The Energon Pub

[TM2 Dinobot]

Polaris, in some form or another, has been sitting on my work bench for years. For YEARS. Like, we're pushing longest time ever. I think she even beat GIJ/TF Meganok, and with him I was just being lazy. I could not figure out Polaris. She was just impossible. I mean, how do you take this:



And turn it into this?



You can't! Will sexified it so much, and made a terrible mold good, that it just melts your heart and confuses your brain. And for a costomizer? ooooohohoho. Let's take a look at my 4 attempts, shall we?

Attempt #1: Pre-attempt, I just repurposed a Universe Treadshot. That didn't last very long. So I came up with a way to customize it. Polaris needed her hood on her upper arms. This version was kinda cool because the hood could still flip down for battle mode. Added some Eneron Strongarm arms, but the legs were never right.



Attempt #2: I actually didn't get any pics of this one. I repainted an Animated Arcee and added Treadshot's head. It actually worked, but not as "classic" Polaris. I sent to it Beamer as a present, maybe he can post pics if he ever took any.

Attempt #3: Still gnawing away at the Arcee/Treadshot bone. This was... abysmal. It just... It doesn't work! You see the issues here. I tried to use the Arcee torso and calves, but the hips aren't wide enough. I wanted the legs to slide in like a Seeker, but the sliding mechanism just wouldn't couldn't pull it off. The shoulders were giving me fits as well, and unlike attempt #1 that had kinda this cool flip down thing going, this one wasn't having any of that. It just... this thing is a mess.




So Will and I are talking one night, just shooting the breeze, and he goes "Hey, have you seen that TFPrime Rumble? The transformation looks almost like Polaris." And I'm like "!" and pull it up real quick. Cause I'd seen that ugly chest-faced bugger and wrote him off. But I knew there was a Japanese version. In red. So I start looking at it, and really studying it. And you know what? It worked. It actually worked. So I ordered 2 from AmiAmi, and $30 later I have them sitting in my room. I swear that box wasn't open 2 mins before he was unscrewed and chopped up. First thing was I needed to get rid of that ugly torso. As some of you may know, I am completely hung up on Animated Arcee. I love that figure. So I had to use her body. The arms and the legs were fine, but didn't connect right. So I drilled out Frenzy's shoulder ports and screwed them onto Arcee. Then I glued and screwed in his hips to give her a wider stance and proper transformation. The height was perfect, the width was perfect. it was amazing. A quick pin and joint job later and she had new arms. The only thing left were the side panels. I liked them, I didn't object to them, but I couldn't figure out a rotation that allowed for storage and transformation. So I fudged just a little. The panels connect from the 5mm holes by the "gas cap" to the screw holed in Arcee's back. I just used some Lego pegs.

And that was it. She looks good. She transforms. I can't believe I actually have a transforming Polaris. I think this is the first time I've be the first time I've been more excited by an alt mode. Some of her proportions are off, like her shoulders are too wide, but I DON"T CARE! I LOVE IT! So, after pushing a decade in development, Polaris can finally be put to rest. Phew. Although, now she needs a tool box and a bigass wrench...









EDIT: As per someone's suggestion, I reversed her feet, so now she had G1 block toes as opposed to those Prime pointy ones. No new pics though.

[Grahf_]

Nice job overall. It seems that you're very happy with how she turned out and that you consider the quest over but did you reconsider when you seen the newly announced Generations Skids? When I look at the FIRRIB you used and how it turned out it kinda reminded me of Skids.

The chest is all wrong and can't be changed but the alt mode and how Skids has what looks to be the necessary car kibble on his arms it might actually work. Plus it's a CHUG figure and some people are just overly picky with their collections and customs and how they need to have a certain aesthetic which Skids would fit better than FIRRIB.

However your final attempt is a really good one and I like how you worked in the Animated Arcee's chest and arms. Personally though I think the white paint could use a rework. The red looks fine enough but the white looks a little tacky.

[TM2 Dinobot]

Aye, the white could use another coat of primer, the longer I stare at it the less happy I am. I'll touch it up... Some day.

Thanks for the kinds words!