Author | Lightnews

Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jun 22

Great classic update of G1 toy Bee - I love the vibe!

Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jun 20

My room-mate and I both lost our job contracts, and it doesn't look like there are going to be any renewals. Unfortunately utilities will be due soon and we're strapped.

I've started a Ko-Fi and will be putting up a com sheet soon - I hate to ask, but if anyone is able:

ko-fi.com/jasonsschnei...

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jun 14

Oh god, I feel this. For *years* people were telling me I should put my designs on shirts and they'd buy them. I tried it, put all my work on fancy shirt designs.

ONE person bought it (out of 100 who said they would) - and only because I gave it to them for as low as the system would allow...

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jun 14

Awesome - that's great to hear, I look forward to seeing it!

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 30

It's awesome how a design originally intended to homage a classic has become one. So many Optimus designs after it build on the transformation innovations of this mold, but nothing has topped it's weapons integration. The smokestack shotgun was genius.

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 30

I'm impressed by the dramatic pose and lighting. It has the vibe of an anime protagonist that just got knocked across a field and is squaring up to counter. I love this shade of purple against the black, it feels very regal. Great work!

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 30

His visor is wide with shock.

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 29

Razorbeast was my first Beast Wars toy because I was struck by the Guyver inspired organic aesthetic and unique alt mode. It restarted my path back into the fandom after "outgrowing it" in highschool and early college. I still think it exemplifies that approach better than any design since.

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 19

Great. I used to joke that CEOs could watch Soylent Green and think it's a how-to guide to achieve nutritional efficiency.

Now we have proof that a generation of tech plutocrats interpret science fiction's dystopian Megacorporations as aspirational.

With all the sarcasm on earth, I say: "Joy."

Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 19

Looks amazing, I love the diaclone color scheme and how well it invokes that original head sculpt! That, and I just love vivid red...

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 19

Seriously, I love modern updates, but I also love the charm and uniqueness of the classic toys - it's awesome to see this niche getting filled!

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 19

My iteration is always the same. I fall into an insanely gaudy and labyrinthine mall. Wandering, I stumble upon a Toys R Us. There's a bin full of transformable bots I've never seen before; all loose, in great shape, with masterpiece quality. I wake up whle figuring out how one of them transforms.

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 19

Now I crave a Tim Burtonesque Sentai....

Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 19

One hundred percent! A lot of the best Beast Wars toys never made it to the cartoon. I still feel like a lot could have been done with the Fuzors concept. Considering Air Hammer already fits Maori myth, I feel like they could have evolved into legit mythical beasts.

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 4

Thanks, I tried to design them to feel like updates of classic Beast Wars figures. Yeah, the Grootslang was described in mythology as a serpent/elephant that the gods made by mistake but were unable to kill. It's high on my list of "things I would not fuck with."

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 4

I think I said before that I have a multiple-season series in my head for these characters. This one is a bit of a mafioso type - he's honorable and appears reasonable, but he's looking for leverage and will enslave people with debt. While disarmingly friendly with his squad, his temper is brutal.

Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 4

Thanks, man! It's funny. Most of the time, when I stumble upon a mythological creature I'm not familiar with, it takes a few iterations to clarify how I imagine the beast. I just read "Serpent/elephant mistake of the gods they could not kill," and my brain was like, "Yeah, it's this bastard."

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 4

Hammerhead Rat is adorable - it would get all the cheese!

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 4

It was a beautiful piece and an excellent example of the Guyver-inspired aesthetic of early Beast Wars toys. And yes, that type of beetle is just rife with potential for gorgeous color variations. While I wouldn't give up Blackarachnia, I'd still love to peer into that alternate universe...

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 4

Finally, here's the next in my expanding list of Mythicons: the gruesome Grootslang, the leader of the African team! An Adse, Nini Nanka, and Popobawa will follow. I didn't get to his tech specs, but his motto is "If you want power, don't collect servants, collect favors. Debtors rarely revolt."

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 3

Sadly, he didn't live long enough to begin the Jihad, but his words will be captured in the Orange Catholic Bible forever!

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 1

Yay - such a fun rendition!

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 1

Awesome and hilarious! Heh, I was raised somewhere in between. My friends and I would have long, deep talks that other guys would say "sounded gay" so I don't quite get this monosyllable grunt technique, but if that's what it takes for guys to feel okay expressing themselves, grunt away!

Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Jan 1

It goes deeper - Zorro, the Scarlet Pimpernel, Robin hood; all came from aristocratic families.
Clark was raised on a farm, got a (at the time) blue collar job, and lost his parents due to impersonal events (exploding planet, heart attack) - without his powers, he's far more ordinary.

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Jason S Schneider @jasonsschneider.bsky.social · Dec 23

Aiming to recolor it to the trainer variant? I always called it the hot-wing Valkyrie!

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