. I have to make some cut outs for the roof tabs, as well as the pivot joint, and they will be cleaned up when I go to paint/finish this up. The end of the wing will be clipped for the square look in the movie. And no worries, these wings WILL fold in the center like the movie, but that will bring an entirely new set of challenges due to gaps, and exposed hinges....two things that I MUST avoid.


Here's a shot of where the back secondary wing will lay in trailer mode. You can see where I have marked in pencil how the wing will be reduced to fit on the wall. Picture this with me: In Jetwing mode, this wing will connect to the corner of the trailer which, in the picture, is located in the upper right hand corner in the shadow (under the roof, behind the reefer backpack). This triangular portion will extend, then fold to out and lay on the exterior wall of the trailer. Reason for the extension: eliminates externally visible hinges in trailer mode. Follow all that? Probably not. I will show that when I get to that point.


Just another shot for reference.


And finally, something I am really excited about. BigHache and I have been designing and working on a shield that is movie accurate to Dark of the Moon. I think he nailed it. This is a TEST PRINT prototype. It is not yet for sale as there are still a couple of bugs we are working out. In the end, i will own three. One for a functional shield, and two for aesthetics. Wait, what? That's right. Again, you'll see what i mean. Also, I have acquired the axe that BigHache designed for Dark of the Moon as well. Let's all stand up an give him a huge round of applause! These pieces are stunning and will be available soon for ordering, I'm sure.


Welp, that's it for today. Not that exciting. I am doing so much, yet it doesn't look like it, which sucks. There are so many little detailed design elements to make this work right that documenting every step might crash the boards.  . Hopefully this satisfies the hunger for a little more time! until then, I'm out!
Update.5: 4/9/12 : Chew on these for a little while. This is not an official update, per se, however, for the mechanically inclined, I thought I would post these for your consideration. I can detail more later in a more formal update, but in the meantime, take a gander and figure out what is going on and why. Keep in mind, the outside of the trailer only has panel lines, but thes lines are kept true and with not bulge, sag, or sink in. I am making it such. Also, remember the chrome stripe that goes on the outside? That will help hide internal panel lines too! Oh, the fun of this part!





UPDATE 4/14/12: This is a HUGE update! I say huge because, while there is only three pictures, it's critical to study exactly what you are seeing here. In fact, it's actually very late at night, and I don't have much time to elaborate everything you see here, but I will give the cliff's notes version. PLUS, I WILL be shooting a YouTube update video tomorrow showing the current WIP and a step by step walkthrough of the transformation to this point! So, be on the lookout for that!

But First, a few pictures. As you can see, there have been an increase in panel lines. I am still working on truing everything flush. It won't be glass smooth, but it will be darn close. plus, the Trailer Stripe will be a huge advantage to my favor. This is a shot showing how close I am really getting. Again, so far, I have stayed true to my goal... NO external hinges or joints on the walls of the exterior of the trailer. CHECK!


Second, and HERE's the biggy.... Jet Prime's wings... fully transformable out of the trailer you see in the first picture, BENT WINGS AND ALL!! Pretty cool? I think so. Took me forever to figure out exactly how to do it without A.) showing gaping holes and gaps, B.) using external hinges due to interference, and C.) compromising movie accuracy. I ALMOST bypassed the Bends, but I thought this was a key feature of his aesthetic in the movie. I had to keep them. Unfortunately, there is one instance of a "parts forming" step, which I chose to make. I knew how to avoid, and in fact, had the plan laid out. But I opted for this direction in order for the secondary wing to be a part of the trailer wall. The other plan would have had it inside the trailer, attached to the engine. Decided against it. Oh well. Again, I don't care about parts forming in certain (my) cases.  



Okay, well, that's it for now! Again, keep a look out for my YouTube update for an in depth look into how I did this. It is actually A LOT more complicated than it might look, especially when you have to remember that space is precious in this custom. Every millimeter gained on the walls is a millimeter lost for the "guts" of the Ring, Weapons, Jets, and Power-Up components.

(SIDE NOTE: I have been watching Beast Wars as i have been working on this and am stunned by the writing, even today. Still one of the best written TF shows to date.)

YouTube video UPDATE #1

 

Seems very ambitious, but know how well you did on you devastator I know you can pull it off. Good luck!

 

dude u pull this off we want pics out the a** if you manage this it would be friggin sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet

 

Considering how good Devastator looked when finished, I look forward to seeing this.

 

Very excited to see this from you. Good luck and be sure to keep us updated  

 

cannot wait for wip-pics!

 

SO ridiculously excited for this!

 

If there's one person who can pull this off, it's you. I will be following this with GREAT interest.

 

I cant wait to see this

 

If this comes just a little closer in detail as your Devastator, then It'll be aawesome!

 

I have been wanting to do something like this but the collecting an Ultimate Prime and Jetwing Prime just seemed to daunting. You might be the push I needed.

 

Darn you for FEEDING my plastic crack addiction! I demand restitution for increasing my dependency on this cruel debilitating narcotic disguised in the form of "toys"! As repayment for how your customs have fueled my addiction, I will accept an exact duplicate of your Devastator and the FIRST Edition of the new Prime you are starting. You can feel good in knowing that your act of selflessness will be the start of me going cold turkey and ending my dependence. (uh, after adding another 40-50 figures to my collection)  

Seriously tho, DUDE I thought you'd lost your mind with Devy. Now I am pretty sure that you did because ONLY someone without one would take on such an insane task. I applaud you, your skill, and most importantly your sheer insanity. I hope it's contagious, lol

 

I will not only follow you on this journey, but meet you at the finish line, how much do you want for it? I have been looking for exactly this for some time, mainly an accurate jetwing optimus, judging by the work you did on devastator, I am confident you can do this, so let me know.

 

now THIS i can get behind. super accuracy AND IT TRANSFORMS. i know you'll knock it out the park.

 

Thanks, guys. Your encouragement and support is so helpful.

Haha! I have most definitely lost my mind. No question. Especially with a 3 month old at home. My daughter will be talking by the time this is finished... :-D

See you there!

Wow! Unbelievable! So many great words of encouragement. So happy everyone is excited for this.

What's great is that my Devastator thread started out in a similar fashion, "If you can pull this off..." I LOVE that. It's motivation to not only achieve, but push it.

My BIGGEST challenge (and sacrifice) will be the Ring. Not a lot of real shots from the movie. Concept art is different than the movie. I am going to struggle matching the "feet" of the ring. So much so, that I will have to compromise there more than anywhere else. However, seeing as how much positive reaction from boomtokyo's crack at it, I don't think many of you will care. And to be clear, my ring will be much different than boomtokyo's so that there is no "sharing of intellectual property". Plus, I have a material that evokes a perfect match for the base of the ring.

I have all kinds of money and thought into this project. I am invested, and will not turn back.

 

Ah, man you beat me to it !

My next project after my Leader Class Iron Hide MK III was going to be the transforming trailer for optimus...

I am a huge fan of your Devastator Custom and will be cheering for you all the way!

Perhaps our paths will cross during our journey? (most definitely not a challenge as your work will destroy mine he he )

 

I don't wanna be an ass... but is there actual wip shots? (I could be little blind her  )

but loved your MP MOVIE DEVASTATOR!! really wanting to start on one myself  

 

Im really excited for you! I think this is going to work out great! I was planning do do a non-transforming, cardboard, weapons mode trailer myself. I had put it off for a while but, now you've got me motivated  

 

I don't know, man. Looking at your IH, I think you and I have very similar mind sets. Perhaps we could share notes for our trailers!

Sure... in my head  

But seriously, the YouTube video is like my "pre-WIP". Photos will start showing up in the next couple weeks, i assure you. I wanted to get this thread out there to have a proper place to post my announcement video and to build awareness of the project. I followed a similar pattern with Devs.

Get started!

 

It will be an honor to share note.

lets PM the details..

This is so exciting!!!!!