Not gonna happen. The headbots are Dianaut-sized, if your pics don't lie. However, you can put the headbot in head mode onto an MB neckball once the headbot's head is taken out.



That's all I've been doing with them, essentially. It's the only way to keep them 18th scale, lol.

_________________

Head-bots are just a bit taller than the Dianauts, but yeah, basically the same size/scale. In TF-vehicle mode, they are actually closer to in-scale with Legends class cars. In bot-mode, though, they look fantastic with Deluxe and Voyager bots.

If you've posted any Battle Beasts customs, I either forgot it or missed them, because that's a great way to sort of get TFs into the 1:18 world, in a roundabout way.

All but the last one is mine, and they're all on the older bodies; but I believe they fit the 'Battle Beasts' theme:
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=34980

_________________

Still need to take a look at some of those $4.99 Titans Return bots for fodder. Not the headbots, but the little vehicles they come with. The proportions are so wonky anyway, I might be able to fudge it if I find something I like. I've got another original villain I want to build, and I need to go fodder-hunting... hmm...

Speaking of villains, inspiration struck, cheap fodder was purchased late at night, and now there's a great disturbance in The Force...

_________________

THE KRYPTONIAN



Completed toward the end of 2016, The Kryptonian was one of my first customs intended to go with my Dianauts collection. Since then, I've completed a number of these little guys. Some are based on original concepts, others are tributes/homages like The Kryptonian.

I see The Kryptonian as a Superman from a universe/reality where there are no surviving, living, breathing, original Kryptonians (except for the near-mythical Bottle City of Kandor). They all perished when Krypton exploded... but before that happened, Krypton's greatest scientists created The Kryptonian as a means of saving their culture, DNA, and archives-- it truly is the last vestige of Krypton.



He's primarily Mega Bloks Heroes parts mixed & matched 'til I got the look I wanted. The hands are from a new sculpt B.A.T. (from the Attack pack), and the head is from the Warhammer/Space Marines greeble box, plus a swatch of red T-shirt for the cape.

The symbol was painted backwards (red layer first, then gold), then flipped over to get the ultra-smooth, almost enameled look.



His design is heavily inspired by the Microman Superman figure that came out years ago, topped with a more humanoid head, as a tribute to Micronauts/Microman/Diaclone, and to help ground him more in that universe.

Expect more tributes to familiar heroes & villains, as well as more original characters. Going fodder shopping this weekend...

_________________

Years ago, I picked up the Groot & Rocket 2.5" two-pack when they came out, with the intention of customizing them. At that point, though, I hadn't worked with MegaBloks, so I did a straight-up (terrible) repaint of the 5 POA minifigure.

Starting with the primer, the project just went completely south. Ever had one of those pieces where every step of the process was f___ed? That would be this repaint.

When it was "done," none of my paint dried properly and everything was sticky because of the primer. My acrylics did nothing to stop the problem. Not even a layer of inks. After that, I said f___ it and waited to see if it ever dried (it didn't, like they never do, amiright?).



While looking for fodder, I'd occasionally see him, and I'd just sigh. It's those damn doe eyes.

Few Megabloks bashes in, I was looking for something fun like K-2SO was. I realized that the Groot figure could very easily work with Megabloks parts, and I started working that night.

Groot is all Megabloks, 2.5" Groot, plumber's putty, and gel superglue. The head and torso are from the original minifigure. With my Dremel, I drilled holes that mimicked a MB torso and popped the arms, waist, and ball-joint/crotch piece in.

2.5" Groot's arms and legs were grafted onto MB pieces, then Dremeled and sculpted to attempt to match.



Since I dropped the ball so badly last time with the paint, this piece had to redeem me.

Once I had the rough assembly, I hit it with a saddle brown spray paint, then started layering brown paints & inks from there. Last time around, I didn't really experiment with drybrushing, but it really helped take this Groot to the next level...

_________________

Yeah, I'm gonna need to do me a Toddler Groot, too.

_________________

That Groot is inspired for sure.

_________________

Thank you, chaps!

With GotG2 coming out soon, my guess is Hasbro will re-release the 5 POA minis, probably with updated "Fractal Tech Gear," hahaha.

I was honestly surprised at how easily the MegaBloks parts bashed with the Groot figure; there was A LOT LESS trial & error and test fitting, as was the case with tiny Hulk last year. It relies much more on sculpting, (which I've been trying to get better at), probably the most I've done on a custom, maybe ever.

Getting ready to post new shtuff, just need to do some photography this weekend...

_________________

Nice work, saw a bunch of the small groot and Co at 5 below yesterday. Should have picked some up. At the very least Gamora since female heads at that size are hard to come by

Thank you, Cobra Command!

Yeah, there're still some packs around locally, but I'm waiting for them to really get clearanced out. No way I'm paying full-price when new product will be available soon.

No idea if Hasbro's planning to continue their 2.5" figures after Civil War, but I hope so. They have their issues, but that's why I bash 'em onto MegaBloks

NEXT:

THERE'S BEEN A GREAT DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE...

_________________

REVENGE OF THE JEDI

Over a thousand years ago, what little remained of Anakin Skywalker became one with The Force. But hatred kept Darth Vader very much alive. Without a physical vessel, Vader's Sith ghost remained trapped in his castle on Mustafar-- until discovered by First Order and Sith accolytes. Using plans for an upgraded armor designed by Vader himself, a containment suit was constructed. Without a human body, the Dark Side now has no limits...



While working on a trio of original Mega Bloks-based villains for my Dianauts, I was inspired to build one of my all-time favorites, Darth Vader.

The initial seed of the idea was a deep space armor for Vader, inspired by his appearance in Rogue One. I also considered an alternate "Dianaut/Micronaut" reality, and, in that universe, Vader's very much alive... but then I got obsessed with the idea that someone as evil as Darth Vader could never truly be vanquished.

Anakin Skywalker the man may have been redeemed and become a Force ghost... and Vader, in turn, became a Sith spirit. Like many Sith before him, Vader bided his time, waiting for the right vessel to possess... Except Vader knew his old master Palpatine had discovered a means to defy death would have a plan...



Vader started with a Mega Bloks HALO base figure, with some greeble bits glued to his chest from a 4" Vader figure. The head is from a Vader pack-in mini figurine from years ago I had in the fodder box. The hands are from a BAT, and the lightsaber is a shortened 4" lightsaber hilt & clear red cocktail thingee.



Had a great time working on Vader, and I'm thinking of expanding the First Order/Imperial army a little bit... but I also really want an R2, but I need some pieces first. An Action Fleet Artoo just won't do...

_________________

SUPER-QUICK SUNDAY UPDATE:

Been wrapping up my Dianaut outpost, but while fodder-hunting, I rediscovered my missing Iron Man Mk I WIP that had disappeared. The piece was pretty much done. Just needed to touch-up the gunmetal drybrushing, paint the chest reactor, and attach the shoulder antenna.



I've always loved the Mark 1 design, pretty much because of the heavy retro robot vibe, and the design influences so much of what I've done. The Palooka power suit is my homage to the Mk I.

The recipe is almost identical to Palooka:

-Call of Duty Navy Seal (modded)
-Iron Man movie figurine head
-Greebles (chest reactor, belt)

Got the photo bug, so more updates likely...

_________________

You are doing such amazingly detailed work at such a tiny scale. It's quite impressive.

Spin Doctor, thank you! Tiny stuff's always been an obsession and something of a specialty. Started with this scale and have come full circle, it seems...

CUSTOM CELEBRATION UPDATE:

Dug the idea of the WIP Challenge, so I thought I'd share something I started a couple hours ago:



It's a robot suit from Microverse (?), and used to fit Micro Machine scale figures... until I modded it to fit Dianauts! Then I grabbed some arms & legs from a Gundam figure to bash on. He's about 3" tall.

What the f___ does Superman need a robot suit for, anyway, right? Kryptonite, schmyptonite!

Thinking the color scheme on this one's gonna be yellow and have a construction vibe, but I'm open to suggestions.

Aside from yellow, some colorways I'm considering:

-Gray & Yellow (AKA Deep Six)
-Mint & Orange (Wetsuit)
-Mint & White (Iceberg)
-Yellow green & Yellow Orange

Gonna hit 'im with primer... thoughts?

_________________