Magazine Confirms Seven Constructicons

TFW2005's Dinobot Nuva has posted a scan from an article in the current issue of Nick Magazine that has comments from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen lead animator Shawn Kelly were he talks about eyes and the complexity of Devastator and merging seven vehicles. This is, to my knowledge, the first time someone directly associated with the movie has confirmed that seven vehicles combine to form Devastator. Previous mentions were second hand information in articles, a toy, and novelizations.


Devastator

Says Shawn, "Devastator is easily the most complicated character we've ever done because of his size, which is absolutely gigantic. Just trying to figure out how he might form into this giant thing and then walk around was a huge challenge." Animating Devastator required so much computing power that one artist's computer overheated and its insides melted!

"We tried to make a scary transformation for [Devastator] where things are slamming together and getting pulled around. All seven vehicles are shoving themselves together and clicking into place as he grows into this giant, scary dude."

Emotion via the Eyes:

An important part of making the robots look real is their eyes. According to Shawn, "We had to pay a lot of attention to the robots' eyes because a lot of them don't have much more to their face. As long as we can bring the eyes to life, it works pretty well." To do this, animators spent time studying real eyes to see how they move and blink. They also filmed each other and studied the eyes of different actors as they recorded their lines.

Transformers Movie Universe Preview

Transformers: The Movie Universe hardcover by DK books is coming and as part of that it includes bio on the various Transformers in Revenge of the Fallen. Thanks to Rodrigo, below is a few sample pages from the book for The Fallen, Devastator (who is described as having six components, no Overload), the Twins, and Megatron.

Book description:

Find out everything you ever wanted to know about the Transformers including footage from the films Revenge of the Fallen and Transformers, with this explosive guide.

Read behind-the-scenes stories from the Transformer movies, secret dossiers, mission objectives, stats, top 10s, amazing facts and more. Get access to the data files of your favorite heroes from Optimus Prime and Megatron to Bumblebee and Sam Witwicky.

Step into dramatic battle scenes and learn everything you ever wanted to know; from an insiders guide to Cybertonian history to the secrets behind the Transformers military hardware. Plus, fantastic cross-sections will take you deep inside their incredible world

Legends Combiner Devastator

Toy Wizard has posted a picture of Devastator that will be based on seven Legends class Constructicons. Nope, not a typo. As the picture shows, this version indicates that the mysterious seventh Constructicon, Overload, is part of the torso of Devastator along with Scavenger.

This would be the 3rd version of Devastator planned for the Transformers 2 toy line. One version is a kids version that doesn't transform (robot on front, individual vehicles painted on the back), the other is the Supreme class that is the individual vehicles that combine to form Devastator but do not have their own individual robot modes. Technically could say a fourth if count the Deluxe and Voyager class Constructicons that do have robot modes but don't combine.

While lacking in detail, it is a solid alternative to those that can't afford the $100 Supreme class toy. Since Legend toys average around $5 or so each you’re looking at about $30 for the whole set. One unfortunate caveat is it has not been confirmed if the toy is going to be released stateside. Thanks to Drew for the link.

Sigh, easier to disable the comments for this post then delete all the pointless garbage.

Devastator Robot Heros, Reverb, and Other Toy Stuff

An eBay auction has the first pictures of the Robot Heroes version of Devastator. The left picture gives you an idea of the scale by comparing it to Robot Heroes Prime. For more pictures click here.

Hasbro continues its tradition of releasing every Transformer mold at least two times with different paint jobs (usually the second better then the first), this time with Scout Knockout becoming Reverb. The pictures of the toy in its packaging can be found here.

Even though the toys have not yet been officially released, TFW2005 is reporting that the knockoffs have begun. Very ugly and poorly created knockoffs. Click here to view a gallery of Soundwave, Dead End, and others.

Last is the two scans below from Hyper Hobby that shows off various toys from the Transformers 2 toy line. Thanks to Scorpio for all the links.

Blurry Ravage, Stratosphere? and More Toy Galleries

A new image of Deluxe Ravage has popped up on TF08.net. It hard to see any details but its pretty clear it matches the box image. Still clueless on what his alt mode could be. Thanks to Adam for the link.

S250, who has revealed a good bit of toy related information over the last few months, is reporting that the Voyager class Autobot cargo jet that some fans were calling Silverbolt is going to be called Stratosphere and rumor is the small shuttle was removed from final design. No packaging images (yet) to collaborate this and it remains unknown if the character is in the film or not. Thanks to Scorpio for the link.

Hasbro has a Q&A panel at TFCon last weekend where they provided a little bit of information about their process developing Transformer toys. It is an interesting read that can be found here. Makes you wish that Hasbro would do a video as an extra for the Transformers 2 DVD/Blu-Ray that documents a Transformer toy from idea to the store shelves.

Here are a few galleries for your enjoyment.
Deluxe Chromia - Many images of the toy with comparisons to other Transformers cycles including Arcee toy released with the first movie.
Devastator etc - More images of Devastator and other toys from the upcoming Transformers 2 toy line. Thanks to Phil for the link.
Voyager Ironhide and Starscream - More pictures of the redesigned toys.
Cannon Bumblebee Review - Video review of the toy that looks pretty good. Thanks to Scorpio for the link.

Update: Added two additional galleries and link to TFCon report.

Combined Optimus, Jetifre And Other Galleries

Yep, more toy galleries from the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen toy line for your enjoyment (or not), all of them from the TFW2005 forums.

First up is the rather tiny picture to the left that shows off the combined mode of Leader class Optimus Prime and Jetfire that has been hinted at for awhile. Of note is the combined mode doesn't quite match the black-out preview pick from Jetfire's packaging. In addition, there is the image of Devastator and his six Constructicons, a contradiction of the seven that recent press articles indicated would comprise Devastator. It looks like we will have to wait on the leak of the toy packaging to finally clear this one up.

Next is a shot of Wheelie in his packaging via an eBay auction. We previously got a look at his card backing and bio. Nothing much to add, he is still as strange looking as you expect. Makes you wonder if Scapel and him will have a tussle (that would probably be amusing to watch).

More Transformer comparison photos. This time of the Takara version of Deluxe Sideways compared with the Hasbro version. Takara's version has a darker paint job that does look better. The full gallery is here. Deluxe Breakaway (still not confirmed if in movie) also gets a Takara vs. Hasbro treatment. Takara Breakaway is a brown color instead of Hasbro's tan. In this case I am not sure if it is an improvement or not. The Breakaway gallery is here.


Last is a small gallery (here) of the Transformers version of Jenga. As you can see, it is the classic game that when stacked for play forms the faction symbols. I like the touch of adding them to each block.

Thanks to Phil for the links.

Devastator and Other Video Game News

More details are coming out about the upcoming 360/PS3 versions of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen game. The latest comes from MTV were they report that Devastator and the Constructicons will be in the game as part of a story point derived from the movie.

While the game’s developer had to keep quiet on the biggest (literally) addition to the film’s roster of giant robots due to how closely the game is modeled on the movie, there were a few Devastator-related bits and pieces to glean from the event (though no images, unfortunately). Production coordinator Mike Mejia took MTV News through a climactic battle with the massive Decepticon set in streets of Cairo late in the demo — an encounter that Mejia said was pulled directly from the plot of the film.

And that wasn’t all there was to learn about Devastator and (as fans of the series will be glad to hear) the Constructicons that unite to form the villain.

Along with taking us through a battle between Optimus Prime and Devastator, Mejia took a moment to pan the in-game camera around the massive villain and provide an up-close peek at the robot’s design. Composed of several different Decepticons like his cartoon (and comic book) counterpart, Devastator maneuvered around the Cairo cityscape on all fours, with his various construction-vehicle components clearly visible during the slow-pan peek.

It’s also worth noting that “Demolisher,” the Decepticon with a giant wheel seen in several of the “Revenge of the Fallen” trailers (seen in the concept art [above]), is clearly visible as the primary torso and neck component of Devastator. Originally rumored to be Devastator, the wheel-wielding Demolisher robot is actually just the bulk of Devastator’s chest in the game — giving you an indication of how large the character will likely be in Bay’s CGI-fueled sequel.

Of note is the continued confusion over Demolisher or Scavenger. The question is they the same character with naming confusion or two separate characters? The first movie also had naming confusion with Brawl being called Devastator in the movie. The confusion initially started as Toy Fair 2009 images leaked and people (including me) just assumed that the naming of Demolisher and Scavenger were confused and are the same thing.

They are probably two separate characters. The primary reason is story logistics. The movie opens with NEST tracking down Demolisher (as seen in trailer) in Shanghai, China. As the above indicates, the battle with Devastator takes place in Cairo, Egypt. Which do you think is easier to do story wise - have to explain how a character escaped and traveled thousands of miles to Cairo or simply introduce a new character? Another reason is official information from Paramount for a USA Today article lists them separately. Official information trumps speculation. Last, as the toy image below shows, they are two separate toys, with similar but clearly different designs (SCVGR on side is its own hint).

Back to the video game, another blog entry from MTV highlights that homages to the various G1 gestalt characters will make appearances in the game and briefly mentions online play possibility of playing as Devastator.

The developers behind the games are Transformers nerds themselves, I was told. They have used Aerialbots, Stunticons, Combaticons, Protectobots and Omnibots as inspiration for the unnamed robots players will encounter in the game. There was no sign that these modern-day Protectobots will merge into the mighty Defensor. Instead they seem to be foot soldiers — extra robots to shoot and be shot by. The group names are classifications as these robots won’t have names.

The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of “Revenge of the Fallen” include online multiplayer deathmatch and capture the flag modes. Up to eight gamers can play online. The new “Revenge of the Fallen” version of Devastator is, like his 1980s predecessor, a giant robot made up of smaller robots. So, I asked, can online players each play as one of Devastator’s component robots and then merge so that multiple players control a single, towering Devastator? The Activision reps gave me a stalling laugh and then one said: “We do have a lot of Transformers available [in the game.]

My read on that is you can play as a Constructicon but you and your buds will not get to merge and form Devastator. He is probably reserved as a boss character only.

Last, but not least, is from TFW2005. They have posted information from the Activision's New York press conference yesterday. It is worth the read as breaks down many elements of the upcoming video game. That can be found here. Also they have posted a video interview with a Transformers 2 developer that sadly has no spoilers. Thanks to Patrick and Scorpio for some of the links.

Transformers 2 CGI Art Work (Update 2)

It took a while but finally some new CGI artwork of the some of the characters for Transformers 2 has appeared online. Some of the CGI in the gallery is old but much is brand new. Thanks to Ken and David for the link.

Update: Added the image in the left created by D-M0de (thanks!) for those that like the idea of the Twins running for their lives. Good for wallpaper or imagining such a scene in the movie.

Update 2: D-M0de provided the below two pictures to replace the previous Twins chase image. Uses the below CGI images along with Photoshop magic to tell a better story.

By D-M0de


Devastator


Ironhide


Megatron


Ratchet


Ravage


Sideswipe


Starscream


The Fallen


The Twins

More Transformers Tidbits from Bay

MTV has posted more of their conversation with Michael Bay at ShoWest. In their first post, he revealed that Arcee annoyed him enough that she just had to die. In this second part he discusses the IMAX Experience, Megan Fox, and no car chases.

The video portion is below but so far I have not had much luck getting it working, may just be server overload.

Highlights:

- "There's no car chase in this movie. There's a lot of different types of action. In some movies, it's the same action throughout the entire movie. There's a lot of different types of action in this one, and that makes it interesting."
- "You will see Devastator in IMAX. You heard it here first. [Several scenes] are going to be on IMAX, which is awesome. Some of our main scenes were shot with IMAX cameras, so the screen will pop wide [if you see the film in an IMAX theater]. It's the first movie to do serious digital effects in IMAX quality."
- On Megan Fox: "Wait until you see] the very first shot in the movie," he replied when we asked whether Megan gets a moment as memorable as her hood-opening flirtation with Bay's lingering camera in the first film. "You'll see."

Removed video since still not working on the MTV website so embed isn't going to work either
The main takeaway for me is unlike most IMAX Experience movies, Transformers 2 will actually be worth the travel time and ticket cost since its doing more then just showing an oversized scene. As Bay points out, this will be the first movie to make real use of CGI elements for IMAX scenes something previous movies have not spent the money on to create.

Devastator, Mixmaster and Other Toy Pics

TF08.net once again provides the cool new Transformer 2 toy images. This time an excellent look at artwork and early look at the combined form of Devastator. The images do match the toy seen at Toy Fair but it indicates only six Constructions, rather than the seven that was reported last week. Note that the vehicle images used are easy to find via a Google image search.

In addition here is the first look at Deluxe Mixmaster. Note though that the Deluxe class toys do not have the ability to combine into Devastator (separate set of toys for that). Also get a look at Jetfire (note his "cane") but I have no idea what class he is (Voyager?). Then there is Power Bots Megatron, Human Alliance Bumblebee and another look at Deluxe Barricade that look so close to his first movie look (rather than a repaint) that it makes me think he might just be in the sequel. Thanks to Gregory for some of the pictures and Michael, Phil and Gregory for the link.