Botcon: Die Transformers Die 1

The first of my Botcon set concepts

Set #1: "Die Transformers, Die!"

This set is a tribute to the wild and wacky world of the German Transformers Comic-Magazin. Published towards the tail-end of G1, it featured some extremely colourful covers and even some new characters. This is an attempt to both celebrate this rather strange continuity and give life to original G1 characters who have never seen the light of day before. Read more about it here: Transformers Comic-Magazin - Transformers Wiki

Story: OPTIMUS PRIME is mysteriously missing! The Autobots left at the Ark: CLOCKWISE, BLACKCAT, HORSEHEAD, STEALTH and GROUNDSHAKER must use the DIMENSIONAL BRIDGE to search all of time and space for their lost leader, with the help of the Autobot leader on Cybertron, RODIMUS PRIME. But the evil joint Decepticon leader MEGATRON has his own forces and will use every means at his disposal to stop them! With help from his time-travelling counterpart GALVATRON, he is tracking down Optimus together with his minion FUNBACK and the Junkion mercenary GRAAGH!

(Yes, the title is a Simpsons joke)

The Box Set contents:
Optimus Prime (from WFC Soundwave; remolded head. Chest 'windows' are a paint application)
Tommy Kennedy (from Human Alliance Sam Witwicky)
Stealth (from Generations Scourge; new head)
Clockwise (from Universe Hound)
Blackcat (from Universe Ravage)
Horsehead (from PCC Smolder; new head)
Funback (from Cybertron Undermine)
Megatron (from Classics Megatron)

All the characters probably need some explanation.

Stealth is a character from the text stories. I made Stealth a stealth bomber since it seemed logical. He looks rather badass, don't you think?

Blackcat is a green Ravage from a puzzle page. Because I had a Ravage, I had to do a Hound recolour. Luckily the same page that had Blackcat also had an unnamed red-and-yellow jeep. I was going to call him 'Hot Dog' (Hound in HOT Rod colours, HoundOG, he comes with BlackCAT, HO HO) but then I remembered there was another character called Clockwise that appeared with no other reference, so Clockwise he became.

I made Optimus Prime a recolor/remold of Soundwave, because on just about every cover, Optimus Prime is modified from a tracing of Soundwave. Also on every cover there is a random small child, so I decided he should be called Tommy Kennedy, after the season 5 character. I'm assuming the human is seperate from the Human Alliance transformer.

Megatron appears in this orange / blue colour scheme quite a lot on the covers of the comic, and in the internal illustrations. It is also the same colour as the 'Safety Megatron' concept that Hasbro unveiled one Botcon, which was the only colour scheme in which they'd be able to reissue G1 Megatron in!

Horsehead and Funback are based on consistent misspellings from the text stories, of Hosehead and Finback. Horsehead is Smolder, with his combined mode head remolded into that of a horse. So he's a 'Headmaster' in that he has two heads!I'm assuming his minicon weapon can be separated mold-wise, the Japanese targetmasters seem to show this can be done.

Funback has some balloons tampographed onto his back, and his Cyber-Planet key is a fairground token!