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Welcome to the page for my custom painted Studio Series figures! This page records all of my painting progress from 2018 to today.

This spreadsheet shows all of my Studio Series figures and the paint progress on each of them. I'll be updating this with each release, so be sure to check back on it!


My first 4 projects were done before I started this page, so I have links to their respective pages below.
Lastly, I'd like to thank you for viewing this page and invite you to share any feedback you have!

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Page 1:
01: SS-01 Bumblebee (1976 Camaro)
02: SS-06 Starscream (2007)
03: SS-16 Ratchet (DOTM) (UPDATE)
04: SS-44 Optimus Prime (DOTM)
05: SS-49 Bumblebee (2007 Camaro)
06: SS-26 WWII Bumblebee
07: SS-11 Jazz
08: SS-14 Ironhide
09: SS-51 Soundwave (DOTM)
10: SS-29 Sideswipe (DOTM)
11: SS-50 WWII Hot Rod
12: SS-28 Barricade & Frenzy
13: SS-08 Blackout
14: SS-41 Scrapmetal
15: SS-61 Sentinel Prime
16: SS-58 Roadbuster
17: SS-22 Dropkick (into Decepticon Downwash)

Page 2:
18: SS-56 Shockwave
19: SS-53 Mixmaster
20: SS-13 Megatron (ROTF)
21: SS-68 Leadfoot & Steeljaw
22: SS-02 Stinger
23: SS-74 Bumblebee (ROTF) & Sam Witwicky (DOTM)
24: SS-55 Scavenger

Page 3:
25: SS-52 Arcee/Chromia/Elita-1
26: SS-67 Skipjack
27: SS-34 Megatron (DOTM)
28: SS-42 Long Haul
29: SS-71 Dino
30: SS-62 Soundwave (ROTF/DOTM Video Game)

Page 4:
31: SS-63 Topspin
32: SS-47 Hightower
33: SS-57 Offroad Bumblebee
34: SS-60 Scrapper
35: SS-09 Thundercracker
36: SS-27 Clunker Bumblebee
37: SS-75 Jolt
38: SS-28 Barricade (Recon Barricade repaint)
39: SS-74 Bumblebee (Stealth Bumblebee repaint)

Page 5:
40: SS-78 Sideswipe (ROTF)
41: SS-52 Arcee/Chromia/Elita-1 (Decepticon bike repaints)
42: SS-66 Overload
43: SS-45 Drift (AOE Helicopter)
44: SS-21 Starscream (ROTF/DOTM)
45: SS-04 Ratchet (07/ROTF, Premium Finish)
46: Devastator
47: SS-87 Bumblebee (DOTM)
48: SS-90 Galvatron
49: SS-88 Sideways
50: SS-03 Crowbar & Crankcase (from TLK Berserker)

Page 6:
51: SS-23 KSI Sentry (Blue)
52: Laserbeak (Core class, DOTM)
53: SS-92 Crosshairs (TLK)
54: SS-93 Hot Rod
55: SS-77 NEST Bumblebee
56: SS-23 KSI Sentry (Black)
57: SS-49 Bumblebee (Cliffjumper repaint)
58: SS-95 NEST Bonecrusher
59: SS-54 Megatron (2007)
60: SS-100 Bumblebee (ROTB)
61: SS-96 NEST Ratchet
62: SS-11 Lockdown
63: SS-91 The Fallen

Page 7:
64: Bumblebee (Core class, DOTM)
65: SS-GE01 Bumblebee (WFC)
66: SS-33 Bonecrusher (UPDATE)
67: SS-96 NEST Ratchet (Rescue Ratchet repaint)
68. SS-12 Brawl
69: SS-75 Jolt (DOTM repaint)
70: SS-39 Cogman
71: Mohawk (Core class)
72: SS-35 Jetfire
73: SS-99 Battletrap
__________________________________________________________________________
01: SS-01 Bumblebee (1976 Camaro)

See more here:
studio-series-01-bumblebee-repaint-t112910.php

02: SS-06 Starscream (TF07)

See more here: studio-series-starscream-repaint-tf07--t113313.php

03: SS-16 Ratchet (DOTM)

See more here: studio-series-dotm-ratchet-repaint-t112904.php

04: SS-44 Optimus Prime (DOTM)

See more here: studio-series-ultimate-optimus-prime-ss-44-repaint-upgrades--t113978.php

05: SS-49 Bumblebee (2007 Camaro)

SS-49 is my favorite deluxe class mold from SS, and I really had fun getting it painted up!

UPDATE: I spruced Bee up recently with some of the additional paint apps I've done on the other SS Bumblebees. In robot mode I gave him the updated head sculpt from an extra DOTM Bee I had, and added some additional detailing to the shins and arms. In alt mode, I gave the tail lights a silver trim and picked out the side vents. I've included one of the original pictures so you can still see the battle mask head I painted!

- Robot Mode -

Robot mode saw the addition of a lot of metallic dark gray paint all over the figure to get closer to Bee's appearance in the movie, along with some darker gunmetal to break up some sections. Yellow paint was added for the feet, hands, forearms, and to the collar section. Silver, gold, and bronze were also used for small details all over the figure. Gloss black was used for the corners and pin-striping on the shoulder pads. Panel liner was used to bring out the lines on the chest section and mask. I also scraped the yellow paint off the top of the windows (though this did result in a scratch in the one door, but it's not too noticeable). My single favorite addition, however, is the blue on the mask to show his eyes peeking through.








- Vehicle Mode -

There were just a few small details added to vehicle mode, specifically silver on the foglights, mirrors, door handles, license plate, exhaust, and behind the tires; orange and red for the reflective bits on the side of the car, gold for the rear Chevy emblem,and flat black for the section around the exhaust. Gunmetal was also added to some of the yellow parts that you can see through the windshield to better conceal them.







Paint used:

Testor's enamels:
Metallic silver, gold, and bronze
Flat yellow
Gloss black
Flat black
Flat gunmetal
Flat red
Gloss tangerine

Decoart acrylic metallic dark gray
CraftSmart blue paint pen
Tamiya panel liner

Bonus: Bee vs. Barricade!

06: SS-26 WWII Bumblebee

- Robot Mode -

WWII Bee was a little different from a lot of my other customs - I did the usual detailing, but I also did weathering on both modes. I don't usually weather my Transformers, but I figured since this was a WWII vehicle it would work out. I'm really happy with how it tuned out! I used dark gray model wash to pick out the panels in both modes (and make everything look a little more worn), and then used silver dry brushing to show the paint chipping away.

For detailing I did the usual dark metallic gray over a lot of the robot mode surfaces, as well as the bumper and some other parts in vehicle mode. Gold, bronze, silver, and black were also used for detail work; and I had an olive drab that was slightly off from the color used on the figure that you might notice on the hands, shoulder pads, hammer, and a few other spots. I'm actually glad it was slightly different - it gives a little more variety in both modes.




- Vehicle Mode

Vehicle mode is where the weathering really got to shine, while I did do some detailing with the gunmetal, silver, and olive drab it was primarily the model wash/dry brushing. I really like how it turned out, I'm excited to do it again for WWII Hot Rod!



Paint used:
Testor's Enamels:
- Metallic silver
- Metallic gold
- Metallic bronze
- Flat olive drab
- Flat black
- Decoart acrylic metallic dark gray
- Vallejo model wash (dark gray)

07: SS-11 Jazz

- Robot Mode -

Updating this figure was a project that I had planned for a while, but went on the back burner because I wanted to find the right base coat to use. Jazz's paint color is a mix of silver, gunmetal, and gray that was hard to find a good match for. I recently found a metallic dark steel paint which is pretty much exactly what I was looking for, so I was ready to complete the update!

After adding the base coat, I went in with a dark gunmetal for the mechanical sections to help it stand out more from my usual lighter gunmetal. I then mixed silver and gunmetal to replicate the base coat for detail work, and added lots of copper and gold detailing throughout. I picked out the half and half lights, did a little bit of panel liner on the legs to bring out the detail, and painted the visor in metallic blue!








- Vehicle Mode -

After scrubbing the past several repaint attempts from this figure, I spray painted it with the new dark steel base coat, making sure to mask off the headlights and windshield. I painted the vents and grill area in gunmetal, picked out the taillights in red,and painted the half and half lights on the front and back along with the license plate in white. I recreated the Pontiac logo, and added the orange lights near the front. The most difficult part of painting this mode was actually the tires, with the gloss black center, silver ring, and flat gunmetal tires. It took a lot of back and forth with those different colors to get them where they are now!







Paint used:

Testor's Enamels:
- Gloss red
- Gloss tangerine
- Flat gunmetal

Acrylics:
- Decoart metallic sapphire
- Decoart metallic silver
- Decoart emperor gold (mixed with silver)
- Decoart metallic copper
- Decoart gloss white
- Folkart gloss black
- Craftsmart gunmetal

Other:

- Rustoleum metallic dark steel
- Krylon gloss coat

08: SS-14 Ironhide

Ironhide is probably my favorite voyager from Studio Series so far (though Starscream is very close to that title), and I really enjoyed getting to paint it up!

- Robot Mode -

Robot mode saw a lot of detailing with the usual - Metallic silver, gold, a little bit of copper on the guns, and gunmetal/ metallic dark gray. I used a little bit of silver to clean up the paint around his right eye, and several other details all over the figure. The most difficult part was probably the bumper in robot mode - I went through several different grays before settling on a mix of flat gunmetal and gray that resembles the movie CG model pretty well.

I also did some paint/modding work on the weapons included in the DNA Design upgrade kit. For paint, I used primarily silver to get them looking closer to the movie, as well as some gold and gunmetal. Ironhide's one rifle (Heavy Iron 1.0 if you played the DOTM game, or possibly 3.0 since we see Que hand it to him at the beginning of DOTM) is notably missing the ammo magazine. To fix this, I took a leftover piece of plastic from some 1/160 APCs and cut it down to the right size (with a tab to plug into the gun), sanded it, and painted it. I finally drilled a hole in the bottom of the gun to accommodate it.








- Vehicle Mode -

Vehicle mode was fairly simple to paint - Silver paint was used on the bars on the sides of the truck and part of the bumper, and the lights on top were painted silver and blue. Model wash was also used on the side vent to give it more detail. Probably my favorite thing to paint in this mode was the taillights, which have several layers of different colors








Paint used:
Testor's enamels:
- Metallic gold
- Metallic silver
- Metallic copper
- Gloss red
- Gloss tangerine
- Flat gunmetal (mixed with flat gray for bumper in robot mode)

Acrylics:

- Decoart metallic dark gray
- Vallejo dark gray model wash
- Craftsmart black paint pen
- Folkart metallic blue sapphire

09: SS-51 Soundwave

Starting to add some more Decepticons to the showcase, here is Soundwave - now with a final update, including an upgrade kit and refreshed paint work!

- Robot Mode -

Now looking at my second update for this figure, I focused on touching up older paint apps and redoing my paint work for the arm speakers. I originally had more blue glow to the speakers, but decided to tone it down to be more screen accurate. I kept a small blue ring to some of the speakers, which I think compromises between screen accuracy and the blue glow we see in Soundwave's first transformation nicely. I revisited the silver and gold sections to make sure they're screen accurate, and completely repainted the face with a darker gunmetal base layer to contrast better with the silver details.









- Vehicle Mode -

In revising my work on vehicle mode, I repainted the entire alt mode a brighter, more accurate silver (which was more of an accident as my first gloss coat I used ruined my first revision and most of the silver panels). I then went in and repainted all of the black sections for the vents found across alt mode. I wasn't sure what to do about the headlights, but pulled some inspiration from the MTB release of Human Alliance Soundwave, and I like it! I also painted the taillights to be more accurate to the actual vehicle. They were kinda tricky to pull off!







Paint used:

Testors Enamels:
-Flat gunmetal
-Gloss red


Acrylics:
- Decoart gunmetal
- Decoart emperor gold
- Decoart gloss silver
- Decoart gloss black
- Craftsmart gloss silver
- Folkart metallic blue sapphire + Anita's craft paint metallic turquoise

Other:
-Rustoleum spray silver
- Krylon gloss coat

10: SS-29 Sideswipe

- Robot Mode -

Keeping with the silver trend, here is SS Sideswipe!

Sideswipe is actually a custom I did about a year ago, but this was before I started using gloss coat to protect the paint. As a result, a lot of the silver I had added chipped off. I figured that if I was going to fix the silver, I might as well repaint the rest! I also went ahead with the mod that cuts off the vehicle mode bits on Sideswipe's feet and glues them onto the vehicle mode hood to make the feet more accurate.



A better view of some of the side detailing:


- Vehicle Mode -
Painting Sideswipe's vehicle mode was challenging - due to paint chipping I had to spray paint over large pieces of the vehicle mode - and I had to completely repaint the main hood piece by hand. It's a little rough in some sections, but I think it turned out alright. I also added some flat black for the spoiler and the section behind the driver seat. Finally, I painted the wheels with gloss black and chrome.


Paint used:
Testor's Enamels:
Metallic Silver, gold, and copper
Flat black
Gloss black
Flat gunmetal
Flat red

Testor's metallic silver spray paint
Decoart acrylic metallic gray
Tamiya panel liner

Your work is superb, as always

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:Your work is superb, as always

Thanks, Zelda! Much appreciated.

11: SS-50 WWII Hot Rod

- Robot Mode -

After having a blast painting WWII Bee, I was excited to start working on WWII Hot Rod!

Due to WWII Hot Rod's darker color scheme compared to Bee, I didn't use as much of the dark metallic gray, subbing it for silver in some sections. I also mixed the red and orange paint I had to mimic the darker orange found on the figure, and then dry brushed gunmetal over the orange sections to make them look worn. I used silver dry brushing and some flat black over many of the gray sections for weathering. Finally, some gold, silver, and black were used for detailing. A flat coat over much of the figure finished off this mode!




- Vehicle Mode -

Much like Bumblebee, I dry brushed silver over the vehicle mode for weathering. Instead of using panel liner like on WWII Bee, I used flat black to try and better blend the gray from the top part of the vehicle mode with the black paint used on the front and sides of the figure. I did some more silver detailing, and used dark metallic gray for the tires and grill. Much like robot mode, the paint work ended with a flat coat.

12. SS-28 Barricade

- Robot Mode -

UPDATE 2: Decided to do a final definitive update for this guy, primarily with some redetailing of robot mode with more accurate placement of purple and silver details. The missing 643 numbering in alt mode was added via decals, and I 3D printed and painted a Frenzy (designed by Minibot_Gears on Cults3D) to go with him!

Much like Soundwave, Barricade is one I had to wait on for a while due to the usage of rubbery plastic on the figure. After getting some acrylic paint, however, I was able to get started! The other major problem I encountered with Barricade was the purple paint - it was very thin and really didn't show up well on the black plastic. To fix this, I painted all of the purple sections in white and then went over them with several coats of purple. I also painted his eyes to be a little larger than the original since the eyes weren't very visible, particularly on one side.








- Vehicle Mode -

In vehicle mode, I painted the various lights throughout in silver, orange, and red, making sure to even get the small red reflective pieces behind the doors. The smaller headlights have a gold center to them, and I added the missing 643 numbering on the front of alt mode with decals. On the back of alt mode, I painted the tailpipes and license plate.









Paint used:
Testor's enamels:
- Gloss black
- Gloss tangerine
- Gloss red


Acrylics:
- Decoart gunmetal
- Gloss black
- Gloss silver
- Metallic purple (mixed with a little bit of silver)
- Mix of folkart metallic blue and Anita's metallic turquoise for Frenzy's eyes
- Metallic emperor gold

Other:
- Krylon spray gloss coat

13: SS-08 Blackout

UPDATE: I transplanted the hands from my junker SS Grindor onto this guy, and took the opportunity to improve my robot mode paint work using more accurate reference images!

- Robot Mode -

Robot mode used a lot of dark metallic gray on the "skeleton" structure of Blackout, with gold used for many highlights. flat gunmetal was used in some sections as well, as well as red and silver. Drawing some inspiration from the Blackout OSKO, I used some gold and flat gray on the head sculpt, and used flat gunmetal in between the "toes" on Blackout's feet to make them look more separate. While visible in both modes, I also used metallic gray and gunmetal on the molded detail underneath the transparent plastic of the cockpit.








- Vehicle Mode -

While most of the paint detailing often goes into robot mode, Blackout's vehicle mode had about as much detailing to rival the robot mode. Several of the smaller details were picked out in dark metallic gray, and a flat gray (slightly darker than the gray on the original figure) was used for certain panels on the intakes, side structures, the top of the rotor, and other smaller details throughout. Flat gunmetal was used primarily for the dark sections/striping found on the top of the MH-53 (These sections vary between individual MH-53s, so I stuck with one good reference picture to base the final paint job on). A few red and green details were also painted, and while not easily visible there is some yellow on the inside of the cockpit side windows.

My rule of thumb for weathering is that I'll do it if the weathering is present in vehicle mode. Since most of the movie alt. modes are shiny and new, I don't usually weather my Transformers - the exception being the WWII bots and the upcoming DOTM Megatron. Many of the reference pictures I found for the MH-53 showed them fairly weathered, so I figured I'd give it a go! I used panel liner for all of the molded details - particularly on the sides - and model wash for the sections with less detail.








Paint used:

Testor's enamels:
- Flat gunmetal
- Flat gray
- Gloss red
- Gloss sublime green
- Gloss yellow
- Metallic gold


Acrylics:
- Decoart gray + white (mixed for gray color)
- Decoart metallic gold
- Decoart metallic copper
- Decoart metallic silver
- Craftsmart gunmetal

Other:
- Rustoleum flat coat
- Vallejo model wash

13A: Scorponok

For Scorponok, I used a gunmetal base and lots of gold accents based on what I could find in reference pictures and the Prime 1 Studios statue, along with silver and the same gray I used on Blackout!

14: SS-41 Scrapmetal

- Robot Mode -

Scrapmetal provided a unique opportunity for painting - while there is some concept art that this figure is based on, this robot mode doesn't appear in the movie itself ("Ze little one" is actually a Scrapper body-type). As a result, there wasn't much reference to base this figure on. Instead, I just painted what I thought looked cool! Scrapmetal also has some relatively large sections that are flat and don't have much detail (the right arm in particular), so I added some paint to try and detail them more.

For updating Robot mode, in addition to updating some worn paint apps I wanted to add more detail to some section I neglected the first time around, like inside the arms, on the legs, and the spine. I picked out a few more details on the chest, and used both flat and gloss coat to seal up the figure. Flat coat was used on the outer surfaces of vehicle mode (the yellow parts and the treads), while gloss coat was used for the mechanical sections.






While not directly visible in robot mode, the underside of Scrapmetals's shield/panel piece was so detailed I just had to paint it. I really like how it turned out!



- Hand Mode -

I didn't add any paint specifically for hand mode, but here's a look at what Scrapmetal looks like in that configuration.



- Vehicle Mode -

For updating the vehicle mode, I based the deco on the Volvo construction vehicle (the one with the weird claw) that we see aboard the ship when the Constructicons go to revive Megatron. Scrapmetal's alt mode takes some pretty drastic liberties from that design, but the key thing I was able to incorporate is the black excavator arm, with the various markings on it. I also added a black stripe along the lower edge of the excavator, which is seen on that vehicle. Taking a cue from Long Haul, I added some dirt weathering to the treads, and used model wash over the rest of the vehicle to make it look slightly worn.





Paint used:

Testor's enamels:
- Flat yellow
- Flat gunmetal
- Flat white
- Gloss red
- Gloss sublime green
- Metallic silver
- Metallic copper

Decoart acrylic:
- Gunmetal
Folkart acrylic:
- Blue Sapphire

Your work on both Blackout and Scrapmetal is excellent

Thanks! Both Blackout and Scrapmetal were figures I really didn't plan on painting, but they ended up being really fun projects! Starting on the Constructicons might be a dangerous rabbit hole though xD

15: SS-61 Sentinel Prime

- UPDATE -

I decided to go with a new writeup for Sentinel that references both the original version and the following updates!

- Robot Mode -

Robot mode started with a gunmetal and red base, first with that weird acrylic paint I found online, and later with a gloss red. Sentinel has a fair amount of white details as well, particularly on the legs, which I picked out with a gloss white. The 31 numbering on the right leg was a little tricky to get, but using some painter's tape helped get them looking sharp. I used a darker gunmetal to help make contrast with the lighter sections, and also pick out some details on the chest and arms. There's quite a bit of gold too, which I picked out with Testor's metallic gold.

The really fun sections to do (which I didn't get to till the update) were actually the small details on the shoulders; the Rosenbauer R on one shoulder, and the medical logo/07 numbering on the other. The numberign was done via decal, but the rest was hand painted. I added the striped black and white sections too, also on the shoulders.

In terms of modding, I cut some excess plastic from the back of Sentinel's head to give him a greater range of motion, and the shield was 3D printed from a file on Thingiverse, and I got it painted up and weathered!








- Vehicle Mode -

Alt mode was definitely the more challenging mode to work on with Sentinel. We'll start with the base colors, though: I mixed a flat gunmetal and gray to get the darker colored areas on the side and back of alt mode, and spray painted the front of alt mode in a gloss black and the top in silver. The red is an interesting story because I first worked on the project during the COVID lockdown time frame, and the only red paint I could find online was a Liquitex acrylic red that I didn't really realize at the time was not at all intended to use with plastic. It was super thick, flat, and didn't look great. I would later go over the figure with a testor's enamel gloss red in both modes, which looks much better!

Moving onto the details, I picked out the lights and rivets on the front, the stickers in the windows, and the black and yellow striping on the end of the crane arm. I repainted the 316 numbering on the side to be more accurately sized (I'm super proud of that, I think I got the shaping of the numbers down really well!). The back was the most challenging to do because of all the white stripes and all the details and parts on the back that prevented me from getting a good setup with painter's tape. I initially did the best I could with masking and spray painted it white, then went in with the red and gray/gunmetal to help fix any white paint that slipped through the tape. Ultimately I painted over the original spray painted stripes with hand painting, and eventually got stripes I was ahppy with! I then went in and detailed all the lights and ladders in this section.








Paint used:

Testor's enamels:
- Gloss red
- Gloss sublime green
- Gloss white
- Flat gunmetal
- Flat yellow
- Metallic Silver
- Metallic gold

Decoart Acrylics:
- Gunmetal
- Extreme sheen sapphire

Other:
- Testor's metallic silver (spray)
- Testor's gloss black (spray)
- Testor's gloss coat (spray)

Shame about the difficulties you had with the red paint. What brand was it?

Sentinel turned out excellently, superb job! How annoying was he to dismantle?

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:Shame about the difficulties you had with the red paint. What brand was it?

Sentinel turned out excellently, superb job! How annoying was he to dismantle?

Thanks! The red paint was Liquitex acrylics cadmium red.

I actually didn't dismantle much of Sentinel - I just removed the lift arm in vehicle mode, the back of the fire truck mode so I could spray the stripes, and the head for painting/shaving off some of the plastic to improve the head articulation. The pieces for the back of the fire truck attach kind of awkwardly to ball joints, so putting them back on took a second but it wasn't too bad.

Ah, so nowhere NEAR as hair-pulling as trying to dismantle a Combiner Wars Deluxe

EDIT: Forgot to comment on the paint. Haven't worked with that brand myself. But with red paint... It's funny, the cheaper brands seem to be the more reliable on that. Testor's Enamel red: Turned to rubber. Tamiya acrylic red: Turned to rubber. This Liquitex paint: Too thick even when thinned, by your account.
Craft Smart acrylic red: Perfectly fine even a few years after purchase. 79 cents for a 59ml bottle.

I may have to look more into Craftsmart! I haven’t used any of the paint itself before, but the black and blue paint pens from craftsmart that I got in 2014 are still working great. I actually just used the black paint pen on Sentinel to patch up any sections on the front after spray painting that area black.

16: SS-58 Roadbuster

- Robot Mode -

One of the key trends with Roadbuster was finding the right paint. I got very lucky in finding Decoart acrylic's metallic emerald, which matches the screen model really well and gives the figure a real premium feel (I may look into using them more often). The visor was also tricky since the one in the movie is iridescent (Ha! Unintentional DOTM pun). I tried blue, red, and orange before settling on a mix of red and orange that I think looks good.

Another thing I had to consider with Roadbuster was how to tackle the sponsor logos found all over both robot and vehicle mode. Reprolabels does have a set of decals for the original DOTM Roadbuster that might have worked if I cut them up, but they're kind of expensive. I ultimately decided to use small colored shapes to represent the logos, which is a result that I'm quite happy with.







I also took a crack at the concept art pose:


Here's some comparisons between the movie CG model and my custom so you can see how I handled some of the logos:



- Vehicle Mode -

Vehicle mode followed the same trend as robot mode, using colored shapes to represent the sponsor logos. I painted the Chevy logo on the back by using the logo from Human Alliance Roadbuster as a template for masking tape, and then transferring it onto the SS figure. I'm going to have to try and hold on to that tape though, since all three wreckers have that outline logo in the back.





After working with Roadbuster, I'm super excited to get to work on the other Wreckers! Now I just have to make sure I get my hands on Leadfoot. I have two other paint projects that I'm working on simultaneously, Shockwave and Helicopter Dropkick, I'm not sure which one I'll get done first. Stay tuned!

Paint Used (I've skipped this section for a little while, I'll be going back and filling those in over time):

- Decoart Acrylics:
Gunmetal
Metallic Silver
Metallic Emerald
Metallic Emperor Gold

- Testor's Enamels:
Flat White
Gloss Red
Flat Yellow
Gloss Tangerine (mixed with red for visor)
Flat gunmetal
Metallic Silver

- Decoart Paint pens:
Black
Blue

Excellent work! I think your handling of the sponsor logos worked rather well.

Thanks! It was something I really had to think about since there were a few options on the table, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has been viewing this page for getting this page to 20,000 views! To celebrate, I'm going to have a poll for which Studio Series custom I do next! It won't be the next one I upload because I have 2 ongoing projects that I plan on finishing soon, but it will be the first new project I start. The options are:
Mixmaster
Scrapper
Hightower
Arcee Triplets
Stinger

I'll run the poll for about a week, and at the end the winner will be the next custom I tackle! I’m running this on TFW as well, so I’ll add votes from there to the poll here.

17: Decepticon Downwash (from SS-22 Dropkick)

Helicopter Dropkick is a very underrated figure IMO. The robot mode admittedly doesn't look like the on-screen model, but it has an awesome licensed vehicle mode, a clever transformation, and loads of articulation. I actually even prefer this figure's robot mode to Dropkick's on-screen robot mode.

As much as I did like the figure, it didn't really fit in with my other SS Decepticons from the Bay movies. Thus began my plan to convert SS Dropkick into a Genericon to fit in with the rest of the 'Cons!

- Robot Mode -

Robot mode was an interesting challenge because I wanted the figure to be all gray in vehicle mode (reflecting most US Super Cobras), but at that same time, the Decepticons have quite a bit of gray going on already with Blackout, Starscream, Megatron, and others. The solution to this was to hide colored details in areas that wouldn't be visible (at least not super visible) in vehicle mode. I decided on orange as the detail color since it would not only look cool but also stand out against the other movie 'Cons.

The red visor in robot mode was done to help differentiate the figure from Dropkick and was one of the earliest ideas I had when starting work on this figure. Between the paint work highlighting different areas of the head and a body that already didn't resemble Dropkick too much, I think I was able to effectively distance Downwash from his former identity.

Finally, I used various gunmetals, red, gold, and silver to help add some detail to the molded areas on the figure.




- Vehicle Mode -

Like I mentioned before, the aim with Dropkick's vehicle mode was to make it more like an actual Super Cobra helicopter - this meant removing the blue sections, weathering, and adding some other details to make it more realistic. At one point I considered painting it in the green and tan camouflage pattern seen on the Sea Cobra on display in the National Museum of Naval Aviation (my favorite museum!), but most Super Cobras have the plain gray paint that Dropkick was already very close to.

Painting over the intake symbols was kinda sad at first because of how cool they look - until I realized that they're actually in the wrong spot - the intake symbols should go in front of the intake, not on the intake itself. I left most of the other details in vehicle mode - the 001 numbering, US logos, and the skull and crossbones - since they seem like they could conceivably fit in on a US helicopter.

I used olive drab for the missile launchers, as several reference pictures had them in that color. The gray paint I had to cover the blue sections is a little darker than the surrounding gray, so I used it on several other panels to make the darker gray fit in more and help break up the monotony of some sections. Finally, I used panel liner and model wash to weather the alt. mode and then sealed it up with a flat coat, similarly to Blackout.




Paint used:

Decoart Metalllic Acrylics:
Gunmetal
Silver
Emperor Gold

Testor's Enamels:
Flat gunmetal
Flat gray
Gloss tangerine
Gloss red

Other:
Tamiya panel liner
Vallejo dark gray model wash
Testor's flat coat


There's my repaint of Dropkick, I hope you all enjoy! In terms of what's next, I've been working on Shockwave for a little while but I'm not sure if I'll have it ready in time - this upcoming Friday I'll be taking the MCAT and I'm driving back to school early the next day. It'll probably be a little bit before I'm set back up again, at which point I'll probably finish Shockwave if I haven't already and then start work on the winner of the poll.

The poll for my next new custom project is over, and the winner, with 4 votes, is. . .

Mixmaster!

I'll be starting work on Mixmaster sometime soon, so get ready for that! My ROTF Megatron also shipped today, which I plan on painting at some point in the future.