Fanfiction Did anyone collect or contribute to HeadMasters II?

[Tuxedo Prime]

Hey all, and welcome to my first post on the rebooted Allspark board that is Actually About Transformers.

So, I've been surveying some of Ye Olde Inter-Nette over the past few months, and I have to say, a lot of old material has vanished, decayed or is at risk of passing into the ether. There have been articles and articles about such things, but I'm just going to focus on one fanfic saga of yore right now.

So, people may remember Neale Davidson. I'm not going to get into the whole what-he-was-to-the-fandom business, but as may be known, he passed away in late 2016. Among the contributions he had made to Transfandom was three seasons of scripts set on Beast-era Nebulos, referred to as "HeadMasters II". There were also two sequel series, though I don't know if "MasterForce II" was ever completed.

Anyway, I took the liberty of putting up a Universal Stream article (designating it Primax 600.5 Alpha) over on the Wikia/Fandom Fanon wiki. I have no idea if Neale's surviving family would care about any of it, they aren't obliged to, of course; but I do recall that some of the characters were based on ones created by former contacts and co-MUSHers of his. So if anyone wanted to contribute over there, and keep a (very good, I thought) story universe from fading utterly, there's an option available should any be so inclined.

 

[Dvandom]

A version of my OC Channel was used in Headmasters II, but I didn't actually write anything in it. I did paint some Hot Wheels vehicles up as his triple-changer alt modes from HMII, though. Sadly, I can't find the pictures, must've lost them in a crash or a move.



---Dave

 

[Tuxedo Prime]

A version of my OC Channel was used in Headmasters II, but I didn't actually write anything in it. I did paint some Hot Wheels vehicles up as his triple-changer alt modes from HMII, though. Sadly, I can't find the pictures, must've lost them in a crash or a move.



---Dave

...I thought I had those images on my drives, but, no, instead it was Tech Specs for RiD (2001)'s "X-Big Daddy". I believe that the Internet Wayback Machine did keep the pictures, though. I was doing a deep dive for Headmasters II fanart with very little success recently.

It's one among many sagas that is at risk of vanishing (though the scripts are still circulating, I have a full set myself, and Tech Specs for about 90% of the cast), but given the level of detail put into it and the various contributions from other fans I'm surprised it hasn't come up more often in discussions of various Roads Not (Officially) Taken in the Transformers saga. I suspect that had he lived to see it, Neale would have had fun with "Titan Masters".....

 

[Dvandom]

I can't even find the originals of the repaints, it's possible I gave them to Neale.

---Dave

 

[Tuxedo Prime]

I can't even find the originals of the repaints, it's possible I gave them to Neale.

---Dave

Well, it's nice to hear that at least some of the contributing character-makers were on good terms throughout the saga. I recall seeing some board flareups regarding some of the other characters, though the reasons weren't always clear to me at a remove.

I myself only knew Neale, and not his family, so I've got no idea how one would even ask regarding making wiki character entries for those HM2 characters that were of his direct creation. My understanding is that his widow has mostly been keeping the fontography business running, so TF stuff is probably not much on her radar. Still, it would be nice -- perhaps after Shoutwiki allows for new material again -- to copy and expand the Wikia fanon wiki with material from the HM2 saga, that it not be forgotten.

Of course, in the meantime, there's nothing stopping those contributors who know from writing for the Fandom/Wikia model. I've made a few contributions of late. I just know that Fandom isn't very popular with TFWiki (despite holding both MemAlpha and Wookieepedia) for good reasons, so crosslinking is probably going to be a one way street unless something new gets made.

 

[Dvandom]

Found 'em!

Headmasters Crash was the followup to Headmasters II, IIRC. (The windows should be blue, back then I had more limited paint choices and I think I prioritized "would look smooth" over the blue being vibrant.)

---Dave

 

[Tuxedo Prime]

Headmasters Crash was the followup to Headmasters II, IIRC.

Short answer, yes. If my memory hasn't failed me, he started releasing Masterforce II first, but Crash takes place in the twenty-year gap between HM2 and MF2, making it an interquel.