Small update...

 

I've been working on detail apps for Shooting Star all week and I think I'm about done, so expect pics later today (2/21)

 

While that paint is setting and hardening, I'll work on the decal designs and scaling them to fit the vehicle. I can probably estimate the size pretty well against my Lockdown, but I won't be able to finalize the size of the top decals (hood-to-spoiler) till I can put SS back together, and I don't want to do that till I'm sure I can handle the parts without leaving fingerprints, let alone transform it to vehicle mode without destroying the paint job.

Change of plans. I decided the detail paint apps were small enough that I could handle the parts without mucking them up, so I've just spent the last couple hours putting Shooting Star together.

 

I just finished putting on the wheels (which, sadly, no longer really spin much, due to the changes I had to make), and now I'm gonna take a break for food, then finish up the legs and take some pics.

 

Watch this space!!

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Woohoo!

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Engine Gun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

I'm thinking about painting the underside piece black.

 

 

 

 

All these custom Speed Racer figures are just amazing! The Jazz redo is tops with the graphics and the Racer X/Shooting Star is pure win!

Nice!

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

 

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

 

Anyway... PICS! :D

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the engine guns deployed:

 

 

 

 

 

And the saw blade:

 

 

 

 

 

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

Yay! Nice!