A few pictures of Optimus Prime in robot form have appeared on the web today, and surprise surprise, Paramount hasn't forced everyone to pull them yet. Just one problem, they aren't all real.
Several different website have run the following picture, and as near as I can tell, even though more than a few places are claiming that it's absolutely real, this one is completely fake:
We've been able to confirm almost beyond a shadow of doubt that the above image is actually a sketch by a fan. It's a complete fraud, so do a double take on anyone trying to sell it to you as genuine. But once you see the real images, you'll understand why so many people have been fooled by it.
The real images of Optimus in robot form are these:
The above two images, according to our friend John Campea are design models. From what I've dug up on them, that seems to be accurate. You can see why John and some others might have been fooled into thinking that first scale sketch was real; the color scheme matches up well (as long as you don't inspect it closely) with the colors on the real pictures. We haven't been able to figure out exactly where these images originated in the first place, but my best guess is a photo gallery on Flickr. By now though, they're everywhere and it's become almost impossible to trace their origin.
You're probably wondering why Optimus' eyes are missing. Word is that the visual effects team is putting a lot of extra work into that. They don't want a stiff, emotionless robot, so they're doing something special in that regard to give him expressive eyes. That's especially important because it looks like, true to the animated Optimus we know, he'll have no mouth. So he'll have to convey emotion through his eyes.
The bottom line here though, is that those little pieces look good. They've screwed up his vehicle mode, but maybe Bay is on the right track with the Big Bot's robot form. We'll need to see more of him to be sure.
But that's not all. A few pieces and parts of other robot form Autobots have also drifted out onto the net. First up is a pic of Bumblebee in his robot form, along with a piece of his foot. This one might be real, but it's a little suspicious. Crack CB reporter Darren has helped me out on this one, by posting a couple of pics below it, screen-capped from the video he reported on last week which showed Bumblebee on the set of Michael Bay's flick. When Darren and I talked, his take on the fact that they don't exactly match up is that, "there are inconsistancies in the design but I'm more inclined to think that if it was fake then they would have leaked the whole image." He makes a lot of sense. If you're going to fake it, why include just a foot?
Last we have what is rumored to be the shoulder of a Decepticon named Brawl. The pic's origins are as much a mystery as the others, but it seems to be the real deal. In the Transformers cartoon, Brawl is a military vehicle. In the movie, rumor has it that he'll be a police car. The guys on Transformers producer Don Murphy's message board have done a little creative photoshopping, and think the writing on his mudflap says "To Punish and Enslave". That makes sense, since leaked pictures (which Paramount won't let us show you) of Brawl in his cop car form featured those words inscribed on the vehicle.
