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You know what disappoints me the most about Kreons? Other than the fact that I have to wait another three weeks for new ones to come out?

Those little flak jackets.

I hate 'em. They are clearly not robot chassis, and they are an obvious bid to save money from tooling costs. Not only do they not look like robot torsos, they make all of the Kreons wearing them look like they are in a uniform.

Worse yet, it looks like half of the new Kreons are sporting them.

If Hasbro must do the vest thing, I'd like them to do something like this:



That's my attempt to create a Prowl-esque chest plate. I put together two versions, one with permanent doors and one with removable doors. The sans door version has a peg on the back.

I signed up just to post that I love the work you are doing and hope there is a way to buy some of this awesome soon

b00sted wrote:I signed up just to post that I love the work you are doing and hope there is a way to buy some of this awesome soon

That is extremely flattering of you to write. Thanks!

I also have a Hound vest and two Reflector vests (Reflector is a simple design) that I'll post shortly.

These are really easy to make in SketchUp (which you can download for free). I just have to bite the bullet and pay for some prototypes on Shapeways. You should give it a whirl!

dude, this came out great! Once you get one of these printed out and you know your measurements are good then the sky's the limit! Really awesome man

wulongti wrote:dude, this came out great! Once you get one of these printed out and you know your measurements are good then the sky's the limit! Really awesome man

Hey, thanks! I sent you a rash of e-mails when I was in a bit of a frenzy churning out these models...the renders in those e-mails are probably obsolete by now. I've been hollowing out some of the vests, and I stretched the neck port to 4.9 mm instead of 4.8. I'd rather the neck have a little give than be so tight that it breaks trying to fit in on.

In the meantime, I've also added vests for Brawn and Gears.

What dimensions do you recommend using for the little limbs (spruces, are they?) to attach these vests to one another for printing? I figure I can save a buck fifty if I try printing them in a batch.

I cant wait to see some of your test prints as I have no skill at that stuff but my god this has got me giddy lol

Tresob wrote:

wulongti wrote:dude, this came out great! Once you get one of these printed out and you know your measurements are good then the sky's the limit! Really awesome man

Hey, thanks! I sent you a rash of e-mails when I was in a bit of a frenzy churning out these models...the renders in those e-mails are probably obsolete by now. I've been hollowing out some of the vests, and I stretched the neck port to 4.9 mm instead of 4.8. I'd rather the neck have a little give than be so tight that it breaks trying to fit in on.

In the meantime, I've also added vests for Brawn and Gears.

What dimensions do you recommend using for the little limbs (spruces, are they?) to attach these vests to one another for printing? I figure I can save a buck fifty if I try printing them in a batch.

yeah, sorry I haven't responded. Currently fighting a cold :/ I've been keeping your emails as unread until I can respond properly. Stuff looks good though.

For attaching parts together, I place them about 2-3mm apart and connect them with a cylinder with a 0.5mm radius. These bits are the only thing I don't bother to make sure are properly hollowed and connected to the rest of the model parts. The less material you can use, the cheaper the print will be and I figure it's not fair to use a whole bunch of material on a frame that will just get tossed out.

I'll look around for my notes regarding the torso measurements for you.

b00sted wrote:I cant wait to see some of your test prints as I have no skill at that stuff but my god this has got me giddy lol

Well, they aren't test prints, but here are some more G1 vest models to whet your appetite...

Brawn, Gears, Reflector, and Hound:



I also have a Reflector sans lens, not pictured. Sunstreaker and some generic "car roof" vests to follow...

these look really good man! hmmn... to jump off of an idea you had for some of my stuff, you could create a vest that has a 4 peg array on the front and then you could design different panels for different characters to attach to it. Much like you could design character panels that attach to the parts I've already designed..

I could do the infrastructure and you can do the character specific panels XD

or not, just throwing out ideas lol

these guys are something completely new for me but once you guys got something out there I think I am going to end up in a dark dark place lol.


not sure if you guys are familiar with Glyos or in particular the Armovor but I been buying custom resin cast heads and having them painted up. http://www.littlerubberguys.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=129386&st=225&p=462336&#entry462336 so this just seems just as perfect for me! So thank you for all your work and cant wait to see all what both you come up with and can check some stuff out.


I do have a random noob question that I hope you dont mind me asking here, for the shapeways stuff that I see molded I see it comes out I guess the best way to describe it is fuzzy. is that normal? or is that just due to the type of plastic they are using? Sorry again to clog up your awesome post with such a stupid question

Hey, those are pretty cool Battle Beast customs (if that's what they are...)! Cooler looking than the new mini-mates versions, I'd say.

As for the fuzzies, I've never ordered anything from Shapeways, but my understanding is that the printing process renders the objects slightly pixellated. This seems to be a little more exaggerated on the full-color models. I'll probably be ordering my vests in solid white...which means I need to learn to paint.

BTW, I just uploaded my first set of vests...there are nine different designs, but I've thrown in a double of one of them.

Shapeways says they have passed the 3D model test...it remains to be seen whether they will pass the manual test.

b00sted, those "battle beast" looking dudes, look amazing

In answer to your question, the most common material used on shapeways and the best for toy stuff is WSF (White Strong Flexible) and it does have a... "fuzzy" quality to it. As part of the printing process it ends up having a gritty texture to it, unfortunately.

I have yet to try it myself but I hear tell that sealing the parts with future floor polish will give you a pretty smooth texture. lots of folks will also order parts in FUD (Frosted ultra detail) which does give a much smoother texture but the material isn't as strong. I haven't tried any of my parts in FUD so I don't know if the tight ball joints would crack the sockets or if it would be okay or not :/

Tresob wrote:Hey, those are pretty cool Battle Beast customs (if that's what they are...)! Cooler looking than the new mini-mates versions, I'd say.

As for the fuzzies, I've never ordered anything from Shapeways, but my understanding is that the printing process renders the objects slightly pixellated. This seems to be a little more exaggerated on the full-color models. I'll probably be ordering my vests in solid white...which means I need to learn to paint.

BTW, I just uploaded my first set of vests...there are nine different designs, but I've thrown in a double of one of them.

Shapeways says they have passed the 3D model test...it remains to be seen whether they will pass the manual test.

awesome man! Be sure to post a link to your shop once it's up and ready

yeah I will def check it out and the guy I have paint for me usually can work his magic. once something is up for sale I will take a crack at it.

Tresob, I'm digging all of these kreon add ons! I can't wait to see some Kreons wearing these, I too am disappointed with the generic vest-vests.

b00sted wrote:not sure if you guys are familiar with Glyos or in particular the Armovor but I been buying custom resin cast heads and having them painted up. http://www.littlerubberguys.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=129386&st=225&p=462336&#entry462336 so this just seems just as perfect for me! So thank you for all your work and cant wait to see all what both you come up with and can check some stuff out.

Nice paint jobs man! I don't collect glyos myself but the figures and what people do with them is brilliant!
Oh, and may I be one of the first to say:
Welcome to Seibertron!
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN NUTS!

Hey, guys!

I just placed an order for test runs on all of my pieces.

Eeveryone cross their fingers that my aim was true.

The vests, if they work, seemed pretty reasonably priced, actually.

The backpacks, on the other hand, well...I think Huffer might be a liability. His hood will probably have to be scaled down...unless, of course, it turns out that Huffer has some kind of cult following for whom price is no object.


Anyone feel like taking a gamble on untested, non-refundable prototypes?

Tresob wrote:Hey, guys!

I just placed an order for test runs on all of my pieces.

Eeveryone cross their fingers that my aim was true.

The vests, if they work, seemed pretty reasonably priced, actually.

The backpacks, on the other hand, well...I think Huffer might be a liability. His hood will probably have to be scaled down...unless, of course, it turns out that Huffer has some kind of cult following for whom price is no object.


Anyone feel like taking a gamble on untested, non-refundable prototypes?

I assume that your battle charger packs are kind up there too right? Shoot me an email w/ your latest model and I'll try hollowing it out for you. Then you should have some ideas on what might work on the other ones

Tresob wrote:Hey, guys!

I just placed an order for test runs on all of my pieces.

Eeveryone cross their fingers that my aim was true.

The vests, if they work, seemed pretty reasonably priced, actually.

The backpacks, on the other hand, well...I think Huffer might be a liability. His hood will probably have to be scaled down...unless, of course, it turns out that Huffer has some kind of cult following for whom price is no object.


Anyone feel like taking a gamble on untested, non-refundable prototypes?

Sounds good to me

Shoot me a PM

Dough-bot wrote:

Tresob wrote:Hey, guys!

I just placed an order for test runs on all of my pieces.

Eeveryone cross their fingers that my aim was true.

The vests, if they work, seemed pretty reasonably priced, actually.

The backpacks, on the other hand, well...I think Huffer might be a liability. His hood will probably have to be scaled down...unless, of course, it turns out that Huffer has some kind of cult following for whom price is no object.


Anyone feel like taking a gamble on untested, non-refundable prototypes?

Sounds good to me

Shoot me a PM

Hey, thanks for your vote of confidence! I just received my first batch in the mail, and I'm making some revisions. The pegs on the back of the vest are little too small, and some of the vests have a "bare midriff" look that is a little too immodest...I'll let you know as soon as the new version is up on Shapeways.

You'll have to let me know about the Huffer part as well
I can see that being very, very useful!

Dough-bot wrote:You'll have to let me know about the Huffer part as well
I can see that being very, very useful!

The Huffer hood actually worked really well (in my opinion)...the neck attachment is a little more snug than I'd like, but it fit without breaking.

I'll get some pics up shortly.

Dough-bot wrote:

Tresob wrote:Hey, guys!

I just placed an order for test runs on all of my pieces.

Eeveryone cross their fingers that my aim was true.

The vests, if they work, seemed pretty reasonably priced, actually.

The backpacks, on the other hand, well...I think Huffer might be a liability. His hood will probably have to be scaled down...unless, of course, it turns out that Huffer has some kind of cult following for whom price is no object.


Anyone feel like taking a gamble on untested, non-refundable prototypes?

Sounds good to me

Shoot me a PM

PM sent!

Here are the models for some new vests: Kup, Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod/Rodimus, and Blurr:



I'm very suspicious of Hot Rod's flames. The edges slim down under the 2mm minimum that Shapeways says it needs for details.

I'm not quite satisfied with Kup's vest just yet. It would probably be more convincing in color.

Ultra Magnus is a piece of cake to build using the cartoon version as a model...I might have gotten carried away making it project out too far, but the higher contrast pieces seem to come out better.

Minimum is actually 0.7mm for wall thickness. You can dip below that for surface details I think but they probably won't print too well.

The new designs look great, I think the higher contrast relief of these designs will print nicely