Santalux: Emiliano Santalucia's Blog: Generations Metroplex

Some cool design notes and sketches here.

 

This is really neat. Now I wish they kept the claw, the left arm doesn't do anything now.

The overall design is way different, much less G1 than the final, but other than that little really changed gimmick-wise.

 

I can't lie, I'd have rather had this than what we got.

But I'm still extremely happy with how he turned out.  

 

Fascinating! The transforming hand cannons seemed like a must-have feature. The transforming shoulder panels give it a cool Galactic Empire look.

Also, I think it's amusing/cool that he thought these were for a TF: Prime aesthetic. Looking at these (amazing!) drawings, I don't see any TF: Prime design cues.

 

This is so awesome to see. I love seeing stuff like this.

 

Awesome!

 

Looks great, sad to see all the extra details that didn't make it in. Reminds me of the collapsing panels and articulated hands that never made it to the RotF mold for Optimus.

 

Interesting to see what may or may not have been nixed from the final product.

 

This is pretty cool! I LOVE concept art, it's a great look at what could've been! Like the hands that fold into cannons that I wish were on the final toy.

 

Hmm, looking at the panels on the shoulder, you can almost see where the hinge would be and everything. Wonder how hard it would be to make it functional. I would love for a third party to make a lower left arm for Metroplex, as either the giant claw or the command center.

 

This would have made a more awesome Generations Metroplex!

 

Man this design is way better looking than the final product by miles. Much better proportions and more interesting shapes and more dynamic color scheme, even has some cool extra features. I stand by my belief that gen metro was going to be SO much better than he ended up at one stage and then hasbro decided he had to be stupidly huge and half the things that would have made him that much better either got compromised or discarded.

But eh who cares now, Utopia is everything I want from a metroplex and more.

 

Coooool.

The Prime design cues can be seen in the simplification of the face, and the slightly more "organic" forms, rather than strictly geometric shapes.

I do like this better than what we got. Obviously, this has more features, and it also doesn't have the MEGASHINS that the Generations version does. His proportions are more stout, as Metroplex should be in my opinion.

zmog

 

For all the complaining about Hasbro so many of us do, including myself, they do have some amazing talent on their team, Santalucia chief amongst them.

 

That's pretty cool

 

As much as I like what we got, I would have loved to gotten this instead!

 

Really cool. Can definitely see the Prime design cues.

It's also interesting to see design elements that wound up used in Optimus Maximus instead. Smaller bots piloting turrets in the arms and ejecting in vehicle mode from compartments in the shin area. Same things OM did.

 

Really interesting. The shoulder panels being able to transform would have really helped the mobile aircraft carrier form. The right arm hand cannon has a much better design than the final flip out one, and the city mode comes with repair arms in the leg pods that open up which the final lacks.

Wish the left arm had still had that computer area. Lots of neat gimmicks in the initial designs, shame they were presumably too expensive for hasbro to keep.

 

Some nice concepts. While I'm glad they went with a generations astetic I think a more prime vibe wud have worked too.