Spychanger Trailbreaker Kitbash
Based on Robots in Disguise figure Ironhide

Trailbreaker Robot Mode

Trailbreaker Vehicle Mode Trailbreaker Vehicle Mode (rear)

    Years ago, among my first kitbashes were clearanced GoBots, the Hot WheelsTM-sized Transformers released during the G2 period. The molds were reused as Spychangers in the Japanese Car Robots line, and then brought over with slight paint differences for Robots In Disguise in the U.S. (with no group name yet, so I'll continue to call them Spychangers for now). Turning Ironhide into Trailbreaker by adding a camper shell was actually my first idea for a Spychanger kitbash, but the designs I came up with for X-Big Daddy and Starscream interested me more, so I did them first.

    For reference, I used Cybertronian: the Unofficial Transformers Recognition Guide #1. The basic idea was just to add a camper shell and repaint the figure, so there's not much to say there. :)

    After taking Ironhide apart, I decided I didn't want to make the entire camper shell out of putty. So I took some Mega Blok pieces and found they fit nicely into the back of Ironhide, and I glued them all together. Then I added some styrene sheet bits here and there to flesh it out, so that I'd have my bulk without all the weight of putty. The putty was added just to smooth things out. Because this weighted the back a bit too much, I added a spoiler made from a square rod carved down to shape so that Trailbreaker would have some heels. Finally, I drilled a hole in the camper shell so that Trailbreaker's rifle could fit into the vehicle mode.

    Aside from simple painting, I did two things to spiff things up. One, I left the original Autobot insignia untouched, so I wouldn't have to paint my own. Imagine my surprise when I found at the end that it was off-center by a millimeter (a big deal on something this small)! Two, I got some gold chrome pinstriping a while back on a whim, and I cut out bits to stick on the sides to form the basis of Trailbreaker's stripes. The chrome strips were easier to paint red and orange onto than the underlying black, plus the raised edges made it easier to get sharp borders.

AUTOBOT: Trailbreaker
Altmode: Camper Pickup
Function: Defensive Strategist
Motto: "The best offense NEEDS a good defense."

Tries to cover up his insecurities behind a shield of lighthearted behavior and good nature. He feels that his slow speed and lack of real offensive punch could make him a liability in the battlefield, and he works hard to compensate for these perceived weaknesses. His new Spychanger mode at least has solved his fuel consumption problems and increased his off-road speed slightly. His Barrier Cannon, usable in both modes, can project force spheres areound any target within 500 meters, and the emitter behind his robot head is used to maintain these spheres so that the Barrier Cannon can be turned to a new target.

STR 7  INT 6  SPD 5  END 10   RNK 7  COUR 9  FRP 3  SKL 7   Avg 6.75

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