Masterpiece Transmetal Dinobot II is based on the AOE Leader Grimlock mold. While the mold fell far short of Grimlock’s movie likeness or color scheme, I thought the intricate and bone-like detailing of the mold had potential. The chrome on the mold gave an opportunity to incorporate Transmetal armor, and I looked forward to attempting a metallic bone or fossil color on the bulk of the figure.

Modifications:

• The beast mode posture was improved to reflect that of a velociraptor. An articulated neck was added, primarily made from parts of the mold’s tail/mace.
• The stubby dinosaur legs were replaced with two right legs from Techno Cyber Spawn figures. Two points of articulation were added to the new legs, which also have a more accurate dinosaur foot sculpt. Hinged claws were added to the Cyber Spawn feet, which form the new hands in robot mode.
• The horns were removed and replaced from the head, and new fangs were added to the jaw. The teeth and other soft parts were dyed dark blue.
• Shoulder pads, back assembly, forehead, and velociraptor arms with ball joints were added from a vintage TM Dinobot figure.
• A longer, articulated tail was added from a Transmetal Megatron. Additional armor plates were added to the tail to ensure it matched the AOE ascetic.
• Hinged claws were added to the robot mode’s feet for better proportions.
• To ensure that no further parts-forming was added beyond that of the AOE mold, a hinge was the back/shield that allows the tail to rotate 180 degrees during transformation.
• A leader-scale printed Dinobot head from TFW’s Oku was modified to resemble Transmetal Dinobot.

Paint:
• The show version of TM Dinobot is a bright white, whereas most toys were yellowish/bone color. I chose a more toy accurate color scheme to make it fossil-like and more interesting than bland white. The bone color was custom mixed, airbrushed, and coated in pearl for a metallic sheen. A darker shade was added for depth and shadows.
• I chose not to add panel lining or additional weathering to the bone colored parts to keep it clean and metallic, and to downplay the lack of symmetry on the Cyber Spawn robot arms/dino legs.
• To reproduce Transmetal armor, the chromed parts of the AOE Leader Grimlock mold were spray painted with clear purple. Other parts were airbrushed with a complementing metallic purple.
• Dark metallic blue and gunmetal details were added matching the color scheme of the original figure.