**UPDATED 08-16-2008**

I've been meaning to make the Teletraan-I mainframe unit for about a year now, and here it is:

*This is only a digital composite, and varies just slightly from the final design files, but is a good reference for assembly. Actual photos coming soon.

Guys, the files are done, I've tested them and resized a few things. Here you go:
TELETRAAN-I HIGH RES PRINTABLE FILES »
TELETRAAN-I BACK GRAPHIC » (for those of you who want a finished backside)

Also, here's a little something I designed a while back to photograph some customs in. (The custom heads are thanks to Valkfan, they're amazing). Interior Ark plates so you can assemble your own scenes or line a display case for your Transformers.

Attached is a link to several different plates that you can print out on an 11x17 format and spray-mount to foam core board and they make decent Ark background plates.

They're scaled for Alternators, but I guess you could scale them by 50% and use them for G1 or Classics.

Here are some shots with the Ark plates:







HERE ARE THE HIGH-RES PRINTABLE ARK FILES FOR DOWNLOAD »

And by popular demand, I've started a Nemesis interior set of plates, with an all-new design (I couldn't just recolor the Ark plates).
HERE ARE THE FIRST 8 NEMESIS PLATES:
DOWNLOAD NEMESIS BACKGROUND PLATE #1 »
DOWNLOAD NEMESIS BACKGROUND PLATE #2 »
DOWNLOAD NEMESIS BACKGROUND PLATE #3 »
DOWNLOAD NEMESIS BACKGROUND PLATE #4 »
DOWNLOAD NEMESIS BACKGROUND PLATE #5 »
DOWNLOAD NEMESIS BACKGROUND PLATE #6 »
DOWNLOAD NEMESIS BACKGROUND PLATE #7 w/ screen A »
DOWNLOAD NEMESIS BACKGROUND PLATE #8 w/ screen B »
DOWNLOAD NEMESIS BACKGROUND PLATE #10 w/ window A »
DOWNLOAD NEMESIS BACKGROUND PLATE #10 w/ window B »

* Some window walls coming soon for the Nemesis... Then I'm moving on to the computer design.

Great job.
Takes me back to the S.T.A.R.S set i had when i was a kid,only MUCH prettier.

Dude, I'm totally displaying my Classics on this. Thanks for sharing.

Wait til you see the Teletraan-I mainframe finished.
It's REALLY rough right now, about 30% done, I've got to finish the layout, lay in all the detail work, then weather it (it's REALLY old and damaged, so it will have repair plates and Earth-modifications -- thanks to the Witwicky family -- and the screens will be filled in with either photography, comic art, or schematics, not sure yet).

The biggest problem is finding a decent reference for Teletraan. It was never drawn the same way, but some of the basic structural elements are always there. Perhaps it transforms itself? Mine will have the iconic bits, then some "artistic" license to fill in the gaps.

Of course, the grid/score lines aren't in, and I'm not really sure if I'm loving the current layout, but you'll see screens and larger pieces that will help me get a rough layout so I can flesh it out from there.

I took care to weather the flat plates and add depth to it so they photograph better and don't really look flat. I hope they're the right color, I tried my best at getting an average of the yellows/oranges from the show's screengrabs. It's also nice that you can print out as many as possible and arrange them differently, depending on your layout. Of course, Teletraan-I will fit in seamlessly with them when it's done.

Don't forget to post photos as you take them, I'd love to see how they work for people.


Here's a W-I-P screenshot:

fargING AWESOME!

Very nice. I wouldn't mind it if you left the screens that nice blue color. We could always add our own images, even without too much Photoshop skill. I, personally, would like some map or diagram like this rather than any comic or show images/photography.

Sorry totaly missed the link (& the point) there.
Makes me want to wallpaper my collection room with this.
Awsome stuff thanks for sharing.

Seeing this makes me realize how poor the Autobots were at decorating. "Should it we paint it ALL yellow-orange? You don't think that would be too much, a single color over every surface?"

At least they decorated frequently, the damn thing changes from episode to episode. If only they could get their human friends to stop dressing like Oil Rig workers 24/7. Their Earth friends aren't helping them out any with their taste in style.

I'm actually adding in some gray panels, and may make some plates removable so you can take off the covers and see more detailed electronics/wiring underneath.

Kind of like the Marvel Legend's Sentinel's wiring.




Yeah, I'm planning on making some of the panels a little more "updated" if you will... at least graphically. I know they're ancient robotic life forms, but if they're complex enough to be living robots with detailed circuitry and optics, you'd think they could do better than Tron graphics.

I have a really cool shot of the Oregon desert that I may use for some pieces.

I did want items to feel more "real world" than cartoon, which is why I would like to maybe put some photographs in there as well.

I really dig the "Alternated Masterpiece" work by Alex Milne, I included that in the Ark panels.
Good thing is, you can rotate them and arrange them in various ways, so someone CAN wallpaper their display case if they want.

If I have time, I'd like to do a Nemesis purple display panel. I could always just adjust the colors and tada, Takara, instant repaint appeal.

Click to view attachment

Here are the main references I am using, they're the most detailed, complete, and consistent with each other (the one you showed with Bumblebee is a good reference too... I pulled that for reference, but these show more of the bits of the "technology" used... I use that term loosely).

As you can see, none of the displays are ever consistent, so I'm trying to make really detailed, paneled electronics interfaces that look cool and somehow make sense as to their location, and why they may be needed at all. How do they input data? Would they have keys, or some sort of jack/port? Or both? Well, I'm planning on including both, just in case.

Note, the panels will fold, so they won't all be on the same surface. And there will be at least 3 pieces that mount to the top display area, specifically the center console thing that looks like it may split up into different keyboards. At least that's what I'm planning on putting there, something akin to keyboards.

I've got no room for something like this, but I'd like to build a small display case where I could cut out the board beneath the monitor sections and backlight it to make them look like actual glowing computer screens...as is I'll probably end up making a small folding diorama thingee out of two "walls" and a "floor" so I can actually display it in my apartment.

Awesome pics. Awesome post. Awesome service to your fellow members! Well done!

Wow. T1's gonna look great finished, I just know it.

That really is a great background setup you've constructed.

WOW! This is amazing :-)..... Are you finished the Teletran1 part yet? As I would love to try it.

Working on it, the layout's pretty much done, I'm working on all the tedious panel lines. I work at an ad agency, so I've been pulling some late nights the last few nights with actual work, but my train ride is usually a nice break to give me time to detail Teletraan.

I may finish the center module first, and then make 2 extra side units to bookend it, but they're actually different consoles, so I don't want to make a mirror version... It could be that I just reskin or move around pieces, like I did for the side plates.

I'll try and post a more up-to-date later today or tomorrow...

Will probably be at least a week til I finish it, with the work that's on my plate at work right now...

Thanks for the interest though, I'm really interested in seeing people's displays when they're done.

ok :-) as I will keep looking for updates. And again awsome work!

Very cool and very generous of you to provide nice big files. I'll be sure to post pics when I get around to making some background displays. Looking forward to Teletran-1!

Quick update, tonight's train ride home was profitable, if not crackhead-filled to boot!

Here's a newer preview, it' still missing:
Middle console attachment (big forked thing with the "visor" looking bar)
Left side raised screen/module
Right side raised screen/module
Body lines (3/4 done) and detail components/electronics
Weathering/Texturing/Lighting
Screen content

That said, it's coming along nicely, I still have some details to fill in besides the line work (it's tedious, but worth it... when printed full size, it looks much better, screen resolution doesn't do it justice, the PSD file ends up with all the details really blurry).

Full View (score lines are light, in black, for reference):
Click to view attachment

Detail View:
Click to view attachment

This is SOOOOOOOOO Great! I've been looking and wanting something like this for so long! Fortunately, I work with a print shop, so I can get these printed to whatever size--On our nice poster machine that does it in high gloss photo paper stock. I'm going to be detailing the mirrored glass on each of my cabinets finally I think--thanks so so much!! Great work..Pics coming soon!

Any updates? very excited :-)

Patience!

I know, I do the same thing. I've bugged the ever-loving life out of Valkfan to finish his Stunticon heads. Part of it's me wanting to get the Ironhide and Ratchet heads from him again so I can rebuild my Ironhide and Ratchet customs.

I'm taking the weekend off for once (no work for me this weekend), but I may be able to finish up some more pieces. Seriously, it's the details on it that I want to get right and they're taking a good bit. I don't want any piece of it to look like it's replicated from somewhere else, so that every tiny piece is juuuust right.

Anybody made their own sets yet from the Ark plates?
I'm serious, I want to see photos.

AWESOME any plans for the nemesis controls?

None as of yet, although I prefer my Autobots to have a home over the Decepticons. Which is why I'm focusing on T-I, and getting him just right first before I upload it for everyone. Perhaps if I "get it right", I can use the template and create the Nemesis controls from a similar design.

Oddly, I always saw the Decepticons as nomadic, for some reason... They always had these various bases of operations, kind of like Cobra. Oddly, the good guys always stayed in one place and let it be known where their secret base was, yet the villains always snuck around, creating secret bases and elaborate, yet-foil-able, plots. Where did they get all the money for this real estate? Squatter's rights?

If I do, It won't be as elaborate as the Ark, but I also don't plan on just re-coloring Teletraan-I as I joked. Unlike Hasbro/Takara, as much as we love their products, I don't see simply recoloring as "something new, and completely different!".

At worst, I COULD always color it purple and call it a Nemesis Teletraan-I. Wait, I just got that... THIS WHOLE NEMESIS NAMING CONVENTION STARTED WITH G1! D'OH!

Here's something I could use some help on: aside from my current layout, is there ANYTHING that anyone feels is missing, or has been left off?

I recall typically seeing a 4-6 pronged (imagine a robot octopus, with straight legs) screen sitting on top of the "keyboard" area, beneath the big screen. Since the various episodes used varying Teletraan-I interfaces, does anyone have a more "ideal" layout for Teletraan? I've seen one instance where it had a giant trackball/magic-ball (seeing eye?) in the middle of the screen, but this was rare instances. This is currently missing and will be an additional piece that attaches on top of the folded "center console" area. You can hopefully get an idea from the screengrab where it will plug in.

Also, any samples of diagrams to put on the screens would be most helpful. I have my own thoughts right now, but populating the screens will be the last step that I take, short of printing and assembling the finished product.

I'll try and include photoshop paths for all the screens too, so folks can use masks and drop in their own content if they want to. Once I flatten the file, the PSD is close to 200MB right now, with at least 200 layers so far.

If you wanna get really precise, you could make some rocks and broken computer screens, but I wouldn't call those elements "missing".

I think they would be nice touches for surrounding elements. Although I'm trying to keep the center console as much of a solid unit as possible. It would be a nice addition to work it into some of the surrounding plates, though. Once I'm done with Teletraan, I may revisit the other plates and modify them so there are at least 2 more, perhaps with some "battle damage" included, like busted screens for those background shots?

Rocks wouldn't be hard textures to create, although I'd personally prefer them to not be 2D though.

http://www.cripplebush.net/granite/granite_category.htm

This place has some awesome rocks that would work well in a Teletraan-I/Ark cave-nestled setting. They're a tad pricey, but hey, you're not paying anything for the Teletraan, so you could spend your money here, or cast your own rubber rocks, if you're adventurous. I guess you could always use real rocks too, but they're sort of, you know, heavy.

Or throw some brown paint on this.

Hahaha! So true!

Hey Mandingo, I am just waiting on some higher quality resin that should help with the air bubble issues I've been having.


These Ark panels are AWESOME! Maybe you can bring a set for me to see when we meet in person. I'd love to see your work first hand.

Thanks Valkfan! See? I bug the life out of him. I should change my screenname to Valkfanfan. Check out his threads, his molds are amazing.

I finished the line detailing on the main unit last night, I'm going to focus on the detailed control panels (keys and knobs and stuff around some of the monitors), a few "plugs" and gadgety things, and the raised portions that will attach to the main unit, then I'll be weathering the entire thing.

The last thing I'll do is the screens, since I'm hoping others can help contribute to what content they may display. There are plenty of screens to fill, so I will definitely accept any requests folks may have.

***If anyone has better video stills of the Teletraan-I unit from the cartoon, could you share them? I would reference my G1 cartoon collection, but I haven't replaced that yet from the fire. I've searched all the references on the internet, but screen grabs from the cartoon would help tremendously, especially if it's not one of the 3 clear images I can find online.

Just to prove I'm still working on it:
Click to view attachment

Those bottom side 2 monitors, I've decided will be cut out and a separate piece will fold inwards, so they'll be inset. I wasn't happy with them the way they are, so they'll be changing. They'll be more consistent with the other Teletraan references I've found, and it will be more 3D.

Looking great!

Another update. Sorry it's taking so long, the details are taking WAY longer than I wanted, I keep adding things, but am about ready to start weathering the unit.
Click to view attachment


A detail:
Click to view attachment

Center console:
Click to view attachment

I've got 2 small consoles (they'll be attachments on the left and right sides of the main unit) to create, then I'll get to the weathering and screen content.

It's about 80% done now. Anyone printed any plates out yet and taken photos?

I'm just waiting for this last plate to be done so I can put them all together and size them for my cases.

I am building shelves for these. great work. if you ever need something hit me up. these feel too good to be free. like my neighbor when i was 14

I have no idea what that last comment means. haha.

But thanks.

Free? I wouldn't have it any other way. I love sharing things that I make for my hobbies. If others can use it, the more the merrier. It just helps this is only a flat image file that others can print. Feel free to modify the images as you need to, they're free for anyone to modify as you see fit.

BTW, I realize Megatron's cannon is on the wrong arm in the main screen on one of the Ark plates. The "Alternated Masterpiece" image fit better flipped.

Hey Mandingo..Do you have a large resolution version of the Teletran-1 thing that I can use as a place holder right now so I can start actually building these until the finished one is done? I got all the measurements for my cases, and just need this last piece to put it all together.

Thanks.

Not yet. I PMed you a more sensible reply, but for anyone else wondering, I'm swamped at work this week, and that's where I do most of my printing/paper modeling since I no longer have a home office thanks to Allied Van Lines.

I have more of the model to have to make, and that's going to be a tad trickier. It will need sides for the outer and inner walls of the left and right "wings" (on either side of the center-screen-section) so I'll have to do a few tests to make sure everything lines up when they're folded. (They follow different fold lines, so that it has more depth... You'll see what I'm talking about, check out the ref images on Pg. 1).

I know everyone's anxious, I am too... I just want to get it right, and I need the time to work on it.

Thanks everyone.

Well, here's our part..I'm printing them out very large scale to go into my cases--It's really great having access to a print shop with a high quality poster printer that does high gloss photo quality printing..

Haha. Damn, that's awesome. How much are you printing? I see a second one coming out on the plotter.
I hope the files were big enough and didn't pixelate. I tried to keep high-res as possible for those. Nice that you were able to join them all together in one plotted piece, the ones I had were smaller modular units.

I wish I could get access to our plotters at work, but they reserve them for clients only, and have password access to the computers that run the plots. Plus I just started here like 4 months ago, so I don't have "connections" yet to let me do it like at my last job.

FYI, the Teletraan working PSD file is 238 MB, with another 20 MB file for the center console piece. For a sense of scale, the main T-I unit is roughly 25"x35", at 200dpi. It was originally at 300dpi, but I got so tired of waiting on files to process. Let's just say it's got a lot of layers, and I don't want to flatten any effects until I'm set and satisfied. Which is sort of painful working at that scale, but hopefully it will be worth it.

What will be the icing on the cake is seeing it in 3D, seeing the flat artwork doesn't do it justice. People will be pleased, I'm very hopeful of that.

I have 9 cases, so I'm planning on doing the back of each, and then on the side doors. So 2 for each door. So it's a lot of printing.

I took your files, at 200dpi, and then made new master layers at 150dpi and scaled it to the sizes of the case segments, top bottom, side doors etc..Then took your files, found the duplicating areas on them, and matched them up, blurred and erased some so there weren't the distinctive line separating the different files, flattened the image, and printed them. And yeah, the 300 dpi would be a pain. I'm only doing 2 cabinets right now, and waiting until you finish the rest of it before I do my main cabinets that house my Gen-1, Alts, Classics and Titanium figures.

Click to view attachment
Weathered main section, although I want to add some more texture to it. Again, it will look a tad busy due to the scale I'm zoomed out at... fine lines blur and some of the effects end up chunkier than they really are. I'm trying to weather all the pieces and finish this up today or tomorrow, then get the sides.

Anyone have any more offers on getting content for the screens? Or requests?

Sorry, got caught up this weekend on other things. Went to the San Jose SuperCon and then ended up sick and staying home from work Monday.

Plans to jump back on the Teletraan work soon.

Sami, how's the case coming along?

I discovered the problem I have now, I have to remove all my figures from the cases in order to put them in..That's gonna take awhile. I want to wait until I've finished these repaints, so I can use my table..And then as soon as you finish the big one there, I want to use that as my main Gen-1 display background.

Mandingo Rex, Not only are you offering these up for free but they're really f#*@ing good! I too have access to printing place. welp, I used to be an assistant manager at a kinko's and still have connections with some of my old co-workers. anyway, they help me out. I'm so excited for this.

Sami, what type of material are you printing yours on?

Thanks! I'm hoping to get done soon, but these last 2 weeks at work blew up into a nightmare, and this coming week could very well be as busy too.
I'm having to prepare for a shoot next saturday in LA, which means finishing scripts, design, and about 1,000 things that I don't have time to do in time.

BUT I am using the train rides to finish up some things. I ended up realizing I had more work yet to do on layout and design, but when this thing's done, it'll be worth the wait.

Especially for a free something! Sorry I can't deliver on time, but at least it'll be quality for the wait!

Ours is an HP 42" inkjet poster printer, and we use high gloss photo quality extra coated paper.

Someone make sure to put finished pics up w/ once these are done (most likely you Sami).

That is truly fantastic work Mandingo. Highly impressive.

Okay okay, not COMPLETELY done yet... but the big piece and the attachment pieces are done, unless anyone has any major edits they'd like me to make.
I made this firstly for myself, but also for everyone else's satisfaction as well. I aim to please, folks. Here's low-res files to give everyone a taste of the final work:

TERMINAL

CONSOLE

The ONLY THING I'm missing is the sides (profile) piece. When you fold this puppy, it will need side plates to finish off the Teletraan unit, so that is all I have left to make, and I think it'll be fairly simple, with line work and weathering, not so much of the screen details.

The center and side pieces fold on different folds, so that we get the iconic shape of Teletraan I. I just have to test and measure the sides so that everything lines up properly. I'll mirror that piece, and then make a cropped piece to fit as the walls between the side wings and the center console.

I know it's really detailed, that was my goal. It will look a lot better printed out in high-resolution. These web JPGs reduce the detail, there's a LOT in there, people should be happy at all the little nods I threw into the screens and designs.

The files are fairly big, they're 200 dpi and 30" wide at the full-size scale. So it may end up that I have people PM me for the final files, I am afraid FTPing them may bog down my site.

Enjoy! Feedback welcome too.