The intention to build this creation went as far back as 2018!
PROLOGUE
Over the past 20 years, I made quite a few Transformers with helicopter mode, and triple changer Springer was one of the early ones, and still one of my favorite (below)
Since then, I continued to build two more triple changers with helicopter modes.
VIEW MY OTHER HELICOPTER TRANSFORMERS >>
ABOUT AIRWOLF
Airwolf is arguably the most popular series featuring helicopters back in the 1980s. The helicopter, also named Airwolf was a must-watch for me and my family back then. Even until now, mere looking at photos of The Lady (nickname for Airwolf) , might caused one to hear the iconic introduction music from the series!
For the show, Airwolf was heavily modified and weaponized from an actual civilain helicopter called Bell 222.
EARLY IDEAS
Back in the year 2018, I accepted a challenge in an FB group to build LEGO Transformers based on pop culture vehicles. So I started to brainstorm and ended up with a few contenders: Batmobile, Airwolf and Time machine Delorean . And the latter won (video below):
Aside from design complexities which might potentially bogged me down, the reason why I gave Airwolf a miss back then was that its color scheme was predominantly black (not my favorite color). And since I rely heavily on ball joints for my projects and they don't come in black variants... it'll make things more complicated for sure.
BREAKTHROUGH!
About 2 months ago, I attempted to build a helicopter Transformer using an official LEGO set (Baby Rocket's ship) and found myself nailing it within a few hours (video below).
During the building process of project Cyclonus above, it led to a revelation that some of my techniques could be applied to many forms of helicopters as well. And so.... my mind immediately turned to Airwolf once again. And the rest is history!
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
As always, I tried to implement the core/main features of Airwolf in my creation, especially its weaponry.
transparent curved slopes are only available officially in recent years. I'm glad such part arrived just in time for my project here. A solid colored windshield would simply not do it justice!
WING GUNS
One of the very first component I build (and refined multiple times ) was the guns at both sides of the chopper. Due to lack of space underneath, initially these guns would double up as landing gears as well. Luckily I was able implement separate landing gears eventually.
For illustration purpose only. When grounded, there's actually no clearance for the cannons to be deployed successfully.
CANNONS UNDERNEATH
The photo below showed as the cannons were deployed at the belly of the chopper, the landing gears retracted as well.
Upon seeing how photos like above turned out, I regretted applying a white color scheme for the cannons (missile racks?) . The details were washed out. Then I found out it's a blessing in disguise after all ! Keep reading to find out why.
TRANSFORMATION
Belly cannons folded to become the robot crotch. Luckily its in white to blend in with his white pelvis. A distinctively colored cannons might caused them to look like a diaper. Crisis averted?
Untab the hinged roof and tail from main body
Unfold robot arms.
Unfold robot legs
Rotate the roof /tail 180 degrees and peg it to position pointed by yellow lines.
Fold the tail* down to make it more compact.
*My initial design was a 2-stud thick tail that can split into 2 halves when forming the robot mode . However.... I couldn't source the specific parts in black to realize this design.
Form the feet.
Rotate the windshield flaps and flatten them*
*The windshield orientation for most part of this project used to have limited range ( despite being powered by ball joint). It jutted out like a sore thumb on his chest , and attempts to fold it caused his head to be obstructed (like TF:Animated Ironhide prototype below)
This nagging issue was put off by me until the final days of the project , where I'm in the mood to improve it once and for all.
Solution: Shift part of the nosecone's bottom to be delegated to the side ,becoming spurs on shoulders. The hollowed out nosecone gap finally allowed the windshield to be flattened down without disrupting his field of vision.
ROBOT MODE
Note the azure blue studs on his calves. Those helped to secure the robot arms when forming chopper body.
TRIVIA!
For most part of this project which started a month ago, I was unsure of the color accent for the robot mode. And then this happened:
The above is the newly announced Hasbro crossover toy featuring Transformer KITT from Knight Rider series. I'd say the azure/light blue accent looks really good there on a black robot mode. So I just took a cue from there for my Airwolf TF .
There are many configurations on how to conceal the side cannons on the back of his legs.
ACTION POSES
ATTACK MODE
All cannons deployed. Fire at wll!
OTHERS
A what-if situation if I decided not to fold the chopper tail nicely.
With my recent creations from official LEGO sets, Masterpiece Ironhide and Mechanic Toys Astrotrain.
And thanks again to Baby rocket's helicopter Transformer aka Cyclonus, this Airwolf bot is possible!
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