I first saw this KO of Armada Megatron back in late summer of 2004 at my local Wally World. Curious (and lacking any common sense) I picked one up. I was in for a uncool awakening on my purchase. The toy felt really flimsy, just like most of the low end KO's I have seen. The resculpted pieces were bland, lacking any real imagination, and the head was the ugliest and unimaginative sculpt I've ever seen. They toy languished at the bottom of one of my toychests for a long time before I got the hare brained idea to rebuild him as a G1 Headmaster. The changes were to be pretty drastic, with my plans calling for the removal of the head as well as the neck piece it connected to, it would also involve the construction of a cockpit in the turret to accomodate the driver when Recoil was in vehicle mode, and throw on top of that a completely new color scheme to boot. Here is the finished result. Here he is, beside Armada Megatron,to give a sense of scale. The shield he carries is the front section of his hull in he alt mode. I installed a scratch built handle to allow him to hold it properly when he was in bot mode. Here is a closeup of the Headmaster seated on the connector port I constructed. He goes on pretty easily, but is quite snug once put in the socket. (The head is actually a resculpted Grax) Here you can see Rangefinder firmly ensconced in his command center in the rear of the turret. The hatch was actually molded to the tank about 1/4 inch below where it currently resides. I sheared off a rectangle about 1 inch wide and 1 1/2 inches long in the top of the disassembled turret. I then installed internal bulkheads within the turret, fully enclosing the space where the headmaster would sit, then raised the height of the command center about 1/4 on an inch to accomodate the height of the headmaster. After the initial styrene walls were in place, I then went on to apply slab after slab of armor plate to the area, doing all I could to make it blend in with the existing features. I actually did some research on how similar armor plates would look on a real tank, and shaped the pieces, and bevelled the edges accordingly, trying to go for a welded look. The actual hatch opening is styrene as well, and the hatch is secured to it by 2 tiny hinges (one is visible on the lower right side of the hatch in the above picture). The clasp to hold the hatch shut is as simple as can be, yet it does the job perfectly. (It is visible near the middle of the above picture.) Also, in closing I want to note that 3 coats of automotive paint later, Recoil feels as solid as any 'legit' transformer. Recoil in the company of his fellow Autobots. His full hallery, with many other detail shots can be seen here: http://www.flammendschadelstudios.com/G1_Recoil.html And his tec spec: Autobot: Recoil FUNCTION: HEAVY FIRE SUPPORT "The only good target is a dead one" Is a strong team player, and the backbone of any strike team. Originally a pacifist, he was reformatted into his current militaristic form on Cybertron while Optimus Prime and the rest of the main Autobot expedition were still missing, and has since come to love his new role as a mainline fire support unit, as well as his heavily militarized alt mode. In robot mode, carries a fusion powered blaster cannon capable of firing a super dense matter projectile over 10 miles and still punch thru the heaviest ablative plating, as well as an advanced polycarbon shield that can withstand most cutting instruments, and absorb most types of blaster fire. In tank mode, is armed with a 220mm main gun capable of hitting targets with pin point precision over 30 miles away, and can travel up to 160 MPH when his turbine is redlined. He is paired with the human sized Autobot, Rangefinder, who is renown in the Autobot ranks for his spot on accuracy, making the two inseparable friends and teammates. Is cheerful, optimistic, and supremely confident in his abilities. Strength: 10 Intelligence: 6 Speed: 5 Endurance: 8 Rank: 7 Courage: 9 Firepower: 10 Skill: 8 If the syntax seem a little funky, its cause I was emulating the writing style on the original G1 specs.
nice Very nice, and due to the lack of movement on Armada Megatron he fits in well with his G1 brethern lol.
Looks neat. Although a little bland. I'd suggest a couple more colors, or at least a little more red to break things up a bit.
Articulation wise, he has more than Armada Megs, and the paint scheme is meant for night ops, Recoil's specialty.
a great badass looking giant f**king robot. A bit red here n there would be great. Buy da glossy red sticker paper. Great work!!
It is a bit glossy, but otherwise that's a great idea. I love the fact that you customized the turret hatch and sitting compartment. And making him a Headmaster was very creative. You definitely pulled this one off.
