hXcpunk23's Kitbashes & Repaints

Hope you guys enjoy it--I worked hard on getting this thing just right.

Here's a quick run-down on what I used and what I did:

1) Paint (Testors Acryl Blue, Black Flat, Orange Gloss, Red Gloss, Light Ghost Gray, Silver Gloss, Gray, & a dark gray I mixed up.

2) For the G1 arm cannon, I used the back end of an oversized Bic pen (cut down and glued so you couldn't "click it" anymore). I used my dremel to cut the pieces off the bottom of the Energon Megatron electronic tank/cannon so that they could still "snap" into his arm. I glued them to a small piece and mounted the hacked up pen (well, the back end of it). I proceeded to go through 3 different arm cannons--two of which were created from various pens and the third. The 3rd and final cannon may look familiar--I took G1 Galvatron's arm cannon and cut off the end that used to slide into his head in alternate mode, then trimmed the other end of the cannon a bit so it wouldn't look too long or big. I considered keeping the G1 look to it (the clear/sparkly orange, but it didn't quite look right, so I attacked it with some Testors Acryl Orange Gloss. As this was drying, I didn't like the pen stuff, so I decided to trim some of the fat and use some styrene to create a cannon holder as close to G1 as possible.

3) I didn't like the chest of the Energon Megatron figure--too rounded for my liking. So after painting it to see how it would come out, I realized that I could create a better chest with styrene. So I did......but once I got it all done, I painted it as a "test" to see how it would look (I still needed to sand it more, but I wanted to see if the shape of the chest was good). Didn't like it. So I decided to trim it down in a "v" type of shape--the sides angling in toward the middle of his abdomen area. It came out MUCH better, so I sanded and painted.

4) I didn't like the way the arms looked and took the forearms apart to see if it looked better. Didn't care for it either, so I tried to think of a way to make it better. I then realize that the underside of the arm is pretty similar to the G1 "toon-style" Galvatron forearm. So I take it apart, flip the fists inside, slap it together again and paint it up.

5) Didn't do much modding to the head--but I did take that middle "horn/crown" section and shave it down a bit with an X-Acto blade so it matched the thickness of the other two.

6) Raided my G1 Galvatron for the shoulder pads and glued them onto the shoulders of Energon Megatron (the shoulders still slide, with the glued shoulder pads intact).

7) I took my dremel and cut off the Energon Megatron shoulder pads (the ones that held his two cannons in place). Never liked 'em, so I was more than happy to hack 'em off. :)

8) I trimmed the back of the legs down a bit, since the legs wouldn't really be attaching to the old "wings" anymore with the new alternate mode I was working on.

9) I used the G1 Galvatron "tripod/tail piece" to make him more G1-styled. I attached this with magnets so that it could easily be taken off if need be. This piece really doesn't move much, other than to rotate back up to his back in robot mode. The magnets helped give it the right height to fit with the tripod/tank treads.

10) I hacked up the "wing" section of Energon Megatron to use it as the tank treads on his tripod/cannon alternate mode. I dremeled out a section to allow room for the tail piece to fit perfectly with it. This is also attached by magnets, which allow you to leave it as-is on his back (which looks BAD, trust me) or remove it (again, parts-former!). I glued G1 Galvatron's original tank treads onto the bottom of the wing piece to give it a distinctive G1-feel.

11) Finally, the arm cannon slides neatly into the opening left when his head flips forward to allow him to transform.

ON WITH THE SHOW!



















AND, for those that are wondering (and I know you are)...........

Classics Grimlock........It's been done numerous times, every one of them unique and inspiring in their own right. I decided to toss mine into the ring to join the rest. Not much to say about this custom. I did a simple repaint to breathe some "G1-style" into him as well as adding some panel lines to both robot and dino mode. I also toned down some of the gloss black on his shoulders with some flat black. I chose not to repaint the original "gray" on the figure itself because (to me, at least) it still worked great. I touched up all the original gold areas (in dino and robot mode) with Testors Gold Gloss Acrylic and the red on the figure is Testors Red Gloss Acrylic. Hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to drop any comments and constructive criticism.

Up Next: Classics Galvatron (G1-style)

Well, it's been a while since I've updated this. I've been sick, busy with family stuff, and working on a few small Transformers-related projects. I'll be updating this a bit more, as projects come along. I wish I had the time and the talent to create some of the crazy masterpieces you see on the various Transformers boards, but I think I do quite well with what I'm given. With that said, feast your eyes on Classics Starscream! (repainted for your viewing pleasure)

You can view this over at the TFW2005 boards here: Classics Starscream

I had to jump on the bandwagon and give my Classics Starscream a much-needed "better" paintjob than the factory version, which seemed so lifeless and blah. Anyway, not much to really elaborate on here. I used some testors acrylic paint to give this sucker something more.....a slightly weathered, more realistic look and feel, while still retaining that comic book/animation look. If any Classics figure needed some help, this one was it. I still have a couple of touch-ups to do on the front of the legs, but otherwise, this sucker is done.

Feel free to offer any comments and constructive criticism (keep in mind, I'm still new to this and I've only cranked out one previous kitbash/repaint here, my take on Classics Ultra Magnus).

Enjoy!

I decided to crank out a Journal to post my work and to keep others updated on any new projects. Enjoy!

Also, you can check this out over on TFW2005 here: Classics Ultra Magnus - "G1-style"

This is my first Transformers kitbash/custom that I've attempted (I'm now working on a few others). I picked this up from a fellow board member here recently. I've been working on this for about a month and a half (on and off) and I've finally finished it.

Originally, I had considered just repainting the bland Classics Ultra Magnus, but everyone's been doing that since it was released (no knock to them, I love 'em all--I just wanted to do something different). I decided to take the "G1 approach" and do this as close to his orignal G1 (in robot mode at least) as I possibly could. Be warned, this can be considered a PARTS-FORMER (oh no!) simply because I am sticking to what was done on the G1/Diaclone orignal (parts galore).

Don't worry though, I only have technically 5 small parts:

1) The Magnus head is a MyClone Magnus head that I purchased from Alyosha's Corner (I carved down the peg on it so it would fit into the back of the Magnus head when it is folded down). So technically, I never removed the old Magnus head and it can be used still.

2) To create the missiles, I shredded a TRU (smaller) Energon Megatron's internal "wing" parts, cut off the tips, cut those in half, painted them, then glued a "connector" onto them so they can easily slide in and out of his arms in robot mode (just under the shoulder pad). These store under the cab in truck mode--just behind the side door panels. I considered incorporating the missiles into his vehicle mode, but it just didn't look right, so I stored them instead.

3) I took some small wooden sticks (arts and crafts crap at Wal-Mart) and created a couple of shoulder "beams" (or pilons--whatever those things are called). Yes, I said "wooden sticks" or popsicle sticks, if you prefer--lol (I haven't ordered any styrene yet and they do the job just fine until I decide to upgrade it). I painted those white and added a couple of pegs to the bottom. I hollowed a small portion of the shoulder of Ultra Magnus (the small indented spot on the top of the shoulder in robot mode). They "snap" right in and are removable. These fit just under the smoke stacks in truck mode (I painted the smoke stacks white to give him a white rifle in robot mode).

These are the only "parts-former" parts and while I love to see Transformers customs that transform completely without "extras" floating around, I do think the old school G1 "parts-former" rules can be applied and actually work here. So anyone ready to go on the offensive about this sort of thing, feel free. I know where you're coming from, but in some cases, parts-formers do in fact work. With that said, onto the show! (I'd like to thank EVERYONE who has ever done an Ultra Magnus custom--regardless of the line it was from--I learned a lot by seeing the great works of him that were done and I just wanted to share my take on it--feel free to share any ideas and pointers as well--let me know what you think):

Robot Mode ("G1-style"):














Vehicle Mode ("Classics style"):