The Endgame I began this work exactly a month ago; The aim was to first modify Dinobot’s torso to reduce the hunchback and then give him an extensive battle-damaged repaint complete with legit scuffs and scrapes. I used the infinite Transformations KO- not the TT official figure but their differences are very minor. So, let’s start at the beginning and figure out how to shrink that back! Part 1: Back mod. First stop- take off the blue back and sides and remove all those beast mode parts that are bloating his insides. *Side note- this is the first time I’ve ever removed pins. It was much easier than I expected using my tiny screwdriver so I imagine I’ll be doing that a lot more in the future. Next I figured the best option was to either link these pieces much closer together of somehow merge them. I let my subconscious mull it over for a day in order to realise the ideal solution- which was- To cut out the majority of the piece connected to his collar and simply slot the conveniently slightly slimmer piece into the gap and use just one pin to hold it all together. (I did this with a flipping multi tool nail file and sand paper which took ages so I think I’ll be getting a dremel for Xmas now.) Hunchback officially gone. Slim side view. Aww yeah. There’s also enough friction in the circled area below that I don’t need to create any new way to attach the lower back. The added ability to raise/detach his spine also allows for some far more expressive poses as the shoulders are now free to swivel back and forth. Examples: Shoulders retracted, raises the collar to give the impression of slouching. Very Dinobot. Or pull them shoulders back when you’ve really got to force out an optic blast. But the top of his back/his traps felt way too bare and exposed so I took this big blue panel, cut it down to size, removed the flap for weapon storage, heated it with a hairdryer to try and mild it into a suitable shape- and then added it to the existing joint to be held in place with that same single pin. Not the tidiest work but it does the job and, as it’s for a battle damage version, I can allow for imperfections and crumples here and there. It’s all in service of my goal. Next up came an obstacle I knew I’d encounter but didn’t want to think about until it was right in front of me- how do I reshape and reattach his rib covers to the newly proportioned torso? I’d hoped they’d look ok unaltered- but no- they stuck out like little wings and I couldn’t use the old pin connections as the angles didn’t align whatsoever with his new slim bod anymore and, as I’m using the KO, the side panels don’t clip into the front of his torso for some reason but we’ll get to that. Reshape first- Those were not an option. Some of them are connected to the beast mode half of the panels as well- which had been removed to slim him down- so I just cut off the remaining bits and cracked out the hairdryer again in an attempt to get the panels to wrap around his form. It actually worked surprisingly well but took a hell of a lot of very slow progress and guesstimating with the bending. There’s a very brief window in which you can manipulate the plastic while it’s malleable before it begins to straight up melt and go all yucky. I had to use pliers in each hand to hold the pieces and bend and they aren’t great for the precision work I was hoping to accomplish. However I’ve still got my fallback lifeline of ‘he’s going to be battle-damaged!’ to save me from my own perfectionism. Here’s the results: (Held in place with some tape) Not bad, hey? The left side came out shaped perfectly somehow. I’m pretty sure I just got really lucky as I simply couldn’t recreate the same flawless flow on the other side. So I decided to accept the limitations of my abilities in this area and move on. He’s battle-damaged after all... Now- connecting the loose pieces. Do I use glue, Lego or try to build a locking system using parts ripped from other figures? Maybe I could make use of the parts I’ve already removed from Dinobot? Or maybe I should use magnets! And so I did. Luckily I had 4 rather strong 5mm round magnets from an old model I made in art class which was still under my bed a decade later so I started with those. I didn’t know if glue would be strong enough to hold them but I did notice that I couldn’t have the magnets flat against the surface of the rib panels; they’d have to sit at a different angle and I’d need a built up area to get them in the right spot so I used milliput moulding clay to make little mounds on the inside of the panels in which the magnets could sit to align better with the Dino thigh covers inside Dinobot's Torso. They ended up being very pivotal parts so I’m glad I didn’t rip them off at the start in an attempt to make more space. So one magnet built onto each panels inner side at an angle and then another loose magnet simply dropped inside the torso behind those Dino thighs to allow for a strong connection but also free movement of the shoulders (which rotate with those Dino thighs) meaning I can maintain all that additional expressive posability. I started with magnets so I decided to finish with them and use the same process to connect the ribs to the front of the torso. This took a lot more trial and error and guesstimating as the angles here had to be very precise to achieve a flush connection. Two magnets on each part of the connection fixed with milliput. I don’t even want to recall this experience as it was frustrating as hell but I persevered and got everything where I wanted eventually. I think it took 3 days as I’d assume I had it right, leave the clay to dry for several hours- come back to test it and find it was slightly off then have to cut it off and tray again. The magnets are 2mm x 2mm. The magnets on the torso were done first and left unchanged so it was just trying to get the rib pieces aligned correctly that was a nightmare. Anyhoo, it was a great relief that Dinobot was finally put back together and ready for play and painting. To end this segment, here’s a couple outdoor snaps I took enjoying him before the big makeover. Stay tuned for Part 2- the repaint.
Now, before getting to the pics, I’ll set the expectations; Initially I had wanted to go for a Code of Hero deco but, after reviewing the sheer state of destruction Dinobot went through in that episode, and deciding I didn’t want a charred, shredded and torn apart figure when I had the potential for something a bit more versatile and aesthetically pleasing, I looked to Coming of the Fuzors prt 2 where he also takes a beating but doesn’t end up dead from it. It’s a more general dirty, scuffed from debris and near blasts/explosions look- how all the bots look at the end of the Bay movies- which is the appearance I’d ideally have all my action genre figures portray permanently. I just think that’s cool. Reference shots- Note the exposed metal on his chest and shoulder. I love the idea of his beast flesh being like organic tissue over a purely robotic endoskeleton- just like Terminator- so wanted to implement the same effect on my figure. I wasn’t going to pay too close attention to the exact damage or go for any particular scene recreation- I simply wanted a general idea of the direction I was going to go in and to let my instincts and own preferences guide me. Part 2: Battle-Damage Repaint. Step 1- Disassemble and wash I didn’t feel the need to remove any existing paint as there really isn’t that much of it. I sanded a couple of joint areas like the wrists to make sure they wouldn’t scrape off the new paint. Next up- actual scuffs, dents and scrapes. Followed by pre shading with an airbrush. I did this all over the figure with the nail file part of a multi-tool and it gave me some great looking damage. I was compelled to give Dinobot that cliched cinematic eyebrow cut on every face. Then I covered the raptor hide parts in grey primer, followed by a first layer of light flesh tone and did some pre-shading so I could completely repaint the stripes how I wanted later. I also sanded off a circle of scales on his left pec to create that sheered off flesh I wanted. Scuffed and Shaded. Next up was airbrush painting everything in slightly lighter metallic tones as Dinobot on the show always seemed to glimmer so brightly, especially at night. I pinked up the fleshy bits with a second coat. At this point I started to really solidify my intentions and wanted to steer my Dinobot a bit more into the real world so I didn’t want any cartoonishly bright colours and I wanted his raptor flesh to look very alive and reptilian. All the current Dinobot figures use the Season 1 scale deco but, in Season two, his design changes and the stripes on his arms get much thinner so, to be different- and because I think they look a bit better- I went more along with that version. The fingers are also very detailed now. I mixed a bit of metallic rust in with the dark browns because I really love the sweaty glimmer you get and the way it aids in altering the tone depending on the direction of the light source. At this point I’ll mention that I use Vallejo airbrush paints but I only have two basic sets so tend to just mix my own tones. It’s fun but makes recreating a specific colour pretty tricky. I like to think it makes the pieces that bit more unique though. So, once airbrushing of the general areas is complete I crack out my tiny-tipped brush and that’s where the artistry truly comes into play. I’m far more competent with a brush than an airbrush so this is where I intend to bring all the little details to life and do all required panel lining. With all the scrapes I made, I added a light steel dry brush in the crevices to highlight the depth of the damage. Combined with the airbrushing it gives a great impression that Dinobot has been pelted with explosion debris. Let’s make those clear eyes metallic green That’s my boy I painted his glazed over raptor eyes on the chest a dull gunmetal tone because that just felt right. So after several days of painting and finishing off with a final session of black wash airbrushing I was ready to call it a day and clear coat. Usually I would use glossy varnish and spray it from my airbrush but I had a big can of some supposedly matte coat spray which I wanted to give a try. This was the one moment in the process where I thought I’d seriously fudged up as I went a bit OTT and kind of caked him in goo and it looked as though all the metallic reflective ness had been dulled away and all my brush details were gone. Scary times. But after just 30 mins of panic, self loathing and drying it seemed that things were actually going to work out in the end. I gave him a full 24 hours of dry time before reassembly. For a matte coat there’s still a decent shine to him but not the glossy type which I feel would make him look a bit more ‘toyish.’ Reassembling took ages because there were certain areas that had to have paint scraped off in order to slot back together but it was so worth it. Here’s the first shot of him fully reformed probably at 4am-ish. I love that moment where all the individual pieces you’ve been staring at for days and days suddenly come together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Next to the TT official. With the rest of the BW MP gang. 3 Dinobots is not enough Dinobots. For now he will be displayed on his own and if I can track down that OS Quickstrike KO I might paint his up to be a destroyed foe in a diorama. Next up- Photoshoot!
Now for the showcase. This is where the pictures can do all the talking. First off I’ll show closeups of individual areas in natural daylight Spoiler: Closeups
And now here’s the photoshoot while I was playing around in the evening trying to figure out how to make a lighting setup work for me. All done on an iPhone 6 btw. Spoiler: Photoshoot And for now that’s that. I still have a bunch of weapons to paint and haven’t touched his tail/shield so could give that a try and then do some re-enactment scenes from Coming of the Fuzors and Code of Hero with the Golden Discs. I hope you’ve enjoyed.
Wow, he looks utterly amazing! If I had the time and confidence that I could pull something even resembling this off I'd be all over it. Congrats!
Have to say I’m really impressed – you did a fantastic job with Dinobot! The battle scrapes/scars are perfect – he looks like the true battled hardened warrior he is! No pristine paint jobs here Am thinking the B&W pic of him needs that “Honor” caption above/below it. Thanks for breaking everything down, and showing us exactly what you did – very informative and quite interesting. Edit: Why am I just NOW seeing the "spoiler photoshoot" button beneath the B&W photo . JFC, these pics are phenomenal, the battle poses are on point, lighting is nailed down pat. Would love to see the Coming of the Fuzors/Code of Hero pics when you do them.....
