Top 10 Transformers Gimmicks

[Sky Shadow]

"Combining with oneself." Are you talking about toys like Duocons, Magmatron etc.?

Yeah - Duocons, Ultra Magnus, Ratchet, Ironhide, Energon Tow-Line, Landquake, etc. Transformers who can... combine with themselves. I'm not sure what the official name is for that.

[GoktimusPrime]

Ah right, cool. Yeah, I'm not aware of any official or commonly accepted fan term for them either, but yes, I agree they are quite nice.

[Sky Shadow]

Ah right, cool. Yeah, I'm not aware of any official or commonly accepted fan term for them either, but yes, I agree they are quite nice.

I know there's Super Mode and Brute Mode, but it doesn't cover all of them.

[Magnus]

That was an interesting read, Gok!

My 2c:

As an adult collector, I like the Automorph/MechAlive gimmicks built into the Movieverse toys, since they're a good representation of the complexity of the CGI models. In my opinion, Automorph or some other form of autotransformation would replace the rolling wheels/through-axles as a top 10 gimmick.

I'm not a big fan of self-contained weapons, because I feel that the design of the weapon is compromised by making it fit into something, although it does yield some interesting design choices.

Lights and sounds are cool Perhaps there's an 'expectation' that larger toys have to be able to 'do something' in order to justify their increased cost, which is why Leaders and up tend to get light and sound boxes.

[GoktimusPrime]

That was an interesting read, Gok!

Thank you.

I'm not a big fan of self-contained weapons, because I feel that the design of the weapon is compromised by making it fit into something, although it does yield some interesting design choices.

I think it depends. Some pull it off better than others. One of the better ones are the tanks on Buster & DotM Leader Optimus Prime that can detach and combine to form his rifle. An example of a poorer one, IMHO, is Jawbreaker. His weapon is his hyena mode's tail, marketed as a whip. It's a tail.

Lights and sounds are cool Perhaps there's an 'expectation' that larger toys have to be able to 'do something' in order to justify their increased cost, which is why Leaders and up tend to get light and sound boxes.

IMHO electronic gimmicks, especially sound gimmicks, are a lot like a Michael Bay film. It's that wonderful razzle dazzle bells 'n' whistles that gets people to spend their money and will enthral you at first, but eventually the novelty wears off and there's little substance beneath it. I cannot think of any sound gimmick which, to me today, seems as cool as on the day I bought it. At best the toy still holds up well despite having a sound gimmick, but not because of it. Take the Leader Class movie Optimus Prime toys for example... I think they're all great toys, but the fact that TF1 and ROTF Leader Class Optimus Prime can say, "I am Optimus Prime" doesn't faze me one way or the other. As for light gimmicks, I don't mind them on their own - they can be quite cool (e.g. Laser Rods and similar style LED gimmicks). The problem w/ sound gimmicks really is the speaker which is this big block that cannot be shifted around, whereas LED gimmicks don't have this issue.

But I agree that sound gimmicks are often used to justify the higher price points, which could've easily been justified by improving the design/engineering or other play features of the toy. e.g. Movieverse Megatrons -- the Leader Class figures w/ electronic sounds are just poor. DotM Voyager Megatron on the other hand may be smaller, but is a significantly better toy IMHO.

[Sky Shadow]

I don't mind electronics, but I hate it when toys are rereleased with them gutted, or designed for lights/sounds but ultimately released without them. It means compromises have been made for no reason.