The Energon Pub

I don't know where this thread goes. I'm working on some photoshop repaints. At first I just wanted to streamline the chest/shoulder/arms in vehicle mode, since there are large blocks that change colors. (you'll notice on the two pics of Dirge that it illustrates the streamlining I did in those 3 spots)
but now I'm thinking about how some people complained that the BotCon exclusive Classics seekers wing designs are too G1-slavish.

I got somewhere with Dirge, but not very far with Thundercracker, and no work on Thrust yet.
I posted a thread over in AllSpark.
http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29042
I also started a new thread just now asking for other people's ideas. (who knows if anyone will reply)
http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29244

So here are the ones I did. First Dirge trying to blend his wings in like Ramjet. Requires 3 extra paint applications, but saves 2 from eliminating the white on his wings and only using red.
Dirge again, painting his thrusters to match the ones on his wings. uses only the 2 paint apps saved by removing the white ones. While I also did one with a bit of brown on his legs, it uses 2 more paint apps and is really subtle.
Then Thundercracker, who has the white stripes on his wings turned silver, and the tips of the stripes pointed and slightly curved. Not a significant change, but I think it looks nice.





Would like to see other people's ideas.

aaaand more.
used the 2nd idea from my Dirge to make a repaint Thrust. haven't decided on G1-style or odd new style for wing deco.
but it will bump Dirge's paint deco back to the 1st version. might play with it a little more later to see if I can bridge the brown all the way across without making it too breast-like. (oh god, now you won't be able to see anything but cleavage when you look at the rear thrusters in any deco)

go for the G1 wings. Botcon has done that too.

dak wrote:go for the G1 wings. Botcon has done that too.

If you mean for Thrust... you're probably right. (I could point out all the arguments, but I don't see anyone really interested in discussing it. :> )
I guess the more G1-like version would be appropriate. It doesn't stray any farther than the non-convention seekers' new but still G1-like wing decos.

If you mean for all of them, the intention was to show alternatives similar to the non-convention seekers' decos.

Strict G1 decos for the non-convention seekers would also be a nice option, but that's not very creative work for me.

IMO, Thrust really doesn't work with Ramjet type wings. Think regular SS/SW mold wing would work better even without any modification (i.e. VTOL vents). But if you can G1 like style wings that would probably be best for the character.

As for Dirge. I really like the frist one shown, the one with the colors of the wing continuing on the main body/engines in a diagonal line. Really like that one. (Much better then the G1/botcon version.)

Rawhide wrote:IMO, Thrust really doesn't work with Ramjet type wings. Think regular SS/SW mold wing would work better even without any modification (i.e. VTOL vents). But if you can G1 like style wings that would probably be best for the character.

I realize it totally drops any kind of VTOL, but I thought it worked really well considering it was only a repaint, both in concept of the simple word "thrust", and matching up to his conehead brothers.

What's your reasoning behind wanting the VTOL fans so badly? Just nostalgia? It's not like it strays even as far as some of the other Classics molds, and while it is in an existing set of other seekers, Dirge's mold is compromised already, so there is some precedence. I was also claiming from the start that Thrust needed a remold the most, and I would be hugely disappointed in anything less.

I'm not sure how the marketplace would be about something like this... I thought Ramjet was ... a little bit dull, (other than red, his only non-monochromatic color was gold) and too similar to Starscream. I imagine he would need to be spruced up a bit. Possibly some of that cyan. I'm still playing around with the stripes, inverting the positions of the outline and filler colors, using lighter and darker off-white-greys sometimes representing silver instead of white. I think silver outline with cyan on his wings looks nice, echoing his vehicle air vent stickers as well as the use of the brighter red apps in robot mode.
bleh. I dunno... I don't know how to judge this from an objectively artistic perspective. YET ANOTHER version. I just can't compare the minor differences.

As for Dirge. I really like the frist one shown, the one with the colors of the wing continuing on the main body/engines in a diagonal line. Really like that one. (Much better then the G1/botcon version.)

Thanks.
Dirge really seems to suffer not getting the same treatment as Ramjet...
Do you think the plain red stripe instead of the classic G1 white on red stripe is any better or worse?
Yeah, I've been playing with the design, and I just can't find anything else that looks anywhere near as good. I've tried echoing the slightly slanted stepped look of the outside of his wings onto the inside 'V', and it just looks like crap. I've tried straight lines across the boosters, also looks like crap.
I do still like the black thrusters (at least with the tips on them in the more streamlined version. I don't think I posted that... ah, it's on the G1 Thrust version, while all the others are cropped off because it requires an extra paint application. I'll edit my posts to include links to the higher paint app versions)

RavageX-9 wrote:

Rawhide wrote:IMO, Thrust really doesn't work with Ramjet type wings. Think regular SS/SW mold wing would work better even without any modification (i.e. VTOL vents). But if you can G1 like style wings that would probably be best for the character.

I realize it totally drops any kind of VTOL, but I thought it worked really well considering it was only a repaint, both in concept of the simple word "thrust", and matching up to his conehead brothers.

What's your reasoning behind wanting the VTOL fans so badly? Just nostalgia? It's not like it strays even as far as some of the other Classics molds, and while it is in an existing set of other seekers, Dirge's mold is compromised already, so there is some precedence. I was also claiming from the start that Thrust needed a remold the most, and I would be hugely disappointed in anything less.

VTOL’s on Thrust would be complete nostalgia (he was one of my first three TF’s along with Soundwave and Twin-Twist, and possible even my first). But my comment was completely aimed at the Ramjet style wings being unsuited (IMO) for Thrust. Realistically, I seriously doubt G1 Thrust’s design would actually be able to work.

If I were to make a Thrust, I would most likely simply take a SS/SW mold (maybe swap nosecone with a Ramjet mold) and paint him in G1 colors. That would work good enough for me, since it would resemble Thrust better than a straight Ramjet repaint and would be a realistic design.

RavageX-9 wrote:

Rawhide wrote:As for Dirge. I really like the frist one shown, the one with the colors of the wing continuing on the main body/engines in a diagonal line. Really like that one. (Much better then the G1/botcon version.)

Thanks.
Dirge really seems to suffer not getting the same treatment as Ramjet...
Do you think the plain red stripe instead of the classic G1 white on red stripe is any better or worse?

There’s white on G1 Dirge?…goes check…yep there is. Had completely forgotten there’s white on G1 Dirge

Personally, I find the white to be somewhat awkward. I always like it if a color is mirrored somewhere. The red you have mirrored on top of the intakes, but else I would forgo even that. The white...is nowhere else to be seen. Would complete forget the white and just go with the red strip.

I think first Dirge, second Thrust. I actually quite like the idea of the Ramjet-style Thrust, now I think about it. The extra engines suit his background, like maybe the wing engines have a separate, smaller power supply which he saves up for his turbo-boosts.