Grimlock - TF/GI Joe Crossover

[Jimster]

G'morning!

It's very early in the process - so far I'm getting the basic shape and proportions together using foam. I'll update the thread with progress as it happens and any comment/crit is welcome as always.

Once I get another project complete this week, I will start cutting into some styrene for this bad boy (hopefully)!

[jbarb78]

Looks very ambitious, I'll be following this. I've also been toying (pardon the pun) with the idea of a Joe-former, though I havent locked down who just yet.

[- Z -]

THANK YOU for posting this here!!!! I can not wait to see how the turns out!! Please keep us updated!

[Matticus Prime]

Holy crap I just noticed it was carrying a Joe!

[redbellpeppers]

I will be eagerly watching this one.
This is another on my list of things to do... altho yours is a larger scale than I would have.

Are you going to make it a Mark 8 tank? Like the one from Last Crusade? Mine won't be- I already started it in 3D. Now I want to dig that out.

Foam. Very ambitious. Again- I'll be watching this one.

[speedleescustoms]

Made of foam ? That's just crazy !

Very keen to see how this project turns out ! :D

[jbarb78]

The foam is usually just for mock up and layout purposes, if I read correctly it's gonna be made of styrene.

[Jimster]

Don't know why I don't reply to this. Sorry about that, but yes, the foam is just for roughing out the basic proportions.

So PC exclusive update...

I've attached current progress which is a little slow due to doing pravtically nothing over xmas. The main hold up is getting the leg transformation mechanism together... I need to cut up some of the 4mm styrene with power tools so (a) I need to do that in the garage which is currently inaccessible due to being full of packing boxes and (b) it's a pain in the ass to cut the stuff. It's too thick for a knife and power tools take ages as the jigsaw melts the plastic around the edges which then needs chipping off and sanding down.

There's plenty of other sections to work on though but it means nothing can be fully glued together, bevelled and finished until I get the core mechanism finished.

So, maybe 5% complete so far and a whole lot of work to go... I can understand why it took Zildjian six months to complete Megatron!

[speedleescustoms]

This is crazy... but at the same time i can't stop getting excited over this project ! :D

[curse007]

Yeah. I am loving the wave of G.I.Joe/Transformer Crossover Projects I am seeing.
I think this will be an awesome custom.
Someone needs to work on a Autobot/Joe logo like the Decepticon/Cobra Emblem. That logo is just too sweet.
Waiting for more updates on this. So far its very sweet.

[- Z -]

Fan-fucking-tastic!!!!

[formula93]

Like this one?

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5298/5398063867_1ccc02319d.jpg

[stevescustoms]

I'm really interested to see how this one turnes out. Post plenty of updates.

[Jimster]

So, you're stuck in a hotel working away from home and the distractions of young toddlers... What do you do? Watch some dodgy pr0n and get hammered on the mini bar? Not me. I sneak a big plastic box full of styrene past the receptionist.

This is what I've been up to tonight fuelled by copious amounts of Filter, Disturbed and Iron Maiden. In sequential order...

1. Having counted treads on the concept artwork and doing a few calcs sketch a rough tread and begin to replicate this along a piece of 1.5mm styrene.

2. There are quite a few corners to cut which is no end of pain. I make a few light strokes around the template with a craft knife just to make a small channel in the styrene. This is then followed with a few high pressure strokes until I'm through.

It's quite difficult with 1.5mm as it takes at least 4 strokes for each cut to go through but it could be four times as many when it comes to corners. Put bluntly, the damn things won't separate easily. So here's 300mm of tank tread which will overlap making it shorter. At this rate I'll need about 6-8 times the amount to make it all the way around both tracks. And to think my fingers are already tired after 300mm and the thought that I intend to drill rivet holes into each piece... Yikes.

I've slightly oversized them so that I will be able to clamp them all together and file the profiles down so they are all completely uniform. I still need to remove some of the 'double tab' at the back of each tread to get the same look as the concept art and then thin those tabs down so they will press flat to the black styrene and adhere nicely.

3. Here's a estimate of how they'll look, held firmly in place with a finger. You can also see in this piece the engine vent covers (knees) which need sanding and securing in the rectangular hole. I've also formed Grimlock's 'foot-muffs'; these are the shins in the robot mode which I intend to have slide down for the alt mode to hide the hydraulics and piping. They will butt up to the tops of the feet to give a cohesive alt mode. I still need to etch the cross design and bevel the sides, but I'll do all the bevelling in one go once I've got the basic shapes ready.

Tomorrow it'll be feet and maybe some torso or arm action, if I can get through the rest of the tank track at a pace. I'm also wondering how long my styrene supplies are going to last... I'm down to three sheets so I may come back to the treads later ;)

If anyone has any tips on making styrene cutting any easier I'd be truly grateful.

I wonder what housekeeping will think when they find all this in the hotel room :S