Galvatron DeArcherfied

http://www.geocities.com/wow_frostwolf/misc/galv.jpg

I had to pull him apart to paint the orange bits. there are roughly 13 individual orange pieces!

After pulling him apart I am convinced that this toy was meant to be an Ultra until very late in the design phase. There are several inert gimmicks in it including electronic triggers. I was more surprised however that it appears to have a crippled third mode (possibly a canon mode) and the molded missiles on the sides of the tank mode were meant to pop up! There is also electronics space inside the turret. It seems that originally there was no missile and there was supposed to be an electronics trigger for lights and sounds. Also when his head popped up it was likely meant to trigger a Transformation sound like the other Ultras.

This is most certainly a shrunken down Ultra and the sad thing is that it would have been an Excellent Ultra the likes we have not seen since Beast Wars.

My guess is that the decision to make him a Deluxe came about due to high production costs. Since Ultras are very simple these days, they figured that it wasn't cost effective to produce such a complex Ultra and decided to make him a deluxe instead of canceling it. He was likely meant to be released alongside Onslaught to counterbalance Powerglide and Silverbolt.

Wow, looks great, I really like it with all those orange bits repainted, much better than the original me thinks..

And interesting about the triggers inside it for what would've been electronics, would've been great if it was an Ultra

Very nice! Is it the lighting or did u do the purple again cos if u didn't that smacks of awesome.

I'm not disagreeing with you (i'm still waiting for Henkei Galvatron to be released before i'll have one to play with - and even then i wont be taking him apart :) BUT - what you're saying directly contradicts one of the answers Hasbro provided in the Q&A's recently:

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TFviews.com: Was the recent Universe Galvatron originally designed to be an Ultra vehicle, and was scaled down? There seems to be a strong belief by fans on this one that the complex nature of the figure’s design and transformation, not to mention the stature of the character himself, suggest that this mold was originally destined for a larger scale and then dialed back. Any truth to that?
Hasbro: Galvatron was initially thought of as being an Ultra or Voyager scale. I wanted him big, he IS Galvatron after all. But we already had larger tank-like vehicles in the Universe line, such as Onslaught and Dropshot/Scattershot. So he was actually moved to Deluxe while he was still in the sketching stage. So he was actually designed and engineered to be a deluxe from pretty much the start, though having him larger would have been my preference.

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It sounds like an honest answer....
Some photos would have been nice but now you've gone and put him back together! :p

Comparing your's to Hasbro's version, Your's just "completes it to the nth degree" :)

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Originally Posted by kurdt_the_goat

I'm not disagreeing with you (i'm still waiting for Henkei Galvatron to be released before i'll have one to play with - and even then i wont be taking him apart :) BUT - what you're saying directly contradicts one of the answers Hasbro provided in the Q&A's recently:



It sounds like an honest answer....
Some photos would have been nice but now you've gone and put him back together! :p

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I didn't think about taking photos to proof Hasbro wrong at the time. All you need to do is pull him apart to see the inert triggers and electronics space.

Its very likely that the person giving the answer was misinformed. They haven't denied that the figure was originally meant to be larger like an Ultra and its possible that the Ultra version of the mold never reached prototype. Its possible that from paper and computerized sketches and designs they decided to translate what was meant to be an Ultra toy to a Deluxe when it came to creating the physical the mold therefore inheriting a lot of now inert engineering.

The toy is not only complex on the outside but needlessly complex on the inside too like if it was meant to house more than just empty space with frames suggesting housing for electronics. Also if you dissemble the molded missiles you will see that there is very detailed tank tracks behind fixed panel with the molded missiles that can only be removed by unscrewing it. Under it there are types of holders which suggest that the missiles were meant 'spring' out in a kind of deploy mode exposing the tank tracks underneath.

Most of these stuff is within the figure, you can't see it from the outside but if anyone is adventurous enough they can give it a go at disassembling it.

If that is the case (and it may very well be) i hope the rest of the Q&A's aren't subject to misinformation as well.

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Originally Posted by STL

Very nice! Is it the lighting or did u do the purple again cos if u didn't that smacks of awesome.

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I left the purple as it originally was. The flash gives it a shine.

However I did paint parts of the shin pads which were a bit damaged while removing its pin.

Important Note: Those who are thinking of pulling apart the toy take not that most of it is held together by pins which are super hard to remove!

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Originally Posted by kup

Important Note: Those who are thinking of pulling apart the toy take not that most of it is held together by pins which are super hard to remove!

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Well there goes that idea.... if ever I get my hands on a Galvatron ( freakin local stores just dont have him,%*@%@!!!:mad: Ill just keep as is, Too lazy to fiddle around with pins, if it was screws it wouldve been easier. BTW, Wonderful paintjob as well Kup.

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Originally Posted by kurdt_the_goat

If that is the case (and it may very well be) i hope the rest of the Q&A's aren't subject to misinformation as well.

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That, we will never know. Hope not.

Looks awesome. Well done.

"DeArcherfied"... heehee... :D

Verily forsooth yon Galvatron hath becometh greater to behold! :D