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I was imagining how funny it would be if Hasbro decided to troll the fans who imported and/or scalped the Walgreens Exclusive Brainstorm by taking the Triggerhappy mold, retool and colour it up as a superior Brainstorm toy (packed with TM Arcana and a gold briefcase-time-machine accessory); and release it as part of wave 5 or 6. It would also be the most common figure in the case.
I don't see what would be wrong with that. Making the TR Brainstorm mould more easily available to fans can only be good for the fandom. Hasbro has done this sort of thing before, and while I can understand that it can be frustrating for individual fans who may have shelled out more for the previous limited editions, ultimately the wants of the many outweigh the wants of the few.Quote:
Originally Posted by FatalityPitt
e.g. Classicsverse Thrust, Dirge and Thundercracker were initially only released as BotCon exclusive figures. TakaraTOMY then released them as convention exclusive "Gentei" figures. Either set were limited and expensive to get (about $50 a figure). I personally got Gentei Thrust and Thundercracker to fill those gaps in my collection. But then Hasbro released all of those figures as regular store-available Generations figures for $25 each here. I was finally able to get a CHUGUR Dirge, and yeah, even though it sucked for me that I paid too much for my CHUGUR Thundercracker and Thrust, I was really glad that Hasbro eventually made the right decision to release them as mass produced regular store figures.
Hasbro released Thrust first and although I already had Gentei Thrust, I went and bought Generations Thrust as well. I gave that Generations Thrust toy away for free as a trivia prize to a board member here - I never bought it to keep it, I just bought it to show my support to Hasbro about this decision (re: voting with my wallet). And then Hasbro released Thundercracker, and I went and bought that figure too despite already having Gentei Thundercracker (although in this case, I kept the Generations figure because Hasbro fixed the mould degradation issues that Gentei Thundercracker has).
I don't know if I'd go and buy a mass store release of TR Brainstorm because frankly that figure doesn't interest me all that much, and also because this isn't the first mass release CHUGUR Brainstorm toy anyway (re: Generations & LG Brainstorms). I was more willing to support those Seekers because they really should've been released back in 2006/7. Do I regret "wasting money" on Gentei Thrust and Thundercracker? Not really, because there was no way that I could've known that these toys would be mass released by Hasbro years later. So yeah, if people desperately want the TR Brainstorm mould, then they may feel the desire to shell out a premium price for it, but if it comes out as a regular release figure later, then the majority of fans benefit. The release of Generations Thrust was of no benefit to me, but I'm happy that others were able to benefit from it.
And if Scalpers end up losing all their money on their depreciated stock of Brainstorms, then suck excrement to them! Scalpers are a despicable lot and they fully deserve any karma that comes their way. It's mostly the honest fans who stand to gain from a mass release of previously limited toys.
I wasn't implying it'd be bad, in fact I'd love for that to happen since the only Brainstorm I have is the original G1 (missed out on the voyager from several years ago and I can't afford to import the TR exclusive or legends). I was just imagining the look on the faces on some of these jokers in the US who'd go to Walgreens to buy up multiple copies of TR Brainstorm to sell at hyper-inflated prices to poor foreigners like us on eBay; only to realise there's a better Brainstorm about to be released worldwide.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
If they do a general release Brainstorm, I hope they use the Triggerhappy mold. Seeing photos of Triggerhappy, I think that mold is more appropriate for Brainstorm compared to the Blurr mold.
Not a bad idea. Here's a fan's digital mock up
I like the concept there... don't need a third Brainstorm but I can appreciate it
That's more like it! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Not to say that the Walgreens Exclusive is bad (far from it). I would have even bought it myself if it were more attainable. But since learning of the Triggerhappy mold and watching video reviews of it, I'm thinking to myself "this looks SO like Brainstorm.. It would have taken Hasbro/Takara less effort to retool from this than from the Blurr mold - And it would have been a good toy"
That's pretty nice, I don't have the TR brainstorm simply because for the moment, I'm happy with the voyager one but I might get that if it were ever released. What are the odds they release 3 different brainstorm moulds in 3 years??Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Blurr is a great toy. Triggerhappy is a great toy. Brainstorm should feel lucky to be consider a retool of either.
Like seriously, Blurr and Triggerhappy are by far my favourite two Titans Return deluxes. I love them both!
Haven't got Triggerhappy yet, it after seeing a video review I'm looking forward to him, but I did like Blurr so much I bought both the Takara and Hasbro versions and stuck Nightbeat's head on the Hasbro version so I'd have a reason to have them both on my shelf.
In the TR Autobot Breakaway review thread a comment was made that the toy was disappointing due to the lack of Getaway's distinctive shoulder pads, and okay, fair point, but I don't know if I completely agree with this sentiment, and here's why.
Classicsverse isn't about replicating G1 toys with modern day engineering. The toys are distinctly identifiable as their G1 counterparts, but they're not necessarily enslaved to the idea of being G1 accurate. To me, Classicsverse is more like how HasTak would make these characters today using contemporary design/engineering. Masterpiece on the other hand is more about 'translating' G1 toys with a slavish dedication to aesthetic fidelity.
Look again at the Classicsverse/G1 Comparison thread and have a good look at a lot of these toys. Many of them "lack" iconic features of their G1 counterparts. e.g.
* Classics Optimus Prime has no smoke stacks on his shoulders.
* Mirage's weapons look nothing like the G1 toy's rifle or rocket launcher.
* Grimlock's overall design and transformation is a significant departure from his G1 counterpart. I know that he's not everyone's favourite toy, but I like it. And I like it a lot better than Generations/FoC Grimlock which has a more G1-like appearance and transformation.
* Much of RtS Windcharger's body looks nothing like G1 Windcharger (either the toy or show model), yet it's an arguably better toy than the more G1-accurate looking Combiner Wars Windcharger.
* Sunstreaker lacks the iconic yellow shoulder pylons and the limbs are totally different.
* Sideswipe & Red Alert's lower leg appearance and transformation is utterly unlike the G1 figures.
* Inferno has no ladder or wings.
* Boobglide. 'Nuff sed.
* The lower legs on the Nissans are inverted compared to their G1 counterparts.
* Voyager Nerf Megatron looks very different from his G1 self, and just as well because if he were G1 accurate then he'd raise legal issues!
...and so on and so on and so on... you get the picture.
And yet people have long loved Classicsverse figures despite their relative lack of G1 accuracy, and I think that it's because G1 accuracy isn't the staple of the appeal of Classicsverse. They're more like modern upgrades of these characters, like a "Transformers: Generation 3." And these "G3" Transformers generally tend to look a lot more like their G1 counterparts compared to some G2 Transformers such as G2 Mirage, G2 Power Master Ironhide, G2 Gobot Ironhide, G2 Jetfire (with Decepticon insignias!), G2 Gobot Optimus Prime, G2 Gobot Megatron, G2 Frenzy, G2 "Rave Party" Soundwave et al.
Classicsverse are very immediately identifiable as the character that they're meant to be, whereas some of these G2 figures you'd look at and wonder what the designers were drinking when they came up with them. I love both CHUGUR and MPs. I collect both CHUGUR and MPs, and it's because both lines scratch a different itch. Classicsverse shows me what G1 characters would be like if they were made as regular/mainline toys today. MPs gives me toys which are slavishly accurate renditions of G1 (or BW) characters. I love both for different reasons. :)
I haven't read the post you're referring to but I think for a lot of characters, especially lower tier characters, silhouette becomes more important, otherwise it's just generic bot #9.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
From your post above:Look again at the Classicsverse/G1 Comparison thread and have a good look at a lot of these toys. Many of them "lack" iconic features of their G1 counterparts. e.g.
* Classics Optimus Prime has no smoke stacks on his shoulders. Arguably one of the biggest flaws with the toy
* Mirage's weapons look nothing like the G1 toy's rifle or rocket launcher. but the silhouette of the robot, though comparatively very lanky does represent the original toy and show model very well
* Grimlock's overall design and transformation is a significant departure from his G1 counterpart. I know that he's not everyone's favourite toy, but I like it. And I like it a lot better than Generations/FoC Grimlock which has a more G1-like appearance and transformation. This one is missing the iconic wings and while having feet that form the head is novel idea (Itoo like this toy a lot) apart from the chest and head this toy doesn't really 'feel' like Grimlock
* Much of RtS Windcharger's body looks nothing like G1 Windcharger (either the toy or show model), yet it's an arguably better toy than the more G1-accurate looking Combiner Wars Windcharger. For such a low tier character the vehicle mode and head sculpt are what matters and both these toys deliver.
* Sunstreaker lacks the iconic yellow shoulder pylons and the limbs are totally different.
* Sideswipe & Red Alert's lower leg appearance and transformation is utterly unlike the G1 figures. I would imagine that the original poster might also find these toys disappointing for that very reason. They are good toys but they don't evoke the character in the same way.
* Inferno has no ladder or wings. Like prime one of the biggest downfalls of the design. I imagine it also irks the original poster a lot.
* Boobglide. 'Nuff sed. The toy might not have turned out quite like everyone hoped but the appearance of the robot and the alt modes do strongly evoke the original toy and character.
* The lower legs on the Nissans are inverted compared to their G1 counterparts. but they still have wings, shoulder missiles and their iconic chest look. in silhouette you would pick the group for sure.
* Voyager Nerf Megatron looks very different from his G1 self, and just as well because if he were G1 accurate then he'd raise legal issues!
...and so on and so on and so on... you get the picture. different discussion
I get what you're saying modern toys don't need to replicate original toys, especially with transformation but when a character is being re-developed to the modern style and design aesthetic, part of the essence of a character is the defining features of the robot that carried over from the alt mode. Or just the robot design. the original toy designers of the 80's line were brilliant at this. Look at the torso design of the original seekers, very well sculpted and that design has carried through ever since.
The point of modernising old toys/characters is to draw on peoples nostalgia, not including iconic elements of the original design loses that and that's when we start to see more and more bots look alike and dare I say it, more like the recent movie designs.
All the ones you listed, I happen to love. They are a modern take on the characters, not just of the toy of old. I happen to love Sideswipe/Sunstreaker/Red Alert. The fact Prime has doesn't have his iconic stacks doesn't faze me. Again, I love the figure and mold.
I would go on to say the same thing about the rest listed too.
I'm not saying any of those are bad toys, I actually think they're all great, but I can see how someone might be disappointed by the missing features I listed. Imagery is a big part of this hobby.
Ultramarginal you have stolen my reply. I was going to say that although some of the toys mentioned are missing some elements as Goktimus points out, they have enough key elements of the original designs. Classics Optimus might not have smokestacks on his arms, but he has the windshield chest, grill abs and back of truck as legs that are essential to so many Optimus Prime designs. And so on with the other examples, they don't have to have everything but they have enough.
With Breakaway he just has some of Getaway's colours and head sculpt. And there's plenty of repaint/tools with those qualities that aren't enough for many of us. For me when I think of Getaway I think of those shoulder pads and the windscreen on his chest. Breakaway has a knack attempt to make the chest kind of look like a windscreen and doesn't have the pads and that meant I left him on the shelf quite happily.
I came here to make another post but that can wait!
I too can see why some might be disappointed in those figures, I just happen to not be one of those :)
^Agreed. :)
And sure, I can understand that a whole new mould for Getaway would've been definitely nicer than a redeco, but we all know why redecos are important. And Chromedome is the only car in Titans Return - they couldn't have used any other existing mould. So there wasn't a whole lot of choice to go with as you do with Combiner Wars. Given what they had to work with, I think that they did a pretty good job. I realise that it's not ideal, but I don't think that it was a complete failure in execution. IMO it's a better approximation of Getaway than say CW Trailbreaker, Ironhide, Prowl etc.
As Paulbot pointed out, Getaway's iconic features are his shoulder pads and windscreen on his chest; while they were unable to do the shoulder pads, they were at least able to do the windscreen chest. I think that Breakaway would've looked better if they added more iconic colours, like the blue forearms/hands (even if it means sacrificing the blue spoiler on the vehicle).
Go-Go-Gadget-Hasty-MSPaint-Job!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...psmvrcyvyy.jpghttp://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...pshfs66ofv.jpg
Would Hot Rod served as a better base for redeco?
With some characters losing a signature part to me is enough not to buy them, but for the most part a figures legs don't matter much (unless it's a big part of their design, such as Wheeljack's.)
I really like the Sideswipe/Sunstreaker mould as each character has their signature chest piece, along with the Nissan bros. and their door wings. Never bought the 8 CW Autobots that weren't combiners previously because they lacked key parts of their silhouette, but then as mentioned above, I prefer the RTS Windcharger mould to the CW version hands down as a better figure. I guess I'm a little hypocritical there.
Another figure I think is an excellent upgrade is a Gen Kup. Nothing like his G1 design in alt mode, yet has the right shape chest, head and arms.
There's probably quite a few others on my shelf to mention, if I feel that if a figures got enough of the character it's meant to be, I'm happy. With Breakaway I guess I'll be satisfied as I never had any exposure until MTMTE, so this'll be "good enough."
Kup was supposed to be a ute (pickup truck) but Dery's "futuristic" design makes it look pretty unrecognisable as a ute. Generations Kup really gives his alt mode the look that it was always meant to have. And being an "Old Timey" style ute also suits the character well. :D The little faux windscreen on the top of Kup's chest is an homage of G1 Ironhide (and Ratchet), since those toys have the big windscreens in front of their heads. The reason for this is that Ironhide was originally meant to be the old timer among the Autobots - Ironhide was the one retelling old stories in Season 1 of the cartoon ("Ah remember that time on Cybertron..."). So the idea is that Kup is of a similar or even older vintage as Ironhide (an idea which was originally shown in DW's The War Within where both Ironhide and Kup had windscreens covering their faces (although Ratchet had his on his back, suggesting a different lineage/vintage/wateva :p)Quote:
Originally Posted by prjkt
G1 Kup's alt mode is something that even the original G1 designers at Takara still remember as being a pain in the butt to "translate" as a toy (re: Ono Koujin interview). So I see Generations Kup's alt mode as being the toy that Takara would've wanted to design, but couldn't when they were bound to base the figure off of Dery's design. Liberated from that constraint they were able to make a toy with a superior vehicle mode. And this is something that I can sometimes enjoy about Classicsverse over MPs - the relative creative freedom unbound from being enslaved to G1 likeness. Of course, CHUGUR is still enslaved to some degree as it does need to capture the spirit or essence of the G1 designs. This is why I tend to enjoy new toys that are new/original characters like RiD Strongarm etc. (although they're still held back by being based on animation models, but that's a whole 'nuther discussion :p)
I haven't been able to find any TR Kickbacks or Sharkticons around my area.
GGNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWW!
Being the one who made that comment, I didn't necessarily mean it was a bad toy, I have Chromdome and thnk he's wonderful. I just don't think it's a very good fit for Getaway. I find the aspect that separates Getaway from all the other cars is his shoulders. Which is a design aspect I rather like.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
So without the all important shoulders, I am not interested in him. I'm perfectly fine with updates that don't exactly replicate the figure, but I do want the toy to contain the aspects of that character I like. While Breakaway does have a fairly accurate paint job and face, without the shoulders, it is to me, not Getaway-enough for my liking.
If they ever made a TR Pointblank/LG Blanker they could potentially gang-mould it with Getaway parts; similar to what they did w/ Blurr/Brainstorm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tetsuwan Convoy
which is why if I don't like a repaint, I just wait a few years and the repainted character will probably come out as a more suitable mould. :cool: let other people buy the repaints that fuel the corporate machine:DQuote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Exactly my take on CW.Quote:
Originally Posted by UltraMarginal
Did a minor box purge to clear out some space for upcoming MPs; mostly G1 encore series boxes which I would never use again. Feels a bit weird having kept the boxes all these years, and I don't even know if I made a dent at all :eek:
Another random thought: I wonder what the rationale is for the speckly stone black/grey background used for the TT MP box pics.
A background with a shade and texture that contrasts strongly with the figure's colour and texture making the figure pop in the photos.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ralph Wiggum
Also not picking a colourful background so that the colours aren't reflected onto the figure itself.
That's my guess. :D (also maybe something about Cybertron being metal and grey because that's the environment the characters are from.)
Random Thought 1: Saying "Fixit" with a thick NZ accent sounds funny. :p
Random Thought 2: Fansplanation for CW Liokaiser in terms of some of the name differences and why Leozack and Jallguar have been replaced by Dezarus...
What if some of the CW Destrons aren't actually the original G1 Breast Forcers, but rather their descendants? The Victory manga established that the Decepticons had children and even Conjunx Endurae, such as Esmeral, Deathsaurus' conjunx endura. But other members would be the original members with new bodies. So kinda like the Wiggles where the original Blue Wiggle is still a member of the current group, but the others have been replaced by new members. Perhaps the new members are Constructed Cold with their Sparks having been grown from a portion of either their "father's" Spark and with an innermost Energon contribution from their "mother." And then their names are an amalgam of their "father" and "mother's" names (or possibly father and father as we didn't see any closeup of the Breastmasters' Conjunx Endurae (only for Dino Force), so they could've had male Conjunx Endurae for all we know (not that it matters beyond the use of noun choice, really). So for example, maybe Hellbat's Conjunx Endurae had a name started with F, and thus their progeny was called "Fellbat." Killbison's Conjunx Endurae had "Iron" in his/her name, and thus their progeny was called "Ironbison." And then perhaps Leozack and Jallguar were Conjunx Endura to each other, but decided to name their progeny "Dezarus" as a diminutive form tribute to Deszaras.
So...
* Drillhorn = original member w/ upgraded bod
* Guyhawk = original member w/ upgraded bod
* Fellbat = new member, Spark-child of Hellbat & his Conjunx Endura
* Ironbison = new member, Spark-child of Killbison & his Conjunx Endura
* Dezarus = new member, Spark-child of Leozack & Jallguar
* Ion Scythe = new member, secret Spark-child of Death Cobra seeking revenge
Don'tcha love it when you have a debate with yourself? Only me? :p
RE: Magna Convoy
Part of me finds it odd that a presumably male Transformer would have the feminine "Magna" in his name (unless Magna Convoy happens to be female...), but then another part of me is reminding that first part of me that there are other male Transformers with feminine names, such as the 'Ultra' in Ultra Magnus, hence my point is invalid.
Well played, other me. Well played.
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Ever been caught out reading Transformers comics aloud in character voices to yourself? Happened to me last week. Came home after picking up the latest IDW comics and I thought I was alone in the bedroom and started reading aloud. Unknown to me the wife was sitting next to the doorway and was watching me. She laughed out loud when she saw me notice her.
What? It's fun! :D Although it no longer bothers her when I do the voices and sounds when I play with my toys - but she did initially find it odd in the early stages of our marriage. Guess she hadn't seen me do a live comic reading before (admittedly I don't do it very often). :p
I'm sure this happens to the rest of you guys. :o
All the time... :p
I wasn't sure if I should do a seven-year thread necro in its own review thread, but I've 'renewed' my appreciation for RotF Jetfire after playing with it while dusting it and checking its batteries.
Considering what it has to do, it's actually pretty good. Besides obviously transforming between Blackbird and robot modes (and the design may not have been finalised when the toy was designed, although major details look pretty close to the final CGI model), it also had to have the electronics block and it needed to combine with Optimus Prime.
It seems to me like that last requirement is responsible for the screen-inaccurate plane parts on the robot mode, since in robot mode the top of the head is formed from the cockpit canopy and the engines form the thighs, but the engine nacelles and the splitting cockpit are needed for combined mode. I wonder if Jetfire's silhouette could have been slimmer and possibly more screen-accurate had the need to combine not been there. Who knows, there might have even been a little less bulk under the fuselage in vehicle mode.
Design compromised for gimmicks? Probably, but the designers came up with something that looks and works pretty well, given those limitations.
So, how far off are we from being able to do a full-ish IDW Lost Light crew in CHUGUR toy form? S1, S2, both, not taking into account dead/comatose/whatever crew members.
It has to be getting pretty close by now, and I'm sort of interested in the repaint/retool potential to round out the remaining characters.
Apart from fiction-only characters, pretty much all of the major characters are available in some CHUG form. My gut instinct is that only a couple of minor g1 characters like Mainframe and Jackpot are missing.
I was thinking the same - Mainframe's the biggest name I could think of. Had forgotten Jackpot (but then I'm using the Club's Animated version for him)Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulbot
whole crew listing here.
There's a few other names - Crosshairs, Slamdance, Sky High, Pincher, Fizzle, and a bunch of others that are missing, but we're slowly getting the G1 Target Masters redone as Titan Masters, maybe Pretenders coming soon?
I'm surprised we didn't get Thunderclash and the Turbomasters as a combiner team (Battlecore Prime was such an obvious re-deco attempt...)
As for S1/2 cast still missing - Beachcomber is probably the most notable absense. Seaspray too if you don't count the 2010 (?) Voyager and want a Legends class version.
Oh yeah, looking over the list there's a few more characters from 87 onwards on the crew but a lot of them are "one panel cameos" and a fair percentage haven't had dialogue so easy to forget!
I can't find my post on it but we have gotten a CHUG version of every G1 character from the first four years of the toy line except the following.
1984: Bumper, Autoceptor, Deceptor, Kaltor, Drill Type, F-1 Type, Jet Type Camshaft, Downshift, Overdrive, Time Warrior
1985: Seaspray, Topspin, Twin Twist, 4WD Type, Buggy Type, FX-1 Type, Porsche Type, Barrage, Ransack, Venom, Slag/Slug, Sludge, Snarl, Swoop, Omega Supreme
1986: Hubcap, Outback, Runabout, Runamuck, Divebomb, Headstrong, Rampage, Razorclaw, Tantrum, Rodimus Prime (Space Winnebago, not Hot Rod), Spectro, Spyglass, Viewfinder
1987: Chase, Freeway, Goldbug (debateable), Rollbar, Searchlight, Wideload, Battletrap, Flywheels, Fastlane / Cloudraker, Pounce / Windspan, Apeface, Snapdragon, Punch-Counterpunch, Crosshairs, Misfire, Pointblank, Slugslinger, Sureshot, Scorponok, Slugfest, Overkill (debateable), Grotusque, Repugnus, Blot, Cutthroat, Hun-Gurrr (debateable), Rippersnapper, Sinnertwin
This excludes Repurposes and the Titanmaster basic heads.
I think the club's Runabout and Runamuck strike them off the list. If not them then the Japanese repaints of Blackjack do.
And there's a couple of others on the fence... Titanium Rodimus Prime being released alongside other CHUG movie characters in the Platnium line may put him into the "done" pile.
They use Energon toys as a base but you could put Club Scorponok (with Zarak) and Platinum Omega Supreme with the CHUG toys. Maybe the Club's Fallback (Outback) too? The club's Battletrap used a CHUG toy and maybe counts.
I would definitely argue that Club's Punch/Counterpunch is very much a CHUG version.
But it does show how few are "missing".
Brawn and Kickback repaints should knock Outback and Ransack off the list for sure! :)
Timelines and Adventure are not CHUG. I didn't know about a rerelease of Rodiums, but you really want that abomination of a figure to represent Rodimus?Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulbot
For a minute there I was about to say Ransack would be more appropriate as a Powerglide repaint, then I realised you were refering to the insecticon, not the G2 Rotor Force Decepticon.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulbot
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Ransack_(G2)
A package arrived for me from Hong Kong today and I genuinely had no idea what it was. I was thinking through my pre orders and it still took an hour later to hit me. This has never happened to me before, a sure sign that I've gotten a little carried away with the collecting this year. :p
I wouldn't be surprised if we end up getting a classics verse Star Saber out of the TR Leader Black/Sky Shadow mould