Hasbro's designer Sam Smith @king_samlock has another behind the scenes look for us at the Movie Masterpiece MPM-14 Bonecrusher figure. The Transformers 2007 character based on the custom General Dynamics Buffalo Mine Sweeper vehicle arrives, bigger and better than before. Read on to see the concept designs and other details in this report on the making of the MPM-14 Bonecrusher, from Sam Smith.
“Bonecrusher Rolling…”
These are without a doubt some of the most ambitious projects that we have the opportunity to work on each year, but I absolutely love each one of these more than its predecessor. We always look for ways to improve the segment, and Bonecrusher is no exception.
Prior to kicking this project off, we scoured the archives / web / and forums to collect any and all details that hadn’t been captured before. It involved sorting through thousands of individual flattened texture files that had been unpacked from the studio CAD in search of anything that might translate itself to product. This is the step in the process that lets us find all the asymmetrical details, labels, serial numbers and tire sizes, which help to make these items as authentic as they can be.
I had the opportunity to collaborate with Tomo Tatsumi again at Takara, having worked with him on Blackout. From the beginning we wanted to treat Bonecrusher differently than we had before. Introducing clear windows, swappable claws, a battle damaged face and PVC flame effects to drench the figure in. Tomo did such an incredible job of incorporating all of our wild requests, and dialed up the detail stage to 11.
MPM-14 Movie Masterpiece TF1 Bonecrusher - Torched Robot Mode
We wanted our fans to be able to capture every moment from the few minutes that Bonecrusher was on screen. We included PVC flame effects that can be attached onto the robot mode for when he roller skates through a city bus on the highway and a secondary battle damaged faceplate for the melee battle with Optimus Prime.
MPM-14 vs SS-33 Scale Comparison:
Having Bonecrusher at the voyager scale in studio series meant that this would be a tremendous upgrade as we move to masterpiece. For the first time ever, we were introducing clear windows vs the painted windows of every version before it.
The scale difference between the two figures is massive, and introduces an incredible amount of new details, textures and asymmetry that we had never had the opportunity to capture before.
Check out the visual comparisons, and feel free to post any of your questions below!
Masterpiece Scale Comparison:
Bonecrusher feels right at home amongst the other masterpiece studio series figures. Check out some of the visuals above to see where he stacks up against the rest of the masterpiece decepticon lineup!
Though Optimus and Bonecrusher don’t technically share a vehicle scene together (they are never in frame at the same time), it was important for us to ensure that Bonecrusher was scaled in both robot and vehicle mode to reenact your favorite highway pursuit!
MPM-14 Movie Masterpiece TF1 Bonecrusher - Robot Mode
Let’s talk about this robot mode! So a part of this character that has always been compromised on before were the claws of the boom arm. Because this has historically been a licensed vehicle, we prioritized the “fork” look of the sweeper arm. But in the film, these claws change quite dramatically to be more rounded claws. The best solution for this was to introduce a secondary set, and Tomo did an amazing job of making both sets super articulated! This helps to bring so much life to the posability of such a massive limb of the character.
Speaking of articulation, this guy is loaded with it, from head to toe you will be able to appreciate and articulate this figure in ways you never had before. Posability, accuracy and variety were crucial for us to deliver. We wanted our fans to be able to capture every moment from the few minutes that Bonecrusher was on screen. We included PVC flame effects that can be attached onto the robot mode for when he roller skates through a city bus on the highway and a secondary battle damaged faceplate for the melee battle with Optimus Prime.
MPM-14 Movie Masterpiece TF1 Bonecrusher - Torched Robot Mode
We wanted our fans to be able to capture every moment from the few minutes that Bonecrusher was on screen. We included PVC flame effects that can be attached onto the robot mode for when he roller skates through a city bus on the highway and a secondary battle damaged faceplate for the melee battle with Optimus Prime.
MPM-14 Movie Masterpiece TF1 Bonecrusher - Vehicle Mode
The vehicle is a licensed General Dynamics Buffalo Mine Sweeper that was modified for the film. These transporters had some unique builds that differentiate them for specific scenarios, but tracking down the screen used vehicle was a welcome challenge. The on screen Buffalo was actually repainted to cover up a lot of details like the tire inflations specs above the wheel wells, and the spare tire mounting indicators. In fact the only text that was left on the vehicle were the boom control box on the front bumper, and the embedded text of the serial number on the tailgate (both of which are captured on this figure.)
We included details like the asymmetrical spotlight clusters under the side view mirrors, and the roof mounted spot lights that are housed under clear light covers.
Every exterior light and indicator was captured in the deco, and in addition to the weathered grills, tailgate and tires, we went ahead and put grime on the windshield! I have wanted to do this forever, and I’m really happy with how the final production look came out.
We wanted to get unique detail where ever we could on this figure including texturing the tires with the factory specs. To avoid a potential multi license situation, we made the tire manufacturer MEGATRON, and badged them with a deception logo. The specs are on the tires are true to the buffalo, and were the tire specs used for the film.
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