Mighty Muggs Dinobots

[minion]

The project here was to make all 5 Dinobots in the G1 Marvel comics style and colours. Lots iof expression, and lots of colour. The biggest change is the black of the toys is replaced by the bold blue - a staple of older comic colouring and printing. I used metallic paints more sparingly than on my previous TF designs and tended to apply them where the toy design called for it, and instead focused on flatter colours like the comic designs.


The 5 Dinobots, ready to kick some ass! I really like how the coloursachemes come together as a set, and the fact they are so bright makes them stand out.
All 'wings' were custom made and there are extra bits like sculpting in places too.


Swoop was the first Dinobot I completed, and was actually done before the recent commission Swoop I did (see other thread). For me the head fin was an absolute must, and much time was spent deliberating the size and height of it. I wanted it pop out, but not be too small or too goofy. I'm glad with how it came out.
I wanted him to have that cocky, borderline arrogance from the comic (that came undone in the brillaint Divebomb stories). The smirk and determined look plays to that.



Sludge was up next. At the time I thought i'd 'power' through him as he is one of my least favourite Dinobot designs as a toy and character. That said, actually painting him made me fall in love with his design. He has some strong elements in the chest piece, and the head was a lot of fun. I also love the 'wings' on Sludge and think they are very distinctive.
I also tried to mae his eyes and face bigger than the others, and combined with the added width with the head armour he hopefully captures that bigger size I always feel he should have compared to his felliow Dinobots.
He is actually one of the Muggs that i am most happy with.


Slag was a childhood favourite, and I knew I had to get that angry look. The 4,000,000 year itch (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_4,000,000_Year_Itch!) is really what defined Slag for me. An angry, uncontrollable, beserker.
Like Snarl below, Slag is terribly uncooperative as far as comic references go. I went through all my G1 trades and he only has sporadic 'bot mode appearances that are colopured and not just in blue shadow 'off screen' or in the background. I had to apply some artistic licence here, which was par for the course with all of these to some degree, at least from a creative point of view.

As mentioned above, Snarl is the most uncooperative Dinobot of all when it comes to reference pictures. He just didn’t get a fair deal with proper robot mode appearances in the Marvel comic!
I forwent the all blue face to make him a little more interesting to look at, and his expression was originally unintentional, but one that stuck because I loved it so much. I wanted to capture that broody loner look, but in the concept stag I drew this sad, about to cry face that fitted perfectly.
Making his tail ‘wings’ and horns was also a blast. Snarl is my favourite Dinobot as an adult and I wanted to do him justice.

Finally the big G. The official Hasbro Mighty Mugg is a bit lifeless, and lost all that expression that the Marvel comics always gave him. Despite having the ‘Prime’ face, Grimlock’s eyes and face always captured so much emotion, which is another reason I think he is such a strong character – thanks to the artists as much as writers. He was a lot of fun to make.
Still to come is the crown which I haven’t finished making yet – Grimlock’s got to have his crown!