Debbie Wong
After battling the Decepticons in Hong Kong, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are taking a breather in the Maritime Square and Telford Plaza shopping malls. They’re there courtesy of model builder Debbie Wong and her team from Conceptual Communications, who constructed these 1:1 scale models. She tells Alice Wan about the project.
HK Magazine: So, what does it take to build a life-size Transformer?
Debbie Wong: We spent six months on the paperwork before we started production. Then another six months for design and production. Each Transformer costs millions of dollars!
HK: Can these Transformers actually transform into cars?
DW: Unfortunately, they can’t. These models each weigh a ton. Inside the models we use a lot of support to hold them up. It’s difficult to install the parts because of their weight, let alone transform them! If I were asked to “upgrade” these models, I would try to make them talk and move their hands.
HK: How tricky was it to build the them?
DW: During production, every part and detail of the Transformers had to be approved by the film’s producers. For example, we had been struggling with the color of Optimus Prime. The film producer wasn’t satisfied with the color we proposed. As we had to make Optimus Prime look metallic, we had to be very careful with the proportion of silver paint to blue paint.
HK: Any unexpected hiccups in the production process?
DW: After the final product was finished, we invited the film’s producers to give us final approval. They pointed out that the head and hands weren’t perfect enough—and we only had two weeks to go before the exhibition!
HK: Are you a Transformers fan?
DW: To be frank, I wasn’t very much into robots or such films. But this project made me fall in love with Transformers, and I had a strong feeling when I watched the preview of the movie.