In this week's edition of People Are Doing Stuff On The Internet We Had No Idea About But It Seems Real Popular, we've discovered a community of makers who build one-off custom models based on the Transformers franchise. Not only that, but they painstakingly fashion the packaging to go with the models, creating fantastically detailed, almost mind-boggling results.
Leading the charge this week is modeller Simon Smith, who has lovingly combined metal titans Metallica with a Transformers G1 Optimus Prime in order to create the Cliff Burton-celebrating "Autobot Commander Master of Puppets Prime."
"I received a request sometime last year from a collector on Instagram for a new Metallica Optimus Prime to be made," posts Smith on Facebook. "I wanted to base this off of the album cover and pay respects to Cliff Burton at the same time so we have a blend of the two ideas.
"The box layout is pretty epic. There is no doubt who this piece is based on and the top flap with the three crosses really drives home the feel from the album.
"Making this piece I listened to Master of Puppets over and over again and it really got to me that we had lost such a passionate musician like Cliff Burton. Cliff was one of the major forces that propelled Metallica's music in the early years to another level."
Smith has now put the model on eBay, where you can witness his creation in all its monstrous glory. At the time of writing, the highest bid is US$521.
