TFA Cliffjumper, Glyph and Tap-Out
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:16 pmBumblebee sure has a popular chassis!
Let me start by saying that this is a beastly little mold. It has a ridiculous number of screws for its size, everything scrapes against something and there are hidden pins and glue all over the place. I could tell you I used the Elite Guard Bumblebee retool because of the improved stingers, but honestly they were on clearance at Big Bad Toystore. In retrospect, it probably would have been easier to paint over the yellow version.
Looking at reference material, I realized that Bumblebee didn't get his signature asymmetrical black stripe until he got his Earth-mode. Since I was stuck doing Earth-mode versions of these guys anyway, I decided to take some liberties with their paint jobs to spice them up. Cliffjumper is painted to match my family's Mini Cooper S. Glyph's stripe is just a popular design, seen on cars like the one driven by Starsky and Hutch. Tap-Out's white stripe is a nod to the titular vehicle in the Clint Eastwood film 'Gran Torino'.
The heads were obviously the toughest part, and my success was mixed. Glyph was the roughest go, with an early mishap with what turned out to be some really lousy primer. I think Tap-Out turned out the best of the three, but I'm reasonably pleased with them all.
Let me start by saying that this is a beastly little mold. It has a ridiculous number of screws for its size, everything scrapes against something and there are hidden pins and glue all over the place. I could tell you I used the Elite Guard Bumblebee retool because of the improved stingers, but honestly they were on clearance at Big Bad Toystore. In retrospect, it probably would have been easier to paint over the yellow version.
Looking at reference material, I realized that Bumblebee didn't get his signature asymmetrical black stripe until he got his Earth-mode. Since I was stuck doing Earth-mode versions of these guys anyway, I decided to take some liberties with their paint jobs to spice them up. Cliffjumper is painted to match my family's Mini Cooper S. Glyph's stripe is just a popular design, seen on cars like the one driven by Starsky and Hutch. Tap-Out's white stripe is a nod to the titular vehicle in the Clint Eastwood film 'Gran Torino'.
The heads were obviously the toughest part, and my success was mixed. Glyph was the roughest go, with an early mishap with what turned out to be some really lousy primer. I think Tap-Out turned out the best of the three, but I'm reasonably pleased with them all.
