G2 Combiner Wars Devastator digibash

[M-bot]

I've had a very sick family at home recently, which means several custom projects have been put on hold. In the meantime, I have taught myself some basic digibashing using an iPad app called Sketchbook pro. I tried it out on the new official pics of CW Devastator that have been released in the last 24 hours or so.

Keep in mind that it's among my first attempts at digibashing!:o

If this guy gets released and discounted the way Metroplex was, you just know I'm going to be stupid enough to actually attempt this custom...;):)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8631/15900451814_fe461b4cd7_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qe4YmW)G2 Devastator digibash (https://flic.kr/p/qe4YmW) by M-bot2011 (https://www.flickr.com/people/65295103@N08/)

[ILikeSoundwave]

Looks nice! I read somewhere that the SDCC exclusive this year will be Titan Devastator in G2 colours.

[M-bot]

Looking at it now, the yellow should be a bit more orange-y.

If indeed the SDCC exclusive is a G2 repaint, then I don't think I'd do that custom.

[Paulbot]

Might be my iphone screen, but it still looks green rather than yellow in that pic, but a light green like the Anime Version of the Encore set.

There's a variety of late G1 and G2 shades to pick from, plus the original pre-TF colours and the red and white Shattered Glass variety. Lots of digibashing to do.

[griffin]

Hasbro & TT managed to release four versions of Metroplex and are still yet to do a redeco... so if they do the same with Devastator and we don't see a redeco by the end of the year, we probably won't. (so keep an eye out for one on clearance for your custom job)

It would also be too big for FunPub to do (or be frustrating if done over several years if they are 6 Voyagers)... and that podcast with Pete last month suggested that they aren't too keen on falling back on "Gen2" redecos because it doesn't show enough originality, and would raise criticism if they had too many.

[Krayt]

I just had an idea I never want has/tak to hear.... Sdcc or some such hard to get = orange g2 devy!!!

[M-bot]

Might be my iphone screen, but it still looks green rather than yellow in that pic, but a light green like the Anime Version of the Encore set.

There's a variety of late G1 and G2 shades to pick from, plus the original pre-TF colours and the red and white Shattered Glass variety. Lots of digibashing to do.

The trouble with the particular program I'm using is that you need to make the coloured layers partially transparent so the detail underneath shows through. It tends to give the colours a washed out look, so despite me picking a pretty vivid yellow, it does look too much like green. I tried to do one that's a bit orange-r.:)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7455/16498852036_190ffbb91b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/r8WVU9)G2 CW Devastator (https://flic.kr/p/r8WVU9) by M-bot2011 (https://www.flickr.com/people/65295103@N08/)

...and here's a Shattered Glass version:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7400/16523830112_1dbd2cccd3_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rb9X1C)Shattered Glass CW Devastator (https://flic.kr/p/rb9X1C) by M-bot2011 (https://www.flickr.com/people/65295103@N08/)

Make no mistake, these are pretty rough. I'm not a good digibasher by any stretch of the imagination, but I had to teach myself how to do this for some upcoming custom commissions. I much prefer my 'colouring in' to be done with actual paint.:)

If I did ever do a custom of this guy, I would dread doing the SG version. Painting white over colour is tremendously difficult to do.

[griffin]

Could you imagine the price of an SDCC exclusive version...

Metroplex had a RRP of US$125 for the regular version (showing up at some retailers for US$100), which ended up being US$150 for the SDCC version.
With Devastator having a RRP of US$150 for the regular version, I can imagine the SDCC version being somewhere between US$180-200... plus postage of about US$80-100 which would work out to be up to over AU$400 if the exchange rate gets below 70c by July. (the bank/paypal rate is already at about 74c, so another 4c in five months is probably too conservative when you see that we lost about 20c in the last five months)
:(

So it had better not be a good redeco... :p

[Ultra Mackness]

I like those digi-bashes M-bot! The last one has me imagining a shattered glass style combo of Decepticon Metroplex vs a commando unit of Autobot Constructicons!

[M-bot]

Could you imagine the price of an SDCC exclusive version...

Metroplex had a RRP of US$125 for the regular version (showing up at some retailers for US$100), which ended up being US$150 for the SDCC version.
With Devastator having a RRP of US$150 for the regular version, I can imagine the SDCC version being somewhere between US$180-200... plus postage of about US$80-100 which would work out to be up to over AU$400 if the exchange rate gets below 70c by July. (the bank/paypal rate is already at about 74c, so another 4c in five months is probably too conservative when you see that we lost about 20c in the last five months)
:(

So it had better not be a good redeco... :p

All of that is under the assumption that you can get an SDCC exclusive at the price that they're being sold for at SDCC... Plenty of individuals and retailers know that these exclusives can be money spinners and increase their prices accordingly. So it could get scary expensive.

[Jetfire in the sky]

All of that is under the assumption that you can get an SDCC exclusive at the price that they're being sold for at SDCC... Plenty of individuals and retailers know that these exclusives can be money spinners and increase their prices accordingly. So it could get scary expensive.

Very true, but not long after the SDCC "exclusive" G2 Bruticus was released I saw him on the shelves in Hong Kong for around $30 AUD!! While still being sold for $90 - $120 (+) on e-bay and sellers telling us he was rare. Anyway a G2 deco (while awesome) of this massive Dev is speculation at the moment, do we even know if the regular one is being released in Oz?

[Paulbot]

We'll find out soon for sure, but it's very likely. I mean look at it. That thing will sell. It'll be front page of a mid year Toy Sale catalogue or two no doubt.

[griffin]

Yes, the secondary prices for SDCC items can be huge, but if an item is already very expensive and doesn't sell out (like last year's Rock Band set), the markup won't be as bad as the cheaper items (like the Kreo set last year - had a higher percentage markup for me than the bigger two items).

I'd say that if the SDCC price of an exclusive Devastator is US$200, they probably won't sell out, and you should be able to find them on ebay for about US$250 or less.

So if the exchange rate continues to slide... an SDCC Devastator is likely to be closer to AU$500 to import. :(

(And it would be about another 11 months for the next BotCon for me to consider buying it in person from a toy-dealer and bringing it back for free as checked-in luggage to offset their markup - waiting the following year will see the price keep going up, and be a very painful wait. :( )