Transformers questions by newbies, and not-so-newbies [Archive] - Page 11 - Ozformers Transformers Club of Australia (otca.com.au)

GoktimusPrime

1st April 2010, 07:56 PM

or is this another one of those RIBFIR questions??
Not really. More like Sideswipe/Sunstreaker.

From tfwiki:
"This is one of several items that have led to the fan speculation that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's coloration and bio text were swapped around before their final release (another being that, in his bio, Sunstreaker feels that Sideswipe's car-mode lines are ruined by his rear-mounted engine, when in fact Sunstreaker is the one with said engine.) This change would also explain Sunstreaker's otherwise inexplicable red shoulders/car panel decals, which were originally used to cover up the black plastic on the red Diaclone version. "
...and...
"Sideswipe's (G1 Transformers Universe) bio text describes features of Sunstreaker's toy, leading many to believe Sideswipe's original toy was supposed to be created from Sunstreaker's mold and vice-versa, with the colors swapped between the molds. The Diaclone Sunstreaker toy was available in red and police versions, but not yellow (hence the red shoulder stickers on an otherwise yellow car). The mold used for Sideswipe, on the other hand, was released in Diaclone in police, yellow and red decos."

References
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Sunstreaker_%28G1%29#Trivia
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Sideswipe_%28G1%29#Notes

Oilspill

1st April 2010, 08:47 PM

OK, I just got the Terrorcons. Any official purpose to Cutthroat's articulation where the robot legs can fold back on a slight angle?

I looked up the instructions and the alt mode has them un-bent, but I'm guessing the alt mode is what this joint is for, not for any limb mode or anything else.

Also, Blot's 'backpack' has a peg to attach his robot gun. It also has a heap of holes in it. Are they there for any purpose? Like combining with all the other terrorcon's guns or something? I don't have any weapons yet so can't quite tell.

Autocon

2nd April 2010, 12:53 AM

any difference between hasbro white demo and tt demo?

bruticus

2nd April 2010, 12:10 PM

Hursticon

2nd April 2010, 12:24 PM

Something comes across a really sketchy with this, I reckon it's just a plea so that he looks good. I've never come across a seller in 4-5 years worth of using eBay who has ever mentioned or even hinted at this sort of thing, besides eBay can't limit how much a seller sells as it would limit consumer choice and a host of other rights. If eBay is threatening to take this person down then you can bet it is for something other than his rating.

Sky Shadow

2nd April 2010, 12:38 PM

bruticus

2nd April 2010, 12:44 PM

christalcase

2nd April 2010, 01:37 PM

any difference between hasbro white demo and tt demo?

basically hasbro's one has demolisher's tread painted brown and some brown dirt on his arms, and some diff red paint deco on his excavator sides

here's da links to their pics:
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Image:ROTF_Voyager_SA_Demolishor_1.jpg
(takaratomy)

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Image:TRUShanghaiShowdownDemolishor.jpg
(hasbro)

rampagesss

2nd April 2010, 03:13 PM

Can anyone help me wit this question.
I bought a Grand Maximus Jr a while ago and on his chest he has a sticker with two red arrows.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t152/Rampage_017/100_1397.jpg

But looking at tfwiki the picture on there and other picture i have found of him they all show him with a Autobot logo
http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/7/75/Grandmax_jr.jpg

The other stickers look the same, but could this be a KO or just the wrong stickers?
As i am not sure also for anyone with a Fortress Maximus Jr is there any stamp date or information on him anywhere

Oilspill

2nd April 2010, 10:37 PM

yep, my thoughts too, but then i still cant see any real reason why he needs to chase 5 star rating??

I thought most sellers were after 5 stars for some reason these days. I vaguely had the impression that ebay takes a smaller cut for 5 star sellers, but I'm not sure.

sonofyoda always annoys me anyway due to his ridiculous shipping charges.

GoktimusPrime

2nd April 2010, 10:47 PM

Can anyone help me wit this question.
I bought a Grand Maximus Jr a while ago and on his chest he has a sticker with two red arrows.

But looking at tfwiki the picture on there and other picture i have found of him they all show him with a Autobot logo
Those TFwiki pics of Grand Max Jr. were pinched from this site (http://www.vega.or.jp/~butto/tftcollejr-14.htm) and it doesn't look like TFwiki gives any credit or follow up link. :( Anyway, if you follow that link you can see bigger pics of Grand Max Jr.

The other stickers look the same, but could this be a KO or just the wrong stickers?
I have no idea what that chest sticker w/ the arrows is. Also, the forearm stickers on yours look different too - the "guns" are yellow instead of red like in the photo.

I don't know if it means it's a variant or KO or something else. :confused:

As i am not sure also for anyone with a Fortress Maximus Jr is there any stamp date or information on him anywhere

The copyright stamp is beneath the right foot and reads:
(C) TAKARA CO.,LTD.
1988
MADE IN JAPAN
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/fortmaxjr_copyright.jpg

Hope that helps.

heroic_decepticon

4th April 2010, 05:01 PM

I'd give him five stars for bull$#!*. I can't imagine that eBay would really remove sellers who make them money just for having four stars. Particularly since most of the time they won't even remove scammers and shill bidders.

On that note, I'm contemplating buying a few items from this same seller, Sonofayoda, and he told me that shipping is US$50 (express) for 1 figure and $5 per extra figure.

The figures I had in mind were TM Blurr, Ruckus and a minibot (no boxes, no cardbacks, just the figures). Surely it cannot cost US$60 to ship these tiny stuff?

Autocon

4th April 2010, 06:19 PM

i found stickers in my demo + icecream 2 pack!!! no suck my popcicle sadly :(

5FDP

4th April 2010, 06:49 PM

On that note, I'm contemplating buying a few items from this same seller, Sonofayoda, and he told me that shipping is US$50 (express) for 1 figure and $5 per extra figure.

That is over the top. I have never paid that much for shipping from the US. Maybe it's EMS he is referring to and not express. Ask him (if you are really keen on what he is selling) if there are cheaper alternatives.

Geminii

4th April 2010, 09:33 PM

I thought most sellers were after 5 stars for some reason these days. I vaguely had the impression that ebay takes a smaller cut for 5 star sellers, but I'm not sure.

Not to mention that if anything dodgy is going to go down in future, then a multiple-5-star rating will mean it will take longer for one-star ratings to have an effect.

heroic_decepticon

4th April 2010, 11:17 PM

That is over the top. I have never paid that much for shipping from the US. Maybe it's EMS he is referring to and not express. Ask him (if you are really keen on what he is selling) if there are cheaper alternatives.

he said something like if I paid by cash or money order, he could ship it cheaper, but if I pay by Paypal, then its the price he quoted above. He will not use any alternative or more economic means of shipping.

I think I might just pass and wait. These days, I much prefer to get stuff from the UK. The sellers are generally much nice and more interested and they do have good stuff.

GoktimusPrime

5th April 2010, 10:29 PM

I had the following question asked to me in PM, but I thought I'd share it here since it doesn't really contain anything private/personal - and maybe other people can help shed some light on it. I've witheld the identity of the person who PMed the questions to me, and I'll leave it up to him/her to reveal themselves publicly or not. :)

I am just wondering something about the Robot Heaven scene in TF:ROTF ...:confused:

Is it possible it wasn't a Robot Heaven and instead ...
the meeting of the "Primes" and "Sam" took place inside the Matrix of Leadership like ("if i remembered correctly from the G1 Cartoon" ) when "Optimus Prime" talks to "Alpha Trion"????

Sam communicates with the Primes in a vision. Whether this vision is occurring in his mind, or in some extra-dimensional plane of existence isn't really specified in the film and left open to interpretation from the audience.

The Transformers' equivalent of "Heaven" (although it's more like the Cosmic Mother Node from Dharmic religions) would be the AllSpark (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Allspark); which is linked with the Matrix (the terms have sometimes been interchangeably used).

Is this the official explanation of what it was?? :confused:

AFAIK the "official" explanation is just what we see in the movie. And what we see is Sam communicating to the Primes in some kind of vision. At the end of this vision the Matrix of Leadership rematerialised in Sam's hand. Those are the facts.

Exactly what the vision was and "where" it occurred is open to interpretive conjecture. My estimation would be that either the Primes communicated with Sam's mind, as you said before it's similar to how Optimus Prime had visions from Alpha Trion's Spark in the G1 cartoon. Another theory could be that Sam's spirit had travelled to the AllSpark realm (the extra-dimensional plane of existence from where all Transformer Sparks originate from and return; essentially a Transformers afterlife or "heaven" if you want to call it that)[1] and communicated with the Sparks of the Primes there.

As for how Sam was able to interface with the AllSpark and establish contact with the ancient Primes, I'm not aware of any explicit official explanation, but my guess is that Sam was essentially the holder of the Matrix (albeit in particle form in a sock - but it was on his person!), and as such the ancient Primes reached out to him and made contact with him -- arguably even using the power of the Matrix to revive him (the army medics didn't seem to be having much success despite their efforts).

-----------------------------------------
[1] Beast Machines definitively established the nature of the Transformers' afterlife (re: AllSpark realm).

GoktimusPrime

6th April 2010, 09:17 AM

Wasn't the knowledge of the Allspark "if not part of it" Transferred to Sams brain which could of given "Sam" or the "Primes" the ability to comunicate with each other...
etc... the bit that was known to be transferred from the "AllSpark" to Sam's brain had something to do with the Primes, hiding the "Matrix" which could of of formed some kind of link for them to communicate with each other.
It's possible that:
1. Sam touched the AllSpark fragment, thus becoming its vessel.
2. Perhaps as the vessel (and according to one of the Primes, it was pre-ordained destiny, which makes him the Chosen One (http://www.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/students/2009/09ejwoda/images/kung_pow.jpg)), he then interfaced with the Matrix upon clinical death (in a sense temporarily becoming one with the Matrix).

Your theory is possible - but I don't know if there's been any official canon (or even statement from Paramount or Hasbro, which I'd accept as official) that clarifies this. So until an official explanation is provided, fans can have fun inventing theories. :)

G1Optimal

6th April 2010, 01:37 PM

Thanks GoktimusPrime's :)

Just trying figure out Where and Why this scene is taking place. As this is the only thing that is bugging me "if not most" about ROTF..:confused:

I wish they had the "Primes" at least say to Sam that "What you are seeing, is what remains of us" or something like that. :(

Gutsman Heavy

6th April 2010, 01:59 PM

I wish they had the "Primes" at least say to Sam that "What you are seeing, is what remains of us" or something like that. :(

just be glad they didn't teabag Sam, although that would make the film better IMO :D

G1Optimal

6th April 2010, 04:38 PM

just be glad they didn't teabag Sam, although that would make the film better IMO :D

I didn't think of that....lol:D

GoktimusPrime

6th April 2010, 07:06 PM

DUDE I JUST ATE DINNER!! (o_O)

klystron

7th April 2010, 09:51 PM

GoktimusPrime

8th April 2010, 09:31 AM

Methinks the reissue is made in China. Also iirc there's a slight difference in shade with the turqoise - but I'm not sure about that. :/

heroic_decepticon

8th April 2010, 09:40 AM

Hmmm... but by 1987, the year which Sixshot was released, most TFs were either made in China, Hong Kong or Macau (with the exception of some very small portion of Takara released on Japan TFs). So I wouldn't be suprised that even the G1 Sixshot was made in one of those places.

GoktimusPrime

8th April 2010, 12:51 PM

Looking at my G1 Sixshot the stampage says:
(C) HASBRO .1986
(C) TAKARA CO.,LTD.
1986

It doesn't say which country it's manufactured in but has this rectangle with rounded sides after the last 1986. But perhaps mine is a variant stampage?

I compared my original G1 Sixshot with someone else's reissue 8 years ago... and iirc there was a very slight difference in the shade of turqoise - I believe the reissue is slightly more blue whereas the original is a bit greener. It's _very_ slight though (much like the colour difference between Takara and Hasbro Magmatron, or possibly Takara and Hasbro Overlord). I stared at both toys for aaaages and I still wasn't sure if there really was a difference in shade or if my eyes were just playing tricks on me after staring too hard. :p

P.S.: These links may help:
G1 Sixshot (http://www.tfu.info/1987/Decepticon/Sixshot/sixshot.htm)
reissue Sixshot (http://snakas.web.infoseek.co.jp/hukoku/6s.htm)

klystron

8th April 2010, 03:02 PM

Looking at my G1 Sixshot the stampage says:
(C) HASBRO .1986
(C) TAKARA CO.,LTD.
1986

It doesn't say which country it's manufactured in but has this rectangle with rounded sides after the last 1986. But perhaps mine is a variant stampage?

I found some website while I was researching this issue that mentioned that Chinese reissues had the country of manufacture covered by rectangles.
Quite a few G1 figures were reissued in waves over there and this was the way to tell them from original G1 or Hasbro/Takara reissues.
My Springer and Sandstorm are both Chinese reissues (*sigh*).
I'll see if I can track down that website here at work for you...

klystron

8th April 2010, 03:10 PM

Here it is:

http://highendtfs.com/?q=node/15

Gok, I'm guessing that your Sixshot stamping ressembles that of the lower pic in "Section B - Toy Differences" (about half way down). My Springer is like the top left Seaspray pic, but my Sixshot is like the top right pic in that section.

Does anyone have both G1 and Reissue Sixshot? If so, could you compare the stampings for me please?

bruticus

8th April 2010, 05:40 PM

How can I tell if my Sixshot is G1 or Reissue? What, if any, are the differences between the two.
I only have the figure itself (no box or paperwork). The copyright stamp on the wing-base reads: HASBRO. 1988 TAKARA CO. LTD. 1988 Japan
I couldn't really find much on the interwebs, so I thought I'd ask the brains trust here...
Cheers guys.

LOL....just in case you were wondering, blackie asked the same question before, right here from post 1660 onwards (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=377&highlight=sixshot&page=42)

i have 5 original sixshots and 1 reissue. originals say "Japan", reissue version says "China"

Chinese reissue version has a slight shade of blue on the wings.

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

on another topic, i have 2 transformers Overlords. 1 Made in japan bought from japan. 1 made in Thailand bought from Europe.
since i have not seen a transformer toy produced from Thailand before, can someone with a European hasbro (not japanese takara) Overlord please check for me what their stamp says?

i know rampagesss has a euro overlord...maybe he can help? :p

bruticus

8th April 2010, 05:50 PM

i have some constructicons in legitimate looking card backing, with rubsigns and manufacture stamps, but the country has been blacked out and the plastic looks like a much newer kind of plastic which made me question its authenticity.

I found some website while I was researching this issue that mentioned that Chinese reissues had the country of manufacture covered by rectangles.

did you read the above info from highendtfs.com or are there other sources saying the same thing??

fingers crossed that my set are an official chinese reissue. :(

klystron

8th April 2010, 06:37 PM

LOL....just in case you were wondering, blackie asked the same question before,

Ahh, thanks for that. All seems a bit familiar...
So that means mine should be a G1. I honestly didnt expect it to be. Has VERY tight joints so I figured it was a reissue. Makes me feel better about how much I paid for him!

did you read the above info from highendtfs.com or are there other sources saying the same thing??

Yeah, I must admit that was the only place I did read that. There may other sources since I was only looking for info on direct comparison of legit reissue 6shot vs G1 6shot, not anything specific on chinese variants etc.

i have 5 original sixshots and 1 reissue. originals say "Japan", reissue version says "China"

Bruticus - I cannot believe that you have 6 Sixshots!!!!! May I ask why? Is it just so you can display one in each mode? :D
How many Quickswitch figures do you have?

loophole

8th April 2010, 10:03 PM

are there any transformer with wagon as there alt mode?? and are there any other hot rod figure on that size range other then the illuminators?

bruticus

8th April 2010, 11:28 PM

Bruticus - I cannot believe that you have 6 Sixshots!!!!! May I ask why?
Is it just so you can display one in each mode? :D
yep. thats my aim. one day i hope to do it for all my figures. but i have a long long while to go...:p

How many Quickswitch figures do you have?
only 1 so far. the poor b*stard gets pummeled by the 6 sixshots!

liegeprime

9th April 2010, 10:23 AM

only 1 so far. the poor b*stard gets pummeled by the 6 sixshots!

Bullies x 6 man that's gonna hurt

Skullcruncher

9th April 2010, 11:54 AM

i have some constructicons in legitimate looking card backing, with rubsigns and manufacture stamps, but the country has been blacked out and the plastic looks like a much newer kind of plastic which made me question its authenticity.

did you read the above info from highendtfs.com or are there other sources saying the same thing??

fingers crossed that my set are an official chinese reissue. :(

How recently did you get them? Are they packaged? The factory applied stickers would also give a clue.

Lost of people dont realise all the classic g1 reissues - those ones in the dirty brown boxes/cards have their countrys covered as well.

Nearly all the springers that have been on ebay in the last year have been classics.....

bruticus

9th April 2010, 04:11 PM

How recently did you get them? Are they packaged? The factory applied stickers would also give a clue.
I bought them mint, loose, complete on cardbacking recently but they belonged to someone else for quite a while now. the card backing looks proper with numbers on the sides but that doesnt mean that someone has not taken a KO and put it in an original backing card. hopefully its a "classics" chinese reissue. I'm gonna keep them anyways but it would be good to know for sure.

Lost of people dont realise all the classic g1 reissues - those ones in the dirty brown boxes/cards have their countrys covered as well.

Nearly all the springers that have been on ebay in the last year have been classics.....
Interesting... I must check my springers later.

---------------
on another topic, i have 2 transformers Overlords. 1 Made in japan bought from japan. 1 made in Thailand bought from Europe.
since i have not seen a transformer toy produced from Thailand before, can someone with a European hasbro (not japanese takara) Overlord please check for me what their stamp says?

i know rampagesss has a euro overlord...maybe he can help? :p

thanks to rampagesss for confirming that his MIB Euro Hasbro Overlord says:
C 1988 HASBRO INC.
C TAKARA 1988
THAILAND

which is the same as my one. im so relieved!!! :D

klystron

9th April 2010, 10:57 PM

man, all this stuff about G1/G1classic/KO/reissue/country of manufacture/country of issue/packaging details/card numbers/real/fake/etc is enough to do your head in.

Some people probably think TF collecting is dull...

:D

SamLoi888

11th April 2010, 10:11 AM

How do I join the Ozformers Club?

Sky Shadow

11th April 2010, 10:43 AM

How do I join the Ozformers Club?

If I recall correctly, you have to go through a series of initiation rituals and hazing. It begins with being blindfolded and tied up on the ground while being rammed and trampled by Sky Lynxes, Trypticons and Omega Supremes. And it culminates in a tattoo of the Ozformers logo on your backside.

(I've heard that another option may be just being an active Transfan on the forum for a while and seeing if something happens. But I don't know if that's true.)

liegeprime

11th April 2010, 11:57 AM

If I recall correctly, you have to go through a series of initiation rituals and hazing. It begins with being blindfolded and tied up on the ground while being rammed and trampled by Sky Lynxes, Trypticons and Omega Supremes. And it culminates in a tattoo of the Ozformers logo on your backside.

You forgot the taking six Sixshots ( in six different alt modes) up the butt part Skyshadow.

Sam the next bit in SS reply is prolly the more accurate ( more or less) answer to your query:p;):D remeber the great OZ sees all!! Mwahahahahaha!

Sky Shadow

11th April 2010, 12:07 PM

You forgot the taking six Sixshots ( in six different alt modes) up the butt part Skyshadow.

:eek:

Ouch. And ew. That doesn't sound like an experience that anyone could forget, Liege. Unless their subconscious repressed the experience. And it seems like it might result in an awful lot of unwanted Sixshots.

Skullcruncher

15th April 2010, 09:24 AM

Do the G2 Devestators - yellow and orange both have purple fists/guns?

Ive got a spare blue gun but not sure if its Knock Off or what!?! :confused:

dirge

15th April 2010, 10:40 AM

Do the G2 Devestators - yellow and orange both have purple fists/guns?

Ive got a spare blue gun but not sure if its Knock Off or what!?! :confused:

Yeah they both share the same shade of bright purple.

liegeprime

15th April 2010, 10:45 AM

:eek:

Ouch. And ew. That doesn't sound like an experience that anyone could forget, Liege. Unless their subconscious repressed the experience. And it seems like it might result in an awful lot of unwanted Sixshots.

Seen a lot of Sixshots posted in Acquisition threads lately :rolleyes:;)??.... now you know why heheheh

Skullcruncher

15th April 2010, 01:34 PM

Yeah they both share the same shade of bright purple.

Great thanks - must have picked up a KO gun somewhere along the line

Autocon

18th April 2010, 02:45 AM

just found out spitors head pops out! is this is tongue weapon? lol

swoop

18th April 2010, 08:14 AM

Yep

GoktimusPrime

18th April 2010, 09:31 PM

just found out spitors head pops out! is this is tongue weapon? lol
TFwiki is your friend (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Spittor_%28BW%29#Beast_Wars) :)

Also, there's an archive for TF instructions here (http://tfwiki.net/~fortmax/instructions/index.html).

Some other links you may find useful:
BW instructions (http://tfwiki.net/~fortmax/instructions/BW/bw_instructions.html)
Spittor's instructions (http://tfwiki.net/~fortmax/instructions/BW/spittor97.jpg)

canofwhoopass_87

19th April 2010, 03:43 PM

Ok I got g1 skywarp today; he's complete minus one tail rudder. I've got another set of spares (left and right tail rudder) in my bag of spares but when I try these on to my newly acquired skywarp, they don't fit. They're loose in the sockets and the mold looks different.

This is the piece I'm referring to

http://www.transformerland.com/show_parent_g12.php?action=full_size&toyid=351

Any ideas?

[edit] on closer inspection the insert tabs on the pair look to be shorter than the one that came with skywarp

Sky Shadow

19th April 2010, 03:59 PM

The problem with piecing together a complete Seeker from parts is that the variety of variations back in the 80s plus the multiple reissues over the past decade means often the parts aren't compatible. Whoop - the specific problem you're having is documented here:

http://reocities.com/futuristgroup/vjet.html#tailfins

Ok I got g1 skywarp today; he's complete minus one tail rudder. I've got another set of spares (left and right tail rudder) in my bag of spares but when I try these on to my newly acquired skywarp, they don't fit. They're loose in the sockets and the mold looks different.

This is the piece I'm referring to

http://www.transformerland.com/show_parent_g12.php?action=full_size&toyid=351

Any ideas?

[edit] on closer inspection the insert tabs on the pair look to be shorter than the one that came with skywarp

canofwhoopass_87

19th April 2010, 04:13 PM

awww man. This is gona be a pain. Thanks for the help ss, appreciate it

canofwhoopass_87

19th April 2010, 05:30 PM

Another followup question - I've got two G1 Red alert guns. One is a deep red and the other is lighter looking. Have I got a reissue here?

GoktimusPrime

19th April 2010, 06:48 PM

?More pronounced photodegradation on the lighter looking gun?

dirge

19th April 2010, 09:08 PM

What Gok said, although most likely the other way around. The darker one is likely "yellowed".

canofwhoopass_87

20th April 2010, 12:34 AM

ooo an interesting theory. However the darker shaded red alert gun also comes with 3 missiles and the sprue, all of which are also a darker red as well. The colour shading looks uniform and doesn't appear to be "yellowed". Looks cool though. Think I'll keep em :)

Thanks for the help fellas

snaketales

22nd April 2010, 08:26 PM

Why are Powermasters called Godmasters in Masterforce? Is it just a translation thing? What does "god" mean in Japanese?

And another Masterforce question... why is Buster referred to as "he" in the subtitles but is plainly drawn (to me) as a woman (See below, image from TFwiki)?

http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/thumb/c/c3/Hydra_and_buster_human.jpg/225px-Hydra_and_buster_human.jpg

GoktimusPrime

22nd April 2010, 09:58 PM

Toywise Godmasters and Powermasters are the same (other than some variations with some figures - but the gimmick is the same). But in terms of fiction, the two concepts are entirely different.

Powermasters

The Powermaster Transformers were already sentient robots before they became binary bonded, or in Optimus Prime's case his consciousness was stored in a floppy disk (but otherwise sentient). The Powermaster process allows a binary bonded Nebulan partner to transform into a Transformer's engine and allows them to survive toxic Nebulan fuel and also allows them to convert almost anything into a source of fuel for Transformers (thus the Powermasters are not solely reliant on refined fuel or Energon).

It appears that Nebulan bonding (Powermaster, Headmaster, Targetmaster) has the potential side effect of having the minds of the Nebulan and his Cybertronian partner eventually merging into one - as seen with Hi-Q and Optimus Prime, as well as Lord Zarak and Scorponok.

Godmaster
The Japanese word for "God" (神) means god, but it also encompasses a wider meaning which includes anything of a divine or spiritual nature.　For example the word 神風 (kamikaze) can be translated as "God wind" or "divine wind." Remember that traditional Japanese spiritual beliefs (e.g. Shinto) are fundamentally animistic. Just watch Spirited Away and look at things like:
+ The various small shrines on the road to the tunnel.
+ The many different kinds of Gods who frequent the bathhouse - each one representing a different element of nature. e.g.: the 'stink god' turned out to be an ancient River God whose river had been heavily polluted by human activity. The character Haku is also a River God whose river had been destroyed by damming and construction (hence why he was unable to leave the spirit world and return to the real world with Chihiro at the end of the movie - he is the spirit of a dead river and there's nothing for him to return to).

The Transtectors are initially not sentient beings when we first see them - and they're essentially piloted by their human/Godmaster partners. They are powered by Choukon Power (Super Spirit Power) which manifests as Earth, Man and Heaven, which are the three core aspects of life in many East Asian religions (as can be seen in stories like Monkey (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCfa5cyBxmM) ;)) -- basically, it's like the Force in Star Wars... a mystical energy source that comes from living things and grants special users certain powers. :)

why is Buster referred to as "he" in the subtitles but is plainly drawn (to me) as a woman
Having long hair and an effeminate face doesn't mean that he's a woman. He is what's called a Bishounen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bish%C5%8Dnen).

snaketales

23rd April 2010, 10:37 AM

Having long hair and an effeminate face doesn't mean that he's a woman. He is what's called a Bishounen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bish%C5%8Dnen).

Thanks Gok!

and now I know... and knowing is half the battle!

Oops wrong franchise :p

5FDP

23rd April 2010, 10:48 AM

Thanks Gok!

and now I know... and knowing is half the battle!

Oops wrong franchise :p

Not really. That phrase was also used in the Transformers G1 public service announcements (http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Public_service_announcement). They're on the bonus features of the G1 boxset (season 4).

bruticus

23rd April 2010, 04:07 PM

just saw this auction from an ebay seller called sonofayoda:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Transformers-G1-OMEGA-SUPREME-Sealed-MISB-AFA-80_W0QQitemZ110512024886QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_Defa ultDomain_0?hash=item19bb07ad36

there is a comment in the text that reads:

"...Please leave 5 star feedback, PLEASE READ!!!!!. Ebay considers a 4 star rating BAD, as of April they are threatening to remove me and other dealers that sell vintage items. Or severely limiting the amount of items we can sell. If you like my auctions please leave me 5 stars! Ebay has threaten to remove me and other dealers as of APRIL. PLEASE NOTE EBAY CONSIDERS 4 STARS A BAD SCORE! Support the dealers that you buy from and give them 5 stars. I will send anyone a copy of the email that ebay has sent if you want. I have over 3500 positives and only 4 negatives and they still are unhappy with it. Thanks for your time..."

is that possible? can ebay really shut down a seller or limit their items being sold based on the Detailed Seller Ratings (DSR's) even though the feedback is very positive??

If it is just a fake plea, what is the real incentive for trying to achieve perfect 5 star DSR's?

In case anyone else was wondering, the above appears to be real as other sellers are asking the same thing:

from a non TF powerseller:
"...I would appreciate it if you could take into consideration when leaving your
DSR's (Detailed Seller Ratings - Stars) that although ebay say that leaving
4* means you are happy with your purchase in actual fact it means that you
are DISSATISFIED!! Ebay are now penalising sellers by putting their listings
lower in the search results if their DSR's are under 4.6!! This means that
even though you and I would consider 4* as satisfactory ebay dont and considers
anything under 5* as UNDER PERFORMING!!! As of January they are penalising
us even more! i would be very grateful if you would consider this when marking
the stars, as this directly affects our ability to offer the lowest prcies
on ebay..."

DarkHyren

23rd April 2010, 07:35 PM

Ebay are now penalising sellers by putting their listings lower in the search results if their DSR's are under 4.6!!Good thing I normally search by "price, lowest first" then, so my searches are completely unaffected :D
It is a pretty silly system eBay are using, but I won't give someone a 5 out of 5 if their service was only adequate.
Does leaving no stars at all affect their star rating?

Autocon

24th April 2010, 02:00 AM

bw bonecrusher instructions? yes im having trouble transforming him:o

GoktimusPrime

24th April 2010, 08:34 AM

Please re-read my previous reply to you (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showpost.php?p=162685&postcount=2548).

Skullcruncher

25th April 2010, 10:05 PM

Most likely been asked before but....

Can hot or cold air temperatures affect chrome particulary on G1's?

Thanks

5FDP

25th April 2010, 10:49 PM

Most likely been asked before but....

Can hot or cold air temperatures affect chrome particulary on G1's?

Thanks

In short, the answer is 'yes'.

Have a read of this article regarding Plastic Degradation due to UV light (http://reocities.com/futuristgroup/tfadvice4.html). While it does not specifically mention chrome, the same rules apply.

Autocon

28th April 2010, 02:55 PM

odd shaped boxes. ill be selling me bws next week ;) and looking for boxes to carter for any large quantities or odd shaped boxes

any ideas?

snaketales

29th April 2010, 03:59 PM

I know they originate from different countries, but could Overlord be considered as a Duocon?

From TFwiki:

The Duocons, Battletrap and Flywheels, are unique in that their robot modes are formed from the combination of two separate vehicles that have no other transformation.

Overlord is formed from two individual vehicles, a tank and a jet, which combine together to form his colossal robot mode

Granted Overlord is amped up more than the traditional Duocons, but the same principle seems to apply.

SharkyMcShark

29th April 2010, 05:14 PM

I think its just one of those things no one talks about or acknowledges.

Like how in Beast Wars no one said "Hey Tigerhawk you've got a bit of Fuzor action going on there".

GoktimusPrime

29th April 2010, 08:15 PM

Duocon is a specific sub-group rather than a default descriptor for _any_ robot formed from multiple alt modes. Cos if that were the case, a _lot_ of Transformers would be classified as Triple Changers that were never officially classified as such!

Speaking of Fuzors... when Magmatron first came out in Japan, in my toy review I described the combined dino mode as a "Tri-dino Fuzor" -- even though Takara never used this term for this toy. A year later when Hasbro released their version of Magmatron, sure enough the last line of his tech specs reads: "recombines into an unstoppable tri-dinosaur Fuzor." :D That was the second time Hasbro quoted me in a toy's tech specs (the other time was in the tech specs of Tripredacus Agent).

Yeah, those were my 15 seconds of anonymous fame. :p

griffin

30th April 2010, 01:32 AM

Duocon could still be used as a reference term, describing a toy that has a similar concept to the two 'official' Duocons. They never had any story developed behind the Duocon concept in the comics or JP cartoon (they didn't appear in the US cartoon), so wouldn't it be interesting if the concept was an early experimental phase for combiner technology, or something else that Overlord was involved in and perfected for himself and a couple other Decepticons?

(just had a look at the tfwiki duocon article (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Duocon), and looks like Dreamwave did have the Duocon concept used as an early experiment for the Shockwave's Triplechanger project)

I think there is a slight difference with Overlord though, because he transforms to a base as well as a jet and tank, so really, he is more a triplechanger than a duocon.

Bartrim

30th April 2010, 08:04 AM

I think there is a slight difference with Overlord though, because he transforms to a base as well as a jet and tank, so really, he is more a triplechanger than a duocon.

Maybe he's a triple changing Duocon:eek:

Watch the ebay prices rise even higher as sellers use that to describe him:p

SamLoi888

1st May 2010, 02:06 PM

Is ROTF Bludgeon teh most annoying Transformer to transform? No matter what I do I can't get the legs right.

Sky Shadow

1st May 2010, 02:22 PM

Is ROTF Bludgeon teh most annoying Transformer to transform?

Hmm... I don't know. Try transforming Alternators/Binaltech Grimlock into car mode, then come back and tell me if Bludgeon is more annoying. :)

gamblor916

1st May 2010, 02:37 PM

Hmm... I don't know. Try transforming Alternators/Binaltech Grimlock into car mode, then come back and tell me if Bludgeon is more annoying. :)

I've transformed (with intense study of the instructions) both my BT Grimlock and Wheeljack once into bot mode, and it looks like they will stay that way.

heroic_decepticon

1st May 2010, 05:34 PM

Is ROTF Bludgeon teh most annoying Transformer to transform? No matter what I do I can't get the legs right.

No.

I think ROTF Bludgeon is such a pleasure to transform, especially when compare to other movie toys (from 2007 line cos i don't have any from the 2009 movie).

Hmm... I don't know. Try transforming Alternators/Binaltech Grimlock into car mode, then come back and tell me if Bludgeon is more annoying. :)

agreed dude. the arms and head portion of the transformation just does my head in.

GoktimusPrime

1st May 2010, 05:49 PM

ROTF Bludgeon is easy enoguh... Masterpiece Megatron; now there's a frustrating transformation! And yeah, +1 w/ BT Grimmie and Wheeljack being darn annoying. I also find Big Convoy pretty irksome too.

heroic_decepticon

1st May 2010, 06:35 PM

Masterpiece Megatron; now there's a frustrating transformation!

Agree with that.

My issue to MP Megatron is that some parts which look so deceptively like they were made of metal, either because of texture or chrome, is actually plastic and if the part/s were 'worked' on and transformed on the assumption they are metal, there is a high risk of breakage.

1AZRAEL1

1st May 2010, 06:40 PM

griffin

1st May 2010, 07:18 PM

Can I get a couple of photos of Barrage with his stickers applied? The ones I find on the net don't help much and the instruction booklet is next to useless. I just want to apply mine with as much accuracy as possible.

I did a search for a Barrage gallery online and TFUK(on the moon) had the only decent one... except it had pics of Chopshop (http://www.transformertoys.co.uk/content.php?/transformers-toys/toy-gallery/65/Generation+1/Barrage.html) instead. :rolleyes:
I looked for their Chopshop gallery, and found Barrage (http://www.transformertoys.co.uk/content.php?/transformers-toys/toy-gallery/66/Generation+1/Chopshop.html)pics for you.

Was that the Barrage you were wanting pics of?

heroic_decepticon

1st May 2010, 07:36 PM

Can I get a couple of photos of Barrage with his stickers applied? The ones I find on the net don't help much and the instruction booklet is next to useless. I just want to apply mine with as much accuracy as possible.

Have some photos of Barrage here (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2009/11/deluxe-insecticons-barrage-chop-shop.html).

I find that with the '84 and '85 TFs, the models on the boxes are usually the best reference when it comes to the stickers. I took a few shots of the relevant parts of the box. Let me know if it helps. I could pull my Barrage out of the box (and bubble) to take more shots for you.

http://inlinethumb16.webshots.com/47695/2193850060100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2193850060100811158kqcgxC)

http://inlinethumb14.webshots.com/44813/2160365020100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2160365020100811158sdSgdm) http://inlinethumb30.webshots.com/28765/2202549150100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2202549150100811158Csgyrp)

Hursticon

1st May 2010, 07:42 PM

Geez, I wonder who the Energon Insecticon was modeled off? :p

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Image:Toy-EnergonInsecticon01.jpg

1AZRAEL1

1st May 2010, 07:45 PM

Thanks heaps guys, doesn't look like the box art fully matches up spot on, but I will attempt to do it the best I can.

1AZRAEL1

2nd May 2010, 07:50 PM

I have a Topspin jumpstarter with a red face. Is he a Mexican version? I noticed there is a picture of Twintwist with a read face on Fred's Variants (http://reocities.com/futuristgroup/vjump.html) and wasn't sure if mine was as well. I'm pretty sure, I just want to hear others opinions.

GoktimusPrime

2nd May 2010, 09:16 PM

According to the variations page, they're fakes. Heeeyyy... I used to have that 1985 oversized one! I got it from Chinatown (at that age I didn't know what KOs were - I just thought it was some other Asian transforming robot toy*) -- as the page says, they didn't even "jumpstart" -- just a manual transformation.

1AZRAEL1

2nd May 2010, 09:37 PM

There is the usual stamp on the back in the usual spot, and the stickers are old and look legit. Don't think it is a KO.

I know the oversized jumpstarter you are talking about, I actually have one of them as well lol.

Skullcruncher

3rd May 2010, 11:44 AM

Does the voice actor signing a MOSC or MISB item add much value to a G1 item.... anyone know how/if these can be verified?

5FDP

3rd May 2010, 12:05 PM

Does the voice actor signing a MOSC or MISB item add much value to a G1 item.... anyone know how/if these can be verified?

It doesn't because to a true MISB / MOSC collector, this is defacing the packaging.

There have been plenty of these sold on Ebay and the final price is on par with those that have no autograph.

The only way to verify a legit autograph is with a certificate of authenticity from a reputable and well known source.

griffin

3rd May 2010, 01:08 PM

People who are into autographs, would be willing to pay more, but auctions probably don't go high because it isn't a huge market (and so many toys have been signed over the last dozen years of various conventions, the concept has probably flooded the market by now).

If I were into Autographs, I would also make sure it has some sort of proof, as anyone could do a scribble on an Optimus Prime box and claim it is a Peter Cullen autograph. Most are fairly messy with their marker-pen signings, and wouldn't be too tough to replicate with another marker pen.

For someone who doesn't like autographs, I wouldn't even buy something signed, as it does deface the packaging/toy for me.

GoktimusPrime

3rd May 2010, 05:02 PM

Yeah, I only get autographs for the pure novelty - and I wouldn't pay a premium for it. And I only get them autographed if I meet the person... feels like cheating if I buy it off someone else who got the autograph.

The only toys I've had autographed were:
+ Chewbacca (signed by Peter Mayhew)
+ Artoo-Detoo (signed by Kenny Baker, I gave that toy away as a bday present to my brother who's a massive Star Wars fan :))
+ Animated comic book (signed by Eric Siebenaler)
+ Animated Oil Slick (signed by Eric Siebenaler)
+ "Goktimus Primal" (custom Transformers/Dragonball toy - signed by Sean Schemmel and Chris Sabat)

...these were all personalities that I'd met in person, and yeah, purely done for the novelty not cause I think they'll increase the cost of the item. Except for Goktimus Primal which has increased 10000 times in value since being signed. Cos ya know, 10000 x 0 = ... ;)

heroic_decepticon

3rd May 2010, 08:21 PM

It doesn't because to a true MISB / MOSC collector, this is defacing the packaging.

I'd agree with that. Autographs on books or graphic novels on the other hand is quite a different concept to me though. But like Gok, I'd only want an autographed item if I met the person face-to-face.

rampagesss

13th May 2010, 06:02 PM

Hursticon

13th May 2010, 06:46 PM

Just wondering how are transformers made? Are there a team of sculptors who have to sculpt every little part by hand, or are they done via some sort of CAD computer program and then cut out by machines?

I don�t know and have always wondered

I seem to remember seeing a video somewhere, an interview maybe, where they showed the designers constructing 'virtual' parts and then producing via a laser-mold-cutter-thingy to produce prototypes of which are used to see what areas of the figure need altering or modifying of which they go and make the changes in the CAD program, produce the revised mold for further testing and once they're happy with the design they produce a casting mold of the final design for mass production.

I could be wrong though so don't hold me to this. :p

GoktimusPrime

13th May 2010, 09:18 PM

Generally and basically speaking, it works like this:

+ Hasbro creates the concept, deciding on things like character, alt mode and draws up concept sketches.
+ Concepts are sent to TakaraTOMY who then engineer them into toys. Hasbro and TakaraTOMY communicate back and forth until Hasbro is satisfied with TakaraTOMY's designs, then approve it for production.

Autocon

20th May 2010, 07:33 PM

recon ironhide - to buy or not to buy?

heroic_decepticon

20th May 2010, 07:45 PM

5FDP

20th May 2010, 08:09 PM

Got a question for the guys who have been watching for Black Zaraks. What's the ball park figure for MIB Black Zaraks on eBay in the past months? I know I saw a few, but I didn't take too much note of its price.

You're looking at about 2 grand HD. That's not taking into account if you buy one from Ebay with the Aussie $$$ the way it is.

heroic_decepticon

22nd May 2010, 12:43 PM

You're looking at about 2 grand HD. That's not taking into account if you buy one from Ebay with the Aussie $$$ the way it is.

yeah, the Aussie vs USD exchange rate is kind of crap lately. Do you mean USD$2000?

GoktimusPrime

22nd May 2010, 02:06 PM

Crap? I dunno... I think people have been a bit spoiled by the recent heights of the AUD. When you compare the sheer size/power of the US economy vs. the Australian economy, I'm personally happy whenever it's over 80USc (obviously the higher the better). On the plus side a decreasing AUD is good news for our exporters. :)

griffin

22nd May 2010, 06:41 PM

GoktimusPrime

22nd May 2010, 10:59 PM

Yeah, like 10 years ago (http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/stories/s195664.htm) -- and that was the year when Takara started doing their G1 reissues and Car Robot! Then a year later things got worse when the AUD hit an all-time low (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/apr2001/aust-a09.shtml)... and that was the year when we had more G1 reissues from Takara and Hasbro Australia didn't distribute Battle For The Spark (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beast_Machines_%28toyline%29#2001) (so that had to be imported too). :mad: :(

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/jaam_pain.gif

To make things worse, I bought the God Fire Convoy gift set even though I already had Super Fire Convoy and God Magnus, because I was promised a trade with someone in Canada for that set, plus a MISB MW Optimus Prime and box load of loose G1s for a loose-in-box complete Fortress Maximus. So getting that set cost me a pretty penny considering the crap exchange rate plus the fact I was still a student at the time -- I sent my package first to Canada and the other dude NEVER sent Fort Max to me. :mad: :( When I called his house his partner told me that he had ran out on her and the children and had taken Fort Max and all his possessions with him and left them in debt. *sigh*

kup

23rd May 2010, 01:55 AM

That is true - for those of us who were collecting/importing during the US50c era, these are still 'good times'. It's always annoying when it does a big plunge, especially just before a big purchase, but could easily be a lot worse.

Yeah but also keep in mind that after market prices for several G1 toys have increased considerably since then.

5FDP

23rd May 2010, 02:40 PM

Do you mean USD$2000?

Yep, US $$$. That is about the average I have seen most MIB ones go for.

heroic_decepticon

23rd May 2010, 05:27 PM

Yep, US $$$. That is about the average I have seen most MIB ones go for.

I've been offered one that is MIB with complete paperworks but a broken zarak figure for quite a bit below that amount. I didn't imagine that a Black Zarak costs that much, looks like I still have lots to learn...

(will update you guys further on how that develops)

Magnus

23rd May 2010, 10:08 PM

I currently have the original 2003 release of the '86 movie. Is it worth 'double-dipping' to get the 2007 2-disc special edition?

FFN

26th May 2010, 07:53 PM

the other dude NEVER sent Fort Max to me. :mad: :( When I called his house his partner told me that he had ran out on her and the children and had taken Fort Max and all his possessions with him and left them in debt. *sigh* That guy is a major, major douchebag for doing that to his family. I mean, toy selling fraud he caused you is one thing, but yeah... geez.

heroic_decepticon

26th May 2010, 08:15 PM

That guy is a major, major douchebag for doing that to his family. I mean, toy selling fraud he caused you is one thing, but yeah... geez.

I dunno, my first reaction was that he just cooked up some story with his partner (in crime)

GoktimusPrime

26th May 2010, 08:27 PM

In that case she gave me an Oscar winning performance over the phone then. (T_T)

SamLoi888

26th May 2010, 09:02 PM

I currently have the original 2003 release of the '86 movie. Is it worth 'double-dipping' to get the 2007 2-disc special edition?

Go Blu-ray.

kristofferrer

27th May 2010, 12:46 AM

this is just trivial -

I've recently started watching the animated series (i know i'm years behind but the artwork just put me off at first) and i must say im enjoying it a lot! the plot is brilliant and so is the script!

i noticed they pay tribute to the G1s... so here's my question
in Transformers Animated episode 13 (headmasters) ... there's a scene where the Detective is listening to a music inside his bumblebee look-a-like car. Does anyone know if the music he's playing on his car radio has any bearing to anything from the past?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhQEy-7QBcw&NR=1
7:20 onwards

kup

27th May 2010, 09:45 PM

I dunno, my first reaction was that he just cooked up some story with his partner (in crime)

That's what I thought too when I read it. It's too melodramatic and convenient.

kristofferrer

28th May 2010, 12:15 AM

must be me just trying to relate it to some G1 episode or something.

thanks for posts people. ;)

SilverDragon

29th May 2010, 11:04 AM

It seems to me that BM Striker's tail/flower thing should be able to be locked in the open position, judging from the stock photos and a video review which did so.

I'd experiment, but that would mean risking grievous damage to Striker for a third time. How does it lock open?

dirge

29th May 2010, 11:18 AM

Basically you pull the trigger back (gently, but firmly) until it locks into place.

You can grab my junker sometime if you want to try on it's damaged tail (:

SilverDragon

29th May 2010, 05:06 PM

Well, that worked. Now he's being the most unconvincing flower ever.

GoktimusPrime

29th May 2010, 11:40 PM

Hey, it's Beast Machines -- you never know how those technorganic flowers on Cybertron might look! :p Okay... it's a repaint of a Beast Wars Neo toy, and let's face it... Big Convoy's Maximals were hardly Mensa material (least of all Stampy). :D

Lint

2nd June 2010, 04:35 PM

Who is the shortest G1 transformer toy? (excluding micromasters, target/headmasters, decoys, actionmasters or actionmaster accessory and anything else not deemed a 'regular' TF)

GoktimusPrime

2nd June 2010, 08:37 PM

Raindance's robot mode is 2cm tall. If you can call that a robot mode. :p If you're looking at humanoid robot modes then either Slog or the Mini-spies would be among the tiniest non-Micromaster G1 TFs.

Seraphim Prime

2nd June 2010, 09:15 PM

must be me just trying to relate it to some G1 episode or something.

thanks for posts people. ;)

To answer your question, I didn't hear anything in the music that was familiar from an old G1 episode. It seemed more like generic danger/chase music, with an 80's flair.

liegeprime

9th June 2010, 09:18 AM

BigPenney

9th June 2010, 09:35 AM

Can anybody identify which TF this sticker sheet belongs to please? Im quite befuddled , Ive been looking at my G1s and still can't reconcile who it belongs to.

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb313/liegeprime/scan0008.jpg

According to this (http://www.transformerland.com/transformers-sticker-sheets.html) They belong to Pretenders Snarler (http://www.tfu.info/1988/Decepticon/Snarler/snarler.htm)

liegeprime

9th June 2010, 10:29 AM

Oh thanks! Ill go try it out now, no wonder I cant pin it to any figure - its a pretender's , inner bot at that.:D:D

ComicGuy89

9th June 2010, 11:07 AM

1AZRAEL1

9th June 2010, 11:16 AM

Well I haven't been to toyworld in a while, but from what I can tell, the new generations figures were being sold for $29.99, Big W have them for $25.99 I think. Bit of a saving. Can't judge on other stuff because I haven't been interested in much else.

griffin

9th June 2010, 11:21 AM

Hi guys, I'm new to collecting in Australia, so I'm curious as to how much cheaper figures released at mass retail (which take a longer time than places like Toyworld, I've observed), are compared to those released at Toyworld?

So far the only ones I've observed are the Power Core Combiners and I was guessing that my Big W was having a fluke because the differences in price were crazy! Yet, the ROTF deluxes were only slightly cheaper. Thanks!

A new list will be done up as more store chains get the new stock, but this was a price comparison list for last year's Movie toys:
http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=4534

If you really want to keep track of the prices and availability of the new items, just take a little time to peruse the various sightings topics in the sightings section.

ComicGuy89

9th June 2010, 11:36 AM

Thank you very much. I've been looking into the WA sightings everyday, and it's really useful.

ITZTRU

10th June 2010, 05:01 PM

Ok. I haven't read any IDW comics so I've been meaning to ask a question about Drift. Why am I always reading so much smack about him? What is it about him that everyone dislikes?

Sky Shadow

10th June 2010, 05:50 PM

Ok. I haven't read any IDW comics so I've been meaning to ask a question about Drift. Why am I always reading so much smack about him? What is it about him that everyone dislikes?

Because he's an unnecessary, clich�d, Poochie-esque, former-Decepticon-come-kewl-taciturn-Autobot non-character with three swords, created by someone who doesn't know much or care about Transformers, who invented Drift for no discernibly valid reason and then inserted him into the IDW Transformers universe despite the fact that a real G1 Transformer like Star Saber or Carnivac could have fulfilled the same role, only better.

SharkyMcShark

10th June 2010, 05:59 PM

Ok. I haven't read any IDW comics so I've been meaning to ask a question about Drift. Why am I always reading so much smack about him? What is it about him that everyone dislikes?

He was a character created by Shane McCarthy, who wrote and drew All Hail Megatron (Spotlight: Blurr, Drift and Cliffjumper).

He's a former Decepticon (who was called Deadlock), who was notoriously brutal towards Autobots. At some point he decided to become a pacifist and joined the mysterious third faction that had nothing to do with the war. Then he made himself some pretty sweet swords and started going by the name of Drift, doing what he could to help out the Autobots anonymously without actually becoming one or having any contact with them (this is the gist of the upcoming Drift series - we know all this because he essentially says so in his Spotlight).

Then on one such mission he bumps into Kup rescuing a bunch of bots (his faux Wreckers crew he hung around with in AHM), helps Kup out, saves Perceptor's life, and Kup accepts him into his team.

Then he turned up at the beginning of issue 5 on Cybertron with the rest of the marooned characters (this was his first appearance chronologically, Spotlight: Drift was released after this). He hangs around Cybtertron, repels the Swam, and ostensibly goes to Earth on Omega Supreme to fight the Decepticons in New York (although I don't actually remember him being in any fight scenes on Earth before Thundercracker volunteers to dispose of the nuclear bomb). He tries to welcome TC to the Autobots but TC tells him to go do one.

Then we see him fleetingly in the first issue of the Ongoing just sort of standing around. Likewise in the Bumblebee mini.

To be honest the fan ire isn't entirely unwarranted although it is hilariously over the top at times (there's this one guy on TFW2005 that ABSOLUTELY hates Drift mainly because he wasn't suspected of being the traitor in AHM but his precious Mirage was) (or you could just look at the post above). It mainly has to be with him being a 'Mary Sue' - essentially a fan insertion character that could be from a hackneyed and cliched fanfic. And that is true to some extent - he always has this smug smirk on his face, he's never ever phased by anything, only uses swords, hangs around with the big bots in the Autobot hierarchy, overpontificiates, is generally a bad ass, etc. That and the attention and overexposure he was immediately given (got his own Spotlight a year after creation, his own toy, characters in AHM would ask where he was if he was ever off panel for a while).

I don't mind it so much really - creation of new characters is what drives the line forward - McCarthy justified his creation reasonably (he does something that no other character in the IDW verse offers - remember that Jetfire was never originally a Decepticon in IDW's G1 continuity). To be honest he could have done without instantly becoming a central character but otherwise I'm not really fussed personally. While Sky Shadow points out that there are other G1 characters who offer a similar themes, Carnivac was from the later lines in Transformers G1 and AHM had a preference for pre 1986 movie characters (Hot Rod and Kup being the exceptions there). Also Carnivac had already been shown to be a standard Decepticon grunt at this point (Stormbringer).

I suppose at this point I'll get accused of being Shane McCarthy like happens often on TFW2005 because of my screen name and location

Sky Shadow

10th June 2010, 06:12 PM

He was a character created by Shane McCarthy, who wrote and drew All Hail Megatron (Spotlight: Blurr, Drift and Cliffjumper).

He just wrote it, Sharky. But the rest of what you say is valid.

While Sky Shadow points out that there are other G1 characters who offer a similar themes, Carnivac was from the later lines in Transformers G1 and AHM had a preference for pre 1986 movie characters (Hot Rod and Kup being the exceptions there). Also Carnivac had already been shown to be a standard Decepticon grunt at this point (Stormbringer).

A Decepticon grunt who actually worked alongside the Wreckers at one point, though. Although yes, Carnivac would have required McCarthy to read beyond the end of the 1986 Transformers Universe.

I suppose at this point I'll get accused of being Shane McCarthy like happens often on TFW2005 because of my screen name and location

Is accusing people of being Shane McCarthy without real evidence the modern-day equivalent of McCarthysim? :p

SharkyMcShark

10th June 2010, 06:16 PM

He just wrote it, Sharky. But the rest of what you say is valid.

I'm so sure he was on drawing duty as well...

No, a quick reference to my comic drawer tells me that it was Guido.

Is accusing people of being Shane McCarthy without real evidence the modern-day equivalent of McCarthysim? :p

http://instantrimshot.com/ :D

heroic_decepticon

10th June 2010, 09:40 PM

Ok. I haven't read any IDW comics so I've been meaning to ask a question about Drift. Why am I always reading so much smack about him? What is it about him that everyone dislikes?

My thoughts are in this thread. (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showpost.php?p=159722&postcount=4)Saying anything more about Drift is just a waste of time, and cyberspace.

SharkyMcShark

10th June 2010, 09:48 PM

kup

10th June 2010, 09:50 PM

I am now tempted to do a video of Drift but following the 'Poochy' cartoon sequences we saw on the simpsons, including his departure :p

kup

10th June 2010, 09:51 PM

SharkyMcShark

10th June 2010, 10:07 PM

:( Why does this always happen to me

heroic_decepticon

10th June 2010, 10:16 PM

Perhaps you could reproduce them here seeing as not a lot of us have access to that part of the forum?

Although given that it's in your little G1 fapping forum I can gather what it's going to be anyway.

Sorry

Re Drift:
I don't see anyone sit up and complain when Furman introduces a new character. Why? Because Furman's creations are plot elements and/or are used to further the stories. It's not there because he wanted to lay claim to having introduced some groundbreaking new character, which in Shane's instance with Drift seems to be the case because, when looked at as a whole, creating a 'new' character then featuring it heavily in AHM and then even giving it its own Spotlight issue, all stinks of a some self-serving purpose. It's not that I don't like Drift but more that I think Drift is unnecessary.

I still cannot see the need to create a character like Drift when there are a plethora of existing G1 characters that will fulfil the function that Drift does - eg: Defcon? Hot Rod even?

It just leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

The fact that Drift is going to be a toy does little to validate his existence. Toy companies and their marketing people will take any chance and make any toy if they think its going to bring in the dollars.

kup

10th June 2010, 10:18 PM

:( Why does this always happen to me

Because you seem to be taking the AHM and Drift bashing very personally. Shane happens to take criticism of his work not so well and from what I hear, in a very similar manner as your previous post.

Heroic Decepticon has it spot on - It is not Drift the character people have a problem with but rather the way he was introduced into the franchise. IDW and McCarthy fell the need to shove him in the reader's faces as the coolest and most bad ass character ever at every chance they got hence the comparisons to Poochy the dog from the Simpsons which I am afraid is spot on. He even appeared in the Children's Robot Heroes story book!

He also adds nothing to the story rather than 'OMG look at how bad ass Drift is'.

Sky Shadow

10th June 2010, 10:26 PM

Ok. I haven't read any IDW comics so I've been meaning to ask a question about Drift. Why am I always reading so much smack about him? What is it about him that everyone dislikes?

Drift killed my parents.

5FDP

10th June 2010, 10:30 PM

hence the comparisons to Poochy the dog from the Simpsons which I am afraid is spot on.

LMAO... never heard that before. Great, now I have images of Drift and Poochy in some sort of weird Simpsons / Transformers spin-off :p

kup

10th June 2010, 10:42 PM

LMAO... never heard that before. Great, now I have images of Drift and Poochy in some sort of weird Simpsons / Transformers spin-off :p

You know, in IDW this actually happened:

Whenever Drift's not on panel, all the other characters should be asking "Where's Drift"?

:p

Also read the captions here (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Spotlight:_Drift)

SharkyMcShark

10th June 2010, 10:45 PM

Because you seem to be taking the AHM and Drift bashing very personally. Shane happens to take criticism of his work not so well and from what I hear, in a very similar manner as your previous post.

Heroic Decepticon has it spot on - It is not Drift the character people have a problem with but rather the way he was introduced into the franchise. IDW and McCarthy fell the need to shove him in the reader's faces as the coolest and most bad ass character ever at every chance they got hence the comparisons to Poochy the dog from the Simpsons which I am afraid its spot on. He even appeared in the Children's Robot Heroes story book!

He also adds nothing to the story rather than 'OMG look at how bad ass Drift is'.
Which I said in my original post.

To be honest this isn't just an AHM or Drift thing, I think as a fan base (I refer to the ones on forums, not more casual fans) we're generally far too insular (which is why I don't really like the idea of the G1 sanctuary forum thingo).

When new things come out they inevitably get compared to G1, and fair enough that's where this crazy ride all started. But then (as we've seen with the movies) that becomes arguments deriding the new material along the line of 'well G1 Optimus wouldn't have *insert whatever here*', 'In G1 Starscream had x attribute that Animated Starscream doesn't', and so on and so forth. Alternately look at the outcry when Beast Wars started (ironically it turned out to be regarded as generally the best Transformers TV series).

I generally am quite keen on new things being added to the Transformers franchise/experience. While I'm not advocating change just for the sake of change itself I'm more keen on something new that didn't go down so well (for example Beast Machines, or DonFigs new G1 artwork in the Ongoing, or McCarthy's hamfisted attempts at introducing a new character) than rehashing pre existing stuff in slightly new ways.

I suppose that really manifests itself as me being more eager to embrace new stuff. I'm not a G1 hater as it were but I'm not so attached to it that everything must related back to it, or every grievance I may have with whatever Transformers issue can be resolved by saying well if they stuck closer to G1 then everything would have been better.

kup

10th June 2010, 11:05 PM

Over the years the fandom has actually been welcoming of new characters. Beast Wars and Animated are big examples.

Fans have issues when the new character happens to be offensive to the audience in some form such as Wheelie (unnecessary 'kid appeal' character) or Drift (Forced 'Bad Ass' Gary Stu) both which contribution to the present story or franchise is negligible but are nevertheless given extensive screen/panel time for no justifiable reason other than to promote a self serving or misguided agenda.

SharkyMcShark

10th June 2010, 11:21 PM

Over the years the fandom has actually been welcoming of new characters. Beast Wars and Animated are big examples.

I'd dispute that heavily. Surely you remember the whole Trukk not Munky debacle? It's looked back on as a cracking TV show and top notch toyline (GPS issues aside) now, but there was an outcry at the time.

Fans have issues when the new character happens to be offensive to the audience in some form such as Wheelie (kid character) or Drift (Forced 'Bad Ass' Gary Stu) both which contribution to the present story or franchise is negligible but are nevertheless given extensive screen/panel time for no justifiable reason other than to promote an self serving or misguided agenda.

I'm not trying to argue that it wasn't done poorly (which again I said like two pages ago when this first started). From a literary standpoint it was quite nonsensical. I take issue with statements to the effect that something that already exists could have filled the gap that his character did because I don't like the idea that writers into the future of any Transformers comic run should stick to the finite amount of things that are already in existence and firmly defined (which to be clear is not what I'm saying that you're arguing). My defence of Drift really stems mostly from a points for trying perspective if I'm being honest. I'm not trying to claim that he's not hackneyed or turned into somewhat of an ego trip for McCarthy, but I appreciate it insomuch as it was a step in a different direction.

As an example of something new that was generally considered quite good, look at the new recruits for LSotW. Pyro's bio (his only previous characterisation) had him as a big damn hero, whereas in LSotW he was slightly inept at combat and had a rather creepy Optimus Prime fixation. Things that come off well like that (and the characterisation of the other recruits and Overlord in LSotW) spawned from taking something in a new direction more than make up for things that didn't come off so well.

kup

10th June 2010, 11:29 PM

I'd dispute that heavily. Surely you remember the whole Trukk not Munky debacle? It's looked back on as a cracking TV show and top notch toyline (GPS issues aside) now, but there was an outcry at the time.

The outcry was by a loud minority with one or two prominent members of the fan community back then who kicked up a stink. As I remember, Beast Wars had a pretty big positive response as a whole with far more people liking it than hated it. The people hating it was mainly because they couldn't get over the 'Beast' concept and some didn't even bother to watch a single episode - It wasn't really about accepting new characters but the concept itself they couldn't handle (despite already existing in G1 :rolleyes:).

Dinobot, a 'new' character introduced in BW is now running for the TF Hall of Fame so that has some significance.

Drift on the other hand is pretty much widely seen as an object of ridicule and aside from his new toy, he seems to have been left aside when McCarthy stopped writing the main series.

I'm not trying to argue that it wasn't done poorly (which again I said like two pages ago when this first started). From a literary standpoint it was quite nonsensical. I take issue with statements to the effect that something that already exists could have filled the gap that his character did because I don't like the idea that writers into the future of any Transformers comic run should stick to the finite amount of things that are already in existence and firmly defined (which to be clear is not what I'm saying that you're arguing). My defence of Drift really stems mostly from a points for trying perspective if I'm being honest. I'm not trying to claim that he's not hackneyed or turned into somewhat of an ego trip for McCarthy, but I appreciate it insomuch as it was a step in a different direction.

As an example of something new that was generally considered quite good, look at the new recruits for LSotW. Pyro's bio (his only previous characterisation) had him as a big damn hero, whereas in LSotW he was slightly inept at combat and had a rather creepy Optimus Prime fixation. Things that come off well like that (and the characterisation of the other recruits and Overlord in LSotW) spawned from taking something in a new direction more than make up for things that didn't come off so well.

But that is exactly what Sky Shadow's point is. The Euro G1 characters were hugely underused with only a toy bio and a one page comic for background. Just like them there are dozens of other under used characters in G1 which could easily fit in such roles and bring something 'fresh' to the table without having to invent a whole new Transformer character.

Nick Roche could of of just had the new Wreckers be a bunch of made up characters (generibots) but instead he took the effort to pick toys that previously had very little characterization associated with them and developed them into characters that fans will now remember for a long time.

Although change can be positive, it can also be negative depending on the method and result. Drift was the wrong way to go from the start and I didn't find anything new or refreshing about him on the contrary.

The sad thing is, that if Drift had been handled correctly, he could of been kind of cool like the next Dinobot or Bludgeon but instead they made him into Poochie the dog.

SharkyMcShark

10th June 2010, 11:35 PM

I feel like you think I'm arguing that Drift is the best thing ever :confused:

kup

10th June 2010, 11:47 PM

I feel like you think I'm arguing that Drift is the best thing ever :confused:

No. I am mostly arguing your perception that 'any change is good' even if its a poorly thought out and self serving one (to the author) as Drift.

SharkyMcShark

10th June 2010, 11:51 PM

No. I am mostly arguing your perception that 'any change is good' even if its a poorly thought out and self serving one (to the author) as Drift.

'Any change is good' is hardly what I'm arguing.

I'm saying that personally I'm quite open for change and that I try to see the good side of it, even if the good side of it turns out to be 'points for trying + got a reasonably good toy'.

Which is distinct in my opinion from any change must inherently be good.

kup

10th June 2010, 11:57 PM

'Any change is good' is hardly what I'm arguing.

I'm saying that personally I'm quite open for change and that I try to see the good side of it, even if the good side of it turns out to be 'points for trying + got a reasonably good toy'.

Which is distinct in my opinion from any change must inherently be good.

Then that's good and from what I have seen, most of us are the same here when it comes to being open to change. We do have individual tastes but we are open when something new appears which we find appealing. Even if we have reservations, we do give the new show/comic series a go and adjust or cement the opinion accordingly.

Drift ended up with an excellent toy, no doubt about that so Kudos to the Takara Tomy designer but I can't give McCarthy points for trying when his ambitions were more self serving than progressive.

1orion2many

11th June 2010, 12:19 AM

:)Don't worry Sharky, I like drift. I have a dislike for Animated and Bayverse but believe they are still for the greater good of us collectors to keep the line moving in some sort of direction. Our first decent (Yes Decent) new character in a while and people bag the hell out of it. I don't believe I could do a better job of creating a new Character can anyone else? Was that the sound of silence, highly unlikely I'm sure someone here has something to say and off you go.

heroic_decepticon

11th June 2010, 12:19 AM

He even appeared in the Children's Robot Heroes story book!

oh yeah, and that. Was so unimpressed I must have shut that out of my memory.

But that is exactly what Sky Shadow's point is. The Euro G1 characters were hugely underused with only a toy bio and a one page comic for background. Just like them there are dozens of other under used characters in G1 which could easily fit in such roles and bring something 'fresh' to the table without having to invent a whole new Transformer character.

Nick Roche could of of just had the new Wreckers be a bunch of made up characters (generibots) but instead he took the effort to pick toys that previously had very little characterization associated with them and developed them into characters that fans will now remember for a long time.

Exactly. There are so many, literally hundreds of unused characters, why create a clich� new character instead of using them.

Then that's good and from what I have seen, most of us are the same here when it comes to being open to change. We do have individual tastes but we are open when something new appears which we find appealing. Even if we have reservations, we do give the new show/comic series a go and adjust or cement the opinion accordingly.

I agree with that. Many fans thought the Infiltration was terrible. I and no doubt many others still gave it a shot and if you ask me, infiltration was leagues better than the first half of AHM.

heroic_decepticon

11th June 2010, 12:38 AM

I don't believe I could do a better job of creating a new Character can anyone else? Was that the sound of silence, highly unlikely I'm sure someone here has something to say and off you go.

That is not a fair question to ask and that's just not how things go. Not being able to do something 'better' than someone else does not deprive one of the (for lack of a better word) freedom to talk about it or comment about it. If that were the case, commentators for things like football, tennis, F1 and the like would go the way of the dodo. I'm pretty sure tennis commentators can't 'do a better job' at tennis than Roger Federer, but they sure can talk about him. I'm sure we common people can't 'do a better job' at soccer better than Roberto Baggio, but we sure as hell can talk about him when he missed his penalty kick in the '94 World Cup and lost it for Italy...

Just because we may (and its a pretty big may) not be able to do a better job at creating a new character does not mean we cannot point out that a newly created character is lousy.

Anyway, its McCarthy's job to write and he blew it (judging from the general fan reaction); if I sucked at my job, I wouldn't begrudge people telling me I sucked, even if they can't do my job on their best day.

Golden Phoenix

11th June 2010, 12:58 AM

I don't think it matters if they made a new character or used an old one.
Drift or some other random unused G1 character, they would have still been the same forced bad ass clich� character that would have been slammed. There were the same complaints about Perceptor when he suddenly became a super-dooper sharp shooter but because he had an established background in multiple continuities he avoided most of the flack.

Drift is pretty much the same as Hot Rod was in the original TF Movie. Typical stereotype, who appears out of nowhere and ends up doing all these bad ass kind of things to save the day.
Both were new characters, both were stereotypes. The only difference was that later on Rodimus Prime got more story for him, much more than a 1 shot comic, and hey people liked him. Rodimus also shows up in different continuities in various ways, shapes and characterisations.
End of the day, people like the guy, no fuss. Same goes for a lot of the movie cast.

Drift has had a main role in 1 series and made a few appearances here and there. Given time he might become a liked character as others interpret him.
But at the moment he has had 1 main role and it sucked. You got to give the character time to develop, and who knows, maybe in 20 years he will be a classic character

griffin

11th June 2010, 04:46 AM

Drift ended up with an excellent toy, no doubt about that so Kudos to the Takara Tomy designer but I can't give McCarthy points for trying when his ambitions were more self serving than progressive.

Find another fan who wouldn't want their pet character(s) used in an official sense.
Even Simon Furman does it (haven't we had enough of Grimlock and Unicron being the centre of the universe when he's writing?). His 'self serving ambitions' (as you put it) with his free reign on the direction of the comic, led to Shane being employed in the first place because of falling sales.

It's every fanboy's wet dream to have their creation made official, or, OMG, made into a toy. Who wouldn't do the same in his position if you had the chance?

And the snowballing of Drift's usage wouldn't be Shane's fault. He created the character and offered it to the story - IDW and Hasbro not only approved it's addition, but wanted more (a Spotlight), more (a toy), more (a mini-series)! You really think Shane would tell them, 'no'? Would you?
Drift wouldn't have been increasingly used if Hasbro and IDW didn't want it that way.
You think Don Figueroa, another fan who's living the dream, who inspired several War Within toys and the Cybertron Starscream toy, would tell Hasbro not to produce toys of his creations? Most fans would sell their soul to get Hasbro to do what Shane and Don have had done, but for these two, Hasbro came to them. That means they are doing something right.

Too many people are either just jealous that another fan is living the dream, or just lashing out at anything Shane does because of how AHM turned out (which would be more IDW's/Hasbro's fault for wanting a change of direction).

(And people shouldn't be so determined to obsessively criticise something that others enjoy, as it just spoils it for them and doesn't make you feel any better anyway - make your point and then leave it at that)

kup

11th June 2010, 07:02 AM

.

(And people shouldn't be so determined to obsessively criticise something that others enjoy, as it just spoils it for them and doesn't make you feel any better anyway - make your point and then leave it at that)

I think that comment misrepresents the discussion in the last few posts.

We are having a discussion on the validity of the character Drift and it has been civil. The discussion with Sharky is working both ways - We are not just posting because we want to gang up and bash Drift because Sharky likes him.

griffin

11th June 2010, 08:14 AM

Yeah I know, I just wanted to get it in there while I was thinking about it, as it relates to the occasional Drift/Shane/AHM/Bay-hate by various people here. I don't want newer members and guests to think we are a negative bunch, as it might lead to them holding back on what talking about what they like about TFs.

optimus1

11th June 2010, 08:42 AM

I'm not against Drift, instead I rather think it's good how they inserted a new character into the G1 Universe. Remember how they inserted the 'new' character Sunstorm? Not bad from an unnamed background G1 character into a toy!

I think basically the best way to show the existence of a new character is to show him off all the time. Also, who doesn't like a transformer who uses swords? :)

GoktimusPrime

11th June 2010, 10:39 AM

But that's the thing - Sunstorm's not really new. He first appeared in G1 episode #1. It's just that his character was later severely fleshed out. But that's fine. Happens in Star Wars all the time. :)

But the thing I have with Drift is that McCarthy likes writing "GeeWun" stories that utilises Transformers almost entirely from 1984-86. As heroic_decepticon said, there's a massive host of other underutilised G1 Transformers that McCarthy could've drawn upon and made cool. Look at Last Stand of the Wreckers -- they took characters like Pyro, Ironfist and Hasbro's Overlord and look how popular they are now! How many of us would seriously give a hoot about Pyro if not for LSOTW?

I like kup's comparison of Drift with Poochie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Itchy_%26_Scratchy_%26_Poochie_Show) from the Simpsons. He's full of clich�s and acts like he's been there the whole time, when he really hasn't! As MV75 recently eluded to - who the heck is this guy?!

I also agree with what heroic_decepticon said. Sure, most of us here couldn't write a better character or story. But Drift reminds of why I generally HATE reading fanfics - because so many of them are centred around some uber-powerful undefeatable Gary Stu or Mary Sue character! It's the same reason why a lot of gamers hate playing with Power Players who run around with super powerful unbeatable Munchkin characters who have unlimited Mana for casting Magick Missiles and Ogres can never surround them because they have Morton Khyton's Faithful Watchdog cast - and what LUCK, an Ogre-Slaying Knife that gives them a +1 against Ogres! (Drift has a Decepticon-slaying sword that seems to grant him instant critical hits with bonus damage against Decepticons unless he rolls a natural 1... which I don't think he has yet. I swear his his dice are loaded). But I don't expect a professional writer whom I'm paying $6-7 per issue for to come up with a character that reads like it was from a badly written amateur fan fiction or role play adventure!

Drift... you either love him or hate him. :) I think the toy is pretty decent despite my feelings for the character (my main gripe is the shoulders which limit articulation).

Sky Shadow

11th June 2010, 11:11 AM

Find another fan who wouldn't want their pet character(s) used in an official sense... It's every fanboy's wet dream to have their creation made official, or, OMG, made into a toy. Who wouldn't do the same in his position if you had the chance?... You think Don Figueroa, another fan who's living the dream, who inspired several War Within toys and the Cybertron Starscream toy, would tell Hasbro not to produce toys of his creations? Most fans would sell their soul to get Hasbro to do what Shane and Don have had done, but for these two, Hasbro came to them. That means they are doing something right... Too many people are either just jealous that another fan is living the dream...

As I have said before in the private "G1 fapping forum" of the board, the problem is that Shane McCarthy is not a fan and doesn't care about Transformers. He was given the job to write for IDW and yet couldn't even be arsed to read Furman's work - the universe he was supposed to be working in. His stories only include 1984-1986 GeeWun characters, G2 Deluge, Universe Dropshot and Drift, presumably because they're the only Transformers he's heard of. Before he'd even done anything for Transformers, Drift appeared, and all McCarthy has ever done since is write about a dozen issues that were so bad that he got replaced on the ongoing title and he only returns to write more about Drift - a boring clich� who should not exist.

I have never had a problem when real fans or creators who love Transformers invent original characters. Simon Furman, Bob Forward, Larry DiTillio, Derrick J. Wyatt, M Sipher, Don Figueroa, Nick Roche etc. are all great creators and fans who loved and cared about what they do. Their original characters were great and I will always buy their output and any toys (like the upcoming Darkmount - Straxus - squee!) of their original creations. On the other hand, I would sooner run over a Drift toy with my car than own one.

dirge

11th June 2010, 12:36 PM

I'm all for new characters within the G1 sphere - personally I'd like more of that rather than series reboots every 2 years (although I understand why Hasbro wants those reboots). I think the Mary Sue comments are what's most relevant here though. Sunstorm was generally well received despite being (essentially) a new G1 character, Drift is not because this character is "taking over the franchise" to a degree.

Had he been a story arc or someone in the general cast of characters (eg Emirate Xaaron), rather than being as prominent/powerful as Luke Skywalker, I don't think the animousity would exist.

Personally I'm glad we getting "new" G1 characters - just as I like Road Rage, Crosscut etc, and while Drift's toy isn't very G1 it's a great toy. I'm not a comic reader so he doesn't bother me at all, but I can see why others dislike him.

GoktimusPrime

11th June 2010, 12:57 PM

the problem is that Shane McCarthy is not a fan and doesn't care about Transformers. He was given the job to write for IDW and yet couldn't even be arsed to read Furman's work - the universe he was supposed to be working in.
You don't have to be a fan to just be dedicated to your job. Look at Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio - they've admitted that they weren't fans when they were first commissioned to write Beast Wars. They admitted that they knew next to nothing about Transformers at the time. But we all know that they went to a lot of effort to consult fans and even used their own personal time to do homework and research into G1 and G2, thus giving us a widely loved Emmy-Award winning series, considered by many fans to be the best story ever written for a TF cartoon. Forward and DiTillio may have become fans throughout the process of writing Beast Wars, but they weren't fans to begin with. It's just that they cared about what they were writing, and it shows in the final product.

Ode to a Grasshopper

11th June 2010, 01:11 PM

I am now tempted to do a video of Drift but following the 'Poochy' cartoon sequences we saw on the simpsons, including his departure :pPlease do.:D
I generally am quite keen on new things being added to the Transformers franchise/experience. While I'm not advocating change just for the sake of change itself I'm more keen on something new that didn't go down so well (for example Beast Machines, or DonFigs new G1 artwork in the Ongoing, or McCarthy's hamfisted attempts at introducing a new character) than rehashing pre existing stuff in slightly new ways. See, I'd just like whatever they do to be good, be it rehash or new stuff. Animated did great at this IMO.
I don't think it matters if they made a new character or used an old one.
Drift or some other random unused G1 character, they would have still been the same forced bad ass clich� character that would have been slammed. There were the same complaints about Perceptor when he suddenly became a super-dooper sharp shooter but because he had an established background in multiple continuities he avoided most of the flack.Only if they were a forced bad ass clich� character.;) That said, there's always some section of the fandom always griping about everything.
Perceptor I can let slide since he does turn into a cannon and has displayed sharpshooting abilities in previous canon (shooting the Heart Cybertron in Microbots).

:)Don't worry Sharky, I like drift. I have a dislike for Animated and Bayverse but believe they are still for the greater good of us collectors to keep the line moving in some sort of direction. Our first decent (Yes Decent) new character in a while and people bag the hell out of it. I don't believe I could do a better job of creating a new Character can anyone else? Was that the sound of silence, highly unlikely I'm sure someone here has something to say and off you go.I just made a thread for this exact purpose. (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=172481#post172481):cool:
Also, I love Animated and cite Animated Prowl as a relevant example.

For myself, besides the Gary Stu aspect (annoying but sorta funny) and the fact there were existing characters like Carnivac that could have been used instead (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Drift_%28G1%29#Notes) - even the less obscure sword-wielding Blitzwing deserts the 'cons in the US G1 cartoon - I only have one real problem with Drift. Instead of us getting a remake of a long-established character in the new Generations line, like a Classics-style Blitzwing, or the rumoured Rhinox (Headstrong repaint anyone?), or a G1 Scourge/Sweeps, or even a Hoist/Trailbreaker, we get Drift. Here in Oz we don't get Animated Arcee, the first Arcee that has a car alt-mode besides the Binaltech (which IIRC we also missed out on since she didn't make it through to Alternators), but we do get Drift. Thankfully the Blurr remold looks like it could have potential, but it still kinda irks me.

griffin

11th June 2010, 02:35 PM

But that's the thing - Sunstorm's not really new. He first appeared in G1 episode #1. It's just that his character was later severely fleshed out.

But that wasn't Sunstorm (the character) we got in Dreamwave. A generic bot in the background that had no name and character was the inspiration, but the God-like, super-powerful character of Sunstorm was never in Gen1.

GoktimusPrime

11th June 2010, 03:49 PM

But that wasn't Sunstorm (the character) we got in Dreamwave. A generic bot in the background that had no name and character was the inspiration, but the God-like, super-powerful character of Sunstorm was never in Gen1.

The character itself existed in G1. It's just that he had a whole new manifestation in the DW comics. You look at say IDW's Thunderwing - a rather different creature from his G1 counterpart. But that's not to say that the character didn't exist in G1. I'll grant you that DW's Sunstorm is a different character from G1 Sunstorm - but of course, they're different continuities. G1 Sunstorm was a random nameless Decepticon henchman, whereas DW Sunstorm was a super-powered god. :)

But at least Sunstorm existed in G1 - even if he was just a horrifically obscure character. Ditto Hauler! But at least they existed, whereas Drift just came from 'nowhere.' Sunstorm's a lot like Skippy the Jedi Droid (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Skippy_the_Jedi_Droid); R5-D4 is a random obscure character who only appears briefly in Episode IV. Skippy exists in a different continuity from R5D4 in the main continuity proper just as DW Sunstorm exists in a different continuity from G1 Sunstorm.

An equivalent to Drift might be say if I created Moko, a Vulcan Jedi Grand-Master with a rainbow coloured light sabre; then placed this character in an alternate reality of the original trilogy where he finds Luke after Yoda's death and completes his Jedi training and becomes a teacher in Luke's Jedi Academy. And upon arriving at the Jedi Temple on Yavin IV, Moko seeks out the lost temple of Exar Kun (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Exar_Kun) and challenges his spirit to lightsabre duel, where he emerges victorious after having slain Exar Kun's ghost! Naturally Moko will become a central hero in this continuity's version of the Yuuzhang Vong (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Yuuzhan_Vong) War (where his Force powers always work on the Vong... that's how powerful he is!)! :D

If Drift appears in TF3, they'd better cast Chuck Norris as the voice and put him in a motion tracking suit so that Drift would use Chuck's moves!

Sky Shadow

11th June 2010, 05:07 PM

You don't have to be a fan to just be dedicated to your job. Look at Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio - they've admitted that they weren't fans when they were first commissioned to write Beast Wars.

Indeed - that's why I specified "not a fan and doesn't care about Transformers". Lots of my favourite creators weren't fans when they started out: Forward, DiTillio, Furman, Isenberg, etc. but they cared enough to love what they were doing. Being a fan isn't important, having a passion for writing about Transformers is.

Robzy

11th June 2010, 06:47 PM

As I have said before in the private "G1 fapping forum" of the board, the problem is that Shane McCarthy is not a fan and doesn't care about Transformers. (snip)

Before he'd even done anything for Transformers, Drift appeared, and all McCarthy has ever done since is write about a dozen issues that were so bad that he got replaced on the ongoing title and he only returns to write more about Drift - a boring clich� who should not exist.

I think the Mary Sue comments are what's most relevant here though. Sunstorm was generally well received despite being (essentially) a new G1 character, Drift is not because this character is "taking over the franchise" to a degree.

I agree with you both... that's why I actually had such a huge problem as a kid with Hot Rod - I felt like I was watching this movie based on my favourite TV show, and suddenly this guy pops up and he's the MAIN character... it's like Optimus was totally shafted! And to top it off, they tried to do the same thing as Drift by pretending that Hot Rod had always been there, having the original characters interact with them like they're old buddies, and forcing me to like the character (when I really didn't).

I remember thinking... who the hell is this guy? And then he turns out to be the freakin' CHOSEN ONE?! No wonder people hated Hot Rod for so long!

Lots of my favourite creators weren't fans when they started out: Forward, DiTillio, Furman, Isenberg, etc. You forgot Michael Bay :p

ITZTRU

12th June 2010, 12:20 PM

Okaaaaaaaaaaaaay. If i knew it would generate this much discussion, I would have opened up a new thread instead. Sorry about that, but thank you all for your feedback. But...a little TOO much feedback hehe. So much so, that I think I'm just gonna go ahead and buy the stories and make my own decisions about Drift! Having said that, are the comics still widely available and found in one place, complete, without having to search multiple stores for different issues/volumes?

ITZTRU

12th June 2010, 12:20 PM

...oh. and are they reasonably priced enough?

1AZRAEL1

12th June 2010, 12:47 PM

You know, I might weigh in on the Drift debate.

I haven't read any comics in a long time. Wanted to but missed so many that I could not be bothered to track them down. As a figure, he is pretty cool.

That is all :p

SharkyMcShark

12th June 2010, 12:55 PM

...oh. and are they reasonably priced enough?

You can get the trade paperbacks at most comic book stores or specialist bookstores (bookstore I go to for gifts and the like has Infiltration - AHM in TPB).

They usually go for $30 - $40.

GoktimusPrime

12th June 2010, 01:35 PM

Yeah, get the TPB(s).

As a figure, he is pretty cool.
Other than the restricted shoulder articulation, yeah he's pretty neat. :)

kup

12th June 2010, 01:45 PM

Yeah, get the TPB(s).

Other than the restricted shoulder articulation, yeah he's pretty neat. :)

Yeah the figure is superb. I don't mind the shoulders so much though.

ITZTRU

12th June 2010, 02:24 PM

You can get the trade paperbacks at most comic book stores or specialist bookstores (bookstore I go to for gifts and the like has Infiltration - AHM in TPB).

They usually go for $30 - $40.

Each issue? So that's 30-40 x12?

liegeprime

12th June 2010, 02:27 PM

Each issue? So that's 30-40 x12?

No, $30-40 for each volumes. 3 volumes in total I believe... or 4 including the coda? cant be bothered to look, but I did buy TPB instead coz I couldnt be bothered to buy single issues.
Its in TPB already ITZTRU - so 1 volume contains about 3-5 issues in 1 volume.

SharkyMcShark

12th June 2010, 03:54 PM

I thought it was roughly 6 issues per TPB?

Anyway I think AHM is 3 TPBS + a collection of Spotlights in another volume. I think.

GoktimusPrime

12th June 2010, 07:33 PM

Yeah the figure is superb. I don't mind the shoulders so much though.
Really? It bugs me whenever I play with the toy as I can't make him swing his sword above his shoulderline easily... I gotta kinda pause and shift things about a bit. It may be fine for posing, but irritating for toy play. Earlier today I was making Drift fight Saesee Tiin* and MagnaGuard and when I swung his right arm (holding the sword) straight up the shoulder popped off. It was easy enough to pop back on, but it's the whole inconvenience of it.

If the shoulder pops off due to excessive force during play - fine, I can live with that. But I find that Drift's shoulders are just self-inhibited which makes it tricky to move the arms about. It's fine if Drift is fighting at mid to low level, but whenever he blocks a high level downward strike, or if he needs to raise his sword up to execute a high strike, then things get annoying.

Another nuisance is the lower legs which don't really lock in firmly, so the shins/feet easily fold out. Again it's quite annoying during toy play when he's striking dynamic stances, throwing out kicks and sliding about etc.

The sword handle is also a little bit loose which makes the sword spin around a bit when it's swung (which is frustrating because the edge of the blade doesn't keep facing the target after the end of the stroke). Still... better than having it too tight like ROTF Bludgeon's. And it's not too loose that it falls out all the time.

-------------------------
*Drift is able to block light sabres through his sheer awesomeness.

griffin

12th June 2010, 08:16 PM

No, $30-40 for each volumes. 3 volumes in total I believe... or 4 including the coda? cant be bothered to look, but I did buy TPB instead coz I couldnt be bothered to buy single issues.
Its in TPB already ITZTRU - so 1 volume contains about 3-5 issues in 1 volume.

4 Volumes covering the AHM era.

Vol 1 - Issues 1-6 AHM (6 issues)
Vol 2 - Issues 7-12 AHM (6 issues)
Vol 3 - 5 Spotlights (Cliffjumper, Drift, Metroplex, Blurr, Jazz) (5 issues)
Vol 4 - Issues 1-4 AHM Coda (4 issues)

All have been released now.

heroic_decepticon

12th June 2010, 09:35 PM

4 Volumes covering the AHM era.

Vol 1 - Issues 1-6 AHM (6 issues)
Vol 2 - Issues 7-12 AHM (6 issues)
Vol 3 - 5 Spotlights (Cliffjumper, Drift, Metroplex, Blurr, Jazz) (5 issues)
Vol 4 - Issues 1-4 AHM Coda (4 issues)

All have been released now.

ITZTRU, I know that Kinokuniya in the city and King's Comics has these for less than $30 each. If you are a member of either shops, you get another 10% off the total.

Kino only has volume 3 left. King's would have the rest.

ITZTRU

12th June 2010, 10:44 PM

You're from Sydney? :) Thanks for the info, though heroic!

blackie

12th June 2010, 10:48 PM

You're from Sydney? :) Thanks for the info, though heroic!

from a melbournian ;)
try comics'r'us on burke street, or Minatour on elizabeth street, between the both of them youll be able to pick them all up id think

heroic_decepticon

12th June 2010, 10:53 PM

You're from Sydney? :) Thanks for the info, though heroic!

Yikes, what was i thinking. sorry.

SamLoi888

13th June 2010, 04:33 PM

from a melbournian ;)
try comics'r'us on burke street, or Minatour on elizabeth street, between the both of them youll be able to pick them all up id think

Don't try Comics'R'Us unless you want to be ripped off. Classic Comics is heaps cheaper, near the top of Bourke St in a little alleyway.

blackie

13th June 2010, 04:35 PM

Don't try Comics'R'Us unless you want to be ripped off. Classic Comics is heaps cheaper, near the top of Bourke St in a little alleyway.

duh
stupid me
completly spaced on classic

go to classics, its the best lol

kaiden

30th June 2010, 12:11 AM

http://www.robotkingdom.com/services/eshop/main.php?action=details&CatType=&II=TFTCSC0105E&lang=us&CatID

which optimus is that? i dont recognize it.

SharkyMcShark

30th June 2010, 12:36 AM

It's a clear version of the Classics 2 pack Optimus Prime mold.

liegeprime

30th June 2010, 01:07 AM

http://www.robotkingdom.com/services/eshop/main.php?action=details&CatType=&II=TFTCSC0105E&lang=us&CatID

which optimus is that? i dont recognize it.

Its the CLassics deluxe prime - issued before - two pack with Classic deluxe Megatron - green tank (classics Line)- comes with Tommy gun - hence nicknamed "Gangster Prime" early on.:D

5FDP

30th June 2010, 08:41 AM

If you have no interest in buying the two pack, he was also released seperately in the Universe line as a 'special edition'. See here (http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/universe-classics-20-29/universe-special-edition-optimus-prime-and-megatron-out-in-singapore-166167/).

GoktimusPrime

30th June 2010, 09:27 AM

They were formally called "Ultimate Battle" Optimus Prime and Megatron.

Now you know...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Tae%20Kwon%20Leap%20Photocomic/taekwonleap23.jpg

liegeprime

30th June 2010, 09:31 AM

erm why is iron man posed like that, is he under arrest or something?:p

snaketales

30th June 2010, 12:41 PM

I've probably missed it, but why is Buster Optimus Prime called Buster Optimus Prime?

Does he bust a move? :D

blackoptimus

30th June 2010, 03:58 PM

For TF ROTF Ejector figure, I found that there were stress marks on the hands on the figure, is this with all Ejector's or is it a molding defect on mine?

Gutsman Heavy

30th June 2010, 04:58 PM

must be yours, mine are fine

griffin

1st July 2010, 05:57 AM

I've probably missed it, but why is Buster Optimus Prime called Buster Optimus Prime?

Does he bust a move? :D

Was hoping that the TFWiki website (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Optimus_Prime_%28Movie%29/toys#Leader_Class_toys_2)would have a possible explination, but doesn't. I can't recall if there was a reason mentioned, or if it is just JP Engrish, referring to the gun as a Buster instead of Blaster.

SharkyMcShark

1st July 2010, 11:17 AM

I just assumed that it was because in Japanese anime and toys everything that they want to convey to the audience is awesomely powerful is labeled 'buster'. Like the buster cannon in Zoids.

GoktimusPrime

1st July 2010, 12:27 PM

Shining Fire Guts Buster Cannon Optimus Prime. :p

loophole

1st July 2010, 04:47 PM

I got the ROTF 2 pack today with Optimus and Jetfire but it didnt have any instructions is there any downloadable links out there?, i tried the hasbro site but didnt have much luck

christalcase

1st July 2010, 10:17 PM

I got the ROTF 2 pack today with Optimus and Jetfire but it didnt have any instructions is there any downloadable links out there?, i tried the hasbro site but didnt have much luck

original Optimus Prime's instructions are here (http://www.unicron.com/tfitem/itemimage_db.php?mode=instructions&year=2009&lineName=Movie%20ROTF) (this is the more vague one without the TakaraTomy additional pics), Jetfire's instructions seems harder to find

autobreadticon

3rd July 2010, 01:34 PM

SharkyMcShark

3rd July 2010, 03:02 PM

hi does TM Haywire fit into the hands of Generations Drift?
How does Blurr get his Earth-mode vehicle mode (scan?) in ongoing 3?
is Universe 2.0 Galvatron an Earth Mode or cybertronian alt mode, has Galvatron ever appear as a cybertronian tank before?
Which Spychanger in the cartoon series could turn invisible and consider the intelligence gatherer? ta

1. I'm guessing Haywire was Blurrs TM partner in G1. In which case I don't know. Nightstick does though, so I suppose you could swap them out if you're feeling the itch.

2. It's not shown, he just appears in his new form. Ostensibly he scanned it between the end of AHM and the start of Ongoing.

3. Galvatron does exist in IDW, but he's been shown to have his G1 alt and robot modes. Except slightly bulkier and spikier looking. From memory we've seen his altmode once (in his Spotlight). Either way he's not been shown to be a tank ever - which is a shame because I love that mold.

4. Mirage at a guess.

autobreadticon

3rd July 2010, 03:57 PM

1. I'm guessing Haywire was Blurrs TM partner in G1. In which case I don't know. Nightstick does though, so I suppose you could swap them out if you're feeling the itch.

2. It's not shown, he just appears in his new form. Ostensibly he scanned it between the end of AHM and the start of Ongoing.

3. Galvatron does exist in IDW, but he's been shown to have his G1 alt and robot modes. Except slightly bulkier and spikier looking. From memory we've seen his altmode once (in his Spotlight). Either way he's not been shown to be a tank ever - which is a shame because I love that mold.

4. Mirage at a guess.

Thanks Sharky, can someone please take 2secs and test the first question, i didn't bother to buy drift :(

Ingram

3rd July 2010, 07:45 PM

Ok so I own the Generations Drift figure, but I have NO IDEA who he is.

Where do I start on his character/story?

SharkyMcShark

3rd July 2010, 07:58 PM

Theres a debate that goes on for a few pages regarding his worth starting on this page of this thread

http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=377&page=263

Otherwise http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Drift_(G1)

blackoptimus

4th July 2010, 09:09 PM

griffin

5th July 2010, 12:33 PM

I see what you've done. Yes, that little post/peg is supposed to slot into a hole in that hindged bit. I had to fiddle with mine a bit to make it pop out, and found that if you folded that wing section too far to 90degees, that little post pops out and gets caught. And with a bit of further fiddling, I found that the best way to get it back in without disassembling that section - is to force it. Carefully though! When you have those two panels lined up like in your second photo, just slowly force them together as they are supposed to be, and the pin should pop back into its hole. (and just be sure not to over extend that hinge again)
If you are still not sure about doing it that way, loosening the two screws on the other side should let you slot it back in, and then just tighten the screws back up again.

This has reminded me why I don't like that toy much... :p

Hursticon

5th July 2010, 03:19 PM

I'm having some trouble transforming Jetfire http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9278/img0159j.jpg (http://img266.imageshack.us/i/img0159j.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

As you can see in the first image there is a peg sticking out, there is also a port but I'm starting to think that there is something wrong with mine:( it looks like the figure is MEANT to have the peg and port connected up and I can't find anyway of moving it together as it is one piece, I'm worried if I use force it will break. Since this peg can't hook in, the alignment of the jet turns out all wrong, the back peace levitates above the others shown in the photo bellow.

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/2928/img0160g.jpg (http://img130.imageshack.us/i/img0160g.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

Any suggestions?

I also had this problem when I first tried to transform him, I ended up just dismantling that section, realigned that piece and screwed it back together.

I see what you've done. Yes, that little post/peg is supposed to slot into a hole in that hindged bit. I had to fiddle with mine a bit to make it pop out, and found that if you folded that wing section too far to 90degees, that little post pops out and gets caught. And with a bit of further fiddling, I found that the best way to get it back in without disassembling that section - is to force it. Carefully though! When you have those two panels lined up like in your second photo, just slowly force them together as they are supposed to be, and the pin should pop back into its hole. (and just be sure not to over extend that hinge again)
If you are still not sure about doing it that way, loosening the two screws on the other side should let you slot it back in, and then just tighten the screws back up again.

This has reminded me why I don't like that toy much... :p

ROTF Leader Class Jetfire is awesome in both Bot and Alt mode... going from one to the other though is where this figure becomes an overpriced POS, I'd never sworn for 2 hours trying to transform a figure until this one, after Jetfire I got MP Starscream who was an absolute dream compared. :p

blackoptimus

5th July 2010, 04:12 PM

LOL thanks guys, I took it apart by unscrewing it, it's so weird, if you put the peg into the port, you the can't reach the screw holes without a bit of pressure. But I got it at the end of the day. I think it really sucks when pegs and gears are done up incorrectly by the factory people.

griffin

5th July 2010, 11:56 PM

blackoptimus

6th July 2010, 12:30 AM

I remembered after I posted my reply, that the toy is packaged in robot mode, which means it wasn't assembled correctly in the factory - making you feel like it was broken before you even had the chance to transform it once.
Glad to hear you got it fixed okay.

It took me 3 hours last night and I still didn't finnish, I hate those panels I managed to finnish this afternoon. As for the Buster Prime my fingers are mangled up because I've been trying to get his chest panels of to get him in truck mode after 30 mins of fiddling I raged and it worked, it only needed a bit of force.

griffin

6th July 2010, 01:13 AM

At least you haven't given up... I did. :(

(and just how do the people at hasbro think these sort of toys are gonna have the new, young kids and their parents, coming back for more TFs and become a fan???)

Gutsman Heavy

6th July 2010, 09:23 PM

Sky Shadow

6th July 2010, 09:48 PM

I've made it a mission to own one of each Tyrannosaur mold.

I have:
G1 Grimlock
MP Grimlock
Universe Overkill
BW TM Megatron
BW Telemocha (sp?) Megatron
Animated Voyager Grimlock

with Botcon Cindersaur incoming.

who else do I need to be mold complete?

I guess it depends on what you define as a t-rex. According to his tech-specs, G1 Overkill is a tyrannosaurus. Device Label Grimlock/Dinosaurer might be one too. Same with G1 Trypticon/Beast Wars II Gigastorm. Also Action Masters Tyrannotron, Mini-Con Terrorsaur/Chromebite/Gnashteeth/Ransack, G1 Goryu and Energon Grimlock (an absolutely awful toy.)

Autocon

7th July 2010, 02:41 AM

10th anniversery BW megatron

GoktimusPrime

7th July 2010, 09:00 AM

What about the original BW Ultra Megatron toy? There's also T-Wrecks (slight retool from TM Megatron)

By G1 Grimlock I guess you mean 1985 Grimlock... there's also G1 Pretender Grimlock. What about Classics/Henkei Grimlock (kinda ambiguous T-rex like Device Label perhaps)

Darth Conlan

7th July 2010, 02:38 PM

Ode to a Grasshopper

7th July 2010, 03:20 PM

Gutsman Heavy

7th July 2010, 05:24 PM

thanks

SharkyMcShark

7th July 2010, 07:33 PM

Hi Guys,

One quick question. As some of you know I'm a Seeker collector. My question is what has been released and what is coming up in the Decepticon Plane figures? Say go back 5 years so I can see what has been released.

In the last 5 years (and in size class deluxe and above)

Starscream (21)

Classics/Universe (original, Universe repaint, western Masterpiece release)
Henkei (Normal and Ghost)
Revenge of the Fallen (Voyager x2, Leader)
Movie 2007 (Voyager x4 - normal, Premium, G1 colours, Deep Space)
Animated (Voyager and Activator)
Cybertron (Voyager and Supreme)
Energon (normal and G1 colours)
Titanium
Other - Masterpiece Ghost, Masterpiece Animated Colours Japanese release

Skywarp (8)

Classics/Universe (original deluxe and western Masterpiece release)
Henkei
Revenge of the Fallen (it's a repaint of TF07 Starscream)
Animated
Titanium
Cybertron (repaint of Thundercracker)
Other - Masterpiece

Thundercracker (7)

Movie 2007
Cybertron
Henkei
Titanium
Animated (Activator)
Other - Masterpiece, Botcon 2007
Upcoming - Animated voyager release stuck in limbo. Samples seen but no confirmation on its release.

Dirge (5 + 1 upcoming)

Revenge of the Fallen
Henkei
Classics/Universe (repaint of Cybertron Voyager Starscream, came in 2 pack with Roadbuster)
Other - Botcon 2007
Animated (Activator)
Upcoming - Dirge is confirmed for future waves of the Generations line.

Ramjet (3)

Classics
Henkei
Revenge of the Fallen (Repaint of 2007 Starscream Voyager)

Thrust (5)

Generations
Henkei
Botcon
Revenge of the Fallen
Titanium

Sunstorm (2)

Titanium
Animated (Voyager)

There are numerous legend and minicon versions of the above characters but that would have made creating the list quite a large and tedious undertaking.

GoktimusPrime

7th July 2010, 07:57 PM

G1 Sunstorm was reissued in 2008 w/ an exclusive comic.

Sky Shadow

7th July 2010, 10:15 PM

(Presumably Classics/Universe) G2 Ramjet is also upcoming as a 2011 OTFCC exclusive.

Gutsman Heavy

8th July 2010, 12:58 AM

Thanks for the input guys, to be satisfied with my TF Tyrannosaur collection I'll need

Pretender Grimlock
Ultra BW Megatron/T-Wrecks
Activator Grimlock or Redeco
Trypticon/Gigastorm
Terrorsaur (Classics)/Gnashteeth/Chromebite/Ransack (Universe 2008)
Energon Grimlock

hmm shouldn't be too hard :)

blackoptimus

8th July 2010, 02:57 PM

I'm having trouble understanding what this says http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/B002P3CND2/ref=dp_change_lang?ie=UTF8&language=en_JP
So is the price of the whole package ￥ 5,172???? How do I order it??? Do I also get Black OP, Blu-Ray and the legend bee figure? Someone please help me out.

kurdt_the_goat

8th July 2010, 03:11 PM

Yeah that's the full price, but free shipping only applies if you ship to Japan. You should be able to ship that item to Australia though. Once it's in your cart and you go through checkout, they'll show you the total cost. Pretty sure it'll show you in AUD as well.

It's all very similar to the US Amazon site, once you click the 'Click here to see in English' link near the top right of screen.

blackoptimus

8th July 2010, 03:47 PM

blackoptimus

8th July 2010, 04:03 PM

I did some research an apparently I can't use paypal. Is there some sort of way to pay by via Bank account? Instead of credit card?

snaketales

8th July 2010, 11:30 PM

Repeated in the Generations thread in the Australian News section, but is the Generations line scheduled to be released in Kmart, Target, Myer etc?

So far I have seen it only in Big W and Toyworld.

GoktimusPrime

9th July 2010, 02:02 PM

yeah, I've seen Generations toys pretty much everywhere now. :) But WA distribution may be different from NSW - I don't frequent the WA sightings thread. :p

SharkyMcShark

9th July 2010, 02:33 PM

I've seen Generations in a Toys R Us over here.

Mecklinger

9th July 2010, 04:49 PM

I really like the Monsterbot, Doublecross and his alt mode of a twin-headed dragon and it got me thinking, how many other double or multi-headed transformers are there?

SharkyMcShark

9th July 2010, 05:43 PM

Quickstrike from Beast Wars has two heads.

And that dog thing from the start of RiD who's name I've forgotten. Bruticus?

Lordy

9th July 2010, 05:53 PM

Thundercracker (7)

Movie 2007
Cybertron
Henkei
Titanium
Animated (Activator)
Other - Masterpiece, Botcon 2007
Upcoming - Animated voyager release stuck in limbo. Samples seen but no confirmation on its release.

I wonder why there hasn't been a Hasbro version of the limited edition Henkei TC. He is a popular character and nearly all the rest of the Universe Seeker molds have been released under the Universe brand.

Thundercracker is my favourite Seeker, as he was my first "big" Transformer, and would like a Universe version to go with my original G1 and Masterpiece.

Ode to a Grasshopper

9th July 2010, 06:33 PM

Quickstrike from Beast Wars has two heads.

And that dog thing from the start of RiD who's name I've forgotten. Bruticus?And Sinnertwin and Hun-grr.

GoktimusPrime

9th July 2010, 06:46 PM

I really like the Monsterbot, Doublecross and his alt mode of a twin-headed dragon and it got me thinking, how many other double or multi-headed transformers are there?

Quickstrike from Beast Wars has two heads.

And that dog thing from the start of RiD who's name I've forgotten. Bruticus?

Yeah, it's Bruticus, who transforms into a Cerberus. The robot mode is also multi-headed too. :)

Others include:
+ Hun-Gurrr
+ Sinnertwin
+ Doubleheader
+ Gigatron (aka RiD Megatron) / Devil Gigatron (aka RiD Galvatron)

I love the way Doubleheader talks -- sometimes his heads talk independently, yet one head talks about the other head in first person (even but in a second person context!), other times Doubleheader's speech is divided between the two heads where one finishes off the other's sentence... sometimes they both cut in and say the same thing at the same time which seems to come at a surprise to both heads! :D :cool: Beast Wars Megatron technically isn't multi-headed, but if you look closely his beast-headed hand is often portrayed as another head. e.g. it looks at Megatron's head and Megatron occasionally pets/strokes it -- even brushes its teeth at one stage! There was also one time when Megatron's talking to someone else, but his beast head is intensely watching computer monitors -- thus allowing Megatron to focus on two different things at the same time and multitask! :D

Sky Shadow

9th July 2010, 07:04 PM

I really like the Monsterbot, Doublecross and his alt mode of a twin-headed dragon and it got me thinking, how many other double or multi-headed transformers are there?

There are hundreds and hundreds of transformers with two or more heads if you really think about it. (Even if we just think about the 'US' G1 toys there are the Insecticons, Deluxe Insecticons, Hook in attack crane mode, the Dinobots, Devastator, Sky Lynx, Defensor, Hot Spot, Superion, Gnaw, Menasor, Bruticus, Predaking, the Predacons, Computron, the Headmasters, the Monsterbots, Abominus, Sixshot, the Targetmasters, the Powermasters, Quickswitch, Doubledealer, Piranacon and all the Pretenders [except for Roadgrabber and Gunnrunner.]

I'd start on Beast Wars, but it would do my head in. :p)

GoktimusPrime

9th July 2010, 08:20 PM

Sky Shadow

9th July 2010, 08:45 PM

I'd assumed that Mecklinger was talking about "proper" multi-headed moded Transformers, as opposed to Transformers who happen to have heads as alt mode kibble. Then there are 'multi-headed' vehicle modes, like G1 Slugslinger and Doubleheader.

Yep, I know what he meant, I was just pointing out that the actual answer to "how many other double or multi-headed transformers are there?" is "a lot." :)

Batibot

10th July 2010, 10:06 AM

christalcase

10th July 2010, 11:44 AM

just a question guys i was just wondering what does mint, mosc, misb? and are there any other jargons i should know about? I might start collecting when i get back home to the philippines cos its so damn expensive here to start collecting tfs.

not too sure about mint, I think it means good condition but out of box/card

MISB (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Mint_in_sealed_box) means Mint In Sealed Box, so it's never been opened (just like when you buy one from the shops), a variant is MOSC which means Mint On Sealed Card, which refers to figures sold on cardbacks (legends, scouts, deluxes etc)

I think there is also MIB, which is Mint In Box, so it's been opened but still in really good condition and it includes box

liegeprime

10th July 2010, 04:44 PM

just a question guys i was just wondering what does mint, mosc, misb? and are there any other jargons i should know about? I might start collecting when i get back home to the philippines cos its so damn expensive here to start collecting tfs.

MINT - meaning still unopened or opened and/ or the condition of the item is as new, complete, no damage.

MISB - Mint in sealed box

MOSC - Mint on sealed card

5FDP

10th July 2010, 05:11 PM

heroic_decepticon

10th July 2010, 05:34 PM

Just to add to that, there is also -

MOC - Mint On Card
MIP - Mint In Pack

You'll also come across grading systems like the one below -

C10 - Mint condition
C9 - Near Mint condition
C8 - Excellent condition
C7 - Very Good to Excellent condition
C6 - Very Good Condition
C5 - Good to Very Good condition
C4 - Good condition
C3 - Fair condition
C2 - Poor to Fair condition
C1 - Poor condition

in my mind, its more like...

C10 - Mint condition = great
C9 - Near Mint condition = good enough to have in collection
C8 - Excellent condition = acceptable
C7 - Very Good to Excellent condition = gotta look for a C9 piece
C6 - Very Good Condition = fail
C5 - Good to Very Good condition = unaccceptable
C4 - Good condition = unaccceptable
C3 - Fair condition = no way
C2 - Poor to Fair condition = this is not a toy
C1 - Poor condition = not a snowball's chance in hell
:D

GoktimusPrime

10th July 2010, 06:10 PM

Grading systems, like any other system of classification (like counting TFs) is highly arbitrary and subjective and there is no commonly agreed standard. So I wouldn't bother memorising it too much. My advice - from most recommended to least - would be:

1/ Buy toys from stores or fairs. Buying toys new from stores ensures that they're always MISB or MOSC, and purchasing from fairs allows you to physically inspect the toy and judge its condition for yourself.

2/ If you have to buy the toy online (e.g. if the toy isn't sold here) then I would advise purchasing from online stores like HLJ, BBTS etc. That way you're still getting everything MISB/MOSC.

3/ Buying a toy second hand online is least advisable. Avoid any sales that use stock photos - online purchase from dealers who've taken their own photos of the toys they're selling. But even then, photos can lie because they can be photographed from positions which hide certain flaws that some less scrupulous sellers don't bother describing. As such I find this to be the most hazardous form of toy-shopping and it's something I very seldomly do (I don't even have an eBay account).

and are there any other jargons i should know about?
As others have said, any toy that's never had the sticky tape (if it's a boxed toy) or blister (if it's carded) cut/opened is MISB/MOSC. If the tape is cut but the toy has barely been handled (if at all) then it's MIB. Some Japanese carded toys can be resealed after being opened, and that would make them MOC if they're still in mint condition.

The term "loose" is used to describe any toy that's been opened, regardless of condition. So an unsealed toy in mint condition is often described as LM (loose mint) - and there's LMIB (loose mint in box) and LMOC (loose mint on card) to be more specific. What most people define as "mint" is around what most people describe as C8-C9. Strictly speaking C10 (especially sealed C10s) is often described as a condition that exists in theory because in reality every box and card suffers some minor superficial damage such as micro-scrapes, nicks, scratches, buffs etc. that just comes from being handled, packaged, shipped and shelved. Even if you buy the toy direct from a dealer who doesn't have a shop front and keeps everything case fresh until they're ordered, there's still some damage from packaging and handling. Even moreso when they're removed from the original case and repacked for the customer (unless you order an entire case - but even then, there's still the original handling and packaging from the factory and shipping from China to USA or Japan etc.). As I said, toys on store shelves take a lot more damage because they're shelved. Stores often put price stickers on them which even if you carefully remove, still leaves a residual mark (some collectors will meticulously try to remove the glue's residue, but it's nearly impossible to completely remove it because some of it soaks into the cardboard). C10 is supposed to be a totally perfect and flawless toy... and the odds of finding absolute perfection are pret-ty slim.

Sky Shadow

10th July 2010, 06:39 PM

in my mind, its more like...

C10 - Mint condition = great
C9 - Near Mint condition = good enough to have in collection
C8 - Excellent condition = acceptable
C7 - Very Good to Excellent condition = gotta look for a C9 piece
C6 - Very Good Condition = fail
C5 - Good to Very Good condition = unaccceptable
C4 - Good condition = unaccceptable
C3 - Fair condition = no way
C2 - Poor to Fair condition = this is not a toy
C1 - Poor condition = not a snowball's chance in hell
:D

Agreed. :)

5FDP

10th July 2010, 07:56 PM

Buying a toy second hand online is least advisable. Avoid any sales that use stock photos - online purchase from dealers who've taken their own photos of the toys they're selling. But even then, photos can lie because they can be photographed from positions which hide certain flaws that some less scrupulous sellers don't bother describing. As such I find this to be the most hazardous form of toy-shopping and it's something I very seldomly do (I don't even have an eBay account).

I agree to a certain extent, however if you know what to be on the lookout for it can also be the most rewarding, especially for collectors of vintage figures. There are multiple resources available for the 'newbie' collector including (but not limited to) HIGHENDTFS (http://www.highendtfs.com/) and Transformers Variants (http://reocities.com/futuristgroup/vauto.html). Anyone here would also be more than willing to assist in giving their advice on a particular toy.

The best advice when shopping around on the online second-hand market is to ask for additional photos / information whenever you are in doubt. Any honest seller would be more than willing to oblige because they're interested in repeat business. Also, go with your 'gut feeling' as this is almost always right.

1AZRAEL1

11th July 2010, 07:56 AM

Thundercracker is my favourite Seeker, as he was my first "big" Transformer, and would like a Universe version to go with my original G1 and Masterpiece.

Only a matter of time before it is announced. They have done all the others so far. I would be suprised if it is not announced before Xmas.

liegeprime

12th July 2010, 07:26 AM