In the ultimate transformation, a model builder and popular YouTuber made an Optimus Primal figure using every part of a foldable smartphone. Too bad it can’t convert back and forth like the Transformers do on-screen. But it’s still really cool. The man behind the Ray Studio account took the phone apart piece by tiny piece. It is an incredible show of patience. He unplugged every wire and cable, unscrewed every screw, and then put it all back together as a robot gorilla.
We saw the montage video above on Geeks Are Sexy. The whole thing is set to calming music that you’d expect to hear in a spa. Instead of the sound of tiny components dropping to the floor, cursing when fingers get glued together, or any of the other noises you’d expect to hear, it’s truly a Zen experience.
He uses the Honor Magic Vs foldable smartphone, which are only just becoming available worldwide. It sells for $1,300, so this build tops the $700 Optimus Prime toy from Hasbro as the most expensive Transformer we know of. The phone’s batteries power the Optimus Primal figure, which lights up in various places, including the gorilla’s eyes.
The creator references his childhood love for Beast Wars in the video’s description. Other fans of the ’90s TV show are getting excited to see Optimus Primal and the other Maximals on the big screen when Transformers: Rise of the Beasts comes out in June 2023. Ron Perlman will voice Primal, a descendant of Optimus Prime, in the upcoming movie. There’s also a new animated series on Nickelodeon.
The Ray Studio YouTube channel has other delightful builds. Most of them are mecha robots from properties like Transformers and Gundam. Along with other smartphone rebuilds, Ray has also converted an electric razor into a robot.
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.