“Open, Dammit, Open!” – Ultra Magnus
I wanted to see the ’86 Transformers movie SO BAD when I was a kid, but the critics panned it, citing violence, etc. so my parents said no. Well, that left me in a lurch of not understaning what happened to my favorite characters for a long time.
The plot revolved around a small group of Autobots retrieving the Matrix of Leadership from the Decepticons who have aligned themselves with Unicron, a planet-eating transforming.. planet.
At the apex of the movie, Hot Rod opens the Matrix, releasing an insane amount of power. I made this so it can be stretched apart and at the same time hit a button, firing up several bright LED lights.
This replica took many years to make, though part of that was just not knowing how to proceed. The inner blue piece is something I got as a wristband at Sea World at night. It was originally motion-activated but I rewired it to a switch.
I started in 2003 with a detailed drawing and some foam to see how big it was going to be, how to accommodate batteries, etc.
I found that a Magic 8 Ball was just the right size to start the center ball piece. That cylinder full of dice (die) is all that’s inside!
Lots of Dremel work later and this was closer to being ready for some strips of plastic to thicken it out.
Tons of styrene went into making the pieces and panels. I think I had originally intended to make molds of these parts and reproduce them. In the end I was thankful to finish the one.
It was tricky to get the handles to mount to the ball piece, and the project sat around for years. I’d work on it a bit here and there but it wasn’t until 2020 when I challenged myself to finish it for a class project. This involved doing more light wiring and developing the center pieces that allow it to open and close.
I am thrilled with how it came out and I wish I had finished it sooner!