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51: SS-23 KSI Sentry

- Robot Mode -

KSI Sentry is an interesting bot to work on since the robot mode frame is Stinger, rather than the Trax drones we see in the movie. I decided to map the Trax details onto the Stinger frame as much as I could, thus the headlights on the chest, among other details (particularly the legs). I painted the visor in metallic green, and added some red detailing that appears on the Trax drones in the movie. I did add some detaisl that weren't on the Trax model but fit the Stinger mold, like the gunmetal and blue breakup on the shins. I also mixed several blue paints together to get as close as I could to the figure's included base color for some of the bot mode details. The most challenging part of this project was definitely the headlights, they were very difficult to get looking both clean and symmetrical.







- Alt Mode -

I actually really like the blue paint this figure has by default, so I decided to keep it. As for detailing, I looked up several blue Pagani Huayras and found that a lot of them had white striping, so I decided to implement those details, sort of mishmashing together a few of the exaples I saw. I went over the headlight sections in gunmetal and picked the lights themselves out in silver, added orange and red reflective bits on the sides, and added some gunmetal to the hood. For the back, I picked out the taillights in red with a silver center, and did some silver trim.







Paint used:

Testor's enamels:

- Gloss tangerine
- Gloss red
- Metallic silver
- Flat gunmetal


Acrylics:

- Decoart gunmetal
- Decoart gloss shimmering silver
- Decoart emperor gold
- Decoart gloss white
- Folkart metallic blue sapphire + Decoart true blue + Decoart deep sapphire (mixed for base color in robot mode)

Other:

- Krylon gloss coat

52: Laserbeak (Core class, DOTM)


- Robot Mode –

After working on DOTM Bumblebee not too long ago, I got a cool opportunity to try and miniaturize that paint work (just with a different primary color) with Laserbeak! I added a gunmetal base coat, then moved in with a darker gunmetal and silver for some accents, added gold details (the tiny gold springs on the arms were still molded on, even at the smaller size!), and used Testor’s magenta to add the missing pink details. I was still able to do the pinstriping on the shoulders and forearm shields, and painted up the Plasma Cannon based on what I did for DOTM Bee.







- Alt Mode –

Once again, I tried to mimic my paint work on DOTM Bee for Laserbeak as best as I could. I deepened the upper grill section with the headlights, repainted the grill areas in gunmetal, redid the chevy logo, and picked out the trim along the front and sides. The trip on the actual Camaro only goes halfway up the panel line for those sections, which I was able to do on Bee, but with Laserbeak’s smaller size it didn’t look quite right, so I painted the whole panel in dark gunmetal. I continued to pick out the side vents, door handles, and side windows, and for the back I continued the stripes, painted the spoiler, and completely detailed the rear of the car, even getting the silver trim around the taillights I first used on DOTM Bee!









Paint used:

Testor's enamels:

- Gloss magenta
- Gloss tangerine
- Gloss red
- Gloss black
- Metallic silver
- Metallic copper
- Flat gunmetal


Acrylics:

- Decoart gunmetal
- Decoart gloss shimmering silver
- Decoart emperor gold

Other:

- Krylon gloss coat

53: SS-92 Crosshairs (TLK)


- Robot Mode –

The first step to painting up Crosshairs was getting the right shade of green - I ended up mixing 3 different green Testor's paints to get a shade I really liked! After getting that base coat I added gunmetal and silver throughout. There was a lot of black striping to do, so I incorporated that on the arms and one leg (as well as the back of the trench coat). Speaking of the trench coat, I painted the back of the bumper to match the trench coat as well! I got to use lots of red and gold details throughout, includign on the head sculpt, and added the asymmetrical detailing for the forearms. After painting the guns with a couple different gunmetals and some silver accents, Crosshairs was good to go in robot mode! My favorite detail in this mode might be the corvette logo on the chest.








- Alt Mode –

After repainting the green base color like I did for robot mode, I spray painted the back of alt mode in gloss black, including the spoiler. I added red and orange highlights on the sides and back, added some silver to the inside of the headlights, and painted the mirrors in black with silver for the reflective portions. I added green to the spoiler and painted on the triangular green portions on the roof, and silver for the grill. On the back, I painted the taillights in a brighter red with a silver portion, and painted the corvette logo on the front and back.








Paint used:

Testor's enamels:

- Gloss sublime green + Gloss bright lime + Metal flake green (mixed for green base color)
- Gloss tangerine
- Gloss red
- Gloss black
- Metallic silver
- Metallic gold
- Flat gunmetal
- Gloss black (spray)


Acrylics:

- Decoart gunmetal
- Decoart gloss shimmering silver
- Decoart emperor gold
- Folkart metallic blue sapphire

Other:

- Krylon gloss coat

Just a small update, I realized that I forgot to paint the striping on Crosshairs' right leg. I fixed that real quick and got some new robot mode pictures which you can see directly above!

Here's the striping I added:

Merry Christmas!



Stay tuned for a long-awaited update later this week!

Just in time for the end of 2022, here's a project update I've been working on for a very long time - my new and improved Studio Series 44 DOTM Optimus Prime! You can find the link for his seperate page back on page 1 or right here below:

studio-series-ultimate-optimus-prime-ss-44-repaint-upgrades--t113978.php

It's just Prime without the trailer for now since I'm waiting on the DNA Design upgrade kit to finish the trailer and the other accessories, but Optimus is here in the meantime!

Now that 2022 has come to a close, here's a look at every custom I finished/updated this past year!



I'm looking forwards to 2023, I have a lot of projects planned that I'm very excited to work on!

Optimus isn't the only Dark of the Moon figure getting an update, check out an all-new gallery and writeup for Sentinel Prime (finally featuring his 3D printed shield!) back on page 1!

54: SS-93 Hot Rod


- Robot Mode –

Hot Rod was a fun one to work on! Hot Rod's color palette was a little different than I'm used to working with, as his base color is very similar to the gunmetal I normally use for a base coat. As a result, I used a lot more silver than I usually do, with some darker gunmetal to help break things up. I used some gold details, and red for the Autobot logo on his torso.

Hot Rod is actually based on a non-final CG render, so I had to make some adjustments to make the figure look like the final CG model. The first of these was with the feet, to which I added a panel line and some different paint for how the feet are slightly different. The next step were the upper legs, which changed fairly substantially between versions. While I couldn't get things exact due to the sculpting, I was able to paint across panels to evoke the more final render. The final part to update were the shoulders, which on the final version are slightly larger, and have 5 vents instead of 3 that go all the way across the vent. I was able to paint the existing 3 vents so they extend across the shoulder, and actually used thin painter's tape for the additional 2 vents. I may look into a more permanent solution in the future, but for now I think it works pretty nicely!







- Alt Mode –

Alt mode started with the new base coat of a Testor's spray gunmetal that gets closer to the color we see in the movie, it should maybe be slightly darker but with the lighting I think it works well. I continued with the orange trim all over alt mode, including the fins on the back. I repainted the headlights similarly to the original, and picked out the taillights. I intended to paint the yellow license plate on the back, but it didn't look right with the panel lines on that section, so I reverted to gunmetal. After some gloss black for the rear windows and painting the LAmborghini logos as much as I could given their size, alt mode was almost complete!

The most difficult part for alt mode was undoubtedly the tires. Each tire has a series of thin orange lines along them that took numerous attempts to get looking right, along with the intricate detailing on the central portion of the tire. Happy to say I finally got it!







Paint used:

Testor's enamels:

- Gloss tangerine
- Gloss red
- Metallic silver
- Flat gunmetal
- Extreme lacquer gunmetal (spray)


Acrylics:

- Decoart gunmetal
- Decoart gloss shimmering silver
- Decoart emperor gold
- Folkart gloss black

Other:

- Krylon gloss coat
- Craftsmart blue paint pen

55: SS-77 NEST Bumblebee


- Robot Mode –

My goal with robot mode was to add more Bayverse-styled detailing to NEST Bee so he looks better alongside NEST Bonecrusher and Ratchet. As a design from the Bumblebee movie, he has less molded detail than a Bayverse design, so I had to experiment with painting detail on a flat surface. I added a lot of details from DOTM Bumblebee - the small central yellow chest piece, the ribs/ab piece, the striping with pinstriping on the shoulders and forearms, the yellow on the arms and torso, and the silver/black details on the feet. I gave him a spare SS-49 Plasma Cannon as well, which was apinted mostly the same as my DOTM Bumblebee, but with the attachments painted in metallic green to evoke green laser sights.







- Alt Mode –

My paint work in alt mode stuck to just detail work - picking out the various lights, handles, and molded details. I picked out the inner wheels in a different gray, the lights in red, and a dark gunmetal for the back of the jeep and a few other sections. I hid the yellow from robot mode as well to make sure the vehicle mode still felt like a NEST vehicle first and foremost.


The stripes on the front of alt mode were actually not something I planned to add, but the gloss coat left a dark splotch that I couldn't remove, so I painted over it with the stripes.








Paint used:

Testor's enamels:
- Gloss yellow (mixed with gloss tangerine)
- Gloss tangerine
- Gloss red
- Metallic silver
- Flat gunmetal



Acrylics:

- Decoart gunmetal
- Decoart gloss shimmering silver
- Decoart emperor gold
- Decoart extreme sheen sapphire
- Folkart gloss black

Other:

- Krylon gloss coat

56: SS-23 KSI Sentry (Black)

- Robot Mode -

We see KSI Sentries in several color varieties in AOE, and after finding a couple of them for cheap at a collector's store, I decided to try painting some of the other colors! Not as much to talk about for this one, since robot mode was just a recolor of my above blue KSI Sentry, with some slight alterations to work with the new color pallette.








- Alt Mode -

There's a little more to go over with alt mode because I did depart slightly from the prior Sentry in terms of deco. I based this on actual Pagani Huayras I found pictures of online, which includes the thin silver striping around the windows, and the gunmetal portions on the front and sides.







Paint used:

Testor's enamels:

- Gloss black (spray)
- Gloss tangerine
- Gloss red
- Metallic silver
- Flat gunmetal


Acrylics:

- Decoart gunmetal
- Decoart gloss shimmering silver
- Decoart emperor gold
- Folkart gloss black
- Craftsmart gunmetal (mixed with gloss black)

Other:

- Krylon gloss coat

Got an update for you before my next project, I spruced up my SS-49 Bumblebee! You can check him out back on page 1.

My next project is actually another SS-49 repaint, just in a different color scheme!

57: SS-49 Bumblebee (Cliffjumper repaint)

Gof a really fun one for you today! This SS-49 started off as a botched test for the yellow spray paint I used on DOTM Bumblebee, the paint went on super thick and uneven. Now, if I was smart I would have tried removing the paint, but I'm not sure how the clear plastic would have reacted so I ended up painting over it. It's still a little uneven in alt mode, but I did my best to get this repaint looking as good as I could get it!

- Robot Mode -

Like my prior Stealth Bumblebee and Recon Barricade repaints, I used the original 2007 deluxe as inspiration but still added a lot of my own details. I did include the Allspark blue highlights, but used a slightly different metallic blue that still evokes the original, but fits in a little better. I added details to the shoulders and forearms that feel like versions of Bumblebee's pinstriping but reflective of Cliffjumper's different stripe pattern. I used a head sculpt from SS-01 and painted it up to resemble the original deluxe, but with some additional details like the gunmetal on the edges of the helmet. I used copper to help differentiate from Bumblebee's typically gold details along with the usual silver and gunmetal. The Plasma Cannon was freestyle, I added some red details to help incorporate it in with the rest of robot mode and differentiate from Bumblebee's cannon, again with the metallic blue in the barrels evoking the allspark blue of the original.








- Alt Mode -

Alt mode was the more difficult mode to "fix" with how thick the paint was, but my paint work was largely based on the original 2007 deluxe. I added some additional details though, like the orange reflective pieces on the sides, the license plate and tailights with silver trim. I did take some creative license from the original though, I continued the stripes on the back of alt mode, added an ROTF Bee-like black stripe under the lower grill, and DOTM Bee-like side vents that were done more out of necessity because the thick original paint covered the original side vents, and painting one vent had a much higher likelihood of success than 3.







Paint used:

Testor's enamels:

- Gloss red
- Gloss tangerine
- Metallic silver
- Metallic copper
- Flat gunmetal


Acrylics:

- Decoart gunmetal
- Decoart gloss shimmering silver
- Folkart metallic blue sapphire


Other:

- Krylon gloss coat

Recreating a matchup from the 2007 Allspark power legends class 2-packs, here's some pics of Cliffjumper and Recon Barricade!

58: SS-95 NEST Bonecrusher

- Robot Mode -

Continuing the trend I established for NEST Bumblebee, I wanted to have a secondary color for Bonecrusher that appeared more prominently in robot mode. I tried a couple different things, including a green that resembled Jungle Bonecrusher, but ultimately settled on a similar light blue to the windows, to make it look like the windows were broken up into pieces and distrbuted throughout robot mode.

I added several different gunmetals to add variety to the color scheme, and some silver and copper sections. I even carried over some of the red and orange lights from alt mode to add some additional detailing. I painted up one of MPM Blackout's gatling guns for him to borrow as well, and found a couple different ways Bonecrusher can wield it. The shoulder attachment point holds pretty securely!








- Alt Mode -

In alt mode, I stuck to gunmetal and silver detailing to keep within the general color palette while still adding detail. I picked out the center of the tires, the window trim, and lots of the molded details on the front and roof. I painted the claw blades in silver, with various gunmetals and one copper section for the claw arm.








Paint used:

Testor's enamels:

- Gloss red
- Gloss tangerine
- Gloss gray
- Metallic silver
- Metallic copper
- Flat gunmetal


Acrylics:

- Decoart gunmetal
- Decoart gloss shimmering silver
- Folkart metallic blue sapphire (mixed with silver for light blue color)
- CraftSmart gunmetal

Other:

- Krylon gloss coat

59: SS-54 Megatron (2007)

- Robot Mode -

Starting off, This project used the PF Megatron as a base, but it was mismatched with the regular DNA Design upgrade kit since that was the only one I could find in stock. The premium finish is a very nice upgrade to the original figure's paint work, and the basic formula of a light gunmetal base with silver dry brushing on top is something I carried forward with some extras. To match Megatron's pale gold secondary color, I mixed my acrylic gold with silver to get a more subdued shade, and added it throughout based on movie screenshots and the Prime 1 Studios model. I completely repainted the upgrade pieces with the gunmetal base and silver dry brushing to match the rest of Megatron. I then added weathering via a model wash I made myself with Testor's enamel flat gunmetal and some enamel thinner, applying it generously all throughout the figure. I then moved to another type of battle damage by dry brushing and blotting that same dark gunmetal. A few of these details, particularly those on the collar pieces, were added based on movie screenshots specifically. I finished up by adding the cyberglyphs to the sides of Megatron's head!








- Alt Mode -

There isn't as much to say about Megatron for alt mode, I continued with the light gunmetal base and silver dry brushing, with some flat dark gunmetal dry brushing/marks to show damage. I picked out the lower support strut for the wing in gunmetal to match the rest of alt mode, and blended the silver dry brushing present on the nose of the jet from the original figure better with the rest of alt mode.









Paint used:

Testor's enamels:


- Metallic silver
- Flat gunmetal


Acrylics:

- Decoart metallic emperor gold (mixed with Decoart silver)
- Decoart gunmetal
- Decoart gloss shimmering silver
- CraftSmart gunmetal

Other:

- Krylon gloss coat

Got a small update for you all: I've reached the end of my second year of medical school, I take Step 1 tomorrow, and I've moved out of my apartment! I grabbed one last picture in my usual location:



I'll be back home for my second two years of med school, and I have lots of projects to work on once I'm back! Stay tuned!

60: SS-100 Bumblebee (Rise of the Beasts)

Just in time for the new ROTB trailer, here's my custom ROTB Bumblebee!

UPDATE: With the better reference pictures we have now, I spruced up my paint work by repainting the face, chest, plasma cannon, and some smaller details like the yellow parts on the feet and the red pieces on the alt mode bumper.

- Robot Mode -

For robot mode, I actually started with a base of a new paint - Folkart gunmetal gray. My usual Decoart gunmetal has been out of stock at every place I've visited, but this new paint seems to be identical. After adding the gunmetal base on the arms, legs, and torso, I used both lighter and darker gunmetals to add more contrast between different pieces. The more difficult sections were the stripes on the chest and arms, which required several attempts and some back and forth with painting and scraping to get looking right. The chest was additonally complicated due to the layered pieces Bee has in that section in robot mode, but I'm happy with how I was able to recreate that.

I painted up the plasma cannon in yellow and gunmetal with some dark gunmetal and silver accents (though in hindsight, I should have just removed the gray paint on it instead of painting the yellow), and detailed the arm blade. For the head sculpt, I painted a light gunmetal for the face and around the eyes, painted the Autobot logo (or spot where it used to be) in silver, and added some thin lining around the center of the helmet.








- Alt Mode -

Now looking at Bee's off-road 77 Camaro mode, the first step was to add the black trim around the sides of alt mode. I did this with flat gunmetal, picking out the trim on the sides and back, picking out the rivets on the sides with silver. I repainted the tail lights with a brighter gloss red and silver trim, and continued the stripes on the back of alt mode all the way to the spoiler (from what I've seen of set pics, this appears to be the case on the actual Camaro). Speaking of stripes, I removed the roof stripes using isopropyl alcohol, my first time doing so. It worked really nicely! I then repainted the yellow around the windshield, picked out the lights in silver, and used black paint for the mirrors and door handles. For the front, I repainted the headlights to be slightly more accurate and added the orange reflective pieces.








Paint used:

Testor's enamels:

- Gloss tangerine
- Gloss red
- Metallic silver
- Flat gunmetal
- Flat sunflower


Acrylics:


- Decoart gloss shimmering silver
- Decoart emperor gold
- Decoart gloss yellow
- Folkart metallic blue sapphire + Anita's craft paint metallic turquoise (mixed for repainted eyes)
- Craftsmart gunmetal

Other:

- Krylon gloss coat

61: SS-96 NEST Ratchet

- Robot Mode -

Man, did I have fun with this one! I decided to go with DOTM Ratchet's sublime green as the color for this one, but with some additional red details that feel more like Ratchet's 07/ROTF form. The red springs in the shoulders were specifically added as a reference to HFTD Night Ops Ratchet and the big red Autobot logos on his shoulders! I tried to balance gray and black sections for robot mode, and added green highlights where they felt appropriate. My favorite detail I added to this figure, though, were the ECG lines on the legs! Partially another Night Ops Ratchet reference (who only had the ECG in alt mode), and also just something I thought would look cool. Very happy with how it turned out!








- Alt Mode -

Continuing the trend I set with the other NEST figures, I hid the green details from robot mdoe with the exception of some lights on the front. I added a flat gunmetal trim to the alt mode like the other Ratchet designs, and added some silver detailing throughout. I decided to keep the tools in all silver to keep more in theme with the NEST repaints, and I detailed the center of the tires. The blue roof lights are a reference to the ones found on Ironhide's alt mode!








Paint used:

Testor's enamels:

- Gloss sublime green
- Gloss red
- Gloss tangerine
- Metallic silver
- Flat gunmetal

Acrylics:

- Decoart gloss black & white (mixed for gray painted sections)
- Decoart gloss shimmering silver
- Decoart emperor gold
- Folkart metallic blue sapphire


Other:

- Krylon gloss coat

62: SS-11 Lockdown

- Robot Mode -

Lockdown was a super fun opportunity to work on my fine detail painting! After a Craftsmart gunmetal base, I used the Prime 1 Studios model and movie screenshots to add detailing primarily with silver and testor's darker flat gunmetal. The lights were painted with a mix of silver and metallic blue, and gold accents were added throughout bot mode. There was even some copper as well for the ammo clips/missiles on his arms! I painted the small Lamborghini logos on his chest with black and gold, and added small yellow and red details to the legs. One of my favorite details from Lockdown's CG model are the orange ABS brakes thast appear on his arms and legs, which I was able to add! I did have to technically mistransform the arms to have an area to add the brakes, but I actually prefer this orientation of the bicep area.

I did a small amount of modding by giving Lockdown the scar across his face with an xacto knife, and painting it with a dark gunmetal center with rust around the edges!








- Alt Mode -

I had originally intended to write a section on how I left the figure's original gunmetal paint in alt mode because it looked nice, even though there was some slight difference in the shades of gunmetal on different parts of alt mode. However, my first gloss coat attempt mottled the original figure's paint in alt mode, forcing me to completely repaint alt mode. Honestly, I'm kind of glad that happened! I love how the new gunmetal paint looks. It's the same I used on Hot Rod, and I think it suits Lockdown a little better, actually!

For detailing, I painted the vent areas in a flat gunmetal, picked out the orange reflective pieces, and painted the silver outline of the headlights. I also painted the lamborghini logo on the hood like I did for Hot Rod, with a gold outline, black center, and a gold dot in the middle. The tires were painted in flat gunmetal, with gloss black for the center of the tire and orange for the ABS brakes. Lastly for the tires, I added a gold dot for the lamborghini logos. The most difficult part of alt mode was the taillights, which took several attempts and several different mixes of dark red to get looking right!







Paint used:

Testor's enamels:

- Gloss red
- Gloss tangerine
- Metallic silver
- Metallic copper
- Flat gunmetal
- Flat rust
- Extreme lacquer gunmetal (spray)

Acrylics:

- Decoart metallic emerald
- Decoart gloss shimmering silver
- Decoart emperor gold
- Decoart gloss yellow
- Decoart gloss orange (mixed w/ Testor's gloss red for robot mode ABS brakes)
- Folkart metallic blue sapphire (mixed with silver for headlights in robot mode)
- Folkart gloss black

Other:

- Krylon gloss coat

Got an update for you today that I've been working for a very long time on!

I've finally concluded my work on my SS-44 DOTM Optimus Prime, including the upgrade kit! Super happy with how it turned out, you can check it out from the link on page 1 or right below!

studio-series-ultimate-optimus-prime-ss-44-repaint-upgrades--t113978.php

Here's a couple of those pics here!

Got another update for you today, this time it's Jazz! Completely repainted him with a new more accurate base coat and reworked detailing! I'll put one pic here, you can check out the rest back on page 1!

With Jazz complete, I was able to get some pics of my custom 2007 Autobot cast just in time for the movie's 16th anniversary!

Got a couple updates for you!

First is DOTM Soundwave, who is sporting a new upgrade kit in addition to reworked paint! You can see him back on page 1:



And next is ROTB Bumblebee, spruced up with better reference pics from the movie. You can see him higher up on this page!



In addition to some smaller updates, I'm working on several all new customs, stay tuned!

63: SS-91 The Fallen

- Robot Mode -

The Fallen is really unlike any other custom I've done before. While the Fallen is mostly weathering work, the unique challenge with him was the glowing orange parts. The Fallen's insides glow orange/red, and his movement shifts different plates to reveal that glow. As a result, the sections that glow orange can vary from shot to shot. I added orange details in between armor plates and in locations that I found looking through HD screenshots.

Besides the glowing orange details, I spent a lor of time getting the base color right. I used various gunmetals and flat blacks to form a base coat (The Fallen's base color is actually slightly lighter than I thought), and used numerous weatherign techniques varying from washes to dry brushing (with silver, black, and some in metallic blue) to sponge brushing.

One of my favorite details that I was able to add is the glowing orange inside the arm appendages. Much like Fallen's on screen design, I limited the use of orange on the outside, but painted the inner parts of the mechanism that you only see when the panels are extended!










- Alt mode -

While Fallen's alt mode didn't appear in the movie, I did paint some of the details only visible in this mode:






Paint used:

Testor's enamels:

- Gloss red (mixed with gloss tangerine)
- Flat gunmetal

Acrylics:

- Craftsmart Gunmetal
- Decoart gloss shimmering silver
- Decoart emperor gold
- Decoart gloss orange
- Decoart flat black
- Folkart metallic blue sapphire
- Folkart gloss black

Other:
- Vallejo model wash