I never noticed on my Masterpiece Prowl he had a notch in his hand for the side flange on his gun to lock in to. I noticed one straight away on MP Wheeljack. It was only last night that I saw it. His gun has been waving around the whole time.
Printable View
I never noticed on my Masterpiece Prowl he had a notch in his hand for the side flange on his gun to lock in to. I noticed one straight away on MP Wheeljack. It was only last night that I saw it. His gun has been waving around the whole time.
According to TFwiki, Gaia Unicron can combine with Voyager TFPRiD Megatron! I wanna try this, as I think it would canonically (as far as the cartoon continuity is concerned) make more sense than combining with Optimus Prime; i.e. representing Unicron possessed Megatron from Predacon Rising. :o
The catalogue image of Headmaster Scorponok in 1987 must have been a pre-production sample (nothing new there as official images are often taken before toys are in production), as some of the colours are different to the actual toy.... something I never noticed before because it was just colour swapping of parts rather than different colours, which would have stood out more.
The helmet, shoulder cannons, feet and lower legs are green or grey, instead of grey or green on the actual toy (colours are swapped). And Zarak's abdomen is grey instead of cream coloured.
1987 catalogue scan (big), vs toy photo.
Looks like a few others had running changes, like Snaptrap's face is coloured, Aimless is a different colour, Bomb-Burst pretender shell and Beast-Box looks brown
Is this the first time this has been noticed?! That's pretty astounding.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
No. Also, that's the 1988 catalogue in the link. The prototype Scorponok photos are also on the 1987 catalogue (it was on both years). And most noticeably, Fasttrak is green instead of dark grey. That year, the Technobots were also plastic-swapped.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bidoofdude
I read it today on tfwiki, and was amazed at how much of Scorponok was differently coloured. If it was just a panel or head I wouldn't have mentioned it, but this is about a third of the toy... which is pretty significant, and surprised me that it wasn't so obvious before.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bidoofdude
Ooops, typo with the year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sky Shadow
But you get the idea... and an impression of how I feel about not noticing it after all these years. :o
Here's another one for you...
I never realised before just how many Hasbro Gen1 toys were not released in Japan by Takara. They had a fair few direct imports of US-packaged toys as mail-away items, but quite a few in the later years just never got released there.
Like, in 1988 (Powermasters & Pretenders year), half of the Hasbro toys weren't released as general retail items in Japan. In the Generations book, I just thought that the 4 & 1/2 pages of 1988 JP toys was just showing the extra ones with unique colours or moulds that year (like it did for the 1987 JP pages)... it never once dawned on me that that was actually all their toys for 1988, compared to the 9 pages of 1988 US toys.
And now I see that the Generations book has done the same for 1989 and 1990 (showing all JP toys, not just the non-US ones like the 1987 pages).
It would have been so obvious if I had ever taken the time to do up a list, but still surprising now that I have. :o
Now I want to do up a list of each other's Gen1 "exclusives", just to see who missed out on more.
(as envious as us in the Hasbro markets were/are of the JP "exclusive" Gen1 toys, there were actually a lot more Hasbro "exclusive" Gen1 toys that I would imagine JP fans were envious of too)
The weirdest two are Gears and Ironhide. (Or at least, they weren't G1 Transformers.) A list would be interesting to view - I'm surprised if there isn't one. Despite our complaints, Australia ultimately got more different G1 Transformers than just about any other country - definitely more than the US or Japan. And I'd say we beat the UK too.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
As far as I recall, these are the G1 Transformers released in Hasbro markets that were not released in Japan. I haven't included toys that, while technically different characters, are identical as figures (e.g. Carb/Hosehead, Turtler/Snaptrap etc.). I've also not included Waverider, although his Pretender shell is blonde, whereas Diver's shell is a brunette; the core robots are identical. I'm also not including reissues. Japan never got the Classic Pretenders, but they did get the robots as "Hero Sets" (equivalent of Kmart Legends; only Grimlock and Starscream had cosmetic differences, Bumblebee and Jazz were the same.
Mini-Spies
Mini Spy Buggy
Mini Spy Porsche
Mini Spy F-1
Mini Spy 4WD
G1 Autobots
Bumblejumper
Gears
Ironhide
Topspin
Twin Twist
Jetfire
Omega Supreme
Roadbuster
Whirl
Powerdasher ("F-1 Dasher")
Powerdasher ("Drill Dasher")
Powerdasher ("Sky Dasher")
Sky Lynx
Hot Rod, Targetmaster
Kup, Targetmaster
Blurr, Targetmaster
Sky High (Pretender)
Splashdown
Groundbreaker
Gunrunner
Catilla
Chainclaw
Quickswitch
Optimus Prime, Powermaster
Quickmix
Scoop
Landfill
Dogfight
Override
Backstreet
Fizzle (almost the same as Wildspark; Fizzle has a red face, whereas Wildspark's is yellow)
Guzzle
Sizzle
Crossblades
Vroom
Skyhammer
Pincher
Longtooth
Doubleheader
Grimlock, Pretender (orange face)
Long Shot (variant colour)
Sunrunner (variant colour)
Flak (variant colour)
Sidetrack (variant colour)
Groundshaker
Retro
Surge
Pipeline
Gusher
Full-Barrel
Overflow
Jazz, Action Master
Rad
Jackpot
Blaster, Action Master
Bumblebee, Action Master
Mainframe
Skyfall
Snarl, Action Master
Kick-Off
Inferno, Action Master
Grimlock, Action Master
Rollout
Optimus Prime, Action Master
Prowl, Action Master
Over-Run
Wheeljack, Action Master
Sprocket
Sideswipe, Action Master
Tracks, Action Master
Powerflash
Omega Spreem
Windmill
Rumbler
Circuit
Rotorstorm
Rescue Force ("Leozak")
Rescue Force 1 ("Killbison")
Rescue Force 2 ("Jallguar")
Rescue Force 3 ("Drillhorn")
Gobots
Drench
Deftwing
Ironfist
Pyro
G1 Decepticons
Barrage
Chop Shop
Ransack
Venom
Runabout
Runamuck
Cyclonus, Targetmaster
Scourge, Targetmaster
Doubledealer
Darkwing
Dreadwind
Cindersaur
Sparkstalker
Quake
Needlenose
Spinister
Finback
Bugly
Iguanus
Carnivac
Snarler
Roadgrabber
Crankcase
Ruckus
Windsweeper
Thunderwing
Roadblock
Bludgeon
Stranglehold
Octopunch
Starscream, Pretender (black face)
Icepick
Bristleback
Birdbrain
Wildfly
Scowl
Slog
Blackjack
Hyperdrive
Detour
Roadhugger
Skyhopper
Cement-Head
Terror-Tread
Blackout
Spaceshot
Treadshot
Soundwave, Action Master
Devastator, Action Master
Shockwave, Action Master
Krok
Banzaitron
Starscream, Action Master
Axer
Gutcruncher
Megatron, Action Master
Bombshell, Action Master
Charger
Take-Off
Double Punch
Turbo Master
Thundercracker, Action Master
Slicer
Stalker
"Bonecrusher" (1992)
"Hook" (1992)
"Long Haul" (1992)
"Mixmaster" (1992)
"Scavenger" (1992)
"Scrapper" (1992)
Jetstorm
Deluge
Rage
Hydradread
Aquablast
Drench
Fearswoop
Calcar
Clench
Good list. I remember being confused fifteen years ago when I first found out that Scoop, Quickmix and Landfill weren't released in Japan, because there was cartoon footage of them in Episode 1 of G2 that I'd always assumed had been from the Japanese cartoon. (It was from their advertisement.)
I always find that so weird, since Diver's hair and eyebrows in the cartoon look more like Waverider's than his own toy's. Would Takara have done that to the toy because they thought Japanese kids would be more likely to buy/play with/imagine themselves as the darker-haired toy? :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
And similarly, here is a list of toys that were only released by Takara, using the same standards as above. I'm not including Fortress Maximus who came with extra swords, but the toy is otherwise the same.
Astrotrain (black & white ver.)
Shouki
Getsuei
Yukikaze
Suiken
Seizan
Kaen
Graphi
Noise
Dial
Zaur
Rodney
Kirk
Leoné
Trizer
Loafer
Shuffler
Twincast
Soundblaster
Stepper
Artfire
Ginrai
Godbomber
Ranger
Zetoca
Bollet
Aquastar
Doubleclouder
Metalhawk
Go Shooter
Minerva
Hardspark
Hotspark
Wildspark
Sixknight
Grand Maximus
Hydra
Buster
Browning
Guzzle (Sparkdash)
Sizzle (Sparkdash)
Javil
Black Zarak
Star Sabre
Victory Leo
Galaxy Shuttle
Blacker
Braver
Lustre
Wing
Waver
Mach
Tackle
Dash
Tacker
Greatshot
Deathzaras
Leozak
Guyhawk
Hellbat
Jallguar
Drillhorn
Killbison
Yokuryuu
Gairyuu
Doryuu
Kakuryuu
Yokuryuu
Rairyuu
Black Shadow
Blue Bacchus
Grimlock, Hero (no Pretender shell, silver face)
Starscream, Hero (no Pretender shell, grey face)
Dai Atlas
Sonic Bomber
Roadfire
Speeder
Sonic
Drillbuster
Black Heat
Dead Hour
Roadhugger
Gingam
Gunlift (variant colour of Long Shot)
Powerbomb (variant colour of Flak)
Sidetrack (variant colour of Hasbro Sidetrack)
Sunrunner (variant colour of Hasbro Sunrunner)
Landshaker
Metro Titan
Metrobomb
Star Convoy
Hot Rod, Micromaster
Sky Garry
Shot Bomber
Grandus
Spinner
Leaf
Diego
Knight
Alan
Spark
Joe
Gran Arm
Crushbull
Ironlift
Digger
Mixing
Treader
Missile Run
Chaingun
Supersonic
Raiser
Falcon (Micromaster)
Flanker
Road Police
Glide
Circuit
Neo Wheel
Sireen
Discharge
Desire
Atlan
Raise
San Diego
Windy
Converter
Fire Chief
Streetstar
Fly Up
Sparkride
Safety
Great Cannon
Leyland
Sandstorm (Battle Gaia)
Shuttle Gunner
Target Hawk
I doubt it. Kaneda Masuimi/Toei seemed willing to introduce a fairly multicultural mix into the human cast of Masterforce, including a blonde-haired Minerva, dark-skinned Carb, Chinese Cancer, redheaded Bullhorn, and whatever-the-hell blue-haired Wilder's ethnicity is. :p My guess is more likely just a running change in the toy line, but the animation model was already based off Waverider's blonde hair. The Masterforce toys were originally designed by Takara for Hasbro (as per their specifications), but later some of them were modified for Masterforce. Ginrai being the most significantly modified from his Hasbro counterpart.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sky Shadow
The Japanese version of the Flip & Change Grimlock LA-02 has the Flip & Change gimmick removed, giving it a 3-steppish manual conversion.
I got it today and I was trying to spin it around, but wasn't getting anywhere... so looked on the packaging and it has a 3-step instruction panel.
Speaking of 3-step changers... the RID Grimlock toy may be simple, but very creative with its transformation. The two Robot legs fold over and under the main body, to have the feet meet up and join together on the other end, covering up the robot head to create the dinosaur head. So one leg is the top/back of the dinosaur, and the other leg is the underside part. If it wasn't so simple, like a gimmick toy, I'd recommend this for others.
Although the RiD2015 Legion Class toys don't come with any weapons of their own, they are backward-compatible with 3mm post weapons from other toys such as TF Prime Cyberverse figures.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...ps25e20611.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...psa1fa0743.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...ps0bb24ba2.jpg
No weapons?! I didn't like the look of the cyberverse translucent pieces, but they're better than nothing at all.:eek:
All this time I've been saying "Die-a-clone" when I should have been saying "Die-a-cron"?
That's the lesson I took from these Japanese toy ads for Diaclone toys (including pre-TF Autobot Cars, Prime, Magnus, Dinobots, Constructicons, Trainbots and Triple changers) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_BOj1Qqx0Q
die-a-.........clooooneeeQuote:
Originally Posted by Paulbot
Yeah, it's pronounced "Dye-ah-kron" (or "Dye-ah-klon"), but spelt "Diaclone."
Other weird Japanese spelling & pronunciations...
* Ginrai is pronounced "Jinrai" but officially spelt with a G (so it's a soft 'g' as in 'giraffe')
* Carb is pronounced "Cab." So the 'r' is silent I suppose.
* Minerva's name is officially spelt as "Minelba." This is due to the fact that "Minerva" and "Minelba" are pronounced the same and are phonetically indistinguishable to most Japanese speakers. Although the original Classical Latin pronunciation of "Minerva" was more like "mee-nerrr-wah", as the Romans did slightly roll their Rs, and Vs were pronounced like Ws.
* Goshooter is considered to be the name of the Autobot Transtector, however, his human component's name is Gō Shūta (剛秀太), which sounds almost the same in Japanese; the key difference is that "Goshooter" is pronounced as Gōshūtā (longer "a" vowel).
* The "u" in 'Jaguar' (JP name for Ravage) and 'Jallguar' is silent, so their names are pronounced more like "Jagar" and "Jall-gar" or even "Jarugar".
* Many English speakers may pronounce Jean's name as "Jeen," but it's actually meant to be the French pronunciation, as in the name "Jean Luc Picard." In Japanese, this is approximated as "Jun" (ジャン).
Also, the "Micro" in "Microman" is based on the Greek pronunciation of "Micro" (from 'micross' [μικρός]), so it's more like "mee-cro-man." However, the "Micro" from "Micro Change" is the same as in English, so it's "my-cro change." Weird, huh? And two of the gestalts from Transformers Victory use the two variant pronunciations of Caesar. You have the Decepticon Breast Force who combine to form "Lio Caesar," where the 'caesar' is pronounced more similarly to the Classical Latin pronunciation of "kaiser" (and indeed the name is commonly spelt as "Liokaiser" by Western fans); the Autobot Brainmaster gestalt "Road Caesar" uses the Vulgar Latin pronunciation of "see-zar," and thus many Western fans simply spell it as "Caesar." But it's kinda cool how the two rival gestalts from Victory are both named 'Caesar,' only that the Decepticon one is pronounced Classically, whereas the Autobot is pronounced Vulgarly. ;)
Heh, whaddaya know... MP Red Alert's strobe is detachable. :o
Finally the mystery is solved, I think...
The Rescue Bots Beam Box computer game (for the TV - you plug in figurines to play their characters), comes pre-installed with six characters. In other words, the game is not like Skylanders or Disney Infinity which has the characters downloaded into the game from the figurines. As such, it is possible to trick the Beam Box console into thinking you have bought and plugged in the characters.
The six characters in the game (on the main menu screen to activate)...
Optimus Prime - comes with console
Bumblebee - sold separately in wave 1
Boulder - sold separately in wave 1
Heatwave - sold separately in wave 1
Chase - SUPPOSED to be sold separately in wave 1
Blades - sold separately in wave 2
The thing that bugged me (because I was trying to complete the set, and make the most of the game), was that I couldn't find Chase anywhere.
The figure was displayed at places like the US Toyfair, while original online listings said it was supposed to be in Wave 1, but then never showed up... and never appeared on places like ebay or online stores.
Today while doing a search for the official images, I found it listed on the Amazon Canada site (noted as not available), and scrolled down to the feedback section to see if anyone actually bought it (so that I'd know for sure that it was released somewhere).
But the feedback comment has not only reassured me that I wasn't just being unlucky with tracking it down, but has now shed some light on WHY it wasn't released.
What that means, is that Hasbro must have decided to not release the Chase figure, to prevent people from returning the more expensive Beam Box to stores for refunds (because the Chase portion of the game apparently has a glitch, so people would return it thinking that it was faulty/defective).Quote:
I got a beam box for our 3 year old and we've managed to collect all the other figures for it, but Chase is probably his favorite character and he's been disappointed he can't play that game. So, I managed to "trick" the little buttons inside the unit by wedging a cut off piece of a credit card under the right side of the Optimus Prime figure. The beam box recognizes it as Chase and allows you to play as Chase. The unique game for Chase is completely broken; its controls do not work, so if you pick that game you're stuck in it until you turn off the beam box. I believe that this flawed program is why you cannot find a chase figure anywhere, and likely never will (if you can't access that game, you can't complain your beam box is broken. )
I wonder if Hasbro actually manufactured the Chase figurine. If they did, it would mean that they trashed them all, as the cheaper of two options (not release one of the six figurines, verses, refunding the value of the Console to those who bought Chase figurines).
Yes, there is a third option (fix the game glitch), but the Beam Box may have already been in production or was too late to fix by the time they knew about the glitch... which would suggest that they don't properly test their out-sourced products, as this game wouldn't have been done in-house by Hasbro.
This will probably be another one of those unanswered questions, as I could ask at the next BotCon, but they never have Reps of the peripheral lines like Rescue Bots, Kreo, Crossovers, etc, so are never able to answer anything about them.
Didn't realise there were so many Transformers insignia.
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Insignia
Mountain Dew Robot and Lunchables Brigade??
Aside from Autobot, Decepticon, Maximal and Predacon insignias everything else looks derpy :)
They may as well include every product placement and actual government agency if these are included. So many real brands and organizations in those movies.Quote:
Originally Posted by rodent
I have always liked the Rescue Bots insignia.
I didn't realise how serious Takara was taking using Hasbro names for it's figures now. I knew that since 2007 they have been using Hasbro names on Bayverse, TFA and TFP figures. For CHUG characters they have normally gone with G1 names. But today I noticed they are using Hasbro names now on pre-2007 characters. My Legends Skyfire has Jetfire on the box and Legends Gel-shark has Sky-byte on the box. I can't wait to get my others in my POL to see if Rattle's Rattrap and Convoy's Optimus Primal.
I knew about the Skyfire-->Jetfire thing, although they had previously done it before w/ Animated and ROTF Jetfire, but I must admit that I didn't know about Sky Byte! :eek: I guess that the Anglophone names have become increasingly popular in Japan since the 07 movie, and they're now more heavily targeting kids and newer fans who aren't familiar with the original 80s old school names.
Even with Masterpiece... despite trying to consistently use all the original Japanese names, the word "Autobot" (instead of "Cybertron") managed to creep into MP-13 Condor's tech specs! :eek:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...psad9ad226.jpg
Found this out yesterday when I got MP22... toy spoiler ahead (for those who can't deal with that now :p)
The faux wheels on the feet aren't just decorative, they also perform a practical function in preventing Ultra Magnus from rolling in robot mode and thus having that "roller skate" effect that you get on G1 Ultra Magnus (and even the City Commander 3P upgrade).
I must confess. I liked giving him roller skates.:p
Ironic that the unobtainable 'chase figure' is called Chase... Hasbro just trolled us all hard.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
on a side note, I don't think the skylanders or Disney infinity download anything from the toys, it's just an RFID tag inside the toy that when close enough to the RFID reader in the game base is read and unlocks the game character and data that is pre-installed on the game disk or downloaded from the interwebs as required by the game.
incredibly cheap to produce and a massive money spinner.
Luckily for you, that option is still there too! (just don't flip the wheels over) :DQuote:
Originally Posted by DELTAprime
Bonus trollage points if the most common figure was called Searchlight. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by UltraMarginal
Don't know about the Disney Infinity figures, but I remember one of the early selling points of the Skylanders figures was that they would level up and have unique stat improvements/weapons/clothes that would stay with the individual figure and could be carried between different games.Quote:
Originally Posted by UltraMarginal
Admittedly, you could do a lot of that via an internet-based database, but you'd be dealing with a lot of unique codes.
Very interesting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Seraphim Prime
It's actually been the curse of the Rescue Bots Chase character. The convertible figure in the first year (2011) was in the second wave with Blades, which saw very limited distribution. Then the Chase 2-pack figurine was in the first wave but was short-packed to make room for an extra Optimus figurine (the character is so "iconic" to adults, it was deemed more important to have it on the shelves in place of a cast character :rolleyes: ), so it was very rare in the first year. Fortunately it was re-released in a later wave, but it was demanding decent prices on ebay for a while.Quote:
Originally Posted by UltraMarginal
I had a feeling it was something similar to the Transformers one, but wasn't sure how they were able to keep releasing new character figurines over a long period of time. If they are all in the game to start with, there should be a way to unlock them all with something techy. Or if they are uploaded online into the game, that would mean the later figurines would need to come with a warning that they may not work if you don't have an internet connection.Quote:
on a side note, I don't think the skylanders or Disney infinity download anything from the toys, it's just an RFID tag inside the toy that when close enough to the RFID reader in the game base is read and unlocks the game character and data that is pre-installed on the game disk or downloaded from the interwebs as required by the game.
incredibly cheap to produce and a massive money spinner.
That just seemed logical to me. Am I getting too old and grumpy nowadaysQuote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Another retro catalogue, this time from the UK store Argos. Sounds like it might be a mail-order catalogue.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
Coming from the UK, I remember being back their on holidays in 1993 aged 10 and visiting Argos.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
You basically (as I remember) go in with a catalogue, and they get the stuff from the back for you. Not a big box self-service department store like Big W.
Actually, the TFW2005 board post mentions it as an "order & wait" store. A totally foreign concept these days - but I don't know how common it was around the world at the time. The same post mentions it was unique in the UK.
I flicked through a few pages and the page just prior to the TFs in the winter '85 catalogue has a pre-Transformers Omega Supreme! (called Convertors Omegatron). As soon as they invent the Delorean Time machine...:)Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
Masterpiece Wheeljack has a mustached face hidden behind his mouthplate!
Like MP1 convoy before him, the MP designers have had a bit of fun and given Wheeljack an actual face behind the plate. I don't have a photo, but if you go to Seibertron, you'll see what I mean.
It appears you need to unscrew the two half of the heads to open it up and see.
Something similar behind MP Ultra Magnus's face too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Seraphim Prime
That you can do this
http://i.imgur.com/V8qmdkU.jpg
edit: smaller darn image (sorry for that huge one)