Transformers Transtopia News on Seibertron.com

Seibertron.com Creative Roundup: June 3rd, 2012

Date: Sunday, June 3rd 2012 1:18am CDT
Categories: Site News, Toy News, Transtopia
Posted by: Burn | Credit(s): Various

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Views: 109,198

Welcome once again folks to Seibertron.com's weekly round up from our creative forums, bringing all that our talented members have shared with us over the last week.

Customizations

Mykltron unveils his latest repaint, this time taking First Edition Bulkhead to task.




Wheeljacks-S70 takes a crack at Cliffjumper based off a Porsche 924 Turbo.




Next up we have brand new member riceboi2005 gives a touch up to what seems to a character that seems to be becoming a regular in these weekly round ups, Transformers Prime Knockout!




alanyap breaks out the Lego this week and brings us an awesome Lego Based Sandstorm.




Heckfire answers the question of what to do when you have an excess of ROTF Skids, turn him into Tap-Out!




crazyjeffy goes crazy with touch-ups bringing us touch ups of PRID Arcee, PRID Optimus Prime, FE Starscream, PRID Wheeljack, Generations Kup, and PRID Megatron.




ebay (the user, not the website) turns a Generation Kup into a young Orion Pax.




ebay also brings us Menasor




daimchoc brings us an add-on set for RTS Grapple courtesy of Shapeways.




Swindle01 breaks out the brown paint and brings us his repainted Scrapheap.


jcartwork brings us not one, but FIVE customs this week in the form of the Stunticons.

And yes, they do combine as well!


| Motormaster | Wildrider | Deadend | Drag Strip | Breakdown |

Fan Artwork

Snowy gives us a peek at just what is behind Transformers Prime Soundwave's visor.




wulongti gets ultra creative bringing us a template for SD TF:Prime Vehicon for you to download, printout and fold up for your own troop building!




Fan-Fiction

M3Gr1ml0ck updates on the status of the on-going Seeds of Deception project.


That's it for the week folks, thanks for having a look and remember to give our creators feedback!

Transtopia Newsletter - February 2010

Date: Sunday, February 21st 2010 10:16pm CST
Categories: Site Articles, Transtopia
Posted by: First Gen | Credit(s): Art of Transtopia

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Views: 143,802

Hello Seibertronians,

First Gen here with your newest addition to the Art of Transtopia Newsletter! We have some more great custom figures, kit bashes, fan artwork and for the first month in Transtopia history, we will be featuring non Transformers artwork also. Lots to see this month, so scroll down to check it out!



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

Banner credits: Flix






First up, we have a group of repaints for your viewing pleasure. When it comes to customizing Transformers, the repaint is often the first type of customization that a Transtopian will undertake. This group of Transtopians have mastered there craft with unique styles and unique figures.

We had an abundance of postings this month for repaints. Unfortunately, we can’t showcase them all, but you can see them all in our Repaint Forum.
.



zfeakye has done a couple repaints that have been showcased for us. His first is a repaint of an extremely popular mold, Classics Universe Starscream. Here we get this mold made into an Autobot incarnation Starfire!




A second piece done by zfeakye is a Revenge of the Fallen Jetfire.






Next we have Skyfire77 with a Revenge of the Fallen repaint of Construction Scavenger.







Resident Transtopian omega666 has treated us again to a couple more repaints of his, the first being Revenge of the Fallen Lockdown.



Second up is his take on the Target exclusive Universe 2.0 Leo Prime.






Grimlockprime108 has given us a look on his take of Transmetal Rhinox.



Grimlockprime108 also gave us a new figure out of Cybertron Undermine: Skullcruncher.











Next up are the kit bashes. From a simple modification to a full out custom built, kit bashes take creativity to the next level. Here are some great submissions by our members.



Blobatron got shot by Cupid and made a custom heart transformer. At the time of posting, the figure didn’t have a name.







Magnus510 used Universe 2.0 Prowl to give us Classics Jazz






Viagra Prime took an Omnicon Arcee and a Transformers Movie Bumblebee to make a new Arcee that has four wheels instead of two






Streetsweeper made a custom Leader class movie figure: Barricade.










First up under our Featured Artwork is a new take on a G1 Favorite. Rodimus_Major86 did this piece of his version of Shockwave.





HOWEE74 did this piece initially in pen and pencil then colored it in photoshop: Blackarachnia.





As I said at the beginning of the newsletter, we are featuring non transformers artwork this month and once you see them, I think you’ll understand why.


Joshua Vallse is our first featured non TF artist with his rendition of the Thundercats leader Lion-O.



Here is some digital art by Joshua Vallse, depicting a worldly scene.





Next we have one of our newest Transtopians, Kristian. Kristian is credited with the creation of the Non Transformers Art thread with these pieces that he’s shared with us here.






We would love to see your artwork, whether Transformers related or not.





Normally our fan fiction section is dominated by resident Fan Fic writer hell kitty, but this month we have a brand new Seibertronian stepping to the plate with fiction, NemesisUK‘s: Nemesis Prime Chronicles

Part 1

Planet Cybertron

A peaceful day (Sarcasm)

Nemesis prime (with shadow commander trailer) is driving down a highway having just killed his creator Straxus (see fans project shadow commander comic for more details) when in the distance a gun fight is happening, Nemesis prime decides to investigate.

As he get nearer he sees that a small transformer (Shadow Warrior) is being attacked by a larger transformer (Blaster).

He speeds to wards them (his honorable side kicking in) and fly’s up in to the air transforming in to his robot mode, both of the transformers stop shooting at each other as nemesis prime stands with his stellar converter cannon pointed at blaster, his right eye lights up red as he blasts Blaster.

Blaster falls to the ground, nemesis prime walks up to the small transformer who is shaking scared that he’s next.

Nemesis prime
“Are you ok?”

He says in his gravely voice down at the small transformer. He then walks away to wards his trailer.

Blaster stands up and ejects a cassette out of his chest that splits in to two guns, nemesis prime transformers in to Shadow commander but is being bombarded with laser fire.

Shadow warrior seeing nemesis prime in trouble he scans a weapon that is discarded on the floor, he transforms in to a double barrel Gatling gun and combines on to shadow commander’s shoulder.

Blaster is now being bombarded and is over powered, he retreats.

Shadow Commander
“Why did you help me?”

Shadow warrior
“You helped me so I repaid the favor”

Shadow commander walks away but Shadow Warrior follows him.

Shadow commander
“Why are you following me?”

Shadow warrior
“We should become partners”

Shadow commander
“Partners?”



You can read the rest of the story by clicking here.



Its been a while since we featured our Photograph section of Transtopia, so we’d like to try and reboot this feature by sharing these submissions.


Seibertron.com News Crew member Nekoman submitted this pic titled Urban Battle.





Drecepticon submitted these great pieces featuring Buster Optimus Prime and Battle Rollar.






Chuuzetsu got creative with an Armada Unicron figure and a Cybertron Primus figure to create this pic titled Unicron’s Snack Time.






There is so much more artwork that you can find in our Transtopia Forums, so feel free to stop by, check it out and comment on them. A huge thank you to all the Transtopians that submitted work, we try to feature as much as we can, but ultimately work gets left out, so get on over to the Forums and check it out.

We’ll be back next month with more custom goodness that you can find right here at Seibertron.com!

Transtopia Newsletter September 2009

Date: Saturday, September 19th 2009 3:38am CDT
Categories: Site News, Site Articles, Transtopia
Posted by: Dead Metal | Credit(s): Transtopia

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 188,157

Hi yes I'm back and present you the Transformers Newsletter once again, from the comments it received I see you liked First Gen's August Newsletter and I want to use this opportunity to thank him again for helping me out as I needed him, thank you First Gen!
Well this issue does come 2 days late for which I apologize, this delay was due to technical difficulties which have now been resolved but I want to apologize for the delay anyway.
The current Transtopia banners will be replaced for next month's issue just to bring in a bit of a variety, after all everything changes so don't be surprised to see something different next month.

-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 – hellkitty, Dead Metal




Just click the images to visit the repaint's thread with full-sized images!

G1 Nemesis Prime by Chimera245


Armada Nemesis Prime by Chimera245


Movie 2007 Ratchet by liKwid


ROTF Sideways without the red by Pontimax


See more in the repaints forum!


Just click the images to visit the kitbash's thread with full-sized images!

ROTF Devastator with leg articulation by StreetSweeper


Classics Trailbreaker by stinky


Visit the kitbash forum for more!


Just click the images to visit the scratchbuild's thread with full-sized images!

Transformer props for fan-made Transformers movie by Joshua Vallse


Universe Constructicons and Devastator by zfeakye


ROTF AllSpark shard by a3.trion


For more visit the scratchbuild forum!


This month I’d like to draw your attention to a piece of art that took more work than anything submitted to Transtopia before: A live action film. This film required a staggering amount of work that incorporates most elements of the branches of Transtopia featured in our newsletter such as drawing designs, scratchbuilding and writing, and took up every weekend from March until mid-August just for the filming.
The idea of using Transformers as an allegory for Christianity has been around since…about the time I was asked to stand up in church and show off my G1 Optimus Prime while the minister talked about how Jesus can transform our lives. In this film a regular guy (John) has been chosen to take an ancient artefact called The Word to some people. The artefact bears a stylised crucifix and symbolises Jesus’s teachings. The people he must take the message to are the kids at the children’s Bible camp the film was created for. At the end of the film, when John says “Transform!” the lights go up and the kids see the prone form of a defeated Destronicus with John and Alpha Primus standing victorious. Alpha Primus is actually a 13 feet tall robot with a person inside to control it. I think you’ll agree that this was an impressive start to the camp for the children!
Part one and Part two are the film shown at the camp. Part three gives us a look at the hero robot in detail.
John Aoki (the star of the film) approached our fellow Seibertronian Joshua Vallse with the film’s concept. Most of the script was about camera directions with little dialogue as the actors were left to improvise on specific points.
Destronicus took about a week to build but Alpha Primus took longer due to budget and weight problems that necessitated design changes. The robots are made from sheet metal, PVC piping, actual car bumpers and fenders, steel struts and steel straps, bolts, nuts, screws, car interior casings, rim covers, and metal piping. Josh says it cost around $1000 to build the pair.
This film is a good bit of fun with the obligatory stacks of cardboard boxes that must be driven through, and very impressive for a small budget film. The music, taken from the live action movies, works very well to enhance the mood, although there are a few sloppy cuts in the dialogue during the debriefing scene. The car-chase sequence is very convincing and Destronicus looks awesome with the sun glinting off his face.

Josh shed sweat and blood over this film (something most kitbashers know about) and was up for 72 straight hours finishing the film so whatever your religious views please spare some time to watch it and appreciate the colossal effort put in - from the initial concept to building a pair of robots that stand around 13-feet tall, to filming and editing the finished thing. Also, take a look at Joshua Vallse’s thread as there is some very cool artwork in there.

And now the other artwork, just click the images to visit the artist's thread with the full-sized images and sometimes even more artwork!

Heavy Metal War team by mitchsantona


Decepticon Winch by hippymodule


Bumblebee's and their humans by Quickfire


Movie concepts "Cyclonus killing Skidz by agentdc7


Or just visit the art forum!

Send us your artwork!
Art entries are reviewed on a monthly basis for the newsletter. Send your entries here by October 12th for the October 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.




Lurking in the shadows, it's Uncle Name_Violation, reminding everyone that there's fan fiction. Actually, we had a great turn-out this last month. I would like to give a special mention to hellkitty--her new work made it hard to choose a winner. I reccomend looking up her latest work in the fan fic department. Thanks to everyone else who posted something in my shadowy back room known as the fan fic department.

Any way, this month's selection is by Carriemus Prime. A great read if you have the time, we've picked a choice selection to give you a sample of her work, TF Movie fiction - The Secret Within. If you liked either movie, and have plenty of spare time to spend reading, I highly recommend this. I give it 4 Non-Biological Extraterrestrials out of 5. So until next month I'll be lurking, watching, waiting. Mwahahahahaha

N_V


TF Movie fiction - The Secret Within

By Carriemus Prime




Arcee raced down the valley, clouds of dust kicked up behind her. Reaching the cave, she slowed her pace. Keeping her distance, she passively scanned the opening to the cave. It was all clear.
“Arcee to Prime, the entrance is clear. I am going in for a closer look.”
“Arcee, wait for us to reach your position. Do you copy? Hold your position.”
Arcee transformed, her protoform glinted in the sun. She looked back up the valley wall. Ratchet and Prime would have to find another way down. Their size would cause a mini landslide if they attempted to scale the steeper slope. Arcee turned back to the cave, drawing her weapon, she headed forward cautiously. She could have the cave scoped out and the ship secured by the time the other two got there. If the Decepticons were here they would have guarded the cave. Taking one last look back at the ridge, she plunged into the darkness of the cave.

****

Longhaul smirked. “The small Wheel-bot has entered the cave. She won’t be too hard to deal with.”
Starscream pointed at Rumble. “See to it. Restrain her, injure her if you must. Do not kill her.”
“But Starscream, she is no match for...”
“Do as I command, you incompetent runt!” Starscream snarled. “I have plans for the foolish little Autobot.” He grinned, turning to watch the screen that displayed Arcee’s progress.
“Where are the others?”
“Almost in the valley, we have minutes.”
“Do we know who it is yet?”
Longhaul sighed. “Not yet. They’re not in range.” Longhaul whirled to face Starscream. “What if it’s Prime?”
“What if it is?” Sneered Starscream.
“We are no match!” Longhaul took a step toward him threateningly; he was not willing to die on this forsaken planet, least of all for Starscream.
“You won’t have to be Longhaul.” Starscream patronized. “There are four of us and only two of them.”
“I for one hope it is Prime, he deserves knocking down a peg or two.”
“Don’t be a fool Thundercracker!” Starscream snapped.
The computer beeped.
“They’re at the cave. Prime’s with them.” Longhaul glared at Starscream, who grinned menacingly.
“Excellent. You three will take the smaller one. Kill him if you have to. I will handle Prime, drive him into the cave if you can, I’ll do the rest.”
“As you command Starscream.” The Decepticons answered in unison.

****

Arcee could just about see in the darkness, rocks crumbled behind her, her weapon at the ready, she could see nothing. Cursing, she continued forward.
“Should have waited Arcee.” She scolded herself.
“Yes you should have.”
Swinging round in the direction of the voice, Arcee was too late, a force slammed into her chest plate sending her flying into the wall of the cave. Rumble aimed a sharp kick to her face. Crying out as her armour cracked, Arcee sprawled on the floor. Rumble was brutal, using the darkness as cover, he dodged Arcee’s weapon as she fired blindly.
“Show yourself coward!”
“By all means.” Rumble answered. Throwing all his weight into his strike, the specially designed pistons in his arms, punched into Arcee’s leg joint. The axle of her single wheel snapped like a twig. Laying another punch into the injured joint, her servos finally gave in. Arcee howled as the joint cracked in the wrong direction, coolant spilled onto the rocky ground. Using his advantage, Rumble kicked Arcee’s weapon from her grasp. He crouched over her as she tried to crawl from under his grasp. Pinning her to the ground, he leaned in closely, wrenching her head up to his, he hissed.
“I was ordered not to kill you, but I’m really going to enjoy this.” With that, he wrenched her head up as far as he could before slamming it into the rocks with all his might. Her face plate splintered against the stone. Struggling, she tried to wriggle free; managing to free her arm, she landed a hard blow across Rumble’s face, his red optic split with the force of her strike. Yelling in surprise, Rumble leapt for her weapon. Pointing it directly at her face, he grinned.
“I’m going to have to disobey.”
Arcee stared at the weapon, the shot rang out and she closed her eyes, her arm raised in an attempt to shield her face. Rock rained down on her from above. ‘I’m a goner.’ She thought.

Sensing something was wrong, she looked up. She was greeted by the massive, tattooed form of Starscream. He grabbed the weapon from Rumble. Casting it aside, he gripped Rumble by the throat, lifting him into the air until their eyes were level, he was a menacing sight.
“You will pay for this insolence Rumble.” He whispered, dropping him to the floor. Rumble groaned in fear and rage.
“Join the others, wait for my signal.” Starscream ordered, Rumble scrambled from under Starscream’s feet without hesitation and disappeared into the cave.
Arcee shrank back from the approaching Starscream. He towered over her.
“I have plans for you.” He lifted her battered, limp body off the floor.
“Get your filthy claws off me!”
“In due time Autobot. Now be quiet.” He raised a small device to her head that looked like a small needle.
“Hey!...” Arcee cried out as an electro-magnetic pulse shot through her body. She jolted violently and went limp. Starscream was pleased; it was all almost too easy.

****

Ratchet scanned the nearby area. “It looks like she went inside.” His voice was grim. Optimus frowned, irritated by Arcee’s insubordination.
“I’ll go in; you remain here guard the entrance.”
Ratchet answered with a nod, arming himself. Optimus headed forward, he had barely entered the cave a few feet when he was hit by a blast of rock and debris. He flew backward, landing awkwardly; he skidded across the dusty, harsh ground halting at Ratchet’s feet. Clambering to his feet he drew his weapons. In one sudden movement, three Decepticons exploded from the cave; one immediately transformed into a jet and soared into the air. Raining shots down from above, Thundercracker circled the outnumbered and surrounded Autobots.
“The great Optimus Prime! Shame you can’t avoid even the simplest of traps, sending in the weaker bots first. Some great leader you are!” He followed his outburst with a tirade of weapons fire. Ratchet stumbled as a missile blasted through his lower leg. Optimus caught his arm and using himself as a shield, dragged him to a rocky outcrop, where they managed to crouch to avoid the Decepticons barrage of missiles and plasma canons.
“I’m hit.” Ratchet grimaced. Optimus inspected his injury quickly. “It can be repaired. We have to find Arcee and the ship. I will deal with these three. Get in the cave, power up the ship. Take off if you can.”
“What about you?” Ratchet winced, as rock exploded above his head.
“If I don’t join you, come get me.” Ratchet allowed himself a grin as Optimus leapt over the rocks. Clutching the weapon on his back, Optimus took aim and shot Blast-off, landing a glancing blow onto his side that sent him spinning back toward the cave. Thundercracker swooped in from above, his chain guns unleashed in fury. Optimus ducked and rolled from his aim, spinning he managed to get a shot off, which blasted through Thundercracker’s rear wing. Leaking coolant he was forced to land and transform. Longhaul wasted no time; he bodily launched himself into Optimus. Optimus’s weapon skated along the ground as they fell heavily, a mass of limbs and metal. Landing several blows to Optimus’s head, Longhaul managed to gain the upper hand as Prime’s face plate cracked satisfyingly beneath his fists.
“I’ll keep Prime pinned.” He screamed, as he tried to rip Optimus’s face plate from his head. “Get the other one!” A punch landed squarely on his jaw, it splintered beneath the force of Prime’s blow. Longhaul cried out, Optimus managed to get a foothold onto his chest and heaved the large Decepticon over his head. Turning swiftly, he crouched, sizing the Decepticon up.
“Give it up Longhaul! Or do you think you can win with the rest of your face intact?!”
Longhaul spat in disgust, circling each other, he growled. “I don’t have to; I just have to hurt you, long enough!” He charged forward, Optimus was ready for him. He swung from his grasp, pivoting on his right foot, his super heated swords drawn, he plunged one of his blades into the back of Longhaul’s shoulder, catching him off balance. Longhaul screamed, the heated metal sending searing pain through his circuitry, he could feel his servos fusing. Without hesitation Optimus had come about and landed a solid punch to his face, sending him sprawling into the dirt. His left arm hung useless at his side, he fired his canon from his right wildly, but Optimus was too quick. He could not take him alone. Longhaul tried to keep his distance, firing as he did so, but Optimus had other plans in mind.
“Going so soon?” He growled as his fist upper cut into Longhaul’s jaw, shattering what was left of his facial armour and most of his jaw with it. Again Longhaul found himself in the dirt, only this time Optimus stood over him, his blade raised for the final blow. His optics widened in fear, he wasn’t ready to die here. Without warning, Optimus stumbled forward; taken by surprise he lost his balance. Rumble had launched himself onto the large Autobot’s back, and began pummeling Prime’s armour as hard as he could. Optimus growled in frustration, bodily throwing Rumble into a pile of rock. Longhaul had managed to get away and had now joined the others nearer to the cave. Optimus was surprised at how far away they had moved from the cave. ‘A distraction’ he seethed.
“Ratchet” He voiced his concern out loud as he ran back to the battle at the mouth of the cave, leaving Rumble dazed in the dust.

Having successfully lured Prime away from the cave, Longhaul rejoined the others who were brutally taking it in turns to attack the now severely injured Ratchet pummeling. Impressively the medic was holding his own, his buzz saw, sliced through Blast-off’s arm like butter as he reached in to grab his chest plate. Blast-off howled, clutching his partially severed hand. Ratchet kicked him in the chest, sending him hurtling into Thundercracker, who unleashed his chain guns on the Autobot. Taking numerous hits, he stumbled and fell once or twice, struggling to maintain his position.

Optimus could see Ratchet was in dire trouble, coolant poured from wounds on his chest plate and his arm sported a nasty gash, where his circuitry was visibly sparking and damaged. Optimus launched himself into the fray once more, his plasma canon blasting straight through Thundercracker’s arm, which fell to the ground with a sickening thud. The Decepticons, all turned to stare at the charging Autobot leader, knowing they couldn’t win without sustaining further injury, Blast-off transformed and took off, grabbing Longhaul with one claw and Thundercracker with the other, who held his detached limb with shock. Confused at the sudden retreat, Optimus skidded to a halt beside Ratchet.
“Ratchet can you move?” His voice was filled with concern and worry for his old friend. Ratchet grunted, as he hauled himself up, using Prime’s strong form for leverage.
“I’ve moved better.”
“If we can get to the ship, Teletraan 1 can start repairs. You’ll be moving like new in no time.”
“Promises, promises.” Ratchet snorted good humorously. “Why did they retreat? They could have finished us off.”
Optimus’s optics narrowed. “I don’t know. Longhaul was deliberately trying to distract me from the cave. They were acting under orders. Whoever it is, is probably still in the cave.” He glanced at Ratchet who looked a little worse for wear. “You should stay here; I will find Arcee and the ship and deal with who ever is left.”
Ratchet humorously shook his head stubbornly. “Saving all the fun for yourself huh?” He straightened, “We stick together. I’ll be alright.” Optimus knowing he could not persuade him otherwise, frowned, his voice was grim. “Very well, stay behind me.”

They reached the Ark with relative ease. Optimus was uncomfortable. Creeping forward slowly, his weapon at the ready, he scanned the area of the ship. It was empty. Motioning to Ratchet they headed over to the main computer.
“Teletraan 1, scan the area for Autobot Arcee.” Optimus commanded.
“Initiating scan.” Came the monotone reply. “Location verified. Arcee present on the Ark.”
“What?! Where on the Ark is she located?”
“Main bridge.”
Ratchet spotted him first; he tensed, his fingers itching to grab his weapon. Optimus whirled to face the approaching Starscream. His eyes fell to the unconscious form of Arcee clutched tightly in front of his chest. Coolant dripped from her battered body onto the steel floor.
“That’s right. We don’t want to do anything stupid now do we?” Starscream drawled.
“You monster!” Seethed Ratchet through a clenched jaw. Starscream merely shrugged.
“This wasn’t my doing. In fact, I saved her life. You should thank me.” His optics flashed dangerously. Optimus felt helpless; there was nothing he could do to help Arcee without endangering her life further.
“If you care so much Starscream, why not just let her go?”
“And lose my only advantage? HA! Do you take me for a fool Prime?”
“On most days I would say that is an understatement.”
“Don’t push me Autobot! I will tear her head from her body!”
“What and lose your only advantage? I don’t think so.”
Starscream faltered, only slightly. An evil grin formed across his face. “No you’re right Prime, I have much bigger plans for this little one. Megatron will be so pleased.”
“What do you want Starscream? Are you pandering to Megatron again? Tell me, have you ever had an original thought?”
“Silence!” Starscream was infuriated, he increased his grip on the small Autobot in his capture, feeling her frame weaken and snap in his fearsome grip, he calmed somewhat. Optimus’s patience was fading fast. This was a no win scenario and Starscream was getting nervous. Ratchet moved suddenly. Starscream responded by shooting chunks from his already damaged leg. Ratchet cried out as he slumped to the floor. Optimus tried to edge toward him in the distraction.
“Ah, ah!” Starscream raised a needle like device to Arcee’s head. “This delivers a localized EMP charge, you move again and I’ll fry her circuits. You have a feeling of what that’s like, don’t you Prime? All that Matrix knowledge burning into your brain.” Optimus tensed, unnerved by Starscream’s knowledge of the Matrix. He raised his hands.
“Just tell me what you want.” He growled.
“We want the Matrix and all that it entails. If we don’t get it from you, we’ll get it from another who is connected with it in more ways than even you are aware of. Another you know well.”
“Sam…” Optimus whispered. “He has nothing to do with this.”
“Oh but he does. You and he are inextricably linked by the Matrix; he gave his life for yours in a most sickening Autobot display of heroism. He now sees what you see from the Matrix. Or didn’t you know? ” He leered in satisfaction. “We have eyes everywhere Prime. Our time is coming. My time is coming. Megatron and his asteroid plans, pah! I will show him how to get real results.”
“What does he want with asteroids?” Ratchet questioned.
“To destroy the Earth of course.” Starscream spat. “Can you save them all Prime and still stop me?”
He edged closer to the exit of the ship, still holding Arcee. “Megatron has fallen; he just doesn’t know it yet. I am your biggest concern now. I will get the Matrix and its power, one way or the other.” He snarled. “Right now I’m going to leave you with your thoughts, if you try to follow me, well; I’ll let you find out. I’d hate to ruin the surprise.” He cast one last victorious look at the crestfallen Prime before transforming and flying expertly through the narrow cave.

“He’s taken Arcee!” Ratchet localized was furious and tried to stand, falling undignified to the metal grill, he cried out in frustration. Optimus went to his aid and helped him to the repair table.
“We can’t just let him escape.”
“What would you have me do Ratchet?” Optimus snapped.
“Take the ship after him, follow him. You know what Megatron will do to her!”
“Ratchet!” Optimus lowered his tone. “I am well aware of Megatron’s murderous nature; I sense that he has much worse planned for Arcee than simply death.” Ratchet fell silent, he was troubled, he knew it was a trap; from Starscream he could expect nothing less. He was baiting them, he knew too much about the Matrix and he’d provided Optimus with an impossible choice; save Sam, rescue Arcee or try to save the Earth from the imminent asteroid threat, as he’d promised. He sighed sadly, watching his leader work at the helm as the repair bot carried out work on his injuries. He did not envy Optimus’s choices; stop Starscream or stop Megatron, either way they lose. ‘That’s why he’s the leader.’ He thought sadly to himself. It was not a decision that he could ever make himself and was at a loss. He hated feeling helpless and he knew Optimus probably hated the situation just as he did and was most likely blaming himself for recent events. He sighed again. “Optimus, there was nothing you could have done. He would have killed her if you’d tried…” His voice failed him.

Optimus heard his friend but could not respond. Guilt and responsibility tore through his mind. He should have known better. They had trusted him. He had failed them. Now was not the time to dwell on what he’d done wrong. He programmed the ship for take off. It shook violently. Rocks crumbled around it as it broke free from its temporary cell. Fitting snugly through the cave that had been made specifically for that purpose, the ship soared into the air.
“Teletraan 1 find Arcee’s signal, track her and Starscream and lay in a course.” Optimus ordered, his decision made. He would not fail again.
“Affirmative.” The ship’s engines powered fully into life as the ship sailed smoothly into the sky, the computer started to whine loudly. Without warning sparks shot from the console, electrical surges shot through Optimus’s arms and then the console exploded in a shower of sparks and smoke. The ship went black, all power was cut.

“Optimus!” Ratchet cried out, Optimus was unable to answer. The electrical shock had over loaded his circuitry and he had been blown half way across the bridge in the ensuing darkness and now lay unconscious as they plummeted, free fall to the surface below.

*******************

If you like that there's plenty more over in fan fiction. Go ahead take a look. You know you wanna.

Send your entries here.

Transtopia Newsletter May 2009, Gold Edition!

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: 138,978

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.

Transtopia Newsletter - April

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: 257,755

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!

Transtopia Newsletter - February Edition

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: 144,881

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.