Already made my own version of Hot Rod's Targetmaster buddy Firebolt and now I've been working on using the awesome Springer mold to create Hot Rod himself (and in a different way to the Cloud version) which is a big project for me and much more out of my comfort zone than a simple lil repaint but it's feeling quite rewarding so far. I've gone for a slightly darker, slightly magenta (well it looks purpley magenta in daytime and maroon under night lighting for some reason which is kinda cool). Have trimmed lil bits off his head to make the general shape look a smidge more Hot Rod than Springer. Also I am ditching the chopper mode for Hot Rod as it really wasn't ever a thing of his and I wanted to slice the arm fins off and attach his traditional pipes (seen here using those from Clocker...currently attached with blu-tack for now just to get the idea). Got lucky with some random parts this past weekend at a car boot sale too. Found a Power Rangers wing accessory that I sliced up a lot then stuck various bits back together and painted yellow to make his spoiler (you can't see the rest of it on his back here, which attachs to the rotor blade hole of the car/chopper mode) and I found a military humvee thing toy which has a suitable engine block even with a round section in middle that looks enough like G1 Hot Rod's block and after doing some slicing and painting it's ready to go on later and Firebolt (or other 5mm post weapons can fit on it much like the original toys). Also I been sanding down the hood so it's flatter for when I paint the traditional chest flames and stick the Autobot sticker on it. =)
My general idea is that in a splinter Marvel UK time-line Hot Rod perhaps never became a Prime and instead he and Firebolt joined with Springer and Sandstorm to form the first squad of the new Wreckers. All three got themselves upgraded to the same basic body model but with their own characteristics. Hot Rod choosing not to have a third aircraft-based mode due to not feeling all that comfortable in the sky (the wide open road's his home). His new maturity and sense of responisbility that comes with his age means he no longer feels like the care-free Hot Rod and changes his name to Rodimus in honour of Optimus whom he (like many Autobots) looks up to.
Yeah I suck at the fan-fictions. It's basically a fanon thing to try give myself some structure to my own personal choices when collecting Transformers (generally a mixture dual-universe thing of Marvel UK and the movies) and explain why these three have similar bodies.
Anyways here are the three previously mentioned Transformers together. I just got Sandstorm today, the backpack ain't as bad in person as I thought it would be. He's pretty cool.
Still to do:
- I want to find some side-fins for the spoiler, possibly off a toy drag racing car.
- Gluing the engine on the hood (the part which ends up on his back under the canopy, does mean the canopy doesn't sit flush on his back but it's really not far off it).
- Making the Clocker pipes fix on properly in a way that they can also be attached to the lil bits on the shoulderpanels so they end up on the lower sides of the car mode.
- I've ideas about giving him different hood sides to Springer (which is why they're currently removed here) and still working on that.
- Drawing and cutting out a stencil to paint his chest flames cleanly and also on the hood sides so it curls up each side of the engine block.
- Slicing down the knees (since he has no use for landing gear) and perhaps finding some alternative pieces to had more suitable 'kneepads'.
- Some more painted details in places and apply Autobot insignia on chest flames.
- General tidying up.
In case interested, the starry backdrop comes from the Doctor Who - Eleven Doctors boxset. I think it compliments the colours of these guys nicely.
Me hope you like. I should have it finished during June if all goes well. I'm regularly going to a car boot sale in the next town every couple of weeks to find parts (and bargains) so I'm hoping for the best.
