by Tramp » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:41 am
The thighs on Anemis’ MP Ultra Magnus don’t really look too small to me, and given that there are other bots that have used a similar combination with its trailer (RID Optimus Prime, for example) to great effect, without negatively effecting the proportional appearance of any of the body parts any real signifigant level. Now, the sketch is definately not drawn to perfect proportion, that is a given—it is definately stylized to a certain degree, and is a rough concept sketch regardless— but based upon the figures I have done, and measurements taken, his overall hight should increase about 2", and his bulk shouldn’t increase too much since the main deck of the trailer (not including the side panels) is going to be about the same width of Magnus hmself, in truck mode, with the shoulder brackets and hip brackets, each being between 1/4" and 1/8" thick respectively locking him in place, so his torso will not be much wider at all, just a little bit longer, as will his lower legs, thus giving him that little bit of extra height.
Now, that being said, coud this trailer be done where he locked into theb armor loke, say, Powermaster Prime or Amrada Overload, and still end up looking like G1 Ultra Magnus? Sure . By all appearances, the trailer mode wouldn’t change, nor would the armor mode (though the thighs, might end up a bit bulkier and longer), but the mechanics of how he combined would. First off, Magnus himself would need to be fully transformed into truck mode, except for the side panels on his lower legs, and the knees would need to be bent down. Secondly, the trailler/armor would need to have its own full hip and leg system, and a “trap door” platform under what becomes the chest (which the hitch is attached to underneath. When transformed into armor mode, the transformation would be about the same as it is now, except the platform would have to fold down onto the top of the hip unit (which would now be able to torso twist—which the current design cannot), the truck cab locked in on the platform behind the chest, then hte shoulder brackets swung around and locked into place, securing magnus into the armor. Either way, his helmet needs to be a separate piece that is secured somewhere under the trailer when in that mode, so it is out of the way. Now, going with that transformation, while it would give him slightly longer and wider thighs, the thighs would not be any thicker front-to-back, and his cab lower legs would end up hanging off the platform he is secured on and is sticking out the back. and, that would probably look worse. I think I’ll take the lesser of two evils and accept the slightly smaller thighs. IMO, it is better than the alternative.