Monday, August 3, 2009

I AM MEGATROOOOOOOON!

If you know me, then you know that I LOVE Transformers. I've liked them ever since I was a wee little lad, but once Beast Wars came out in the late 90's, I got hooked. But after that TV series ended, I basically outgrew them.

Or so I thought.

Enter the 2007 Transformers live-action movie. That summer, I randomly ended up in a Wal-mart with my cousin and I saw the new toys on the shelves.

"Holy crap," I said. "THESE LOOK AWESOME!" I instantly fell in love with the controversial "Bayformer" aesthetic of the new toys. Once again, I was hooked and now I have most of the main characters from both the last one and the newest one.

I could gush for hours about my love for those crazy transforming robots, but on to the main topic of the blog post.

A few weeks ago, I picked up the new Rise of the Fallen Voyager-class Megatron figure. If you don't speak nerd, that means "mid-sized transforming action figure of the villain." Anyway, for some silly reason, Hasbro decided to make this Megatron figure in green plastic with silver and gold highlights. I mean, I would probably be a little green if I were stuck under the ocean for 2 years too, but Megatron isn't green at any point in the movie. This irked me to no end, so I decided I would repaint the figure into his original Silver and Gold color scheme.

Despite having played with Transformers for over 10 years, I never got into "kitbashing" or repainting/modifying my toys. But for some reason, I just couldn't deal with the green. So here's me first repaint, EVAR!

Megatron's Flying Tank Sandvich mode!

For some silly reason, his head is exposed in vehicle mode. The movie guidebook says this allows him to react faster to threats because visual info doesn't have to go through all the sensors other robots have- it just goes straight to his robo-brain. I think it's an excuse thought up by the toy design department so they don't have to think of some complex way to hide his crazy face.

The repainting process started with a base coat of acrylic flat black.


After that, I drybrushed a lot of silver on and touched up with gold later.

NOW FOR THE EXCITING PART!

"I AM MEGATROOOON! GRAAAAWR!"

My favorite part is his torso. I took it apart and painted the moving gears in his chest gold! When he rotates at the hip, the gears in his chest spin. This is a rare case of an awesomely implemented gimmick (in my opinion). Moving gears are cool, but I'm not a fan of projectiles or electronics in general. They get in the way of posability!

His crazy backpack/cape-esque attachment.

I don't see why they felt the need to give him toes. They provide pretty much no support.

"HUMANS SUCK!"

Aaaand the obligatory full-body shot.

It was a pretty cool experience and gave me something to do for the last week and a half. I should probably spray a clear coat on him, but I dunno if I'll get around to it. If I don't, paint will probably rub off over time, but I'm okay with that. It adds to his worn, "I've been under the sea for two years" look. That's also why he isn't painted completely silver/gold. Megs looks kinda like a Warhammer miniature in that respect.

Anyway, that's probably one of the more exciting things I've been up to recently. Hope you guys enjoyed a look at one of my obsessions!