This was my most satisfying project so far.
I got this guy at TFCON this year, because after the (in my humble opinion) extraordinarily disappointing AoE Leader Primes failed to deliver a figure that I was even remotely interested in, it became quite clear that the ROTF/DOTM leader class Prime mold is, without a doubt, the DEFINITIVE movieverse Optimus Prime figure.
Here's ultimately what I wanted out of my leader class Prime, once it was all finished:
1) Must have faceplate
2) Must have shiny metallic paint
3) Must have jetpack
4) Must have a movie-style gun
5) Must have battle blades
I was able to achieve all those by picking up an Amazon-deco Jetwing Prime (jetpack, faceplate, gun), completely overhauling the paint (custom metallic paint apps & lots of details added), and the always-essential battle blades (UFO third-party blades).
Behold...
Here's what I started with:
And here's the progressive series of pics on how it evolved since I started the process:
And the final product, all geared up and ready to unleash the fury...
Hope you enjoyed these pics as much as I sure enjoy looking at him.
Cheers!