Superion Maximus Upgrades (shapeways)

PLEASE VOTE ABOVE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE A FULL UPGRADE FOR ENERGON CONSTRUCTICON / DEVASTATOR MAXIMUS, THANKS

the objective of this shapeways project is to take superlink/energon superion maximus to the next level, after the fansproject and dmy add-on kits applied. issues to tackle on include proportions and making use of the leftover energon parts

it first began with me tackling on tfao's request for a neck extension HERE, but i guess it kinda grew to upgrades all over. hopefully these parts will put the final nail in the coffin in terms of endless upgrades for superion maximus

below is a list of parts that the kit comes with:

- a neck piece to bring the collar level up to the shoulders

- a new G1-style head, will offer 2 alternate versions for the face: G1 cartoon face mask version, and G1 toy/comic style visor-with-mouth version. the face will be hot swappable

- a leg extension piece that serves the same function as the ones in the DMY kit, but this one also shifts the leg limbs out a little bit. this will greatly reduce (if not eliminate) the problem where the little wings at the knees bump into each other. the piece will also bring the center of gravity of the torso slightly forward

- knee caps attached to the energon star ports on the leg limbs, to bulk up the lower leg limbs

- a new gun extension piece, while small but has a energon star port, 4x 5mm peg holes to attach your leftover energon weapons, and the barrel can also attach the fansproject gun

- a pair of arm cannon adapter to beef up the forearms a bit using some of the energon weapons

these parts are intended to be used in combined mode only.


Here's a youtube video which should explain how things work:

FAQs:


1. what do i need to make use of this kit?
a superion maximus set (energon or superlink or ROTF or universe), the fansproject aerial team appendage add-on kit (KO or legit should work okay), DMY D-02 add-on kit, a small thin flathead screwdriver, and some painting arsenal unless you want to leave the parts white. and you need to watch the youtube video above for the cleaning process.

2. i do not have superion maximus. which version do you recommend getting?
its entirely up to your own personal preference on the color, and i guess more importantly the cost of getting one. with the exception of the superlink version, most are priced reasonably okay in the aftermarket unless you want MISB. if you ask me, i prefer the japanese superlink version which is what most of the photos are based from since it has much better QC and sharper nosecones for the arm limbs. the US energon version is a close second, and ROTF distant third but arguably the easiest to find. all version will work with my kit regardless (i have all 3 versions of the torso bot and they all work fine)

3. do i really need the DMY kit?
theoretically you do NOT need it, but its highly recommended that you do since i designed the parts with the DMY kit in mind, and proportions will look weird without it. you can try at your own risk though. also, the elbow ball joints for the fansproject-only setup will likely not be able to support the weight of the new bigger gun. the DMY elbows arent amazing either but at least it has a few mechanisms on the elbows to help support the gun's weight.

4. will i be using all the parts from the DMY kit?
no, you only use the arm pieces, the crotchplate, the foot pads, and optionally their thigh pieces if you did not order the full kit from shapeways. the other parts you can throw back into the box. or you can feed them to the rats.

5. i only have the KO fansproject kit, is that okay?
while my parts are designed using the legit fansproject kit for fitting and measurements, i see no reason why they will not fit onto the KO pieces.

6. any chance for a 3rd party mass production?
prolly not unfortunately. shapeways only for now. i know people dont want to bother painting, or are too intimidated at doing the dirty work. i can't paint for poop either, but "if yan can cook, then so can you". i only spent a full day at most getting the final version painted for the tfcon reveal

7. how do i get it colored? i suck at coloring too!
i can only advice you based on my personal amateur experience. the pros may have better methods.

first of all, when the parts arrive, as shown in the youtube video, clean all the parts so all the residue powder gets out. this is PARTICULARLY AND EXTEREMELY important for peg holes on the neck and head parts and slots. otherwise the parts will appear too tight to fit in, but this is because the extra powder build-up is making things too tight to fit together. you will also try forcing in the parts bit by bit: push it in a bit until it cant go any further, yank it out, clean the holes/slots, try again and it should go in a bit more. rinse and repeat. after a few tries the parts will fit in like magic. this applies to the 5mm peg holes on the gun extension piece too; just use any standard transformers weapon and try pluging it in abit, yank it out, rinse and repeat

to clean out the powder in tight areas such as peg holes and details on the surface, use any or all of the following to help you reach into tricky areas: paper clips, sewing needles, small flathead screwdriver, clay or sewing picks etc...

next, decide what color you want for the parts. i cannot decide for you since some people have energon version and others have ROTF version. i personally used the superlink superion maximus.

but for the black parts (gun), it is highly recommended that you use RIT dye to dye the black parts for an all-even black look. google "shapeways RIT dye" for youtube tutorials. RIT dye can be purchased at michael's or walmart for $2-3USD a pack. echoTF also has a tutorial here on TFW2005 and i learned from him: Heavy/Scratch: - Hercules "Rage Upgrade" Elbows

dying the red parts (neck) is also helpful but it will give a dull ham-colored look so you will need to apply paint after but at least it gives you a good and even base color that is at least "somewhat" red. this is optional, but dying black is recommended for sure. dying will further (if not almost completely) remove any residue powder that you cannot get out manually.

but that said, BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL when handling with a pot of boiling dye water. it is absolutely imperative that you avoid any sort of splashes or spills, even if it is just one tiny drop. drop the pieces into the dye water gently and not from too high up from the liquid surface to avoid ANY splashes from dunking the pieces. one tiny drop of dye splash is enough to give you headaches, as cleanup will be very difficult if not impossible to clean up especilaly on carpeted surfaces. prepare LOTS of paper towel in case sh*t happens and IMMEDIATELY wipe any spilled areas clean with paper towels. immediately as in within 5 seconds

for me, i dyed the gun, head, both faces, knee caps, and one of the arm cannon piece in black. and the neck and the other arm cannon piece in red (i used "scarlet red" RIT dye though it didnt give me a vibrant red color, pity). the other parts (antennas) are left as is and not dyed

for actual detail painting, i use gundam markers for the most part. they work like sharpies, but they are alcohol based and do not leave a toxic smell like sharpies do. they leave an extremely thin coat layer unlike hand painting with a brush, does not leave a streaky pattern or brush marks (for the first couple of coats anyways which is probably enough for this project), and they dry fast. metallic colors do take a bit longer to dry completely as the paint is a bit thicker, and if you build too many coat layers (5+) the brush strokes will show eventually. the colors i used are:

gundam red (GM07) - for all the red parts, you may wish to change to metalic red if thats your cup of tea
gundam metal blue (GM17) - for all the blue parts such as visor/eyes
gundam black (GM10) - to patch up painting mistakes when painting on dyed black surfaces and other detailing
gundam gold (GM04) - gold areas like antennas and knee caps and other detailing
gundam silver (GM05) - light gray or silvery areas areas like thigh extension parts and other detailing on the gun

metalic red gundam marker is not recommended because it does not give you a vibrant red color even though its shiny, something like this: http://thumb7.shutterstock.com/disp...ure-chrome-iron-stainless-steel-172677185.jpg

black sharpies are okay to patch up small areas, but definitely not recommendated for broadstroke painting over a big piece (ie the big gun; i learned it the hard way, my whole room stinks)

if you are lucky, one coat may be enough. 2 coats is best, 3 or more if the colors do not stand out from the dyed color, or if you want a shiny finish with metalic paint. make sure you allow time for coats to dry before proceeding, especially for painting on dyed surfaces. even now and then i try to add another layer of gold to the knee caps

for painting the red parts, paint the whites/silvers first, and then do the red. black always go last

for painting white, i use testors paint and hand painted with a brush since you need something strong to cover up the colors underneath

8. how to assemble head? how to swap faces?
antenna just plug in the sides from the top (make sure you clean out the pieces and do a test fit before painting), the faces plug in from the bottom. to remove an existing installed face (and put on the other face), use a small thin flathead screwdriver and pry it out. i always pry it out from the side to avoid prominent damage but if you pry it out gently the paint should not be easily damaged. i suggest practicing abit first with the white unpainted pieces before painting them

9. what can i plug into the gun extension piece?
there is an energon star port at the top; you can plug in an energon star there to make a gun an energon weapon so to speak lol. the barrel can connect the fansproject gun via the square slot. just flip the "slanted" gun handle up and plug into the barrel. there are also 4 5mm peg holes to attach the leftover energon weapons or basically whatever you wish as long as it fits. however, the only limit you have is the weight of the gun with all the attachments. the more heavy pieces you attach, the harder it is for superion's arms to stay upright.

10. now that the knee caps are taking up the energon star ports on the knees, where can i plug the 4 energon stars besides throwing them back into the box?
2 on the side on the arms, 1 on the gun extension piece (yes, i added an energon star port on the gun for this sole purpose), 1 on the back behind the head. or you can feed them to the rats.

11. thigh extension orientation?
if you look carefully once the full kit arrives, the thigh extension piece is NOT symmetrical on any side. so which way goes forward? the side with the indented notch faces the front. this is to interlock with the knee caps.



i purposely designed it this way so the entire body's center of gravity is pushed a bit forward, to help reduce of chance of the body leaning backwards. so be careful with the orientation when assembling the thigh parts to the torso. even i sometimes messed up the 2 when assembling myself; just look at the youtube video i made

12. how tall is superion after all the upgrades?
assuming that you have both the fansproject and DMY add-on kits, my superion measures 27.5cm tall, or just shy from 11 inches, when standing straight and upright, measured from the foot to the tip of the antenna on the head. in comparison, fansproject bruticus measures around 26cm, or just a bit over 10 inches (again, measured up to the tip of the antenna). so superion is a bit more than 1/2 inch taller than bruticus after all the upgrades

13. will you do any more add-ons for this figure in the future?
very unlikely. i feel its "good enough" now and i need to move on to other challenges in life. i may do something in the future, but it will be solely for my own ("not for sale" type of thing).

14. can you bug echoTF or x-transbots to get it mass produced?
see question 6 above

15. your youtube video suck
truth to be told, this is my first ever youtube self-recording in my entire life. having stage fright and public speaking anxiety do not help either. i will try better next time but dont count on it


ORDER FROM SHAPEWAYS HERE:

FULL Upgrade kit: 2004 Aerial Combiner FULL Upgrade Set by chromahands on Shapeways

Individual parts also available:
Head & Neck only: 2004 Aerial Combiner Head & Neck Upgrade by chromahands on Shapeways



questions or comments are welcome!

visit my facebook page for more photos:
Chroma Hands

 

I really like the neck mod! I have all the other upgrades but that would put the finishing touch on him. Great idea.

 

love that neck awesome work

 

Want!!!

 

I agree, sure make something different, but this one looks great to me as is. Nice work.

 

Fantastically done!

 

Is the DMY kit required for this? I have the FP upgrade, and really just want to turn this into FOC Superion ( actually Sixwing, but can't figure out how to integrate a helicopter into him :/)

 

Can't wait to see the finished project. WANT!!!

 

for the head part, absolutely no need for the DMY kit.....or FPJ upgrades either since it plugs into the body without any need of modifications or add-ons (you just put the original rabbit ear head back into the nosecone and thats it)

that said, i am making my design with the DMY kit in mind which has much wider shoulders and upper torso. i may make the head a bit bigger for the final design (looks a tad small now compared to bruticus) but not by much maybe 10-20%, or as bulky as FPJ bruticus' head size at most. this may make the head a bit big if you only have FPJ upgrades

 

Good work!

I'll be happy if you put just the neck piece on shapeways.

 

what is this "kit" and where did you get that waist?

 

DMY Superion Kit.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/trans...my-aerial-team-appendage-add-upgrade-kit.html

 

LOVE where this is going!!!!!

 

How in hades did I miss THIS?!? And these extra pieces of yours look to be the cheery on the already awesome cake  

 

Fukin Amazing man, I want to buy just so i can tinker with it and maybe intergrate a chest plate into the design. As for weaponry, i have ideas for that. Ide like to see maybe a gun that has a tallgeese 3 feel to it and a power pack for it that uses the open energon ports on the shoulders. Next i want to address the open ports on the leggs, maybe give some red vernier knees? There is a guy on shapeways that made me some energon connectors already so you dont have to waste the stars.

 

Agreed, I regret selling my Fansproject add-ons now that I've seen these companion pieces.

 

u will have to give me some visual reference on the weapons

for the energon chip ports on the knees, i think for the most part people just pop the energon chips , but ya its an eyesore to me as well. i have plans to make kneecaps that can be inserted into those areas

 

Maybe use the design of megatron's main cannon from the WFC series for the big gun. Use the handle spec from the gun superion already has. Maybe make the gun a bit bigger for scale. So far as the knee pads, idk what ide use, maybe give it a gundam style knee.

 

The micromaster c ombiners had a backpack bot. Get a basic/scout sized jet and attach with an energon star snd silverbolts port