Thunder Run

I took TF Dream Factory Tank Warrior to a local park and took shots of it on a large boulder. The sunlight and tree cover provided natural shadows across the figure and ground, something that would have been difficult for me to reproduce in a light tent and with Photoshop. I replaced the background of parked cars with a photo of clouds. The debris chunks and some of the foreground clouds and are drawn in with custom brushes. The explosions on the left and right are blended in from some photos I found online. I used Color Dodge layers to color grade the figure and the clouds.

One thing I took away from this excursion to the park - take a lot of shots. Half my photos were ruined by an unnoticed fly that had decided to rest on the turret.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwxl1QbH6hwVNUhhU1UybENuakE

https://www.facebook.com/lapstransformersphotos/
https://www.instagram.com/laptutran/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/19429167@N02/albums

Nothing defeats the Devastator!

One last project with TFC Hercules before I crack open the new sets. I discovered Transformers before Voltron and other Japanese giant robot cartoons, so when 6 robots formed into a giant brute that the Dinobots couldn't initially handle, my mind was blown. My childhood Devastator toy was an orange-colored knockoff my father had found at the local flea market, but I didn't care.

Would Generation Toy Gravity Builder or Toyworld Devastator look better? Probably, but Hercules still looks pretty damn good. Over the year, he's gotten a little wobbly at the hips, but he's able to maintain his stance. I had to do a little surgery to his left knee. The ratchet in Mad Blender's connector joint was really loose. I was able to fix it by opening up the housing and placing 4 pieces of post-it note paper underneath the ratchet plate. If Structor's ratchet loosens, the same fix should work as well.

This is from the episode, "Heavy Metal War." Because of the small size of my light tent, I shot Apollyon, Soundwave, Starscream, and Thundercracker individually. Yes, Thundercracker. I'm anxiously awaiting finally getting my hands on MP11 Skywarp. I used some Hue Saturation layers to recolor Thundercracker. It still doesn't look quite right, but it will do for now. I did the same to the green barrel on Mad Blender. The smoke is drawn with my custom smoke bush. The background is a composite of an evening sky, a large boulder formation at Alum Rock Park, the foothills at the same, and a dried out lake bed at Penitencia Creek Trails.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwxl1QbH6hwVcW5zNDZvYW5DWGc

https://www.facebook.com/lapstransformersphotos/
https://www.instagram.com/laptutran/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/19429167@N02/albums