It started with an idea. Greg Gaub invited yours truly to a little get-together on the weekend of BotCon 2001. Since those attending were unable to go to BotCon for one reason or another, I hinted on the idea of having an exclusive toy for what would be CybCon 2001. Happily, Greg agreed. And so, the project began.

As anyone who knows me will attest, I've always thought of the Beast Machines Scavenger toy to be rather closely matching that of the original line. Both have treads. Both have shovels. And both have the driver's area on the left side. When I started writing a Beast Machines fanfic, I went with that thought and made the Scavengers one and the same. Sadly, that story may never get finished, but the idea remained.

Since I have no links with Hasbro, Takara, or even a Toys R Us clerk, how was I to make this toy exclusive? Then, it hit me. As he was already working on a big project for me, I asked my good friend Dave "Zobovor" Edwards if he'd mind doing me another huge favor; paint ten BM Scavengers to a G1 color scheme and provide artwork to go along with it. Needless to say that I was very happy when he accepted. So, one quick order at KB Toys and the toys were on there way. With a little paint, Scavenger would live again. As for the art, well, we'll get to that in due time. Needless to say, Dave really outdid himself.

I'll admit that between Zobovor, Greg, and myself, we toyed around with various packaging ideas. It did seem a shame to waste all those cards and bubbles. However, since I'm not made of money, a simple Ziplock baggie won over the rest. And then I received the artwork. I'll just let it speak for itself.

Beast Machines

G1 Style

G1 with Background

Then I got to thinking. An exclusive toy is nice and all, but what about Tech Specs? And again, the minds of three got to working on it until a classic version was decided on (decided on in that I just decided to it ^_^ )

The Old		The New
The original Tech Specs scan is courtesy of the International Transformers Tech Spec Archive

Feeling even more creative, I decided to make up an instruction booklet. Using Megatron's G2 tech specs as a template (with some help from G1 Skywarp), I scanned in the instructions from Scavenger's card. I then cut, spliced, edited, and manipulated the images into two images; front and back. Then, with a disk filled with three images, I was off to Kinko's to get printed copies. Needless to say, it was almost more trouble that it was worth in that they printed the tech specs on paper stock and the instructions on cardstock instead of vice versa. After a about a week they finally got it right and all was good.

The Original	Attack Mode	Front Cover	Attack Mode
Page 2	Page 3	Page 4	Old School

into

"My primary contribution to the project consisted of disassembling ten of these tough little Vehicons into their component parts and giving them an all-new paint job. At 14 pieces per Scavenger and an estimated 30 paint operations per toy, that's a lot of paint! (I ended up using more than four 1/4 oz. bottles.) The hardest part of the project was scraping away the Vehicon symbol on the back his spark crystal so that it could be replaced with a Decepticon symbol (reproduction stickers courtesy of Delta Star)."

The Vehicon Production Plant

Open Door Policy

Battle for the Spark

"I actually did made two other very slight physical modifications to the toys. Both the brackets to which the robot arms are connected and the hinge to which the shovel-arm is attached fit together very snugly, and I knew that any paint I applied there would scrape off the first time the toys were transformed. So, I cut away just a little bit of plastic from the inside of the robot arm brackets and shovel-arm hinge, thus ensuring that there would be enough room for a coat of paint. I also had to put his upper legs on backwards; if I'd assembled him correctly, the paint would scrape off his upper legs every time you transformed him."

Vehicle Mode		Robot Mode

"I decided to get a bit creative in painting the toys. I realized that (like many Beast Machines toys) there were a lot of nice details molded onto the toy that could be accentuated with an extra paint application, like the tail lights for the vehicle mode. I had to leave the ball joints unpainted so that the toy would retain all its articulation, but those are just about the only original parts still visible. Finally, I added some reproduction rub symbols for a touch of authenticity."

Rear View	Vehicle Mode	Vehicle Mode
Rub Sign	We are now an army!	When Generations Meet
This I Command!	Lonely	Devastator... NOT!

I would personally like to thank Zobovor for going above and beyond all my wildest expectations. You are a king among men. Thanks to Greg Gaub for holding CybCon and giving me the inspiration to see this project through it's fruition. Additional thanks go to Silverbolt Mr. Vertigo Himself for the sound file used on this page. And thanks also go to Roar and Prometheus X who both gave enough moral support and sarcastic wit to keep me in my place. Thanks should also go out to Hasbro and Takara for giving the world Transformers.

"Mushy, but true." - Brawn, "The Ultimate Doom"