JOE FIDUCCIA: This is the only fan built replica that’s out there. There is only two other
trucks like it and those are the trucks that are owned by Paramount.
JOE FIDUCCIA: My name is Joe Fiduccia. I am the owner of the world’s first fan built
replica of Optimus Prime from Transformers – Age of Extinction.
COMM: This is 36-year-old father Joe. He has built a full size replica of Optimus Prime
– one of the most renowned vehicles from the Transformers movies. Taking more than
4 billion dollars at the box office, Transformers has fast become one of the biggest franchises in the world.
JOE FIDUCCIA: In the 80s, he was the leader of the Autobots, he still is leader of the
Autobots. He is that character that has the strong morals, the strong ethics. He is always
looking after the little guy, always making sure that everybody else is taken care of.
COMM: But that wasn’t the main reason why Joe decided to built the giant replica.
JOE FIDUCCIA: The inspiration behind this truck was for my son. Ryan loves the Transformers
just as much as I do. He has probably got hundreds of characters in his room stocked away
and to be able to build something like this for him I mean he was the main reason I did this.
RYAN FIDUCCIA: I love Optimus Prime. It’s just so cool having in your yard.
COMM: With the help of close friends and external
parties, Joe worked tirelessly day and night to complete the job and own the world’s
first fan built replica.
JOE FIDUCCIA: In total there was probably
about 25 people including myself that were involved with this build. One of the first
things I had to do or actually chose to do was get legal permission from Hasbro to build
it and we had our legal team contact them and about a month later we got a letter in
the mail from Hasbro saying that they approved.
COMM: Weighing around 21,000 pounds, the spectacular truck is 30 feet long and just
under 12 feet wide and that means another tough job for Joe.
JOE FIDUCCIA: Unfortunately, there is no car
wash big enough to take Optimus Prime through. Washing Optimus Prime is a full-time job in
itself. Especially during the winter time when all the salts from the roads kick up
and just a little drive around town and all of a sudden I have got five hours of cleaning ahead of me.
JOE FIDUCCIA: We actually ended up lowering it by about two inches because the original
Optimus truck was much higher but that creates a hazard for us when we’re driving.
JOE FIDUCCIA: The truck alone has a Detroit
DD 15 motor in it. It’s a standard Detroit motor. No fabrication or modifications have
been done to the motor. Optimus is maxed out at 65 miles an hour. He can’t go any faster than that.
JOE FIDUCCIA: The paint scheme on this thing
is quite intense. He has got the red and blue warrior colours on. But he also has a bunch
of Autobot logos all over him. Between the front and the back there is over 16 logos.
JOE FIDUCCIA: Obviously one of the big things
that you notice right off the bat is the big Autobot logo here on the front of the truck.
This was actually a solid block of aluminum that was custom cut to fit the contours of
the hood here and that was one of the most complicated pieces we had to make.
COMM: Joe admits now the truck is complete,
he gets attention wherever he goes.
JOE FIDUCCIA: Everybody’s got their cameras out; everybody is pointing.
PITMAN SWEN: It’s larger than life. I am
a huge fan. When I first drove up, I thought it was the real thing.
RYAN FIDUCCIA: I am really proud for my dad
making this. It took him a lot of time, a lot of effort. It was worth it in the end.
JOE FIDUCCIA: I could not have built Optimus
Prime without the support of my family. It makes a big difference when you go up to somebody
and you tell them no matter what’s going on in your life, no matter how impossible
something seems, whether you are a kid or a grown adult, don’t ever be afraid to try,
you know. Don’t ever be afraid to pursue what seems impossible because you never know.
One day you could be in the driver’s seat of Optimus Prime.