The Energon Pub

[Jones]

I was skeptical on the whole 'Beast Hunters' shift for TF:Prime, but the last two episodes with Predaking (especially when he completely stomped Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack) have totally convinced me of it's awesomeness. So, the time came to update my Voyager Predaking according to his appearance in the show.

Voyager Predaking? Nice mold, but too much orange, not enough black. Also - I've seen every episode with Predaking in it, and have yet to see any gold paint on him, so the gold went away.

Problem solved.

First, a side-by-side with the original deco:



And some larger shots of the final product:








What do you think? Nice? Or no?

[smokimus]

Great job! It looks fantastic! I think you pretty much nailed it in terms of show color accuracy
I have been planning on doing a custom paint job as well, and the way you've done yours is pretty much how I imagined it to be. Got to ask you (I've never tried painting a figure before) how did you prep the surface of the areas before you applied the paint? And did you hand brush it or take it apart and air brush?

[KnightStrike]

Nicely done! He looks so much better primarily black instead of orange.

[Jones]

Great job! It looks fantastic! I think you pretty much nailed it in terms of show color accuracy
I have been planning on doing a custom paint job as well, and the way you've done yours is pretty much how I imagined it to be. Got to ask you (I've never tried painting a figure before) how did you prep the surface of the areas before you applied the paint? And did you hand brush it or take it apart and air brush?

Thanks! I'm really happy with how this guy turned out.

As for your Q's - I really didn't prep the surfaces at all. Never really felt the need to, and so far, I haven't had any issues with any figures I've painted as far as paint adhesion.

For this guy, I used Tamiya acrylics (the little pots), straight from the pot with no thinning. Sometimes I'll thin it a bit, but not always. I used semi-gloss black to match the finish of the black plastic, flat aluminum for all his silver bits, gloss yellow for his eyes & chest highlights, and a custom-mix of gloss orange and gloss red to achieve the right shade for the rest of his orange bits.

And yes, I do hand-paint all my work. Haven't yet broken down and invested in an airbrush, though I feel that the time might be coming soon.

[Jones]

Nicely done! He looks so much better primarily black instead of orange.

Thanks! After seeing his appearance in the show, it really makes you wonder who picks the colors for the actual toys.

Even as a kid, I didn't want some overly fancy, gimmicky toy for my Transformers. I always wanted them to be the same look & style as the characters as I watched on the show every week. Even the weapons, too. I don't care about fancy launchers, spring loaded stuff, or glowing lights. Just give me a nicely sculpted gun like what the characters have on the show. But I digress...