Okay, so I'm thoroughly into a Lego transformer building craze now, greatly assisted by picking up some old Exo-force sets on e-bay... meet the evil Insecticons, some of the more memorable characters from the original cartoon, and among the first Transformers to turn into creatures rather than vehicles.
About this creation
21st Jan 2011 - Now updated with closeups of the heads and some of the trickier joints, at the end, for those interested in building transformers.
For anyone only familiar with the Insecticons in the recent Transformers films, these guys are NOT small enough for Shia LeBoeuf to step on. They're great big robots, who on transforming are able to shrink down to the scale of insects if they want to be sneaky.
That said their insect modes aren't especially convincing... so from left to right, Bombshell is a boll weevil (possibly), Kickback is a grasshopper (with no tail), while Shrapnel is a, a, oh I dunno, something beetly. Just imagine them crawling up your back and don't worry too much about the details.
All the builds are pretty faithful to the original toys except that I added knee and elbow joints to all of them to make them more poseable. Also, I had to play with the colourschemes a bit - they are all supposed to use purple as a highlight colour, but I don't own any purple Lego, so they each got a slightly different paint job. I think they still look the part; let's meet them individually!
Shrapnel often acts as leader and spokesman of the trio, and is the master of electricity. When in insect mode, he can use his antennae to interface with and control most electronic devices. In robot mode, they can draw electricity from nearby power sources and release bolts of it through his hands. He's almost unstoppable in a thunderstorm. He also carries a grenade launcher loaded with exploding spheres that shower his targets with, you guessed it, shrapnel.
Kickback was definitely at the back of the queue when the cool insecticon powers were handed out. Shrapnel controls electricity, Bombshell controls peoples' minds, and Kickback can.... kick things. Quite hard, mind you. Still, his main skill is convincing humans or Autobots that he's their pal long enough to weasel information out of them which he can then blackmail them with. His preferred sidearm is a sub-machine gun.
Bombshell's name may come from the head-mounted mortar that lets him launch artillery shells several miles, but he's most feared for his cerebro-shells. In insect mode he can inject these into humans or Autobots, where they will travel to the cerebral cortex and insert probes into the decision-making neural centres, placing the victim completely under Bombshell's malevolent control. Even fellow Decepticons give him a wide berth, in case he decides to turn his attentions on them.
I was in two minds about whether to build Bombshell, because I'd used up most of my black tiles and curves on the other two, and he had the largest amount of purple (here recoloured to two-tone blue). In the end I couldn't leave the trio without it's third member though. Some parts of the build I'm really pleased with, but he is a bit rough around the edges and not as poseable as I would like. I feel a version 2 coming on!
Some more group photos to finish. These guys do lend themselves to group shots.
Do not adjust your screen, that's still Bombshell on the left there. He's just messing with your head....
Now for the technical photos:
Closeups of Kickback's head.
Shoulder joint - running from the shoulder through the piece the wing is attached to is a 'technic axle, 3, with stud' (shown here). The stud end is sandwiched between 2 standard technic bricks, which gives enough friction to hold a pose. I use this type of swivel joint a lot - Shrapnel's waist swivels the same way.
Ankle joint - you can just see the dark grey stud on the right pressing into a technic brick, providing (barely) enough friction to hold a pose. The other side of the foot is connected to the leg with a half-length technic pin.
Shrapnel's head - sorry those antennae don't make for good photographic lighting...
Close-up showing the cavity in the side where Shrapnel's hands tuck in insect mode. You can also see the back kibble (this is the second version of the insect legs - some of the photos above show the more realistic six-legged version, but they took SOOO long to to position that I replaced them).
Foot connection - in robot mode the technic axle at the back of the ankle is extended to give enough freedom of movement.
In insect mode the foot is rotated and the axle pushed in to give a snug fit.
Now this was the cleverest bit. Can you see the small fin sticking out of the leg? It's actually holding the knee joint up. It's only attached by a standard hinge brick but the bricks surrounding it make it surprisingly solid.
Pull the fin out and the knee slides into the leg. It's more elegant than pulling out a technic pin to achieve the same effect.
Comments
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I made it |
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November 29, 2012 |
Quoting Shahar Levy
Great work!
Is there any way to contact you concerning these insecticons?
What did you have in mind? I don't really want to post my e-mail address here but you could open a private MOCpages group and then invite me to join it. |
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November 28, 2012 |
Great work!
Is there any way to contact you concerning these insecticons? |
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I like it |
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November 6, 2012 |
These are excellent! Good looking in both mode and with good articulation as well. |
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December 14, 2011 |
Wait, wait! You forgot to mention Shrapnel's speaking problem in his bio, bio! |
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August 25, 2011 |
Hi there, These are so cool. Shrapnel is my favourite. I also love your commentary - very funny. I didn't realise you had so many transformer mocs. Unfortunatly I can't see all the photos but they all look excellent. Will you be entering a new moc for the TF contest? Good luck if you do :). Glad you like my first attempt into the world of legoformers, I definitely want to build more. |
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May 13, 2011 |
EPIC!
I just watched the G1 episode A Plague of Insecticons, and the first time I saw Bombshell, I knew he was my new favorite! And when I came across this, man was I happy!
Great job! |
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May 12, 2011 |
Incredible and I hope all of you know that a plague of insecticons was also a g1 episode title featuring the Insecticons. |
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February 1, 2011 |
Quoting Seth Higgins
I like the close up additions. can minifigures fit in the cockpits?
They weren't designed for minifigs, since the original toys weren't supposed to be piloted (although the designs were taken from a Japanese toy line that DID have pilots, and the cockpits were left in). That said, with a little modification there'd probably be room for a minifig in Bombshell's cockpit, but not in Shrapnel's.
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January 27, 2011 |
I like the close up additions. can minifigures fit in the cockpits? |
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I made it |
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January 21, 2011 |
Quoting Michael Crichton
The only flaw I see is that they seem a bit on the large size compared to most of the other transformer MOCs people have been posting. Can you post some pictures of the transformation sequences, and close ups of the joints and faces?
I've now added closeups for Shrapnel and Kickback - Bombshell will have to wait for version 2.... |
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"Good things: only person to do a train! I really like the overall look of the engine, especially the cow-catcher on the front. I'm still trying to figure out how it's attached."
It took me a good part of an hour to get the design for the plow right. I would be VERY surprised if someone figured out how I built it. |
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December 20, 2010 |
Quoting T.K .
good, however im speaking to you about my link to the group on my MSC R3 entry, there was a link to the group added as a comment, so if im disqualified could you un-disqualify me, thanks.
Oops, sorry, I hadn't spotted that. Your score is reinstated! |
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December 20, 2010 |
good, however im speaking to you about my link to the group on my MSC R3 entry, there was a link to the group added as a comment, so if im disqualified could you un-disqualify me, thanks. |
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December 14, 2010 |
Great work. I really like the insecticons. But my favorite is proberbly Starscream. Overall these look very proffesional and the weapons look very real I thought they were the real toys. Good work. |
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December 8, 2010 |
Awesome work on each one! These look great! Crazy thing though, I started an LDD one of Kickback a few weeks ago... It's kind of creepy how similar they look. LOL! Get out of my head! :) Just kidding. Oh well, yours looks way cooler than mine. Keep up the good work! |
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December 7, 2010 |
Great work! This is taking the Lego Transformers theme to the next level. |
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December 7, 2010 |
Wow! These are awesome! I thought the title said "A Plague of Infections" when I first read it. That would be awesome too :) |
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December 7, 2010 |
Wow, incredible work and great detailing! On all three of them! |
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December 7, 2010 |
I thought the title said "A Plague of Inspections". LOL XD |
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December 7, 2010 |
Amazing renditions. I think I can dimly remember some insecticon chewing onto the Autobot's base from somewhere. |
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December 7, 2010 |
Just one insecticon would have been awesome. But 3? Simply amazing! Excellent work! |
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December 7, 2010 |
Ah yes, the brightly coloured deluxe insecticons, glimpsed only on the fold-out sheet that came with your other transformers and never available in the UK - I shared your childhood frustrations Stu. Still, lovely job with the original trio. Forget the alt. colour schemes, they are very recognisable in both forms. Love the presentation shots for the individuals too. Great job. |
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December 7, 2010 |
Quoting Dave Kaleta
Brilliant! Bombshell was always a favorite of mine. I think you did well with the new color schemes, and both modes are quite acceptable to my tastes. Now do the deluxe Insecticons (not many people remember those).
Yes, the deluxe Insecticons were never released in the UK so I hope to exorcise a childhood frustration by re-creating them in Lego! |
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December 7, 2010 |
Quoting Shannon Ocean
Dude, these are EXCELLENT! Very faithful to the original and well built too, Their insect modes look great and the robots have nice posability to them too, not easy to acheive in Lego transformers. Hugely inspiring I must say! And I agree with Dave Kaleta: Deluxe Insecticons next?
Many thanks, it means a lot to get such a positive comment from you! And yes, the Deluxe Insecticons are on the list... |
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I made it |
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December 7, 2010 |
Quoting Michael Crichton
The only flaw I see is that they seem a bit on the large size compared to most of the other transformer MOCs people have been posting. Can you post some pictures of the transformation sequences, and close ups of the joints and faces?
Yep, I decided to go larger with these guys so I could get in more detail and use Exo-force joints, which give great stability but need quite a lot of space. That said I think they're similar in scale to some of Chris Roach and Orion Pax's transformer MOCs (both of whom are a big inspiration!)
I'll make sure I take some photos of the transformation and heads and post them when I have time... |
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December 7, 2010 |
Dude, these are EXCELLENT! Very faithful to the original and well built too, Their insect modes look great and the robots have nice posability to them too, not easy to acheive in Lego transformers. Hugely inspiring I must say! And I agree with Dave Kaleta: Deluxe Insecticons next? |
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I like it |
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December 7, 2010 |
The only flaw I see is that they seem a bit on the large size compared to most of the other transformer MOCs people have been posting. Can you post some pictures of the transformation sequences, and close ups of the joints and faces? |
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I like it |
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December 6, 2010 |
This is Quite impressive nice wook! |
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December 6, 2010 |
WHAT THE! WHERE'D THAT BUNNY COME FROM!? O_O |
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December 6, 2010 |
This three MOC are really perfect!!! Awesome job!!! |
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December 6, 2010 |
Nice work, man! I always loved the Insecticons (and their weird voices) and still have the G1 toys in storage. I would've liked to see these in their original color scheme, but they still look great in both modes. can't wait for more! |
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Wonderful, these are just great! Lovely memories of the eighties coming back to me. I only had "Kickback" and a cheap clone of "Bombshell", never actually seen "Shrapnel". But your versions look very cool and I really wish I could try transforming them myself :)
According to this http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Shrapnel_%28G1%29 Shrapnel is supposed to be a "stag beetle". |
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December 6, 2010 |
Awesome job! I've never heard of these guys but they're still great! |
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December 6, 2010 |
Wow! Wonderful transformers! |
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December 6, 2010 |
Oh yeah! This is what I am talkin about... a whole new level to your transformers creations. The bar has been raised! |
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December 6, 2010 |
Brilliant! Bombshell was always a favorite of mine. I think you did well with the new color schemes, and both modes are quite acceptable to my tastes. Now do the deluxe Insecticons (not many people remember those). |
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