The Energon Pub

News Credits: 1 · by **TFmaster** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:47 pm

I have to keep looking back at this thread...I'm really amazed with how great it's comming along.

I can't wait to see more.

TFM

by **Greyryder** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:31 pm

Thanks guys. Yup, LOC Starscream hips. I'd forgotten that I even had an LOC Screamer, let alone two of them. I'd always meant for the second one to be kitbash fodder, but never got around to it. Now, he's Wheeljack parts. I'll probably swipe his lower arms, too.

The swing around hips is an idea I ripped off Cybertron Shortround and Armorhide. I was going to make it swing out the back, but I realized that if I made it swing out the front, I'd have an excuse to give it a hinged roof, like the original toy.

The catgirl thing was reffering to Hobbyist Prime telling me I should make a signature out of Minijack. My sig has an angry catgirl, she's the lead character of my comic. (Strangely enough, I'm not a big furry fan.)

by **REDLINE** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:13 pm

Asphalt wrote:off topic, soundwarp did you make the custom in your sig or is it a digibash?
and on topic, its lookin good any more in progress?

Actually, its both :lol:

I made it, its a digibash from some photos I took of my Alternators Shockwave, a wallpaper of a fireball that I have, and a picture of Dio's custom MP Soundwave that he made from an MP-01 Convoy (used with his permission of course).

Grey: damnit that thing is starting to look really sexy! good thing I don't know where you live

by **Greyryder** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:31 pm

REDLINE wrote:Grey: damnit that thing is starting to look really sexy! good thing I don't know where you live

*goes to get a restraining order*

I just found out it has enough ankle articulation to do Pat Lee style squat poses. Not sure if that's good or bad....

by **REDLINE** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 12:15 am

Greyryder wrote:
REDLINE wrote:Grey: damnit that thing is starting to look really sexy! good thing I don't know where you live

*goes to get a restraining order*

I just found out it has enough ankle articulation to do Pat Lee style squat poses. Not sure if that's good or bad....

:lol that depends on whether or not it has to "go"

by **Ramrider** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 5:27 pm

This is fantastic. I'm curious about how you're planning the transformation, though. How will the hip get from where they are in vehicle mode (near the shoulders, if I'm reading it right) to their robot mode position, without the chest and back getting in the way?

by **Greyryder** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 6:03 pm

I'm going to hinge the top of the car, just like the G1 toy was. That'll give me all the clearance I need to get the hips pulled out.

by **Ramrider** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 6:28 pm

Ah, right - I can picture it now. Nice.

by **Jestermon** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 10:41 pm

Ya, I used to have dreams about toys I got then did not have, also the thing about toys that never existed, this looks fantastic though.

The wheel is pretty detailed for such a small scale. This looks like what I tried to think of doing with Spychangers, not Spychngers with added joints but Spychanger sized Alternators, thought about it after seeing autolooper or whatever.

by **Greyryder** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:34 am

Minor setback. I had the angles for the front of the car kind of screwed up, and it was causing a vertically compressed profile for the car mode. I noticed it, drawing out the contours I'd need to cut, for the rear fender flares. The good news is that I've been able to fix it, with little more than a wedge of plastic, in each foot. It also introduces the proper angles in the tops of the front fenders.

I'm probably going to have to completely redo the side panels I just built for the main torso, though.

by **REDLINE** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 3:22 am

hey, at least it wasn't a really tough fix, right?

by **piranacon** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 3:32 am

does look awsome, id love to see this done with a g1 bumblebee

by **Greyryder** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 11:16 pm

Bumbebee was a dork. Now Brawn, on the other hand....

Anyway. Got the sides built back up. I'll most likely be building up the front swell of the rear fender flares, next. I've also got tabs in place to help hold the font of the car in place.

by **Tramp** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 11:37 pm

Hey! Bumblebee is one of my favorite characters

by **Pun-3X** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 11:55 am

I was already impressed with how great the FEET looked as the front ends of the car. I'm REALLY anticipating the rest of this project!

by **Flashback77** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 12:03 pm

Holy crap this is coming along famously. Those feet/front end look spot-on, almost factory made. I'm really excited to see the rest of this! Hopefully Hasbro sees this and decides to do a Classic WJ!

by **Greyryder** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 5:22 pm

Actually, the angles for the front of the car are all wrong. The nose of the real Lancia Stratos Turbo is a little flatter than that. The diffuser should also stick out further forward. I'm leavig it the way it is. It probably wouldn't take much to fix it, but I like the way it looks. Kind of stylized.

The shoulder joints are kicking my ass. I thought I knew how I wanted to build them. But, there's not as much space as I was thinking, and the rear wheels sit closer to the doors than I thought. I spent most of Friday night trying to figure out how to build the shoulders, and didn't really come up with anything viable. I didn't work on it at all, last night. I just watched Star Wars, and tried to relax. It helped. I think I've got something figured out, now. I hope....

by **TM Valandar** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:37 am

This is looking AWESOME. I assume it'll be about LoC size or maybe a HAIR larger, considering the 'thigh donor'?

by **Greyryder** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:55 pm

It's actually quite a bit larger than an LOC. It's looking to end up about the same height as the original Wheeljack toy, even though the car mode will be smaller. Puts him somewhere between basic and deluxe sizes.

by **Greyryder** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 5:11 am

EUREKA!

Those damn shoulders have been bothering me all week. I do believe I finally have something that will work well, in the available space.

Why am I working on this **** at six in the morning? I haven't even been to bed, yet. :shock:

by **Hobbyist Prime** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 8:20 pm

Welcome to the wonderful world of scratchbuilding/insomnia!!!!! :lol:

by **Greyryder** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 11:26 pm

Thanks. I think....

*sigh* Yet another shoulder idea, that won't work. On to plan... uh Q7.

by **keeblezak** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 4:14 pm

how about you have a L shaped piece of plastic with a ball joint on the end which rotates down for transformation. like have the joint on the long side of the L and it rotates at the bend. just an idea

by **Greyryder** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 6:35 pm

Thanks. I think I might already have something that will work. I just have to get around to building the upper part of the arm, too see if it'll work.

I've been playing video games, lately. Sometimes I just need to step away from a project, for a while.