Rubber tyres or not?

[CBratron]

The age old question...

[Trent]

I voted no. And for the reason you gave too. People that want rubber tyres obviously don't expect to have their figures long term.

[Thurmus]

I put it depends. I would prefer Masterpieces had them only.

[GoktimusPrime]

Good quality tyres can last for a very long time. The only G1 toy's tyres that I've had rot so far (touch wood) was Cliffjumper's, which I replaced w/ a spare keychain reissue's. Robots In Disguise had notoriously BAD rubber quality. My RiD Prime and X-Brawn's tyres split within a year of owning those toys. :rolleyes:

Just out of curiosity; does making rubber tyres cost more or less than plastic tyres? Because value for money is another thing. One reason why I went for Binaltechs over Alternators was because I felt that they were superior value for money; a price of a Binaltech was about the same as the original AU retail price for an Alternator... and for approx. the same price, I decided to get the die-cast metal Binaltechs. Both BTs and ALTs have rubber tyres though. Also, if they're going to opt w/ the cheaper materials, then it'd be nice if they could redirect the money saved into other things like superior paint ops, accessories etc.; this is again something that I felt some BTs did better than ALTs e.g. ALT Wheeljack skimped on chrome and the eyes are uncoloured; BT Wheeljack has additional chrome and painted blue eyes; ALT Windcharger omitted the rifle barrel/drive shaft (which means that the engine doesn't lock into place in vehicle mode) etc.

I don't mind if they want to make toys smaller, use cheaper materials etc., but either lower the price or do other things to the toy to make it justify the price point. e.g. MP Bumblebee is tiny (for an MP), but the level of engineering (and crazy attention to detail) plus the addition of the Spike Exo-Suit helps to justify its MP Car price point.

[prjkt]

From what I've read, if you treat the tires every year or two, with vaseline(? I may be wrong with remembering what to use) it'll keep them from cracking/rotting

[drifand]

How about swapable wheels? best of both worlds?

[lancalot]

i think it what type of rubber used for them to crack in years to come...like plastic as well they crack and yellow in years also .... so it all depends .... I love the rubber wheels on the GTR alternator line .....

[Bidoofdude]

I voted no. The trade off is not worth it. I would rather have long lasting plastic tyres/wheels, provided they look good enough. Hasbro have done an alright job with painting rims. Most of the Generations Legends have silver rims.

[Deonasis]

No. I want my Transformers to retain quality in 10 years time. Apart from GPS, deteriorated rubber (cracked, split, sticky, flatspot, bare rims :eek:) is an eyesore right up there with flaking chrome and severe yellowing.

I also adds another cost to production and I look to my MP cars and think what would I take off each of them (bonus items do not count) so rubber tyres fit into this pricepoint? Nothing really comes to mind.

[BigTransformerTrev]

The superiority of rubber tyres over the durability of plastic ones. Hmmm... well think of the following:

*Given the choice would you use fossil fuels or solar power?
*Do you date the alpha male/kinky lass or do you go the long term relationship with the nice & sane partner?
*Do eat fast food all the time or do you try to eat balanced meals?

If you picked the first options then rubber tyres are for you - they offer more gratification and more fun in the short term

If you picked the second options then plastic wheels are for you - they are a more sustainable choice and will stand the test of time

If you wish you could combine the best of both worlds - then you are probably human :p;)

[drifand]

The superiority of rubber tyres over the durability of plastic ones. Hmmm... well think of the following:

*Given the choice would you use fossil fuels or solar power?
*Do you date the alpha male/kinky lass or do you go the long term relationship with the nice & sane partner?
*Do eat fast food all the time or do you try to eat balanced meals?

If you picked the first options then rubber tyres are for you - they offer more gratification and more fun in the short term

If you picked the second options then plastic wheels are for you - they are a more sustainable choice and will stand the test of time

If you wish you could combine the best of both worlds - then you are probably human :p;)

phew.... I passed. lol

[MayzaPrime]

The superiority of rubber tyres over the durability of plastic ones. Hmmm... well think of the following:

*Given the choice would you use fossil fuels or solar power?
*Do you date the alpha male/kinky lass or do you go the long term relationship with the nice & sane partner?
*Do eat fast food all the time or do you try to eat balanced meals?

If you picked the first options then rubber tyres are for you - they offer more gratification and more fun in the short term

If you picked the second options then plastic wheels are for you - they are a more sustainable choice and will stand the test of time

If you wish you could combine the best of both worlds - then you are probably human :p;)

I picked the kinky lass that turned into a long term relationship :p

I like rubber tyres on MPs but not anything from a mainline.

[DELTAprime]

I was pro rubber tyres till I started collecting RID/CR. The fact most of my RID toys have at least one cracked tyre and even some of my TFC and Encore reissues have cracks have put me off rubber tyres completely.

[SuspectimusPrime]

Easy no. In fact, no to rubbery plastic period. Toy swords shouldn't bend - in fact they should hurt a bit, you know, just enough to draw a bit of blood and send a grown man huddling in the corner of the room, mentally torn between wanting to play with them again, and fear of another affliction :eek::o;)

[BigTransformerTrev]

in fact they should hurt a bit, you know, just enough to draw a bit of blood and send a grown man huddling in the corner of the room, mentally torn between wanting to play with them again, and fear of another affliction :eek::o;)

I dated a girl at uni just like that ;)

[CBratron]

From what I've read, if you treat the tires every year or two, with vaseline(? I may be wrong with remembering what to use) it'll keep them from cracking/rotting

That is correct. I've never heard it applied to toy tyres but you maintain rubber o-rings that way.

[Lint]

I like rubber tyres, they look and feel way more classy than some of the horrible hard plastic wheels weve been subjected to. However I don't think they belong on non-collector lines as the rubber used doesn't handle heat or play wear well.

For those concerned about longevity, I reckon someone would make a pretty good dime if they set up a repro-tyre business :D



Easy no. In fact, no to rubbery plastic period. Toy swords shouldn't bend - in fact they should hurt a bit, you know, just enough to draw a bit of blood and send a grown man huddling in the corner of the room, mentally torn between wanting to play with them again, and fear of another affliction :eek::o;)

Not a big fan of rubberised plastic either, bendy/warped swords are the worst!

[SuspectimusPrime]

I like rubber tyres, they look and feel way more classy than some of the horrible hard plastic wheels weve been subjected to. However I don't think they belong on non-collector lines as the rubber used doesn't handle heat or play wear well.


Can't argue with the feeling of classiness it brings :)


I dated a girl at uni just like that ;)

Lol! :eek:

[Magnus]

I went with yes - using rubber reinforces the idea that it's a miniature facsimile/replica of a larger vehicle, and it's a kind of indicator of 'care'/'thought'/'effort' being put into a figure. That said, I don't mind if solid plastic tyres are used as a cost-saving measure - it would've been nice if rubber tyres were used on the Human Alliance series or RotF leader-class Optimus and its derivatives, but it's hardly a deal-breaker (for me at least).