COUNTDOWN: 9 potential Shattered Glass interpretations of classic Autobots

If you’re at all into Transformers these days, the likelihood is that you’ve come across the concept of Shattered Glass.

It’s the old ‘mirror universe’ business, where everything’s a bit topsy turvy and the good guys are really the bad guys (and vice versa). Like Star Trek and many other franchises before it, Transformers has made good use of its SG universe since it was first introduced as part of Botcon 2008. Yet now it’s really gone into overdrive, with new comics and mainline toys to boot!

There are loads of established SG colour schemes for classic characters by now (pretty much everyone will think of SG Optimus Prime as purple with the smashed windows, for example). Many will also know Blaster, especially with a repaint of his Kingdom toy dropping this year and the original 2013 e-HOBBY release still proving to be a bit of a stunner.

Yet as enjoyable as some of the SG designs are, there’s one aspect of Blaster’s specific colour scheme that, in my mind, really sets it apart, and it’s this…

It's an obvious point I know, but here's why I will always think SG Blaster's colour scheme is one of the best pic.twitter.com/aN14roUKd1

— Sixo (@SixoTF) August 25, 2022

Yep, SG Blaster is pretty literally a mirror version of his regular universe counterpart in that the greys, reds and yellows we normally associate with the character have been almost directly inverted. There’s a bit of creative license too, but there’s little doubt this is where the inspiration sprung from.

It also seems I’m far from the only one to find this idea quite fascinating, as this impressive custom effort from the ever-talented (and all-round top geezer) @CZHazard will demonstrate. Shattered Glass Overlord, anyone?

G1 Overlord Shattered Glass-ish Custom pic.twitter.com/c16KcoIxor

— DiaBrave Sid (@CZHazard) August 25, 2022

So today, for a bit of fun, let’s look at nine more classic Autobots and see what they would look like with inverted colour schemes! Some of these characters have Shattered Glass counterparts already, but still, it’s intriguing to see the potential results…

#9: Powerglide

The character of Powerglide is a favourite of mine, but let’s be honest – he’s blowhardy enough that an evil universe counterpart wouldn’t be too difficult to imagine, would it? In any case, whilst there’s no official SG colour scheme for him that I’m aware of, this palette-swapped option looks pretty swish, to my eye! Hot cyan with dark grey and yellow highlights? I would love to see something like this become a reality.

#8: Sunstreaker

The idea of an SG Sunstreaker has come up before, although he’s typically rooted in people’s minds as being based on Binaltech Dead End. Whilst I adore that look and would love to see it become a staple repaint idea for Sunstreaker toys, I think there’s also a ton of merit with this inverted look for the character. Swap out the yellow for a sultry but vibrant blue set off with some lighter grey parts and purple highlights. Don’t tell me that wouldn’t look pretty crisp.

#7: Grapple

Grapple is another of those characters who doesn’t currently have an ‘official’ SG colour scheme, although again, some fans tend to repurpose the green Hauler variant for this. However, my preference would be for this inverted look, as it represents something *very* different to what we typically see on any given Grapple/ Inferno/ Artfire mould. It’s very similar to Sunstreaker, but when it works, it works!

#6: Brawn

Brawn already has an established SG colour scheme. It’s green and brown, although sometimes with some gold highlights, too… kinda like his traditional look but a bit darker! However, I love how this inverted take is spot on the classic late-’80s Decepticon palette, complete with a pair of distinctive lilac trousers! I think it works.

#5: First Aid

OK, picture this. A black ambulance with bright cyan highlights. You think you’ll be looked after in your hour of need, but secretly, this physician is up to no good… you just know he wouldn’t be the pacifist we typically think of with First Aid!

#4: Rollbar

I love this. Whilst regular Rollbar is a rather turgid burnt green, this guy is all about the bright purpley-blues, and he’s rocking it. The blue face with red eyes is classic good guy turned evil fare and coupled with the grey highlights, I think this one is all win. I’d love to see a complete set of evil Throttlebots now.

#3: Tracks

Tracks actually has an official SG counterpart. Except… it’s just Road Rage. Yep, evil Tracks is red. Instead, how about we consider this inverted colour scheme which, in a significant plus, brings back the yellow body seen on his beautiful Binaltech release! I’ve often said that’s a repaint option that should be used more often, and now, weirdly, I feel like there’s some bizarre precedent for it. At least in my brain, anyway!

#2: Springer

Hot DAMN. Springer is one of those characters who rather bizarrely lacks any obvious repaints to his name, but how great would this be as an option to roll out, eh? Maybe I’m being crazy, but I genuinely think this is quite stunning…

Shoutout to @Wiktor55872289 for discovering this one, too!

#1: Wheelie

Some might say that regular Wheelie is evil enough already, but I must admit that this swapped-out option works surprisingly well! If you’re going to have to own Wheelie toys, then why not have them look as good as possible, after all…

So that’s our list! Are there any others you can think of?

TTFN