(Part 2) Best products from r/transformers

I started typing and this ended up being really long, hopefully it helps. I might have gone overboard, so if you need / want a TL;DR or more info on anything just say the word and I'll do what I can :)

My personal preference is to add details and touch-ups to my figures. I've done a few full repaints, and I'm working on my first airbrushed figure, but I really like adding in details where the factory didn't :)

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Paints:

I've had good results using alcohol based acrylics like Tamiya, Model Master, or Testors Acrylics (I think Enamels are Testors' main line, so make sure to check what type it is). Alcohol-based acrylics thin and clean up nicely with 91% isopropyl alcohol, I usually pick it up from whatever pharmacy is nearby (don't get the 70%, it doesn't work at all).

Citadel and Vallejo make nice water-based acrylic paints in additional colors, you'll definitely need a primer if you're working with Vallejo (I've only used a couple of Citadel paints, so I can't really speak to them).

You'll want to stay far away from acrylic craft paint, I've tried it in the past and it doesn't come out well at all (I just use some empty glass or plastic jars from stuff like sour cream or salsa since they're not too big).

Some folks like enamel paints, and there might be another kind of model paint, but the chemicals in those paints and their thinner tends to be quite strong so I avoid them. I used un-thinned enamels when I first started painting, and when I tried to use the thinner it ended up melting my paint tray and making a mess, so I'm not too keen to give them another try.

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Tools are going to differ a bit depending on how you want to paint (hand painting vs airbrushing or spray painting).

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Hand Painting:

You'll need paints, some soft bristle brushes (I have a set like these), something to stir your paint (I use a Badger Paint Mixer and love it to bits), thinner (depending on your type of paint), a mixing tray, some pipettes for measuring paint and thinner, something to hold your parts while painting (I like these Aligator Clips), something to stick the clips into (I use a styrofoam block wrapped in plastic from a craft store, but I've seen folks use taped together cardboard like from Amazon boxes or the cheap foam coolers), some fine grit sand paper or nail buffing blocks to help rough up the surface slightly to help the paint stick, and something for topcoat (I absolutely love Pledge Multisurface Floor Care, aka Future Floor Wax, it's a clear acrylic wax that dries to a semi-gloss to gloss shine, it brushes on nice and self-levels for a smooth finish, and one bottle will last a REALLY long time; I got a bottle a few years ago and I've used it on a LOT of gundams and TFs and the bottle is still half full). You may also want some smaller containers or jars to hold your thinner, brush cleaner (alcohol or water), and topcoat if you're using Pledge just so you don't need to keep the big bottle out on your workspace.

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Airbrushing:

You'll need an airbrush and compressor, and then a lot of the same supplies as above. You'll also want some small-ish jars to store your thinned paint so you can re-use your leftover paint instead of having to toss it, and some painter's tape to mask off parts you don't want to paint and to keep your paint lines clean.

You can airbrush inside the house, but you'll want to do it in a well ventilated area if you don't have a spray booth (box with a fan and air filter to help move the fumes out the window and help keep the paint from spraying everywhere). I'm still learning to paint with my airbrush, so I don't have too many tips here.

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Spray painting:

You'll need your choice of spray paints, alligator clips, fine sand paper, and some painter's tape to mask off areas so it doesn't get everywhere. I definitely wouldn't advise using spray paints indoors, the fumes tend to be really strong. I haven't really used spray paints in a long time, so I'm not a lot of help here either.

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Markers:

Some folks might recommend sharpies or paint pens / markers, but I've never had good luck with them.

I do highly recommend using a Micron, Graphix, or Prismacolor marker / pen for highlighting panel lines in .005 thickness for most figures. The .01 and even .05 markers can work well too, but they might be too thick for some figures, so a couple different thicknesses can't hurt (I've got a pencil case full of lining markers from those brands). Don't use sharpies for panel lines, unless things have changed, even the thinnest ones tend to dry a purpley-blue instead of black, and the lines are still really thick compared to the Micron.

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Painting Tips:

• Always wash your figures in some warm soapy water, rinse them off, and let them dry fully before painting. This gets rid of any leftover mould release from the factory, it helps keep the parts from sticking in the moulds during assembly, but it will repel paint, pledge, primer, and panel lines like mad. I've skipped this step in the past, but things never turned out as well; so now I wash all my figures shortly after I open them up and make sure they're keepers.
  
• Always thin your paints! You might need 2-3 coats to get things just right, but the end finish will look really nice. I've found a 2:1 ratio of paint:thinner seems to work pretty well for most paints, but ymmv (the temperature and humidity can have a huge impact on how the paint comes out, and fans can speed the drying process, which can be a blessing or a curse, heh).
  
• If you're painting parts that will rub against others, lightly sand the surfaces first. This will help the paint stick to the plastic better.
  
• You might need / want to prime a piece before painting it. You can prime by hand with a primer like Vallejo Surface Primer, or with a spray primer. I find spray primer tends to come out smoother, but depending on what you're doing, either can work (priming by hand tends to come out a bit thicker, so ymmv again). When I paint by hand I'll usually only prime if I'm painting a dark piece a lighter color, but when I airbrush everything that's getting painted gets primed first.
  
• After you paint something, let it sit for about an hour before doing another coat, and let things fully dry and cure before moving on to topcoating and panel lining (usually 24 hours between a final coat of paint and topcoat, and another few hours between topcoat and panel lines).

You're speaking my language. My favorite transformers are the Hasbro Legend class, the designers really are far more creative with these guys than any other, IMO.

I have a shelf at home dedicated to them. :)

Right now, my favorites are Cosmos, Shrapnel and Rewind. Honorable mention to Wheelie, he doesn't stay in car mode without a lot of fiddling. Cosmos especially is really fantastic. Super fun transformation and very posable. The balance to this figure is the little target master that comes with him is total trash.

It depends on what you want to read.

If you want to read the 80's Marvel comics, pick up the Classics trade paperbacks.

If you want to read the new IDW comics, I would advise you to start with the IDW Collection Phase Two. It collects the first few issues of the More Than Meets the Eye and Robots in Disguise (now just "Transformers") comics. These are the current ongoing books, and the ones everyone talks about today, so it's a good place to start if you want to catch up with the current storyline.

If you want to start at the beginning of the IDW comics, you can pick up the Phase One collection. It's good, but the story is a bit of a slow burn.

If you're a G1 cartoon fan, you could start right in the middle with All Hail Megatron. The art is mostly spot on for the cartoon, and it's easy to pick up for a new reader, but the story overall is a bit...meh.

There are other collections besides the ones I linked to if you don't want to splurge on a hardback. Those collections are just a good start if you're interested in the comics.

The Skywarp and Thundercracker are available in the current Combiner Wars line. They can be found in stores. I saw TC at Toys R Us, and SW is at Walmart & Target.

Starscream is a little more difficult. He was available back for the 30th anniversary . We got him for $5 at a flea market, but he goes for more on eBay.

I use Model Master acrylic paints silver and gunmetal, and Testors acrylic paints flat & gloss black, light flat gray, gloss red, gloss blue, gloss yellow, gloss teal, and flat & gloss white.

I don't use any special brushes. All of the ones I use are old ones from our bin of paint brushes. For small detail I either use a brush I've trimmed, or for like Slipstream's lips I split a toothpick with an Xacto knife and used that sliver of wood to apply paint.

Their color schemes were mostly copied from their IDW comics designs, and I used this and that design for reference on Slipstream. Slight liberties taken on all.

They're not difficult to paint. Just give them a good wash in warm, soapy water beforehand, and take your time. This set probably took me 24 hrs of work (I'm laid off, so I spent two days and a night on them).

The soft rubberish plastic that these guys' tailfins, nosecone and feet are made of do not hold paint well and peel easily. I wouldn't paint those parts if I did them again. Put a base of light gray on before doing silver, and two coats of paint for display, four for play.

Have fun.

Everyone comments on our pumpkins every year but with a stencil they are super easy. We use tools like these:

https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Stencils-Stainless-Halloween-Decoration/dp/B07FKJN822/ref=sr_1_8?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1540948873&sr=1-8&keywords=pumpkin+carving+kit

Actually ours aren't as nice..we have several sets of the plastic ones from grocery stores. I may order us those for next year. Just choose a pumpkin that's a good size/shape (tall and/or wide) for your stencil...tape the stencil to it as best you can given the curve and then take your time punching holes along the lines to show you where to saw. Then go slow.

If you screw up it's not a big deal. Soundwave there has one or two toothpicks holding the thin spots that accidentally got cut. Don't stress over details....you can't see them well when it's lit at night.

There are lots of rescue bit options for Prime and Bumblebee. I got my boys these:

Playskool Heroes Transformers Rescue Bots Optimus Prime https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078HM2CL9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_mgQDDb5X46FE2

Playskool Heroes Transformers Rescue Bots Bumblebee Figure https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011KD5CGW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_PhQDDbFTWRP3R

In my opinion, the next best thing to the original catalogs- If you can get your hand on this Transformers Identification and Price Guide, it's worth it. I have it and it's awesome! Includes all G1 figures. Don't care much about the estimated price as that depends on demand. Do a google search and you'll see what I mean.
https://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Identification-Price-Mark-Bellomo/dp/0896894452
Sample page:
http://news.tfw2005.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/1969/12/41408462cb0cc06aaa_0.jpg

Surprisingly my mom kept almost all of my G1 figures, including broken ones. I split them with my little brother who played with them after I grew out of them but I realistically could have had a lot more than I do now. I probably have about 20+ of my original G1 figures. My parents were divorced (and remarried) so I got a lot of cool stuff as a kid even though for the most part we didn't have a lot of money.

Feral Rex does indeed look awesome. I thought about getting the Predaking reissue but didn't jump on it. I really try to limit myself to the Masterpiece line to avoid going broke. Actually, I just found these images of my collection about a year ago. Since them I've added MP Bluestreak, Tracks, Wheeljack, Sideswipe, Bumblebee, and the CW Devastator and CW Megatron. There are probably a few small ones I've also picked up in that time frame and gave to my sons. I also realized just now that those pictures don't feature the incomplete Unicron that one of my kids accidentally bid on when I was showing him pictures on eBay, but I was able to get for like $5.

Back on your topic of Predaking, did you ever pick up the reissue? It's currently just under $100 on Amazon. It's tempting to me, but I'm instead saving up to buy either a new guitar or a new amp in a few months and don't want to buy anything until then.

My computron combiner are nice figures, and I like the Alphastrike Counterforce pack and Phantomstrike Squadron sets, my sister likes the predaking set. But my personal favorite is ko Fall of cybertron grimlock though its probably not that good for a 9 year old

There's a 2-pack available on Amazon now with a Deluxe class War for Cybertron Optimus and Titans Return Orion Pax. I think that's your sweet spot right now. 2 figures, at a good price, and WFC Prime is pretty badass-looking. The main problem is both are Cybertronian alt modes, so they're a lot more sci-fi than other offerings, if that's a problem.

Outside of that, the Classics one is really nice. I'd say he's the the best G1 styled Prime that doesn't cost a ton. The original version is hard to find now though, but there is a two-pack with Classics Megatron that I think still goes for reasonable prices. Only real problem is he's pretty small.

Combiner Wars isn't bad, per se, but he does sacrifice a bit for the combiner gimmick, and IMO really only shines with some limbs and an upgrade kit. The classic red version is pretty hard to find now too, not sure about the white one. I should also note that CW Prime has an upgrade kit, Primo Vitalis, which makes him very IDW-esque. But it adds a lot of cost to him in general.

Titans Return has 3 versions: a Leader-class Powermaster Optimus Prime, and 2 Voyagers, one in the normal red deco and one 90s G2 deco. Both versions are solid, but like CW Prime, they kind of suffer from shoehorning in a gimmick. The G2 version also requires buying a set for $100, so it's not for everyone.

That covers most of the CHUG (which includes Generations) Optimuses.

If you're willing to spend more money, MP-10, Masterpiece Optimus, just got re-release. He's really the definitive Optimus, but he's expensive.

$100 is MSRP for the U.S. version of Computron, however he is available right now for $80 on Amazon with free shipping. If you want him, you might as well get him for $20 cheaper.

I got this set, cheaper and look great! Efrank Set of 4 LED Light... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XJKOCBG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

That's why you should order it from Amazon instead, cheaper with free shipping.

https://www.amazon.com/Rustark-Gundam-Building-Repairing-Fixing/dp/B071LB1T5D/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=gunpla+starter+set&link_code=qs&qid=1564181072&s=gateway&sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-3

Here it is.

Nippers, tweezers (for small parts or stickers), files, x-acto knife. All ya need in the box.

And you can use fine point sharpies for panel lines, or Gundam markers. A set of 2 is like, $3.

use this

https://smile.amazon.com/Pledge-FloorCare-Multi-Surface-Finish/dp/B00J5HDC4A/ref=sr_1_46?keywords=PLEDGE+POLISH&qid=1568061587&s=gateway&sr=8-46

works as a sealer as well if you do customs. do multiple coats until you get the desired tightness. cheap and will last you a long time.

Funny you should say that -- he's using a retool of the mold used for Generations Jetfire last year.

Thanks. These were the lights that I got sed:

https://www.amazon.com/Efrank-Bar-Under-Kitchen-Cabinet-Energy/dp/B00XJKOCBG/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1542592748&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=led+lights+cupboard+4&dpPl=1&dpID=31%2Ba-Rcpe0L&ref=plSrch

Looks like she's up to $66.24

The pack is on amazon for 30$
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XWTTFTT/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

http://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Generations-Combiner-Legends-Skywarp/dp/B00NYSR576/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450240794&sr=8-1&keywords=skywarp $4.04 now.

Amazon price matched leader Jetfire too.

Yeah, it's from this set...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06XWTTFTT/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Looks sold out for now...

Supposed to be in a few days, I believe. Amazon has him listed as being released on the 22nd.

Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Computron Collection Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011MIX0CI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Im31xb7RDTREK

Closest it'll get to MSRP @ amazon