Yeah but it depends on whether or not you prefer looking at the character or looking at the disguise. If you had a Superman toy that could change into Clark Kent, would you display it as Superman (Kal El, his true identity) or as Clark (the 'disguise' identity that he uses to hide himself and blend among humans)? But of course, one crucial difference between Clark Kent and a TF alt mode is that Clark Kent doesn't take up any more shelf space whereas alt modes usually do. For people with smaller sized collections this may not be an issue, but for collectors with larger collections shelf space can become a premium commodity!Originally Posted by Bidoofdude
At the time most G1 toys were pretty damn good. e.g. when you got a toy like 1984 Prowl in the 1980s (or even the 1990 reissue), I didn't hear anyone complain about the toy's design. Far from it, we were madly in love with the way these toys were made. Sure, toys today are better because there have been advances in engineering, technology etc. -- but in the context of the day, most of them were really well crafted toys. It's not as if you or I would sit there with these toys and think, "Man these toys are totally gonna suck when I look back on it in the future!"
And in some ways, I think some G1 toys were better made and better value for money than current toys - given the respective contexts of their times. Compare say 1984 Optimus Prime with Dark of the Moon Ultimate Optimus Prime; both were the big expensive ticket items for their time. With Ultimate Optimus Prime you got an Optimus Prime cab/robot whose engineering I would describe as mediocre at best. A big trailer that doesn't hold anything, but unfolds into a Mega-Pretender Butterfly Wingaling Shell for said mediocre robot. Whee. Oh, and it also has that large, clunky and pretty superfluous electronic weapon... thing (which is an eyesore when attached to the underside of the trailer). 1984 Optimus Prime gave us a cab/robot that was exceptionally well designed for its time. The trailer unfolded into a mobile command/headquarters that was interactive with other Autobot cars (Diaclone Car Robots), and it had an articulated battle tower with missile launchers, and a Roller car that could shoot out of the trailer with a launcher! (oh, and the launcher could also shoot out other Autobots too). The battle tower also had an arm to repair Autobots, and Roller had a nozzle to refuel Autobots. Also, the battle tower could be deployed out of the trailer in vehicle mode to give Optimus Prime a vehicular battle mode. And the trailer also had a port for storing Optimus Prime's rifle. And of course, in vehicle mode the trailer could hold other Autobots and transport them -- come on, who didn't think this scene was freaking awesome the first time they watched it?(now who wants to admit that they've repeatedly done that in their own toy play!
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1984 Optimus Prime's trailer enhances the play pattern with the Optimus Prime toy and any other Autobot from that year (and most other Autobots that followed). Ultimate Optimus Prime's trailer only enhances the play pattern of Ultimate Optimus Prime... and that's it. Yes, the trailer can hold a crapload of 5mm post weapons, but that's really the accessories of other toys enhancing Ultimate OP, not UOP enhancing another toy. I think most G1 toys have aged well, but they have aged. There's no denying that the average current-day Transformer toy is superior to the average G1 toy... it's been that way since late G2 and especially Beast Wars when a lot of the great things about current day TF engineering really kicked in. But everything in context - a longbow would be a craphouse weapon in modern day combat, but it was a spectacular weapon for its time.
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