The Energon Pub

All done with this one!

The head is from Scuplt-Bots new series!

I really liked the way the Alt mode came out! But the Bot mode seems to be lacking something. Probably the lack of a red main boddy. The reasons I didn't paint the hood red or add any red strips, etc. to the alt mode is that I liked the way the blue came out.

The decals didn't work as well as I'd hope. They look black in the pics but up close their a dark red. Problems with using clear decal paper.









And a comparision shots with Prime.





"Who's a Mini-Bot NOW Prime!"

Wow.

That color DID come out nicely. And everything looks so seemless. As for the red in bot mode, you did what you could with it. The red that's there breaks things up well enough. I think it works fine.

And I see you got rid of that nasty shoulder kibble by simply not having it in truck mode. I love the front underbelly you designed. This is some kick-ass stuff!

I think you mean "Who's a Mini-Bot NOW Prime!"

Yea, this guy is most large! I love him. One question, where do the seats go?

jimsloth wrote:I think you mean "Who's a Mini-Bot NOW Prime!"

Yea, this guy is most large! I love him. One question, where do the seats go?

Fixed!

I did the seat trick where you glue them to the center console. I also had to hollow out under the seats in order to make room for the front tires in bot mode.

Hadn't heard that mod yet, sweet. Haven't gotten one of this mold yet to toy with, but just from the pictures the seats were really bugging me, and the solution of taking them off and putting them somewhere else every time you transform him just wasn't making me very happy.

Nice! I love all the little details.... like the bars and the skid plate....and your leg mod looks slick, was it hard to do?

"What did you do to Gears, you monster? You made hime nice!"

I want one of those. That's great beyond words. I love that roll cage.

You can redden up the decals, by printing out a second set, and applying them directly over the first ones. I've done it before. It works surprisingly well.

If you want to try to fix that little bit of silvering I see under the clear parts of the decals, you can peel them part way up, and brush some Future under them. Another modelling trick I've tried, myself.

Wow, another awsome custom! We're not worthy! We're not worthy! That vehicle mode would make for a great alternate mode for a dessert warrior like snarl.

Nice - that works really well. While I must admit I wouldn't have pictured Gears as a racing truck, he's definitely got a nice solid feel to him. I love the leg mod to make him more G1, along with all the other mods that set him apart from the Prime mould, and I agree that the lack of a red torso doesn't detract from how great it is - while all blue (which is gorgeous, by the way) would have worked out dull, I think there's enough red on him as is to keep the colourscheme interesting.

I think the only thing I'm not sold on, to be honest, is the head. I'm not sure if it's the sculptjob or the arrangement of colours (maybe more red on the helmet would help?), but it just doesn't look quite right to me. Or maybe it's just because it looks too much like the 'toon face for my liking, and I never liked Gears' 'toon face, being a 'toys first' kinda guy.

Looks great.

plowking wrote:Nice! I love all the little details.... like the bars and the skid plate....and your leg mod looks slick, was it hard to do?

For the legs, I scratchbuilt the lower legs below the knee and added a slot that a pin rides in. For transformation, the legs pull out from the back of the cab, rotate over, and pin into the bed. Pretty much exactly like G1. The only problem is that the legs sit farther forward in bot mode therefore the center of gravity is a little off. I had to add heel extenders in order for him to stand upright.

Ramrider wrote:I think the only thing I'm not sold on, to be honest, is the head. I'm not sure if it's the sculptjob or the arrangement of colours (maybe more red on the helmet would help?), but it just doesn't look quite right to me. Or maybe it's just because it looks too much like the 'toon face for my liking, and I never liked Gears' 'toon face, being a 'toys first' kinda guy.

I agree that the head seems a little off as well. Looking at it again, painting the forehead red could make it look a little better.

But in the same note, to me, Gears was always a grumpy old Autobot. I kind of understand why they made him have a half bald look in the toon.

I really like the blue on this as well! For this one I tried out Krylon's X Metals. Consisting of a silverish base coat and a transparent color coat. I ended up not using the Krylon base add opted to use a silver polycarbonate base. It's the same color as the legs.

The X Metals is actually pretty durable! Haven't had any chipping problems yet. I'm starting to believe that Fusion isn't the best thing out there.

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

Forgot to add this pic!



YEE HAA!

fan freakin' tastic
in a very good way

nice job

Thats awesome! I could never have imagined that.

Super amazing work there Lobo

Neat work, you keep on turning out these wonderfull bashes and
scratchbuilts, unbelievably good.

Incredible work

Dear sweet Jebas is that ever cool. I had my doubts when you first started this as to whether or not all the add ons would work in bot mode but you shot down all my doubts and then blew me away on top of it!!!!!

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

You know, after TFM announced his 3rd BotCon project, I decided to do this project. I even told Lisa with MasterCollector that I was bringing 2 projects.

Sooooooo, should I bring this to BotCon along with Megs? Or I have another idea for an Alt custom that no one has seen. I should be able toy get it done in time. I really just want to get one of my Alt customs in front of Hasbro. What do you think?

If you think you can possibly top Gears (as if), then by all means get your best of the best if you want Hasbro to take notice! And if that means that you just so happen to make another killer bot to display on the forum well then so be it!

so are you saying you can't do three for the contest?

and on a completely different note, is the extra tire a weapon, in his chest cavity, or is it hidden in trailerland?

Lobo you bitch, you're making me fall in love with your customs! I'm not supposed to be so excited about Alternators customs! Damn Gears is beautiful!

Devastator wrote:Lobo you bitch, you're making me fall in love with you

hehe im a jerk.... now stop fighting boys and play nice..

on a good note.

this is one of my fav alt customs EVER.. awesome job sir!

That's positively stunning. Does that rear-mounted wheel go anywhere in robot mode that I'm not seeing? And how on earth did you create that head? If Hasbro notices you, looks like we'll all be in for some great toys. Funny how Gears of all people ends up the toughest looking Alt custom around!

LOBO, THAT IS SIMPLY STUNNING.