Beelzeboss "Growing Pains" Goldbug Upgrade Set In-Hand Images

Wow, 7+months worth the wait, Nice one El Duque, I really like the look of this build, the sculpt and the guns are Solid, and the Guns really fit the bill, At first glance I thought the colour was off, then realised it's made of a slightly translucent shiny plastic that gives it a kind of metallic effect under certain light, I like that a lot. Big respect to Beelzeboss for another good quality upgrade.

Really hoping that I find this set and a United Goldbug at Cybertron Con. They look great together.

I gave in and bought it. But my Renderform version will stay on Goldbug and this version will be used for Chase.

Rated X wrote:I gave in and bought it. But my Renderform version will stay on Goldbug and this version will be used for Chase.

Great idea. Glad I've got a spare Classics Cliffjumper!

So, I'm liking these goldbug upgrades (this and Venksta's), but only have a spare Classics BB. Is there any reason everyone uses Unite; is Classics not compatible with the head molds?

beastorm wrote:So, I'm liking these goldbug upgrades (this and Venksta's), but only have a spare Classics BB. Is there any reason everyone uses Unite; is Classics not compatible with the head molds?

Yes classics is compatible since it's the same toy. Everyone is using United Bee for Goldbug is that because he is actually shiny gold color.

Shin_hibiki wrote:

Great idea. Glad I've got a spare Classics Cliffjumper!

Far be it from me to try and tell you or anybody what to do, but here's something to consider...the Cliffjumper mold (even though identical to the original Classic Bee) is more rare than the plethora of Bumblebee Classics that are floating around out there (especially after the Reveal the Shield version was released). If I remember correctly Rated-X painted one of his extra "disposable" Bee's solid red for his Chase figure, correct me if I'm wrong there "X" (see I pay attention LOL). So you might wanna investigate that as an option, that way you could keep the Cliffjumper stock for future resell or as an investment in general. I know painting can be intimidating if you've never done a figure before but it's fun to me and the pay off of having a custom character is a great feeling. Plus by painting a figure solid red it looks better as Chase (to me) as opposed to the paint scheme that Cliffjumper has with those silver streaks that came on the American Hasbro version.

Beastorm wrote:

Is there any reason everyone uses Unite; is Classics not compatible with the head molds?

Seriously? Did you just ask that? I'm kidding, I'm just picking on you. The reason everyone is using the United version is because TAKARA painted their version of the Reveal the Shield Bumblebee solid gold. And this is the character Goldbug we're talking about so all the fanboys (including myself) knew exactly what we wanted to do with that version the second we saw it for the first time. I suspect TAKARA did that on purpose knowing that fans would use it or refer to it as Goldbug, plus they had already produced a solid yellow bumblebee under their "Henkei" line a few years before, so there was no need to make another one etc (but sometimes I wish they would run another line of those G1 solid yellow bee's, I still havn't been able to track one down here in the states for less than $120).
Yes all of the heads are interchangable and compatible with one another, it's just that some color schemes look better than other. And also in case your not aware Venksta or RENDERFORM customs has designed a Bumper and Hubcap custom head kits that should be ready for release sometime this summer, I'm not really sure what his release schedule is. Anyway, this opens the doors to all types of different mix and match opportunities with all of the different colored Bumblebee molds out there. I have three different versions so far and I'm going to use the WalMart Legacy Bublebee Classic (that came in a three pack for those unfamiliar) as Hubcap and the RTS Bumblebee as Bumper. Cant wait!!!
Hope this explanation helps.

G1 Legacy wrote:Plus by painting a figure solid red it looks better as Chase (to me) as opposed to the paint scheme that Cliffjumper has with those silver streaks that came on the American Hasbro version.

I was thinking about taking a little thinner to it and wiping off the extraneous paint. I've never tried that on a large scale, though, so I'm not entirely sure what effect it would have on the plastic. Anyway, it's kind of a moot point until I actually get the heads--I've got them both ordered, but neither has arrived yet.

I think it looks really good and well crafted. I'd buy this set if I had money

shin_hibiki wrote:

I was thinking about taking a little thinner to it and wiping off the extraneous paint. I've never tried that on a large scale, though, so I'm not entirely sure what effect it would have on the plastic

YIKES! Dude, I'm not sure you took away from that what I was trying to convey there.
(Or maybe you did and your just screwing with me now LOL)
I was saying that if it were me, I wouldn't do ANYTHING permanant to a classics Cliffjumper (other than switching out a head or body part with a 3rd party kit). True it's not impossible to find one, but they are getting more rare and harder to come by so the second you do something to permantley alter it beyond repair that value goes down the toilet. And you don't have to take my word for it, go to EBAY and do a search on Classics Cliffjumper and you'll see that they're consistantly going for $50-$60 dollars Mint on Card and around $35-$45 loose.
And you said you had an extra one if I'm not mistaken? I would hold onto that puppy because the value has nowhere to go but up. Man, just the thought of someone taking paint thinner or mineral spirits to a Cliffjumper makes the hair standup on the back of my neck. LMAO And forget about the topic of destroying a cliffjumper figure for a moment, but I wouldn't think that paintthinner being used (in the amounts that it would take to remove that silver) could possibly be good for plastic in the longrun. I'm sure there may be some that will pipe up and disagree with me on that, but I wouldn't wanna try it.
I know I'm just repeating myself here but I was saying earlier that it would be cheaper to just find and paint a bumblebee some new shade of red to make a Chase figure. Go back to EBAY and now look up Reveal the Shield (RTS) Bumblebee. You can get a new one of those for like $10-$15 still new on the card and maybe even cheaper if your patient and know where to look. I know Cliff is already red, I get that. But fifty bucks, is fifty bucks.

I would just hate for 6 or 7 more years to go by and that Cliffjumper to skyrocket to a few hundred dollars on the aftermarket. You might be kicking yourself later. But hey, it's your figure. You can blow it up with fireworks if you wanna. It's no skin off my back

G1 Legacy wrote:YIKES! Dude, I'm not sure you took away from that what I was trying to convey there.

I got it, bro. I just have a different view of what I should do with my spares most of the time, that's all. Besides, intentionally stockpiling stuff for the purpose of future speculation has rarely gone well for me. It's not really what I'm about.

G1 Legacy wrote:I know I'm just repeating myself here but I was saying earlier that it would be cheaper to just find and paint a bumblebee some new shade of red to make a Chase figure. Go back to EBAY and now look up Reveal the Shield (RTS) Bumblebee. You can get a new one of those for like $10-$15 still new on the card and maybe even cheaper if your patient and know where to look.

I could look in my basement, 'cuz I have a spare one of those, too. However, full-body repainting is not my forte. I have a lot of projects where I'd like to do that, but I generally lack the skill!

G1 Legacy wrote::HEADHURTS:
shin_hibiki wrote:

I was thinking about taking a little thinner to it and wiping off the extraneous paint. I've never tried that on a large scale, though, so I'm not entirely sure what effect it would have on the plastic

YIKES! Dude, I'm not sure you took away from that what I was trying to convey there.
(Or maybe you did and your just screwing with me now LOL)
I was saying that if it were me, I wouldn't do ANYTHING permanant to a classics Cliffjumper (other than switching out a head or body part with a 3rd party kit). True it's not impossible to find one, but they are getting more rare and harder to come by so the second you do something to permantley alter it beyond repair that value goes down the toilet. And you don't have to take my word for it, go to EBAY and do a search on Classics Cliffjumper and you'll see that they're consistantly going for $50-$60 dollars Mint on Card and around $35-$45 loose.
And you said you had an extra one if I'm not mistaken? I would hold onto that puppy because the value has nowhere to go but up. Man, just the thought of someone taking paint thinner or mineral spirits to a Cliffjumper makes the hair standup on the back of my neck. LMAO And forget about the topic of destroying a cliffjumper figure for a moment, but I wouldn't think that paintthinner being used (in the amounts that it would take to remove that silver) could possibly be good for plastic in the longrun. I'm sure there may be some that will pipe up and disagree with me on that, but I wouldn't wanna try it.
I know I'm just repeating myself here but I was saying earlier that it would be cheaper to just find and paint a bumblebee some new shade of red to make a Chase figure. Go back to EBAY and now look up Reveal the Shield (RTS) Bumblebee. You can get a new one of those for like $10-$15 still new on the card and maybe even cheaper if your patient and know where to look. I know Cliff is already red, I get that. But fifty bucks, is fifty bucks.

I would just hate for 6 or 7 more years to go by and that Cliffjumper to skyrocket to a few hundred dollars on the aftermarket. You might be kicking yourself later. But hey, it's your figure. You can blow it up with fireworks if you wanna. It's no skin off my back

That’s exactly what I did.

Behold: Classics Chase from RTS Bumblebee…

He has been sporting a ROTF Stockade head, which used to be my Goldbug head before I got the Renderform set. I had made him to be classics Cliffjumper with a WFC head before I got a real Cliffjumper. I tried to transform him once and the paint made him very tight, so I decided not to ever transform him. Also scared to ruin the clearcoat, so he sports no faction symbol. I completely disassembled him before painting. Such a pain is the ass, I haven’t made a custom since…

Rated X wrote:I tried to transform him once and the paint made him very tight, so I decided not to ever transform him. Also scared to ruin the clearcoat, so he sports no faction symbol. I completely disassembled him before painting. Such a pain is the ass, I haven’t made a custom since…

Looks really good, although the concerns you mention are exactly the ones I would have upon attempting such a conversion. Anyway, when did you receive the Goldbug head? I haven't gotten an update recently... I know they said the blue heads would take longer, but it looks like that's what your figure is sporting.

shin_hibiki wrote:

I just have a different view of what I should do with my spares most of the time, that's all. Besides, intentionally stockpiling stuff for the purpose of future speculation has rarely gone well for me. It's not really what I'm about.

I can totally understand that. I had a similiar situation a few months ago with all of the Star Wars stuff I stockpiled and invested in ten years ago (before the prequel trilogy came along and screwed everything up lol). Long-story-short, I ended up breaking even on several items (ships and figures) that I just knew we're going to go up in value...and to add insult to injury I found out that this guy that purchased most of it from me on Ebay was buying it for his 6 year old son.... "NNOOOOOOOOOO! Not the rare POTF Jedi Luke with brown vest! What are you, an idiot!???"

Whew, sorry, sorry....i was having flashbacks there for a sec.

However, full-body repainting is not my forte. I have a lot of projects where I'd like to do that, but I generally lack the skill!

Again, I can relate, trust me. Well whatever you decide to do to make a Chase, good luck with it and keep us posted and let us know how it goes if/when you see us online in the future.

Rated-X wrote:

That’s exactly what I did.
Behold: Classics Chase from RTS Bumblebee…

I tried to transform him once and the paint made him very tight, so I decided not to ever transform him. Also scared to ruin the clearcoat, so he sports no faction symbol. I completely disassembled him before painting. Such a pain is the ass, I haven’t made a custom since…

Cool, ok so my plan is to dissasemble RTS Bee and leave his black or grey inner joints alone. Then use fine sanding paper and a dremel drill to sand away at the surfaces and where the doors and feet meet flush with one another and then apply a thin coat of Garnet or metallic candy apple red. And then take this Beezelbub Goldbug head here (finally back to the subject at hand) and paint the silver mouthgaurd gold. And voila'.....G1 LEGACY's custom CHASE. And I may use one of these sidearms as his pistol. I won't get to it until after BOTCON I'm sure, but I'll let you know how it goes.

shin_hibiki wrote:

Rated X wrote:I tried to transform him once and the paint made him very tight, so I decided not to ever transform him. Also scared to ruin the clearcoat, so he sports no faction symbol. I completely disassembled him before painting. Such a pain is the ass, I haven’t made a custom since…

Looks really good, although the concerns you mention are exactly the ones I would have upon attempting such a conversion. Anyway, when did you receive the Goldbug head? I haven't gotten an update recently... I know they said the blue heads would take longer, but it looks like that's what your figure is sporting.

I recieved my Renderform Goldbug set about 2 weeks ago I think. The envelope he sent it in was dated Jan 24 2012 and my set is #36 out of 500. I only ordered the blue set. He sends you an e-mail when it ships. Hope this helps.

Beastorm wrote:

Is there any reason everyone uses United; is Classics not compatible with the head molds?

Seriously? Did you just ask that? I'm kidding, I'm just picking on you. The reason everyone is using the United version is because TAKARA painted their version of the Reveal the Shield Bumblebee solid gold. And this is the character Goldbug we're talking about so all the fanboys (including myself) knew exactly what we wanted to do with that version the second we saw it for the first time. I suspect TAKARA did that on purpose knowing that fans would use it or refer to it as Goldbug, plus they had already produced a solid yellow bumblebee under their "Henkei" line a few years before, so there was no need to make another one etc (but sometimes I wish they would run another line of those G1 solid yellow bee's, I still havn't been able to track one down here in the states for less than $120).
Yes all of the heads are interchangable and compatible with one another, it's just that some color schemes look better than other. And also in case your not aware Venksta or RENDERFORM customs has designed a Bumper and Hubcap custom head kits that should be ready for release sometime this summer, I'm not really sure what his release schedule is. Anyway, this opens the doors to all types of different mix and match opportunities with all of the different colored Bumblebee molds out there. I have three different versions so far and I'm going to use the WalMart Legacy Bublebee Classic (that came in a three pack for those unfamiliar) as Hubcap and the RTS Bumblebee as Bumper. Cant wait!!!
Hope this explanation helps. [/quote]

Wow, that pretty much gives the gamut on that, thanks. Now I wish I could go back to NOT noticing the metallic iridescent hue to United, cause now I'll never be satisfied without and that puts the total bill up quite a ways. I was never going to go United, because I don't need this addiction to get any more expensive over a spiffier paint job (except for maybe Hound), but you're right; he's not YELLOWbug, after all, is he?

DevastaTTor wrote:Damn I wish I could find a United Goldbug!

Lucky me-got United BB today in Singapore at RoboRobo. Wish they had the Growing Pains set in stock but they won't have it until next week.

Have it in my POL at BBTS and can't wait to get it.

Finally got this and United BB from TF Source. Such a great set! However the blue's too dark. It looks different enough to notice, but not different enough to work. Still, very glad with this. It was an easy installation and the weapons really suit the shiny United paintjob.

Not so impressed with United BB. Feet were scratched right out of the box. Thanks a bunch, nameless, underpaid, Chinese labourer. Oh, well.

Not gonna lie, I got this set mostly thinks to Dr. Smoov's awsome video. Now I can finally renact that classic scene!