http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-...atchet-166157/
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heheh, beat me to it. But I have to say that it looks very disappointing. :( I -hope- that's not the final
Yay! :) (but we've gotta wait til March for him... "Boo!" :()
Comparing the brightness in his paint to Henkei Ironhide, Do Ratchet's colours look a little flat? (or is it just me... :o)
Those photo's are terrible, hopefully we'll see better pics of him in future. Truth be told though if it weren't for the fact they were a remake of Ironhide and Ratchet that'd be a pretty crap mould.
Yeah, definitely looks flat. It's that ugly milky white that's been used.
I have to agree. I think the mold looks quite disappointing... a bit too jigsaw puzzle.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord_Zed
Folks at Seibertron are suggesting that it must be Universe Ratchet instead, which would make more sense, especially in light of the fact that the siren matches Universe Prowl, not Henkei Prowl.
considering how nice henkei prowl looks (just the plastic even) I'm banking on this being the universe release :)
I'd say that it is the Hasbro version too, there is a distinct lack of chrome, and the Allspark blue windows are much more Hasbro than Takara.
He doesn't look as panel-y as Ironhide, but the two distinct shades of white paint are not at all appealing.
Yeah it screams Hasbro. TakTom and Japanese retailers hava a tendency to use Hasbro pics as placeholders until they get their redecos finalized.
like Ironhide, maybe the only chrome on Ratchet is his gun? *shrugs*Quote:
Originally Posted by i_amtrunks
Desregarding the Hasbro or Takara versioning, I still like the look of this..
I'm hoping they're just prototype colours and that the final product will look better. They're not terrible colours... just not what I think most people would be expecting - i.e. more show or toy accurate colours. This toy appears to have a white head with a red crest. G1 Ratchet had a white head with a grey crest in the cartoon and a red head with a white crest in the comics.
its very likely to be Universe. It is very 'UnTakara' but very 'Hasbro' in its look and feel.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
...possibly. But I've seen pics of Henkei Ratchet on sites like Amazon Japan and they're using the same pics. But it's possible that they're might be using it because there's no other available pics... *shrugs* we should know more by the end of the year.
TakTom and Online sellers have been using Universe placeholder pics for most of their Henkeis and then replaces them when the real pics are replaced.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Just look at *that* blue. I think that would make it a hasbro. And the mis-match white.
Mould still blows chunks though. Not even henkei can save jigsaw ironhide/ratchet.
To be fair to HasTak, making a G1 show/comic-accurate Ratchet and Ironhide is bloody hard to do. Yes, it's very jig-saw-esque because all that vehicle kibble has to go somewhere and still create a robot mode that betrays nearly none of it!
With very few exceptions most of the vehicle mode just vanished into thin air in the G1 cartoon and comics with the robot mode essentially missing 2/3 of the vehicle!
In order to achieve this in a toy there are only options for HasTak; they can either:
1/ Have a detachable trailer; which is what we had with OTFCC/BotCon Ironhide and Ratchet, or...
2/ Incorporate the vehicle kibble into the robot mode.
Those are the only two choices for HasTak. Their additional challenge on top of that is to try and make the robot mode look like the comic/show model which doesn't show 2/3 of the vehicle mode. On top of that they also have to confine to a set budget and price point/size class. This is not an easy feat so I'm not quick to judge on the jigsaw look of the toy.
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/tr...tchettoyg1.jpghttp://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/tr...tg1cartoon.jpg
The G1 robot was based off the front section of the vehicle - the trailer/deck section usually vanished into thin air
BotCon Ratchet
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/tr...ytimelines.jpghttp://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/tr...idedescent.jpg
E.J. Su's Ratchet carries his vehicle kibble on his body
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/tr...Ratchetidw.jpg
The design could of certainly have been better. Breaking up the windows into 3 distinct panels is the main issue. They didn't have to do that but they did. Neither Hasbro nor Takara have never been good at painting panel edges and sadly this toy NEEDS that so that its windows don't have an 'in your face' broken look to them.
That is my main criticism of the toy, the 'broken' windows.
Looking at all the probs with this Classics Ironhide/Ratchet mould, How cool would it have been if they'd recycled the Botcon versions of them, slapped on a little bit of chrome to differentiate it & bam! = We're all happy! :)
I wouldn't go that far. Some would be very happy with the toy tribute while others would be disappointed that they didn't go for a cartoon/comic (for most part) 'combined' approach.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pulse
I like the mould. Got to play with it today. I would have preferred a van done like the IDW design.
I think that they need to get red of the red on the front. That square U doesn't look good (I think anyway)
Yeah, but then the Botcon people would be up in arms and people would be calling Hasbro lazy for a repaint/re-releaseQuote:
Originally Posted by Pulse
Yeah, redoing the Energon Tow-Line retool again would have been lazy and also possibly in violation against Hasbro's deal with BotCon organisers (as the retool was done exclusively for them). As much as there may be some issues with the Henkei/Universe Ironhide/Ratchet moulds, at least they are making an effort to give us something entirely new and also more ambitious.
I also had a play with the toy today. While the alt mode is a bit weak, the robot mode and transformation are both fantastic. While leaving the back window clear makes sense, I wish HasTak would just stop making the effort on clear plastic for clear windows. The paint matching is too tough, it reveals unnecessary kibble and painted tinted windows (in any color but Allspark blue) would be just fine and solve a lot of these problems.
Perhaps either Hasbro or Takara will opt to have the windows as painted solid plastic instead of clear? It happened with 1970s movie Bumblebee - Hasbro version has solid painted windows whereas the TakaraTOMY version has clear blue windows. C'est possible. *shrug*
Quote:
Originally Posted by Golden Phoenix
Yeah, the Botcon people would most probably resist it but they did give their ok to Henkei Thundercracker/Coneheads so... I shouldn't get my hopes up... :(Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Yes! And it can work! The Takara Bumblee had a BEAUTIFUL shade of blue for the 70's camaro. It just added to the robot mode too when you transformed him.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
So yeah, I'm a big fan of clear windows whether or not there's kibble on the inside :b Why? Cause it CAN be done right - TakaraTomy typically {there are exceptions ... KOFF HENKEI CONVOY KOFF} do get it right, but Hasbro typically has the mismatched colours. Personally would love to have seen Takara use clear blue plastic for the windows on ironhide and just painting around it all - but from the pix we already know that ain't happenin :(
O well :D
Supposedly, the possibility of Universe has been debunked according to Seiberton
That's a very iffy 'supposedly' if you ask me! Their site is full of Hasbro promo shots for Takara toys.
If that's the case, what's with the baby blue (aka allspark blue) on the windows?
(I thought that was a "Hasbro thing"...)
I'm still betting on proper Henkei deco for Ratchet. The current images have no chrome, and we all know that's blasphemy for TakaraTomy's Henkei line :D
Rest assured, it will come, and it will be beautiful :D