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“St. Optimus of Prime” is a real, fan-made stained-glass artwork by Seattle software engineer and Transformers fan Craig Kovatch. It adapts artist Timothy Lim’s Optimus Prime Noveau illustration into glass, with the Matrix of Leadership positioned behind Optimus so it reads like a saint’s halo. The window is Kovatch’s separate craft piece—not Lim’s original print.
What “Optimus Prime in stained glass” refers to
Kovatch made the piece after seeing Lim’s Optimus Prime Noveau image. He had never made stained glass before, so he enrolled in a local class and treated the project as an ambitious first attempt. WIRED covered the finished work and its construction in 2012; Make: later summarized the process.
The devotional-looking title, “St. Optimus of Prime,” comes from the composition rather than from an official Transformers designation. In the source design, the Matrix of Leadership sits behind Optimus Prime. Its circular, radiant shape naturally suggests a religious halo, an effect noted by Hackaday and WIRED’s gallery coverage.
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WIRED’s feature, Make:’s project report, and Hackaday’s write-up are the principal published accounts of the work.
How the window was designed and built
Translating an illustration into cuttable shapes
A printed illustration can use curves, tiny details, and lines that have no practical equivalent in sheet glass. WIRED’s companion gallery explains that Kovatch refined shapes that could not be cut into smaller sections and replaced some difficult contours with straighter edges. He then cut, ground, and fitted the pieces in sequence.
The gallery records 121 glass fragments. That is a count for this particular window, not a standard size for an Optimus Prime pattern or for stained-glass work generally.
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Working with what the studio had
Kovatch did not select every color from a preplanned, commercially specified palette. He used glass available in the studio as he reached each section. The eyes came from a small scrap, while the Matrix used a piece with just enough area for the design. Those constraints made the finished colors and textures partly a result of material availability.
Accepting mistakes instead of hiding them
Glass cutting leaves little room for correction once a piece is scored and broken. WIRED quotes Kovatch saying, “Any mistakes in cutting I just had to accept and work with.” That comment captures the practical difference between painting the source image and rebuilding it as many rigid pieces joined by lead or copper-foil construction and solder.
How long it took
The published figures are estimates from coverage of this one project:
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| Source | Reported time | What the figure covers |
|---|---|---|
| WIRED (2012) | Close to 70 hours | Time Kovatch spent perfecting the rendition |
| Make: (2014) | 70 hours | Drawing the template, cutting the glass, and soldering the piece |
| Hackaday (2012) | 80–100 hours | A contrasting estimate for the project |
Because the outlets describe the scope differently, the safest summary is about 70 hours, with Hackaday’s 80–100-hour estimate reported separately rather than treated as a reconciled measurement.
What makes the result look like a Transformer and a religious icon
Recognizable armor in a rigid medium
Optimus Prime’s face, chest and mechanical geometry depend on crisp boundaries. Breaking the image into numerous angular pieces preserves those recognizable planes while allowing each color and texture to come from a separate section of glass.
The Matrix as a visual halo
The Matrix of Leadership behind the character supplies the circular focal point. In the stained-glass version, light passing through that element reinforces the halo reading without changing the underlying Transformers subject.
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Light, not motion, is the transformation
Make: described the result with the line that the window “only transforms the light passing through it.” The phrase is a description of the optical effect: sunlight or room light changes as it travels through colored and textured glass, while the artwork itself remains a stationary fan-made panel.
Is it the same as other Optimus Prime stained-glass pieces?
No. Kovatch’s window is one documented fan work based on Lim’s illustration. A separate 2019 Delphi Glass gallery entry shows another fan-made “Gen 1 Optimus Prime” by Stoplight Stained Glass. The two records should not be combined into one artwork or one product listing.
| Documented work | Artist and source/design | Date in the cited record | Sale or stock status |
|---|---|---|---|
| “St. Optimus of Prime” | Craig Kovatch; based on Timothy Lim’s Optimus Prime Noveau | Covered by WIRED in 2012 | No current sale listing established |
| “Gen 1 Optimus Prime” | Stoplight Stained Glass; separate fan-made design | Delphi Glass gallery record from 2019 | Gallery record does not confirm current stock |
Can you buy Kovatch’s stained-glass Optimus Prime?
Current availability is not established. The published articles document the making of Kovatch’s piece, but they do not provide a current retailer listing, commission page, licensed pattern, or verified sale channel. Search phrases such as “Optimus Prime stained glass window” describe the subject; they are not evidence that this specific window is for sale.
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The Delphi Glass page is useful for identifying a different 2019 fan-made example, not for proving inventory of Kovatch’s work. Licensing rights for reproducing the character or Lim’s design are likewise not established by these reports.
If you want to make a similar fan project
The documented process suggests a realistic starting path for a beginner, without implying that any particular kit or brand was used:
- Learn the fundamentals in a class. Kovatch took a local stained-glass class before attempting the panel.
- Create a full-size template. Simplify tiny or uncuttable areas before transferring the design to glass.
- Plan structural lines. Replace impossible curves with manageable sections and straighter edges where necessary.
- Cut, grind and fit each piece. Work sequentially, checking alignment as the image develops.
- Solder the assembled panel. Expect the final appearance to reflect the glass actually available, including small scraps for details such as eyes.
- Handle errors as part of the design. Once a cut is made, adaptation may be safer than trying to force a replacement.
These steps describe the techniques reported for Kovatch’s project, not a guaranteed recipe for reproducing it. A class or qualified instructor is especially important for safe cutting, grinding, soldering and ventilation practices.
Why this piece remains notable
“St. Optimus of Prime” succeeds because it does more than print a robot image onto a new material. It preserves Lim’s halo-like composition while allowing the realities of glass—fragment size, available color, cutting limits and transmitted light—to visibly shape the interpretation. The 121-piece count and roughly 70-hour build make clear that this was a substantial first project, not a mass-produced decoration.
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