The Random Transformers Thoughts Thread

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

In the TR Autobot Breakaway review thread (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=23706) a comment was made that the toy was disappointing due to the lack of Getaway's distinctive shoulder pads, and okay, fair point, but I don't know if I completely agree with this sentiment, and here's why.

Being the one who made that comment, I didn't necessarily mean it was a bad toy, I have Chromdome and thnk he's wonderful. I just don't think it's a very good fit for Getaway. I find the aspect that separates Getaway from all the other cars is his shoulders. Which is a design aspect I rather like.
So without the all important shoulders, I am not interested in him. I'm perfectly fine with updates that don't exactly replicate the figure, but I do want the toy to contain the aspects of that character I like. While Breakaway does have a fairly accurate paint job and face, without the shoulders, it is to me, not Getaway-enough for my liking.

[GoktimusPrime]

If they ever made a TR Pointblank/LG Blanker they could potentially gang-mould it with Getaway parts; similar to what they did w/ Blurr/Brainstorm.

[UltraMarginal]

Being the one who made that comment, I didn't necessarily mean it was a bad toy, I have Chromdome and thnk he's wonderful. I just don't think it's a very good fit for Getaway. I find the aspect that separates Getaway from all the other cars is his shoulders. Which is a design aspect I rather like.
So without the all important shoulders, I am not interested in him. I'm perfectly fine with updates that don't exactly replicate the figure, but I do want the toy to contain the aspects of that character I like. While Breakaway does have a fairly accurate paint job and face, without the shoulders, it is to me, not Getaway-enough for my liking.


If they ever made a TR Pointblank/LG Blanker they could potentially gang-mould it with Getaway parts; similar to what they did w/ Blurr/Brainstorm.

which is why if I don't like a repaint, I just wait a few years and the repainted character will probably come out as a more suitable mould. :cool: let other people buy the repaints that fuel the corporate machine:D

[SuspectimusPrime]

which is why if I don't like a repaint, I just wait a few years and the repainted character will probably come out as a more suitable mould. :cool: let other people buy the repaints that fuel the corporate machine:D

Exactly my take on CW.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Did a minor box purge to clear out some space for upcoming MPs; mostly G1 encore series boxes which I would never use again. Feels a bit weird having kept the boxes all these years, and I don't even know if I made a dent at all :eek:

Another random thought: I wonder what the rationale is for the speckly stone black/grey background used for the TT MP box pics.

[tinyJazz]

Another random thought: I wonder what the rationale is for the speckly stone black/grey background used for the TT MP box pics.

A background with a shade and texture that contrasts strongly with the figure's colour and texture making the figure pop in the photos.
Also not picking a colourful background so that the colours aren't reflected onto the figure itself.

That's my guess. :D (also maybe something about Cybertron being metal and grey because that's the environment the characters are from.)

[GoktimusPrime]

Random Thought 1: Saying "Fixit" with a thick NZ accent sounds funny. :p

Random Thought 2: Fansplanation for CW Liokaiser in terms of some of the name differences and why Leozack and Jallguar have been replaced by Dezarus...

What if some of the CW Destrons aren't actually the original G1 Breast Forcers, but rather their descendants? The Victory manga established that the Decepticons had children and even Conjunx Endurae, such as Esmeral, Deathsaurus' conjunx endura. But other members would be the original members with new bodies. So kinda like the Wiggles where the original Blue Wiggle is still a member of the current group, but the others have been replaced by new members. Perhaps the new members are Constructed Cold with their Sparks having been grown from a portion of either their "father's" Spark and with an innermost Energon contribution from their "mother." And then their names are an amalgam of their "father" and "mother's" names (or possibly father and father as we didn't see any closeup of the Breastmasters' Conjunx Endurae (only for Dino Force), so they could've had male Conjunx Endurae for all we know (not that it matters beyond the use of noun choice, really). So for example, maybe Hellbat's Conjunx Endurae had a name started with F, and thus their progeny was called "Fellbat." Killbison's Conjunx Endurae had "Iron" in his/her name, and thus their progeny was called "Ironbison." And then perhaps Leozack and Jallguar were Conjunx Endura to each other, but decided to name their progeny "Dezarus" as a diminutive form tribute to Deszaras.

So...
* Drillhorn = original member w/ upgraded bod
* Guyhawk = original member w/ upgraded bod
* Fellbat = new member, Spark-child of Hellbat & his Conjunx Endura
* Ironbison = new member, Spark-child of Killbison & his Conjunx Endura
* Dezarus = new member, Spark-child of Leozack & Jallguar
* Ion Scythe = new member, secret Spark-child of Death Cobra seeking revenge

[GoktimusPrime]

Don'tcha love it when you have a debate with yourself? Only me? :p

RE: Magna Convoy (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=23732)

Part of me finds it odd that a presumably male Transformer would have the feminine "Magna" in his name (unless Magna Convoy happens to be female...), but then another part of me is reminding that first part of me that there are other male Transformers with feminine names, such as the 'Ultra' in Ultra Magnus, hence my point is invalid.

Well played, other me. Well played.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Ever been caught out reading Transformers comics aloud in character voices to yourself? Happened to me last week. Came home after picking up the latest IDW comics and I thought I was alone in the bedroom and started reading aloud. Unknown to me the wife was sitting next to the doorway and was watching me. She laughed out loud when she saw me notice her.

What? It's fun! :D Although it no longer bothers her when I do the voices and sounds when I play with my toys - but she did initially find it odd in the early stages of our marriage. Guess she hadn't seen me do a live comic reading before (admittedly I don't do it very often). :p

I'm sure this happens to the rest of you guys. :o

[Sinnertwin]

All the time... :p

[Magnus]

I wasn't sure if I should do a seven-year thread necro in its own review thread, but I've 'renewed' my appreciation for RotF Jetfire after playing with it while dusting it and checking its batteries.

Considering what it has to do, it's actually pretty good. Besides obviously transforming between Blackbird and robot modes (and the design may not have been finalised when the toy was designed, although major details look pretty close to the final CGI model), it also had to have the electronics block and it needed to combine with Optimus Prime.

It seems to me like that last requirement is responsible for the screen-inaccurate plane parts on the robot mode, since in robot mode the top of the head is formed from the cockpit canopy and the engines form the thighs, but the engine nacelles and the splitting cockpit are needed for combined mode. I wonder if Jetfire's silhouette could have been slimmer and possibly more screen-accurate had the need to combine not been there. Who knows, there might have even been a little less bulk under the fuselage in vehicle mode.

Design compromised for gimmicks? Probably, but the designers came up with something that looks and works pretty well, given those limitations.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

So, how far off are we from being able to do a full-ish IDW Lost Light crew in CHUGUR toy form? S1, S2, both, not taking into account dead/comatose/whatever crew members.
It has to be getting pretty close by now, and I'm sort of interested in the repaint/retool potential to round out the remaining characters.

[Paulbot]

Apart from fiction-only characters, pretty much all of the major characters are available in some CHUG form. My gut instinct is that only a couple of minor g1 characters like Mainframe and Jackpot are missing.

[prjkt]

Apart from fiction-only characters, pretty much all of the major characters are available in some CHUG form. My gut instinct is that only a couple of minor g1 characters like Mainframe and Jackpot are missing.

I was thinking the same - Mainframe's the biggest name I could think of. Had forgotten Jackpot (but then I'm using the Club's Animated version for him)

whole crew listing here (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Lost_Light#Crew).

There's a few other names - Crosshairs, Slamdance, Sky High, Pincher, Fizzle, and a bunch of others that are missing, but we're slowly getting the G1 Target Masters redone as Titan Masters, maybe Pretenders coming soon?

I'm surprised we didn't get Thunderclash and the Turbomasters as a combiner team (Battlecore Prime was such an obvious re-deco attempt...)

As for S1/2 cast still missing - Beachcomber is probably the most notable absense. Seaspray too if you don't count the 2010 (?) Voyager and want a Legends class version.

[Paulbot]

Oh yeah, looking over the list there's a few more characters from 87 onwards on the crew but a lot of them are "one panel cameos" and a fair percentage haven't had dialogue so easy to forget!

[DELTAprime]

I can't find my post on it but we have gotten a CHUG version of every G1 character from the first four years of the toy line except the following.

1984: Bumper, Autoceptor, Deceptor, Kaltor, Drill Type, F-1 Type, Jet Type Camshaft, Downshift, Overdrive, Time Warrior

1985: Seaspray, Topspin, Twin Twist, 4WD Type, Buggy Type, FX-1 Type, Porsche Type, Barrage, Ransack, Venom, Slag/Slug, Sludge, Snarl, Swoop, Omega Supreme

1986: Hubcap, Outback, Runabout, Runamuck, Divebomb, Headstrong, Rampage, Razorclaw, Tantrum, Rodimus Prime (Space Winnebago, not Hot Rod), Spectro, Spyglass, Viewfinder

1987: Chase, Freeway, Goldbug (debateable), Rollbar, Searchlight, Wideload, Battletrap, Flywheels, Fastlane / Cloudraker, Pounce / Windspan, Apeface, Snapdragon, Punch-Counterpunch, Crosshairs, Misfire, Pointblank, Slugslinger, Sureshot, Scorponok, Slugfest, Overkill (debateable), Grotusque, Repugnus, Blot, Cutthroat, Hun-Gurrr (debateable), Rippersnapper, Sinnertwin

This excludes Repurposes and the Titanmaster basic heads.

[Paulbot]

I think the club's Runabout and Runamuck strike them off the list. If not them then the Japanese repaints of Blackjack do.

And there's a couple of others on the fence... Titanium Rodimus Prime being released alongside other CHUG movie characters in the Platnium line may put him into the "done" pile.

They use Energon toys as a base but you could put Club Scorponok (with Zarak) and Platinum Omega Supreme with the CHUG toys. Maybe the Club's Fallback (Outback) too? The club's Battletrap used a CHUG toy and maybe counts.

I would definitely argue that Club's Punch/Counterpunch is very much a CHUG version.

But it does show how few are "missing".

Brawn and Kickback repaints should knock Outback and Ransack off the list for sure! :)

[DELTAprime]

I think the club's Runabout and Runamuck strike them off the list. If not them then the Japanese repaints of Blackjack do.

And there's a couple of others on the fence... Titanium Rodimus Prime being released alongside other CHUG movie characters in the Platnium line may put him into the "done" pile.

They use Energon toys as a base but you could put Club Scorponok (with Zarak) and Platinum Omega Supreme with the CHUG toys. Maybe the Club's Fallback (Outback) too? The club's Battletrap used a CHUG toy and maybe counts.

I would definitely argue that Club's Punch/Counterpunch is very much a CHUG version.

But it does show how few are "missing".

Brawn and Kickback repaints should knock Outback and Ransack off the list for sure! :)

Timelines and Adventure are not CHUG. I didn't know about a rerelease of Rodiums, but you really want that abomination of a figure to represent Rodimus?

[FatalityPitt]

Brawn and Kickback repaints should knock Outback and Ransack off the list for sure! :)

For a minute there I was about to say Ransack would be more appropriate as a Powerglide repaint, then I realised you were refering to the insecticon, not the G2 Rotor Force Decepticon.

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Ransack_(G2)

[DaptoDog]

A package arrived for me from Hong Kong today and I genuinely had no idea what it was. I was thinking through my pre orders and it still took an hour later to hit me. This has never happened to me before, a sure sign that I've gotten a little carried away with the collecting this year. :p

[prjkt]

I wouldn't be surprised if we end up getting a classics verse Star Saber out of the TR Leader Black/Sky Shadow mould

[prjkt]

A package arrived for me from Hong Kong today and I genuinely had no idea what it was. I was thinking through my pre orders and it still took an hour later to hit me. This has never happened to me before, a sure sign that I've gotten a little carried away with the collecting this year. :p

That happened to me once. Went to be local parcel locker to pick up what I thought was an eBay purchase, turned out to be W1 Combiner Wars (all classes.)

I had to go back later that day for the eBay order

[DELTAprime]

Just stickered up LG Fort Max. He's looking very.... patriotic. #RedWhite&Blue :p

[Paulbot]

Starting to prepare a 2016 Ozformer Awards voting form. So many Titanmasters!

[Megatran]

Starting to prepare a 2016 Ozformer Awards voting form. So many Titanmasters!
Highly anticipated as always Paulbot!

Will the Ozformer Member of the Year award go to griffin yet again or has the "BTT for 2016" campaign done enough to secure the votes.

Will Sinner's acquisition thread name "February Acquisitions." (note the ingenious use of the full stop) beat all the other equally creative monthly acquisition thread name (including janda's "March's Acquisitons") to take out this year's gong.

[GoktimusPrime]

Well... I have 2 Generations Kickbacks now. The Deluxe Fall of Cybertron figure and the new Titans Return Legends figure. The Legends one is better in terms of scaling with Bombshell and Skrapnel, as well as just generally not looking like a massive freak. :p Not much point using the FoC figure as a generic Insecticon because it's outta scale and there is no Deluxe Bombshell or Shkrapnel to go with him. And there's probably no point in trying to sell FoC Kickback either, cos let's face it... you might as well go buy the cheaper and better Legends figures in stores now. :o

So I've decided to retcon my FoC Kickback as Bob (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Bob_(IDW)) in the Gokiverse. :D

[Seraphim Prime]

So I've decided to retcon my FoC Kickback as Bob (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Bob_(IDW)) in the Gokiverse. :D

That's actually a cool idea! He's never really struck me as being particularly "Kickback-y" apart from being a generic grasshopper. Bob is almost a closer match, given the somewhat chaotic design of the FOC mould.

[1AZRAEL1]

Topspin, and the likely Twin Twist can be knocked off that list soon too. Topspin was revealed recently

[Handsprime]

In my universe, different toys based on the same character usually represent a different point in that character's timeline. For example TR Bumblebee is him during the Titan wars, while the others are from other points in my universe.

[GoktimusPrime]

In my universe, different toys based on the same character usually represent a different point in that character's timeline. For example TR Bumblebee is him during the Titan wars, while the others are from other points in my universe.
Same here. :)

[MayzaPrime]

In my universe, different toys based on the same character usually represent a different point in that character's timeline. For example TR Bumblebee is him during the Titan wars, while the others are from other points in my universe.

That is how I used to justify it, until I ran out of room :p

[UltraMarginal]

What is this Room you speak of??

[Sinnertwin]

I was having a look at Titans Return Doubletwinfernocross, and noticed that he has the spark gimmick wheel moulded & painted on his chest in beast mode.
#thelittlethings

[FatalityPitt]

It's a great time to be a Skywarp fan in Australia. There's the G1 Legion Skywarp at Big W going for $5, the CW Legends Skywarp going for $10 at the Reject Shop, and the CW Leader Skywarp at Target going for $39 as of 15th December (tomorrow).

[DELTAprime]

I get the feeling after opening my Sky Reign today that the UW line is not worth buying anymore unless you just want fantasy G1 combined modes cause aside from Sky Lynx none of the figures seemed like great replacements for previous CHUG releases.

[GoktimusPrime]

It's a great time to be a Skywarp fan in Australia. There's the G1 Legion Skywarp at Big W going for $5, the CW Legends Skywarp going for $10 at the Reject Shop, and the CW Leader Skywarp at Target going for $39 as of 15th December (tomorrow).
Funny thing for me is that Skywarp was my favourite Seeker when I was a kid, but as an adult it's Thundercracker, who was my second favourite Seeker as a kid for entirely different reasons. Skywarp was my favourite because I just loved his ability to teleport, and a black jet just looked really bad-donkey to me. :) Thundercracker was my second favourite because I just love that deep metallic blue plastic on the toy - he was the first Transformer to have metallic coloured plastic. :D But as an adult, Thundercracker is my favourite because I'm more appreciative of the moral ambiguity in his character.

I get the feeling after opening my Sky Reign today that the UW line is not worth buying anymore unless you just want fantasy G1 combined modes cause aside from Sky Lynx none of the figures seemed like great replacements for previous CHUG releases.
I quite like CW Sky Lynx (never got the UW version) but I only like it as a stand alone figure. The ability to combine has absolutely zero appeal to me. I've never transformed him into his Sky Reign mode and in fact I didn't even really know what it would look like IRL until I got Liokaiser and vicariously experienced it via Deszaras. :p But I found Sky Lynx to be worth buying, it's just that his combining gimmick is an added bonus feature which I'll never use. But it's a feature which doesn't detract from the toy, so I can live with it. TR Galvatron on the head really suffers from being a Headmaster.

[FatalityPitt]

Funny thing for me is that Skywarp was my favourite Seeker when I was a kid, but as an adult it's Thundercracker, who was my second favourite Seeker as a kid for entirely different reasons. Skywarp was my favourite because I just loved his ability to teleport, and a black jet just looked really bad-donkey to me. :) Thundercracker was my second favourite because I just love that deep metallic blue plastic on the toy - he was the first Transformer to have metallic coloured plastic. :D But as an adult, Thundercracker is my favourite because I'm more appreciative of the moral ambiguity in his character.


Like you, I've grown to appreciate Thundercracker a lot more in my adult years. Character-wise, he's quite endearing, especially in the IDW comics. Also when you compare him to Starscream; he's the underdog.

For me as a child, even though Starscream stood out the most in the cartoons, I always thought the coneheads (Ramjet, Dirge and Thrust) looked hilarious. I got interested in Transformers a bit late, so I never saw the original G1 Seekers toys until years later. Though I did have G2 Starscream and Ramjet as a child (EDIT: I found them to be so-so), so I had some idea on how the G1 iterations must have looked like.

I think if I had to choose a favourite seeker, it's a tie between Starscream and Thundercracker. Skywarp has a nice deco, but he never really stood out to me (I guess that's what happens when you're clad in black at night Lol).

[GoktimusPrime]

The Second year jets didn't interest me as much when I was a kid. I got Ramjet as a birthday present in '86 and I got Dirge and Thrust later in the 90s when friends who'd "grown out" of Transformers gave them away to me. :p

[GoktimusPrime]

Continued from here (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=545510#post545510)

From memory, this Metroplex wasn't any taller than a GI Joe figure (it was small).
It's also an incredibly underwhelming figure. But size-wise here's how TF Jr. Metroplex compares with Mini-Cons and Smallest Megatron...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Metroplex/metroplexmegatron2_zpsdq2h3feo.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Metroplex/metroplexmegatron3_zps2ybqpenw.jpg


Leader class would be a fitting size for Fort Max, though I'd like to have something small like a Legends (personally). I like the character, but the toys (both G1 and TR) aren't very portable. You can't really display them on your desk without them taking up the whole space, and they're awfully heavy to lift (..or maybe I'm just weak..). I don't have the TR version, but I have the G1 Fort Max in storage, and I'm always reluctant to take it out for the above reasons.
If you just want little desk display figures, why not just go for the Super Collection Figures/Heroes of Cybertron? :confused:
SCF Metroplex (http://www.transformertoys.co.uk/images/transformers-toys/scf/act4/metroplex-colour/metroplex-colour-005.jpg)
Heroes of Cybertron Metroplex (http://www.transformerland.com/image/reference_images/27218.jpg)
Super Collection Figure Fortress Maximus (http://www.transformertoys.co.uk/images/transformers-toys/scf/act3/fortmax-colour/fortmax-colour-005.jpg)
Heroes of Cybertron Fortress Maximus (https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0758/8457/products/297_1489e842-c6e5-43ec-a391-d4c8d7ae7a1c_large.JPG?v=1475891247)

[FatalityPitt]

If you just want little desk display figures, why not just go for the Super Collection Figures/Heroes of Cybertron? :confused:
SCF Metroplex (http://www.transformertoys.co.uk/images/transformers-toys/scf/act4/metroplex-colour/metroplex-colour-005.jpg)
Heroes of Cybertron Metroplex (http://www.transformerland.com/image/reference_images/27218.jpg)
Super Collection Figure Fortress Maximus (http://www.transformertoys.co.uk/images/transformers-toys/scf/act3/fortmax-colour/fortmax-colour-005.jpg)
Heroes of Cybertron Fortress Maximus (https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0758/8457/products/297_1489e842-c6e5-43ec-a391-d4c8d7ae7a1c_large.JPG?v=1475891247)

I sometimes like to pose or transform the toys on my desk to pass time, or relieve stress. I'm not really a fan of Transformers that don't Transform (Action Masters Lol). If I can't shake my craving for a mini Fort Max, I might cave in and import the Kabaya kit (EDIT: the recent "Metallic Edition" one) - if I can find one cheap enough.. Don't worry about me, I have a plan :)

But thanks for the suggestions.

[GoktimusPrime]

5 more days until the Year of the Monkey ends and the Year of the Chicken begins. On New Years Eve/Day I like to carry a Transformer with me whose alt mode matches the incoming year's lunar zodiac animal, e.g. this year's NY I had Apache (mandrill) with me to welcome the New Year, and I took Optimus Minor (monkey) with me when I took my family out for a New Year's lunch. Apache came with us on a NY road trip. The year before then I had Ramulus (goat) with me to welcome in the Year of the Caprid.

Next year is the Year of the Chicken, and frustratingly enough it's the only lunar zodiac animal which has never been used as a Transformer's alt mode. So my dilemma is, which kind of Transformer should I have with me to ring in the New Year? My thoughts are:
* a bird Transformer. Since chickens are birds.
* a dinosaur Transformer. Since dinosaurs are also birds.

...or I could go with Archadys or Airraptor... I'm torn! What would you guys do?

[Jellico]

Motormaster like playing chicken.

[FatalityPitt]

5 more days until the Year of the Monkey ends and the Year of the Chicken begins. On New Years Eve/Day I like to carry a Transformer with me whose alt mode matches the incoming year's lunar zodiac animal, e.g. this year's NY I had Apache (mandrill) with me to welcome the New Year, and I took Optimus Minor (monkey) with me when I took my family out for a New Year's lunch. Apache came with us on a NY road trip. The year before then I had Ramulus (goat) with me to welcome in the Year of the Caprid.

Next year is the Year of the Chicken, and frustratingly enough it's the only lunar zodiac animal which has never been used as a Transformer's alt mode. So my dilemma is, which kind of Transformer should I have with me to ring in the New Year? My thoughts are:
* a bird Transformer. Since chickens are birds.
* a dinosaur Transformer. Since dinosaurs are also birds.

...or I could go with Archadys or Airraptor... I'm torn! What would you guys do?

I thought the year of the Chicken only starts on Chinese New Year?.. Hmmm. Ok, sure.. A couple options:

- Beast Hunters Legion Windrazor
- G1 Cutthroat
- Titans Return Ptero
- Titans Return Crashbash/Cobbler/Overboard
- G1 Dezaras or the recent Combiner Wars one (If you want to be highly adventurous. Actually, out of everyone on the list, G1 Dezaras resembles a chicken the most!)
http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/f/f1/Deathsaurus_g1toy.jpg

Most of these (except Dezaras) are small and easy to carry.

[Megatran]

Gigastorm.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Next year is the Year of the Chicken, and frustratingly enough it's the only lunar zodiac animal which has never been used as a Transformer's alt mode. So my dilemma is, which kind of Transformer should I have with me to ring in the New Year? My thoughts are:
* a bird Transformer. Since chickens are birds.
* a dinosaur Transformer. Since dinosaurs are also birds.

...or I could go with Archadys or Airraptor... I'm torn! What would you guys do?Deathsaurus (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:Deathsaurus_g1toy.jpg).
I mean, Airazor or Beast Machines Silverbolt (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:Silverboltbmtoy.jpg) could work too, but Deathsaurus' alt-mode is basically a giant metal death-chicken so it seems more appropriate for the year that's going to bring us President Trump.

[GoktimusPrime]

I thought the year of the Chicken only starts on Chinese New Year?..
Actual date may vary in different regions, but the earliest celebration is on January 1st, as the Meiji government decided to sychronise the Lunar New Year with the Gregorian calendar in 1873.

Of all the toys suggested, the only ones that I actually own are:
+ Beast Hunters Legion Windrazor
+ G1 Cutthroat
+ CW Dezaras (the G1 figure is called Deszaras (commonly spelt as Deathsaurus by Anglophone fans); only the CW character is called Dezaras.
+ Airazor (original mould and Transmetal)
+ BM Silverbolt

I don't have Gigastorm, but I do have Trypticon. Other birdformers I have include Laserbeaks, Buzzsaws, Garboil, Sundors, Rav, Wingspan, Divebombs, Booster X10, Squawktalk, BW Silverbolt (Magnaboss), Doubledealer etc.

Also, if Gigastorm is a valid suggestion, how about other Dinoformers? I'm going to avoid pterosaurs because they are biologically unrelated to birds (they're actually reptiles, not avian-dinosaurs). I'll definitely keep Deszaras in mind when I'm making next year's New Year piccie. :)

[Dinkydarth]

just transformed a few of my old TFP deluxes and was impressed how complicated they were compared to the current line. Some of the transformations are very very complex - better than some of the current Leader Class TFs! Anyone else noticed this?

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Also, if Gigastorm is a valid suggestion, how about other Dinoformers? I'm going to avoid pterosaurs because they are biologically unrelated to birds (they're actually reptiles, not avian-dinosaurs). I'll definitely keep Deszaras in mind when I'm making next year's New Year piccie. :)There was that archaeopteryx one as well. It's probably your best option if you're going for the dinosaur-bird link route.

There's also always the Angry Bird TFs if you have any of those.

[GoktimusPrime]

There was that archaeopteryx one as well. It's probably your best option if you're going for the dinosaur-bird link route.
Technically two of them. And I have (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Archadis) both (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Airraptor). :D

There's also always the Angry Bird TFs if you have any of those.
Not a bad idea. I do have Angry Bird Ultra Magnus. And AFAIK it's a "species-less" generic kind of bird (let's face it, it's a ball with a face and beak attached to a transforming robot).

[BigTransformerTrev]

For his birthday on the 19th got Orion a RB Hoist & Medix, Stomp'n'Chomp AOE Grimlock along with a BH card and TFP wrapping paper.

For Xmas everything was other themed gifts except for a plush TF AOE Sword & TF popping candy. He told me that 'Santa made a mistake' because he didn't get more robots. :p

[FatalityPitt]

just transformed a few of my old TFP deluxes and was impressed how complicated they were compared to the current line. Some of the transformations are very very complex - better than some of the current Leader Class TFs! Anyone else noticed this?

You mean RiD Prime? Yeah, the Deluxe Rachet seemed simple enough, but Knock Out (deluxe) was a mind-boggler. I theorize that they made the transformations simpler because some people might have complained about them being too complex for younger fans. Also, the more complicated the transformation, the greater the risk of breakage, I think. If you're into complex/challenging transformations, you might want to check out RtS Deluxe Perceptor. To this day it still baffles me.

[FatalityPitt]

You know you've got an unhealthy obsession with Transformers when you start having dreams and/or nightmares pertaining to them.

I dreamt last night that I ordered an expensive figure online, I think it might've been Encore G1 Fort Max (can't remember exactly). Instead of receiving the figure I wanted, the online store posted me 5 or 6 copies of a Voyager Class "Link" figure, which was an unpopular figure that noboby wanted. I was going to email the store, but the website closed down, and their phone number was no longer in service. So instead of having the figure I wanted (...and paid silly amounts of money for); I got stuck with half a dozen copies of a toy no one wanted.

I think this is a sign that I should try to go cold turkey from Transfomers for a while..

.. Oh yeah, and for anyone curious enough, in this dream/alternate universe; the unpopular Link figure was a Legend of Zelda homage toy that was basically a green/brown/yellow redeco of TR Alpha Trion (same mold, except without facial hair on the head).

[GoktimusPrime]

There's a thread dedicated to discussing Transformers dreams here (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=21830). :)


I think this is a sign that I should try to go cold turkey from Transfomers for a while..
C'mon, you've lasted 32 years without breaking away from Transformers, why start now?
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/meme_dontgiveup_zps3sk4ao1s.jpg

[FatalityPitt]

There's a thread dedicated to discussing Transformers dreams here (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=21830). :)


C'mon, you've lasted 32 years without breaking away from Transformers, why start now?
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/meme_dontgiveup_zps3sk4ao1s.jpg

Wow, this site has everything. I'll be interested in reading about some of these dreams..

Yeah, I suppose that there are worse things I could be addicted to. Even if I do drop Transformers (which would be very VERY hard), I'll probably find something else that'll rule my personal life just as much. Lol

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Wow, this site has everything. I'll be interested in reading about some of these dreams..

Yeah, I suppose that there are worse things I could be addicted to. Even if I do drop Transformers (which would be very VERY hard), I'll probably find something else that'll rule my personal life just as much. Lol

I swing between video games and Transformers personally. If I'm not obsessing over one, its the other. My wife wishes I'd obsess over her :p

[FatalityPitt]

I swing between video games and Transformers personally. If I'm not obsessing over one, its the other. My wife wishes I'd obsess over her :p

My main thing were comic books (DC, Marvel, Image, etc) until this year. Before I was just a casual Transformers fan, then when Titan Masters turned up at stores, it became a full blown obsession. The first Transfomers I ever gotten as a child were all Headmasters, and spending most of my childhood in Malaysia; the first Transfomers fiction I watched was the Headmasters anime. So Hasbro/Takara really got me by the balls when Titan Masters were announced.

I suppose it's good timing, since (frankly) Marvel comics had been declining in quality since their AXIS event (actually the crossover events have been sucking for years, except Secret Wars - the only good event since 2010). Though, DC seems too be getting better with the 'Rebirth' relaunch.

[Dinkydarth]

You mean RiD Prime? Yeah, the Deluxe Rachet seemed simple enough, but Knock Out (deluxe) was a mind-boggler. I theorize that they made the transformations simpler because some people might have complained about them being too complex for younger fans. Also, the more complicated the transformation, the greater the risk of breakage, I think. If you're into complex/challenging transformations, you might want to check out RtS Deluxe Perceptor. To this day it still baffles me.

Yeah, I have that figure, quite tricky transformation.

[BigTransformerTrev]

May 2017 be full of TF toys, movies and cartoons to your liking.

:DHappy New Year!:D

[GoktimusPrime]

A Transformers New Year greeting (http://otca.com.au/boards/showpost.php?p=546566&postcount=146) to all. :)

[GoktimusPrime]

Machine Wars was a strange, strange line. Admitedly I didn't buy any of its toys since I was more interested in Beast Wars at the time, and I think I might've been in the majority.. I don't think Hasbro invested much thought into that line either and probably just did it in attempt to please the "trukk-not-monkey" crowd
^Pretty much accurate. :)

The larger boxed figures in Machine Wars were all just G1 figures redecoed and repackaged, but some of the retooling made them not as good as their original figures. The most noticeable of this was the retooling of G1 Thunder Clash as MW Optimus Prime. While MWOP definitely had better colours, they did remove his rapid fire missile launching gimmick... although it's still mentioned in MWOP's tech specs! :eek: The smaller carded Basic figures were all moulds developed but never released for Generation 2.

Machine Wars allowed Hasbro to test the market to see if there was still any interest in vehicular Transformers in 1997 with relatively little cost to themselves since there was 0% R&D into the line. All that effort was being poured into Beast Wars. And you can't blame Hasbro for doing that, because we saw how the vehicle-based G1 ended and G2 utterly failed as an attempted revival. Twice bitten thrice shy. :o

I was one of the impatient ones who imported MW from the US (as during 1997 it was an US KB Toys exclusive line), only for MW to then be released in other countries in 1998 and in Australia it shelfwarmed badly. Really badly. Kmart even started selling them in "versus sets" which was two toys (an Autobot and a Decepticon) but stuck together via shrink-wrap. :p This made them better value for money, but I still remember seeing those "versus sets" clogging shelves for yonks. You literally couldn't give these toys away. On the other hand, Beast Wars was a solid seller and bringing the Transformers brand from strength to strength. :) On the ugly side, BW also attracted toy-scalping scum bags. :(


(I mean, they made Prowl into a formula 1 car with a green head..).
Meh... considering that this was an abandoned G2 concept it doesn't strike me as odd at all. Remember that G2 also gave us...
* A green Megatron
* A purple Megatron
* A black Mirage
* A purple Ramjet
* A brittle gold Slingshot
* A fluoro "hurt your eyes" Soundwave
* A white Blast Off (hey, that's realistic!) - with purple camouflage (never mind...)
* A blue Sideswipe
* A black Sideswipe (okay, this actually worked well for him; although the weapon colours were still terrible and the MP toy deliberately avoids this)
...etc
A green-headed Prowl wouldn't have looked out of place among these toys. ;) At least the rest of his body spotted the same black and white colour scheme of the G1 toy.

[FatalityPitt]

... And you can't blame Hasbro for doing that, because we saw how the vehicle-based G1 ended and G2 utterly failed as an attempted revival. Twice bitten thrice shy. :o

......

Remember that G2 also gave us...
* A green Megatron
* A purple Megatron
* A black Mirage
* A purple Ramjet
* A brittle gold Slingshot
* A fluoro "hurt your eyes" Soundwave
* A white Blast Off (hey, that's realistic!) - with purple camouflage (never mind...)
* A blue Sideswipe
* A black Sideswipe (okay, this actually worked well for him; although the weapon colours were still terrible and the MP toy deliberately avoids this)
...etc

In retrospect, Generation 2 also would have been difficult to market. I theorise that G2 didn't catch on mainly because of the inconsistency between the toy aesthetics and the cartoon. If memory serves, the G2 cartoons that aired during the time the toys came out were basically repeats of the original G1 cartoons. The problem: The aesthetics in the cartoons didn't match the toys being sold at the time; e.g. G2 Sideswipe was black (or blue) while he was still being shown in the cartoon as red, G2 Ironhide was either a jeep (powermaster?? I forget the name of the gimmick) or a silver ute (gobot) while his cartoon portrayal still showed him as a red van, etc, etc.

So as you can imagine, the cartoon didn't advertise the toys as effectively as it did in the 1980's.

Dilemma:
1) Hasbro could have commissioned for a new animated series be made for G2, but that would have been expensive and it had already been done (original cartoon).
2) Make the G2 toys look faithful to the cartoon... but if they did that; fans who collected G1 since the begining might complain about not getting anything new and different.

There was of course the G2 comics published by Marvel, which applied the G2 aesthetic to some of the characters featured like Megatron and Sideswipe. However the problem with comics is that they don't reach as wide an audience as a cartoon on free-to-air TV. Also, the comics, to be honest, were pretty violent (Case in point: http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/6/65/Final_Transformations_Megatron_kills_Override.jpg) . If young kids were the primary demographic to sell the toys to, the comic wouldn't have been appropriate.

G2 was a tough sell. Fortunately, with Beast Wars, they were able to enter fairly unexplored territory that both old and new fans could get into. Plus, some might disagree, but the toys were excellent! The common use of ball joints made the figures more articulated and posable than ever, and the organic exteriors gave the beast modes a somewhat realistic look. Also, because they were all animals (not aliens or mutants); this wasn't a gimmick within Transformers, but something totally new.

I think vehicular modes were dead and done at the start of the BW days, and the only way they could be fashionable again was for old fans to become nostalgic, or for Hasbro/Takara to run out of ideas or gimmicks around Beast Wars that they'd have to go back to vehicles. All of which happened eventually.

[GoktimusPrime]

G2 did have a weak start for reasons that you mentioned, but some of the later G2 toys were actually really good. I often say that Beast Wars popularised and standardised a lot of contemporary standards in Transformers toys today (e.g. articulated robot modes), but it was really Middle to Late G2 that pioneered these things.

The poor cartoon didn't help, but even if the cartoon were good it may not have been enough to save G2. After all, the G1 cartoon was more faithful to the general aesthetics of the toys but it failed during Middle G1 (and the Japanese anime series barely scraped into Late G1). But ultimately a good toy line will sell itself, even if the show is terrible or even non-existent. Robots in Disguise (2001) is a good example of this. Those toys hit shelves here months before the show aired, but the toys immediately flew off shelves. And the RiD2001 cartoon wasn't the greatest; it was good for its target audience, which was clearly a very young audience, but it held little appeal to anyone over the age of 10. But everyone still loved the toys, including adult collectors! :D And we know that this line inspired Takara to create Binaltech and Masterpiece. I mean, does anyone really care that Speedbreaker has a weird fetish for red sports cars, or do they care more about the fact that he's a really great looking licensed Dodge Viper that transforms into a detailed and articulated robot? :o I'd say that people care more about the toy than the character.

Both G1 and BW came out before their respective shows aired, and those lines still sold really well prior to the support of the show. Initial G1 sales hit the US$1.4 million mark (US$3.2 million or or AU$4.5 million by today's standards). While G2 was a practically dead toy line by the mid-1990s, when BW came out, Transformers climbed to being the third top selling action figure line in the US (after Toy Story and Star Wars). So by the time their cartoon series came out, these toy lines were already selling strongly. The best story-telling in the world won't sell a bad toy. Supreme Cheetor is a good example of this. BM Cheetor was actually one of the better (I'd say best) written characters in the TV show. He went on a very clear and logical journey as a character, which he had begun in Beast Wars, and matured in Beast Machines. It was actually really good. But boy did Supreme Cheetor supremely suck as a toy. That figure shelfwarmed for yeeeaaars, especially at TRU who refused to discount the sucker. G1 Hubcap on the other hand was a popular toy despite having ZERO appearance in media (cartoon, comics etc.), yet toys like Warpath and Wheelie were pegwarmers (I personally like Warpath, but yeah, he was never a hard toy to find in stores!. Kup appeared prominently in the cartoon and comics, yet he was the worst shelfwarmer in 1986. It was either Target or Grace Bros who discounted Kup to $5 just to move dead stock (and my mother literally bought a trolley-full of Kups which became gift-fodder for all relos and friends for the next year... every birthday and that Xmas... here, have a Kup :p - I ended up having two Kups for myself because we ended up with a surplus Kup! I put the Autobot logo on the chest of the spare Kup to make it more media-accurate while the other only had it on his legs to maintain toy accuracy ;)).

Yes, the G2 comics were violent... but that wouldn't have turned kids off. Remember that Robocop had merchandise marketed at kids in the late 80s and 90s. :eek: Unthinkable these days! Also, the G1 comics were violent too. #1 (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/1/12/MarvelUS-01.jpg)'s cover shows Optimus Prime crushing a jet in his right hand! If that's a Decepticon, then he's dead... the very first page which shows a battle on Cybertron also shows a generic Autobot crushing a Decepticon in his hand. And while the G1 cartoon never showed any fatalities until the 1986 Movie, the G1 comics showed fatalities from quite early on. The comics always ensured that the Cybertronian war was always portrayed as a consequential war. So this level of violence was nothing new to G2. And don't forget that a lot of Transformers fans who were kids during G1 were now teenagers during G2. Yes, it was important for G2 to attract new kids into the franchise, but you didn't want to isolate the original fans either. This is another area where BW succeeded.

Speaking of which, BW was an incredibly violent show (just ask Waspinator) and yet it proved popular with audiences. TF Prime also killed off Cliffjumper within the first episode, and the re-death of Zombiejumper was pretty gruesome. Transformers has always been able to get away with higher levels of violence because the characters are robots. You can show machines being blown up, just not people or animals. But the concern was there from the beginning. In its native Canada, the BW cartoon was actually called "Beasties" because censors didn't want the word "Wars" in a kids' cartoon. So I guess the Star Wars cartoons must be called Starries there. :p

[FatalityPitt]

... It was either Target or Grace Bros who discounted Kup to $5 just to move dead stock (and my mother literally bought a trolley-full of Kups which became gift-fodder for all relos and friends for the next year... every birthday and that Xmas... here, have a Kup :p - I ended up having two Kups for myself because we ended up with a surplus Kup! I put the Autobot logo on the chest of the spare Kup to make it more media-accurate while the other only had it on his legs to maintain toy accuracy ;)).

Wow, if you still had some of those Kups mint-in-box, you could probably sell them on eBay for $500 each... But then we'd be stooping down to scalper territory.. :p


... Yes, the G2 comics were violent... but that wouldn't have turned kids off. Remember that Robocop had merchandise marketed at kids in the late 80s and 90s. :eek: Unthinkable these days!

I was about 7 when Robocop 3 came out. I also remember a classmate of mine talking about it. At the time it sounded cool, but in retrospect, you wonder how a 7 or 8 year-old manage to be allowed into the cinema. Then again, this was Malaysia in the Early-1990's, and it would've been heavily censored. The uber-violent movies and comics weren't the only Robocop fiction available as there was also a kid-friendly animated series (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp4Sqn0eX_Q/). It was sooo campy. There were also other watered-down kid-friendly cartoons based on other R-rated films like Rambo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eliQEStzhu4) and Conan the Barbarian (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntFX20rFbCI).


... Speaking of which, BW was an incredibly violent show (just ask Waspinator) and yet it proved popular with audiences. TF Prime also killed off Cliffjumper within the first episode, and the re-death of Zombiejumper was pretty gruesome. Transformers has always been able to get away with higher levels of violence because the characters are robots. You can show machines being blown up, just not people or animals. But the concern was there from the beginning. In its native Canada, the BW cartoon was actually called "Beasties" because censors didn't want the word "Wars" in a kids' cartoon. So I guess the Star Wars cartoons must be called Starries there. :p

Thing about cartoons compared to comics is that cartoons are brightly coloured and stylised, whereas comics (well at least in G2) tended to have quite a dark and forboding aesthetic. I think the bright colours and stylisation in cartoons often masks the violence that normally wouldn't be acceptable in other contexts (AS LONG AS THERE'S NO BLOOD). But you're right about the violence against robots being relatively acceptable; if Cliffjumper in TF Prime were human, and they showed him being impaled and made into a zombie, and there was blood (not energon); there'd be parental outrage.. But there wasn't because Cliffjumper was a robot, despite him having had feelings and emotions like a human.

Censorship is weird.

[DELTAprime]

As far as I'm concerned I finally have a full 1984 toyline that appeared in the TV show in CHUG form:D. I don't count the WFC/FOC toys as G1 since they are really from the Prime universe so with today's LG Soundwave and LG Laserbeak acquisitions I finally have every 1984 toy that appeared in the show in an updated CHUG form.

[prjkt]

I think I'm in the same boat there now. There's not many bots featured in the cartoon that I don't have a representation of

[CHILENO20]

Is Outback the only cartoon minibot that doesn't have an official CHUG form? I do not count the HFTD version as it's very movie-esque IMO but to each their own :)

[M-bot]

Is Outback the only cartoon minibot that doesn't have an official CHUG form? I do not count the HFTD version as it's very movie-esque IMO but to each their own :)

I can't think of any others. But I'm not thinking too straight after I was taking Fort Max down from a high shelf when Cerebros came loose and gave me a decent Liverpool kiss. Them Autobots are meant to be good and noble and stuff.:eek:

[CHILENO20]

I can't think of any others. But I'm not thinking too straight after I was taking Fort Max down from a high shelf when Cerebros came loose and gave me a decent Liverpool kiss. Them Autobots are meant to be good and noble and stuff.:eek:

I'm guessing Cerebros is letting you know he'd rather be in bot form as opposed to a head :cool:

[GoktimusPrime]

Is Outback the only cartoon minibot that doesn't have an official CHUG form?
Arguably also Seaspray and Hubcap.

Sea Spray falls into the same category as RotF Bludgeon in terms of being a toy which is in the live action movie universe according to official canon, but some would argue are part of the Classicsverse according to authorial intent. And also, the 2010 TF line (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers_(2010_toyline)) was really about the live action movie universe. 2010 Hubcap was clearly another toy that was intended as part of this movie universe, but appeared in the G1 universe in the Legends mobile phone/device game. Does this mean that this Hubcap is now G1, or has Movieverse Hubcap traversed across dimensions to the G1 Legends universe? :confused: Or more likely, did the game makers just slap that character there without really caring about any of this stuff? :p

It's incredibly confusing. :confused: There's yet to be a definitively CHUGUR Seaspray and Hubcap though, just as there isn't a definitive CHUGUR Outback. Cos you could also argue that HftD Fallback is CHUGUR by 'authorial intent,' but official canon says otherwise.

[DELTAprime]

Seaspray is coming in an upcoming wave according to US retailer listings, finally. I doubt if Hasbro do Hubcap he will be mass market since he is too easily confused with Bumblebee. I actually got my G1 Hubcap from an Ebay seller that had him listed as "G1 Bumblebee". But only paid like $10 for him around 2010. The seller had no idea what she had.

[Bidoofdude]

Arguably also Seaspray and Hubcap.

Sea Spray falls into the same category as RotF Bludgeon in terms of being a toy which is in the live action movie universe according to official canon, but some would argue are part of the Classicsverse according to authorial intent. And also, the 2010 TF line (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers_(2010_toyline)) was really about the live action movie universe.

It's incredibly confusing. :confused: There's yet to be a definitively CHUGUR Seaspray and Hubcap though, just as there isn't a definitive CHUGUR Outback. Cos you could also argue that HftD Fallback is CHUGUR by 'authorial intent,' but official canon says otherwise.

Fallback is a Reveal the Shield figure, IIRC.

[GoktimusPrime]

Seaspray is coming in an upcoming wave according to US retailer listings, finally. I doubt if Hasbro do Hubcap he will be mass market since he is too easily confused with Bumblebee. I actually got my G1 Hubcap from an Ebay seller that had him listed as "G1 Bumblebee". But only paid like $10 for him around 2010. The seller had no idea what she had.
Clearly not. Hubcap is very different from Bumblebee. G1 Bumblebee is a VW Beetle while Hubcap is a Porsche 924. Pretty much the same body as Cliffjumper, only with a much smaller spoiler.

Fallback is a Reveal the Shield figure, IIRC.
But whether or not that toy is Movieverse or G1 is open to debate... even moreso than Sea Spray or Bludgeon, because it's just a repaint of Revenge of the Fallen Brawn, so there isn't even authorial intent. Also, TFwiki states:
"...before Fallback was mentioned in an Ask Vector Prime Facebook post, it was plausible that the Fallback toy was actually a new form of Generation 1 Outback."
I don't know the post in question (and there is no link to it), but this seems to imply that Ask Vector Prime ruled out RtS Fallback as being part of G1 and as part of the Movieverse.

[prjkt]

I'd like to see Takara do a special Fire Guts Ginrai with the LG Ginrai/Godbomber moulds, maybe even with transparent plastics ala SDCC Sentinel Prime

[Sinnertwin]

I'd like to see Takara do a special Fire Guts Ginrai with the LG Ginrai/Godbomber moulds, maybe even with transparent plastics ala SDCC Sentinel Prime

That would be la bombe, along with a nucleon quest version

[GoktimusPrime]

I went and compared the number of Transformers in G1 with realistically based alt modes vs those with fantasy alt modes and listed them year by year. These are alt modes which are either:
* a actual real thing of specific make and model (e.g. F15 Eagle, Lamborghini Countach, Walther P38 etc.)
* based off a real thing of an undetermined make (e.g. dune buggy, hovercraft etc.)
In other words, robots in disguise (from a realistic/Earthen POV). Anything that didn't fall into one of those categories were deemed as "unrealistic" and not included in the count. So here is how G1 pans out year by year...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/realaltmodes_zpsxmjgc8x5.jpg

Overall view:
G1 started and ended with 100% realistic alt modes.
The lowest was 1987 with the introduction of Headmasters, Targetmasters, Technobots, Terrorcons etc. - all with unrealistic alt modes.

Things to consider:
* 1985's proportion of realistic alt modes drops to 52%, but the unrealistic alt moded TFs are things like Dinobots, Insecticons, Deluxe Insecticons, Jetfire, Shockwave, Omega Supreme and the second year Decepticon Jets (while their fuselages are F15s, the rest of the design are fantasy based). Oh, and Cosmos. :p
* 1989-90's proportion of realistic alt modes have jumped to 67-68%. Most of those are Micromasters, which do pump up numbers. Conversely, Action Masters were counted as having no realistic alt modes (since they have no alt mode at all) for 1990's count.
* 1991 yielded the lowest result. Bear in mind that the bulk of this year's range were Action Masters and Action Master Elites.

Interesting to note that the final year (or half a year) of G1 gave us 100% realistic alt modes prior to the line switching over to G2 (which was 87% realistic-moded in its first year).

[griffin]

What 1993 toys were not packaged (or considered) as Generation 2?
Both the Generations book and Soundwave's Oblivion (http://www.soundwavesoblivion.com/thetoyarchive.html) don't have anything after 1992 for Generation 1 by Hasbro or Takara.

[GoktimusPrime]

For the purposes of this count all G1.5 toys (i.e. 1993 G1 toys later repackaged as G2) were simply lumped as G1, since they began as G1, and G2 toys are those which were only ever sold as G2 in 1993.
e.g.
1993 Pyro/Spark = G1 ∴ included in the 1993 G1 count
1993 Grimlock = G2 ∴ not included in the 1993 G1 count

I know that the "G1.5" toys can count as either G1 or G2 depending on packaging, but as I said, this was just for the purposes of this project. Even if I listed all G1 and G2 separately, I'd still end up with the same result for G1 since I'm not looking at G2 here.
e.g.
G1 Pyro = counts
G2 Spark = doesn't count
...either way I'd only count Pyro/Spark once.

I'm not personally interested in doing this beyond G1.

P.S.: Although the Generations book does list the 1993 G1 figures in the G2 section, the book does explain that these toys started off as G1 figures but were later repackaged and sold as G2 (p.078). The book also lists both the G1 and G2 names where relevant, and also shows both variants where relevant.
e.g.1 - If you look at the photos of the Axelerators (p.079) you can see that the robot mode photos are all the G1 figures with their pink transparent parts, whereas the photos of the Axelerators in vehicle mode are G2 versions with the smokey black transparent parts.
e.g.2 - If you look at the information about the Obliterators on p.081 you'll see that although the names written in English show their G1 names (Pyro and Clench), not their G2 names (Spark and Colossus). But the Japanese text above shows both their G1 and G2 names; i.e. パイロ/スパーク and クレンチ/コロッサス respectively.
There's further information where relevant under some of their text entries, and there's another text blurb which further explains these differences on the bottom of p.082. It even shows the G1 Axelerators in vehicle mode so that you can see their G1 pink windows compared to their smokey black G2 windows back on p.079.

[M-bot]

Tw/Inferno. An unintentional (I swear!) #deskbot pairing.

http://i.imgur.com/VjYjk99m.jpg

[GoktimusPrime]

Video (https://www.facebook.com/guangmingdailyChina/videos/1838210783126239/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED): Some guy in China attempts to have an Autobot insignia shaved into the back of his head...

[FatalityPitt]

Response to this thread (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=547224#post547224)


The Jumpstarter gimmick rarely worked the way that it was supposed to, with the toys often falling flat rather than landing on their feet, or sometimes the toy wouldn't trigger properly after its roll.

Yeah, I wasn't a very sensible child back then. When that Topspin toy was in my possession, I used the "jumpstarter" gimmick to simulate Topspin running down or drop-kicking smaller transformers (like Micromasters) - i.e. I crashed Topspin into other Transformers. Admittedly, I did the same thing using Wideload (the Throttlebot) with the pull-back motor gimmick... Those were the days.


But he'll always be a member of the original Wreckers! He also met a pretty gruesome death at Megatron's hands in the Time Wars... as many Transformers did (little wonder that the Autobots and Decepticons who managed to make it out of the Time Wars alive allied themselves as the aptly named Survivors (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Survivors)). Wreck and Rule (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/4/49/LastStandoftheWreckers4-_JumpstartersEnd.jpg). :cool:

I don't hate Topspin as a character at all, and I don't even dislike him; he just never caught my eye. It's the same as how I feel about G1 Sunstreaker from the cartoons. Sunstreaker appeared in the battles, he says a one-liner, shoots his gun, that's it.. Oh and he plays a movie alien in "Hoist goes Hollywood", but that's all I remember him for. To me, Topspin was sort of the comic book equivalent to that. Can't really blame the writer at the time, since there were so many characters, and most Wreckers stories (except the most recent one) usually winds up looking like the "Springer Show" - Springer was usually the main hero or protagonist.

[GoktimusPrime]

Continued from here (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=547452#post547452). Note: This is a discussion about e-Hobby's original prices as set by e-Hobby themselves, not inflated prices set by retailers.

E hobby items are always going to be over priced,
I've been collecting e-Hobby Transformers since 2001 and I've noticed that it was only in recent years that their RRPs have started getting bad. Initially their prices were actually quite good and often comparable with their standard mass release toy's RRPs.

e.g.
TFC11 Astrotrain = 3000JPY / eHobby Proto-Colour Astrotrain = 3000JPY
TFC17 Blitzwing = 3000JPY / eHobby Overcharge = 3000JPY
TFC06 Megatron = 5980JPY / eHobby Megaplex = 6000JPY
...etc.

I've only purchased two eHobby TFs in recent years (as I find the figures less appealing to me, and the increased pricing has further turned me off them), which were Generations Magnificus and Cloud Megatron.
UN-15 Autobot Perceptor = 2415JPY / eHobby Generations Magnificus = 6025JPY :eek:
RD-20 N.E.S.T. Bludgeon = 3800JPY / eHobby Cloud Megatron = 6410JPY :eek: (I've since sold off Cloud Megs)
:rolleyes: Even as someone who's been able to collect eHobby TFs at RRP I've given up on them as I just cannot justify their prices now.

Although in relative terms for Japanese consumers 5000JPY for Convobat isn't too bad considering that LG34 Wipe retails for 4000JPY and Convobat does come with an additional Headmaster figure which Wipe doesn't. Although 4000JPY for the LG Headmasters is already overpriced IMHO. I only bought LG Weirdwolf as a souvenir from my last Japan trip. It was an expensive impulse purchase (and as Tets can confirm, I did whinge about the price at last year's Osaka meet :p). Cos Deluxe Titans Return figures retail here for $30 tops, and the little stand alone Titan Masters for $10. Now the LG Headmasters only come with just the drone/vehicles of the Titan Masters, not the additional Titan Masters themselves. So for example, LG Weirdwolf gives you the equivalent of Deluxe Wolfwire with a repaint of Apeface's drone, but not Apeface! So let's say that the drone has a value of $5, cos it's really just half the set. That's a combined value of $35, yet 4000JPY converts to roughly AU$50. So I paid about fifty bucks for the equivalent of Wolfwire plus Apeface's drone but no Apeface! :eek: At least I didn't have to pay for postage for Weirdwolf. :o

Now Convobat is giving us the equivalent value of TR Mindwipe with a complete Titan Master set, so the equivalent of AU$40. But of course, 5000JPY is about AU$60. I know that I'm fortunate in that I'm able to obtain eHobby Transformers at RRP, and I don't mean to take this for granted, but I just cannot justify paying $60 before shipping for a toy with the core value of $40. And I already own two versions of the original Convobat (Hasbro and Takara*), and I own the CD-ROM repaint of Convobat... and I own TR Mindwipe... I really cannot justify getting this toy.

-------------------------------------------------------
*The toys are identical, only the packaging differs.

[FatalityPitt]

So for example, LG Weirdwolf gives you the equivalent of Deluxe Wolfwire with a repaint of Apeface's drone, but not Apeface! So let's say that the drone has a value of $5, cos it's really just half the set. That's a combined value of $35, yet 4000JPY converts to roughly AU$50. So I paid about fifty bucks for the equivalent of Wolfwire plus Apeface's drone but no Apeface! :eek: At least I didn't have to pay for postage for Weirdwolf. :o


With the Legends and Unite Warriors lines, I don't disagree that you don't get as much toy for what you pay for. However one thing to consider is the pack-in comic. Comics take time, effort and creativity to produce compared to a trading card, like the one packed in with the Titans Return / Combiner Wars figures, and even then; the artwork is the same as the package art (or taken from other media, like the mobile phone games). While it is true that Generations toys have in the past included pack-in comics, these were re-packs of existing IDW comics, whereas the comics packed in with the Legends/Unite Warriors toys were original comics that were specific to the character and toy you were buying.

Although, to be honest, it does feel strange that Takara have chosen to sell the Titan Master heads completely separate from their respective drones. It's so obvious that the Rarigo drone (packed with Weirdwolf) is supposed to be Apeface, but it's a totally different character instead. You kind of feel for the Japanese fan who's scratching his/her head wondering, "why have Takara done this? Why couldn't they do what Hasbro did, and give Apeface his proper drone/transactor?"

[GoktimusPrime]

Both Hasbro and TakaraTOMY are able to absorb the costs of added bonus content... cos otherwise it wouldn't be a bonus. ;)
e.g.
* Carded figures released in 1987 included a free Decoy and mini-comic and the toys cost the same as those released in 1986 (e.g. Aerialbots, Stunticons etc.) or reissued in 1990 (e.g. Throttlebots, Protectobots etc.).
* Hasbro's BW Optimus Primal vs. Megatron w/ bonus comic was 12.99USD whereas Takara's version without the comic was 1480JPY, which was roughly US$13 at the time, so basically the same price. I wasn't in Australia when BW came out here, but I know we got the European versions... I think that the EU version of Optimus Primal vs Megatron didn't include the bonus comic but still sold at the same Basic price point (i.e. they weren't cheaper than other Basics).
* Armada/Micron Legends and Energon figures all included pack-in comics without seeming to affect the price. e.g. Armada's Max-Con and Energon's Combat Class are the equivalent of the Deluxe Class and sold at the same price point, etc.
* All Henkei! Henkei! figures included pack-in instruction-comics and their prices were basically the same. It's little wonder why many fans (like myself) decided to go for the Henkei figures where, for the same price as a local Universe figure, you get nicer colours plus additional bonus content. Also, the Gentei! Gentei! figures which didn't come with the mini-manga that their Henkei! counterparts did, yet were dearer※.
* The Generations and Combiner Wars Deluxe figures which included comic books were sold at the same price point as the same version of the toy sold without the comic (in non-Anglophone Hasbro markets).
* The MP Coneheads come with a very basic instruction booklet & bio card; no additional story blurbs, extended bios or anything that other MPs come with, yet they're significantly dearer※.

--------------------------------------
※We could factor in economies of scale in terms of the higher price, but I don't think that the exclusion of additional content in the instruction booklet has contributed to keeping these prices down.

[GoktimusPrime]

From here (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=23847&page=8):

Optimus Primal, the legendary general commander, that appears in BWII isn't Optimus Primal from the Mainframe TV show. They are in different universes. They share a name, but are not the same character. Thus, they warrant different numbers.

What was meant and intended by the BWII episode in 1998 was clearly proven to be impossible by subsequent fiction.

Two characters. Two universes. Same name. It's pretty straight forward really.
The Gaea-based Maximals had to use the Cosmic MacGuffin^Teleport Gate (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Teleport_gate) to pluck Optimus Primal from prehistoric Earth, and at the end of the movie Optimus Primal had to be returned to Earth. The movie explicitly states this, referring to prehistoric Earth by the name it's given in the Japanese dub of the Canadian series, planet Energoa. At the end of the movie, it is stated that Optimus Primal had to return to prehistoric Earth and Apache explained that the MacGuffin's use was damaging time-space and that unknown forces had probably sent it to Gaea to be destroyed, so Lio Convoy's Maximals destroyed it after returning Optimus Primal.

The movie states that Optimus Primal was plucked from the prehistoric Earth, did what he did in the movie, then returned to Earth. This is a direct reference to the Canadian series which is the only BW series that is based on Earth. BWII is based on Gaea and BW Neo is based on numerous other planets (including Cybertron), but never Earth. The Japanese BW series adds stuff but never does anything which contradicts the Canadian series.

And I don't understand how it was proved impossible by subsequent fiction from the TV series. There's nothing in Seasons 2 or 3 of Beast Wars, or even the Beast Machines cartoon, which contradicts anything from the BWII or BW Neo movies. In fact, there are some elements between the Canadian and Japanese series which - admittedly by coincidence - happen to tie in together nicely. The IDW comics have rejected the Japanese TV continuity, but it also contradicts with parts of the Canadian TV series too, so it's really a separate continuity from the TV series. The Japanese BW TV series on the other hand do no contradict with anything from the Canadian TV series (as it is presented in the Japanese dub).


My first introduction to Beast Wars was the show. Not all of us were on the alt. toy forums throwing around the trukk not munky bollocks in 1996.
Actually many of us were defending Beast Wars from the "Trukk Not Munky" mob. I was a member of the now-defunct BWADL (Beast Wars Anti-Defamation League) where we vehemently defending Beast Wars from its criticis. Groups like BWADL didn't last very long though, because once everyone started realising how awesome Beast Wars was, these groups simply became redundant. :) Beast Wars made believers out of its critics... whereas Bayformers makes critics out of its believers. :rolleyes: :p

[GoktimusPrime]

While typing the above post, I was reading through my Beast Wars II encyclopaedia (http://www.suruga-ya.jp/database/pics/game/185009767.jpg) and noticed a photo of a much younger Yuki Hisashi on p.91. I hadn't made the connection before - and I've often talked about how a lot of design features in BW toys can also be seen in some MPs, but now it makes sense considering that one of the designers who worked on BW also worked on some MP toys! :D I'll scan and post the pic later, but for anyone else who has this book, feel free to flick over to p.91 and have a gander! :)

[GoktimusPrime]

From here (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=547719#post547719).

In Beast Wars II, Optimus Primal is called the "Legendary General Commander", and the character acts as such in the episode.
Optimus Primal is frequently called and referred to as "Supreme Commander" or "Commander" in the Japanese dub of the Canadian series. "Supreme Commander" is the equivalent of calling him "Optimus."

In Beast Wars, Optimus Primal is new to the post of commander.
Not... quite. Optimus Primal has always been commander, but he was initially the commander of the Axalon on an expeditionary mission, not a military one. And he also had dealings with the Maximal Council (re: Protoform X), so he was obviously a Maximal of higher ranking. The real shift in Beast Wars was from being a civilian commander to a military one. Also, in the Japanese dub of the Canadian series, Convoy was always called "Supreme Commander or just "Commander."


In Beast Wars II, Optimus Primal has the ability to turn into Burning Convoy.

In Beast Wars, Optimus Primal does not have this ability.
ONLY when he combines the power of his Energon Matrix with that of Lio Convoy's. Optimus Primal would be unable to do this in the Canadian series as he is never in the company of another Matrix-bearing Maximal.


In Beast Wars II, Optimus Primal has an Energon Matrix in his chest.

In Beast Wars, Optimus Primal does not.
We never saw the inside of Season 1 Optimus Primal's chest. I'm not saying that Larry DiTillio or Bob Forward ever intended for Optimus Primal to have a Matrix in his chest, but the presence of one in the BWII movie does not contradict the Canadian series. There's a greater contradiction in G1 where:
* in the comics the Creation Matrix was initially an intangible artifact in Optimus Prime's head which he could even transfer into a human's mind. It was later portrayed as a physical artifact in Optimus Prime's chest, like in TFTM, which also proved problematic as it meant that the Autobots had inadvertantly disposed of the Creation Matrix when they buried his original body in space (hence the Matrix Quest and the retconned excuse that the existence of the physical Matrix was a secret).
* in the G1 cartoon we saw the inside of Optimus Prime's chest which housed his Cosmitron (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Cosmitron). But in TFTM the inside of his chest completely changed as it explicitly showed him having a chamber to house the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.

There are NO such contradictions between BWII and BW. You need to show me something that is explicitly contradictory, not just something which exists in one story but not the other, because that alone isn't necessarily contradictory. An example of canonical contradiction would be like in the ending of Code of Hero where we see the original Rattrap cremating Dinobot's body, even though he should have been a Transmetal. This was obviously an animation error, but it still creates a visual contradiction in continuity.

P.S.: For the sake of argument, let's say that BW Optimus Primal and BWII Convoy are from different continuities, I'm not sure if this necessarily explains the separate numbering between MP32 and MP38 considering that MP08-X King Grimlock wasn't assigned his own separate number over MP08 Grimlock, and MP08-X is explicitly meant to be Grimlock from the G1 Marvel Comics (Earth-91274 to be precise), whereas MP08 Grimlock is meant to be Grimlock from the G1 cartoon universe, although the interchangeable eye colour gimmick means that he can also be from the G1 toy universe or any other universe with toy-accurate art.

[FatalityPitt]

We never saw the inside of Season 1 Optimus Primal's chest. I'm not saying that Larry DiTillio or Bob Forward ever intended for Optimus Primal to have a Matrix in his chest, but the presence of one in the BWII movie does not contradict the Canadian series. There's a greater contradiction in G1 where:
* in the comics the Creation Matrix was initially an intangible artifact in Optimus Prime's head which he could even transfer into a human's mind. It was later portrayed as a physical artifact in Optimus Prime's chest, like in TFTM, which also proved problematic as it meant that the Autobots had inadvertantly disposed of the Creation Matrix when they buried his original body in space (hence the Matrix Quest and the retconned excuse that the existence of the physical Matrix was a secret).
* in the G1 cartoon we saw the inside of Optimus Prime's chest which housed his Cosmitron (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Cosmitron). But in TFTM the inside of his chest completely changed as it explicitly showed him having a chamber to house the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.

I understand you guys are having a serious BW-related debate, but the above point reminded me of a something I use to find funny before I made this OCTA account.

The first time we ever see the Matrix is in the 1986 movie, but before that, there was a series episode (I forget which season) called "City of Steel" where the Constructicons dismantle Optimus Prime's body and reassembles him into an aligator. During the dismantling process, the Constructicons should have seen and held Matrix, but alas, it didn't "exist in continuity" at the time..

But I used to imagine how cool and/or funny it'd be if the Constructicons recognised the Matrix as they took Optimus Prime apart that time, and tried to integrate it into Devastator. When Scourge tried to integrate the Matrix into himself in "Hardest Burden to Bear" (season 3 episode), he became a monster (in the cartoon, the Matrix does funny things to Decepticons). Imagine what it'd turn Devastator into XD

[GoktimusPrime]

The first time we ever see the Matrix is in the 1986 movie, but before that, there was a series episode (I forget which season) called "City of Steel" where the Constructicons dismantle Optimus Prime's body and reassembles him into an aligator. During the dismantling process, the Constructicons should have seen and held Matrix, but alas, it didn't "exist in continuity" at the time..

But I used to imagine how cool and/or funny it'd be if the Constructicons recognised the Matrix as they took Optimus Prime apart that time, and tried to integrate it into Devastator. When Scourge tried to integrate the Matrix into himself in "Hardest Burden to Bear" (season 3 episode), he became a monster (in the cartoon, the Matrix does funny things to Decepticons). Imagine what it'd turn Devastator into XD
You're absolutely right, and this is yet another example of an actual continuity contradiction, which the G1 cartoon was chock full of. :o Although one of the greatest contradictions is the origin story of Megatron and the Constructicons. Initially it was shown that Megatron built the Constructicons on Earth, but then later we see the Constructicons build Megatron on Cybertron some 9 million years prior! :eek:

The fact was that many G1 writers never bothered to collaborate with each other or watch each other's work, so they all just made their own stuff up. :rolleyes: A few writers like Earl Kress and David Wise would "world build" and maintain continuity within their own stories, and hence we would see recurring supporting characters like Alpha Trion, Carly etc. And Kress did create Elita One and the female Autobots to explain that they exist, and hence why we see Arcee in TFTM.

And although Beast Wars had a team of various writers, Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio - as well as being members of this writing team, also acted as story editors. As a result Beast Wars was able to maintain far greater continuity discipline. The latter part of Season 3 may not feel this way, but that's because Hasbro notified Mainframe that this would be the final season of Beast Wars when they'd already finished writing half of the series and on top of the new toys that they had to introduce, Mainframe found themselves having to quickly wrap up loose ends of Beast Wars' rather complex story. Hasbro has a nasty habit of doing this to writers... it happened with:
* the G1 cartoon (hence why The Rebirth was re-written from a 5-parter to a 3-parter with episode 1 being a shameless toy advert)
* the Marvel comics. Twice (G1 and G2). Furman was evidently sick of it when they did it to him the second time that he poked fun at it by creating a character named Jhiaxus ("Gee, axe us"). ;)

Although they seem to have learnt their lesson after that, as I can't think of any post-Beast Wars series which had a rushed and loose ending. Transformers Prime did finish with some loose ends, but it didn't feel like because it was rushed to completion (but rather possibly because writers might've forgotten stuff... like how Airachnid is occupying Cybertron's moon with an army of undead Insecticons - this also seems to have been forgotten in the current RiD series (although I've only watched half of Season 2)). The live action movies have loose ends all over the place, but that's got nothing to do with Hasbro's mandate. :p :rolleyes:

[FatalityPitt]

Although one of the greatest contradictions is the origin story of Megatron and the Constructicons. Initially it was shown that Megatron built the Constructicons on Earth, but then later we see the Constructicons build Megatron on Cybertron some 9 million years prior! :eek:


I think I missed the episode showing Megs creating the Constructicons on Earth..

MY version of the story goes like this: The Constructicons were initially created by the Quintessons/Vector Sigma/Whatever as building and maintenance robots who were morally neutral. Megatron was one of their earlier projects/commissions who later became 'evil' ("Five Faces of Darkness" episode flashback, Season 3). Years later, Megatron (their own creation) used the Robo-Smasher to brainwash them into destroying the Crystal City ("Secret of Omega Supreme", Season 2).

Of course, for this theory to hold, you'd have to ignore the fact that the Constructicons were wearing Decepticon logos when they created Megatron in FFoD...

But, as mentioned, this is just my own theory to help me make sense of the cartoon version of the Constructicons without losing my mind over where they came from..

Then again, this was the first Transformers cartoon which was rife with continuity and animation errors. Frankly, I don't think the show creators really took it that seriously either (except maybe people like David Wise, Earl Kress, and the voice actors). From the studio's perspective; it was just a 20 minute advertisement for a toy that will probably be forgotten 10 years down the road..

.. How little did they know..

[Bidoofdude]

I think I missed the episode showing Megs creating the Constructicons on Earth..

MY version of the story goes like this: The Constructicons were initially created by the Quintessons/Vector Sigma/Whatever as building and maintenance robots who were morally neutral. Megatron was one of their earlier projects/commissions who later became 'evil' ("Five Faces of Darkness" episode flashback, Season 3). Years later, Megatron (their own creation) used the Robo-Smasher to brainwash them into destroying the Crystal City ("Secret of Omega Supreme", Season 2).

Of course, for this theory to hold, you'd have to ignore the fact that the Constructicons were wearing Decepticon logos when they created Megatron in FFoD...

But, as mentioned, this is just my own theory to help me make sense of the cartoon version of the Constructicons without losing my mind over where they came from..

Then again, this was the first Transformers cartoon which was rife with continuity and animation errors. Frankly, I don't think the show creators really took it that seriously either (except maybe people like David Wise, Earl Kress, and the voice actors). From the studio's perspective; it was just a 20 minute advertisement for a toy that will probably be forgotten 10 years down the road..

.. How little did they know..

Time travel! Separate timelines! There's probably some whacko way we can explain continuity in the Sunbow cartoon. :D

[Sinnertwin]

The only continuity in the G1 cartoon is "sell this toy this week".
Prime's internals get x-rayed in "A Prime Problem" and there isn't a hint of the Matrix. Fast Forward 12 months and all of a sudden we're expected to believe this uber-awesome cosmic megabomb has been part of Prime all along. He doesn't even get upgraded like Rodimus does when he takes ownership. Prime's just... Prime, just as Alpha built him in "War Dawn".
Prime also addresses Trailbreaker as Trailblazer and Spike as Splick in A Prime Problem. :rolleyes:

[GoktimusPrime]

Time travel! Separate timelines! There's probably some whacko way we can explain continuity in the Sunbow cartoon. :D
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/meme_wizard_zps0264fd27.jpg

-----------------------------------------------

Continued from here (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=23847&page=10):

BW2nd
Fixed. :)

was much like super god masterforce for me, quite japanese-y, maybe too much for my taste, mind you I had a poorly dubbed copy so I enjoyed that chore even less :(
I know what you mean about BWII and Neo having a much more Japanese flavour to it. And story wise both series were quite rubbish. BWII also had really sub-par animation quality, and while the animation improved in Neo, that series suffered from utter banality (up until the Unicron arc of the story which only happened at the very end, but suffering through the rest of the series to get up to it just isn't worth it :rolleyes:).

Although there are three key differences between Super God Masterforce and Beast Wars 2nd:
* As a continuation of The☆Headmasters, Masterforce continues to travel along a divorced G1 cartoon continuity from the US series. And although the US cartoon no longer existed in 1988, MF still continued to make their concept on Pretenders and Power/Godmasters to be entirely different from that of Anglophone continuity. Also, Ginrai ≠ Optimus Prime ;)
* The story of Masterforce was actually reasonably well written! Unlike Anglophone Pretenders, the Japanese Pretenders are able to mass shift and reduce themselves to human size. This allowed the Autobot Pretenders to live among humans as humans, and the Decepticon Pretenders to prey on humans as human-sized monsters. It was also interesting how they explained that the Decepticon Pretenders were the prime source of human monster myths across various cultures throughout time. The idea of Godmasters and Headmaster Juniors is more similar to the Anglophone version of binary bonding between humans/Nebulans and Cybertronians. The Godmaster took it one step further by linking it with mythical "Chi" energy, which ties in with East Asian culture that the show is targeting. #TheForce
* Good animation! Masterforce was clearly given a bigger animation budget than The☆Headmasters. The animation in this series as well as Victory and Zone are just magnificent. It was the first time that a Transformers series looked and felt like anime. ;) BWII on the other hand has brilliant animation in the opening theme and theatrical movie, but the animation in the actual episodes is just rubbish. BW Neo was better, but it did recycle a lot of stock animation... like every transformation. :rolleyes:


As for the on going discussion with gotimusprime and verno about what optimus primal is...

I honestly think BOTH of you are correct.

They are meant to be the same character, in the same universe, however takara in japan wrote beast wars differently, remember airazor was a man and were writing on the fly until tigertron and airazor kissed and ruined their little bromance they had going on.
Yeah, but to be honest, the change in Airazor's gender didn't affect anything as far as the outcome of the story was concerned. In other words, it bore zero relevance to the continuity, and thus isn't really a continuity contradiction. Transformers are physically genderless robots, and Japanese doesn't normally even use gendered pronouns, so the only real difference is that the voice was male instead of female. And they kept the romance!

JP BW actually gave us the first TF same-gender Conjunx Endurae long before IDW did! :D


But this would also mean g1 convoy and g1 optimus prime are also different characters, we know the japanese headmasters were VERY different to what we westerners got.
That's different because you're looking at a continuity split. And even if there is a continuity split, it doesn't make them different characters. At most, it makes them different versions of the same character. Whether they are the same person or not is a philosophical question which probably goes beyond the scope of this discussion. An example of this is Rewind in the IDW comics. He died. Got locked in a temporal cell with Overlord and the thing was blown apart. But there was a momentary split in time where two different versions of the Lost Light and her crew existed before the time stream was reasserted. When that happened, Rewind from a different time stream who didn't end up being locked in with Overlord and killed survived. Although his Chromedome died. Now Rewind and Chromedome from two different but now reasserted time streams have found each other. They were hesitant at first, but now see each other as being the same actual person that they'd previously lost in collapsed time lines. But are they right or have they fallen for different people who happen to be the same character.

Individuality Vs Identity
(this is a sub-topic that I teach in the Japanese Extension HSC course (https://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/japanese-ext-prescriptions-14-18.pdf), so it's a topic that I'm quite familiar with ;))

Both Rewind and Chromedome are the same individuals as the ones that were lost. They are not different individuals who represent the same identity, even though these individuals may have come from variant time streams. When we look at Optimus Primal/Convoy in the Canadian series and Convoy in BWII, they are the same individual. The Japanese one may arguably come from a divergent expanded continuity, but it is the same individual, not the same identity. Optimus Primal in the IDW comics on the other hand is the same identity but different individual.

An identity is the character, but not necessarily the same individual.
e.g. G1 Optimus Prime is an identity. G1 cartoon Optimus Prime, G1 Marvel Comics Optimus Prime, G1 IDW Comics Optimus Prime etc. are different individuals of that shared identity. On a grander scale, Optimus Prime as a character is essentially an identity, even across different continuity families (e.g. Prime, Movieverse etc.).

But in the case of Convoy vs Convoy, they are not just the same identity, they are the same character. Even if we accept that one is from a divergent universe, they are still the same individual. It's just that one may have experienced events that the other hasn't, but it doesn't make them different people. Especially considering that JP Convoy's story reasserts itself with the Canadian continuity, because it's followed directly by Beast Wars Metals, which is the Japanese dub of Seasons 2-3 of the Canadian series. In fact, the Beast Wars movie (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beast_Wars_Special_Super_Lifeform_Transformers) has three parts to it:
1. "Clash! Beast Warriors"; a segment reusing video from Season 1 to summarise that season.
2. "Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger"; an original animated movie which tells the story of Lio Convoy's Maximals vs Galvatron's Predacons & Majin Zarak. It culminates with a team up with Optimus Primal.
3. "Beast Wars Metals"; Japanese dub of the Season 2 episode 'Bad Spark.'
So the film very deliberately ties BWII in with the Canadian series. 2/3 of the film is actually dubbed material from the Canadian show, the original Japanese part only constitutes 1/3 of the entire film!


how is that "ruined"? Are you sure you didn't mean "improved"?
It doesn't hurt when Airazor's male voice happens to sound like this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR4AgYyNdNs). ;)
It came to be as a complete surprise. BW came out in Japan later than in the US and I had already started reading about the characters before online. So I was expecting Airazor to be female and I remember seeing the "Next episode preview" the week before, which showed Airazor (but without the voice), and I got all pumped. I even walked around telling all my friends that there was going to be a new female Transformer airing in the next episode for a whole week. Then when the episode aired I was all excited... and Airazor opened her mouth and she was a he! :eek: :p

[TAAUBlaster]

He doesn't even get upgraded like Rodimus does when he takes ownership. Prime's just... Prime, just as Alpha built him in "War Dawn".
:

I always thought that the reason Optimus never got "upgraded" when he took possession of The Matrix, was because Alpha Trion specifically built him to be a leader - and hence built him specifically to carry it. Hot Rod was just a normal Autobot, hence why he became "upgraded"

But that theory doesn't really work for Magnus :o

[GoktimusPrime]

I was about the argue that Ultra Magnus never successfully unleashed the power of the Matrix, hence he was never transformed by it. But Minimus Ambus^Optimus Prime opened the Matrix at the end of Season 3 which covered the Earth and eradicated the Hate Plague, and he didn't change so... there goes that theory. :p


The only continuity in the G1 cartoon is "sell this toy this week".
We have a winner. ;)


Prime's internals get x-rayed in "A Prime Problem" and there isn't a hint of the Matrix. Fast Forward 12 months and all of a sudden we're expected to believe this uber-awesome cosmic megabomb has been part of Prime all along.
Someone needs to make a parody where Optimus Prime's chest is opened and they find the two decayed corpses of Diaclone pilots. :p


Prime also addresses Trailbreaker as Trailblazer and Spike as Splick in A Prime Problem. :rolleyes:
That made me Moist (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Hoist_Goes_Hollywood_(episode)#Quotes). ;)

Then there's the live action movies where...
* Brawl is called Devastator (which could've been corrected in the subtitles for the DVD/BR release, but wasn't)... and Devastator is called Devastator?
* Scavenger and Rampage are called Wheelbot and Skipjack respectively
* Michael Bay always calls Scorponok "Scorponox."
* Scorn is called Spike

[Bartrim]

Watched the 86 movie with my boys last weekend for the first time in ages. We were still able to recite it word for word... Much to my wife's torture.:p

[GoktimusPrime]

↑Parenting done right :)

[FatalityPitt]

I've been re-watching Beast Wars lately, and I recently wondered; how awesome would it be if they did a live-action Beast Wars movie?

I imagine it'd be like the Michael Bay films but with live animals instead of vehicles (or animals that are as realistic as possible, because y'know; working with animals..), "better-looking" robot modes (tbh, some bayformers are ugly), and with less humans (original Beast Wars takes place 300 years in the future, or pre-historic Earth, depending on how you see it).

Sure, it'd be hard to work with the animals, but special effects technology has made leaps and bounds over the last 10 years. Speaking of, it's been 10 years since the first Bayformers movie. It's time they moved onto something more challenging and different.

[GoktimusPrime]

I think that the CG animals would actually look rather convincing; people can do amazing things with CG creatures these days (e.g. Planet of the Apes, King Kong, Jurassic World etc.). :) And our brains are more easily fooled than with CG human faces. The only thing is that it would be extremely expensive because it means that every scene where there's a Transformer would have to be CGI, whereas the current movies only need CG Transformers in robot mode, but otherwise they just use actual vehicles when they are in alt mode. And the Transformers do spend a lot of time in alt mode in the films during certain scenes - often to save money. They will often have part or all of a Transformer's transformation obscured or done off-screen to cut on costs too. Bay admitted this in one scene in the first movie where we hear Bumblebee transforming only to cut to a shot of him in vehicle mode with a few panels sliding into place. In the DVD audio commentary Bay admits that this was a cheat to give the illusion that Bumblebee had transformed but without actually animating his transformation. I suppose the main way to get around this is to do what the Beast Wars TV series did, and that is to limit the Transformers to a small ensemble cast rather than having armies. This should make it easier for the story to be more character-focused.

But please not Bay. Even if it were set in prehistoric Earth, I know that he'd find a way to stuff it up. Chak and Una would become the main protagonists, with Una looking underage but scantily clad in cavemen clothes... guh. :rolleyes: And he'd have them doing all sorts of inappropriate things in beast mode (remember that he had vehicular-moded Transformers doing inappropriate (https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LBrv5TZc2UQ/hqdefault.jpg) things (http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/article/117/1177006/transformers-worst-movie-moments-20110621114251170-000.jpg) in (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Pw2A-4_tJBU/TK0EK9hpLFI/AAAAAAAAAGE/jY2lwOjUdgk/s1600/Dickbot%20The%20Blender%20Guy%203.JPG) robot (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/2/28/ROTF-Wheeliedryhumpsaleg.jpg) mode (https://saturdaynightscreening.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/john-turturro-featuring-robot-balls1.jpg)!)


It's time they moved onto something more challenging and different.
They won't even move onto something basically decent. I recently took my daughter to watch Ballerina - a kid's movie. There's not much in it for adults, but as a children's movie it was pretty decent. It had a straightforward narrative that didn't derail or stall itself, character-driven story and interesting social morals, both obvious and well hidden (one of which none of the critics have even picked up in the reviews that I've read; that's how subtle it is). I reckon the upcoming Peppa Pig movie will have a more solid story than The Last Knight.

[FatalityPitt]

I think that the CG animals would actually look rather convincing; people can do amazing things with CG creatures these days (e.g. Planet of the Apes, King Kong, Jurassic World etc.). :)



Now that you mention those movies, I take back my comment where I say "it'd look like the Michael Bay movies". Actually, it should look more like this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtR9tqPa48s) (but without the kid.. not that I have anything against kids.. EDIT: Also with more robots, because otherwise it wouldn't be Transformers.)


But please not Bay. Even if it were set in prehistoric Earth, I know that he'd find a way to stuff it up. Chak and Una would become the main protagonists, with Una looking underage but scantily clad in cavemen clothes... guh. :rolleyes: And he'd have them doing all sorts of inappropriate things in beast mode (remember that he had vehicular-moded Transformers doing inappropriate (https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LBrv5TZc2UQ/hqdefault.jpg) things (http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/article/117/1177006/transformers-worst-movie-moments-20110621114251170-000.jpg) in (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Pw2A-4_tJBU/TK0EK9hpLFI/AAAAAAAAAGE/jY2lwOjUdgk/s1600/Dickbot%20The%20Blender%20Guy%203.JPG) robot (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/2/28/ROTF-Wheeliedryhumpsaleg.jpg) mode (https://saturdaynightscreening.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/john-turturro-featuring-robot-balls1.jpg)!)


Oh God no. Not Bay. His movies are part of the reason I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm a TF fan in public. I try not to say anything too harsh about the LA films because some fans on this site might actually enjoy them, but I'm not one of them (I've not seen Age of Extinction). However I don't know if we'll see a non-Bay-directed TF movie anytime soon. He once said AOE would be his last (http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/transformers/news/a385752/transformers-4-will-be-michael-bays-last-film-in-series/), then he went on to do Last Knight.

[GoktimusPrime]

Another thing with a photorealistic Beast Wars movie is scale. Here are some size comparisons between different animals compared to a human:
human vs gorilla (http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4013/4405421633_d660edd935.jpg) (Optimus Primal)
human vs cheetah (https://earthwatchunlocked.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/014_15a.jpg) (Cheetor)
human vs velociraptor (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Vraptor-scale.png) (Dinobot)
human vs wasp (http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/06/03/18/1D9342A700000578-0-image-a-51_1433353341623.jpg) (Waspinator)
human and tarantula (https://solangefrancois.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/1-scaled10001.jpg) (Tarantulas)
human vs pteranodon (http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/images/species/p/pteranodon-size.jpg) (Terrorsaur)
human vs tyrannosaurus rex (http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/images/species/t/tyrannosaurus-size.jpg) (Megatron)
etc.

Imagine all of these animals - in realistic 1:1 scale - fighting each other. And their robot modes would be scaled to the beast modes, so ..... :o

[Deonasis]

I imagine a BW movie would have robot modes like BW metals.

[Raider]

Anyone else ever wish they would reissue the Japanese G1 transformers in the western market? Really want a Star Saber without the $1k price tag :p

I picked up a Deathsaurus and Scorponok from KL when I was a little kid. Really wish I had have pleaded with my parents to buy them all! Who am I kidding, I am sure I would have :p

If only I had have told them to buy 2 and keep one set MISB. My dad may have gone for that if he thought it was a smart investment. Oh hindsight...

[GoktimusPrime]

When it comes to reissues and MPs Hasbro are very reactive, not proactive. They always wait for Takara(TOMY) to release a product first, then later consider releasing that toy in their markets. So given that TakaraTOMY haven't reissued Star Sabre, I don't foresee that Hasbro would. And sadly TakaraTOMY's geoblock on their online survey site prevents those of us outside of Japan from nominating Star Sabre for an upcoming reissue.

But have you ever seen/handled a G1 Star Sabre? Cos IMHO it's a pretty rubbish toy. :o I'm happy enough with my MP and RM Star Sabres. Yeah, I'll buy a reissue if it happens, but it's honestly not a nomination priority for me.

[Raider]

When it comes to reissues and MPs Hasbro are very reactive, not proactive. They always wait for Takara(TOMY) to release a product first, then later consider releasing that toy in their markets. So given that TakaraTOMY haven't reissued Star Sabre, I don't foresee that Hasbro would. And sadly TakaraTOMY's geoblock on their online survey site prevents those of us outside of Japan from nominating Star Sabre for an upcoming reissue.

But have you ever seen/handled a G1 Star Sabre? Cos IMHO it's a pretty rubbish toy. :o I'm happy enough with my MP and RM Star Sabres. Yeah, I'll buy a reissue if it happens, but it's honestly not a nomination priority for me.

I've seen one boxed but never had the pleasure of handling one. I still think it looks pretty cool and I mostly want it as I like have the G1 version of my MPs.

[GoktimusPrime]

Someone did bring a G1 Star Sabre to a Sydney fan meet in 2002 (see all those shelf-warming Animorphs and Beast Machines toys in the background? ;)). You're really not missing out on much. And that particular specimen suffered from chronic "chrome dandruff." :o
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Transfan%20Meets/transfanmeet02.jpg

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Saw a Diaclone red Sunstreaker today, which AFAIK is pretty much the first transforming proper-vehicle-to-robot figure ever. 円30,000, or ~$350. Slightly damaged box, otherwise looked OK.
Kind of want to buy it for the sake of historical significance, but it doesn't fit in with my approach to collecting (buy 'em as cheap as possible and even then only if you like 'em/find 'em interesting), and I'm currently sans employment so am watching the spending a bit more than what I would if I had a salary coming in.

I still remember having to budget for bus fare during the ol' uni-student days, so it still seems a bit crazy to be able to casually blow 1/3+ of a thousand dollars on an old toy simply for the sake of historical significance. Let alone finding doing so pretty tempting...:o

[GoktimusPrime]

As a kid I actually knew a kid at school who had a red Diaclone Sunstreaker. Don't know if he got it from overseas or if it was a counterfeit. But anyway, I actually encountered Sunstreaker in red before I saw it in yellow. :o If TakaraTOMY were to ever reissue Sunstreaker it'd be neat to see the red version be reissued as a new character. They could do it with MP too.

I've heard a rumour that one reason why an MP Sunstreaker would be challenging is because Lamborghini won't approve a toy where the car splits (i.e. bonnet splitting to form the feet). No idea if there's any truth to this. Obviously other car companies like VW/Porsche, Lancia, Corvette etc. aren't so fussed, but maybe Lamborghini are. If it's true I reckon that TakaraTOMY might still be able to get around it by having a non-splitting panel that covers the bonnet and hides the split line. That panel would then fold away and there'd be faux-bonnet kibble underneath that would form the robot feet. Kinda like how the MP Coneheads' heads are made from a false nosecone with the actual nosecone folding behind the back. It wouldn't be ideal mind you, but I think it would be possible if Lamborghini won't let them have it any other way.

Sunstreaker also doesn't have a whole lot of repaint potential. The red version is one, and the other would be the police car version (http://diaclone.net/orid/dia038/index.html). They'd basically be relying on fans' knowledge/nostalgia of Diaclone to sell those repaints, but the same happened with MP Exhaust (http://diaclone.net/orid/dia053/index.html) and Loudpedal (http://diaclone.net/orid/dia056/black01.jpg). Road Rage too, although she had some precedent from the G1 eHobby figure, but in spite of that the toy did shelf warm.

[Seraphim Prime]

People mentioning Beast Wars and CGI got me wondering.

I wonder what inspired the idea of Transmetals? Was it a response to seeing what was capable using Madman's CG capabilities or was it an independent choice?

[GoktimusPrime]

I'd say it was a response to people who kept on pining for more mechanical and vehicular looking Transformers. The "Trukk Not Munkee" crowd was an extremely vocal minority. Hasbro launched Machine Wars which failed, so I'd say they came to a compromise where they continued with beasts, but these would have robotic beast modes but bestial robot modes, as well as intermediate vehicular modes.

It worked out in the West but the idea flopped in Japan where a lot of fans didn't like Beast Wars Metals as they found that the concept made the Beast Wars Transformers no longer robots in disguise. A robotic gorilla isn't a realistic looking beast mode. This is why Takara went with more realistic looking beast modes with the Japanese BW lines, especially BW Neo. Some of the BW Neo Transformers were actually based off fan designs submitted via competitions; such as Mach Kick, Archadis and Bazooka. Star Upper (see Paulbot's avatar) was a competition winner that unfortunately wasn't made into product, but the character did appear in the manga series and made a cameo appearance on the TV show (only as a background character and only in beast mode).

BW Neo really gave us some fascinating beast modes likely to be never repeated. What other series has given us a Transformer who transforms into an extinct species of marine mollusc! :D

[BigTransformerTrev]

Looking at the latest Maccas Bumblebee toy with the beehive wings, Bbee might have been good to make a cameo in Beast Wars. He was already one of the smallest Autobots (though still makes him bigger than all the BW cast I guess) and had a bestial name. Could have given him a big bee mode no probs.

But considering since he's shown up in ever cartoon series and movie since 2007 it's nice to have a show without him I guess :rolleyes:

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Another thing with a photorealistic Beast Wars movie is scale. Here are some size comparisons between different animals compared to a human:
human vs gorilla (http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4013/4405421633_d660edd935.jpg) (Optimus Primal)
human vs cheetah (https://earthwatchunlocked.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/014_15a.jpg) (Cheetor)
human vs velociraptor (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Vraptor-scale.png) (Dinobot)
human vs wasp (http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/06/03/18/1D9342A700000578-0-image-a-51_1433353341623.jpg) (Waspinator)
human and tarantula (https://solangefrancois.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/1-scaled10001.jpg) (Tarantulas)
human vs pteranodon (http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/images/species/p/pteranodon-size.jpg) (Terrorsaur)
human vs tyrannosaurus rex (http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/images/species/t/tyrannosaurus-size.jpg) (Megatron)
etc.

Imagine all of these animals - in realistic 1:1 scale - fighting each other. And their robot modes would be scaled to the beast modes, so ..... :o
They could easily justify the BW characters not needing to scale to the original animal size though. There was no reason for them to hide their forms as at the time the planet was only inhabited by other animals and cavemen, which we only saw briefly. It's quite obvious that scale wasn't an issue in the original show, unless Rattrap scanned a R.O.U.S.

Long story short, if there's nothing to hide from, no need for realistic sized animal modes.

I also find it odd that the Japanese didn't like Transmetals. Personally I find organic beast modes extremely boring, but when I suddenly had myself a purple mech gorilla? - Hells yeah! Maybe people in Japan are just too spoiled for their robot action.

[MayzaPrime]

I had one of my next Masterpiece dreams last night...


Wait for it... Preceptor :p

I have had dreams about MP Starscream and MP Megatron before they were announced so it could happen. :p

In the dream I was more excited that I finally got MP-11T Thundercracker :D

[SharkyMcShark]

Does anyone else have the problem where 'sorting Transformers to sell them' time becomes 'finding all the missing bits of figures from more than a decade ago and sitting on the carpet playing with them' time?

[BigTransformerTrev]

I also find it odd that the Japanese didn't like Transmetals. Personally I find organic beast modes extremely boring, but when I suddenly had myself a purple mech gorilla? - Hells yeah!.

I am soooooo attracted to you right now :cool:

I hated Ratraps organic beast mode but loved his transmetal version with the wheels :D

[Raider]

Does anyone else have the problem where 'sorting Transformers to sell them' time becomes 'finding all the missing bits of figures from more than a decade ago and sitting on the carpet playing with them' time?

Lol I was getting some G1 combiner bots out to sell and so I needed to test that all the joints were tight before I sold them. Well that is what I told myself when I spent 15 minutes transforming and combining them :D

[GoktimusPrime]

For our most youngest members who may not remember, this is what Happy Meal Transformers looked like in 2003:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/happymeal_armada_zpsdqavnnox.jpg
...and this (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=23878) is what they look like now. The price hasn't changed. You could purchase each of the Armada Happy Meal toys separately for $2 and you can still do the same now - so the $2 price has remained constant. IMO the Armada figures gave us WAY more bang for our buck compared to Happy Meal Toys today which are just ab-so-lute rubbish.

[MayzaPrime]

The only good thing about the Maccas toys today is that my kids play with them in the shower. The main reason is cause they are pretty crap toys and I dont care it they break them

[Megatran]

IMO the Armada figures gave us WAY more bang for our buck compared to Happy Meal Toys today which are just ab-so-lute rubbish.
The target market for these Happy Meal Toys are toddlers / kiddies NOT adults. They don't give two hoots about the level of engineering design nor the points of articulation. It's a mute point you are making as the kids I've seen, including my nephew, absolutely enjoy being creative in their own special way they play with, say, Optimus Prime. i.e. soaring through the air & slashing everything and anything with that bad-ass sword. (yes Optimus flys without his jetpack & beats up ALL that stand in his way :D).

[BruiseLee]

(yes Optimus flys without his jetpack & beats up ALL that stand in his way :D).

Total Bayverse there! :p

[GoktimusPrime]

The target market for these Happy Meal Toys are toddlers / kiddies NOT adults. They don't give two hoots about the level of engineering design nor the points of articulation.
The packaging states "For Ages 3+," and in terms of the cognitive development of a 3 year old...
* The child is now entering the peak period of imaginary play and enjoys using replica objects as actors in sequenced themes.
* The child has progressed significantly in their gross-motor skills and have now developed the fine motor skills for more manipulative, challenging and complex play patterns.

And for the remainder of a child's pre-school years (Age 4-5), we can see:
+ Dramatic and pretend play is at its zenith
+ Children enjoy creativity and complexity in their dramatic and make-believe play scenarios
+ Children create and coordinate multiple roles in more elaborate scenarios to build story lines
+ Motor skills are further enhanced and they develop more sophisticated levels of dexterity and coordination

(Reference (http://www.naturalchild.org/research/ages_stages.html))

Yes, the current Happy Meal toys can hit these developmental markers too, but IMO not at the same qualitative level as the Armada Happy Meal toys. Or let me put it another way, how long do you think a child will maintain their interest in a current Happy Meal toy for? Are these toys that they're going to look back on fondly in years to come or will they simply be forgotten?

e.g. Who remembers any of the 2007 live action movie Red Rooster Meal toys fondly? (if at all) Now who remembers the 1980s transforming McDonalds toys? They weren't marketed as Transformers here, but you know, the transforming Big Mac, Milkshake etc.? Cos I've given all of mine to my daughter who loves playing with them! I gave her the current Happy Meal Bumblebee toy and she just gave it away to her almost 2 year old cousin. :p

Another thing is something which kids don't understand (but it doesn't mean that it's not irrelevant) - value for money. I'm comparing two sets of $2 Happy Meal Toys. Both toys are aimed at the SAME target demographic and both cost the SAME price. Yet IMHO the Armada figures give parents way more dollar value. If Maccas wants to make cheaper toys then make them cheaper. If they're going to give us half the value, then halve the price. What I find objectionable is that they're giving us toys with half the value at the same price.

Lemme put it this way, imagine if the Last Knight toys hit shelves for these prices:
- Deluxe = $55
- Voyager = $100
- Leader = $190
How would you feel? It's not so much that the current Happy Meal toys are inherently rubbish, but they're rubbish for the price that you're paying. Just as a Last Knight Deluxe Barricade (http://tformers.com/transformers-the-last-knight-barricade-deluxe-class-toy-first-photos-leaked/30777/news.html) would be rubbish if you had to pay $55 for it.

[FatalityPitt]

For our most youngest members who may not remember, this is what Happy Meal Transformers looked like in 2003

...and this (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=23878) is what they look like now. The price hasn't changed. You could purchase each of the Armada Happy Meal toys separately for $2 and you can still do the same now - so the $2 price has remained constant. IMO the Armada figures gave us WAY more bang for our buck compared to Happy Meal Toys today which are just ab-so-lute rubbish.

I'm no expert on Happy Meal toys since I haven't had one since I was about 8, but think the difference between the Armada toys (2003) and the current RiD ones (2017) is that Armada HM toys were transforming Transformers while the RiD HM toys are action figures of Transformers. What the RiD toys lack compared to the Armada ones (being able to transform, combine, etc), they make up for in proportions and show likeness. It's like comparing a G1 1984 transformer to an Action Master or Revoltech.

[Megatran]

It is a futile exercise debating the 'value for money' merits of a $2 toy.

[christalcase]

... I'm comparing two sets of $2 Happy Meal Toys. Both toys are aimed at the SAME target demographic and both cost the SAME price...

If they are the same price, then factoring 14 years of inflation, doesn't that mean the current toys are inherently cheaper than their Armada counterparts? I don't have the actual inflation figures but if you go for a conservative 2% inflation each year, you're comparing $2 Armada toys with $1.50 RiD Toys in 2003 dollars.

Surely that means you cannot expect the same level of engineering, we've seen price of plastic go up, labour go up etc, yet the toy remains the same price, something has to give. At the end of the day, they're $2 toys... it's impressive that you can even still buy a semi-decent toy for that price nowadays.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I've got most Maccas TF Happy Meal toys since they have been made. For what its worth I found the Armada ones - particularly Smokescreen and Hot Shot - absolutely bollocks in robot mode. Conversely the toys we've gotten with Prime and RID have great looking modes but then you only get one - they don't transform which sucks.

You want good Maccas TF Happy Meal toys? Go back to the Animated ones. They transformed and looked decent in both modes! Also my Energon Galvatron transformed, came with lights and a drone tank! That beats RID and Armada combined I reckon!

[Starscream77]

It is a futile exercise debating the 'value for money' merits of a $2 toy.

^ so much this!!!
I can't believe that much text was written about little plastic maccas toys

[SMHFConvoy]

I did a 4 day stint with a company that designed mchappy meals and if the tf toys on offer are $2 today are just static toys with little or no articulation and no transformation it means that it would cost more today to make that particular mchappy toy and the cost would be passed on to the consumer.

Things change, just deal with it.

[GoktimusPrime]

It's like comparing a G1 1984 transformer to an Action Master or Revoltech.
We all know what happened to G1 shortly after Action Masters came out. :o
I'm personally not a fan of Revoltech either - I've seen and handled a few IRL but never bought one.

It is a futile exercise debating the 'value for money' merits of a $2 toy.
I'm Asian. I'd debate the value of a $1 toy. :p :p #russellpeters
Seriously though, it's not so much about the amount but the principle of the matter. Imagine if Maccas started charging $1 for their soft serve cones. Heck, I remember when people whinged when they increased from 30c to 50c (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2815374/McDonalds-DOUBLES-price-30-cents-Soft-Serve-Cones.html) (60% price increase)

If they are the same price, then factoring 14 years of inflation, doesn't that mean the current toys are inherently cheaper than their Armada counterparts? (snip)
The mean price of Transformers toys hasn't really shifted much. For example the cost of a Deluxe figure (known as "Super-Cons" in Armada) is pretty much the same as what a Deluxe toy costs today. And if anything, I'd say that a Deluxe toy today is better than an Armada Super-Con, although much of that is because toys today aren't compromised by an overbearing Mini-Con activated "WhY mY sH0Uld3RS hUr7?" gimmick. As much as I'm not a fan of Titan Masters on non-Headmaster characters, it's a relatively non-invasive enough gimmick that I can overlook it.

Not everything appreciates at an equal rate under inflation... the cost of milk or petrol hasn't skyrocketed nearly as badly as say the cost of real estate! (thank goodness for small mercies) :o

Things change, just deal with it.
I wish that these toys would change, that's the problem! :p :o :p

[FatalityPitt]

Been re-reading some of Marvel's Generation 2 comics. Jhiaxus' alt-mode looks so similar to Scourge's (... and barely anything like his Generations Thrilling 30 toy). If Hasbro/Takara ever wanted to redeco/retool the TR Scourge toy, Jhiaxus is a potential.

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah, but Jhiaxus' robot mode looks more like Starscream, and the Generations toy was a redeco of the Generations Armada Starscream figure. It would've looked a whole lot more accurate if Hasbro had bothered to use G2 accurate colours (http://www.battlegrip.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/jhiaxus-450x391.jpg) too. :o Jhiaxus is too lesser known a character to warrant a unique mould (that they wouldn't be able to redeco as another character), so he's always going to be a redeco of another toy. Either way, it's a MUCH better effort than Hasbro's first attempt at a Jhiaxus toy (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/a/a2/RIDtoy-Jhiaxus.jpg)! :eek: And that was the only Jhiaxus toy that we had for 11 years until the Generations figure came along! I don't know about you, but I jumped at the chance to get Generations Jhiaxus, and it seems that 75% of respondents on the Gen. Jhiaxus review thread (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=20069) agree! :D

[FatalityPitt]

Yeah, but Jhiaxus' robot mode looks more like Starscream, and the Generations toy was a redeco of the Generations Armada Starscream figure. It would've looked a whole lot more accurate if Hasbro had bothered to use G2 accurate colours (http://www.battlegrip.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/jhiaxus-450x391.jpg) too. :o Jhiaxus is too lesser known a character to warrant a unique mould (that they wouldn't be able to redeco as another character), so he's always going to be a redeco of another toy. Either way, it's a MUCH better effort than Hasbro's first attempt at a Jhiaxus toy (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/a/a2/RIDtoy-Jhiaxus.jpg)! :eek: And that was the only Jhiaxus toy that we had for 11 years until the Generations figure came along! I don't know about you, but I jumped at the chance to get Generations Jhiaxus, and it seems that 75% of respondents on the Gen. Jhiaxus review thread (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=20069) agree! :D

I've got the Thrilling 30 Jhiaxus too. I agree with the 75%, I think it's great. Even if it were bad, I still would have gotten it simply for being Jhiaxus :)

Until I re-read the Gen 2 comics recently, I never realised how similar Jhiaxus' (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/c/cd/Jhiaxus_hot_rod_less_than_zero.jpg) classic alt-mode (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/6/60/Jhiaxusaltmodetotalwar.jpg) was to Scourge's (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/3/32/TitansReturntoy-ScourgeDeluxe.jpg).

Interestingly, there have been even lesser characters who got their own mould, like our good friend Straxus (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/9/9a/Generationstoy-Darkmount.jpg). I even thought the design was quite faithful (http://s90690880.onlinehome.us/jhiaxus/images/uscomics/straxus/straxus_us018_07.jpg)to the comics (http://s90690880.onlinehome.us/jhiaxus/images/uscomics/straxus/straxus_us018_03.jpg). It got retooled into Skullgrin (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/7/7d/Generationstoy-Skullgrin.jpg), and while that was a pretty cool toy, I didn't think it looked much like his original G1 self (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/0/0a/G1Skullgrin_toy.jpg). Still a nice toy to have.

Speaking of, I wonder if the upcoming TR Seaspray will mean the possibility of an Octopunch (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:Octopunch-Earth-Wars.jpg)or Submarauder (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Submarauder)retool.

[Sinnertwin]

If they are the same price, then factoring 14 years of inflation, doesn't that mean the current toys are inherently cheaper than their Armada counterparts? I don't have the actual inflation figures but if you go for a conservative 2% inflation each year, you're comparing $2 Armada toys with $1.50 RiD Toys in 2003 dollars.

Surely that means you cannot expect the same level of engineering, we've seen price of plastic go up, labour go up etc, yet the toy remains the same price, something has to give. At the end of the day, they're $2 toys... it's impressive that you can even still buy a semi-decent toy for that price nowadays.

That they are, which is why it's always important to be aware of the difference rather than compare $2 for $2 despite being 14 years apart.

That 2003 Armada Toy would cost you $2.76 todays in money.

[GoktimusPrime]

In terms of proportionate price difference it's similar to say the difference between a Movie Deluxe and Robot Replicas (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Robot_Replicas) - non-transformable figures who don't do much but have more accurate sculpting at a lower price point. In my opinion - and this is purely my opinion - I'd rather go for the slightly dearer figure that can transform.

And to see it from a kid's POV, in 1991 I got Classic Sideswipe and Action Master Sideswipe only a few weeks or months apart from each other (as both toys came out in the same year). And I distinctly remember thinking how disappointing AM Sideswipe was compared to Classic Sideswipe - and these were toys purchased with pocket money so I was aware of the price difference. But I felt that Classic Sideswipe was WAY better value. I didn't buy any more of the 1991 AMs (the few that I have now have since been acquired off the secondary market for cheap :p) and instead saved up my pocket money for Classic Tracks - bearing in mind that buying boxed Transformers was a big purchase when we were kids :) But given the choice of buying multiple cheaper Action Masters or a single dearer transformable figure with my childhood pocket money, I chose the latter. :o

JMO

[Megatran]

For all you die hard TF fans, TF1 live action movie is on (yet again!) tonight on Channel GO! at 8:30pm. Check your local tv guide.

[BruiseLee]

For all you die hard TF fans, TF1 live action movie is on (yet again!) tonight on Channel GO! at 8:30pm. Check your local tv guide.

Wouldn't the die hard fans already own multiple copies of this on dvd, blu ray, digital? :p I'm looking at you BTT.

[SharkyMcShark]

I've just come to the realisation that I really miss the often seemingly random homage repaints of older (usually AEC) figures that would pop up from time to time in the CHUG lines.

We've not had those for aaaaaaaaaaaaages.

[Deonasis]

I've just come to the realisation that I really miss the often seemingly random homage repaints of older (usually AEC) figures that would pop up from time to time in the CHUG lines.

We've not had those for aaaaaaaaaaaaages.True, there is a gap after Hotshot until Armada Megatron, Starscream, Thundercracker, Ramjet, UW Thrust, and now Tidalwave.


Where is the Misfire reveal hastak!?!!? I really want to see it (probably saving the best for last methinks ;) ).

[SharkyMcShark]

True, there is a gap after Hotshot until Armada Megatron, Starscream, Thundercracker, Ramjet, UW Thrust, and now Tidalwave.


Where is the Misfire reveal hastak!?!!? I really want to see it (probably saving the best for last methinks ;) ).

I mean repaints of AEC figures.

Like Universe 2.0 Drop Shot, Blaster, Heavy Load and those type of things.

[griffin]

The Titans Return Quake is most likely why we didn't get one from FunPub last year, with their combiner team that had the other two Decepticon double targetmasters (Spinister and Needlenose)... as Hasbro usually veto Club/Con toys that are the same character as one they have in the pipeline (up to two years away).

And I hate to say it, but a FunPub Quake from the CW Brawl toy would have looked more like Gen1 Quake in both modes than the TR redeco of Hardhead. :(

[GoktimusPrime]

I think that TR Hardhead redecoed Quake looks more like G1 Quake in robot mode, although the Brawl mould definitely would've given a more G1 accurate tank mode. Having said that, I'm glad that they decided to go with the Hardhead mould. First of all, it allows them to do something with the TR Hardhead mould - there's not a whole lot of choices. Secondly, I'm personally just not a huge fan of the CW Brawl mould, plus I already have 3 versions of it (CW Brawl, Killbison & Drillhorn). I need another version of this mould like the US President needs more orange in his spray tan. :p

And I'd much rather see more G1 CHUGUR characters being released as regular mass-market figures. :)

[SharkyMcShark]

While I was having "play with old figures under the guise of trying to get Transformers ready for sale" time the other week I happened across Classics Mirage and his gun.

What an incredible figure. An incredibly dynamic range of poses, strong colours, snazzy looking alt mode. One of the most underrated deluxes ever? You decide (actually don't decide, it is underrated - you know I'm right)

[prjkt]

I do love that mould, had a KO transparent one that fell apart, then got the Hasbro Asia 3 Pack one with metallic blue (sooo shiny) and the club MW Mirage.

Great mould, great design. I doubt there'd be much that could be done to improve it today, unlike others from the Classics line. (Hotrod, I'm looking at you)

[davieanix]

Just my own opinion -

I honestly can't believe that (Hunt for the Cons?) Voyager Seaspray is considered by some to be a CHUG style fig. To a lesser extent, Bludgeon too.

Of course collectors are allowed to display their figures however they want, but personally there is no way that Seaspray ticks any boxes that I would consider for the classicverse.

The new TR Seaspray is exactly what a CHUG one should be!

As I said, no offence to anyone! Just my 2 cents.

Now as for Lugnut.... :D

[SuspectimusPrime]

The Mirage mould also made a perfect Gobots Crasher (Fracture).

[Megatran]

Just my own opinion -

I honestly can't believe that (Hunt for the Cons?) Voyager Seaspray is considered by some to be a CHUG style fig. To a lesser extent, Bludgeon too.

Of course collectors are allowed to display their figures however they want, but personally there is no way that Seaspray ticks any boxes that I would consider for the classicverse.

The new TR Seaspray is exactly what a CHUG one should be!

As I said, no offence to anyone! Just my 2 cents.

Now as for Lugnut.... :D
I'll bite. :D Why not Voyager Seaspray?

[Magnus]

I'll bite. :D Why not Voyager Seaspray?

Agreed. He's not really a good fit for the movieverse design aesthetic, despite being released in a movie line.

[GoktimusPrime]

I honestly can't believe that (Hunt for the Cons?) Voyager Seaspray is considered by some to be a CHUG style fig. To a lesser extent, Bludgeon too.
It's because these toys were meant to be CHUGUR figures, but Hasbro assigned them to the Movieverse. So the dilemma here is canonical assignment vs authorial intention (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Authorial_intent). Canonically speaking, yes, both of those toys are in the Movieverse, but others would say that they are part of the Classicsverse by authorial intent. Sea Spray is even more problematic because Hasbro themselves said that he's part of CHUGUR, but the toy's packaging and comic book appearance establish him in the Movieverse! :eek:

I personally agree with you, I feel that both of these toys are Movieverse toys. The canon as presented in the final product is the official word as far as I'm concerned. e.g. Sea Spray's packaging bio and comic appearance overrule what a bunch of Hasbro reps said. But this is just my personal opinion, and I can completely understand why others might consider them to be CHUGUR instead. :)

[G1Optimal]

Another thing with a photorealistic Beast Wars movie is scale. Here are some size comparisons between different animals compared to a human:
human vs gorilla (http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4013/4405421633_d660edd935.jpg) (Optimus Primal)
human vs cheetah (https://earthwatchunlocked.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/014_15a.jpg) (Cheetor)
human vs velociraptor (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Vraptor-scale.png) (Dinobot)
human vs wasp (http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/06/03/18/1D9342A700000578-0-image-a-51_1433353341623.jpg) (Waspinator)
human and tarantula (https://solangefrancois.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/1-scaled10001.jpg) (Tarantulas)
human vs pteranodon (http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/images/species/p/pteranodon-size.jpg) (Terrorsaur)
human vs tyrannosaurus rex (http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/images/species/t/tyrannosaurus-size.jpg) (Megatron)
etc.

Imagine all of these animals - in realistic 1:1 scale - fighting each other. And their robot modes would be scaled to the beast modes, so ..... :o

I think you have the wrong raptor , dinobot is suppose to be a utahraptor i think
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utahraptor

[BigTransformerTrev]

For all you die hard TF fans, TF1 live action movie is on (yet again!) tonight on Channel GO! at 8:30pm. Check your local tv guide.


Wouldn't the die hard fans already own multiple copies of this on dvd, blu ray, digital? :p I'm looking at you BTT.

Who me? :p

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y342/sare111/DSCF6451_zpsjc7fggqo.jpg (http://s1028.photobucket.com/user/sare111/media/DSCF6451_zpsjc7fggqo.jpg.html)


To be fair, I only bought 1 DVD and 1 Blu Ray of the first movie. The rest got given to me as gifts. As it is I only bought one copy of AoE but when school started last year I found a second copy anonymously left in my pigeon hole. I think someone must have gotten it for Xmas and didn't want it ;)

[GoktimusPrime]

I think you have the wrong raptor , dinobot is suppose to be a utahraptor i think
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utahraptor
The packaging explicitly states "velociraptor" (https://s3.amazonaws.com/tf.images/reduced-bwdinobo.jpg). The problem is that it's based on a Jurassic Park velociraptors, which were more closely modelled after Deinonychuses (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinonychus) (a relative of Utahraptors). Mutant Beast Razor Claw and AoE Slash had alt modes more closely resembling actual velociraptors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velociraptor).

Although granted that the Jurassic Park raptors are oversized (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/files/2015/06/raptors.jpg), they're not nearly as large as utahraptors. But I will grant you that they are closer in size to utahraptors than deinonychuses or the diminutive velociraptor. So Jurassic Park gave us dinosaurs called velociraptors who resembled deinonychuses that were almost the size of utahraptors! :o And it's most likely that an MP Dinobot would be of similar scale since the original toy (and thus cartoon model) is based on the JP raptor, and also cos Dinobot has a massive robot mode (towers over Optimus Primal). So his beast mode would most likely be closer to utahraptor-size. :)

[SharkyMcShark]

It's because these toys were meant to be CHUGUR figures, but Hasbro assigned them to the Movieverse. So the dilemma here is canonical assignment vs authorial intention (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Authorial_intent). Canonically speaking, yes, both of those toys are in the Movieverse, but others would say that they are part of the Classicsverse by authorial intent. Sea Spray is even more problematic because Hasbro themselves said that he's part of CHUGUR, but the toy's packaging and comic book appearance establish him in the Movieverse! :eek:

I personally agree with you, I feel that both of these toys are Movieverse toys. The canon as presented in the final product is the official word as far as I'm concerned. e.g. Sea Spray's packaging bio and comic appearance overrule what a bunch of Hasbro reps said. But this is just my personal opinion, and I can completely understand why others might consider them to be CHUGUR instead. :)

I agree. I think Bludgeon fits better than Seaspray - the voyager figure is closer in style to the movie aesthetic and the character was already established in the broader movie canon.

[FatalityPitt]

Just my own opinion -

I honestly can't believe that (Hunt for the Cons?) Voyager Seaspray is considered by some to be a CHUG style fig. To a lesser extent, Bludgeon too.



I think that Seaspray is more of a stand-in for G1 Seaspray until a proper CHUG one (like the upcoming TR toy) comes along. Kind of like the Timelines Chromedome before TR Chromedome.

I feel that the Voyager Seaspray is more of a movie-verse toy. Mainly because of the scuba mask. Michael Bay likes to give Transformers a very humanised look by having them sport human features like facial hair (Hound/Sentinel Prime/Leadfoot, etc), samurai helmets (Drift), trench coats (Crosshairs), etc. To me, the Scuba mask is something only a human might wear. Seaspray is a robot, why would he need goggles and an oxygen mask when diving?

[griffin]

The packaging explicitly states "velociraptor" (https://s3.amazonaws.com/tf.images/reduced-bwdinobo.jpg).

Well, Gen1 Sludge was also officially a "Brontosaurus", which doesn't actually exist... so descriptive labelling on *kids* toys shouldn't be relied upon as being accurate, or used to prove anything.

[Megatran]

Well, Gen1 Sludge was also officially a "Brontosaurus", which doesn't actually exist... so descriptive labelling on *kids* toys shouldn't be relied upon as being accurate, or used to prove anything.
Stupid Wiki making things up (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brontosaurus).

Oh wait, The Brontosaurus is back (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-brontosaurus-is-back1/).

[BigTransformerTrev]

Well, Gen1 Sludge was also officially a "Brontosaurus", which doesn't actually exist... so descriptive labelling on *kids* toys shouldn't be relied upon as being accurate, or used to prove anything.

I used to think the same, but:

Wikipedia

However, the 2015 study concluded that Brontosaurus was a valid genus of sauropod distinct from Apatosaurus.

[DELTAprime]

I so wish I was recycling my MP clamshells all along. I really only have enough room in the recycling bin every fortnight to get rid of 1 or 2 large MP clamshells.

[Megatran]

*censored censored censored censored*. 600 bucks for a new TF licensed Monopoly board game.

[GoktimusPrime]

In griffin's defence, the Brontosaurus was considered to be a non-existent dinosaur between 1903~2014, so absolutely in the 1980s it was no longer considered to be a real dinosaur until it was reinstated 30 years later.


so descriptive labelling on *kids* toys shouldn't be relied upon as being accurate, or used to prove anything.
It's not just the printing on the packaging, visually the toy is clearly based off the Jurassic Park velociraptor which was based on the deinonychus rather than an actual velociraptor which are quite small IRL. This was likely done to make them look more imposing, especially when they gang up on the T-Rex.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/dinobot_scale_zpsy3ahacdx.jpg
As you can see there is an uncanny similarity between Dinobot and the JP Velociraptor. You can also see that the JP velociraptor is most similar in size and structure to a deinonychus (albeit plucked) than a real velociraptor or the massive utahraptor. The utahraptor was announced in June, 1993, which was coincidentally the same month and year that Jurassic Park was released in US cinemas. So obviously the JP velociraptors could not have been based on the utahraptors, although Stan Winston did joke about the coincidental similarities ("We made it then they discovered it"). And to be fair to both Jurassic Park and Beast Wars, it wasn't until September 2007 that velociraptors were discovered to have feathers. So you can't really blame 'em for portraying these dinosaurs as being "plucked." ;)

In any case, I would expect an MP Dinobot's beast mode to look more similar to a Jurassic Park velociraptor since that was what the original toy (and consequently cartoon model) was inspired by. One advantage of beast modes is that TakaraTOMY don't have to worry about licensing issues affecting the look of the alt mode. They can make Dinobot's velociraptor mode look however they like. This is different from licensed vehicle modes where the look of the vehicle may need to vary from the G1 model in order to satisfy the vehicle company. And example of this is MP Bumblebee who transforms into a proportionally accurate VW Beetle, not a compacted Choro-Q/Penny Racer style Punch Buggy that G1 Bumblebee transforms into. Thankfully it's still recognisable as VW Beetles are already compact cars. An MP Cliffjumper would be trickier as a real life Porsche 924 Turbo (https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3076/3153753862_dfee8f180f_z.jpg?zz=1) looks quite different from the compacted alt mode that the G1 model has. As far as just proportions are concerned an MP Cliffjumper's alt mode may look more similar to Transformers Prime Cliffjumper than G1.

[DELTAprime]

*censored censored censored censored*. 600 bucks for a new TF licensed Monopoly board game.

How can anyone justify $600 for a board game?

[SuspectimusPrime]

How can anyone justify $600 for a board game?

Unless they came up with a Monopoly 'board' that's a transforming remoulded Cybertron Primus with all house/hotels & game tokens being transformable as well. All currency tokens should be different types of energon cubes. :rolleyes:

[GoktimusPrime]

*censored censored censored censored*. 600 bucks for a new TF licensed Monopoly board game.
How can anyone justify $600 for a board game?
Yeeeaaah, I think that I'll be sticking with my old Transformers Monopoly (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Monopoly) game, thanks. :o

IMO it's still the best version of TF Monopoly as it actually uses places from the TF universe as the streets, with Cybertron and Earth as the most expensive (which makes sense as these are two most important worlds that the TFs battle over, with Earth being the most 'expensive' as it's the richest in resources for them). More obscure or hidden places like Autobase are the cheapest, which again canonically makes sense cos well... Autobase is an underground dump :p (what you'd expect when the Cybertron-based Autobots are waging guerrilla warfare against established Decepticon warlords). I also like how the transports are actual forms of transportation (the Ark, Nemesis, Transwarp Drive & Space Bridge), and the utilities are super computers (Teletraan 1 and Vector Sigma). Income Tax is "Cover Detected" (oops, you blew being a robot in disguise!) and Luxury Tax is "Replenish Energon".Then there are the bonus Transformers rules,
e.g.
Double 1 = Transwarp to any square on the board
Double 2 = collect $200
Double 3 = remove Energon Cubes (houses) from another player's property
Double 5 = collect $50 from all players of an opposing faction
Double 6 = attack another player's property (if they don't own the whole set)
(I forget what Double 4 does :p)

Then there Autobot (Community Chest) and Decepticon (Chance) cards which need to be read with a tech-specs decoder (yay!) and give canonical descriptions for what's happening. e.g. the get out of gaol cards have either Unicron or the Dinobots breaking you out of gaol etc. Everything in the game feels like it's in-universe (except for the four corner squares which remain unchanged, apparently for legal reasons (according to TFwiki) but this new version looks like it has new corner squares :confused:). The new corner squares are the one thing that I like the most about the new game, but I'm not going to pay $600 for it! :eek:

I saw this version of TF Monopoly (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/transformers-monopoly-12-99-delivered-365games-2460845) at the EB Games Expo in 2015 and it didn't really impress me. Much like this new version it uses G1 characters as streets instead of locations which doesn't make sense to me. :confused: IMHO the 2007 game appeals to all TF fans (the Transwarp Drive and Transwarp rule reference Beast Wars*! :D) - casual and hardcore - whereas the subsequent games seem to target Gee-Wunners. :o


Unless they came up with a Monopoly 'board' that's a transforming remoulded Cybertron Primus with all house/hotels & game tokens being transformable as well. All currency tokens should be different types of energon cubes. :rolleyes:
That would barely be worth $200 tops.

------------------------------------------------
*As BW explains that the G1 TFs were developing Transwarp technology but hadn't perfected it by G1 Megatron's time.

[DELTAprime]

I saw this version of TF Monopoly (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/transformers-monopoly-12-99-delivered-365games-2460845) at the EB Games Expo in 2015 and it didn't really impress me. Much like this new version it uses G1 characters as streets instead of locations which doesn't make sense to me. :confused:

I saw that version of TF Monopoly at my EB Games/Zing before Xmas. I think they were asking $125 for it which is still way too much.

[BigTransformerTrev]

In griffin's defence, the Brontosaurus was considered to be a non-existent dinosaur between 1903~2014, so absolutely in the 1980s it was no longer considered to be a real dinosaur until it was reinstated 30 years later.

Yeah I found it really weird. Growing up in the 80's the Brontosaurus was one of the dinosaurs we all knew the name of (and not just because of Sludge). There was the Brontosaurus, Triceratops, Diplodocus, Pterodactyl, Stegosaurus and T-Rex. A few of us had also heard of the Allosaurus and Ankylosaurus but that first lot seemed to be the ones everyone knew.

Never even heard of an Apatosaurus until I was an adult so I assumed until a few years ago that the Brontosaurus name had been retired in the 90's or something. I wonder why the name was so well known and so prevalent throughout the 20th century when it had been retired in 1903? :confused:

[SuspectimusPrime]

Yeah I found it really weird. Growing up in the 80's the Brontosaurus was one of the dinosaurs we all knew the name of (and not just because of Sludge). There was the Brontosaurus, Triceratops, Diplodocus, Pterodactyl, Stegosaurus and T-Rex. A few of us had also heard of the Allosaurus and Ankylosaurus but that first lot seemed to be the ones everyone knew.

In the spirit of this thread...


A few of us had also heard of the Allosaurus and Ankylosaurus but that first lot seemed to be the ones everyone knew.

Kylo Ren? :p

[SharkyMcShark]

I've come to realise that the hollow forearms that I've come to absolutely loathe on figures is actually a dislike of the increasingly thin plastic that is used to make figures.

Universe 2.0 Cyclonus and Classics Mirage are both molds that I adore that have flip out fists and hollow forearms, but have thicker plastic forming their 'cuffs' so it looks less terrible.

[DELTAprime]

Went to ship my LG Astrotrain, MP Grapple and MP Cheetor from HLJ. EMS was cheaper than standard shipping. Damn the postal services are weird.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Went to ship my LG Astrotrain, MP Grapple and MP Cheetor from HLJ. EMS was cheaper than standard shipping. Damn the postal services are weird.

Yeah I only had Grapple and for the first time ever HLJ gave me the option of 'standard international shipping' instead of 'express international shipping'. Usually it only gives ne the 3 options, not 4.

[GoktimusPrime]

Went to ship my LG Astrotrain, MP Grapple and MP Cheetor from HLJ. EMS was cheaper than standard shipping. Damn the postal services are weird.
Once your parcel hits a certain size then the cost of standard becomes negligible and them dearer than EMS. So yeah, EMS can be cheaper with certain parcel sizes.

[Sinnertwin]

How can anyone justify $600 for a board game?

If i was making 150k a year, why not? :p
But i don't, so I won't.

[GoktimusPrime]

Never even heard of an Apatosaurus until I was an adult so I assumed until a few years ago that the Brontosaurus name had been retired in the 90's or something. I wonder why the name was so well known and so prevalent throughout the 20th century when it had been retired in 1903? :confused:
I knew about the Apatosaurus when I was in primary school as I'd read about it in a book. I was actually more blown away by the announcement that Brontosauruses were real as I spent most of my life thinking that they weren't! :eek: But one of the fun parts of science is readjusting our knowledge according to new evidence. :) I invented two excuses as to why Sludge was a Brontosaurus.
1/ In the G1 comics the Dinobots scanned their dino modes from dinosaurs living in the Savage Land, a fictitious place where humans, dinosaurs and other creatures co-exist. So I figured that Brontosauruses must exist in the Savage Land but nowhere else on Earth.
2/ The museum in the G1 cartoon that they scanned the fossils from had an incorrect Brontosaurus fossil on display and the Autobots scanned it without second thought as they didn't know any better.

As for why Brontosauruses continued to be persist between 1903~2014, as the Wikipedia article explains it was really due to the prominence of the dinosaur in popular culture - so much so that the image of the Brontosaurus became synonymous with 'dinosaur' itself. It was basically a common scientific myth that persisted for 111 years until it became a fact! :eek: And mistaking a fictitious dinosaur for being a real one ranks pretty low as far as science myths go considering that there are grown adults who believe that the Earth is flat and that vaccines cause autism. :rolleyes:

[BigTransformerTrev]

*censored censored censored censored*. 600 bucks for a new TF licensed Monopoly board game.

It really is the most beautiful version they've made thus far. But $600 plus the fact I already have 2 versions of TF Monopoly means for me it goes in the dream basket beside the $800 Unicron lamp :o

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

On the dinosaur topic, I always found it a little annoying to Dino-master-kiddy-me that people would often can Swoop a pterodactyl when he is OBVIOUSLY a large and much cooler pteranodon.

New thing, I just discover that I can compact and hide the sections of the board, so no I don't have to scroll past the sales thread. It just becomes one lie! Woo!

[GoktimusPrime]

I must admit that kid-me initially referred to Swoop as a pterodactyl until he appeared in the G1 cartoon and I heard Chip Chase refer to his alt mode as a "pteranodon." I wasn't aware of the difference until then. :o Hey, it was 1985! :p

[Megatran]

On the dinosaur topic, I always found it a little annoying to Dino-master-kiddy-me that people would often can Swoop a pterodactyl when he is OBVIOUSLY a large and much cooler pteranodon.
Pfffff. Swoop was a token Dinobot anyway.



New thing, I just discover that I can compact and hide the sections of the board, so no I don't have to scroll past the sales thread. It just becomes one lie! Woo!
The sections you are responsible to moderate. :D

[GoktimusPrime]

Pfffff. Swoop was a token Dinobot anyway.
Heh, yeah. As much as I love the character of Swoop, the toy is the weakest of the group. Literally. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I personally found Swoop to be the rarest of the Dinobots when these toys hit store shelves. I did handle a friend's Swoop, and yeah, the toy didn't inspire me.

Being large and expensive figures (at least for a kid), I only had 2 of the Dinobots as a kid - Grimlock and Snarl. I managed to get Sludge and fairly cheaply off the secondary market in the late 90s/early 00s, but Swoop was one toy that was hard to find in the secondary market, and if I did, it was always expensive. In 2005, two years after the live action TF movie was announced, I made the decision to just pay the inflated aftermarket price for Swoop and got one - loose complete - for about a hundred bucks. :eek: He was the last early G1 toy that I was missing, and I figured that it'd be better for me to get it sooner rather than later as I feared that the price of G1 toys might rise after the release of the live action film.

P.S.: Just had a quick look on eBay and there's a G1 Swoop going for about AU$130 before shipping. Doesn't seem too bad considering that I paid about $30 less 12 years ago (wow), but then these days there's no guarantee that the toy isn't a counterfeit. :(

[Megatran]

I see the word TRANSFORMED plastered on an ad on the tv. I'm thinking could it be in reference to TF The Last Knight?
























It turns out it's the latest installment of 'The Biggest Loser' :rolleyes:

[DELTAprime]

My HLJ items from January and February should arrive tomorrow. For whatever reason I'm actually more excited to unbox Grapple than Cheetor. Maybe it's because I grew up watching G1 while Beast Wars aired when I was in High School so less impact, or could just be because I prefer TM Cheetor over season one Cheetor.

[Sinnertwin]

It's funny you mention that.
I had Inferno as a child, but I'm also more excited for Grapple.

[DELTAprime]

Good thing I'm not a MISB collector. Both Cheetor and Grapple were double taped. Great job TakTom QC!:rolleyes:

[UltraMarginal]

While I was having "play with old figures under the guise of trying to get Transformers ready for sale" time the other week I happened across Classics Mirage and his gun.

What an incredible figure. An incredibly dynamic range of poses, strong colours, snazzy looking alt mode. One of the most underrated deluxes ever? You decide (actually don't decide, it is underrated - you know I'm right)

I couldn't agree more, it's very articulate and a novel transformation. my only frustration was the lack of a shoulder cannon and I didn't really like the front spoiler becoming his gun. An Excellent toy though.



*censored censored censored censored*. 600 bucks for a new TF licensed Monopoly board game.


It really is the most beautiful version they've made thus far. But $600 plus the fact I already have 2 versions of TF Monopoly means for me it goes in the dream basket beside the $800 Unicron lamp :o

I think it's stunning, all the custom made aluminium sides, it's a thing of beauty. but until it's clearanced to a $100 or so it's not getting a place at our home, sadly. my dream basket has the Ultimetal Optimus prime in it.


Yeah I found it really weird. Growing up in the 80's the Brontosaurus was one of the dinosaurs we all knew the name of (and not just because of Sludge). There was the Brontosaurus, Triceratops, Diplodocus, Pterodactyl, Stegosaurus and T-Rex. A few of us had also heard of the Allosaurus and Ankylosaurus but that first lot seemed to be the ones everyone knew.

Never even heard of an Apatosaurus until I was an adult so I assumed until a few years ago that the Brontosaurus name had been retired in the 90's or something. I wonder why the name was so well known and so prevalent throughout the 20th century when it had been retired in 1903? :confused:

my thoughts exactly



Pfffff. Swoop was a token Dinobot anyway.


http://i.imgur.com/ourTyji.png


Swoop was the only Dinobot I had until G2 came out and then I got stuck with a red snarl and a green slag. I can see why people prefer the others but it holds a place in my heart. especially since my mum shattered his beak transforming it for me when I was perhaps a little young to have it. #scarredforlife

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I really like fiddling with my Transformers.

[FatalityPitt]

TR Triggerhappy, Misfire and Slugslinger are like the 'new' seekers. They all turn into aircraft, and they all share the same mould (kinda sorta).

[GoktimusPrime]

Well, the G1 Targetmasters were meant to be the Autobot Cars and Decepticon Jets. Even the 1986 Cars and Jets (Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Cyclonus & Scourge) were all retooled as Targetmasters in 1987. Although none of those retools were ever released in Australia - we only ever got the new Targetmaster characters. But to be honest, I would've skipped them anyway (and if most others felt the same then it makes sense that Hasbro AU skipped them). In 1987 getting more expensive boxed figures was more of a luxury - given the choice of asking for the same characters again (only with a new transformable gun) or asking them for new characters, yeah... I would absolutely have gone with the new characters (which I did ;)).

[VodooCaMo]

Transformers keep reinventing themselves non stop in each reincarnation and while there are awesome great ideas I am beginning to get sick of the gimmicky ones. But then what is gimmicky to me is another persons meat.

[morg176]

Has anyone here tried to make their own pretender shell (for whatever figure you want)?

If so, how did you go about it.

Clay, air dry clay sculpt, silicone rubber (always wanted to try this stuff) mould, then a resin hard shell cast or a rubberish cast perhaps like a monster pretender.

Articulation, hmm.....

:D

[GoktimusPrime]

I don't mind gimmicks if they're not as intrusive to the core engineering of the toy. TR Sixshot is a great example of this because you don't need to remove Revolver to transform him into any of his modes. It's a non-intrusive gimmick that you can happily choose to ignore if you don't like it, but if you do like it then feel free to use it. The option is there. Other toys live or die by their gimmick. Transformers Armada is often associated with this, with Armada Hot "wHy mY Sh0uLD3r5 hUr7?" Shot being the poor poster boy for toys with overly intrusive gimmicks. You compare ARM Hot Shot with say RiD Side Burn that came shortly before it or even the Universe Hot Shot toy that came a few years after -- both toys put the Armada figure to shame. And this is because much of Hot Shot's upper body is slave to the Mini-Con activated gimmick, sacrificing articulation in the head, shoulders etc. - basically making a relatively blocky and ungainly toy. Although Armada Scavenger is far worse, but overall a lot of the Armada Autobots and Decepticons were compromised by their gimmicks. Extra disappointing given that Hasbro gave themselves double the amount of time to develop that line compared to most other TF lines. :rolleyes: There was a lot of initial excitement when Armada debuted because we had nearly 2 years of very few new moulds. Lots of redecoes and G1 reissues, but fans were itching for something new. But the novelty soon wore off and people began realising what a let down Armada was (hence all the jAaM! jokes - Hasbro even acknowledged this as Universe Hot Shot's number plate says "JAAM" :p).

[VodooCaMo]

I don't mind gimmicks if they're not as intrusive to the core engineering of the toy. TR Sixshot is a great example of this because you don't need to remove Revolver to transform him into any of his modes. It's a non-intrusive gimmick that you can happily choose to ignore if you don't like it, but if you do like it then feel free to use it. The option is there. Other toys live or die by their gimmick. Transformers Armada is often associated with this, with Armada Hot "wHy mY Sh0uLD3r5 hUr7?" Shot being the poor poster boy for toys with overly intrusive gimmicks. You compare ARM Hot Shot with say RiD Side Burn that came shortly before it or even the Universe Hot Shot toy that came a few years after -- both toys put the Armada figure to shame. And this is because much of Hot Shot's upper body is slave to the Mini-Con activated gimmick, sacrificing articulation in the head, shoulders etc. - basically making a relatively blocky and ungainly toy. Although Armada Scavenger is far worse, but overall a lot of the Armada Autobots and Decepticons were compromised by their gimmicks. Extra disappointing given that Hasbro gave themselves double the amount of time to develop that line compared to most other TF lines. :rolleyes: There was a lot of initial excitement when Armada debuted because we had nearly 2 years of very few new moulds. Lots of redecoes and G1 reissues, but fans were itching for something new. But the novelty soon wore off and people began realising what a let down Armada was (hence all the jAaM! jokes - Hasbro even acknowledged this as Universe Hot Shot's number plate says "JAAM" :p).



Lol The Shoulder Hurt Comment was so funny!!!!
I actually like that figure, but I don't own the figure so my experience is limited to good photos on the internet lol. So I might be wrong lmao!

I am a little bit drawn to Fisher Paykel Price toys lmao!

edit: Fisher Paykel instead of Fisher Price lol

[griffin]

The soundchip on my RID Powersurge/hero Starscream just went off (calling for Decepticons or something) while on one of the shelves behind me at the back of the room... scared the crap outta me. :o

[Megatran]

The soundchip on my RID Powersurge/hero Starscream just went off (calling for Decepticons or something) while on one of the shelves behind me at the back of the room... scared the crap outta me. :o
Have you tried chanting:

The power of Christ compels you.
The power of Christ compels you.
The power of Christ compels you.
The power of Christ compels you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

While we're on the topic of RID Power Surge TF, Target Deerpark had 3 Power Surge Bumblebees .... each one missing it's mini-con Buzzstrike. >_<

[griffin]

While we're on the topic of RID Power Surge TF, Target Deerpark had 3 Power Surge Bumblebees .... each one missing it's mini-con Buzzstrike. >_<

What is with the kids in Melbourne? The three at Brimbank Target were also missing their Buzzstrikes too.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/d483.jpg

[GoktimusPrime]

Have you tried chanting:

The power of Prime compels you.
The power of Prime compels you.
The power of Prime compels you.
The power of Prime compels you.
Fix'd. :p


While we're on the topic of RID Power Surge TF, Target Deerpark had 3 Power Surge Bumblebees .... each one missing it's mini-con Buzzstrike. >_<
What is with the kids in Melbourne? The three at Brimbank Target were also missing their Buzzstrikes too.
I wonder if it's kids or collectors who want these Mini-Cons (as they do prominently appear in the TV show) but don't want to purchase these toys just to get them. Not at all justifying or endorsing this action, but just wondering.

[SuspectimusPrime]

I wonder if it's kids or collectors who want these Mini-Cons (as they do prominently appear in the TV show) but don't want to purchase these toys just to get them. Not at all justifying or endorsing this action, but just wondering.

Depending on how clean the packaging was opened, probably teenage fans. Sounds similar to how in certain areas the Kmarts/Targets/BigWs will always have a couple of empty Lego Minifig blind packs or missing Minifigs from those DK Lego books. The foiled packaging they come in are hard as hell for most adults to rip through - some appear torn by animals or cut through with scissors/blade.

[Megatran]

While we're on the topic of RID Power Surge TF, Target Deerpark had 3 Power Surge Bumblebees .... each one missing it's mini-con Buzzstrike. >_<

What is with the kids in Melbourne? The three at Brimbank Target were also missing their Buzzstrikes too.
They are one & the same Target location. I ought to call it Brimbank. :o

[griffin]

They aren't good quality minicons... so aren't worth stealing... or even collecting by fans. They look and feel more like oversided KOs.

[griffin]

They are one & the same Target location. I ought to call it Brimbank. :o

Is that suburb Deer Park? I just go by the signs out the front... :o and only go there because Demonac lives 2 minutes away.

[Megatran]

^ You're dead right with Brimbank Target. I'm just making up location names as I go. :o

* Waits outside griffin's office waiting to receive retribution *

[CHILENO20]

* Waits outside griffin's office waiting to receive retribution *

He has an office? :confused::confused::confused:

[GoktimusPrime]

They aren't good quality minicons... so aren't worth stealing... or even collecting by fans. They look and feel more like oversided KOs.
That's what's got me wondering if it's more likely to be collectors who want to complete the show cast over kids who are less likely to care about completionism. Completism. Collecting the whole screen cast.

[GoktimusPrime]

Recently dug up a photo that I took of people at a Perth Nexus Fair meet in 2003. Unfortunately (or fortunately :p) I wasn't in the photo as I was behind the camera, but I'll scan and post it later on. :)

[FatalityPitt]

Not sure where stuff like this goes, but I saw it today and thought it looked cool enough to share.

Link to image - https://static.seibertron.com/images/comics/uploads/1490073074-c7yipl3xkaim3iv.jpg

It'd be cool if they started adapting some of the HoS concept art and designs in toy-form.

Speaking of; why don't they? That would make a pretty cool and interesting Generations sub-line. Also, it's a theme that hasn't really been explored in depth. We've had Transformers that turned into realistic modern vehicles, futuristic vehicles, animals (realistic and mechanical), etc; but seldom do we see Transformers that turn into historical/classical vehicles. Only one I can think of is HFTD Hubcab.

We need Gothic Steampunk Transformers!

[GoktimusPrime]

RE: this post (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=553776#post553776)

What is everyone's favourite Decepticon from the live actions movies other than Megatron, Starscream, Barricade or Soundwave? You must choose a character that you genuinely like, not your least unlikable or most tolerable. It must be a Decepticon that you truly find to be an awesome character. And explain why. GO!

[UltraMarginal]

Not sure where stuff like this goes, but I saw it today and thought it looked cool enough to share.

Link to image - https://static.seibertron.com/images/comics/uploads/1490073074-c7yipl3xkaim3iv.jpg

It'd be cool if they started adapting some of the HoS concept art and designs in toy-form.

Speaking of; why don't they? That would make a pretty cool and interesting Generations sub-line. Also, it's a theme that hasn't really been explored in depth. We've had Transformers that turned into realistic modern vehicles, futuristic vehicles, animals (realistic and mechanical), etc; but seldom do we see Transformers that turn into historical/classical vehicles. Only one I can think of is HFTD Hubcab.

We need Gothic Steampunk Transformers!

I really liked the Hearts of Steel as a concept, I was very tempted to buy some of the unofficial offerings that were made around the year or two after the comic came out.
The other that comes to mind is the Scout Class Biplane that came out around the time of Revenge of the fallen. I really enjoyed that mould.
I would totally get behind a line of voyager and deluxe industrial revolution era transformers.


RE: this post (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=553776#post553776)

What is everyone's favourite Decepticon from the live actions movies other than Megatron, Starscream, Barricade or Soundwave? You must choose a character that you genuinely like, not your least unlikable or most tolerable. It must be a Decepticon that you truly find to be an awesome character. And explain why. GO!

Well you've managed to name most of the Decepticons that have any character in the films. I did genuinely enjoy blackout. I really enjoyed the concept of Demolisher and his 'robot' mode, I thought the dynamics of his double wheeled robot form were very novel and had lots of interesting potential. I do wish both these characters had more screen time and development.

[FatalityPitt]

I really liked the Hearts of Steel as a concept, I was very tempted to buy some of the unofficial offerings that were made around the year or two after the comic came out.
The other that comes to mind is the Scout Class Biplane that came out around the time of Revenge of the fallen. I really enjoyed that mould.
I would totally get behind a line of voyager and deluxe industrial revolution era transformers.


If HasTak ever run out of ideas, Hearts of Steel would be a great concept to explore. Off the top of my head, I can already think on at least 5 Bumblebee toys that turn into yellow mini-cars (and there's probably more); but I don't think there's ever been a Bumblebee toy that turns into a Victorian/Industrial Revolution era train (http://i.imgur.com/isJi2qa.jpg).

Also, I know we've had loads of Starscreams (and seekers!), and people probably roll their eyes every time another one is announced.. But you can't deny that this (http://images.moc-pages.com/user_images/75267/1325377273m_DISPLAY.jpg)is awesome!


RE: this post (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=553776#post553776)

What is everyone's favourite Decepticon from the live actions movies other than Megatron, Starscream, Barricade or Soundwave? You must choose a character that you genuinely like, not your least unlikable or most tolerable. It must be a Decepticon that you truly find to be an awesome character. And explain why. GO!

There's no challenge here. I hate the movies! Therefore I hate ALL the transformers that appear in them! And they ALL look like ugly insects to me!:mad:

JUST KIDDING (everybody calm down):cool:

Thinking about it more seriously... I thought DOTM Shockwave was pretty cool. It looked like G1 Shockwave (kinda sorta), and like G1 Shockwave; he was quite strong and menacing (enough to duel with Optimus), and he seemed like an evil engineer/mad scientist type (assuming he built the giant millipede thing that destroyed the buildings). But to be honest, his appearance felt more like a cameo because he was barely in it (less than 5 minutes, including the fight scenes), and he only had one line in the whole film (just one word actually, "Optimussss").

[Paulbot]

Your mileage may vary but I liked Wheelie. There's plenty of reasons I could dislike him of course, but he's more interesting than pretty much every other Decepticon in ROTF because he has a personality, adds some comic relief (and is definitely better than the other small cons in the spy role - Frenzy, Ravage, Laserbeak).

[Ploughmans Lunch]

What was the design rationale behind Year of the Goat Soundwave/Laser Prime (Moreso Soundwave)? I mean, all jokes aside, I just don't understand. Year of the Horse Optimus Prime sorta makes sense but... I'm a bit lost. Like, surely they could've done something worthwhile?

Is there anything written anywhere about that or any kind of honest opinion from Hasbro or whatever?

[GoktimusPrime]

Thinking about it more seriously... I thought DOTM Shockwave was pretty cool. It looked like G1 Shockwave (kinda sorta), and like G1 Shockwave; he was quite strong and menacing (enough to duel with Optimus), and he seemed like an evil engineer/mad scientist type (assuming he built the giant millipede thing that destroyed the buildings). But to be honest, his appearance felt more like a cameo because he was barely in it (less than 5 minutes, including the fight scenes), and he only had one line in the whole film (just one word actually, "Optimussss").
I was bitterly disappointed by Shockwave in DotM and I walked in with high expectations for that character. A lot of this had to do with the comics leading up to DotM which portrayed Shockwave as being very much like his G1 Comic counterpart, the cold, highly intelligent and emotionless logic-fiend. But on screen he was nothing more than a keeper for the Decepticon driller beast. He never transformed - he was just a set piece. Even the Rancor Keeper in Return of the Jedi had more personality (we at least got to see him cry after Luke killed the Rancor, showing that he had some modicum of personality). Shockwave was nothing more than a monster controlling a bigger monster. That's it.

I even took Shockwave with me to watch DotM on the opening night because I was really looking forward to enjoying this character. Boy was I let down.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Transfan%20Meets/Dark%20of%20the%20Moon%20Premiere/meet_dotmprem1.jpg

Your mileage may vary but I liked Wheelie. There's plenty of reasons I could dislike him of course, but he's more interesting than pretty much every other Decepticon in ROTF because he has a personality, adds some comic relief (and is definitely better than the other small cons in the spy role - Frenzy, Ravage, Laserbeak).
^I agree. Wheelie was one of the rare moments where the Bayverse character worked out to be superior to the G1 counterpart. Stupid leg-humping aside. :rolleyes: I quite like Frenzy though as he essentially played the role of G1 Soundwave in terms of transforming into a regular household object that humans would carry past security. But admittedly it's really the concept of Frenzy that I like rather than the character. Characterwise I agree with your choice on Wheelie. :)

[GoktimusPrime]

From here (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=554121#post554121)

I personally don't go on the "ruined my childhood" thing and I hate it too. And if anyone makes this claim I'll join you in shutting them down. The funny thing is that when some fans see something in a new continuity that they don't like, they claim that it's "ruined" G1. Yet when the opposite happen, nobody makes the counter claim.
e.g. no matter how awesome IDW's G1 gets, nobody claims that it's "enhanced my childhood!"

The only way that someone might do that is if the story is in continuity with G1 and is officially retconning it - as happened with BW and BM. And BM was the first to cop a lot of the "ruined my childhood" hate (Bob Skir even copped death threats from fans :(). One main source of this vitriol was BM portraying Cybertron as having an organic core. But Bob Skir didn't make this up - it originated from G1! In the Marvel Comics, Primus crashed into a rocky asteroid which he then reshaped as Cybertron. It also showed the original inhabitants of Cybertron as being a technorganic looking race of Demons (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Demon) who dwelled in Cybertron's Underworld (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Underworld). Both the G1 comics and cartoon showed Cybertron as having a breathable atmosphere. IIRC Transformers Prime was the first TF story which showed Cybertron as having an unbreathable atmosphere. But the G1 comics showed Cybertron having an organic core, even with water (deep enough for Seawatch to zip through in boat mode, dragging Bludgeon along for the ride!). The G1 cartoon episode "The Dweller in the Depths" (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Dweller_in_the_Depths) showed that Cybertron had an organic core in the G1 cartoon universe, and that the Quintessons' first creations were the technorganic Trans-Organics (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Trans-Organic). So Beast Machines was actually being canonically G1 accurate in showing Cybertron with an organic core.

[BigTransformerTrev]

From here (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=554121#post554121)

I personally don't go on the "ruined my childhood" thing and I hate it too. And if anyone makes this claim I'll join you in shutting them down. The funny thing is that when some fans see something in a new continuity that they don't like, they claim that it's "ruined" G1. Yet when the opposite happen, nobody makes the counter claim.
e.g. no matter how awesome IDW's G1 gets, nobody claims that it's "enhanced my childhood!"

The only way that someone might do that is if the story is in continuity with G1 and is officially retconning it - as happened with BW and BM. And BM was the first to cop a lot of the "ruined my childhood" hate (Bob Skir even copped death threats from fans :(). One main source of this vitriol was BM portraying Cybertron as having an organic core. But Bob Skir didn't make this up - it originated from G1! In the Marvel Comics, Primus crashed into a rocky asteroid which he then reshaped as Cybertron. It also showed the original inhabitants of Cybertron as being a technorganic looking race of Demons (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Demon) who dwelled in Cybertron's Underworld (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Underworld). Both the G1 comics and cartoon showed Cybertron as having a breathable atmosphere. IIRC Transformers Prime was the first TF story which showed Cybertron as having an unbreathable atmosphere. But the G1 comics showed Cybertron having an organic core, even with water (deep enough for Seawatch to zip through in boat mode, dragging Bludgeon along for the ride!). The G1 cartoon episode "The Dweller in the Depths" (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Dweller_in_the_Depths) showed that Cybertron had an organic core in the G1 cartoon universe, and that the Quintessons' first creations were the technorganic Trans-Organics (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Trans-Organic). So Beast Machines was actually being canonically G1 accurate in showing Cybertron with an organic core.

Some interesting points :)

[DELTAprime]

When deciding between Takara and Hasbro versions of Generations I normally go for the screen accurate version. But for guys like Six Shot and Fastlane that only had a couple of seconds on screen it really doesn't seem to matter as much. So I'm just grabbing the first release as long as it's not an atrocious colour scheme.

[GoktimusPrime]

How did you display your Transformers as a child and how does it differ from the way that you display your Transformers now?

I first started displaying my Transformers in 1985. As a kid I sorted my Transformers according to faction, so Autobots on one side and Decepticons on the other, then by "teams" or sub-groups. So Autobot Cars, Mini-Vehicles, Jets, Cassettes, Dinobots, Insecticons etc. And it didn't matter what year the toy came from, they were all lumped together by sub-group. e.g. Autobot Cars from 1984-88 were all lumped together; for 1987-88, the Targetmasters and Powermasters were classified as "Cars" to me. Similarly for the Decepticon Jets. All Pretenders were lumped together too, so the 1988 large Pretenders, the 1989 small Pretenders, Classic Pretenders, Pretender Monsters etc. - all lumped together. I continued doing this all the way through the 80s and early 90s.

By the mid-90s I was rapidly running out of space in my childhood bedroom, and so I started abandoning the idea of sorting my toys out so methodically for display. I basically just shoved toys wherever I could fit them. Space was a premium and I just didn't have the luxury to be choosy... but I refused to put them in storage, but looking back it was a real mess. Here's what 1/3 of my collection looked like at the time:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/collection%201998/collection_1998B.jpg

There was a very brief period when I moved out of home as a uni student and had a place to my own. It was there that I put different Transformers (and other toy lines) in different rooms. e.g. BW in the lounge room, G1 in one bedroom, G2 in the bathroom etc. Then I moved back home, although my parents gave me a spare room which was converted into my study and thus I split my collection up between that room and my old bedroom and thus reverted back more towards how I'd displayed my toys as a kid.

By the 2000s I'd moved out of home and was renting, initially with flatmates/housemates, then later on my own. The size and style of display varied depending on where I was living, but just as an example here's what my room looked like in 2005:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers%20Collection%202005/collection01.jpg
I tried to sort them out with some semblance of order, but honestly ended up just shoving toys wherever I could fit them. :rolleyes:

It was when my wife and I first moved into our first place together that I had a fully dedicated Transformers room. I decided that this room would be for nothing but Transformers, with all other collectibles being displayed in the garage. This is when I started displaying my Transformers in the way that I display them now - by series and faction.

It started off looking like this just after moving in in 2007...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers%20Collection%202007/collection00a.jpghttp://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers%20Collection%202007/collection00b.jpg
...to looking like this when we moved out a year ago...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Collection%202016/collection2016_zpsls7q1yw3.jpg

['07Camaro]

How did you display your Transformers as a child and how does it differ from the way that you display your Transformers now?

I first started displaying my Transformers in 1985. As a kid I sorted my Transformers according to faction, so Autobots on one side and Decepticons on the other, then by "teams" or sub-groups. So Autobot Cars, Mini-Vehicles, Jets, Cassettes, Dinobots, Insecticons etc. And it didn't matter what year the toy came from, they were all lumped together by sub-group. e.g. Autobot Cars from 1984-88 were all lumped together; for 1987-88, the Targetmasters and Powermasters were classified as "Cars" to me. Similarly for the Decepticon Jets. All Pretenders were lumped together too, so the 1988 large Pretenders, the 1989 small Pretenders, Classic Pretenders, Pretender Monsters etc. - all lumped together. I continued doing this all the way through the 80s and early 90s.

By the mid-90s I was rapidly running out of space in my childhood bedroom, and so I started abandoning the idea of sorting my toys out so methodically for display. I basically just shoved toys wherever I could fit them. Space was a premium and I just didn't have the luxury to be choosy... but I refused to put them in storage, but looking back it was a real mess. Here's what 1/3 of my collection looked like at the time:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/collection%201998/collection_1998B.jpg

There was a very brief period when I moved out of home as a uni student and had a place to my own. It was there that I put different Transformers (and other toy lines) in different rooms. e.g. BW in the lounge room, G1 in one bedroom, G2 in the bathroom etc. Then I moved back home, although my parents gave me a spare room which was converted into my study and thus I split my collection up between that room and my old bedroom and thus reverted back more towards how I'd displayed my toys as a kid.

By the 2000s I'd moved out of home and was renting, initially with flatmates/housemates, then later on my own. The size and style of display varied depending on where I was living, but just as an example here's what my room looked like in 2005:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers%20Collection%202005/collection01.jpg
I tried to sort them out with some semblance of order, but honestly ended up just shoving toys wherever I could fit them. :rolleyes:

It was when my wife and I first moved into our first place together that I had a fully dedicated Transformers room. I decided that this room would be for nothing but Transformers, with all other collectibles being displayed in the garage. This is when I started displaying my Transformers in the way that I display them now - by series and faction.

It started off looking like this just after moving in in 2007...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers%20Collection%202007/collection00a.jpghttp://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers%20Collection%202007/collection00b.jpg
...to looking like this when we moved out a year ago...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Collection%202016/collection2016_zpsls7q1yw3.jpg


Holy cow, that looks beautiful :eek:

Considering that I didn't have too much transformers when I first started collecting, My shelves were pretty much bare. I, too, displayed my transformers by faction; however, I mostly collected Autobots so there was an uneven ratio.

It wasn't untill 2014 where my shelf was full. I started to display them by toy line rather than faction. Leader classes were at the back, voyagers were in front and the deluxes were scattered everywhere. It was a similar formation to that of a class school photo, where you have the tall people in the back and so on. After that, I moved most of my collection where they are displayed in my wardrobe. Takara and Masterpiece figures are kinda mixed in with my Gundams to make up a Japanese robots section. The figures that I cherish the most are used as deskbots. Oh how I love deskbots.

In terms of the changes made, they were quite significant from 2007 to the present day. Now that I have more figures, my room begins to have more character and personality to it.

[Paulbot]

32 years of buying TFs and I still have no real desire to have my TFs on display. Maybe it will click on one day.

But still, I started cataloging my collection on the weekend (using Jaydisc's http://iTFDb.com ) and found I have 91 TFs around my house that I can see without opening a cupboard door or opening a storage tab; so I guess I have some "on display" but a good 30 or more are still MISB.

[GoktimusPrime]

32 years of buying TFs and I still have no real desire to have my TFs on display. Maybe it will click on one day.
The primary purpose of having my TFs on display is to make it easy for me to access a specific toy when I want to play with it or whatever. By 1985 I decided that I didn't want to rummage through a toy box to find a specific toy. And often when I play with my toys, I don't always just stick to the one series of toys - I will often blend toys from across different series/lines.

e.g. Photocomic: Vaccination PSA (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=24060)
As you can see here, I've used toys from G1, BW, MW, CHUGUR, Energon/Super Link, KISS Play, MP, FoC, AoE, PCC & TFP. This was a relatively quick photocomic that I made by just randomly cherry-picking figures off different shelves, posing them then snapping photos with my phone before workin' my MS Paint Magic on 'em. :p And packing the toys up was relatively easy too, just put them back on their home shelves.

And there are plenty of times when I'll mix and match toys from different series during my play campaigns.
This campaign (http://otca.com.au/boards/showpost.php?p=489556&postcount=18) started off using RiD toys but I eventually threw in TFP toys. Or this play (http://otca.com.au/boards/showpost.php?p=462689&postcount=16) was meant to be all within the CHUGURverse, but as I needed a generic Autobot medic, I went and plucked Cybertron Red Alert. Or this play (http://otca.com.au/boards/showpost.php?p=554163&postcount=19) where I've used five different Optimi from five different series, as well as Generations Whirl and FoC Megatron. Zeta Prime was added in post-production*. ;) So yeah, the main reason why I display my TFs instead of having them in boxes is really because having them in boxes would be a major hassle as I would have to go and bloody rummage for individual toys. :eek:

'07Camaro: just as a tip, you can reduce the size of photobucket images in people's posts by simply adding th_ in front of the file name. This will prevent your reply and the thread from being unnecessarily clogged by repeated full sized images. :)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/forums_thumbnailpost_zpsdeff8862.jpg

-------------------------------------------------------
*I just had to imagine him. :p

[UltraMarginal]

32 years of buying TFs and I still have no real desire to have my TFs on display. Maybe it will click on one day.

But still, I started cataloging my collection on the weekend (using Jaydisc's http://iTFDb.com ) and found I have 91 TFs around my house that I can see without opening a cupboard door or opening a storage tab; so I guess I have some "on display" but a good 30 or more are still MISB.

That is pretty awesome, not a display as such, more of a living artwork:)

Before we moved into the new house, I can't actually recall how I stored my transformers. In the new house (ie we moved in at the start of 1997 about a week before I left to go to uni) I put it all on shelves. see the video linked from the thread linked in my signature. :D

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

I was looking through some of the old character bios/stats on tfu.info the other day, and damn...Weirdwolf has some freaking high stats (http://www.tfu.info/1987/Decepticon/Weirdwolf/weirdwolf.htm).

Strength: 8
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 9
Endurance: 8
Rank: 9
Courage: 9
Firepower: 7
Skill: 7

That's better than Ultra Magnus, Soundwave, and literally the same as Cyclonus. Pretty hardcore for a guy who's largely been portrayed in fiction as either a bog-standard mook and/or comic relief.

[SuspectimusPrime]

I was looking through some of the old character bios/stats on tfu.info the other day, and damn...Weirdwolf has some freaking high stats (http://www.tfu.info/1987/Decepticon/Weirdwolf/weirdwolf.htm).

Intelligence: 8


Guess that high intelligence explains why he speaks like Yoda.. "Destroy the Autobots I shall. Tear them to scrap metal I will."

[philby]

I'm sure it's been talked about before but i didn't realise this kinda stuff was coming

Hasbro Generations 8-step Jetfire??? (http://chimungmung.com/product_info.php?products_id=3527&osCsid=n54llsfou04lj2hsdh46t9sg74)

http://chimungmung.com/images/TB2xNj2hRNkpuFjy0FaXXbRCVXa_!!545151963.jpg_600x60 0.jpg

[GoktimusPrime]

I'm sure it's been talked about before but i didn't realise this kinda stuff was coming

<external.hotlinks.removed>
News thread is here (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=24090). :)

[philby]

Ah whoops thanks :)

[davieanix]

Nearly 10 years ago I paid 400 big ones for MP-05 from a little anime store in Melbourne CBD.

Today, I transformed it for the first time.

Super impressed with the result, and didn't have too much difficulty except for the forearms and shoulders not aligning properly.

But I totally love the alt mode and will probably keep him displayed like this now, seeing as the new Megs is out.

[GoktimusPrime]

And the transformation procrastination award goes to... :p :p :p

Holy cow, dude. I can't even last 10 minutes without wanting to open a new toy. 10 years?! :eek:

[davieanix]

Haha well he was in storage for a while, and in all honesty, after paying that much I just didn't want to risk breaking him!

Also, I have never transformed MP-09 or DOTM Leader Sentinel Prime =p

[GoktimusPrime]

Get off your computer and go play with your toys!

"Then go!"
- Bodhi Rook (Rogue One)

['07Camaro]

'07Camaro: just as a tip, you can reduce the size of photobucket images in people's posts by simply adding th_ in front of the file name. This will prevent your reply and the thread from being unnecessarily clogged by repeated full sized images. :)

Sorry for the late reply, but thank you for the tip :)

[BigTransformerTrev]

Today my son picked his own clothes and decided to go the 'Multiverse Optimus' route:

G1 Optimus t-shirt
TFPrime Optimus shorts
Movie Optimus undies

It was pretty cute :D

[GoktimusPrime]

This is what I loved about the original Wreckers. They were a hodgepodge team assembled from different sub-groups just lumped together. Triple Changers, Deluxe Autobots, Jumpstarters, Inferno etc. - cos that's how people play with their toys (or in Trev's son's case, assembles his wardrobe ;)). You don't usually give a hoot about what line or whatever it's from. Today I had a quick play with my Cybertron Shortround and RiD Stormshot - two very different continuities, but hey... why not? :)

Of course in 1986 G1 was the only series around, but in the context of that year simply throwing in all these seemingly random characters together was reminiscent of toy play. It's different from seeing exclusive teams like the Dinobots, Aerialbots, Constructicons etc. - they're all part of the same set and if they're working together, okay that's cool, but just lacks the eclecticism of a random team. The TFP Wreckers felt like this too - Wheeljack, Bulkhead & Ultra Magnus* - all very different characters thrown together. Dark of the Moon's Wreckers kinda lost that flavour to me since they were all pretty much the same (i.e. brash Auto-Bogans who transform into Nascars). It felt more like the Wreckers were an exclusive special team instead of being a hodgepodge team. Still... I must admit that part of me is glad that the Wreckers made it into the live action movies at all, considering that when Michael Bay came to the Sydney premiere in 2007, I and some other fans started repeatedly shouting, "WRECK AND RULE!" as he walked towards us. Might be all a coincidence (probably is), but hey. :p

-------------------------------------------------
*although technically Ultra Magnus wasn't a Wrecker, he was merely their commanding officer - just like in G1! :D I loved how Beast Hunters paid homage to G1 Ultra Magnus' relationship w/ the G1 Wreckers like that. :)

[DELTAprime]

I know we can level a bunch of criticism at Hasbro for the quality of their paint jobs, but their yellow paint really annoys me. Hasbro never seems to be able to match their yellow paint to yellow plastic and often looks watered down.

[GoktimusPrime]

^Totally agree. And Hasbro often go with really bright hurt-your-eyes yellow too. I own both Armada Hot Shot and Micron Legend Hot Rod and the difference between the yellows is quite remarkable. I own Henkei Sunstreaker and I have handled Universe Sunstreaker IRL and yeah, the richer cadmium yellow on the Henkei toy is SO much better than the mismatching tones of canary yellow on Universe Sunstreaker. Same with the Hasbro and TakaraTOMY versions of 2007 Movie Old Camaro Bumblebee (not to mention Hasbro's poorly applied battle damage and lack of clear plastic on the windows).

I don't know what it is with Hasbro and yellow paints, but yeah... they're not great with it. The yellows on my LG Weirdwolf also look much nicer than the yellows on my TR Wolfwire, but then again, LG Weirdwolf costs nearly double the price of TR Wolfwire, so I can't really hold that against Wolfwire. :o But the other toys I mentioned were of comparable RRPs.

[FatalityPitt]

I've been looking at pictures of LG-45 and 46. Man, I'd love to own a couple of those Targetmaster / Arms Micron figures (or something like them). I'm a big fan of accessorizing my deluxes and voyagers. But alas, the after-market prices on eBay for individual Arms Microns are atrociously high.

There's the RiD minicons, but I feel the look is a bit too cartoonish to go well with my Generations figures.

I hope Power of the Primes give us something similar.

[griffin]

I've seen a lot of stores around me shelfwarming the 2nd wave of Voyagers (Alpha Trion & Astrotrain), preventing wave 3 and 4 from showing up, but apparently Canada is even worse... so I guess I should be happy it isn't as bad as the store photo in this posting (https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/25-50-off-transformers-at-toys-r-us-canada-for-10-days/37743/).

[Paulbot]

A random thought/speculation/prediction: The new movie deluxes don't look too bad, and the recolours of the AOE ones a remove, but when they hit toy shelves for $35-$40 people are going to go nuts.

[griffin]

I didn't realise that the Sydney, Darling Harbour IMAX theatre closed last August (to be demolished and replaced with a new one for 2019)... as I was looking forward to seeing TF5 there this year.

When I read that people saw the TF5 preview footage at the Moore Park cinemas, I was curious as to when they built an IMAX theatre there... and now I see that Hoyts have built three regular sized IMAX theatres in Australia (http://www.hoyts.com.au/cinemas/experiences/imax.aspx) (one in each at Melbourne, Sydney and Perth), to add to the two large ones (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IMAX_venues) in Melbourne (museum) and Sydney (Darling Harbour).

Now to see which IMAX theatres will be showing TF5 this June... and if it screens at the big one in Melbourne, I might have to fly down there again (I saw the first one in Melbourne, and the other three in Sydney... and I need to keep the tradition going of seeing them once in IMAX).

[DELTAprime]

I was just thinking while there is nothing majorly wrong with the CW/UW Sky Lynx mould he really could have been massively improved on if he was a larger size, maybe a Supreme.

[griffin]

Wrong allegiance boxes for Titans Return toys...

Tober mentioned this to me a few months back (Broadside being in a Decepticon box), but now that I've seen it for myself, it is more prolific than what he led me to believe.

Today at ToysRUs, I saw that the Astrotrain and Optimus Voyager toys were in the wrong allegiances boxes. The boxes are correct, with the right names and images... they just have the wrong allegiance on the top and side of the box... and at the moment it just seems to only be with the Voyager class (Optimus, Astrotrain and Broadside).
Has anyone seen any others like this?

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/d492.jpg
.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/d501.jpg

(Broadside photo by Tober)


Maybe the wrong allegiances are due to the boxes sharing a template with their redecos (Astrotrain/Sentinel, Optimus/Octone) and the person who was doing the boxes forgot to "copy and paste" the other allegiances on them. But if that is the reason, it would suggest that there is (or was) a redeco of Broadside for regular retail who was a Decepticon.
We know about Tidalwave, but since it is in a box set, was it originally planned to be a regular release toy and it had packaging done up, or... is there another Decepticon redeco of Broadside to come. And if so, who could it be?

[griffin]

How do you manage to steal a Leader Class Starscream... complete with the plastic inner tray it is strapped to?

At Target Garden City today I found the crown for GEN CW Leader Starscream sitting on the shelf between some toys, and I thought it was odd that it was left behind, when it would normally be the accessories that are pinched.
Looking around, I found at the back on the bottom shelf, the inner cardboard tray, but no plastic tray, no toy, and no box.
Someone has managed to steal the toy, but left the crown behind... and the empty box and plastic tray must have been found by a staffmember and removed (leaving the cardboard tray behind because it was hidden at the back).

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/d493.jpg

[GoktimusPrime]

Happy Jazz Day (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Jazz_Day)!
https://image.ibb.co/hnti1Q/jazzday.jpg

[DELTAprime]

Wrong allegiance boxes for Titans Return toys...

Tober mentioned this to me a few months back (Broadside being in a Decepticon box), but now that I've seen it for myself, it is more prolific than what he led me to believe.

Today at ToysRUs, I saw that the Astrotrain and Optimus Voyager toys were in the wrong allegiances boxes. The boxes are correct, with the right names and images... they just have the wrong allegiance on the top and side of the box... and at the moment it just seems to only be with the Voyager class (Optimus, Astrotrain and Broadside).
Has anyone seen any others like this?

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/d492.jpg
.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/d501.jpg

(Broadside photo by Tober)


Maybe the wrong allegiances are due to the boxes sharing a template with their redecos (Astrotrain/Sentinel, Optimus/Octone) and the person who was doing the boxes forgot to "copy and paste" the other allegiances on them. But if that is the reason, it would suggest that there is (or was) a redeco of Broadside for regular retail who was a Decepticon.
We know about Tidalwave, but since it is in a box set, was it originally planned to be a regular release toy and it had packaging done up, or... is there another Decepticon redeco of Broadside to come. And if so, who could it be?

Just wait for someone to think they are errors and put them on Ebay for millions.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Star-Wars-Rogue-One-Captain-Cassian-Andor-EADU-Figure-ERROR-on-Darth-Vader-Card-/332034548726?hash=item4d4ecd23f6:g:ONQAAOSwHMJYLKW a&rmvSB=true

[FatalityPitt]

Just wait for someone to think they are errors and put them on Ebay for millions.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Star-Wars-Rogue-One-Captain-Cassian-Andor-EADU-Figure-ERROR-on-Darth-Vader-Card-/332034548726?hash=item4d4ecd23f6:g:ONQAAOSwHMJYLKW a&rmvSB=true

<sneer>

What's amazing about that eBay listing is that there's now 342 people watching.

[GoktimusPrime]

Happy Star Wars Transformers Day. ;)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/starwars_TF_boba_zps7coeqzgi.jpg

[Dimi194]

Wrong allegiance boxes for Titans Return toys...

Tober mentioned this to me a few months back (Broadside being in a Decepticon box), but now that I've seen it for myself, it is more prolific than what he led me to believe.

Today at ToysRUs, I saw that the Astrotrain and Optimus Voyager toys were in the wrong allegiances boxes. The boxes are correct, with the right names and images... they just have the wrong allegiance on the top and side of the box... and at the moment it just seems to only be with the Voyager class (Optimus, Astrotrain and Broadside).
Has anyone seen any others like this?

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/d492.jpg
.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/d501.jpg

(Broadside photo by Tober)


Maybe the wrong allegiances are due to the boxes sharing a template with their redecos (Astrotrain/Sentinel, Optimus/Octone) and the person who was doing the boxes forgot to "copy and paste" the other allegiances on them. But if that is the reason, it would suggest that there is (or was) a redeco of Broadside for regular retail who was a Decepticon.
We know about Tidalwave, but since it is in a box set, was it originally planned to be a regular release toy and it had packaging done up, or... is there another Decepticon redeco of Broadside to come. And if so, who could it be?

From what I noticed of the TR stuff, all the voyagers from W 1+2 had autobot logos on the box, so I assumed it just just them giving the decepticions a go for the next few waves?

[Sinnertwin]

From what I noticed of the TR stuff, all the voyagers from W 1+2 had autobot logos on the box, so I assumed it just just them giving the decepticions a go for the next few waves?

Yep, as Dimi said, they're just starting to mix it up now.
Combiner Wars Leader Class Megatron, Starscream and Skywarp, Voyagers Onslaught, Motormaster, Çyclonus all have Autobot symbols on their boxes. Titans Return Galvatron & Soundwave? They're both Autobots too.

[CaminusPrime]

I think the box faction symbols are based on year of release. Everything last year had autobot symbols, everything Ive seen as 2017 wave has had deception symbols. Kinda just wish it represented the character, would be more appropriate

[Borgeman]

Just wait for someone to think they are errors and put them on Ebay for millions.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Star-Wars-Rogue-One-Captain-Cassian-Andor-EADU-Figure-ERROR-on-Darth-Vader-Card-/332034548726?hash=item4d4ecd23f6:g:ONQAAOSwHMJYLKW a&rmvSB=true

The best bit about it is that it says "experienced seller" underneath the BIN price

[Megatran]

Just wait for someone to think they are errors and put them on Ebay for millions.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Star-Wars-Rogue-One-Captain-Cassian-Andor-EADU-Figure-ERROR-on-Darth-Vader-Card-/332034548726?hash=item4d4ecd23f6:g:ONQAAOSwHMJYLKW a&rmvSB=true
"May not ship to Australia" :(
:p



<sneer>

What's amazing about that eBay listing is that there's now 342 people watching.
Make that 349 & counting.

[DELTAprime]

"May not ship to Australia" :(
:p


Well darn, I guess I'll have to find a different error Star Wars toy to spend my millions on when I win the lotto.:p

[GoktimusPrime]

How did you all observe Star Wars TF day today? I took my AT-AT TF with me to work and in the evening had a game of SWM with my daughter (I lost :p). But anyway, fiddling around with the AT-AT TF today made me again ponder about just how huge this Transformer would be, especially in robot mode. So... I made this to show how it would scale next to Optimus Prime and Darth Vader IRL. ;)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/ATAT_scale_zpsaxa5x5rj.jpg

[Sinnertwin]

I took a walk down to Toys R Us, looked at the cardboard 40th anniversary stand, went down the aisle, looked at the 2 figures they had on the pegs, did an ubercool heel turn and walked right back out.

[SuspectimusPrime]

I built a minifig of my partner in the Imperial Ground Crew uniform. Gave her a red lightsaber and the Darksaber. Named her Darth Mrs. Suspectimus. Then I set her up on the coffee table Force-choking rebels/resistance fighters, killing Plo Koon and beating young Obi-Wan to the edge of the table. This entertained me.

[GoktimusPrime]

All too often we walk into stores looking for new TF toys only to find nothing new on shelves. Do you guys think that it might be a good idea to post about our non-finds on our respective states' sightings threads just to save other people from wasting their time in looking at those stores? Cos physical store hunting can be a serious waste of time (and transportation cost) and I think that it might be beneficial if we gave each other heads ups about where to not bother looking.

I've done this a few times on the NSW Sightings thread but not sure if I should continue or not. Good idea or not?

[griffin]

All too often we walk into stores looking for new TF toys only to find nothing new on shelves. Do you guys think that it might be a good idea to post about our non-finds on our respective states' sightings threads just to save other people from wasting their time in looking at those stores? Cos physical store hunting can be a serious waste of time (and transportation cost) and I think that it might be beneficial if we gave each other heads ups about where to not bother looking.

I've done this a few times on the NSW Sightings thread but not sure if I should continue or not. Good idea or not?

People do mention when they don't find something new all the time. It's just more exciting to post up about something new, so there is less interest in logging in just to say that they didn't find anything.

But we won't be encouraging or requiring people to post up non-sightings either, as it is just something that people should want to do, rather than feel obligated to do (like regular sightings).
(if we get too many non-sightings, it has bugged people in the past who are looking out for new items)

[griffin]

May the 8th is our unofficial Transformers day, being the anniversary of the first time the world was exposed to Transformers back in 1984 (the comic was out first before the cartoon and toys)... and I completely forgot.
I remembered on Friday, and then today (9th)... completely forgetting it on the 8th... and now it is too late to post up something as "news" or on the facebook page. :(

Star Wars fans have May 4th as their annual celebration day (which is now embraced by official businesses for media and general publicity)... so it would be nice if Hasbro made May 8th an annual celebration day for Transformers.
It's just a shame it is so close to the Star Wars day though, as it would divide the attention of Hasbro and the Media during that week.

[Megatran]

Meh. Doesn't have the same jingle as 'May the 4th be with you' for Star Wars.