Thanks for the support, guys!
I decided to go with the G1 smokestacks (built from tube styrene) since they look much better and aren't as wide or odd looking. Keep in mind, this is still a WIP, so no real shots in alt mode of the new modes or smokestacks--those will come soon. I decided to make these removable (just like the original Classics Prime gun/stacks, so they peg into the shoulder similar to how I did the Ultra Magnus missiles on my old Ultra Magnus custom (the first one I ever did). I'm still building on these and what you see is a rough draft of the finished product. I want to build them onto a small box-like peg that will snap into the shoulder and still allow for arm movement. In alt mode, the smokestacks will be on that box-like peg (the peg will be painted red) and it will all blend more smoothly.
I'm not going for perfection here, just something that makes this sucker more G1 and like the iconic character we know and love. I also added two thin sheets of styrene to the front and rear parts of the shoulders to make the shoulders more square and box-like (like old school G1 Prime)--these will also be painted red, maybe with some more detail added to them in the way of styrene strips or carved panel lines or something. I don't think I'll be going for the Matrix in the chest (I actually did consider it though) as Tramp suggested over on Sector70. I would love to, but it would be too labor intensive at the moment (I won't rule out re-visiting this and doing something like that at a later date). I do have two different Matrix of Leaderships (the one that came with Cybertron Prime that I used with my Scourge custom and one I'm painting up from a Decepticon Matrix necklace). If I did go all Matrixy on this, I'd want his chest to open up and everything--I could easily just hollow out part of the chest and slap one in now though--but it would be better to make it removable.
