This was an old project I had in mind, based off the BotCon exclusive Onyx
Primal. However, I had no access to what I needed to actually make this. Until
early 2000, when I bought up an old Ultra Magnus, which included a spare cab
robot. It was the early rubber wheel version, but it was in bad shape. Poor
chrome, black markings, and the joints too tight to transform it. So, I now
had my base figure. And I knew I could do this, despite the fact some parts
of the Prime cab design don't allow for disassembly without destroying it.
 Most parts were spraypainted black, with the central waist piece painted
with black Testor's, as that part couldn't be disassembled. The smokestacks,
upper legs, and headlights were painted silver using a cotton swab. The head
was painted with a toothpick for details, so I could retain the red eyes. Painting
time took roughly three days. Assembly took a while, as spraypainting was
an experiment, and I didn't cover the assembly areas, which required filing
on the paint to fit parts in. The metal chest piece required removal of
the windshield, which in the process, I put a hole through. But I had a
spare from an old junked G2 Prime which I was able to use.
 In the end, I got the idea to cover the toy with a thin coating of a clear
spray enamel. Bad idea. The windshield fogged up, and the left leg gathered
a large glob of the stuff as it ran down, and in my attempt to wipe it off,
the paint ruined. Reach for my G2 Prime again for the halved of the leg I needed.
Fixed. The wheels were applied last, so I could paint the wheel rims silver after
the legs were sprayed black.
 I still had no hands though, and didn't want to spend the money on a set
of Prime or Manus hands. Turn to some oversized Rockman bootlegs I have,
which came with interchangeable open/closed hands. Taping the pegs of
2 fists over, I painted the hands. They fit, despite a tight fit into the
headlights. And they were about the size of Prime's hands. Not seen in these
pictures are the Decepticon logos added to the shoulders, after they were
taken. I also plan to add silver cab stripe stickers in the future as soon
as I can find some.
 I decided to make this an alternate universe evil Prime instead of an evil
clone, as it can lead to more interesting fiction.

the pictures

full body shot
head shot
next to Optimus Prime
tech specs

Links

Palmeiro's TF Parts Trading Page:took the time to scan the photos for me. Check it out of you need G1 parts
Unicron.com
International TF Tech Spec archive
Back to the TF art page