I dunno... it looks like a pregnant Unicron in stirrups giving birth.
(Or more seriously, I think it looks more like a fan mode that I don't think looks much different to the robot mode)
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I dunno... it looks like a pregnant Unicron in stirrups giving birth.
(Or more seriously, I think it looks more like a fan mode that I don't think looks much different to the robot mode)
Every robot has a city mode if you pull it apart, point an arm this way, a leg that way and lay it flat.
every bot has a city mode!
I feel like the final Unicron will be able to do something like this
Yeah a butterflied alt mode does not a city make.
I actually really like that “city” mode, it shows some cool movie bits with a cool setting for some scenes. I’d be disappointed a little if none of those bits at all made it somehow into the body of the final toy. Probably a structural thing.
Also, it may just be the photo lighting of the paper, but that diagram has a lot more orange with a dark grey, versus the yellow and blue we’ve seen thus far (which hopefully changes).
Yup, like the Scramble City Combiner commanders. Some of those ‘base-modes’ they were sporting were pretty suss - especially MotormastersQuote:
Originally Posted by Sinnertwin
That one always confused the shit out of me as a kid. I'd look at it and just go "why did I bother" and quickly put it back into one of its proper modes.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigTransformerTrev
Unicron for me will only be in bot or planet mode. Why be a city when you can be a freaking planet!
Lucky that Hasbro anticipated a lot of the feedback here and didn't include that "city" mode in the final version. :p
I really liked Motormaster’s base mode - but would mistransform it so the legs were spread out making it more city like. And of course without the launcher gimmick or a Trypticon to connect it to, it was never living up to its full potential.
Heh, the spring-loaded launcher on the Takara version is quite cool.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulbot
For news postings please copy some of the text into the post in case the link gets taken down or edited, and people then don't have to click on links that could be mining their data or be a ransom-ware site if the link is posted by a hacked account here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
This video (from an official Hasbro website) is very interesting and for those that haven’t seen much about how a toy is made you’ll learn a few things.
This must have been a monumental effort to arrange if they took over fifty people doing it! 372 pieces seems like a lot - so I wonder whether this would make it the most intricate Transformer released yet (although some of those Masterpiece ones are pretty involved too - but it did say double the tools [but maybe not necessarily parts] for a Titan class). I'd hate to have to be assembling one of these from scratch, and I think its going to be a huge task to actually transform him back and forth. I'm really excited to see more behind the scenes videos like this: would be great to see it being assembled
For comparison, Jabba's sail barge has 250 parts, for anyone who's wondering.
It's been argued before that part of the reason Unicron is so expensive is that custom tooling needs to be made for what would be a limited production run. That tooling can't really be reused for different figures.
From the link above...
As noted above, there is a video included in the update #1 posting to watch - it only goes for 56 seconds and shows the grey model broken down into its parts and layed out to show the mould trees/plates for the plastic moulding machines.Quote:
HASLAB WAR FOR CYBERTRON UNICRON: PRODUCTION UPDATE #1
Unicron is almost ready for what we call tool start.
Tool start is when we begin the process of manufacturing the tools, or molds, that will be used to create each piece of this massive figure. However, before tool start, we need a tool layout. A tool layout is the plan that organizes all the pieces that make up the figure into different tools. One tool might make five small pieces, while another tool might make one big one. The number of pieces in a tool vary based on the material, color and size.
To plan this out we used what's called a tooling model, a grown physical model of the figure. We took the Unicron tooling model apart, laying out approximately 372 pieces, so that we could plan which pieces go into which tools. It was sort of like when Rodimus Prime blew up Unicron at the end of the 1986 film. Pieces of him, everywhere.
We can only run one type of material in a tool at a time, so we had to figure out which parts of Unicron would call for the same material. We also had to consider the strength and durability of certain plastics. Unicron will be made of a total of 6 different types of plastic. If you watch our update video, you might catch big bold letters like ABS, PP or PA on the tool layout sheets. We didn't get the alphabet mixed up; those identify the different types of plastic.
Beyond material, we also needed to consider the color of the pieces and which combination of pieces best fit into one tool. Ultimately it came out to 59 different tools, which include tools for the to-scale shuttle ship, Galvatron, and Hot Rod slug figures. That's double the number of tools used in the average Titan Class figure!
So, that's where we're at. After a trip to Hong Kong, two very long days, coffee, about 50 people all working and planning together, and coffee, we have a tool layout. That tool layout will be used to create the tools into which we'll inject various types of melted plastics. Once they cool, what we'll pull out will be the individual pieces that will make up a Unicron figure. Then, those pieces will all be hand-painted and assembled into the insatiable Planet Eater!
Update 2 for Unicron is here. Lots of pictures of test shots, the mould for the head and the packaging.
https://www.seibertron.com/transform...-photos/44786/
Just pasting up the text and most of the images from the Hasbro Pulse page at that Seibertron link...
In these chaotic times, the Chaos Bringer finds order.
Even working from home, our engineers are working hard to keep Unicron development on track. Below you'll see images of what we call a T1 sample, which stands for Test 1. It's the first time we run the molds with plastic so the sample is very rough. It's not the final colors and the parts don't all fit exactly right at this stage. We normally don't see T1 samples in Rhode Island, usually we wait until EP1, which stands for Engineering Pilot 1, to get the first samples. But for the immense Planet Eater we wanted the samples earlier in the process.
Here is 1 mold which includes the face of Unicron. This is what the plastic is run through in the factory.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/news/2020/050906.jpg
And here is the T1 sample, standing at 27 inches tall when on his stand. This is the first photo of him in plastic, albeit a funky array of colored plastics. Without rings, he is 16 inches wide, but with rings, he hangs over our engineer's side table at 32 inches wide. And not including the stand, he has a depth of 11 inches. The stand itself has a width and depth of 21.5 inches.
Since we're still in these very early stages, all dimensions are approximate and subject to changes.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/news/2020/050902.jpg
It was also crucial to see how Unicron compares in size sitting next to the common house cat.
Our engineer's cat, Charlie, was ready to assist. He's a professional sitter.
As you can see, the results show Unicron is very big.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/news/2020/050905.jpg
This next shot isn't of the T1 sample, it's a model our instructions designer is using as he works on the instruction’s booklet for Unicron from his beautiful kitchen.
The Chaos Bringer really brings the whole room together. And fills the space nicely in planet mode at 33 inches tall and 37 inches wide including his ring. Without the ring he's 20 inches wide.
Again, since we're still in these very early stages, all dimensions are approximate and subject to changes.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/news/2020/050904.jpg
And here we have some more very important engineering testing.
We really want to make sure Unicron is durable, so our trusty engineer's assistant, Charlie, did a bite test.
He checked both horns. He's very thorough. But not even the fangs of this "ferocious" feline could defeat such a formidable foe.
However, there was one thing left inconclusive, does this make Charlie The Planet Eater Eater?
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/news/2020/050903.jpg
And now, a sneak peek of final package graphics:
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/news/2020/050901.jpg
If you were wondering what possible vessel could hold the mighty Unicron, the answer is this giant 26” x 26” x 26” box. Fun Fact: Our 6-foot tall brand manager can fit inside. We checked.
Despite the unique circumstances and a little cat hair on the sample, we're still plugging along, working to bring you the Bringer of Chaos you've been anxiously anticipating.
Stay tuned for Unicron Update #3 down the line when we'll bring you even more updates on our development process.
Seeing how big Unicron is in a typical kitchen or living room, I am starting to worry about where to keep him now...... and if I should have preordered a second one...... oh well, next years problem, right?
To me I'm surprised about the width in robot mode of 32 inches. I had earmarked my wide red cabinet to display him but Unicron's going to be about 2 inches too wide for it with the rings on. Would probably look lame without the rings. I might have to place his body on an angle and turn his head to make it work.Quote:
Originally Posted by reillyd
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...98624970507843
New images. Damn if there isn't a massive amount of detailing going into this beast.
They are the old pics from the latest Generations book.... came out start of the yearQuote:
Originally Posted by 1AZRAEL1
I hadn't seen em. Guess I missed it. Was being shared around as new too. Whoops.
Some sites were posting them up as new news, as it looks like the publisher is just making those images free to all, six months after the book was released.
I'm reconsidering whether I should still get Unicron. It's more of a space issue than a money issue although 848 is a lot of money.
I probably don't have the space or the money, but I sort of regret passing on it at Zing and I do know some other retailers did it differently
but where are you looking at it for $848?
That might explain why I missed it.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
He's gonna stand massive. I have a spot I can put him, even if he has to crouch just a bit to help him fit under a shelf
Oh, I have a preorder down at Zing and I'm pretty sure that's the price they were offering at?Quote:
Originally Posted by Bumblebee2000
Yeah, releasing the images online was probably something Hasbro wanted them to do, after enough time for the printed copies to sell out. It is good for others to be able to see these images... legally that is. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by 1AZRAEL1
It wasn’t the publisher putting the pics out, just one of the TF sites (TF-Vault) scanned the pages... they even said “we don’t normally do new stuff...”Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
Quote:
Originally Posted by nalops
Hmm that sounded a little too good for Zing, not too different when you're talking about that much money but that's part of the reason I thought it was an import
I could just as easily be confused because of $400 combiners vs $200 elsewhere, understandably theres no reason Hasbro Australia release = Takara import and I dont actually remember, but hmm I could have justified that over a few years from deposit to release...
Taking the exchange rate in to account Zing actually had the best deal in the world at the time. on par with the Pulse price and only a $100 down payment.
I'm starting to regret not buying a second.
Me too. Wish I grabbed another through Zing/EBQuote:
Originally Posted by UltraMarginal
Yeah whatever it was, it was a great price. I do kinda wish I picked it up as its a very impressive figure which has become clearer now that production has started rather than most of the decision period being a region-locked idea
On the other hand nothing is going to scale with this even so I would also just buy a commander class of it and Primus
Like I'm sure if they did a second limited run they would get some people hit with FOMO regret but I also dont know what I'd do even now. Not that I expect a second run because of the logistics of this figure and production-style, just saying.
EDIT: Or a giant head, I feel like someone has made that. I'm totally fine with just that and maybe the same face options as the Haslab. Primus is way more flexible, battlemaster, Rodimus-like, just an idea.
It'll be interesting to see the secondary market (ebay & other e-platforms) pop up next year.
I think it will be interesting too. You might have people wanting them, and see some go up for sale, but also wonder how it will go because the economy isn't going to bounce back easy. Some people may sell out of necessity. Interesting times aheadQuote:
Originally Posted by Unicran
my lego star wars UCS is still in the box, glad i rushed out and bought it on release a few years ago lolQuote:
Originally Posted by nalops
im still getting this unicron anyway but i know what you mean
Another update to Unicron, which says that it will have instructions that are 32 pages, and take about an hour to transform.
We could do races! :p
Wow. I don't think I'll ever transform it. I'm only buying it because the planet mode is absolute perfection. Hopefully it comes packed in planet mode.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin