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Anyone else ever wish they would reissue the Japanese G1 transformers in the western market? Really want a Star Saber without the $1k price tag :p
I picked up a Deathsaurus and Scorponok from KL when I was a little kid. Really wish I had have pleaded with my parents to buy them all! Who am I kidding, I am sure I would have :p
If only I had have told them to buy 2 and keep one set MISB. My dad may have gone for that if he thought it was a smart investment. Oh hindsight...
When it comes to reissues and MPs Hasbro are very reactive, not proactive. They always wait for Takara(TOMY) to release a product first, then later consider releasing that toy in their markets. So given that TakaraTOMY haven't reissued Star Sabre, I don't foresee that Hasbro would. And sadly TakaraTOMY's geoblock on their online survey site prevents those of us outside of Japan from nominating Star Sabre for an upcoming reissue.
But have you ever seen/handled a G1 Star Sabre? Cos IMHO it's a pretty rubbish toy. :o I'm happy enough with my MP and RM Star Sabres. Yeah, I'll buy a reissue if it happens, but it's honestly not a nomination priority for me.
I've seen one boxed but never had the pleasure of handling one. I still think it looks pretty cool and I mostly want it as I like have the G1 version of my MPs.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Someone did bring a G1 Star Sabre to a Sydney fan meet in 2002 (see all those shelf-warming Animorphs and Beast Machines toys in the background? ;)). You're really not missing out on much. And that particular specimen suffered from chronic "chrome dandruff." :o
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...sfanmeet02.jpg
Saw a Diaclone red Sunstreaker today, which AFAIK is pretty much the first transforming proper-vehicle-to-robot figure ever. 円30,000, or ~$350. Slightly damaged box, otherwise looked OK.
Kind of want to buy it for the sake of historical significance, but it doesn't fit in with my approach to collecting (buy 'em as cheap as possible and even then only if you like 'em/find 'em interesting), and I'm currently sans employment so am watching the spending a bit more than what I would if I had a salary coming in.
I still remember having to budget for bus fare during the ol' uni-student days, so it still seems a bit crazy to be able to casually blow 1/3+ of a thousand dollars on an old toy simply for the sake of historical significance. Let alone finding doing so pretty tempting...:o
As a kid I actually knew a kid at school who had a red Diaclone Sunstreaker. Don't know if he got it from overseas or if it was a counterfeit. But anyway, I actually encountered Sunstreaker in red before I saw it in yellow. :o If TakaraTOMY were to ever reissue Sunstreaker it'd be neat to see the red version be reissued as a new character. They could do it with MP too.
I've heard a rumour that one reason why an MP Sunstreaker would be challenging is because Lamborghini won't approve a toy where the car splits (i.e. bonnet splitting to form the feet). No idea if there's any truth to this. Obviously other car companies like VW/Porsche, Lancia, Corvette etc. aren't so fussed, but maybe Lamborghini are. If it's true I reckon that TakaraTOMY might still be able to get around it by having a non-splitting panel that covers the bonnet and hides the split line. That panel would then fold away and there'd be faux-bonnet kibble underneath that would form the robot feet. Kinda like how the MP Coneheads' heads are made from a false nosecone with the actual nosecone folding behind the back. It wouldn't be ideal mind you, but I think it would be possible if Lamborghini won't let them have it any other way.
Sunstreaker also doesn't have a whole lot of repaint potential. The red version is one, and the other would be the police car version. They'd basically be relying on fans' knowledge/nostalgia of Diaclone to sell those repaints, but the same happened with MP Exhaust and Loudpedal. Road Rage too, although she had some precedent from the G1 eHobby figure, but in spite of that the toy did shelf warm.
People mentioning Beast Wars and CGI got me wondering.
I wonder what inspired the idea of Transmetals? Was it a response to seeing what was capable using Madman's CG capabilities or was it an independent choice?
I'd say it was a response to people who kept on pining for more mechanical and vehicular looking Transformers. The "Trukk Not Munkee" crowd was an extremely vocal minority. Hasbro launched Machine Wars which failed, so I'd say they came to a compromise where they continued with beasts, but these would have robotic beast modes but bestial robot modes, as well as intermediate vehicular modes.
It worked out in the West but the idea flopped in Japan where a lot of fans didn't like Beast Wars Metals as they found that the concept made the Beast Wars Transformers no longer robots in disguise. A robotic gorilla isn't a realistic looking beast mode. This is why Takara went with more realistic looking beast modes with the Japanese BW lines, especially BW Neo. Some of the BW Neo Transformers were actually based off fan designs submitted via competitions; such as Mach Kick, Archadis and Bazooka. Star Upper (see Paulbot's avatar) was a competition winner that unfortunately wasn't made into product, but the character did appear in the manga series and made a cameo appearance on the TV show (only as a background character and only in beast mode).
BW Neo really gave us some fascinating beast modes likely to be never repeated. What other series has given us a Transformer who transforms into an extinct species of marine mollusc! :D
Looking at the latest Maccas Bumblebee toy with the beehive wings, Bbee might have been good to make a cameo in Beast Wars. He was already one of the smallest Autobots (though still makes him bigger than all the BW cast I guess) and had a bestial name. Could have given him a big bee mode no probs.
But considering since he's shown up in ever cartoon series and movie since 2007 it's nice to have a show without him I guess :rolleyes:
They could easily justify the BW characters not needing to scale to the original animal size though. There was no reason for them to hide their forms as at the time the planet was only inhabited by other animals and cavemen, which we only saw briefly. It's quite obvious that scale wasn't an issue in the original show, unless Rattrap scanned a R.O.U.S.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Long story short, if there's nothing to hide from, no need for realistic sized animal modes.
I also find it odd that the Japanese didn't like Transmetals. Personally I find organic beast modes extremely boring, but when I suddenly had myself a purple mech gorilla? - Hells yeah! Maybe people in Japan are just too spoiled for their robot action.
I had one of my next Masterpiece dreams last night...
Wait for it... Preceptor :p
I have had dreams about MP Starscream and MP Megatron before they were announced so it could happen. :p
In the dream I was more excited that I finally got MP-11T Thundercracker :D
Does anyone else have the problem where 'sorting Transformers to sell them' time becomes 'finding all the missing bits of figures from more than a decade ago and sitting on the carpet playing with them' time?
I am soooooo attracted to you right now :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by Tetsuwan Convoy
I hated Ratraps organic beast mode but loved his transmetal version with the wheels :D
Lol I was getting some G1 combiner bots out to sell and so I needed to test that all the joints were tight before I sold them. Well that is what I told myself when I spent 15 minutes transforming and combining them :DQuote:
Originally Posted by SharkyMcShark
For our most youngest members who may not remember, this is what Happy Meal Transformers looked like in 2003:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...psdqavnnox.jpg
...and this is what they look like now. The price hasn't changed. You could purchase each of the Armada Happy Meal toys separately for $2 and you can still do the same now - so the $2 price has remained constant. IMO the Armada figures gave us WAY more bang for our buck compared to Happy Meal Toys today which are just ab-so-lute rubbish.
The only good thing about the Maccas toys today is that my kids play with them in the shower. The main reason is cause they are pretty crap toys and I dont care it they break them
The target market for these Happy Meal Toys are toddlers / kiddies NOT adults. They don't give two hoots about the level of engineering design nor the points of articulation. It's a mute point you are making as the kids I've seen, including my nephew, absolutely enjoy being creative in their own special way they play with, say, Optimus Prime. i.e. soaring through the air & slashing everything and anything with that bad-ass sword. (yes Optimus flys without his jetpack & beats up ALL that stand in his way :D).Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Total Bayverse there! :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Megatran
The packaging states "For Ages 3+," and in terms of the cognitive development of a 3 year old...Quote:
Originally Posted by Megatran
* The child is now entering the peak period of imaginary play and enjoys using replica objects as actors in sequenced themes.
* The child has progressed significantly in their gross-motor skills and have now developed the fine motor skills for more manipulative, challenging and complex play patterns.
And for the remainder of a child's pre-school years (Age 4-5), we can see:
+ Dramatic and pretend play is at its zenith
+ Children enjoy creativity and complexity in their dramatic and make-believe play scenarios
+ Children create and coordinate multiple roles in more elaborate scenarios to build story lines
+ Motor skills are further enhanced and they develop more sophisticated levels of dexterity and coordination
(Reference)
Yes, the current Happy Meal toys can hit these developmental markers too, but IMO not at the same qualitative level as the Armada Happy Meal toys. Or let me put it another way, how long do you think a child will maintain their interest in a current Happy Meal toy for? Are these toys that they're going to look back on fondly in years to come or will they simply be forgotten?
e.g. Who remembers any of the 2007 live action movie Red Rooster Meal toys fondly? (if at all) Now who remembers the 1980s transforming McDonalds toys? They weren't marketed as Transformers here, but you know, the transforming Big Mac, Milkshake etc.? Cos I've given all of mine to my daughter who loves playing with them! I gave her the current Happy Meal Bumblebee toy and she just gave it away to her almost 2 year old cousin. :p
Another thing is something which kids don't understand (but it doesn't mean that it's not irrelevant) - value for money. I'm comparing two sets of $2 Happy Meal Toys. Both toys are aimed at the SAME target demographic and both cost the SAME price. Yet IMHO the Armada figures give parents way more dollar value. If Maccas wants to make cheaper toys then make them cheaper. If they're going to give us half the value, then halve the price. What I find objectionable is that they're giving us toys with half the value at the same price.
Lemme put it this way, imagine if the Last Knight toys hit shelves for these prices:
- Deluxe = $55
- Voyager = $100
- Leader = $190
How would you feel? It's not so much that the current Happy Meal toys are inherently rubbish, but they're rubbish for the price that you're paying. Just as a Last Knight Deluxe Barricade would be rubbish if you had to pay $55 for it.
I'm no expert on Happy Meal toys since I haven't had one since I was about 8, but think the difference between the Armada toys (2003) and the current RiD ones (2017) is that Armada HM toys were transforming Transformers while the RiD HM toys are action figures of Transformers. What the RiD toys lack compared to the Armada ones (being able to transform, combine, etc), they make up for in proportions and show likeness. It's like comparing a G1 1984 transformer to an Action Master or Revoltech.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
It is a futile exercise debating the 'value for money' merits of a $2 toy.
If they are the same price, then factoring 14 years of inflation, doesn't that mean the current toys are inherently cheaper than their Armada counterparts? I don't have the actual inflation figures but if you go for a conservative 2% inflation each year, you're comparing $2 Armada toys with $1.50 RiD Toys in 2003 dollars.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Surely that means you cannot expect the same level of engineering, we've seen price of plastic go up, labour go up etc, yet the toy remains the same price, something has to give. At the end of the day, they're $2 toys... it's impressive that you can even still buy a semi-decent toy for that price nowadays.
I've got most Maccas TF Happy Meal toys since they have been made. For what its worth I found the Armada ones - particularly Smokescreen and Hot Shot - absolutely bollocks in robot mode. Conversely the toys we've gotten with Prime and RID have great looking modes but then you only get one - they don't transform which sucks.
You want good Maccas TF Happy Meal toys? Go back to the Animated ones. They transformed and looked decent in both modes! Also my Energon Galvatron transformed, came with lights and a drone tank! That beats RID and Armada combined I reckon!
^ so much this!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Megatran
I can't believe that much text was written about little plastic maccas toys
I did a 4 day stint with a company that designed mchappy meals and if the tf toys on offer are $2 today are just static toys with little or no articulation and no transformation it means that it would cost more today to make that particular mchappy toy and the cost would be passed on to the consumer.
Things change, just deal with it.
We all know what happened to G1 shortly after Action Masters came out. :oQuote:
Originally Posted by FatalityPitt
I'm personally not a fan of Revoltech either - I've seen and handled a few IRL but never bought one.
I'm Asian. I'd debate the value of a $1 toy. :p :p #russellpetersQuote:
Originally Posted by Megatran
Seriously though, it's not so much about the amount but the principle of the matter. Imagine if Maccas started charging $1 for their soft serve cones. Heck, I remember when people whinged when they increased from 30c to 50c (60% price increase)
The mean price of Transformers toys hasn't really shifted much. For example the cost of a Deluxe figure (known as "Super-Cons" in Armada) is pretty much the same as what a Deluxe toy costs today. And if anything, I'd say that a Deluxe toy today is better than an Armada Super-Con, although much of that is because toys today aren't compromised by an overbearing Mini-Con activated "WhY mY sH0Uld3RS hUr7?" gimmick. As much as I'm not a fan of Titan Masters on non-Headmaster characters, it's a relatively non-invasive enough gimmick that I can overlook it.Quote:
Originally Posted by christalcase
Not everything appreciates at an equal rate under inflation... the cost of milk or petrol hasn't skyrocketed nearly as badly as say the cost of real estate! (thank goodness for small mercies) :o
I wish that these toys would change, that's the problem! :p :o :pQuote:
Originally Posted by SMHFConvoy
Been re-reading some of Marvel's Generation 2 comics. Jhiaxus' alt-mode looks so similar to Scourge's (... and barely anything like his Generations Thrilling 30 toy). If Hasbro/Takara ever wanted to redeco/retool the TR Scourge toy, Jhiaxus is a potential.
Yeah, but Jhiaxus' robot mode looks more like Starscream, and the Generations toy was a redeco of the Generations Armada Starscream figure. It would've looked a whole lot more accurate if Hasbro had bothered to use G2 accurate colours too. :o Jhiaxus is too lesser known a character to warrant a unique mould (that they wouldn't be able to redeco as another character), so he's always going to be a redeco of another toy. Either way, it's a MUCH better effort than Hasbro's first attempt at a Jhiaxus toy! :eek: And that was the only Jhiaxus toy that we had for 11 years until the Generations figure came along! I don't know about you, but I jumped at the chance to get Generations Jhiaxus, and it seems that 75% of respondents on the Gen. Jhiaxus review thread agree! :D
I've got the Thrilling 30 Jhiaxus too. I agree with the 75%, I think it's great. Even if it were bad, I still would have gotten it simply for being Jhiaxus :)Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Until I re-read the Gen 2 comics recently, I never realised how similar Jhiaxus' classic alt-mode was to Scourge's.
Interestingly, there have been even lesser characters who got their own mould, like our good friend Straxus. I even thought the design was quite faithful to the comics. It got retooled into Skullgrin, and while that was a pretty cool toy, I didn't think it looked much like his original G1 self. Still a nice toy to have.
Speaking of, I wonder if the upcoming TR Seaspray will mean the possibility of an Octopunch or Submarauder retool.
That they are, which is why it's always important to be aware of the difference rather than compare $2 for $2 despite being 14 years apart.Quote:
Originally Posted by christalcase
That 2003 Armada Toy would cost you $2.76 todays in money.
In terms of proportionate price difference it's similar to say the difference between a Movie Deluxe and Robot Replicas - non-transformable figures who don't do much but have more accurate sculpting at a lower price point. In my opinion - and this is purely my opinion - I'd rather go for the slightly dearer figure that can transform.
And to see it from a kid's POV, in 1991 I got Classic Sideswipe and Action Master Sideswipe only a few weeks or months apart from each other (as both toys came out in the same year). And I distinctly remember thinking how disappointing AM Sideswipe was compared to Classic Sideswipe - and these were toys purchased with pocket money so I was aware of the price difference. But I felt that Classic Sideswipe was WAY better value. I didn't buy any more of the 1991 AMs (the few that I have now have since been acquired off the secondary market for cheap :p) and instead saved up my pocket money for Classic Tracks - bearing in mind that buying boxed Transformers was a big purchase when we were kids :) But given the choice of buying multiple cheaper Action Masters or a single dearer transformable figure with my childhood pocket money, I chose the latter. :o
JMO
For all you die hard TF fans, TF1 live action movie is on (yet again!) tonight on Channel GO! at 8:30pm. Check your local tv guide.
Wouldn't the die hard fans already own multiple copies of this on dvd, blu ray, digital? :p I'm looking at you BTT.Quote:
Originally Posted by Megatran
I've just come to the realisation that I really miss the often seemingly random homage repaints of older (usually AEC) figures that would pop up from time to time in the CHUG lines.
We've not had those for aaaaaaaaaaaaages.
True, there is a gap after Hotshot until Armada Megatron, Starscream, Thundercracker, Ramjet, UW Thrust, and now Tidalwave.Quote:
Originally Posted by SharkyMcShark
Where is the Misfire reveal hastak!?!!? I really want to see it (probably saving the best for last methinks ;) ).
I mean repaints of AEC figures.Quote:
Originally Posted by Deonasis
Like Universe 2.0 Drop Shot, Blaster, Heavy Load and those type of things.
The Titans Return Quake is most likely why we didn't get one from FunPub last year, with their combiner team that had the other two Decepticon double targetmasters (Spinister and Needlenose)... as Hasbro usually veto Club/Con toys that are the same character as one they have in the pipeline (up to two years away).
And I hate to say it, but a FunPub Quake from the CW Brawl toy would have looked more like Gen1 Quake in both modes than the TR redeco of Hardhead. :(
I think that TR Hardhead redecoed Quake looks more like G1 Quake in robot mode, although the Brawl mould definitely would've given a more G1 accurate tank mode. Having said that, I'm glad that they decided to go with the Hardhead mould. First of all, it allows them to do something with the TR Hardhead mould - there's not a whole lot of choices. Secondly, I'm personally just not a huge fan of the CW Brawl mould, plus I already have 3 versions of it (CW Brawl, Killbison & Drillhorn). I need another version of this mould like the US President needs more orange in his spray tan. :p
And I'd much rather see more G1 CHUGUR characters being released as regular mass-market figures. :)
While I was having "play with old figures under the guise of trying to get Transformers ready for sale" time the other week I happened across Classics Mirage and his gun.
What an incredible figure. An incredibly dynamic range of poses, strong colours, snazzy looking alt mode. One of the most underrated deluxes ever? You decide (actually don't decide, it is underrated - you know I'm right)
I do love that mould, had a KO transparent one that fell apart, then got the Hasbro Asia 3 Pack one with metallic blue (sooo shiny) and the club MW Mirage.
Great mould, great design. I doubt there'd be much that could be done to improve it today, unlike others from the Classics line. (Hotrod, I'm looking at you)