Hi everyone. After sculpting for several weeks straight I wanted to do something different. I've been planning to paint the rest of my movie TFs for the longest time but I've always put it off. Along came Battle Blades BB, and I knew it was time to start again. For me, this mold is the best version of movie BB so far (at least, until TF3 comes along). There are still some parts that needed to be fixed to make it more movie-accurate but for now this will mostly be a repaint (with some added parts) until I see what the third movie has to offer. In bot mode, the hood on this BB is a bit too big. To break it up visually I added transformable floating 'collarbones'. These were constructed using a plastic card then painted. I prefer my TFs to be self-contained: no partsforming. So these transform with him. I then added the necessary decals. The license plate had an extra, unnecessary space in the middle; it made perfect sense at the time I was rendering it, and no sense whatsoever after I've attached it to the figure. I may yet change it at some point but for now it stays. I wanted a shiny, pristine alt mode and a weathered bot mode. I didn't want too much disconnect between the two so minimal weathering was done on the bot mode. I don't really care much for the battle axe. I only consider movie elements as canon. Since it was already there and I didn't really want to remove it, I figured I may as well play with the design. The resulting design is not movie-based. I opted instead for something that links it to the WFC weapons aesthetic. I loved simulating the different metals using paint. There are several contrasting and complementing sheens and textures on the figure but they don't register that well on cam. I'll see if I can re-shoot this again down the line. Thanks for looking. .
Nice job! Personally I hate that the side mirrors appear where they do on the CGI model, it makes no sense to me considering they're part of the door. now if Hasbro could just get the nose to rotate in bot mode he'd be almost perfect.
Woa... Savio-prime and Omegaprime1983 should have a look at this LOL I love those collarbones, a necessary aspect from the overall movie BB design that is missing from its toy line. Amazing work mate! BTW, since you're aiming to match the movie colours, might as well paint the lower leg that is facing inward somewhat grey without metallic finish to it. And the fingers should be of lighter colour if not silverish. But apart from those, it's looking sweet! I dig the weathering effects too.
i agree it needs the collarbones (without them he just looks like a tiny head in a massive car body) thats what's holding me off bbbb so far (that and it hasnt come out in the uk yet)
Oh.. I'm lookin... and I'm lookin hard. Liquidisk.. How the hell did you do this?!?!? The "collar bones" are SWEET!! Can I use these on my custom, and can you explain what you did you connect them?
Welcome to Radicons! (1 post, so I assume you're new here even if you joined in 2007) Stunning custom! I love everything about it! The axe and the execution of the paint chips on the yellow bot mode parts are especially notable. I get what you mean with the different shades of metallics. I can see the effect (some of it, anyway) and it looks great! Good call on the collarbone thingies. My only crit would be to paint in the optics. It looks like the robot is 'deactivated' without painted eyes.
Kind of agreed. The eyes look lifeless. What you could also do is get those tiny jewel things from a craft store (got mine from hobby lobby), and really make them pop! Also, where do the collar parts go to in alt mode??? And can I get some of those licence plate decals?? Those are pretty sweet.
Thanks, Jericho! Thanks! Yeah, to my knowledge the collarbones have never been present on any of the deluxe and larger molds. It's something that I've always found to be lacking, and wanted to fix. I took a few liberties with the coloring, balancing the paint contrast here and there. I figured since I'm adjusting the level of weathering anyway, I may as well work on the color balance on the actual figure. The size of the hood does look disproportionate to the head, but the mold itself is fantastic. Do try to pick it up, it's the best BB so far. At least until TF3. Thanks! The collarbones are pinned to the base of the neck. I used a twisty as hinge (any small wire should do). It swings outward and the position can be changed. When it folds in it tucks in quite nicely under the jawline. Thanks, mampy! It seems I may have to reshoot this figure to better show the paint effects. I generally dislike taking pics, though. Reminds me too much of work. The eyes are actually painted the same shade as the axe. You can see hints of it in some shots but it seems the camera doesn't really pick it up. I liked the light piping on this mold, plus I wanted to achieve a particular lighting illusion. So I only painted the center of the eyes. This actually creates an interesting effect: the clear (but dark) plastic surrounds the metallic 'iris', but the metallics on the eyes catch light and look reflective. And then when backlit the paint becomes dark and the plastic lights up, reversing the light effect.
BTW, how did you attach those pieces, and do they just fold down before you flip the hood up to car mode?
Nice, I may need to try this now, Again, I hope you don't mind if I incorporate your idea into my custom? Great Idea. How is it secured? I know you used a twist tie wire, but what was your execution to get them to stay on? Also, are you not afraid they will break off??
You are the first person I've seen paint the back lower bumper. Thank You! Ive been wanting to see BBB with it painted.
Just picked up a BBB for myself today and this is giving me some good ideas for what to do with it! Thanks! : )
The whole thing is great, but I LOVE the battle axe. Great direction to take it! I also love the various metal shades. Very nicely done.
They fold under the jawline. You can see it in this pic: Go ahead and add it to your BB, though I'd appreciate it if you'd give credit/link back. The twistie doesn't flex, it acts as a double hinge. The ends are pinned to both the collarbone and the base of the neck, allowing it to swing out. You can put holes on both collarbone and neck base, or you can just use the twistie housing as the female part. I used the latter. The collarbones are light enough that they don't exert any sizable torque on the wire. Thanks! But if you meant the Battle Axe, it comes with the figure. Thanks! Cool, thanks! Post pics when you're done. Thanks!
Thanks!! And I would absolutely give credit where credit were due. Though, looking at gundam models, they would almost be perfect, so I think I'll be using a gundam crest instead of a sliver from a credit card . Thank you for explaining how you made this happen!! Also, did you just drill tiny holes into each piece for the twisty to plug into I am guessing? Thanks again! OH!! One more thing!! Doy you have a web site? I'd love to see more from you
