Hunter Rose (TFans) has commissioned me to make the Mach 5 and Racer X cars from TFA Blurr and Blazing Lockdown, respectively.

So far, I've modded one of Lockdown's legs.

I rounded off the angles of the fenders by sanding, then remolded the contours by applying epoxy putty, then sanding it down. I changed the contour of the front edge of the fender (where it meets the bumper) by cutting some plastic out between the bumper and fender panel, using my heat gun to soften the fender, then pressing it into place to match the rest of the fender.

I also trimmed and sanded down the spoiler, to make it flow into the new curvature.

Behold!











Future changes include remolding the head to resemble Racer X's mask, applying an X to the chest, removing all the molded spikes, removing the side mirrors and making a wraparound windshield, moving the engine block and exaust pipes to the trunk lid, and nose extension for the alt-mode, to make it closer to the "real" car (as seen in the Speed Racer movie).

I'm done for the night, so I thought I'd post an update for you.

I finished re-shaping the other leg, filled in the old engine hole and mounted the engine and pipes on the back.

The engine block pegs into new holes I made in the back of Lockdown's arms, and will eventually be able to attach to the pegs on the sides of his arms as an arm-mounted dual machine-gun.

The pips are temporarily glued to the backs of the legs and rest against the engine block. I'm not entirely happy with the way they look yet, and am considering whether to cut the molded exhaust holes off so the pipes actually butt up against the sides of the engine, or just sand them smooth. I think I also need to make some shallow slots to glue the other ends into.

I'm gonna add more putty to the spoiler to fill it out better, as well as putting some in the space in the hood to give it a curvy dip in the middle.











Next up, I'm gonna start modding the head and building the new nose for the car, which I think I might be able to do in three sections after all--I just need to shave some plastic from the sliding bar the fenders fold against to make his hips.

Might I suggest, for the transplanted engine and tailpipes... The way they're curved and oriented currently, I think rounding them off at the top, so they look like they're flowing out of the engine, then down into the rear deck, and then put new exhaust tips onto the toes/rear bumper.

Basically, turn them into big exposed headers.

Though good luck to you on fixing the robot-mode details on the limbs, insofar as getting them identical.

And, wait...



You're embedding Trixie in the hood?

Yeah, that's pretty much the idea. Since I posted that update, I've gone back and cut off the pipes' old exhaust "holes" and bent them down (softened with heat gun, then pushed into position, like the front fenders) to rest against the sides of the engine better.




You mean, having the headers show up on his arms, too? Nah...the plan is for the pipes to stay attached his calves, while the engine block repositions to the side of his arm (on the existing peg there) to act as an arm-mounted dual machine-gun.




ROFLMAO! Well, I guess that would give Mach 5 a reason to go after Shooting Star...

thats a pretty cool idea actually!


cant wait to see more of your progress

Actually, what I meant was... I mean, the kneecaps are different, one's a rounded spike and the other's a squarish pad, and the gap left by pulling out the blocks that the pipes were attached to are different, plus you look at the upper arms and there's different details sculpted on there...

Unless you plan to leave his arms and legs asymmetric.

Ohhh, I see. Lockdown's "Frankenstein" look. I actually hadn't even thought about that. I'll have to check with Hunter and see if he wants me to try to do anything about that.

As far as the leg panels, I was already planning to resculpt the places where the pipes used to be attached, 'cause I just cut the pipes off at the edge of the panel, so there's still bits of pipe on the panels themselves that I've gotta cut off and make flat.

But yeah, I completely ignored the mismatched molding details.

Oooh, I like this idea. A lot. It's coming out nice, too.

Kinda off-topic question: how did you remove the wheels without damaging the posts they pin into? I've been trying to pull the wheels off a Universe Sideswipe, and I can't figure any way to get 'em off without cutting away the plastic.

EDIT: I can't spell.

Holy crap I just noticed that.

Yes, tell, tell. So many people would love to know how you pulled THAT one off.

Well, first I had to pull out the spikes in the middle, as they cover the heads of the pins. (Actually, I pulled the spikes out of the rear wheels; I was able to just pry the front wheels off with a medium-sized flat-head screwdriver.)

I have a pen-type soldering iron, and a set of specialty wood-burning tips I bought in the arts & crafts section of Wal Mart, one of which is the perfect size and shape for touching to hinge pins to heat them and push them through enough to grip with pliers and pull out.

For the pins that hold wheels on, and assuming I can easily reach the heads, I hold the iron against the head until the pin wiggles slightly, then I can pull the wheel off.

Just make sure you don't press down on the pin with the iron, as that'll push the pin down farther when the plastic softens; just touch the tip to the pin head until the pin can wiggle--but not too much, or you'll warp the hole and it'll be useless.

As for the spike hubs on Lockdown's wheels, those were destroyed in the removal process, but that's not important for this project, 'cause Shooting Star won't need 'em. (I used the iron on the other ends of the front wheels' pins and pushed them through the spike piece, then pried out what was left. On the back wheels, I used my heat gun (on LOW, waving it back and forth across the wheel, to avoid utterly melting the wheel and fender) to warm up the glue used to hold the spikes in, then pulled 'em out with my needle-nose pliers.)

This technique takes a little practice to get a feel for how much pressure to apply with the soldering iron, and it helps to have a steady hand, 'cause having the hot tip slip off the pin and damaging the plastic around it sucks.

Awesome, thanks for the tips! That doesn't sound like a terribly difficult or pricey process.

I think I should be able to use that technique on my Classics project!

NICE! Looking forward to seeing your progress DLPrime.

I really like where this is going. Godspeed!

That's some very impressive remolding work - I look forward to seeing the result!

Just a minor update--no pics.

Mostly, I'm just working on building the new front-end for the car right now.

After careful consideration, I've decided it's not feasible to try to split the nose into three pieces, 'cause I can't really modify how/where the fender tips fold in to make Lockdown's hips, without compromising the structural integrity.

So, I'm building the new nose as a single piece, attached to the front of the center/hood, with space on the underside for the saw to attach; basically, the entire piece that attaches to LD's arm will be T-shaped, and still accommodate the saw attachment.

I'm relocating LD's headlights forward, into the new nose piece, where they will be painted silver and covered by clear plastic lenses.

I'll take a couple pics after I get the rough nose-assembly together, before I start sanding it down.

This is a whole lotta awesome and I'm looking forward to the finished results.

The nose isn't finished yet (still gotta build the bottom, under the headlight wells), but here are a few pics to keep you interested!

You haven't sunken Trixie into the hood yet?

Ah, well.

The Shooting Star's coming along nicely.


Posts like this are why everyone loves you, Nutjob.

He's just still making fun of me mentioning I was gonna add "a curvy dip" to the hood.

Sorry it's been so long since the last update, but I've been fighting with the new nose section. Pieces kept snapping off, and I had to re-glue and wait for them to set again, but the rough build is mostly done. I just have to reinforce the joints and start sanding it down.

In the meantime, I started working on his head and face!

I trimmed down his "underbite" and shortened his chin, stuck some epoxy putty on, then did a rough sculpt of a new nose and mouth, then let the putty set up. When it was ready, I plugged an engraving tip into my rotary tool and did some finer work, including trimming down the rough edges, defining the nose and base of the X-shape on his forehead, and tweaking his sneer.

His left eye is dark 'cause the only part of his head they glued (thankfully) was that eye in its socket, which I didn't know, so the eye snapped off when the rest of the light-pipe came out. Kinda gives him a busted optic look, but he's eventually gonna have a Racer X-type visor, so it doesn't really matter.

Anyway, you probably want pics, so here you go:









The other set of spikes on his neck will be removed, and I'll either try to complete the line that goes through them or fill it in and make his neck smooth.

Small update!

After trying for several days to cut a piece of TF bubble insert plastic to the right size and shape and failing miserably, I decided to just sculpt Shooting Star's visor out of epoxy putty.

Having used the last of my putty to repair my bathroom sink (*grumble*), I bought some new putty at Walmart (Epoxy Stick, I believe it's called). This putty is better than the other stuff (JB Stik and two other brands I'd gotten at AutoZone); it's softer and easier to work with, and it has a 5-minute work time before it starts to harden and become unusable (as opposed to the 3 minutes I got with the other stuff).

Anyway... I applied a small bit of it across Lockdown's eyes and sculpted/carved it to the right shape, then sanded it down once it had set, as the visor was just a bit thick.

Sweet. Looking amazingly less like Lockdown. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

W00t! Behold! Shooting Star's new chest!

*emerges from cave*

*squints into the sunlight*

*grunts*

*throws out new pics*










Seriously, though, I apologize (yet again) for the long delays on this project. Between working and sleeping and these panels (and, now, the re-contouring of the car's tail) giving me trouble... *sigh*

I think I'm done with the shins now, aside from filling in the gaps in the side of the car where the pipes used to stick out, and the eventual painting, so now I'm concentrating on the back of the car, trying to smooth out the curvature of the tail. When that's done, it'll be back to the curve of the hood and finalizing the transplantation of the (now-header) pipes and the engine.

Yay! Updates!!

Ok, so I've been working on the nose, and I think it's coming along very well. I sprayed it with some primer, so I can better see where I still need to sand, and thought you'd like to see it!














Here it is, mocked up with the sides of the car:

Looking good!
I mainly want to see Mach 5, but Racer X here is pretty interesting as well.
I've been considering doing something like this, mainly turning the ATT SW transformers into a Halo Wraith tank that turns into a grunt(or brute).

Fantastic! Can't wait to see more progress! Looking great so far!

Mike "E"

At long last, the painting has begun! I still need to hit the parts with another coat or two, but I think it's looking good.

Alrighty. I still have to do the robot parts and then work on details, but I thought you'd like to see the car body (mostly) in one piece!

The engine will eventually be (glossy?) black, with silver header pipes.



First pic is with the flash.




And without the flash, to show off the glossy shine!

Gorgeous. Very smooth and very convincing.

Oh, I'm glad this wasn't forgotten, can't wait to see the finished product!

Small update, as I'm working on this in the midst of getting ready to move to Maine in a couple weeks.

I had a KB-fodder Cybertron Crosswise, who has kindly sacrificed his wheels. I used his front wheels without modification, while I extracted the hubcaps from his rear wheels and am in the process of implanting them into Lockdown's rear wheels. They're just mocked up on the car with some extra hinge pins to hold them up. I'll be spraying them black, while the new hubcaps will be painted (chrome) silver.

The bot parts are all painted with Satin Black Krylon Fusion, and I'm hand-painting his arms and hands with the same color, sprayed into a Dixie cup and brushed on. It's easier than trying to mask the parks I want to stay yellow and then spraying them.

The engine block was sprayed with Gloss Black Krylon Fusion, and will be getting (chrome) silver highlights. The headlights will be painted silver, while the tail lights will be getting a dip in some clear red Model Master paint.

The saw blade will have silver teeth.

The driver canopy is just held in place with a piece of Scotch tape, because the bot parts it actually attaches to (to make his back) aren't assembled yet.

From now till I move, I'm gonna concentrate on the major modding of Blurr into the Mach 5. I'll try to work on Shooting Star's detail paint between remolds of Blurr, but for the time being, I want to get Mach 5 modded/remolded and sprayed before I move, because I can do detail paint apps at my girlfriend's apartment, but I plan to refrain from major bash work once I'm there.

Anyway, here's pics!

Consider us paralyzed with anticipation. That's looking really damned smooth in the flats.

Speaking of flat ... since you're repainting the entire wheel assemblies, are you planning to do the tires in a matte finish, to make them less plasticky-looking?

Same satin finish as the robot parts.

Dang man. That's some sexy work.

Alrighty! I've finished the major/primary painting on Shooting Star, and I've set it aside to start working on Mach 5, as I want to get the major physical mods done to it and hopefully get the primary spray-painting done before I move in 1.5 - 2 weeks.

I've already half-dismantled Hunter's Blurr, and an extra I picked up to create Mach 5-specific pieces (as well as having extra parts in case I screw up. ), and begun preliminary work.

I've mostly roughed out the center point for the hood, as well as removed the rubber vane from his head and verified that I can successfully reverse the foot/heel pieces and their posts, so the rear fender points curve down instead of up. I think I might have to try to bulk up the post for the heel, as it kind of makes a big gap in alt mode now, for being so long.

Here's a pic of Blurr with the new centerpiece, along with a photoshop mock-up of where I'm going with it. The split will be filled out with epoxy putty (or I might sand down the insides a bit more so they fit together closer), and the whole thing will be cut down to fit onto the hood/shield. The new point will also act as sort of a "hub" for the saw blade, which I'm thinking about adding a rounder end to, like a real chainsaw blade.

The rubber tips on Blurr's fenders will be removed and rebuilt with epoxy putty, so they're not so pointy and so they'll take the paint better later. I'll also be moving the headlights to the front undersides, where they should be for the Mach 5. (the old headlight wells will be filled with putty and the slight angles on all three will be smoothed down somewhat.

Does he know that Racer X is secretly his brother Rex Racer yet?

Finally! He still needs his decals, and I forgot to finish his headlight bubbles while I was working on the paint apps, but at long last, I present Shooting Star:

Daaang. Nice work, buddy. Long wait, but totally worth it.

Holy scuzzlebutt!

Behold, his Patrick Duffy leg!

Sweetness!

Per Hunter Rose's request, I've painted Shooting Star's shoulder pads yellow and added some color to his forearms, to break up all the black. I was a little doubtful when he made the suggestion, but I think it works really well this way.

I finished the headlights! I picked up a card protector (for things like Magic: The Gathering) for 10 cents when we went to the hobby shop in Dover, NH, 'cause it seemed like just what I needed, but I recently ordered an 8-gig microSD card, and decided the plastic packaging it came in was even better, as it was already half-formed into what I wanted to do, so I cut the corners out of the front of it and bent it to shape.

I kinda mussed up the glossy plastic while gluing the bubbles in place, and wanted to get some brush-on clear gloss, but couldn't find any, so I ended up using the fingernail top-coat I use for tightening ball-joints. That resulted in a nice, hard, glossy surface, but the top-coat ended up with tiny bubbles. I've been debating whether to pull the bubbles and do 'em again, or just leave them as they are, since the bubbles are only really noticeable if you look close.

In the pics with the engine block/gun on his left arm, it's not mounted/attached yet; it's just sitting there. I'm gonna fill the hollow rounded bit on the front of the block with epoxy putty with a hole for the peg on his forearm that the hood piece attaches to.




















Close-up pics of the weapons in my next post!

Engine Gun!











hm.. I said close-ups of weapons, but I guess I forgot these pics are just of the hood/nose with the finished headlights.

I'm thinking about painting the underside piece black.

Yeah, but ... when's alt mode, man? = )

Loving the added color, BTW. He did seem a bit plain without it.

I don't want to risk transforming him till those new paint apps cure for a couple days or so.

That looks pretty fantastic!

I had to stop and dremel some bits down (chest wouldn't close 'cause the back of his neck was colliding with the epoxy putty I used to patch a hole from sanding down the Lockdown detail at the top of his chest, and the inside edges of his new shin plates were pressing against the new X), but he's transformed and awaiting some final paint touch-ups (the silver on the header pipes keeps rubbing off) and decals!

After getting him into alt mode and comparing it to my Hot Wheels reference cars, I've realized I sub-conciously made the car body a hybrid of the street and race cars.

Anyway... PICS!
[(regarding that rear shot, the peg that hold his arms together broke off during customizing, so I need to repair them. I plan to drill a new hole (the peg broke off in the original) and embed a short hinge pin where the peg was.]











With the engine guns deployed:







And the saw blade:







Now I'm off to design and tweak the decals!