Operation: Revenge (Bruticus 2010) - WIP

[hXcpunk23]

Operation: Revenge (Bruticus 2010)

Here's a link to the previous WIP from late 2008 & early 2009 on these guys: Universe Combaticons - WIP (http://www.sector70.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=11550&high=combaticons)

Well, since it's been months since you guys last saw any updates on Swindle or Brawl, I figured I'd update a bit with the others. These are just some shots I took over the last few days. These are only some early mock-ups of Bruticus and his upper half. Still figuring out what I want to do on the lower half. I'm trying to minimize the extra combiner parts, but the upper legs of Bruticus may end up being either Unicron or Primus thighs/knees. Not sure on that just yet.

As for what you see here, I took a cue (sort of) from Ninos and his Onslaught WIP he posted here. Originally, I had planned to use Universe Onslaught in this project, but I (like many) still didn't get that G1 Onslaught feel from him. After seeing what Ninos did with Onslaught's head on a TFTM Leader Prime mold, I started wondering if I could somehow make it work on a TFTM Voyager Prime mold that I picked up off turboedguy last summer. (thanks for the idea to try this out, Ninos!)

I removed Onslaught's head from his body, filled in the hole with putty, let it dry, then drilled a hole for the ball joint to snap into. After that, I took an old ball joint peg from an Energon tank (one of the Energon Bruticus Maximus tanks) and cut the peg off with the ball joint still attached at the top. I glued and puttied it into place where the old TFTM Prime head used to sit (the peg fit perfectly into the recessed area). After it all set and dried, I snapped the head on and took a look. The head didn't look too shabby on it--BUT, it did look kinda big due to the overall height of it. Onslaught's head is pretty tall and skinny. Anyway, I decided to mod the head to fit better with the mold, so I cut off the top of the head (you can see this where the black on Onslaught's head meets the putty). I then took some putty and applied it to the hacked up head, then sculpted a bit to get the general shape I wanted. I let it dry, then went back and cut the harder-edged details into it. I tried to sculpt the head to look like the top of Onslaught's head, but much shorter (making the head more round instead of tall). I plan to build onto the chest with styrene (either directly on the chest or a chest shield for Onslaught that can be removed to attach the Bruticus chest shield. I also plan to try and "G1" up the legs and a few other areas (to make it more boxy). Not sure yet, but I may stick with the hands that came with the TFTM Voyager Prime, since they help hold things together during transformation into Bruticus (as seen in the pics).

Also in the works is a new chest for Blast Off and Swindle. Swindle has a new hinge (no pics yet) that a G1-style chest will be built onto with styrene. This will fold up over the front of the Swindle chest you saw before that I did. As for Blast Off, I also used a soldering iron to heat the pin and remove the train parts from the forearms, then removed the shoulder pads. I plan to do something so that his hands can fold in and stay hidden, that way the shuttle mode looks better and isn't so bloated by train parts. Vortex will be done G1-style onto that TFTM Landmine figure you see in the pics. I stripped down most of the mold and kept the parts and bits I'd need. This will be a huge scratchbuild with styrene and other parts to turn this into a helicopter, which will have the transformation of G1 Vortex (for the most part).

*Credit for the idea to use TFTM Landmine goes to King_Starscream* (thanks for the inspiration, bro!)

I'm still unsure of what I'll use as hands for Bruticus. I may keep the Primus hands or I may go with something else. Any suggestions are more than appreciated. I scrapped the original use of the Primus forearms that I had planned to use--I want to keep this sucker mostly kibble free. If I do use the Unicron or Primus thigh/knee areas, I will try my best to incorporate that into an alt mode or try and do it up as a trailer section for Onslaught. This is still up in the air at the moment, but again, I'm all ears to any ideas or suggestions.

One last thing, the G1-styled chest shield will be used for Bruticus, but I have a couple of parts I'm adding onto it and I may build it up a bit larger--that all depends on how it all comes together and if the size works with the added bits or if it needs to be larger.

Enjoy!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/hXc_punk23/Transformers/Sector%2070/WIP/Bruticus/100_3147.jpg

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http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/hXc_punk23/Transformers/Sector%2070/WIP/Bruticus/100_3184.jpg

[RyanUybengkee]

saw this at TFW. good luck and hope you get this finished beautifully man! cheers! - Ryan

[speedleescustoms]

oh yeah, looking good here !!! :D

[Satomiblood]

That Voyager Prime does make for a great Onslaught. I really like where this is going.

[Solrac333]

HEY! Cool idea. I have a headless Prime and an armless Onslaught.

[hXcpunk23]

Thanks guys! I have some updates on it, so be prepared for another boring ass novel (then again, if you read it, it basically helps detail how I've done it, for those who wanna try any of it). On with the show!

Update #1:

*Updates*

Bruticus chest plate WIP (extra parts from a Cybertron Starscream TRU 2-pack figure--taken from the top rear of the jet). Still going for a G1 updated look. I'll reply to the comments soon, guys! (thanks for the interest)


I also added a Classics Astrotrain Leg Extension tutorial (did this extension for my Blast Off custom): Classics Astrotrain - Leg Extension Tutoria (http://www.sector70.com/forum/tm.aspx?high=&m=32916&mpage=1#32916)l

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/hXc_punk23/Transformers/Sector%2070/WIP/Bruticus/100_3205.jpg

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Update #2:

More WIPs, suckas! (thanks for the interest guys! I'll try to find time soon to reply to the comments)

In these shots, you'll see my new and improved Swindle, Blast Off, and a shot or two of Brawl again (not much has changed with him--added a thin sheet of styrene to his chest and scribed a thin line into the middle of it, with more details to come).

Swindle - this is basically the same Swindle you guys saw before, but I took a small metal hinge and attached it to the existing waist hinge. From there, I built upon it with various donor bot parts. First up is the middle section of the chest (black). This piece was donated from the side steps of the alt mode on Energon Sledge (hard to tell in the shots, but the actual steps/stairs are what you see in the middle there). The two pieces that form the main bulk of the chest were taken from the removed shoulder pieces on Classics Astrotrain (or in this case, Blast Off). Since I decided he wasn't using 'em, I put 'em to good use. I was going for a mix of the G1 toy look and the Transformers: Visual Works artwork for him. I also added some small shin pieces which were clipped from the tailwings of a junker Universe Octane/Tankor. These pieces may stay or go--basically just wanted to do something similar to the artwork, without going overboard building it from scratch (but I may still go that route before it's all over). And last, I used a soldering iron and removed the Universe Hound Wheels and swapped in the wheels from said Energon Sledge. I wanted to make the wheels a bit larger, make them look different from Hound and his wheels, and give off that sort of older Jeep type of tire (I think they work well, even if they aren't a perfect Jeep wheel match). Oh yeah, I also removed the old combiner joint (Neo Shifters) and shaved it down on the top with my dremel and a metal file--now it is placed under the grill area (on the inside of the chest). This also may stay or go, depending on how I go from here (still thinking it over on how I want the legs to connect (which is why you haven't seen shots yet of it). Remember folks, Work In Progress!

Blast Off - same ol' Blast Off you saw before, same noggin (styrene built over a Universe Prowl head. The only real changes are as follows: I removed the shoulder pads, I used a soldering iron and removed the pins holding the train parts to the arms, and I cut up my old junker G1 Ultra Magnus chest shield to create a more G1-styled Blast Off chest (similar to the Transformers: Visual Works artwork and the Dreamwave artwork). These are basically all "updates" to the original G1-style and look (which is what Classics/Universe was all about). I plan to revisit the head and make it a bit cleaner (this was my first ever head build with styrene) and maybe elongate it just a bit--it may look a bit different, but it should still be pretty close to what you already see. The tailfin will be added soon--this shuttle will NOT look like a NASA shuttle and it will be what I'd call an updated type of look also. You'll still say "space shuttle" when you see it, but with the chest pieces the way they are and the way I plan to incorporate the fin, it will be a bit different. I'm sure you guys will dig it (hopefully). I also plan to fill in the gaps with some putty and/or thin sheet styrene. And lastly, not sure if you guys saw it or not, but I did a leg mod on him to make the legs a bit longer (and it adds to the overall look instead of being a rectangular chunk from the knee down). I added a tutorial on it here at S70, so check the tutorials if you haven't seen it yet.

That's about it for now. I'm hoping to finish up the last bit on these guys and move onto my major build, Vortex. That sucker will take some time and I'm itching to build on it some. Anyway, enjoy the new batch of WIPs! (*black & white pics for dramatic effect........nah, seriously, they're basically there to show you what they look like without your eyes being drawn to the wacky mix of colored parts*)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/hXc_punk23/Transformers/Sector%2070/WIP/Bruticus/100_3231.jpg

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[speedleescustoms]

wow ! this is blasting ! :D