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Gutsman Heavy
3rd January 2008, 03:12 PM
Post your pet hates!

Line-wide gimmicks, I don't mind gimmicks but don't make them the be-all and end-all of the line, not every figure needs a damn key operated pop-out cannon. Mix it up a bit, G1 had the best mix, normal figures, combiners, headmasters etc. It wasn't universal and thus made the figure that had them more unique and special. At least with Animated Hasbro seems to have gotten over the line-wide gimmick, YAY!

So what grinds your TF gears?

Gutsman Heavy
3rd January 2008, 03:35 PM
agree on the Missle thing, especially since toy safety laws mean they are so freaking huge!

GoktimusPrime
3rd January 2008, 03:59 PM
I agree that gimmicks shouldn't overwhelm/dominate a toy. Gimmicks are fine if they compliment the Transformer, but the Transformer shouldn't exist just to compliment the gimmick(s).

Other pet peeves off the top of my head...

+ Misplaced G1 homages... Energon Downshift comes to mind.

+ Pointless/meaningless repaints - e.g.: night-night movie leader Prime

+ Glaring errors in comic books. Who the hell is Sentinal Prime? Why did Lio Convoy have blue eyes for nearly half an entire book?! Wake up Ryall!

+ People who think that G1 only means the G1 cartoon :/ I can understand that some people may have had more exposure to the G1 cartoon and that they may prefer it as their source of G1 canon, but I dislike it when people immediately think that the term "G1" only refers to the cartoon. On another TF board someone kinda had a go at me because someone else mentioned G1 Megatron and I made a reference to what happened to Megatron in the G1 comics and this other guy goes, "when people G1 they mean the cartoon." I'm sorry, but unless it's stated or more directly implied otherwise, "G1" can mean anything relevant to the Transformers from 1984-1993. Saying "G1 Megatron" just by itself without saying anything else to suggest that they were just talking about the cartoon is not enough to say that they meant G1 toon Megatron.

+ People who sent death threats to Bob Skir and Michael Bay. Those people seriously need to get a life! :p Don't like Beast Machines or the live action movie? Fine! Don't watch it! There's no need to get nasty against the people who made it!

+ And of course, the whole Bumblebee =/= BB thing (yeah yeah). :p :p

Saintly
3rd January 2008, 04:07 PM
aussie hasbro prices on TF!!!

on that missile thing, there's a few TF toys without missiles... take CYB Red Alert or CYB Override

SofaMan
3rd January 2008, 05:55 PM
Pointless electronics that add to the cost of a toy without adding any real play value is pretty high up my list. Pretty much every toy over a certain size now has noises or flashing lights.
Endless repaints - I understand it's about gaining maximum value from an expensive toy engineering process, and I tend not to get repaints anyway. I'd be content if they did one repaint of each mould, but when some moulds are being repainted and reissued up to 5 times, and that is taking shelfspace from original toys, then I get peeved.
Lazy product naming - Goktimus raised this too. When a product is clearly an homage or reimagining of an established character, and an inappropriate name is used. When a crappy neologistic non-name is used instead of something meaningful and relevant that can only enhance fan connection with that toy/character.
Ultra Magnus ≠ white Optimus Prime.
Cliffjumper ≠ red Bumblebee


I think Gok and I are moving up in the TF Curmudgeon stakes...

The_Damned
3rd January 2008, 06:14 PM
i would say under stocking of transformers in this country and have store exclusives. ie masterpiece starscream and then not having them anywhere:mad:
and then there is always the fiasco with the 08 BB. don't get me started on that!

then there is the times that they never even release the toys in australia, ie classic devastator and the last 4 alts Camshaft, mirage, ravage and rumble!!!!!

dirge
3rd January 2008, 08:10 PM
Pointless electronics that add to the cost of a toy without adding any real play value is pretty high up my list. Pretty much every toy over a certain size now has noises or flashing lights.


Yes. If I wanted stupid flashing lights, I'd buy Random Gimmick Spiderman or something. Why does Leader Brawl need 47 electronic gimmicks when his head isn't even _hidden_ in tank mode?



Endless repaints - I understand it's about gaining maximum value from an expensive toy engineering process, and I tend not to get repaints anyway. I'd be content if they did one repaint of each mould, but when some moulds are being repainted and reissued up to 5 times, and that is taking shelfspace from original toys, then I get peeved.


I can deal with repaints if they have focus/purpose. Hasbro's more recent repainting (since Universe) has become increasingly lazy.

My biggest pet hate is that mentioned by Gutsman Heavy & Gok - gimmicks that dominate the toy/line. And this extends to the stupid electronics in many larger toys.

Classics was one of the better lines because the designers have simply focused on the Transformer. While there are some missteps, the line beats out anything other than BT (and segments of the movie line) in the last five years because it doesn't try to work around including a Planet Key/Minicon/Energon weapon/Aaron Archer's ego.

GoktimusPrime
3rd January 2008, 10:36 PM
But there's those of us who never followed comic books, so the cartoon and it's toys are G1 and nothing else.
There's a difference between "Sorry I haven't read the comics" and "Only the G1 cartoon counts as G1!" - it's the latter that really irks me.

I can understand that some people's preferred G1 canonical source is the G1 cartoon, fine... but that's no excuse to blindly dismiss any other G1 source. If you don't want to include other G1 sources, then say so. If a person says, "G1 cartoon Megatron" then they're qualifying that they're only talking about Megatron from the G1 cartoon. But if a person says "G1 Megatron," then I'm sorry but it means that anything relevant to Megatron from 1984-1993 is fair game. If you only want to talk about the G1 cartoon, then say so. If you don't say so, even unintentionally, don't get mad when people mention other sources.

For example, in the original G1 question game on the old board that Turtle Boy started, he said that anything G1 was fair game. He later admitted that he only thought about the G1 cartoon but said that since he never specified that, fair's fair, anything related to G1 from any source was relevant. TheDirtyDigger later started the G1 US Cartoon question game, which very specifically said that questions could only be taken from the G1 US cartoon. That's how it should work.

Obviously I prefer the G1 comics over the cartoon, but I don't go around discounting the G1 cartoon as a source of G1 canon just because I don't like it as much. They're both equally valid forms of G1 canon. And of course, there are many other sources of G1 canon other than the comics and cartoon.

Saintly
4th January 2008, 07:47 AM
*giggles* I guess this can also quickly become the pet peev/hate of certain OCTA forum members ;)

I hope I'm correct in saying, don't cross that line :)

i_amtrunks
4th January 2008, 08:01 AM
Pricing is a big issue for me, but I am not sure whether it is Hasbro or the retail stores that should have more of my anger...

Repaints are also a big gripe of mine, they did not need to repaint every figure back through G1 to G2, and even Beast Wars only had a repaint here and there, so why do they now need to release 3 repaints of almost every figure they make? Shouldn't technology have made making moulds cheaper? (even though they are vastly more detailed than their G1 counterparts)

1orion2many
4th January 2008, 08:23 AM
Repaint after repaint after repaint:( closely followed by pricing:eek:. Lastly I personally don't care where people get thier information from be it cartoon or comic but do appreciate people putting the effort in to let you know the reference of something thay are talking about:).

Borgeman
4th January 2008, 08:27 AM
i actually dont mind repaints these days - it means your arent constantly spending cash on them, thus saving money for when the main toys are on shelves...

George

Borgeman
4th January 2008, 09:56 AM
Or in the case of certain movie toys, repaints are the only way to actually get the damn toy at all.

Well then, looks like you are going to work harder then :p


I still say they grossly underestimated toy demand and started repaints far too soon.

Agreed, although had hasbro followed up with decent restocking of the first waves, it would have been so bad. *Here we thank Hasbro for having enough supplies to meet demand*


George

1orion2many
4th January 2008, 10:12 AM
i actually dont mind repaints these days - it means your arent constantly spending cash on them, thus saving money for when the main toys are on shelves...

George

:(If I had more self control I wouldn't mind them either but unfortunately more often than not I walk out of a shop thinking why did I buy this repaint:confused:.

Tober
4th January 2008, 12:13 PM
Convention exclusives!! :mad:

Store exclusives I can take because they are necessary for toys that would otherwise not get a release (Alternators Ravage and Rumble). Convention exclusives now seem to be aimed at scalpers. Nemesis Prime was OK cos he turned up down here in abundance and Rodimus was distributed to other members thanks to Griffin/Cygnus/Soundwarp for a reasonable price. Black Convoy was the killing joke for me for Binaltech and Ligier wasn't much better.

Thankfully I only collect select Classics, othwise the Botcon set would have been the ultimate insult.

springah
4th January 2008, 12:26 PM
Elitist transfans..

STL
4th January 2008, 04:44 PM
Convention exclusives!! :mad:

Store exclusives I can take because they are necessary for toys that would otherwise not get a release (Alternators Ravage and Rumble). Convention exclusives now seem to be aimed at scalpers. Nemesis Prime was OK cos he turned up down here in abundance and Rodimus was distributed to other members thanks to Griffin/Cygnus/Soundwarp for a reasonable price. Black Convoy was the killing joke for me for Binaltech and Ligier wasn't much better.


+1!

I can accept repaints by just not buying them, gimmicks I can ignore if the base figure is still good but I just can't stand exclusives. They don't seem to benefit anyone other than scalpers.

dirge
4th January 2008, 09:18 PM
BT Mirage (Liger) wasn't a convention exclusive, BTW. Rather he was a store exclusive - sold only through the Japanese online retailer eHobby.

i_amtrunks
5th January 2008, 02:12 PM
The IDW Beast Wars Sourcebooks really grind my gears.

Terrible writing, worse editing and the only showing half their modes in the images is all a waste of the potential this series had.

Borgeman
5th January 2008, 04:08 PM
new gear grinder!

i finally got around to opening up my movie leader prime, and i do like :). however, i do not understand why the joints on the bonnet in truck mode are grey, why not red? the color of the joint does not affect the robot mode, and it being grey detracts from the overall awesomeness of this toy :mad:

George

Tiby
6th January 2008, 01:36 PM
- Repaints of the same character. Different characters, ok. But the same one? That's just rude.
- Intolerant naysaying fans - by all means state your opinion, but not everyone else has to agree.
- Ultra Magnus without the trailer/armour. How cheap!
- Incorrect scale - Beast Machines and the Movie suffer from this very badly!
- BotCon exclusives such as the Classics Seekers - that's just nasty. A repaint of a new character, fine. But the balance of a series, nasty.
- I also agree with everyone about missiles and gimmicks. I thought something that transforms was pretty amazing in itself, and don't want a big box of electronics getting in the way. The exception here is Armada Optimus Prime - the way the trailer transforms as you transform the cab is pretty clever.

GoktimusPrime
6th January 2008, 04:50 PM
- Incorrect scale - Beast Machines and the Movie suffer from this very badly!
...so did G1... there's never really been any line of Transformers that's had consistent scale. Blaster is tall enough to play basketball with Jetfire and Omega Supreme!

i_amtrunks
7th January 2008, 09:58 AM
...so did G1... there's never really been any line of Transformers that's had consistent scale. Blaster is tall enough to play basketball with Jetfire and Omega Supreme!

That I'd like to see!

Scale is something I doubt we will ever see done right in Transformers, unless we get a car only series or something...

Borgeman
7th January 2008, 10:32 AM
a la alts/BT :)

George

TheDirtyDigger
7th January 2008, 10:44 AM
Oh man you guys stole my idea! I was going to say scale!

Imagine if every Tf ever made was in the same scale!!!:eek:



Although I've gotten over most of my gripes over the years and come to accept that HasTak are more interested in their shareholders than their fans, I think it would have been absolutely and fantasically arousing if they had only made one series...ever.

Imagine if every 2000+ Tf character that has ever been sold belonged to the same universe? Then you could create truly large armies of Autobots, Decepticons and minor factions. None of this G1/G2, Armada, Cybertron, Energon, Alts, BT, MP blah blah etc etc.
Just Transformers.....forever

Same goes for the cartoon/comic canon conundrum.
IMO it would have been far more pleasing as a fan and complimented my suspension of disbelief if they had of written the comic series and the cartoon as one universe, so that the comics could have had background stories and more in-depth analysis of the history and war of the TF universe while the cartoon provided a main story and mainstream source for the world at large.
I guess I'm lucky because DC introduced me to the parallel universe theory at a very young age so I could always understand the differences between comic and cartoon universes and accept them both as Truth as to me they were all TF's seperated by an invisible dimensional veil.

But yeah...would have been great if it was all one thing. One series of toys and one universe of fiction.

Paulbot
7th January 2008, 11:26 AM
I guess I'm lucky because DC introduced me to the parallel universe theory at a very young age so I could always understand the differences between comic and cartoon universes and accept them both as Truth as to me they were all TF's seperated by an invisible dimensional veil.

The Transformers cartoon/comic introduced me to the parallel universe at a very young age. :)

What grinds my gears? Lousy tech specs. The characterisation of Transformers in the tech sepc bios always made the TF universe come to life and was IMHO a big part of the reason for their success.

But these days the bios are really bad and what's with numbers like "10+" or "?" ?! The early Beast Wars ones were truly shocking and although they have got better, they haven't by much.

I tend not to even bother reading them anymore and just giving the toys (if they are not in the show or whatever) a character I think's appropriate. The upcoming Real Gear ones (http://otca.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=2983&view=findpost&p=37827) for instance are terrible.

And why can't the techspecs be "clip and save" anymore? I'd actually prefer if Hasbro made techspecs cards (like in some of the Japanese releases_ with the box art on one side and photos of the toy in both modes, plus the bio and the spec numbers on the other side. They came close in Energon but the trilingual cards had no bios - you had to go online for those.

GoktimusPrime
7th January 2008, 06:05 PM
I don't like how some of the recent BotCon toys' tech specs are written on an oversized single-sided card that cannot fit into a collectible card sleeve. I don't see why they couldn't follow Takara's cue and have the toy art on one side and the bio & stats on the other. Considering that these are limited convention exclusives (i.e.: custom production run) which fans pay a reasonably hefty sum for, I don't see why they couldn't have done that for the tech spec cards.

dirge
7th January 2008, 06:18 PM
I would expect that smaller cards would be cheaper to produce, as well, Gok. Even if they stuck to single-sided cards rather than the double sided ones Takara produce, the standard single size would be good (:

Fungal Infection
8th January 2008, 02:54 PM
Elitist transfans..

Hahahaha... typical Shanty-man response!!

roller
9th January 2008, 12:04 AM
Ageist transfans

you know who you are!!!

for a complete list go to www.rollerscrazyrants.com.au/gov

Saintly
9th January 2008, 08:57 AM
Ageist transfans

you know who you are!!!

for a complete list go to www.rollerscrazyrants.com.au/gov (http://www.rollerscrazyrants.com.au/gov)


roller, the link don't work :/

BigTransformerTrev
2nd April 2015, 08:16 AM
Toys like this:

http://www.target.com.au/p/transformers-the-age-of-extinction-silver-knight-optimus-prime-figure-3-cm/55701488

Seriously - these 30cm non-transforming figures from TFPrime and AoE are just the worst! They look like poorly detailed bubble-bath bottles :mad: Dont care if they are cheap - they take up shelf space from actually good TF toys :(

It's grinding my gears that we are going to get them in the new RID toy line too. :mad:

Handsprime
2nd April 2015, 09:19 AM
Toys like this:

http://www.target.com.au/p/transformers-the-age-of-extinction-silver-knight-optimus-prime-figure-3-cm/55701488

Seriously - these 30cm non-transforming figures from TFPrime and AoE are just the worst! They look like poorly detailed bubble-bath bottles :mad: Dont care if they are cheap - they take up shelf space from actually good TF toys :(

It's grinding my gears that we are going to get them in the new RID toy line too. :mad:

They are so bad, the other day I went to paddys markets and saw a few knockoffs, and I couldn't tell the difference!
It also annoys me that we didn't get the generations toy line, but got a bunch of these toys instead! I miss the old days when we got the good toys!

Handsprime
2nd April 2015, 09:26 AM
Better yet, I hate how the AOE Toyline was a giant step backwards. Not only did we lose the cyberverse toyline, but the only generation toys that were based off the vechiles, were released in the breakout battle set, and that most of the deceptions were released as 1 step changers and fast action brawlers.
Age of extinction is the WORSE transformers Toyline. And the fact this was on the shelves for a while, I felt transformers was dying in Australia. Thank god the Combiner Wars are here, though I hope waves 2 and 3 do come out here

jazzcomp
2nd April 2015, 11:48 AM
Simply, price! :mad:

The Collector
3rd April 2015, 05:47 AM
Better yet, I hate how the AOE Toyline was a giant step backwards. Not only did we lose the cyberverse toyline, but the only generation toys that were based off the vechiles, were released in the breakout battle set, and that most of the deceptions were released as 1 step changers and fast action brawlers.
Age of extinction is the WORSE transformers Toyline. And the fact this was on the shelves for a while, I felt transformers was dying in Australia. Thank god the Combiner Wars are here, though I hope waves 2 and 3 do come out here

I agree Hasbro thought they could sell a of heap cheap junk just because people we excited about AOE movie "FAIL"

UltimateGalvatron
3rd April 2015, 06:41 AM
Better yet, I hate how the AOE Toyline was a giant step backwards. Not only did we lose the cyberverse toyline, but the only generation toys that were based off the vechiles, were released in the breakout battle set, and that most of the deceptions were released as 1 step changers and fast action brawlers.
Age of extinction is the WORSE transformers Toyline. And the fact this was on the shelves for a while, I felt transformers was dying in Australia. Thank god the Combiner Wars are here, though I hope waves 2 and 3 do come out here

I know AoE wasn't the best toyline, but I wouldn't call it the worst. Most of the Generations figures we got were good, and the Power Battlers are really growing on me. :eek:

CHILENO20
3rd April 2015, 07:51 AM
SCALPERS!!!!!!! :mad::mad::mad:

GoktimusPrime
3rd April 2015, 07:55 AM
Better yet, I hate how the AOE Toyline was a giant step backwards. Not only did we lose the cyberverse toyline, but the only generation toys that were based off the vechiles, were released in the breakout battle set, and that most of the deceptions were released as 1 step changers and fast action brawlers.
There's nothing wrong with simple transformations or even one step changing per se ... we've had them since G1 (e.g. Autobot Mini-Cars, Jumpstarters, Battlechargers, Throttlebots, Firecons etc.). Basic Class figures in Beast Wars were pretty simple to transform, and we had one step Flipchangers too. But I find that the key difference between the simpleformers and one-steppers of Yesteryear vs. those of today is that the older ones still managed to do it with style. They were simple, but elegant. A lot of the G1 simpleformers and 1-steppers were slave to their gimmicks because of the more limited engineering of the 1980s -- even a lot of non-gimmicked G1 toys weren't exactly super-posable action figures (e.g. G1 Sideswipe; can swing his arms and elbows up and down... that's it). The Beast/Machine Wars Flipchangers were effectively 1-step changers, but each figure boasted a minimum of 9 points high articulation. The 1-step changers of today have bugger all articulation in robot mode. They were also quite detailed in appearance (e.g. Rattrap has fur grain sculpted all over his beast mode and air-brushed paint app on his beast back!); they also feature stowage for their weapons. Today's 1-steppers don't even come with weapons to be stowed! :rolleyes:

Then there's value for money. Let's assume that the cost of a Flipchanger in the 1990s is equivalent to the cost of a One-Step Changer today... even then, the Flipchangers still gives us far superior value for money.


I know AoE wasn't the best toyline, but I wouldn't call it the worst. Most of the Generations figures we got were good, and the Power Battlers are really growing on me. :eek:
Look at what's shelf-warming atm. It's a lot of the non-Generations stuff for little kids. The Generations stuff was better (I don't know if I'd say "good"), but they've clearly outsold the kiddified stuff, and it can't just be the adult collectors who are dictating this market. IMO most kids are still preferring the Generations stuff because kids don't like to be "talked down" to. This is something that G1 voice actor Michael McConnohie (Tracks, Cosmos) praised G1 for compared to many other franchises in the 80s; it didn't talk down to kids.

Imagine you're an 8 year old. You walk into a toy store and you want an Age of Extinction Drift toy. Your mum has given you $30 to go and buy a toy. You see the Flipchanger for $20 and the Generations Deluxe figure for $25. I know which one I would choose. :o

UltimateGalvatron
3rd April 2015, 08:41 AM
Look at what's shelf-warming atm. It's a lot of the non-Generations stuff for little kids. The Generations stuff was better (I don't know if I'd say "good"), but they've clearly outsold the kiddified stuff, and it can't just be the adult collectors who are dictating this market. IMO most kids are still preferring the Generations stuff because kids don't like to be "talked down" to. This is something that G1 voice actor Michael McConnohie (Tracks, Cosmos) praised G1 for compared to many other franchises in the 80s; it didn't talk down to kids.

Imagine you're an 8 year old. You walk into a toy store and you want an Age of Extinction Drift toy. Your mum has given you $30 to go and buy a toy. You see the Flipchanger for $20 and the Generations Deluxe figure for $25. I know which one I would choose. :o

Ya I see what you mean.

Sinnertwin
5th April 2015, 03:15 PM
7 years between posts?
wow, that has to some kind of record, Trev
;)

BigTransformerTrev
5th April 2015, 04:01 PM
7 years between posts?
wow, that has to some kind of record, Trev
;)

Yeah its the Pon Farr of threads ;)


(Oh yeah, spruiking another geek genre in a TF thread whilst referencing an actor who played a big role in both - boom-shaka! :D)

sideswipes brother
5th April 2015, 04:39 PM
Toys like this:

http://www.target.com.au/p/transformers-the-age-of-extinction-silver-knight-optimus-prime-figure-3-cm/55701488

Seriously - these 30cm non-transforming figures from TFPrime and AoE are just the worst! They look like poorly detailed bubble-bath bottles :mad: Dont care if they are cheap - they take up shelf space from actually good TF toys :(

It's grinding my gears that we are going to get them in the new RID toy line too. :mad:

These things are just soooooo arse. When my 6yo son saw them for the first time he said "What do these do?" with a puzzled disgusted look on his face.
The bad part is, i guarantee some of us here have bought them simply because they have 'transformers' written on the box. :(:eek:

prjkt
5th April 2015, 07:14 PM
Yeah its the Pon Farr of threads ;)


(Oh yeah, spruiking another geek genre in a TF thread whilst referencing an actor who played a big role in both - boom-shaka! :D)

:lol: Transformers gets you that excited?

There's actually a few other similarities between the franchises...

Megatran
5th April 2015, 08:09 PM
These things are just soooooo arse. When my 6yo son saw them for the first time he said "What do these do?" with a puzzled disgusted look on his face.
The bad part is, i guarantee some of us here have bought them simply because they have 'transformers' written on the box. :(:eek:
No comment. :D

BigTransformerTrev
6th April 2015, 07:55 AM
:lol: Transformers gets you that excited?

There's actually a few other similarities between the franchises...

T'was more the 7 year timing rather than the irresistible urge to mate ;)