FOC Bruticus upgrade kit by Echotransformer

[kup]

To me this looks awesome and totally remakes the Hasbro abomination into something pretty cool. I was actually making my own upgrade kit and made some headway into it but this is a lot better.

I wish they would release it as a proper 3rd party all factory painted and all.

Edit: Where are the links to the Shapeway parts for ordering, I don't see them anywhere.

[KalEl]

Im am going to get this! and paint the hell out of it!

[Sinnertwin]

Edit: Where are the links to the Shapeway parts for ordering, I don't see them anywhere.

Echtransformer answers some questions 2/3 down the page
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radico...curate-58.html

[Trent]

Group buy.

[Lord_Zed]

The components are pretty big and simple, you could paint them easy enough with sprays or a cheap airbrush so long as you can match the colours.

I think I will pass though, while it is a significant improvement it, the added parts can't disguise the fact the core toy is terrible.

[theheretic]

I've been following this for a while now. Parts aren't up for order yet as he is still tweaking some bits. He has a shapeways page/store with a G1 predaking and Hercules upgrade kits. It's hard to tell what material he has used from the video but looking at the pictures it is either white polished or white strong and flexible. There is one or two radicons doing commissions for painted kits but I'm not sure how much they will be charging.

[kup]

Echtransformer answers some questions 2/3 down the page
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radico...curate-58.html

Thanks! Looks like we have some waiting to do but I fear the cost prohibitive pricing.

[Iriorne]

Been following this thread on TFW for a little while, too, and the difference is like night and day. Someone mentioned in the TFW thread that Echotransformer was talking to some third party manufacturers about releasing it, but I'd treat that as rumour until it's confirmed.

If it comes out through shapeways, depending on the cost, I might be in for a group order. I'd also be happy to have a go at painting the parts for others but I only have the G2 version so colour matching the other variants might be difficult.

[KalEl]

I really want this, hope he can work out a reasonable price for the kit

[Iriorne]

Looks like this kit is going to be mass produced. Should mean it will be cheaper and probably pre-painted.

From the TFW thread:

Hi Everyone,

It's definitely been too long since my last update...finally I can share some news.

My official decision is that I am going to do my best to bring this to market via mass production instead of Shapeways. This was by no means an easy decision...hence the long period without updates.

All of you have been tremendously supportive of my efforts and have contributed greatly to my understanding of what to do here.

Here are my 'top 3' reasons why I am working towards mass production.

1. Quality. It will simply be the best possible way to enjoy the kit--in quality plastic, crisply molded with factory paint applications and carefully matched color in a nice retail box.
2. Reach. Simply put, more people can enjoy the kit this way because it will be a great price and accessible from many online retail stores.
3. Design. I believe that in the transition to mass production, the kit will go through yet another redesign that will make it even better. I've already started to explore 'mold ready' designs, and some parts will evolve to be 2-sided, while others will receive additional detail and scuplting -- all the while preserving the fundamental proportions and scuplting you have all helped to shape

This will be a journey for me. Although we all enjoy these products on a daily basis, much blood, sweat and tears go into every collectible we buy--and this kit will be no exception. I have brought in a very good friend of mine who has supported my work for many years and together we are already in the process of talking to the industry.

We have goals for this kit:

-top-notch quality
-fair pricing
-good time to market

Balancing these goals will be the challenge. But we're up for it!

We will do our best to share progress which updates and announcements. They will likely not be as frequent as the Radicons/Shapeways projects simply because this kind of work takes more time.

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