ToyWorld Optimus, 'Chase' and Brainstorm

[kup]

ToyWorld has revealed prototypes for their upcoming toys:

http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/japanese-transformers-40/toyworld-prototype-images-of-tw-h02-brainstorm-tw-t01-throttlebot-3-and-tw-02-idw-optimus-prime-177395/

Chase looks great in both robot mode and vehicle mode as to be expected. TW is doing a really good job with the Throttlebot team. They are keeping a 'Hasbro like' simplicity while being clever about it.

Brainstorm looks great but this means that ToyWorld is now in direct competition with FansProject. I figured they had some sort of arrangement since FP did not reveal a Hardhead. Maybe someone has violated the non-aggression pact and crossed the border?

Although I am liking the robot mode for Optimus, I am somewhat underwhelmed by the vehicle mode. I was never a fan of the Costa era IDW Prime design so this is falling a bit short for me..

[canofwhoopass_87]

Brainstorm looks great. Awesome to see these high calibre 3rd party re imaginings of our fav G1 characters.

Someone bring on Defensor already!

[1AZRAEL1]

Another Brainstorm? Well that blows. We don't need multiple figures done by different companies. And I feel we are becoming oversaturated with 3rd party products.

[kup]

Another Brainstorm? Well that blows. We don't need multiple figures done by different companies. And I feel we are becoming oversaturated with 3rd party products.

I have to agree. It would be my preference if each tackled something different as it has normally been the case but now we are getting directly competing companies making the same subgroups (Devastator, Predaking, Headmasters).

I guess it technically isn't bad for the us the buyers as we get more stuff to choose from but it does feel a little saturated. I'd rather see them tackle characters no one else is doing.

[VERT]

Sorry Fansproject Im going to get Toyworlds Brainstorm. Love that Prime too :D

[i_amtrunks]

Hello new MtMtE Brainstorm...

[llamatron]

Hey that brainstorm looks pretty good.

[KalEl]

Happy with fansprojects hm line.
Im all over that prime like white on rice!

[canofwhoopass_87]

Another Brainstorm? Well that blows. We don't need multiple figures done by different companies. And I feel we are becoming oversaturated with 3rd party products.

I think different companies making the same figure creates a wonderfully competitive market that really benefits us - the consumers. It drives prices down, improves quality of product and give us a greater pool from which to choose from i.e. I may not like FP's take on a character, but I may like maketoys design.

I do agree that we're steadily becoming oversaturated with 3rd party stuff though. Feels like a new company pops up every second week to make a name for themselves. I guess there's just a big market and a very high demand for classics style G1 re imaginings at the moment.

[liegeprime]

OKay I can't really keep up now with who's who... so Toyworld.... theyre the makers of those "combiner -not-throttlebots " right? The one that started with the jeep? Are they the same makers of Hegemon?

Hmmm their version of not Brainstorm looks much better.... I may have to cancel on the FP pre order. Wonder how big this one is compared to Hardbone? - they made Hardbone as well right?:o:o

[kup]

OKay I can't really keep up now with who's who... so Toyworld.... theyre the makers of those "combiner -not-throttlebots " right? The one that started with the jeep? Are they the same makers of Hegemon?

Hmmm their version of not Brainstorm looks much better.... I may have to cancel on the FP pre order. Wonder how big this one is compared to Hardbone? - they made Hardbone as well right?:o:o

Toyworld is indeed making the Throttlebots, although the combining aspect is dubious as neither toy's design suggests due to lack of proper ports it and it's not mentioned in the box/instructions at all. The 'foot' pics we have seen appear to be nothing more than 'fan' modes taking advantage of the design to form what looks like a foot.

Toyworld has also made Hegemon and now doing headmasters such as Hardbone (Hardhead) and now Brainstorm.

FP has made Code (Chromedome) and also making their own Brainstorm and other headmasters.

If I were to guess, I would say that FP toys will be deluxe size like Code while ToyWorld's will be voyager size (or about) like Hardbone.

[kup]

Prime Digibash from TFW:

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/attachments/transformers-3rd-party-discussion/27362017d1367601618-toyworld-new-produ-3-may-2013-prime.jpg

[Lord_Zed]

I hope that the actual colours aren't quite so bright (also the wing on the back should be blue I think), but either way I dig this new Prime. For owners of Hegemon Classics prime just doesn't cut it when they stand next to each other, while the vehicle mode could be better I still prefer it to Classics so looking forward to it.

Liking Chase too.

Brainstorm, hmmmm 3rd party conflict ahoy again. It's much like the Predacons, however this time I don't think there is a clear winner for me. The FP and TW one both have their own pros and cons...grrraaahhh. Up till now I've always found it easy to take one options over the other, but now........:eek:

[Bidoofdude]

Optimus is a bit chubby and mis- proportioned in some parts, to me. :(

[Trent]

Optimus is a bit chubby and mis- proportioned in some parts, to me. :(

Yeah I agree. He just doesn't look right.

[Lord_Zed]

Pre-orders are already up at BBTS, Brainwaves alt mode fails to impress despite the homage to Star Wars, I'm now drifting back to favoring FP's one more overall. Although Brainwaves head and chest look so G1.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TOW10003&mode=retail

Chase appears to be coloured, could be a digibash but looks legit to me.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TOW10004&mode=retail

[1AZRAEL1]

X-Wing mode throws me back to FP. Hadn't cancelled my order yet, so all good. I also wanna try keep them all the same size. Don't own Hardbone yet, kinda can't really afford to get him.

[VERT]

That x-wing mode is a bit of a fail. Now on the fence.

[Gouki]

I think different companies making the same figure creates a wonderfully competitive market that really benefits us - the consumers. It drives prices down, improves quality of product and give us a greater pool from which to choose from i.e. I may not like FP's take on a character, but I may like maketoys design.

But is it driving down prices or improving the quality? I really so no evidence of that. Just that there's a whole lot of different interpretations of the same handful of characters over and over again and the prices seem to be rising.

Also, that Prime? Awful. Just awful. the Brainstorm I'd like to see in colours, but it doesn't do much for me.

[kup]

That X-Wing mode is fail. Even the awesome head is not enough to compensate for it so I'll stick with FP.

[Trent]

That X-Wing mode is fail. Even the awesome head is not enough to compensate for it so I'll stick with FP.

This.

[SuspectimusPrime]

Does this mean that TW might be heading in the direction of a MTMTE Chromedome as well? That would be awesome!

TW's new Prime figure's alt mode looks like Powermaster Prime's.

[Lord_Zed]

Does this mean that TW might be heading in the direction of a MTMTE Chromedome as well? That would be awesome!

TW's new Prime figure's alt mode looks like Powermaster Prime's.

I wouldn't count on it, If anything I think they were basing it on Brainstorms old G1 toon and comic appearance. They may make a Chromedome with a more G1 style head, but I wouldn't expect a full IDW homage.




But is it driving down prices or improving the quality? I really so no evidence of that. Just that there's a whole lot of different interpretations of the same handful of characters over and over again and the prices seem to be rising.



From my experience with Third party toys I'd have to say quality has definitely improved over the past year or so, most new companies have manged to hit the ground running. Where as barely more than a year ago, every product from a new an untested company carried a considerable risk of it being a loose or fragile mess. As for prices that seems to go both ways, Fansprojects toys are noticeably more expensive, but then you have companies like MechCreations releasing toys at a lower price point.

[canofwhoopass_87]

But is it driving down prices or improving the quality? I really so no evidence of that. Just that there's a whole lot of different interpretations of the same handful of characters over and over again and the prices seem to be rising.

As I said - multiple companies producing the same characters and vying for the same buyers simply creates conditions where they are forced to improve the quality/design of their figures and push for cheaper prices in order to compete with one another.

If you were developing a new 3rd party G1 Galvatron and competing against two other companies with their own interpretation of the character - you sure as hell wouldn't be trying to make something low quality or really expensive. Otherwise, what would make people buy your Galv over the other two? MMC vs Uniquetoys Predaking is a prime example of this.

Having said that - if only one company was producing a never before seen character (which is the case with a lot of 3rd part stuff, being relatively new), they can certainly charge higher end prices. I'm guessing this is where your comment in regards to price rises is based on.

I think you're forgetting as well that prices are rising on everything. Petrol isn't the same price it was 5 years ago. Similarly, you can't expect the same of your 3rd party transformers.

[liegeprime]

Just saw the pics of the prototype altmode for not-Brainstrom at BBTS. Duno if its mistransformed or something but it looks like a Star wars X-wing fighter that's a bit chubby :p I might stick with Smart Robin on pre order if that's what the altmode looks like. Only the bot mode was impressive for me.

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TOW10003&mode=retail

[kaiden]

updated photos

http://i1320.photobucket.com/albums/u528/L45TN7/1094935_639193212766064_934347563_n_zpsbff91df6.jp g

http://i1320.photobucket.com/albums/u528/L45TN7/73582_10151544913361711_1943542664__zpsb07e1daf.jp g

http://i1320.photobucket.com/albums/u528/L45TN7/1098530_10151544913376711_206076040_zps466543c6.jp g

http://i1320.photobucket.com/albums/u528/L45TN7/970884_10151544913461711_1739678695_zpsdd394b3e.jp g

http://i1320.photobucket.com/albums/u528/L45TN7/999725_10151544913446711_746604841__zps9664b74a.jp g

i like it and hate it at the same time. the colours stand out very nicely and the robot mode sculpt is nicely done but i hate the inverted wings. its cool there's 4 of them but they're ridiculously short and the x-wing mode makes him look a little chubby. so i'll probably just stick with the FP version

[Trent]

That alt mode looks terrible. It looks like a play skool version of Brainstorm.

[Sinnertwin]

That alt mode can actually get off the ground? :p

[SuspectimusPrime]

He's beefier looking than Hardbone.

It does not seem like the more muscular arms, shoulders and legs are a consequence of its Headmaster storage gimmick or its alt mode.

[kaiden]

He's beefier looking than Hardbone.

It does not seem like the more muscular arms, shoulders and legs are a consequence of its Headmaster storage gimmick or its alt mode.

beefcake!

he does look slightly more harder, better, faster, stronger than Hardhead.

[spiderken17]

With so many possible figures to make I would prefer each companies to make different ones. It saves the hassle of comparing each companies version to decide which one to get (which is damn hard sometimes)

[reillyd]

In the second robot mode photo, it looks like the wings are touching and no longer in "X-WING" mode. Is it just the camera perspective, or will they close to be like the original brainstorm in vehicle mode?

[1AZRAEL1]

In the second robot mode photo, it looks like the wings are touching and no longer in "X-WING" mode. Is it just the camera perspective, or will they close to be like the original brainstorm in vehicle mode?

3rd photo shows them touching, so I'd say it would look better that way.

[liegeprime]

That alt mode can actually get off the ground? :p

Well if you believed G1 Misfire can fly... this one can too... I also believe it can crash... hard hahahah

Adding the colors on the prototype, it looks nice but it also highlighted more the chubby alt mode with stunted wings... no wonder it needed 4 wings coz being that chunky of a plane getting off the ground and staying up would prove to be a challenge hehehe

[kaiden]

Well if you believed G1 Misfire can fly...

hmm... an update misfire would be nice, one with a bigger wing span and sharper lines.

[nofacej]

With Orion due for release this month, and pre-orders already up, I'd like to hear people's thoughts on this guy.

http://s22.postimg.org/rlb0u8z31/toyworld_tw02_orion_01_700x700.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/rlb0u8z31/)http://s22.postimg.org/s9jvd6xst/toyworld_tw02_orion_03_700x700.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/s9jvd6xst/) vs http://s22.postimg.org/x5ni4vxy5/A3383_OPTIMUS_Robot_Mode_1360456531_1360501922.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/x5ni4vxy5/)
Toy World's figure vs Hasbro's Generations figure

-Orion is the same height as Hegemon
-Orion has an opening transparent chest cavity for Matrix storage
-Orion's waist grills have an unusual \__/ design (not a fan)
-Overall proportions on Orion evoke G1 Optimus
-Hasbro's figure is truer to Don Figueroa's design
-Head sculpt on Hasbro's version trounces Orion


http://s22.postimg.org/l8vvkew0t/idwtruck.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/l8vvkew0t/) vs http://s22.postimg.org/3rrrpav8d/toyworld_tw02_orion_02_700x700.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/3rrrpav8d/) vs http://s12.postimg.org/t61eetpd5/transformers_generations_legends_class_optimus_p.j pg (http://postimg.org/image/t61eetpd5/)
Don's original alt-mode art vs Toy World's figure vs Hasbro's figure

-Spread windscreen on Toy World's figure (wish they'd found a way to have it slide closed like the Hasbro's figure)
-Neither figure matches the curve of the wind vane in the art which is a little strange...
-Both figures have gone for a G1 colour scheme which is great for the G1 enthusiasts out there, but I'd have liked to see the extra paint apps on Orion to match the original art
-Added "bits" at the top of Orion's wind vane

So, thoughts?

[Lord_Zed]

I quite like the look of Orion, not perfect but I want myself a bigger Classics style Prime. The Hasbro one shows it's age a bit.

[UltraMarginal]

With Orion due for release this month, and pre-orders already up, I'd like to hear people's thoughts on this guy.

So, thoughts?

I have the Hasbro Legends Prime, it's OK.
good for it's size class, OK for price. the gun and hands are 5mm, which I think would have been better as 3mm.
the transformation is nice, vehicle mode is very clean barring the feet sticking up.
robot mode is OK, the shoulder chest area doesn't really lock so if you move one of the arms the chest will probably close up and need re-posing. it stands about 9cm high.

suitable for a cyberverse collection or desk figure, but not a deluxe/voyager by any means.

I have no real exposure to the Toy worlds figure but it sounds like a good size for a deluxe/voyager collection. my reservation would be price and long term viability of joints, I've only ever seen hegemon once, it was pretty new and I could already see plastic chavings in the knee joint.

[liegeprime]

hmm... an update misfire would be nice, one with a bigger wing span and sharper lines.

...and with a new Targetmaster partner mould - not another repaint of the one that came with Cyclonus, would be awesome!

[Trent]

With Orion due for release this month, and pre-orders already up, I'd like to hear people's thoughts on this guy.

http://s22.postimg.org/rlb0u8z31/toyworld_tw02_orion_01_700x700.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/rlb0u8z31/)http://s22.postimg.org/s9jvd6xst/toyworld_tw02_orion_03_700x700.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/s9jvd6xst/) vs http://s22.postimg.org/x5ni4vxy5/A3383_OPTIMUS_Robot_Mode_1360456531_1360501922.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/x5ni4vxy5/)
Toy World's figure vs Hasbro's Generations figure

-Orion is the same height as Hegemon
-Orion has an opening transparent chest cavity for Matrix storage
-Orion's waist grills have an unusual \__/ design (not a fan)
-Overall proportions on Orion evoke G1 Optimus
-Hasbro's figure is truer to Don Figueroa's design
-Head sculpt on Hasbro's version trounces Orion


http://s22.postimg.org/l8vvkew0t/idwtruck.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/l8vvkew0t/) vs http://s22.postimg.org/3rrrpav8d/toyworld_tw02_orion_02_700x700.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/3rrrpav8d/) vs http://s12.postimg.org/t61eetpd5/transformers_generations_legends_class_optimus_p.j pg (http://postimg.org/image/t61eetpd5/)
Don's original alt-mode art vs Toy World's figure vs Hasbro's figure

-Spread windscreen on Toy World's figure (wish they'd found a way to have it slide closed like the Hasbro's figure)
-Neither figure matches the curve of the wind vane in the art which is a little strange...
-Both figures have gone for a G1 colour scheme which is great for the G1 enthusiasts out there, but I'd have liked to see the extra paint apps on Orion to match the original art
-Added "bits" at the top of Orion's wind vane

So, thoughts?

I don't like the Toyworld rendition. I can't quite say what it is about it that bugs me either. More just a combination of little things. The best thing it has going for it is the alt mode. But that's not enough to make me cough up Toyworld dollars for it.

[SuspectimusPrime]

I don't like the Toyworld rendition. I can't quite say what it is about it that bugs me either. More just a combination of little things. The best thing it has going for it is the alt mode. But that's not enough to make me cough up Toyworld dollars for it.

As nofacej pointed out, the ab-grills and chest cavity doesn't sit right. The matrix gimmick seems to be a cost on both modes.

There are only so many ways you can make a truck can turn into a robot, and Hasbro has had many innovative designs already (really like the little Blue Cybertron guy whose back wheels becomes his arms). This one's transformation does not appear out of the ordinary, and does not seem to justify third party prices. I'm assuming it will be priced alongside Hegemon as opposed to the not-Throttlebots.

I haven't handled Hegemon, but Grind Rod was comprised of quality plastic whilst Aurora seemed to be a slight step down from that.