Yeah, I’d love Characters who have stupid thin proportions, so that no transforming figure could work. This line is perfect for them.

 

FIXED ^

We are getting a Furai Windblade with Studio Trigger proportions.

 

.... oh son of a b.... forgotten to paint the threads .

 

That's something I was thinking about doing too, I've got a recipe I use all the time in Gunpla I call "Frame Gray" it's a dark gray so it will contrast nicely with the black and silver. Maybe painting those gears on the outside of his shoulders too.

 

No Rung, We are getting a siege one!

I gotta agree with that, I think my biggest problem with MMC is the fusion cannon is just a jet nose, when it is clearly the classic style fusion cannon.

For sure! much better than the TR one.

Now THAT would be something.

 

also starsaber . Really hope they port starsaber .

I go more for media accuracy. So prolly black with matte coat for mine . Should be said though for flametoys . Ain’t like modern gunpla , those polycaps they are using aren’t test fitting friendly . So most work should be done pre-assembly .

 

I just picked up the IDW Optimus at GameStop and can't wait to put him together!

 

True... though if I were to get pedantic, the particular hue of red on the model may need to be a touch brighter. As is I haven't done much to touch up my prime and megs models as yet... still trying to make up my mind on specific details, and even then there's a part of me that wants doubles of each so I can have variations for specific portrayals.

Weirdly enough of all the wonderful MTMTE character designs Rodimus never clicked with me, and neither of the unofficial figures fixed that, so I don't see a model making me interested either.

Run would at least be cheap, as small and thin as he is... he'd also probably be fragile as f*ck.

Yes, and it is the only Windblade figure I've ever been interested in as a result... because it p*sses people off  

It'd be more affordable as a kit, so yeah.

TBH I'll take whatever I can get, I'm more into models now than transforming figures. I'm a bit spoiled by the way Bandai handles things though, I'll admit. Gunpla has a mark of quality that's hard to match, and I really REALLY had hoped these models would live up to that somewhat unreasonable ideal... as is though, disintegrating polycaps are a thing, and my Furai Prime will never be moved again as a result.

 

I noticed.. all the more reason I've got a set of cheap clamps and my desk vice for the finished assembly. It just takes a little more effort to fit them in and then close the parts around them.

I was surprised to see that Megatron comes with SCREWS for securing the polycap to the hip post..
Though media accurate is debatable, I think some gray would look better for the tank treads compared to the black of his legs, hands and fusion cannon. Something I've done in Gunpla lately is add another color that creates more contrast to the typical gray frame.

Some Contrast for under the windshields. I painted the chest with my gray paint, the Matrix casing, and those corners with some gold and silver acrylic.



I've also brushed some Pledge Floor Gloss on the windshields, even when I give it a lacquer topcoat, this makes them look like real glass.



It really helps the matrix stands out more.

 

Am I the only who really hates this detail on any given prime design it shows up on? On this design especially it baffles me why they included it since Optimus didn't even hold the matrix for very long in this body, heck about half the time he spent in this body he went by his old name of Orion Pax.

 

It's just more for the overall brand recognition of Prime more so than his IDW character history.
With exception to a few panels showing it, it's implied he still carried the empty shell of the Matrix but gave the two halves of its crystal to Rodimus and Bee.

 

It still seems entirely stupid to me that it would be seen through the windows given that most takes on a given prime with a matrix go to some effort to make it less than blatantly obvious that it's always there.

And just to contribute something and not simply whine on about things, here's my solution to the non-transforming aspect to these models.

 

Nice Slight of Hand Transformation swap! High Moon Studios would be proud!

Though with regards to the Matrix, it's all you can get unless they engineered these kits like a Master Grade model, where you could open the chest panels and have a consealed Matrix Chamber.. You get what you pay for... and in this case, just a high end High Grade with the details molded into his chest surface and visible under the windshield.

 

at 35-50 bucks I certainly feel like I should be paying for a master grade... I mean I get WHY the price is like that, but it's still one thing that holds me back from going all in and actually getting duplicates. Granted I'm not sure I want MG engineering in Flame Toy models, being as I don't think they're even close to matching Bandai's exceptional standards.

 

I recently picked up the Barnes & Noble exclusive Nemesis Prime and was pleasantly surprised. My days of painting models are long in my past, but even assembled right out of the box, it looked good enough to display. It feels pretty solid and I was impressed by how much it’s posable. My only complaint is that it’s a little small compared to Masterpiece “scale,” although a stand helps.

 

They fall into that awkward large deluxe/small voyager size area, and while it doesn't bother me too much it would be nice if they were more similarly sized to a typical 1/100 scale Gundam.

Back to my statement about duplicates, Nemesis is another variation I would actually like to have despite my aversion to black prime repaints. I just like the design that much, and I also find it amusing that we have the 2 leaders on store shelves at the same time on the opposite sides from the norm. "Autobot Megatron and Decepticon Prime?! Truly we live in a backwards world!"

 

This is why I went with getting the opposite in a different mold. The B&N in Macon had the Shattered Glass Obarimus, but I'm not a fan of the "evil" purpleOp.
Nemesis in the Attack Mode seems more fitting, and I'll get it a set of reprolabel Destron symbols.
but looking at the colors of it in plastic how all that silver is actually white, so I'm going to repaint that.

Meanwhile Optimus has a torso now. I did my usual undercoating of the armor without getting too close to the surface of the windshields so it looks like a natural window frame.



This helps to break up the "toy" look of leaving it all bare, and the paint helps cast a shadow.

Painted up under the armpit and getting too cavalier with silver acrylic..



Basically, I'm painting anything that looks like a grate or vent with silver.
The running lights on his clavicle and waist headlights, I'll paint last.



20 minutes later.. I had an idea.



Translation: I was looking through MTMTE again. I'm keeping the biceps red though but this is going silver.

Okay. I just need to make a few touch ups to this now.


I still need to attach the windshield visors, but I was painting them silver too.

 

Once I get an idea, I don't quit on it...



Opting to paint more areas silver. Primed the shin guards and raised details on most parts.. I've since this picture given them a first coat of silver. Next layer later..



Those long channels on the knee joint, the raised plates on the thighs and the obvious vents. Rims for the tires I had already started painting but will finish up when I start painting the rest.

The 'band' around the middle of the Ion Cannon is just for show.

 

I need to get off my ass and paint my IDW Prime.

I also wish Flame Toys would produce those beast commanders they teased.

 

Next wave of kits after Drift and Devastator I suppose. I've got Megatron set aside next, working on my painting plans for it.