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Transformers Transtopia News on Seibertron.com
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19 total news articles in this section, 10 per page.
Date: Friday, July 17th 2009 9:36am CDT
Categories: Site News,
Site Articles,
Transtopia
Posted by: Dead Metal |
Credit(s): Transtopia
Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 73,442
And another month has passed and a new one has began and with it comes a new Transtopia Newsletter!
I would like to remind every body that we still need a replacement customs editor for the next two months. If you're interested please shoot Dead Metal a pm!
And remember, to check out the
Transtopia forum for the latest action.
-Dead Metal
How to Showcase Your Work...
The newsletter is your opportunity to show off your work and talent. We rely on your articles, artwork, and customs to make it interesting. Entries will be reviewed on a monthly basis. You can submit your work here:
Repaints,
Kitbashes,
Scratchbuilds
Fan Art
Fan Fiction
Guides
Newsletter Credits:
Design - Flix
Formatting – Mattyc1007
Fan Art - Mykltron
Customs - Dead Metal
Fan Fiction – Name_Violation
Editing – Dead Metal
Send us your artwork!
Art entries are reviewed on a monthly basis for the newsletter. Send your entries
here by February 28th for the March newsletter.
Do you have modeling or art tips to share with other members? Why not write a guide? Feature tips from - repainting, kitbashing, drawing, sculpting, and even computer graphics: Send an email to
Transtopia.Guide@gmx.de for details.
Hello Bots n' Con's, its your old pal Name_Violation here with this months Fan Fiction. I must admit I was rather disappointed in the lack of submissions in the Fan Fiction department, and i would love to see a "Spotlight Trypticon" type story (hint hint) if anyone is capable. Anyway this month I recommend the follow up to last months pick. Rather than bog everything down, This months choice is a little long so I think I'll just post an excerpt, and post the link if anyone is interested in more.
Now if a few more of you would just post some stuff... Glad this job doesn't pay by submission or my family would be goin' hungry. People have been complaining about the plot, or lack there of, in the new movie. Can you do better? Think so, then prove it! Put up or shut up people. Come on now, I know alot of you guys have talent, lets see it!
This G1 fanfic is set in the beginning, when Spike and Sparkplug are still new acquaintances of the Autobots, and learning how to help and get along. A definite read, especially if you liked last months. I give this 4 up-tight medics out of 5.
'Till next month...
N_V
Chapter Two: The Hypo-critic Oath Part I
By Neko
“But if the coolant lines are supposed to go to this limb, wouldn’t it have to feed through here?”
Spike looked up from homework toward where his Dad and Wheeljack were discussing Cybertronian anatomy. Despite his diligence in completing his assignments, it was difficult to keep his attention from wandering off. He was somewhat knowledgeable with cars and machinery and once in a while he would pick up familiar words and quite a few foreign ones.
What was a hydraulic flux dampener?
School had started a mere two weeks ago and already he was being virtually crushed beneath the amount of homework his teachers were giving him and his peers. So much work was drastically cutting into Spike’s regular ‘Hanging out with and/or watching giant robots’ time. Luckily he only had one more page of chemistry equations to work through and he would be free to spend the afternoon as he saw fit.
Mole conversions, you have met your match! As the teen tackled the last few problems, Wheeljack and his father continued on with their lesson.
“No, no, no,” said Wheeljack. “If we did that and he bent his arm, it would end up cutting right through the line, see? Which would be very bad.”
Pointing to something deep inside the armor plating of the injured Mech, the Autobot engineer dictated to the smaller humanoid life form perched upon the chest of the patient on the proper techniques and procedures of repairing such a deep wound. Their debatably lucky subject was a burly minibot named Brawn who laid motionless upon the examination table. While his body remained still, his face was contorted into a look of perpetual annoyance at his current occupation. One arm lay sprawled out away from the rest of his form, the top plating below the shoulder sporting a good sized hole where a Decepticon laser had caught him, severing a coolant and motor line, making said appendage all but useless. Ratchet’s Medbay was full of those worse off then Brawn, so he had been sent to Wheeljack’s lab for a quick repair. When Wheeljack saw the injury, he was struck with a brilliant idea that would potentially lead to shortening the quick repair to a simple quick fix! However, the quick fix was running much longer then intended as Brawn suddenly found himself an impromptu teaching aide. After all, Wheeljack had to make sure his new pupil knew what he was doing before he went spelunking into the body of a Mech.
Wheeljack bent over his patient and helper while explaining how to go about feeding the new coolant line properly into the arm for adequate temperature control. Sparkplug looked down into the open wound and nodded, seeming to be enthralled at the opportunity to help repair an injured Mech.
Spike father, ever the grease moneky...
“Alright, so then where does it go?” Sparkplug asked....
Want more? View the rest at
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=52771&p=940657#p940657[/quote]
Send your entries here.
Hey Transtopia folks - Burn wants to interview you. How did you get into Transformers? Why are you addicted to kitbashing? What was your first repaint like? What do you do with your spare time?
Don’t keep Burn waiting any longer – he’s getting bored at work.
Send him a PM here.
Date: Tuesday, June 16th 2009 7:02am CDT
Categories: Site News,
Site Articles,
Transtopia
Posted by: Dead Metal |
Credit(s): Transtopia
Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 128,286
OK now I hope you like gold as I decided to keep the gold for another month, why? Well I'm currently in the stress of my final exams and changing the banners costs time not a lot but it still costs some time.
In this Newsletter we even have two pieces of art that where displayed at BotCon, Psychomud's Apeface picture that came in second place of the art contest and passiondesigns's diorama of Movie Megatron hunting down Sam and the AllSpark.
And we have photos of the BotCon fanart panel cutesy of our very own SupremeConvoy! You can download these photos by clicking
here.
Oh and if you feel up to it, we need a replacement for Mattyc1007 who is in charge of /repaints/kitbashes/scratchbuilds but only till he comes back in September of this year. If you're interested drop Dead Metal a pm and first come first serve!
Enjoy the awesomeness of Transtopia's art!
And checkout
Transtopia for the latest in Transformers art.
How to Showcase Your Work...
The newsletter is your opportunity to show off your work and talent. We rely on your articles, artwork, and customs to make it interesting. Entries will be reviewed on a monthly basis. You can submit your work here:
Repaints,
Kitbashes,
Scratchbuilds
Fan Art
Fan Fiction
Guides
Newsletter Credits:
Design - Flix
Formatting/repaints/kitbashes/scratchbuilds – Mattyc1007
Fan Art - Mykltron
Fan Fiction – Name_Violation
Editing – hellkitty, Dead Metal
Here are a few of Transtopias many repaints, click the images to see the threads and full size images!
Just a few of the very very cool kitbashes Transtopians produce, and yes click the thumbnails to see the thread and full size images!
/energonpub/viewtopic.php?f=143&t=54212
There wasn't much artwork submitted in May so I thought I'd write about two of them that really grabbed my interest.
When I saw Rabotnik's picture (without seeing any information about it) my first thought was 'that looks like Optimus Prime and Megatron combined'. It turns out that is exactly what it is. The two modes are full of references to both leaders;
The metallic grey, the rocket launcher on the arm, the two dark shapes (wheels) on his hips, the bucket head, the rocket launcher behind his shoulder all mimic G1 Megatron whilst the red and blue suggests G1 Optimus Prime, as does the windows representing pectorals. Notice the head unifies both characters by being both blue and buckety.
This is the only Transformer art work that Rabotnit has produced, and he only signed up at Seibertron to share this picture. This is a shame as I would like to see what other strange concepts he could come up with. Imagine the strange stories that could be created in a universe where Prime and Megatron get spliced together...
Take some time to look around Rabotnik's website:
http://www.rabotik.nl/ as it has some cool stuff, including a short animation showing the development of Optimega Pron. You'll find it
here.
If you look at Hanch Prime's first page of his blog you'll see several excerpts of comic art featuring G1 Optimus Prime, Megatron and Starscream. A close look at these pictures suggests he used the Masterpieces as models, and it is worth taking a close look as the pictures have such intricate details. The lines are crisp and clear so the level of detail doesn't confuse the eye. What is also interesting is that, similar to Rabotnik's website, Hanch Prime has given us two versions of the pictures - one showing the rough planning sketches and the other showing the finished (but uncoloured) line drawing.
Send us your artwork!
Art entries are reviewed on a monthly basis for the newsletter. Send your entries
here by May 28th for the July newsletter Please note that your artwork needs it's own thread/gallery or both.
Do you have modeling or art tips to share with other members? Why not write a guide? Feature tips from - repainting, kitbashing, drawing, sculpting, and even computer graphics: Send an email to
Transtopia.Guide@gmx.de for details.
All right boys and girls, it’s that time of the month again (no not
THAT time of the month). It’s time for this month’s fanfic. WE NEED MORE SUBMISSIONS! I can’t stress this enough. I know you people are creative, let’s see it!
I'd like to throw a topic at everyone this month. This month I would love to see some submissions about a city-bot: Metroplex, Tripticon, Fortress Maximus, Scorponok, Grand Maximus, or Metrotitan. Maybe about their thoughts and goals, maybe a fight, or maybe whatever else you can come up with. Who will write next month’s chosen submission? Only time will tell….
All entrants have received a cookie for their participation (check your folders). This month’s runners-up include CrabHeart for a laugh, and an old entry by The_Fires_Of_Inferno for a dark and artistic tale. Thanks, guys!
This month’s winning story is a great G1 story of first impressions and misunderstandings between Autobots and humans. It’s a lighthearted read, written by Neko and definitely recommended. I give this story 4 cultural misunderstandings out of 5.
-Name_Violation-
Shoots and Ladders
by Neko » Tue May 05, 2009 12:20 pm
Synopsis: G1.
Sometimes first impressions aren’t always the right ones, but around the Ark, one truth remains firm and everlasting: When in doubt, duck. Spike-centric series of related one-shots.
Chapter One: Traffic Tickets and Color Wheels
The day had begun much like the day before and the one prior to that.
For the most part, it was very pleasant. Strange, alien, and mind-boggling, but pleasant.
Everything around him was big. Very big. Just looking up at the ceiling too long made him dizzy, which was kind of fun for a while until he started feeling nauseous. After taking a moment to secure his equilibrium, Spike returned to his current pastime: Robot Watching. Well, they referred to themselves as Mechs and even seemed to have taken offense when Spike used the ‘R’ word.
He was careful not to do that again. When he could help it.
It had barely been a week since the world had woken up to having Giant Alien Ro—er, Mechs wandering around their backyard and Spike was still riding a giddy high that’d been with him since he and his father had been rescued from the waters of the Pacific ocean after the oil rig they’d been on was attacked…by other giant alien Mechs.
Evil giant alien Mechs. Who called themselves Decepticons. Spike made a mental note to ask one of the Autobots how they came up with those names! Perhaps the name has more of a terrifying connotation in their native language, but something seemed to have been lost in translation.
It was fascinating to watch the Autobots as they went about their duties to get their ship-turned-impromptu-base up and running: repairing bits of corridor, replacing broken panels and consoles, testing out everything. They appeared so alien-like yet so human; the young boy could not help but be fascinated. The Ark was a complex, highly advanced piece of technology that boggled Spike’s mind whenever he attempted to wrap his around the sheer improbability of it all. Everything seemed so intricate, so delicate; circuitry and the like ran through almost everything, the floors, the walls, everything.
Had Spike not been seeing Mechs who most certainly weighed a good couple tons walk on the flooring he was certain he would be scared to do anything but tip-toe across the metal plating, all too aware of the delicate, and likely expensive as hell, circuitry underneath. Yet everything was guarded, reinforced, and covered to a degree virtually unknown and certainly unheard-of to mankind. Even if he had a diamond crowbar, Spike didn’t think he could do the ship any real damage; maybe a dent in the wall if he swung hard enough. But that was a big maybe.
Sitting on the ledge of one of the consoles, Spike allowed the scene before him unfold like some never-ending television show.
For the most part, what was once the bridge of the ship had become the main control room, the official room of business. It was here that Spike had the best vantage point to observe humanity’s newest allies and really it was one of only a few places where he could be out of way of large clambering feet. The Autobots were always outwardly careful whenever he was around, but in everyone’s best interest Spike always took the liberty to find elevated seats to keep from getting caught underfoot. For the most part, the day was routine and uneventful and Mechs wandered through the control room, deaf and unaware to all except their work.
He hadn’t met all of the Autobots yet, or spoken to most, but they didn’t seem to mind the young human watchong them as they worked; though Spike did notice one of them kept glancing at him as if to see if he was still there. After a while it began to nag at the boy, wondering if maybe the Autobot was silently trying to tell him to scram, that he was annoying them. The last thing he needed was a pissed-off robot. He was about to scoot off the edge and find some other room to observe when the door to the far right of the room opened and a Mech walked in, malice seeming to rise off his red armor plating like heat.
When the Mech glanced toward Spike and then tromped forward with deliberate steps, Spike froze. In his mind, he wondered what he had done to anger anyone. He couldn't think of anything, perhaps he wasn’t looking at Spike. Maybe it was one of the Mechs next to him or….
“You!” The Autobot said, pointing toward Spike and any hope of avoiding a confrontation was deflated. What had he done?
As the Autobot approached, Spike shrank back, glancing pleadingly to the two Mechs who were working on the large computer only a little ways off, but they seemed just as confused as he and even a little curious. Spike belatedly realized that the Mech was a lot shorter then most of the Autobots and he had a similar shape to Bumblebee, but despite the similarity, the Mech’s red armour and little horns made him look more like a (comparatively) little devil. The small Autobot impended over Spike, blue eyes aglow with fury. His hand shot forward and Spike clenched his eyes shut instinctively. When nothing happened, he opened his eyes warily and was greeted with a small slip of paper pinched between the Mech’s large fingers.
Bemused, Spike glanced up at the angry ‘Bot quizzically.
When no explanation was forthcoming, Spike attentively reached out and took the little piece of paper, giving the Mech one more uncertain glance. Looking over the words on the paper, Spike clamped down on the sudden urge to giggle inappropriately. He bit his lip and looked up, noting the Autobot seemed to expect something from him.
“OK?” Spike asked, unable to completely mask his amusement.
“Explain this!” boomed the Autobot.
If the situation hadn’t gleaned the attention of the room before, it certainly did now. The perpetual sensation of diminutiveness suddenly multiplied as the Autobot practically loomed over him. It was quite a disconcerting feeling, especially considering this was supposedly an ally.
“You’re human, you should know!”
“I do know; It’s a ticket,” said Spike simply. What was there to explain?
“What is it for?!”
He blinked, confused. “…Says here you ran a red light….”
Logic told him that should have quelled the red Autobot, however it only seemed to create more ire. “So?” the ‘Bot demanded.
Spike struggled to answer the question with any sort of dignity.
“Well…that’s against the law.”
“Says who?”
Spike regarded the Mech with an incredulous stare. Was he being serious? “Uh…The Law? The President, Congress…our entire judicial system? Everyone.”
“Well, how do you expect us to know that?”
Spike blinked, unsure how to answer him. “Well…. Everyone knows…it’s just common knowledge.”
“Everyone knows what?”
Spike allowed himself a small smile as he explained a concept he knew since he was in kindergarten. “…that red means stop.” It was curious to see the Mech’s face change from intensely furious to utterly confused in the span of a second.
“That makes absolutely no sense. Red is a color, it doesn’t mean anything.”
It was Spike turn to look confused and even a little offended. “Of course it does. All colors have a meaning. Well, most do. It’s psychological.”
“How stupid!”
Spike was vaguely aware that there was now a small audience gathering around them, some of them looking rather amused. A tall green Mech walked up beside the smaller red one and placed a placating hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong, Cliffjumper?”
The red mini-bot turned to the taller one. “I got pulled over by the human police today and the stupid fleshy gave me this thing!” he waved the itty-bitty slip of paper around like a piece of confetti. “A ticket!
How stupid is that?”
“You ran a red light,” Spike reminded him. “That’s a big traffic no-no.” Despite the probable imprudence of such an action, Spike wagged a finger at the Autobot as if gently scolding a toddler.
“What does it mean when you get a ticket?” the green Mech asked Spike before Cliffjumper could respond.
“Well…usually it means a fine. This is your first one so that’s pretty much all it means, but if you’re a repeat offender you could lose your license or get sent to jail. But if that ever happened to one of you guys I don’t think they’d send you to jail…the impound lot, maybe….”
“For not obeying a stupid light?” Cliffjumper demanded, furious again. “What’s the point? Are they some religious relic or something? Is it some taboo to not respect the shiny lights? Have I offended your primitive culture?”
Spike rolled his eyes, trying not to feel offended. “No. They’re traffic lights. It helps regulate the flow of traffic at intersections to keep people from crashing into each other when they cross the road. When you ran a red light you broke the law. You could’ve caused a wreck and hurt someone.”
Cliffjumper shook his head in exasperation and grumbled. “What a useless system. Using colors as traffic signals….”
“Works for us,” remarked the human with equal grouchiness. As enthralling and as fascinating as these Autobots were, he had limits on how many insults on his people and culture he could take. “Red means stop, yellow means caution, green means go.”
“Why? Why not blue means stop and red mean go? Or black means stop. That makes more sense than red.”
“We wouldn’t be able to see a black light very well. And…red is kind of…well, people see it as kind of an ominous color.
It grabs people’s attention.”
“Cliffjumper being the exception, apparently,” a dark blue and yellow Mech smirked from the group of spectators, a red chevron on his forehead. Spike had noticed several of the Autobots with a similar design. It made it kind of hard to remember their names.
“Ominous?” Cliffjumper asked dubiously. “How? Red is an Autobot color!” He pounded his fist against his chest with bravado. “The color of bravery and strength! It’s a heroic color. What’s so slagging ominous about the color red?”
Spike was silent for a moment as he analyzed his own perceptions of the color in question and why it always caught his attention. “…red’s the color of human blood.”
The group went silent as they absorbed the statement, understanding and confusion playing their minds at once.
“Usually when we see red the first thing we think of—well, I think of—is blood. And then other related images pop up. Like anger, death, murder, pain, torture, war…and so on,” added Spike. “But it also has the same connotations like you said. There are some colors that have multiple meanings depending on the context.”
“How so?” The green Mech—Hound, wasn’t it?— asked. He, like several of the other Autobots, looked intrigued and Spike felt a bubble of jollity rise from the pit of his stomach. So far, his time around the Autobots was spent being virtually ignored by all save a few he’d made friends with, and his insides filled with the warm-fuzzies at the notion they were actually paying attention to him and even asking him things. His inner child squealed with joy.
“Well, let’s take your color for instance: green.
Usually we associate green with nature, for obvious reasons—it’s the most abundant color in nature. From that association we get things like life, peace, freedom, and tranquility.” The green Mech smiled at that. “But then green can also mean jealousy. There’s a saying that describes someone as being ‘green with envy’.”
“How about yellow?” asked Bumblebee, one of the few Mechs so far he had gotten to know fairly well. Spike had not seen him come in.
Beside him stood a Mech he had been introduced to as Prowl and beside him was Optimus Prime. With such a prestigious audience hanging on his words, Spike began to feel a bit self-conscious.
“Yellow? Oh, us, well in a traffic light it means caution and you’re supposed to slow down…,so when the light turns red you can stop.” He paused and add, rather embarrassed, ”But then again, most people speed up so they can dodge the red light, so I guess that one’s a bit of a catch-22. But yellow can also mean happy, peaceful, and fun. It’s considered a happy color.”
Bumblebee smiled at that, but Spike was confused when around him, the Mechs began chuckling and murmuring to each other. Spike caught a muttered ‘oh the irony’ and ‘Someone go tell Sideswipe.’ Spike hadn’t met anyone named Sideswipe, or at least he didn’t think he had.
He turned to look at Bumblebee, tilting his head quizzically. The yellow minibot merely shook his head and waved the silent inquiry away, chuckling.
“I’ll tell you later,” he said.
“What about blue?” someone asked to Spike’s left, but he didn’t see who.
“Blue? Ah, that’s kind of a hard one. See, a light blue, like the sky, is considered a happy color. But a deep blue is more mellow and sad. We don’t call certain styles of Jazz ‘The Blues’ for nothing. Blue can either mean really happy or really sad.
One extreme to another depending on the shade or hue. But there’s an old idiom that says someone who talks really fast without stopping is “Talk up a blue streak” but I’m not sure how that relates to the actual color.”
The room erupted in another bout of laughter and several Mech were shouting ‘Ain’t that true!’ Spike made a mental note to ask Bumblebee about that as well.
Send your entries here.
Hey Transtopia folks - Burn wants to interview you. How did you get into Transformers? Why are you addicted to kitbashing? What was your first repaint like? What do you do with your spare time?
Don’t keep Burn waiting any longer – he’s getting bored at work.
Send him a PM here.
[size=150">Reviews
This is a new section that does not have a banner yet but will. This time Burn reviews a new set of shiny stickers!
Let me begin by saying I'm a big supporter of Reprolabels. I've been using their labels soon after they began business and have always praised their service and quality of their products.
That being said, I decided to try out the "opposition".
Opposition you say? Reprolabels have opposition?
Well only when it comes to faction stickers and only for Autobots and Decepticons.
I was searching through
Hobby Link Japan during one of my regular searches for Transformers and weaponry from other lines which I use on my own customs, when I came upon a
set of faction labels produced by a company called Hobby Design. "Metal logos" for my TF's, well I thought that sounded pretty nifty so I ordered myself two sets, which, with postage, set me back $15.90AUD (Roughly $13US)
What do you get? Well you get a sheet of with 40 stickers, 20 Autobot, 20 Decepticon, ranging in sizes from the biggest at 8mmx8mm (0.315 inches) to the smallest at 3mmx3mm (0.1181 inches).
When they arrived the first thing I noticed was the "Kodak Paper" label on the back. hmmmm ... printed on Kodak Paper, wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.
The second thing I noticed was that they weren't cut out. One of the biggest steps Reprolabels made was when they went from labels you cut out yourself, to ones that were pre-cut and you simply peeled off and applied. This seemed a step back to me. However, the reasoning for it soon became obvious.
For a quick experiment (more a case of me being too impatient really) I applied one of the stickers to one of my recent figures, Bling. It was here that I discovered that while you have to cut the sticker from the sheet, you don't have to trim it to the edge. Once you peel off the backing sticker you then affix the label to the surface you're applying it to, press it down nice and hard, then peel off the clear plastic coating leaving a nice shiny metallic faction sticker in it's place! However a word of warning, you need to be REAL careful when removing the clear plastic coating as the stickers are made up of individual pieces and some may not stick. See the pics for what I mean.
At the point in time of me writing this review, i've only tried the labels on one figure, and my mobile phone, and the one problem I can see is that the metallic surface and the size of them tends to obscure the details, of course this may be dependant on the background surface too given that i've only used them on a dark grey surface and a metallic silver surface.
Overall? I think they're a half decent set. They could be a little larger (to accommodate larger figures) and I think given the right figure, will set the figure off nicely. However I think these labels may be best suited not for figures, but for things like your mobile phones, iPods, etc, in other words, they're bling for Mojo's bling.
I'll be sticking with Reprolabels for my stickers.
Now for some pictures!
Applied to my Nokia phone. Hopefully you can see how it's a nice metallic shiney finish.
This is what happens when you're not careful to check everything has adhered correctly.
The original post.
My apologies for not having pics of the labels an actual figure, camera just isn't good enough.
Date: Tuesday, June 2nd 2009 10:39am CDT
Categories: Toy News,
Sponsor News,
Transtopia
Posted by: First Gen |
Credit(s): Past Generation Toys
Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 32,643
The fine folks over at site sponsor
Past Generation Toys dropped by to inform us that they are holding a special Mighty Muggs Customizing Contest. Here are the details:
in a $50 or $25 gift certificate to PastGenerationToys.com...
For a great selection of fan-favorite action figures and collectibles - including a great assortment of Mighty Muggs - check out PastGenerationToys.com.
Do you love Mighty Muggs?
Are you a creative customizer?
Do you like FREE TOYS?
Now's your chance to show off your creativity, customize your own Mighty Mugg figures, and win a gift certificate to PastGenerationToys.com!
Simply customize a Mighty Mugg figure, photograph your creation, and send those photos to us!
One lucky winner will be awarded a $50 gift certificate and two runner-ups will each earn a $25 gift certificate which can be used to buy anything available at PastGenerationToys.com!
Read the full rules below to enter!
MIGHTY MUGGS CUSTOMIZING CONTEST RULES
1. Customized Mighty Mugg figure can be of any character/characters from any film, video game, cartoon, toy line, book, TV show, or pop culture character/icon.
2. Entries will be judged by Jess & Mike of Figures.com, Josh of PastGenerationToys.com, and Ralph of MightyMuggsForum.com. Entries will be judged on creativity, paint application, sculpting (if any), accessories, and overall finished look.
3. Contestants can enter up to 3 entries in the contest.
4. Entries must be shown exclusively at Figures.com; any entry shown or displayed on any other website before the end of the contest will be disqualified.
5. Entries must include a minimum of three photos and a maximum of seven photos.
6. Entries should be emailed as attachments (.jpg format, no larger than 1000x1000 in size) to Michael.Klein@figures.com.
7. Contest officially begins April 30, 2009 and ends on July 31, 2009. The winners will be announced the first week of August.
Good luck and get to customizing!
Okay Transtopians, here's your chance to shine!
To view the original post on this, click
here.
Date: Sunday, May 31st 2009 11:21pm CDT
Categories: Movie Related News,
Toy News,
Site Articles,
Transtopia
Posted by: First Gen |
Credit(s): Jin Saotome
Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 59,235
Seibertron.com member Jin Saotome has stopped by again to give us some more great tips on improving our Transformers figures. This time, he tackles some quick fixes for to Transformers Revenge of the Fallen figures, Sideswipe and Breakaway. Here's what he had to share:
Here's a somewhat easy fix for your Breakaway to get his head moving and the neck joint able to lift up I found the landing gear kept his upper body/nosecone from moving all the way down and the front windshield needs to be carved underneath, the back of his head too so he can tilt forward. Also, acetone the top and front of his lightpipe eyes and they'll shine clear blue again.
And here's one to keep Sideswipe's chest from unlatching constantly. You just need to create some pressure by sticking something about the thickness of a playing card or two in the gap where the windshield folds down against his back, thus jutting the chest forward a bit and the latch works.
Date: Saturday, May 16th 2009 8:37am CDT
Categories: Site News,
Site Articles,
Transtopia
Posted by: Dead Metal |
Credit(s): Transtopia
Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 138,988
Hi all, noticed something different about the Newsletter? Well if not, the banners are all gold now thanks to flix. So why are they now all made of nice and shiny gold-goodness? Well this is the 5th Transtopia Newsletter, and I thought it would be a nice idea to celebrate this awesome fact with something special - and I like shiny gold things.
And yes this time the newsletter is back to it's old standard. So get reading and feasting yourselves on the arty-goodness we have for you this month!
Tell us how you like this new look and we might reuse it for future "gold editions".
And checkout
Transtopia for the latest in Transformers art.
How to Showcase Your Work...
The newsletter is your opportunity to show off your work and talent. We rely on your articles, artwork, and customs to make it interesting. Entries will be reviewed on a monthly basis. You can submit your work here:
Repaints,
Kitbashes,
Scratchbuilds
Fan Art
Fan Fiction
Guides
Newsletter Credits:
Design - Flix
Formatting - Mattyc1007
Fan Art - Mykltron
Fan Fiction - Name_Violation
Editing - hellkitty, Dead Metal
Here are a few of Transtopias many repaints, click the images to see the threads and full size images!
Just a few of the very very cool kitbashes Transtopians produce, and yes click the thumbnails to see the thread and full size images!
Sadly there seem to be no new finished scratchbuilds so we leave you with these awesome WIP projects!
For this month's featured slot I'm going to talk about Neko's collage of Prowl because I haven't seen any other work in this style in the fan forum.
So why did she choose to work with a medium that most of us haven't used since we were young enough to play with TFs and not be considered weird? Neko felt that interest in the Mosaic project was lessening so she wanted to do something different to grab peoples attention. After doing the art for Be Brave she was so proud of her work that she felt like using this style to portray Prowl, a character that she claims all true fangirls have a soft spot for. With this nugget of information, it seems strange that Neko doesn't even own a Prowl figure. So she took inspiration from IDW comics, particularly the work of E.J. Su, whose work she admires for its clarity.
To create this piece of art, Neko planned the picture with line art before assembling the final piece out of thousands of pieces of paper. Does he look 3D because Neko is a good artist, or is it because she has built him up with so many layers? You decide.
Also checkout her
DeaviantArt page.
Send us your artwork!
Art entries are reviewed on a monthly basis for the newsletter. Send your entries
here by May 28th for the June newsletter.
Do you have modeling or art tips to share with other members? Why not write a guide? Feature tips from - repainting, kitbashing, drawing, sculpting, and even computer graphics: Send an email to
Transtopia.Guide@gmx.de for details.
This is quiet possibly the most touching fanfic I've ever read. It explains one of the mysteries of Transformers, where are all the females. If you have ever pondered the fate of the fem-bots, or are just looking for a good read then check this out. I would definitely give this 9 ruthless dictators out of 10.
Also an honorable mention to Undead Waffles, for an enjoyable read about a zombie apocalypse, and Andy Turnbull for a great Mosaic piece.
Now where are the rest of you? We need more submissions, so get them synapses firing, people!
by NickRyder
Hi all! This is my first (and certainly not last) Transformers fan fiction offering. After reading that post about "whatever happened to the female Autobots" I got to thinking and well... here's my 'short' take on the subject. I'm using the G1 reality with a few minor changes here and there. The title is sorta cribbed from the classic 'last' Silver Age Superman story "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?"
Enjoy!
--
Transformers G1
"Whatever Happened to the Female 'Bots of Yesterday?"
By Nick Ryder - 2009
--
Earth - Autobot City
The weather was perfect, clear skies, just cool enough to be comfortable, the perfect day for a drive with the top down.
"Arcee, aren't you going just a little fast?" Carly said with just a hint of alarm in her voice.
"I thought you liked speed?" Arcee replied back with a slight laugh.
"I do, but what you're doing is suicide." Carly reached up to grab her hat that was starting to fly off her head, only for it to be whisked away."Why the rush? I thought you wanted to enjoy the day?"
"I do. I'm just...blowing off steam, as Spike would say," Arcee said as she slowed down and reached out a hand from the back of her alternate mode to catch Carly's hat.
"Thanks," Carly said with a smile. "So what do you think of Earth so far?"
"I love it: so much wide open space, yet still enough buildings and confinement to feel like home," she replied as she roared through a canyon. "I'm glad Elita One approved my transfer here, but I do feel bad leaving my sisters. There are so few of us."
Carly bit her lip as she was about to say something, then she shook her head ."I have been meaning to ask, but from the tone of your voice."
"What is it?" Arcee inquired.
"Whatever happened to the other female Autobots? You're the first female of your kind I've ever encountered. I was beginning to think your creator had favored the males over the females." Carly laughed. "Although I suppose robots don't quite need the disparity as much as we humans."
Arcee put the brakes on. "There were far far more of us females once upon a time," she said as she displayed a holographic screen on the windshield. "And there was a need for the two. Trust me on that one."
She displayed images of older Cybertronians in their pre-war forms, including what appeared to be 'children.' "You see, Carly, our creators decided that it would be useful for us to be able to reproduce. All of us can refashion matter and take elements of ourselves to do things like simple repairs or affect our mass shifting and with creating new alternate modes."
"Makes sense." Carly agreed.
"When the war began...that is when things got very...very bad for us female Cybertronians. At first it started out simply: a campaign set out by the early Decepticons advised that it would be useful for our continued existence and sustainability if Cybertronian couples would limit the number of protoforms they create. Some even advocated a one-protoform-per-household advisement." Arcee brought up a few images of the propaganda posters used in that campaign.
"Sounds a little familiar," Carly replied. "Go on."
"It was all a scam. Cybertron was able to produce and sustain enough Energon for up to four or five times what our population was at that time. We had even begun colonizing other dead planets and moons to create new colonies, research facilities and energy plants. Then, Megatron came around. At first everyone fawned over him. Suddenly we had an 'energy crisis.' Which was felt far and wide. No one really knew what happened to our energy reserves, nor did it seem like we were producing enough." Arcee displayed the decline of certain Cybertronian cities. "First the ruling council decided to combine cities on Cybertron and start conserving energy. But the drain continued. Then Megatron and one of Optimus Prime's predecessors, Templar Prime, debated fiercely over the next step: the immediate cessation of new protoforms. Templar fought and fought in the Council, but ultimately the Council ruled in Megatron's favor. Female Cybertronians would have their reproduction matrix deactivated. This did not sit well. A few of the female Autobots had felt that if they could not reproduce, they would not keep their forms. And had retrofits to be male Cybertronians. Some deactivated themselves. Others openly defied the orders."
Carly sat in rapt attention. "How horrible."
"It gets worse. This was only one of the fronts Megatron took in his quest to rule all of Cybertron. It was revealed that the Decepticons were acting as energy terrorists. The council expelled Megatron from the Planetary Security Panel, but it was too little too late. Megatron slew Templar Prime and half the council. One of the remaining council members, Sentai, took the Matrix of Leadership and became Sentinel Prime. He declared the Decepticons and Megatron enemies of the state. The Autobot Elite Guard was formed to combat them. It was then that we became two races. Us and them. The female Autobots fought alongside their male counterparts and for a time, it seemed like things were getting better."
"But they weren't, right?"
"Not by a long shot." Arcee displayed an image of over 12,000 Autobot skulls on pikes in what was once a city. "Twelve thousand Autobots died on the attack of Omicron City. Ninety percent of which were female, as Omicron City was one of our protoform-protectorate cities. The female Autobots that defied the sterilization orders went there to raise their protoforms. That is where I was born." Arcee sighed heavily as she paused for a very long time. "My mother was the Captain of the Elite Guard for Omicron City. My father was the Captain of the Sky Corps. I was only a protoform, but I remember transforming and running away--the first time I used my alternate mode. When I returned with my father, my mother...my mother was dead."
"Oh how horrible, I'm...I'm so sorry," Carly said as she put her hand on Arcee's console. "Truly."
"Thank you, Carly, it has been a long time since I have thought of my parents," Arcee replied and continued her story. "My father sent me away both to recover from the injuries I sustained in the attack and to keep my safe. I protested, but father could be very convincing."
She displayed a video log of a fierce Autobot and Decepticon battle. "It was nearly three cycles before I saw him again, but it wasn't in the way I expected. Starscream and his Seekers had attacked one of our major energy collection cities. My father tried to repel their attack, but it wasn't any use. The Decepticons had mastery of the air, far more than we did. My father was a brilliant pilot. But they had no regard for life, theirs or ours. I was arriving on a shuttle when one of the Seekers crashed into us. Luckily father taught me how to fly shuttles as a protoform and I learned how to do some basic piloting of larger ships while I was away."
"So you saved the shuttle?" Carly asked. "That's amazing."
"It was: I was so proud. Even though we had lost fifty protoforms and females in the attack, more than two hundred remained," Arcee said. "My father transformed and went to meet me, partly to admonish me for coming into a hot war zone, and partly to congratulate me. I was about to ask him if he needed my help, when the shuttle, still full of Autobots, exploded behind us. My father was impaled by the debris. Leaving me alone, holding his spark-less form in my arms. I cried out so loud, that I burned out my vocal processors for nearly a half-cycle."
Arcee started to drive again, this time going to the edge of a cliff. "I went to Paradron and that is where I was recruited by Elita One to be one of her operatives. I refused at first, as I was undergoing training to be a medic, but she appealed to the parts of me that came from my parents. I told her that I did not want to be a warrior, so I became part of the support staff."
"So that's why you stay back at the City." Carly snapped her fingers.
"Well, I am a maintenance-trained technician, as well as communications specialist. That was how I found out about Megatron and Shockwave's plans to cripple the Autobot's reproduction abilities. He had a massive campaign to make us female Autobots extinct. A virus tore through our ranks, through our recharge stations. We lost most of our ranks through that virus. Then Shockwave and Soundwave lead attacks on the bases that had the highest concentrations of female Autobots. It was decided by both Optimus Prime and Elita One that we go underground. But it was too little too late, yet again. When Prime and Megatron both left a nearly Energon-depleted Cybertron and came to Earth to be considered lost for over a million years, only a handful of new protoforms were birthed. Energon was so scarce that many protoforms died within cycles of being created, as did many other Cybertronians that direct conflict didn't kill. Energy loss did them in."
"So that is why there appear to be so few of you even now," Carly said. "And why it seems like there are so few young Autobots."
"Exactly. Megatron may have lost, but we took the bigger losses. Soundwave, before he was lost with Megatron, had abducted and brainwashed a number of protoforms, which he turned into his minions. The 'Con you know as Rumble was actually one of my friends protoforms. I used to take care of him during the wars. Frenzy was one of Chromia's charges who ran away because he wanted to see more action. Just as we recovered him, Soundwave captured him. There is nothing left of Fry and Ramses as I knew them."
"I always did wonder about those two."
"They were so cute as protoforms. In the time that Cybertron was ruled over by Shockwave who stockpiled and rationed out Energon, making us resort to subterfuge and theft to keep our rapidly dwindling ranks from dying off. Roaming death squads killed off so many Autobots, those that would not defect to the Decepticon side. The bodies of the dead were used to build weapons and add fuel to the Energon creation matrices. In time, Elita One's team was one of the few remnants left. Shockwave had captured a few cells and those that were not too far gone, he kept in stasis, primarily for reproduction of new Decepticons. Predaking was one of those new forms. Sparks from living, yet badly damaged, Autobots were kept in storage for re-implantation in new Decepticon frames and reconditioning."
Carly sat in silence and felt her stomach.
"Are you ill Carly?" Arcee asked as she scanned Carly.
"The story. It's just...upsetting. The thought of so many dying so senselessly." Carly wiped a tear away.
"I know. Although, there is hope. In the past few years our kind has been able to stave off the decline. Just this past year over 100 new protoforms have been birthed," Arcee said as she drove past a tree where a nest of baby birds was being fed by their mother. "It may take time, but I think in time, things will turn around. Once we have Cybertron fully secured, things can rebuild."
"That would be wonderful." Carly smiled and wiped away her tears.
"I see that you are also creating your own protoform," Arcee said with a chuckle. When were you planning on telling Spike?"
"Tonight. As soon as he and Bumblebee are finished with their work, I'm going to have dinner with him and tell him I'm carrying his child," Carly said as she reclined back. "I hope what happened on Cybertron never happens here."
"Same here, sister. Same here," Arcee replied and turned around quickly and roared back toward Autobot City "Let's get back. I have a date, too."
"Ohhh?" Carly winked. "Who?"
"Some new kid: Hot Rod. Moonracer set us up. He sounds cute."
"Next generation, hmmm?" Carly laughed.
"Oh Primus, no! I haven't even MET him! I'm not merging my spark with his until at least...a few dozen cycles!" Arcee protested.
"Hmm hmm...," Carly smirked.
"I hear he's had dates with a number of female Autobots, so eh...I'm not hoping for much."
"Well, Spike had a few girlfriends besides me for a while, but he chose brains and beauty over beauty and mechanical skills," Carly said with a wink. "I'm glad you came here, Arcee. Finally feels like I have someone I can connect with."
"Same here: you're the first human that I've felt a friendship with. Ever need help, I'll be there for you. And your protoform," Arcee replied.
"We call them babies, but thank you," Carly said as she looked out the window and saw the sun setting in the distance.
"I thought this is what men called women?" Arcee quipped.
"Some men. It's slang, I guess. I hate that term," Carly said as she made a disgusted face.
The dashboard started to beep. "Spike is trying to contact us."
"Put him through," Carly replied. "Spike, I take it you boys are done with your work."
"We sure are. Can't wait for you to see what we did. So when will you two be back?" Spike inquired as Bumblebee pulled the comm up to his level.
"I think Spike wants to know how fast Arcee can get you back here," Bumblebee said with a smirk.
"Before you know it," Arcee replied and started to go faster.
"Whoa! Little warning, Arcee...," Carly said as she gripped the wheel.
"Ha-ha. Drive carefully, Arcee, that's my wife you're driving. See you in a little while then. Love you, babe." Spike said as he closed the channel.
Arcee chuckled. "He called you 'babe.'"
"I know." Carly rolled her eyes. "I'm training him. That's another thing we human females do."
"Cybertronian, too. Why do you think Prime is so nice? Elita One trained him early on."
"I had a feeling they were an old couple, the way they talk to each other." Carly laughed. "He still loves her."
"As does she. Maybe someday, when Cybertron is at peace, they will be together," Arcee said with a feeling of hopefulness in her voice. "Carly, this drive did me some good. Talking about the past makes me all the more hopeful for the future."
"Me too," Carly agreed as she saw Autobot city on the horizon.
"After all, hope is the only thing our enemies cannot take from us," Arcee said as she pulled into the City and transformed into her bot-mode. "Hope for the future, hope for our kind."
[/quote]
Send your entries here.
Hey Transtopia folks - Burn wants to interview you. How did you get into Transformers? Why are you addicted to kitbashing? What was your first repaint like? What do you do with your spare time?
Don't keep Burn waiting any longer he's getting bored at work.
Send him a PM here.
Date: Friday, April 17th 2009 2:51pm CDT
Category: Transtopia
Posted by: Dead Metal |
Credit(s): Altitron
Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 31,388
Seibertron.com member and Transtopian Altitron had the opportunity of being part of a custom H.O.S. Optimus Prime figure project. His part was to create the boxart for this amazing custom toy project.
Please just enjoy this truly stunning piece of art:
![Re: HoS Prime Box Art [04/04/09]](http://thepimpsled.com/Commission/Grif/Color/PrimeColorLowRes.jpg "Transformers News: HoS Prime Box Art")
And with a more G1 styled box backdrop:
![Re: HoS Prime Box Art [04/04/09]](http://thepimpsled.com/Commission/Grif/Color/PrimeColorBGLR.jpg "Transformers News: HoS Prime Box Art")
Further information about this custom toy can be found
here.
Stay tuned to seibertron.com for all your Transformers related news!
Date: Thursday, April 16th 2009 11:43am CDT
Categories: Site News,
Toy News,
Site Articles,
People News,
Transtopia
Posted by: First Gen |
Credit(s): Dead Metal
Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 257,768
Hello and welcome to the April edition of the
Transtopia Newsletter. Sadly Stormrider who's usually in charge of the Newsletter is not with us for this issue, he is currently moving home from one country to another and has left it in my hands to take over till he comes back.
Remember, to check out the
Transtopia forum for the latest action.
How to Showcase Your Work
The newsletter is your opportunity to show off your work and talent. We rely on your articles, artwork, and customs to make it interesting. Entries will be reviewed on a monthly basis. You can submit your work here:
Repaints,
Kitbashes,
Scratchbuilds
Fan Art
Fan Fiction
Guides
Make a Difference, Join the Newsletter Team!
Want to contribute to help out with the Transtopia newsletter? Join our team. We have a couple roles to fill. Duties require a few hours each month. PM Dead Metal if interested:
Dead Metal
Newsletter Credits:
Design - Flix
Formatting - Stormrider
Fan Art/ Guide - Mykltron
Interview - Burn
Editing - Stormrider, Dead Metal, hellkitty
They're the curse of every TF collector's life. I often keep things, just in case I can find a use for them one day, and boy am I glad I do this! Here are three uses I've found so far for these troublesome little blighters:
1) DRY LAUNDRY
My washing line was sagging under the weight of bed linen and trailing on the grass so I took a garden rake that has a hole at the end of the handle. Using a twisty-tie I secured the middle of the washing line to the handle so the line could be held high enough to keep the laundry clean without danger of the line slipping off.
2) HOLD TF PARTS WHILE APPLYING PAINT
If the part has a convenient hole it helps keeps fingers clean and paint finish smooth.
And now the one I'm particularly chuffed with:
3) FULLY ARTICULATED HANDS FOR DELUXE FIGURES
Using a 1/100 gundam hand and twisty-ties I have made a new hand for Universe Sunstreaker. This size is also suitable for Prowl, Cliffjumper, Voyager Megatron and Ultra Powerglide, maybe others too! This is my first attempt and I have an idea that will make it look slightly better and easier to pose.
As can be seen, this hand can make a pretty good fist:
It still fits inside his car mode:
Of course, it can still hold a gun but I forgot to take a photo of that.
So, anyone got any other ideas of how to use those horrible twisty-ties?
Do you have modeling or art tips to share with other members? Why not write a guide? Feature tips from - repainting, kitbashing, drawing, sculpting, and even computer graphics: Send an email to
Transtopia.Guide@gmx.de for details.
This months repaints section brings us some more great work from resident Transtopian omega666. Here he treats us with his versions of Classics 2.0 Shockwave and Soundwave:
omega666's version of Soundwave holds a very sweet third alt mode G1 enthusiasts will definately get a kick out of:
Our next Transtopian repainter flix brings us a custom Movie Soundwave:
Flix also gives us a good look at his take on Movie Swindle too:
What would custom work be without Kitbashes?! This month features some amazing work by Transtopian L_K, the same kitbasher that brought us the custom
Unicron of Lightfigure. Here he gives us his take on Arcee of the Transformer Movie, both of them that is:
Newsletter contributor Mykltron also added to the mix with a more movie accurate version of Barricade:
Even Frenzy got the treatment:
Sitting down with us and breaking his interview virginity is zero-kaiser, who, for the record, volunteered willingly for this and I didn't have to stalk or harass him for it. (In fact he was so enthusiastic he was bordering on harassing me!)
Burn - So tell us a bit about yourself.
zero-kaiser - Well, as of the 15th of February I'm 24 years old. Originally I'm from the south of England but I've lived in the northwest since I was about 4... yet I've somehow managed to keep the 'posh' southern accent--make of that what you will.
When I'm not wandering around Seibertron.com or looking for a job, I can usually be found playing either my Wii or DS lite; reading; painting either Warhammer 40K models or Transformers; shooting TF video reviews for my YouTube channel; or spending time with my wonderful fiancee
...good to keep yourself busy right?
B - I'm finding myself too busy to work on my own kitbashes, unfortunately! Now tell us how you got into Transformers and a little about your own collection.
z-k - Like most fans I had some of the older toys when I was a child and foolishly gave them away.
Back when I was in college I stumbled across BWTF.com and saw photos for some of the Robots In Disguise toys. The designs and detail on the Autobot Brothers alone are probably the main reason I got (back) into Transformers. That summer I picked up the Super (blue) repaint of Prowl and I was hooked. It took some time for my collecting to really take off though, mostly due to only working part time whilst I was at college.
As it stands my collection stands at just over 100 TF's ranging from RiD right through to the current Universe and Animated lines.
(Photos of my collection are here if you're interested)
I can honestly say there isnt really one single character I go for above all others…it depends on the mold and the line. Classics 2.0/Universe/Henkei is really impressing me at the moment; there’s very few characters from that line that I wouldn’t pick up. That said there’s a couple of TF's from past lines that I wouldn’t mind hunting down someday...mostly from the Cybertron range and a handful from RiD.
B - So give me at least five toys and characters you like the most.
z-k - In no particular order what so ever....
Toys:
1• TF Cybertron Leader Class Optimus Prime
2• Primus
3• Henkei Convoy
4• Movie Leader Class Optimus Prime
5• Masterpiece Optimus Prime
Characters
1• If it wasn’t obvious from the above list: Optimus/Convoy. Which continuity? Probably Cybertron, I'd say.
2• Galaxy Force Starscream: his Japanese voice is brilliant and he goes toe-to-toe with Primus—if that isn’t cool I don’t know what is!!
3• Kup: I had a newfound love for that character after reading his IDW Spotlight.
4• Grimlock: him king, got it?
5• IDW Galvatron: it’s as if that’s the way he should have been all along—a brooding badass .
B - What would you consider to be "holy grail" for you to obtain for your collection? Aside from Fortress Maximus, because everybody wants a Fortress Maximus.
z-k - Ha! Besides Fort Max? If I had to pick just one...RiD Omega Prime. That thing is awesome beyond words.
Besides him? RiD Rail Racer and the Classics Devastator Giftset. I'd be pretty chuffed if I could find any of those without killing my wallet
B - Moving onto your creative side, when did you first start churning out your creations and where did you learn to do what you do?
z-k - I suppose it was about 12 years ago now. When I started high school I made friends with someone who got me into the Games Workshop Warhammer 40,000 range. It took me a long time to get any good at painting but one thing I did a lot were conversions—think of them as kitbashes for 40K. Twelve years later and I still have a lot of the miniatures I have made from various bits and pieces I had lying around.
As for where I learnt to do the things I do? Trial, error, practise and patience. Even if I did something 'wrong' or it didn’t come out the way I wanted it to, I learnt from the experience. I like to think that something is only a mistake if you don’t learn from it.
Band-Aids/Plasters have proven invaluable over the years, too, but that’s just me occasionally being a bit ham-fisted.
B - You mention band-aids/plasters: tell me more about your injuries you've sustained kitbashing over the years! I have a lovely bump on one of my fingers where I kinda missed the plastic and found finger instead….
z-k - Well…there’s a nice deep scar on the tip of my left index finger. I got that from trying to cut a Space Marine arm in half. The blade snapped and plunged straight into the side of my finger. I didn’t realise how deep it was until I ran it under a tap to wash it and saw the bone…yeah, that needed stitches. Still don’t have all the feeling back in it either.
On another occasion I managed to saw the skin on the knuckle of my thumb off…which was pretty stupid of me.
Most of my other injuries are minor cuts or burns where I've tried to pull freshly dremeled plastic off, forgetting that it’s red hot.
I guess you could say I suffer for my art.
B - With the amount of TF-related artists there are out there, who has influenced/inspired you the most?
z-k - I guess my inspirations come from a lot of places really. E.J Su is amazing. I picked up Infiltration issue 0 a while back and was fascinated by the interview in the back, especially the technical drawings he had done.
I was equally blown away after reading Stormbringer and seeing Don Figueroa's amazing artwork. Same goes for Alex Milne and Nick Roche; I love their styles and can spend hours looking over their work.
Yoji Shinkawa is name that definitely springs to mind, too. He did the concept artwork and designs for the Metal Gear Solid series of games, as well as Zone of the Enders. With the exception of Metal Gear Rex, his blending of organic and mechanical is really quite awesome.
One other thing I will mention when it comes to inspirations, is my fellow Seibertronians who submit their work to the Transtopia section. If I named names I would be here all day, but suffice to say there are some extremely talented people out there and the caliber of their work is something I kind of aspire to.
B - When looking at the creations of others, do you prefer to see their takes on a canon character or a fan-made character?
z-k - I'd honestly say it’s half and half. Seeing people’s takes on a well-established character is always fun and can sometimes take more planning and thought than some might think! On the other hand I have a lot of respect for people who create their own characters. With such a diverse and rich roster of existing characters, it’s hard not to come up with something that’s not similar to an existing TF.
B - You draw, but you seem more inclined to kitbash a figure. If you could do this sort of thing for a job, what genre (kitbashing, drawing, scratch-building) would you prefer?
z-k - Man, that’s a tough one to answer, Burn. To be honest I love creating things in many mediums, but given the choice of the three I would probably say scratch-building. Over the years I've had so many ideas that so far I've only been able to commit to paper. Some day I'll hopefully have the skills, funds, and parts to give them form.
A job where I spent all day in a workshop building things? That would be awesome! (More so if it was building TF's!!)
B - And what would be your dream design if you could pull it off?
z-k - Thats easy: a scratchbuilt combiner. I love combiner teams and I don’t so much as have a problem with Hasbro's efforts, but I have always wanted to try my hand at it. Truth be told I've been wanting to get my hands on the ROTF Constructicons that have individual robot modes so I can see if there’s a way of getting them to combine.
Failing that I wouldn’t mind trying my hand at making a Headmaster from scratch. I drew up some designs a couple of years ago that I might revise and have a go at.
B - So the one question that everyone is dying to have you answer: how did you stumble across Seibertron.com?
z-k - Believe it or not, kitbashes and repaints. Doing a Google image search for them one afternoon kept leading me back here. After that, I came to the site to look at what is now the Transtopia section on a regular basis. Eventually I registered and started posting. Almost two years have fallen off the calender and here we are.
B - So out of all your creations, which one would you consider your favourite?
z-k - I would have to say one of my recent pieces, a
Rodimus Major custom...
He's been a headache to work on in places -coughlegscough- but as soon as the whole thing was together and working I felt very very proud of myself
His rifle looks wicked, too. lol..
B - So let's wrap this up with a couple of games, first up: Word Association!
B - Machine Men/GoBots -
z-k - That annoying scooter thing.
B - Starscream Fangirls -
z-k - caution.
B - Unicron -
z-k - "Hunger" - Spectre General
B - Machine Wars -
z-k - Tiny Megatron..
B - Action Masters -
z-k - 'They're alive ALIVE
ALIVE!!'
B - Michael Bay -
z-k - Lolsplosions!!!
B - Simon Furman -
z-k - ..likes ending things with -tion.
B - Stalker -
z-k - Loud.
B - And now for something a little different: VERSUS!
B - Megatron -vs- Optimus Prime -
z-k - Optimus.
B - Starscream Fangirls -vs- Jazz Fangirls -
z-k - Ack!! Damnit, Burn. Er,…Jazz Fangirls? (Hell my mum’s one after the first movie.)
B - Mini-Cons -vs- Micromasters -
z-k - Mini-Cons.
B - Animated -vs- Generation 1 -vs- Beast Wars -
z-k - Man, that’s a tough one.. I'd probably have to say Beast Wars..
B - Well, I just have to say a big thank you to zero-kaiser for a great interview. I hope you all enjoyed it. For those of you who haven't seen z-k's work, here's a sampling!
Animated Galvatron
Classics Nightbeat (WIP)
War Within Ironhide (WIP)
Scourge/Nemesis Prime Fan Art
Un-named Female Cyborg (WIP - non-tf)
And if YOU are interested in being interviewed, just drop me a pm, otherwise, I'll just have to start stalking people!
Date: Saturday, February 14th 2009 8:06am CST
Categories: Reviews,
Site Articles,
Transtopia
Posted by: Stormrider |
Credit(s): Seibertron
Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 144,887
The excitement continues to build in Transtopia. Lots and lots of repaints, kitbashes, and scratchbuilds. New members and veterans have posted many awe inspiring figures. If you are interested in doing customs but don’t know where to begin, then check out the Transtopia forums for tips from the experts:
Transtopia
The newsletter has undergone a face lift, thanks to Seibertron member, Flix for his creative design work. We also have a winner to announce from our banner contest featured last month: Technically Weird gets the bragging rights to show off his artwork as one of our subheaders.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/Angelic_Prince/seibcontest.jpg
We thank everyone for their participation. You can check out the other entries
here
And remember, to check out the
Transtopia forum for the latest action.
-Stormrider
How to Showcase Your Work...
The newsletter is your opportunity to show off your work and talent. We rely on your articles, artwork, and customs to make it interesting. Entries will be reviewed on a monthly basis. You can submit your work here:
Repaints,
Kitbashes,
Scratchbuilds
Fan Art
Fan Fiction
Guides
Newsletter Credits:
Design - Flix
Formatting – Mattyc1007
Fan Art - Mykltron
Fan Fiction – Sledge
Editing – Stormrider
Shattered Glass Aerialbots – Trikeboy
Cyndicate/GESTAULT OPPRESSOR - sentinal supreme
Alternator Dinobots (with special guest) - Broadblasts short shorts
Shattered Glass Cyclonus - Trikeboy
BW Animated Blackarachnia – Psyke
Animated MotorMaster - sentinal supreme
G1 Unicron – Trikeboy
WST G1 Waspinator - grimlockprime108
Rain Makers - sentinal supreme
Premium Barricade – flix
Shattered Glass Prowl – Trikeboy
Hoodswipe – Grimpoo
MovieRepaints - Hakka
Hearts Of Steel Optimus Prime - Sabsabby85
Starscream – Mykltron
WIP Ironhide - Zero-Kaiser
Revoltech Skywarp & Thundercracker - Chris-morada
Abominus Prime/ Medic Prime - Sentinal supreme
Legends G2 Beachcomber - grimlockprime108
Legends Electrum Beachcomber - grimlockprime108
Mercenary Driveshaft – Grimpoo
WIP Shattered Glass Wheeljack - Trikeboy
Universe Dinobot - Softimus Prime
WIP Cybertron Classics Sideswipe – Shadowstream
TFA G1 Prowl- grimlockprime108
Arcee WIP - ServO
WST Shattered Glass Sideswipe - grimlockprime108
Universe Runabout - grimlockprime108
Classics Hydrostorm - Spurt Reynolds
Animated Starscream – Spurt Reynolds
Animated Snarl - Spurt Reynolds
Animated Slag - Spurt Reynolds
Animated Sludge - Spurt Reynolds
Animated Swoop - Spurt Reynolds
Reflector - wan_de_real
Movie Optimus Prime – Sabsabby85
BT Bumblebee - wan_de_real
Custom alternator Perceptor - Customtoysandmore
Jetfire - Transtopias Rodimus Prime
Classics Special Ops Shockwave - Asepticon
Movie Custom Starscream – Crefigz
Alternator Ratbat and Overkill - Broadblasts short shorts
Plush Trailer - mattyc1007
- by Mykltron
This month’s featured artist is Kyrie with his computer design
Valkyrie, a female quadrochanger.
(click the link to see larger pictures)
Not only has Kyrie designed a fully transforming character, but he also has presented it beautifully as if it were a photo gallery of an actual figure. The transformation process between modes gives us an indication of how much thought and planning must have gone into it, while touches of realism are included - such as light glinting off the corners, shadows and reflections.
Using the extremely sleek car mode as the starting point, Kyrie used engineering drawing techniques to design the robot, followed by the other two modes. Once those stages were complete, Maya 8.0 was used to create the 3D work of art presented here.
The first thing that struck me about this figure was the amount of blue that was used. Beautiful as this colour is, a little more variety of colour may make it easier to understand, although gold and dark grey have been used for some internal parts.
What I particularly like about the robot’s design is how femininity is suggested through slenderness of build rather than actually giving her breasts like Blackarachnia. Another noteworthy feature is what appear to be gun holsters on her hips in robot mode, although we can’t see any guns. If that’s what they truly are then it’s very cool and this should be used on some real TF toys. Perhaps the only thing missing would be fold-out claws for the front feet to match the rear in tiger mode making her more ferocious.
I’m sure Kyrie would appreciate your feedback on this stunning creation, so please leave your comments on the Valkyrie thread
here.
Honorable mentions this month go to Nench for his eye appealing Unicron creation. Click
here.
Send us your artwork!
Art entries are reviewed on a monthly basis for the newsletter. Send your entries
here by February 28th for the March newsletter.
Do you have modeling or art tips to share with other members? Why not write a guide? Feature tips from - repainting, kitbashing, drawing, sculpting, and even computer graphics. Send an email to
Transtopia.Guide@gmx.de for details.
- by Sledge
Hello, fellow Seibertronians, and welcome to the Fan Fiction section. First things first, last month's winner. Sabrblade takes it with the first installment in his "Machine Wars: Transformers – The Fanfic Series." In his own words, it's "within both the U.S. and Japanese G1 animated continuities without interfering with each other." I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty ambitious, and I'll be interested to see how it pans out. Chapter 1 can be read
here, with chapter 2
here. If you enjoy those, start pestering Saberblade to write more. Well done, Saberblade, and I hope to see more writing from you soon.
This month is going to be slightly different, as we're setting two contests:
The first is for the end of February. As that's only two weeks away, and that doesn't leave much time to come up with an idea AND get the final version written, February's competion is open to any TF fiction you've got ready for judging at the end of the month. So if you've got something already written, or have a great idea ready to go, this is for you.
The second is for March. For this one, I've decided to mix things up a little by setting a theme. What I'd like to see is something on the topic of "Transformers Go To The Movies." What does that mean? Whatever you want. Transformers starring in films, TFs watching films, TFs covered in a pile of DVDs, whatever that topic suggests to you is what I want to see. Funny, serious, romantic, tragic, anything. If that topic immediately makes you think "Oh, that would be a story about..." start writing it down.
A quick recap of the rules (don't worry, there's not many):
1) 10,000 word limit. Rough guideline to start with, I won't be automatically disqualifying anything that comes in over.
2) Decent spelling, grammar and punctuation. Run a spell check over your story, and maybe get a friend to read it before submitting.
3) Be specific as to where/when the story is set. So what continuity is it in (G1 comic, G1 cartoon, Armada comic, etc) and where is it set? Before the events of the show/comic, after, during? If during, where does it fit?
4) Fan characters are fine, but please avoid making them those annoying "I am more powerful than any other Transformer!!!" types. Also, consider if there's an under-used existing TF who'd fit the needs of the story just as well as someone new. Existing characters are almost always more interesting to everyone else.
And that's all there is to it. Now you have the easy bit of writing it, which involves (if I may paraphrase Douglas Adams) staring at a blank screen until blood appears on your forehead. Please don't bleed on your keyboards, just have fun.
Send your entries here.
Hey Transtopia folks - Burn wants to interview you. How did you get into Transformers? Why are you addicted to kitbashing? What was your first repaint like? What do you do with your spare time?
Don’t keep Burn waiting any longer – he’s getting bored at work.
Send him a PM here.
Date: Sunday, January 11th 2009 2:19am CST
Categories: Site Articles,
People News,
Interviews,
Transtopia
Posted by: Stormrider |
Credit(s): Stormrider
Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 130,135
It might be cold outside but the activity at Transtopia has been hot. This edition features the creative work from December. Check out the latest customs, artwork, painting guide, and contest. We also have exciting news in the wings - two new sections will roll out next month:
Fan Fiction &
Artist Interviews. Make sure to read about the details below so you can part take in the action and possibly get featured. And in March, get your cameras ready for another creative section. Remember, to visit
Transtopia periodically for the latest work.
-Stormrider
How to Showcase Your Work
The newsletter is your opportunity to show off your work and talent. We rely on your articles, artwork, and customs to make it interesting. Entries will be reviewed on a monthly basis. You can submit your work here:
Repaints,
Kitbashes,
Scratchbuilds
Fan Art,
Fan Fiction,
Guides
Make a Difference, Join the Newsletter Team!
Want to contribute to the Seibertron community? Why not join the newsletter team? We need a few more volunteers for our crew. Duties require a few hours each month, consistently. Roles include layout & design, overseeing sections, and formatting. If you are interested send me a PM:
Stormrider.
Newsletter Credits:
Newsletter Editor - Stormrider
Guides Editor - Dead Metal
Interviewer & Columnist - Burn
Fan Fiction Editor - Sledge
Customs Formatter - Mattyc1007
(Click on the links to see more)
Prowl by Sentinal Supreme
alt
Movie Starscream by Omega666
alt
Thredbolt by Sentinal Supreme
alt
Classics Armada Wheeljack by Grimlockprime108
TF Legends Wasp by Grimlockprime108
Movie Accurate Ratchet by Sabsabby85
Movie Beachcomber by Leobreaker1977
Movie Trailbreaker by Leobreaker1977
Movie Sunstorm by Downshift7
Longarm by Flix
Stockade by Flix
Movie Megatron by Mykltron
Movie Breakdown by Sentinal Prime
Breach & Tick by Sentinal Prime
(Click on the links to see more)
Sliver & Headmaster Matey by Technically Weird
Chuck Close is a famous and very talented painter from Monroe, Washington, United States of America. He was part of the Photorealism art-movement from the US in the 1960's in which the artists based their paintings on photographs. He was one of the greatest of this art-style; but after he was paralyzed from the neck down he really rose to fame. He managed to still paint but being unable to move his arms properly he created a completely new technique of painting to achieve photorealism. He achieved this by painting in grids similar to pixels so when looked at from afar it is indistinguishable from a real photograph.
He paints to this day in this art-style.
As the first Transtopia "How to .." painting guide fellow Transtopian, The Freezer, shows us how you can paint your favorite Transformer in the style of Chuck Close.
Painting Guide (Chuck Close Style)
I had a spare day at college a while back and did this.
1. Find a picture of your desired Transformer and then grid it.
2. Get a canvas or a peice of paper masking taped to some board.
3. Grid said paper or canvas. There MUST be the same amount of squares as on the original gridded picture.
4. Paint the squares in block colour using a mix of the colours in the square on the original picture. For example- original pic- red and black your painting- very dark red.
The end result should be like a pixelated image.
5. Now we add the detail, this is done by painting small shapes in the coloured squares to look like the corresponding square on the original pic. Close up its jibberish but back away and you should see it.
6. Fill in the back ground squares with more funny shapes.
7. Stand back and appriciate your work.
High resolution.
Do you want to contribute to the Transtopian guides? Then send us an e-mail:
Transtopia.Guide@gmx.de You can find the guidelines by clicking
here.
Featured Artwork
Cyber-Kun is this month's featured artist. Cyber-Kun gives us his rendition of Animated Jhiaxus. It is interesting to see how the color scheme, vehicle mode, and transformation were carefully considered during the execution of this piece. You can post your comments about this featured artwork
here.
High Resolution
Honorable mentions goes to Zero-Kaiser for his
Scourge/Nemesis Prime. To all of you modest artists out there, make sure to submit your artwork for the next newsletter
here by January 31st. Submissions are open for all Transformers artwork (new & old pieces).
Fan Fiction
Okay Transformers Mythos Writers here's your chance to be featured in the next newsletter! Starting in February, the Transtopia Newsletter will feature a Fan Fiction story written by one of you. Seibertron member, Sledge, will be directing this new ongoing column and select one story each month.
Entries will be reviewed monthly. Make sure to conform to the guidelines below. Submissions are open for new and old stories. There is no limit to the number of stories that you can submit, but please do not resubmit the same story twice. Post your entries
here.
Guidelines:
1) 10,000 word limit. Rough guideline to start with, I won't be automatically disqualifying anything that comes in over.
2) Decent spelling, grammar and punctuation. People need to at least run a spell-check over the thing before submitting it. This isn't me being a grammar Nazi, it's just difficult to get absorbed in a story if you're constantly being jolted out of it by bad spelling.
3) Be specific as to where/when the story is set. So what continuity is it in (G1 comic, G1 cartoon, Armada comic, etc) and where is it set? Before the events of the show or comic, after, during? If during, where does it fit?
4) Fan characters are fine, but I'd prefer people avoid making them those annoying "I am more powerful than any other Transformer!!!" types. Also, consider if there's an under-used existing TF who'd fit the needs of the story just as well as someone new. Existing characters are almost always more interesting to everyone else.
-Sledge
Artist Interiews with Burn
G'day folks, Stormrider's asked me to throw a blurb together to introduce myself and to also introduce another new part to the monthly Transtopia Newsletter.
My name, obviously, is Burn, and I've been handed the duties of having a chat with one (or more, depending on interest and time) of our many artists that frequent Seibertron.com and Transtopia.
The aim of the monthly chat is to get to know a little more about our creative geniuses, more than just their finished pieces of art. I'm sure many of you have looked at a kitbash or a repaint, or a photoshop piece or even read a fanfic and wondered who the person is behind that.
So that's where this little feature intends to come in. We'll get to know the people behind the art.
Some of you may be wondering, "Why you Burn?" Well Stormrider and First Gen were busy doing other stuff, plus I have done my fair share of creating things.
Some of you may remember a few of my characters from Seibertron.com's Heavy Metal War game. I'm the guy responsible for creating such characters as Gore, CATalyst, Slice, Dice, Dead Reckoning, Cannon Fodder Lemming, and the midget clone every body loved to hate, Mini-Maximus Prime, together they were better known as "The Freaks". I've written a number of back stories for some of these characters, and kitbashed nearly all of them (along with a number of other characters, including Autobots, plus a couple of characters created by Whisper and War Hammer).
So where did it all begin for me? Looking back it really began a bit over two decades ago around the age of 10. Al Gore had yet to really invent the internet, porn was still predominantly distributed on VHS, and Optimus Prime was a truck and Megatron was a gun.
I had never even heard of the term "kitbashing" and my skills up to that point in my life had been basically assembling model aeroplanes, which also often resulted in my fingers being glued together more than the planes themselves.
I also, it seems, had a fascination with the colour "black".
I'd take junker toys, including some busted TF's, and just cobble parts together. If anything these "creations" were the original "Freaks", because that's what they were, freaky looking things, I was a young Dr Frankenstein to plastic toys.
Who liked to paint things black?
I should also point out that at that age too, kids really shouldn't play with sharp knives.
High Resolution
Over the years though I drifted away from Transformers, blame High School. It was only a few years ago that I got back into TF's and in my quest to acquire many missing figures for my collection, I gathered up a nice pile of junker TF's.
This was the early days for kitbashing I might add, Transtopia didn't exist, and many of the major TF forums dedicated very little space to kitbashing. But I had all these junkers and influenced by the few artists that were around, I decided to try my hand.
In no way do I consider myself to be a great kitbasher, (and even less of a writer) but I do have a number of figures I am proud of, and then there are those I just don't even want to talk about!
If I was to say the one thing that is important to me when it comes to kitbashing and even writing, it's to create an original character. Canon characters just aren't my thing, I like creating a character from scratch, defining its personality, and making that personality match the figure.
I also rarely do a straight repaint. I always feel the need to modify a figure in some way to set it apart from the original mould. Whether it's something minor like a weapon change to something extensive like articulating a brick, anything to make it just that little bit different and unique.
So that's me, I'm sure Stormrider was hoping for some shorter, but I had to do SOMETHING while Dexter downloaded!
So this is where I turn it over to you guys, if you've showcased any form of artistic piece here on Seibertron.com recently, be it a repaint, a kitbash, a piece of fanfic, a photoshopped pic, or anything else that you've posted, and you're interested in being interviewed just drop me a pm and we'll get the ball rolling: ucp.php?i=pm&mode=compose&u=4677
-Burn
Banner Contest:
Hey all you savvy digital artist. Do you enjoy whipping up signatures and showing them off on the Internet? Well, here's your chance to put your skills to the test. Create a banner for the Transtopia Newsletter and become the ultimate show off.
Additional banners are needed for the newsletter. Create one or several banners and enter for your chance at fame and glory. The deadline is January 31st. There is no limit to the number of entries you may submit. The winner(s) will have their banners proudly displayed in the newsletters and receive credits and bragging rights.
Create one or all four: (Banner titles)
"Artist Interview"
"Featured Artwork"
"Fan Fiction"
"Photo Blitz"
Requirements:
1. The banner should be 500 pixels wide x 165 pixels high.
2. You can only use pictures or artwork that you have received permission for. You are welcome to use the images from the Seibertron galleries for this contest.
3. Each banner should have the title in the bottom center.
4. Submit your entries in jpeg format.
Example:
Submit your entries
here.
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