The Energon Pub

I've done a few customs here and there, but this one has got to be my most elaborate one yet, so I figured I'd show it off here.

I gave up on finding an Earthrise Runabout for a reasonable price, so I did the next best thing. I ordered a second Runamuck and made one myself.


Taking him apart was fairly easy, as I didn't need to remove any pins, only mushroom swivels to isolate the limbs and head so they could all be spray painted. It was my first time spray painting a Transformer, but I knew that the best way to ensure the new colour stuck. I taped over the mushroom joints themselves so that they would still fit in their respective sockets; they don't clash since they aren't very visible anyway, and this way the joints are still functional and won't be ruined when put in use.





I wanted to hand-paint the torso to preserve the translucent plastic on the windows to retain the clear red effect of the real release. I removed the original paint by dropping it in a cup of alcohol. Unfortunately, the over-exposure weakened the pin casings, and those had to be repaired (lots of glue and a hand-held drill). But that was the only bump in the process.

After bewildering myself at the sight of a totally unpainted piece of Transformer toy, I painted the roof and rear end of the outside, then painted the underside of the windows red so that they would still appear translucent but with Runabout's distinct colour scheme.





After a couple of coats, I added the red stripe using duct tape to keep my lines straight. I then coated the whole thing in a sealer to further mitigate scratching.

The only other thing I did was paint the hubcaps red. they're technically supposed to be grey, but I think it works just as well. I added some grey paint to the face, and that was it!
The only thing left to do was to put the pieces back together. I probably should have removed the paint from the limbs too before I spray painted them, as the vehicle mode has some trouble staying together, but Runamuck has trouble staying together in vehicle mode anyways, so it's not too big a deal. Besides, the robot mode is where it's at, and I'm really proud of how it came out. It's only missing a Decepticon Insignia, but I'm sure I can do reprolabels for that. Do I care that I lack the retooled head and second gun of the actual Runabout release? Not really. The extra work was more than worth it to save up to eighty dollars according to the current Ebay listings for a simple extra accessory. And besides, I enjoyed the process, and am very happy with the result.







I'm at college now, but maybe when I go back home next I'll document some of other customs.

Another custom I finished recently; RID 2015 Jazz!
I like this figure, but like many from the RID 2015 line, he was lacking a substantial amount of detail compared to the show model. So I decided to spruce him up.

If you've seen the original, then you know how little paint applications he has. He was almost entirely unpainted white. The stripes don't go all the way down the car, the red and blue aren't very prominent, and he features almost none of the black that the show model possesses.


Compared to this...


So took a brush to him. I filled in the sculpted but empty back window, the front bumper, his shoulders, legs, anywhere that needed black, the vents with the small lights, and completed the stripes. Even though I liked the shade of blue on the original, I couldn't match it, so I just used what I had. It's darker, but no big deal. I think he looks much better now.

Another custom I did during the early days of the lockdown in 2020 - Titans Return Getaway!

I was lucky enough to find a Getaway (or Breakaway) in-person in late 2017 (in Toys-R-Us, of all places, RIP). I liked having a representation of the character, but felt his colours were a little lacking compared to his fictional appearances.





At first I thought I'd just darken his helmet. That led to me picking out his eyes, and adding some detail to the titan master as well. Then I decided to add some blue to the arms, like the IDW character model, and the next thing I knew I was overhauling the toy's deco.

It's not a direct translation because the toy is based on a different design, but I think I was able to give it much more of a "Getaway" feel than the sparse and somewhat generic deco the original had.





I didn't really add much to the vehicle mode besides picking out the headlights.




I didn't actually have a blue paint that matched the toy's plastic, I got the colour by mixing and somehow managed to come up with virtually identical shade. The blue is heavily coated in sealer because if it scratches, I don't know if I'll be able to get the right shade again!

Damn, all of these are insane! Mad props to you for pulling them off!

Tigerhawk7109 wrote:Damn, all of these are insane! Mad props to you for pulling them off!

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

Nice work, especially on Getaway; you've gotten him pretty close to the look for a redeco'd Shadowplay Chromedome. About the only thing more you could do is painting the rear windshield (or at least, the slats that sorta-approximate one) red.

For Runabout... You might be able to get a junker Cybertron Runamuck (who is actually Runabout-based in deco and head, but Runabout didn't clear legal in the US at the time) and use the head off that. At least, if it wasn't too big.

Before there was Studio Series 86 Gnaw, there was... Cyberverse Gnaw!




When the Quintesson Judge and Allicon were revealed for Earthrise in early 2020, I knew I had to complete the trio somehow, but the Titans Return Gnaw was long sold out and I couldn't have anticipated future versions anytime soon. Available at that time was the Cyberverse version, which, despite limited posability, looked the part and fit in scale. But he was certainly bland. So, I took a brush to him.



I filled in some of the molded detail that matched the G1 animation model but were uncoloured. I couldn't really match the blue plastic for the beast mode feet, but It doesn't bother me that much anymore.







I was only slightly offended when SS86 Gnaw was revealed last year, but considering for how much cheaper I got this one for, I can't really complain. He looks great with the rest of the Quints!

So almost fifteen years ago, when my uncle was moving house, we found some of his original G1 Transformers in the attic. Among them was the remains of Megatron, missing his accessories, right arm, and with his chest snapped at the joint. While he sold most of the other figures elsewhere, my uncle passed Megatron off to me.

He has been sitting around since then in the same sad condition, except at some point I fixed his waist. But recently I have been in a mood to fill old holes in my collection. It's also been about a year since I sourced the parts to complete my G1 Metroplex. So it felt right to start the year doing the same thing with Megatron.



A G1 Megatron's right arm is challengingly rare on Ebay, but I finally found the arm and the cannon mount separately. I dug through the toolbox and found a screw that fit, and reunited the pieces.





Megatron's arm must have had a universal weak point, because the breakage on the new arm corresponded to the breakage on the remnant I had almost perfectly.



It was only a matter of scraping the cavity out to allow the two pieces to fit together more exactly. Then it was a solid serving of superglue to conjoin them.





After few tolerance tests, Megatron is now ambidextrous once more! I'll get him his fusion cannon and other accessories a little later since I've got other things to buy at the moment, but it's nice to have an unbroken base figure. It especially helps the gun mode, though I haven't taken any photos of that *just in case*.

Rebuilding Megatron sounds like a satisfying but difficult project. Much luck on that front.

The cyberverse Gnaw is a nice figure.
I've doctored up a Studio Series one myself.. but
I do have the Cyberverse version and find it fun too.

DISCHARGE wrote:Rebuilding Megatron sounds like a satisfying but difficult project. Much luck on that front.

The cyberverse Gnaw is a nice figure.
I've doctored up a Studio Series one myself.. but
I do have the Cyberverse version and find it fun too.

Thanks, it definitely feels good to see him like this after all this time!

I have not been collecting one step changers, but Wheeljack is one of my favourite characters. When I found his Cyberverse one step toy was on discount, I decided a little novelty like that wouldn't hurt.





He's a fun little figure. The transformation is fun and the way the missile blasts out but doesn't fire is a pretty ingenious way of retaining the gimmick without risking a losable piece. Of course, as a simplified figure, he was also lacking in some colour when compared to the show model.




Yet, conveniently enough, much of the detail was sculpted in. I needed a project, so Wheeljack got a repaint.







It was more work than I anticipated, surprisingly enough, but still worth it. At least now what he lacks in functionality he makes up for in appearance! The gray on the head crests especially help him look more recognizably like a Wheeljack.

Weirdly, in the animation, his vehicle mode Autobot sigil is on his roof in that white section, but on the toy the insignia is right above the front bumper, preventing the stripes from reaching down all the way across the hood like in the show. I didn't want to erase the sigil that was already there, so I did what I could to compromise. It doesn't seem to be for robot mode visibility since he has a separate insignia in robot mode. Odd that it was moved since every other detail included was accurate.

Part two of my G1 Megatron restoration project. I ordered a new set of stickers from Toyhax, but before I applied them I wanted to try to address the deteriorated paint. His chest and arms ought to be a silver chrome to give off that metal look, but mine had faded to where they were mostly the bare gray plastic.

I disassembled the parts in question and got some Rustoleum chrome spray paint (That ring is the collar piece for my G1 Galvatron, figured I might as well spruce that up too). Took a few days to do all the coats due to inconsistent weather, which involved removing them a few times before fully dry. This may have interfered with the process a little, but ultimately the final results are more a more unified and cohesive looking robot mode. The paint is not as reflective as I'd have liked it to be, but I'll live.

The reprolabels mostly compensate for the reflectiveness on the chest and otherwise vitalize the figure. I got 3D printed replica parts for Megatron's cannon and other pieces from Destron Designs, and voila! A practically complete G1 Megatron. I'm very pleased to finally have this checked off the bucket list, as I am well aware how rare this figure is and will continue to become in the future.

Not so much a custom, this time, but certainly a project.

I picked up a G1 Sureshot recently. The boy has seen some action! Poor guy was coated in grime. Luckily, having had to do similar with my G1 Kup a while back, I knew what to do to clean him up.






I simply took some rubbing alcohol and some cotton swabs and rubbed out the gunk. Of course, I avoided running the alcohol over the painted sections, merely using water to clear off the windshield and face. Running water also helped clear out the crevasses that the cotton swabs couldn't fit into. I couldn't do much for the stickers, but I can always give him the ol' Toyhax treatment




And there we are! Nothing like a nice bath. Now he's refreshed and ready to meet up with the crew!

Restoring a G1 figure is a bit of a joyful experience isn't it?

Burn wrote:Restoring a G1 figure is a bit of a joyful experience isn't it?

Yes indeed! It's been a while since I did anything like this. Perhaps I'll find myself another project soon.