It's been a while since I've posted something here. It's high time to change it 

I have almost completed my Transformers Animated shelf (if anyone here has reasonably priced Electrostatic Soundwave with Ratbat and Blackout please let me know  )

Transformers Animated Slipstream

I love Transformers Animated. It is one of the few series, that tried something different and succeeded. Even though animation can be discouraging for some fans, the stories were simply great. I can say the same thing about figures. Perfect mix of transformation difficulty and satisfaction it is giving as well as great engineering, mass shifting and high quality.

Sadly toyline has ended much sooner than any fan wanted. And this is where my customs come into play. Some time ago I have created my interpretation of Animated Blaster.

A few years have passed and I've decided to continue this project. I really missed Slipstream from the official toy line. That's why I thought about making my own. Here I will show you how it's done 

Work in Progress



I wanted my Slipstream to look similar to other seekers. That's why I acquired additional Skywarp, which was my base.



Starscream is famous amongst other Trasformers thanks to his extra broad shoulders and incredibly large chest. When you add very small head you get some really beefy figure. That's why first thing I had to do was making her slightly more feminine. I've removed arms, shoulders and whole automorph gimmick. Slipstream definitely will not miss them.



Next thing I did was removing air inlets from the front of jet. I have added some styrene to fill missing pieces and ended up with two women hmmm.... attributes? To be honest I am not sure if this is the least or the most sexist name...



Modified intakes were installed back on the figure with some swivels around the shoulder area. This way Slipstream can have either subtle feminine proportions or full push-up mode. Talking about robot boobs doesn't sound too good, does it? To change the subject - I have also drilled some of the shoulder area to fit the new arms.



Let's have one more look at all the chest parts.




Time to create a new set of arms for my Slipstream. Firstly I acquired some ball joints from my incomplete figures bin.





This is how first prototype arms looked like. Of course they still need a lot of additional sculpting and sanding and will be adjusted to have a perfect length compared to figure.



Now it was time for hands. In my opinion Slipstream needed long, sharp claws. Luckily those fit perfect in Transformers Animated Universe.



Using some green stuff I've been able to sculpt new hands and add fingers. In this photo they still look quite basic but I am going to give them some more sanding and polishing before painting.




For transformation purposes shoulder ball joints were mounted on additional swivels. This way new arms won't be a problem in vehicle mode.



Just like Animated Starscream, Slipstream also has quite large armlets. I couldn't miss this detail in my custom. Armlets can click on top of ball joint pan which keeps them secured. During transformation parts can be moved to keep arms more compact.



To add some more seeker flavour I have created null rays, similar to those from cartoon




Null rays are mounted on small platform with swivel and attached to arm with magnets, which give them another move axis. Just like in traditional seeker mould null rays detach and reattach under the wings in vehicle mode.
Also have a look at armlets. Those will still be modified to match cartoon character more.



My Skywarp was missing tail fin so I had co create one from scratch. Using some styrene and a lot of patience I was able to create new part, very similar to stock one.





And it fits the figure perfectly.

For this custom I had to make a new head completely from scratch. Sadly I don't have many photos from sculpting process. nevertheless I will try to share with you what I've got. Just remember that in this pictures head was still in a very early stage.



I have started my work by analysing once again figure proportions. Little head made Starscream feel very beefy so I had to do exactly opposite to make body feel slimmer and more feminine. Sadly this means new head won't be able to fit inside the cockpit during transformation and I will have to make some alterations. But hey, it's always a challenge. Firstly I acquired ball joint that matched ball socket on Skywarp's body. Than I took a ball of green stuff and started sculpting.



You can almost start seeing some of the shape and details of Slipstream head. But before I will call it ready it will take a lot of additional sculpting and sanding, than adding some more parts and again sculpting and sanding.



When I was finally satisfied with my new, modified sculpt I have started painting process. As usual The first thing I did was full disassembly, masking and adding some wires that help me in drying process. By the way you can sort of see how headsculpt changed since the last photo.



When everything was done I could start applying black primer. It will help keep colours even and ensure that paint sticks better to the surface.



Now it's time to apply some colours. First one I used was blue-green. It took some time to find the match to the cartoon but I finally got something I was looking for. When paint cured I was ready to add some more masking tape and another colour. This time gray.



After another masking routine I was ready to add the last base colour - purple.



And now the hardest part - waiting patiently till the paint will be strong enough so I can peel masking tape. I always like this moment. It's like opening Christmas gift 



Now it's time for some detailing. All the small parts are handpainted. I also use a few new colours while giving my model some touch-ups. When the paint is cured I will apply clearcoat and translucent paint on the cockpit.


That's all I wanted to show today. I still need to add some details to my Animated Slipstream and a solid layer of clearcoat. When I am done I will post finished custom on Radicons.

I hope you liked this Work In Progress thread. Please feel free to comment and ask questions.

P.S. I've heard some people had problem with seeing my photos. If that's the case try this address: Dziennik budowy: Transformers Animated Slipstream The text is in Polish but it follows English one and has all the pictures You might have missed 
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Wow! That's alot of hardwork. I love the attention to detail, can't wait to see it all put together  

 

Very nice. That's a lot of work you've put in.

Cant wait to see the pay off.

 

Excellent skill mate! This will totally pay off when she's done  
I always love seeing work of this calibur...always an inspiration  

 

I can't wait to see the finished product. As a fan of Animated, I am proud.

 

Wow! I'm excited to see the final figure.