Scrapmetal is almost a character in Transformers 2. His vehicle mode made a cameo or two, but his robot mode design was left in concept art, unused for 10 years...
I was Art Director on the Studio Series Devastator project, and as such, I made decisions on which toys got what labels, and I hunted down reference photos, but I also got to illustrate a few, like this one. I was so fortunate that there happened to be a thoughtful construction worker that once worked on this actual machine and took pics of every angle - to which I owe this wonderful grate design on the deck. Since the robot mode had only one image, ever, I got to interpret and reimagine those details. Fun!
Since I was in charge of the set as a whole, I took the opportunity to find a transformation for Devastator that more closely resembled his posture and four-legged monster stance - and to design labels that take advantage of these altered shapes. I turned Scrapmetal from a clumsy three-fingered hand on a too-long arm, to an actual hand with a thumb and palm shapes that matched the length and mass of the opposite arm.
