Transmythic Powermaster Buzzclaw

with Incubus

from Fuzor Buzzclaw

The Transmythics concept was originally a glimmer in Hasbro's eye before a big management shakeup, and would have included things like Rodimus Prime and Galvatron as various mythical beasts. Later on, a fan named Kenneth Carlson turned the idea into reality with a page of home-made Transmythic kitbashes. At one point he asked me (and a bunch of other people) for suggestions on how to do a chimaera Transmythic based on Bantor. Shortly afterward, Toys R Us had its infamous "65 cent Basic Fuzors" sale, and I snapped up a spare Bantor (and Buzzclaw and Airhammer and Terragator, what the heck). After finishing the Transmythic Targetmaster Bellerotron, I fiddled with Buzzclaw a bit and created Transmythic Powermaster Buzzclaw.

The main body of Buzzclaw I left alone in terms of kitbashing, although I spent a fair amount of time fiddling with it until I'd found a beast mode I liked, and also ended up with a bonus assault mode (yep, he's a Triple-Changer Powermaster Fuzor!).

To create the Incubus, I played around with the backpack unit and some spare parts left over from old kitbashes until I was satisfied with the basic design I wanted. In order to make the backpack fit onto the robot's back properly, I opened it up and reversed everything, then cut off the peg which was intended as a handle (the thinner side of the T-bar). Filing down some struts on the back, I glued Cosmic Angela's wings to the toy with a combination of superglue and hot glue. The skull I simply hotglued into an appropriate position, and I glued a 2x2 round Lego piece onto the trigger rod to act as a "foot." Then I covered it in hot glue so it would look creepy and organic.

In painting Incubus, I made heavy use of wet-layering. After laying down the top coat of the base color, I immediately added a second color without even cleaning the brush off. This let the colors flow into each other nicely, especially on the yellow-orange and pink wings. The effect is almost unnoticeable on the blue and purple metallic skull (intended to match Buzzclaw's insect eyes), as well as on the pseudopod, unfortunately. When I was done, I realized I'd just created something straight out of a heavy metal album cover.

PREDACON: Buzzclaw
Beast Mode: Lizard/Mantis Fuzor
Assault Mode: Aerospace Fighter
Powermaster Partner: Incubus
Function: Psychological Warfare, Saboteur
Motto: "Sow fear, and victory will bloom."

Buzzclaw had only a few cycles to enjoy his new life on prehistoric Earth as a Fuzor (see original techspecs) before getting mixed up in the origin of the Transmetals. The high concentrations of unstable energon interacted with his still-malleable Fuzor DNA, sending him into stasis lock. Megatron ordered him removed to a safe distance and then abandoned while the negotiations continued over the fate of the Transmythics. What happened next, no one really knows, least of all Buzzclaw. But somehow his mutating DNA gave "birth" to a new semi-organic lifeform which carried away the excess energon and became a living powerplant. This new extension of Buzzclaw named itself Incubus, and proved able to generate low frequency radio pulses and subsonics that could induce fear in both organic life and Cybertronians, in addition to its ability to rapidly metabolize harmful energon. For his part, Buzzclaw found that his beast mode had shifted more in the direction of his reptilian heritage...and he had gained a third mode, a sleek aerospace fighter capable of reaching low orbit. However, without Incubus attached to him, Buzzclaw found his offensive capabilities were virtually gone. His spines made for adequate melee weapons, and his ion-generators were good for sabotaging electronics or briefly stunning Maximals, but that was about it. However, when the two combine in robot mode, Buzzclaw can generate lethal blasts of lightning from both hands as well as from the mantis claws slung over his back. He can also fly at tremendous speeds in robot mode, although not fast enough to reach orbit. Buzzclaw tries to hide behind a no-nonsense attitude at all times, but secretly fears his new life partner and resents the relative powerlessness he has without Incubus. Incubus, for his part, is matched only by Rampage in the delight he takes in the terror of others. Some have speculated that Incubus is the incarnation of Buzzclaw's own worst fears, and is incapable of being, as Waspinator puts it "not creepy."

STR 6 INT 7 SPD 8 END 7 RNK 3 COUR 5 FRP 7 SKL 9 Avg 6.5

Note: when Incubus is not attached to Buzzclaw, Buzzclaw's END drops to 5 and his FRP to 4.

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