Originally this would have gone into my thread on how much I hate Cyber Keys in the Homages forum, but as I modded the fig he kind of took on a life of his own.
I started out with an Override GTS fig that I wanted to activate without the Cyber Key kimmick, but I realised quickly that I couldn't use my normal technique (as illustrated on GF Starscream, and Cyb Ransack and Skywarp), because in backpack mode the switch would be obstructed by the nose of the car. So I had to cut an extra notch out of the pack and create a new switch.
While I was at it, I figured I could take the opportunity to ditch the horrble rubbery wings and guns, replacing them with scratchbuilt plastic ones. Then the idea came to make a full spoiler so that the guns could be triggerd when the weapon's on his back, which they couldn't ordinarily do. Halfway through making the spoiler I found an old RiD Prowl spoiler in a bits box, so I dumped the scratchbuild and modded this one to fit.
By this time, I'd decided to create a new character, since I don't hold with Override being female, and he's certainly nothing like G1 Override! Since I'd obliterated his only Autobot symbol when I trimmed the gun, I opted to make him a Decepticon (there can never be too many Decepticons), and give him a new face and a Decepticon rubsign (I love Reprolabels).
Here's the result!
Car mode:
Robot mode:
--
DECEPTICON - COLDFIREFUNCTION: Armourer
“More bang...
always more bang...”
Profile: Coldfire is an unexploded bomb. While he portrays himself as a cool, sombre scientist, it’s just a mask; underneath, he’s constantly on edge. He’s paranoid that if he doesn’t constantly produce deadlier and more efficient weapons, then Megatron may start to consider him useless and dispose of him. As a result, he works himself up into a frenzy, spending every hour in the lab until he shuts down from exhaustion.
He welcomes the call to battle; aside from serving as a field test for his latest inventions, it also acts as a pressure valve, allowing him to vent his stress on some poor, unsuspecting Autobots.
Abilities: Subject has average strength, agility and stamina, but well above average durability and intelligence. He is also equipped with vulcanised rubber armour, which shields his circuits from excess electricity; he can easily withstand millions of volts travelling through him with no damage. Subject is one of Cybertron’s foremost weapons engineers, and most of the Decepticons’ latest armaments are his handiwork. He transforms into a ground vehicle capable of speeds up to 420mph on the flat.
Subject is equipped with a pack, of his own design, which strips ions from the atmosphere and uses the stored energy to provide a power boost to its wearer. This energy can be used to channel a bolt of static electricity, or to power a ‘knuckle-bomb’ – an explosive energy charge that detonates on contact with a target. In particularly high-pressure atmospheres, two conductor rods extend to encourage and attract lightning, further increasing the power. In optimum conditions, a knuckle-bomb could feasibly shatter a mountainside; however, the user’s circuits must be heavily insulated (as Subject’s are), to avoid risking terminal stasis lock. The pack can also be wielded as a hand-held weapon; in this form the conductors act as gun barrels to more accurately direct the energy flow. This function can also be employed in vehicle mode.
Weaknesses: So severe is Subject’s neurosis that often when he gets into battle, any considerations of safety (his or anyone else’s) goes out of the window; as a result, he rarely looks where he’s going or firing, and frequently forgets any safety protocols needed to protect him from his own weapons. Fortunately he’s so far been tough enough to survive his own absent-mindedness.
The only real difference in fuctionality is that the weapon now has the built-in switch (in the form of the spoiler) so you don't need the Cyber Key, and that as a result you can also work it when it's on his back.
[ Click to attempt signal recovery... ]
