The beauty of the Internet is that you can find pretty much anything you’ve ever desired for purchase. And while this might be just fine for the average person, it’s especially helpful for metalheads, whose personal interests include, say, a nutsack-shaped Goratory patch (much love to our friends over at Pull The Plug Patches). Now, as proof of Mother Internet’s boundless ingenuity, an unexpectedly rad new item has hit eBay — an Optimus Prime Transformers figure with a custom Metallica theme.
As reported by Metal Hammer, this Metallica Optimus Prime was designed by one Simon Smith, a modeler who was asked to rep Metallica using the classic autobot figure. While the toy itself is awesome, even Simon has to admit than it’s the box which is the most enthralling (and, let’s face it, if you’re the kind of dude who collects toys like this, Optimus will probably never leave the box).
“The box layout is pretty epic,” writes Simon. “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.”
Take a look at some shots of the toy here and wonder how you’ll explain this purchase to your significant other:
You can bid on Simon’s custom masterpiece via its eBay page, but you better shore up your bank account, as the current highest bid is over $600 (hey, greatness doesn’t come cheap). Meanwhile, go to Simon’s Instagram to check out some of his other amazing custom Transformers.
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Words by Chris Krovatin
