Hasbro designers Evan Brooks, Mark Maher and Sam Smith (not the singer), took to
Instagram to talk all about the latest reveals in the Legacy Line. This gives us a behinds the scenes (BTS, not the band) look at the design process. So we get an early look at Skullgrin which has a lower jaw, a first look at his monster tail, info on the Energon Monsters being dropped, and (my personal favourite) the reason for TM2 Megatron's head looking the way it does. Also, it turns out that from a CAD file standpoint, TM2 Megatron is the most complex design ever released by Hasbro for a Transformers line, including MPs. That's because even though it may have less parts than an MP, it has more sculpted texture than any Transformers toy ever released in this modern era of using CAD files for a mold.
Transformers Legacy – Transmetal II Dragon Megatron
What a beast of a character this turned out to be. This was an awesome project to have the opportunity to take over from Lenny, and I absolutely loved his vision for what this figure would become. This dragon form is a great homage to the original character, but takes the opportunity to update it with some modern aesthetics to fit in the legacy styling. The Claws of the dragon mode are able to be incorporated into the robot chest, and both the tail and neck feature multi tiered balljoints to allow for maximum articulation. Ejima Takio did an incredible job of bringing this character to life, and to following the initial design plan so closely.
Fun fact, due to the scale texturing applied to the entire model, the characters digital file actually surpasses our Titan and Masterpiece figures in complexity. It’s a rig killer, but that seems fitting for Megatron.
There are a lot of complex colors used across the both modes, and a lot of subtle gradients used to mimic the transitions from the more pearlescent hardened scales to the brighter underbellies. There is a darker shade used as the eyeshadow on the dragons face, and a complimentary gold used on the horns and claws. The overall body is molded in a dark matte metallic red, to help reduce the color discrepancies between the various materials used for molding. His wings are molded in a warmer translucent amber, while the translucent parts are cast out of a stark orange clear ABS.
Lastly there is a 5mm port in the mouth of the dragon to be able to accept the flame accessory. This can be used in both Robot and Dragon mode, and can also be wielded as a club in the figures right hand.
And on the topic of the head sculpt:
been seeing a bit of mixed on the head which is totally justified. This matches the initial design kick off for a blend of history toy / animation to be a unique look that is own-able for Legacy. I’m really excited to see this guy get into the hands of fans!
- Sam
Legacy Deluxe Pretender Skullgrin was a project challenge that really wreaked havoc on my emotions.
Last minute these Pretenders were approved for slots slated for dropped characters. Ever since that old Straxus redeco toy Bill Rawley worked on in 2010, I’ve always wanted a proper Dauros from Super God Masterforce but also utilizing what was done as the original G1 toy. All of that equals an absolutely crucial design challenge in which I was constantly second guessing decisions the whole way.
Thank goodness I worked with Yuki san on this guy and his incredible ability to not only design but to advise direction was super helpful.
You can see here, in my concept art I worked up for Skullgrin, I wanted to keep some demon features of the character but also combine them with elements of the toy transforming robot. I really do wish I had more time to debate and draw but I felt utilizing existing artwork for the characters alt mode would really help with time and direction.
Then comes the engineering decisions on whats really possible to even obtain smooth transformation. Back and forth we went on redesigning this figure step by step to get the end result. Which I’m very pleased with the outcome and I hope you are too.
The accessory load out on this guy is unreal. The scale of robot mode I wanted was sort of a pipe dream but he maintains alot of beef and height for a deluxe. He really gives a strong decepticon presence. The colors were another challenge here as you can see some mistakes heppened in production.
Other notes are the cybertronian front hover tank duel gun turret blasters are effects compatible and also have alot of versatility with 5mm ports. The duel bone sword energon blasters can be utilized in multiple ways. Please peep my story for more cool tidbits about this super fun figure, in which, I hope you give him a chance to bless your collection, even if he is without his shell!
-Mark
I hope everyone enjoyed watching this afternoon’s livestream, it felt great to finally show off Legacy Deluxe Crankcase!
When I saw the appearance of the Movieverse Crankcase I just had to find a way to release an update of this guy. I did love his appearance in the @idwpublishing but I felt the toy head would be the go instead of the halfway blown apart head like the comics.
Worked with Shu san in Takara on this partial of Legacy Skids mold and we went back and forth an awful lot about the trigger blasters. It was really challenging to fit the blasters with a blast compatibility and we are also wanted to keep the alt mode clean with the blasters hidden. It was a compromise in the end as I really wanted this character. I even had a rendition where the side fender compartments came off on a 5mm post to be added as ammo for the front grill blaster, but since this was a partial mold, we did our best to do the character justice within the cost alotted.
To note the silver op behind the grill was stripped to utilize those ops for the cool two tone decal on the back spare tire.
I will post some more in my story for a feature tidbit on this guy and I hope you really enjoy him!
-Mark
Following up with another Core class reveal.
Here we have some more photos of Core legacy Bombburst, or Blood if you prefer the Japanese name.
Continuing with how we’ve been implementing the decepticon pretenders, we merged the monster shell with the bot alt mode.
This is another Hasui san master piece and it amazes me how well this figure turned out.
The wings are attached by 5mm posts on the sides of the arms and can be stored on the back. There’s some bat wing sculpt detail on the undersides that you can show off if you’re so inclined.
We gave him Gold eyes following the original toy release instead of the animation model’s Red.
If you have any questions about this figure, let me know!
Thanks for reading,
-Evan
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