Transformable G1 cartoon Transformers Bumblebee idea

[Marthony]

Hello all,

So the time of the year is that of starting a complicated costume so it will be ready for Halloween..! =) Not because it will be hard to physically make, but that it will be a long process to conceive, design, test, re-design, engineer, tweak and THEN build.

So naturally anyone that's done a Transformers costume has wanted to make it transform, but it is quite rare to do and any rig that transforms is typically unsightly in one of the forms.

What I have in mind is a blended design - part 'standard' hard shapes combined with, well, a mutant tent. Built into the front of the chest would be a system to expand stretchy fabric into the shape of Bumblebee's car. Your head would fold into it (look down) and your legs would pull in. The height of the vehicle would be related to how high the knees have to come up. Picture shock cords of tents and having stretchy fabric sliding along them.

Of course there's a lot of engineering to make this concept work even before you think about wheels, but what is your first impression?

 

[stigmorgan]

good luck, this has the potential to be amazing, cant wait to see what you come up with. i imagine the earlier incarnations of bumblebee would be easier to model from than the newer movie versions.

 

[Marthony]

Yes, the G1 cartoons aren't too heavy on fine details (though there were enough to be found for my Megatron build) and I'm not a Michael Bay fan anyway. Not that his directing has that much to do with the current robot alt modes, but I have a hard time believing a warring robot would want so many exposed surfaces.

I'd thought about modeling after the G1 toy, but don't think it would be as recognizable.

We'll see how this develops..!