Classics 2.0/Universe Comments thread

[STL]

I was thinking about this when playing with Universe Blades. He has an extra panel so that the crotch can locks into place and can still rotate. Do you think, looking at Ironhide, that something like that could have worked on the toy?

I don't think so. I've taken the toy apart as above and borrowing lcz128's pics, you can see the point for the waist rotation is actually further upwards on the toy not at the waist itself. More like half way up into the chest. If you looked the chest then w/ a clip, that would prevent that rotating point (shown in the first pic) from having any effect at all. Ironhide's different to Evac/Blades cos the Evac/Blades mold has two distinct upper and lower body parts. Ironhide's back connector/spine is important b/c the it runs up to the upper body to allow you to bring the whole figure down (which is one of the things I love about this toy).

I think it might have been possible to create a clip between the rear bumper (which slides under the front windscreen in robot mode) and the gray lower spine. But I think that has problems too as that would negate the turning of the upper body too since there is no lower turn joint on the waist at the base of the spine. As in the 2nd pic above, if you lock it in, that takes out the waist articulation. I think it might've been gotten around if the rotation point was lowered but I'm not sure if that would've complicated things b/c it appears that it's necessary for the spine to thin towards the waist.

And I'm w/ you Lord Zed, totally the Henkei will rock but I'm horribly infatuated w/ anything G1 so couldn't possibly wait after missing out on him a month ago.

[lcz128]

I was thinking about this when playing with Universe Blades. He has an extra panel so that the crotch can locks into place and can still rotate. Do you think, looking at Ironhide, that something like that could have worked on the toy?

The crotch does lock, there's a lil tab (refer to that ironhide head mod thread for more info). However, when you lock it, Ironhide then has the looking down syndrome...

So... you could still just add a ball joint for the head which sort of solves that problem ^^;;;;;

As in the 2nd pic above, if you lock it in, that takes out the waist articulation. I think it might've been gotten around if the rotation point was lowered but I'm not sure if that would've complicated things b/c it appears that it's necessary for the spine to thin towards the waist.

Not true actually. If you lock the crotch to the spine, the waist still turns. That's why I love this toy The only thing about locking the crotch to the spine is that the head will NOT go up as high as if you don't lock it.
So THAT was the trade off I was getting to in the Ironhide head mod thread I have in the discussion area.

Gotta say I'm loving this discussion about the sculpt and how we can make it better! Luf luf!

[STL]

Not true actually. If you lock the crotch to the spine, the waist still turns.

I think were misinterpreting here. By the crotch to the spine, I mean not the back part of the crotch but the top part of the crotch and the rear bumper. If those two lock together, then you lose the articulation though it gives you a more solid toy which I can see is what others might prefer.

Additionally, the back of my spine does not connect very solidly at all to the robot mode anyway. Gotta have a look at yours but i thought it was the same as mine. there's a groove there but it just doesn't seem to lock in for me.

[lcz128]

I think were misinterpreting here. By the crotch to the spine, I mean not the back part of the crotch but the top part of the crotch and the rear bumper. If those two lock together, then you lose the articulation though it gives you a more solid toy which I can see is what others might prefer.

Additionally, the back of my spine does not connect very solidly at all to the robot mode anyway. Gotta have a look at yours but i thought it was the same as mine. there's a groove there but it just doesn't seem to lock in for me.

Uhhh... But there isn't any useful articulation at the base of the spine, is there? All it does is seperate the crotch area from the torso area... So I guess I don't see what you mean by losing the articulation... When I was talking about it, I just meant (as you surmised) that when locked, you still have the waist (360 degree turning motion) articulation and the only drawback I could see (after doing the head mod) as that the head doesn't come up as much as if you didn't lock it.

Aesthetically as well - locking it looks far better (IMO)

[STL]

Uhhh... But there isn't any useful articulation at the base of the spine, is there? All it does is seperate the crotch area from the torso area... So I guess I don't see what you mean by losing the articulation... When I was talking about it, I just meant (as you surmised) that when locked, you still have the waist (360 degree turning motion) articulation and the only drawback I could see (after doing the head mod) as that the head doesn't come up as much as if you didn't lock it.

Aesthetically as well - locking it looks far better (IMO)

I'll show u what I mean tmrw by the top of the crotch with the bumper bar, newbie.

While Jaydisc was busy daydreaming over those pansy activators, I was entranced by my own personal delight:



I should add that I basically switched the arms over of the Hasbro one and the top part of the legs which were red on the Henkei version. An annoying mod b/c preserving that ratcheting gimmick is a pain that I've still to get right. But it works perfectly in any event and i think the images speak for themselves.

[Stompy]

Nice work on Powerglide STL. Did you put the other parts together to make another one but in opposite colours? Can't just leave it in peices.

Anyhow, I finally got my hands on Ironhide and WOAH mama. Now I understand why the alt mode looks like it does. This engineering on this thing is like... gah I am lost for words. Hats off to the engineers. Simply awesome. The way it converted is totally not what I expected. With the vehicle pretty much folding in half at the bottom and squeezing it together to for the robot mode. And those rear wheels! The place where they end up. But it's not without it's problems though. As earlier the alt mode has seams galore, but totally excused for the conversion. Robot mode... as awesome as it is slightly ruined by the (as mentioned on previous posts) head facing downwards. Also the hands are too visible and freakish looking when the gun is clipped on his arm. There is also backpack kibble. Otherwise, this is the best Universe figure for me so far. Loving that double ended weapon.

Sideswipe - I ws so surprised by the quality on this figure. It feels like a Takara figure. The excellent paintjob, plastic colour and overall asthetic look is top notch. The use of the bonnet as the chest looks natural. The autobot insignia is well placed and the contrast of the black, red and white is perfectly judged. The glossy finish on the black paint apps is a nice touch. I really can't find fault with this figure. If anything I'm not keen on the actual engineering on the joint that holds the arm on the wheels. A little clumsy in design in my opinion.

[lcz128]

Nice work on Powerglide STL. Did you put the other parts together to make another one but in opposite colours? Can't just leave it in peices.

Anyhow, I finally got my hands on Ironhide and WOAH mama. Now I understand why the alt mode looks like it does. This engineering on this thing is like... gah I am lost for words. Hats off to the engineers. Simply awesome. The way it converted is totally not what I expected. With the vehicle pretty much folding in half at the bottom and squeezing it together to for the robot mode. And those rear wheels! The place where they end up. But it's not without it's problems though. As earlier the alt mode has seams galore, but totally excused for the conversion. Robot mode... as awesome as it is slightly ruined by the (as mentioned on previous posts) head facing downwards. Also the hands are too visible and freakish looking when the gun is clipped on his arm. There is also backpack kibble. Otherwise, this is the best Universe figure for me so far. Loving that double ended weapon.

AHAH!
what you can actually do is put the hand INSIDE when you put the weapon on ! It actually works and it no longer looks freakish!

Here:
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=UowC-zdNbDA

[Stompy]

AHAH!
what you can actually do is put the hand INSIDE when you put the weapon on ! It actually works and it no longer looks freakish!

Here:
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=UowC-zdNbDA

Oh wow! Thanks lcz. Although I did notice earlier that in STL's pics of Ironhide the hand was not folded on the side of the arm. I thought he must have pulled it out, but looks like it does fit inside the gun barrell!

Cheers bud!

[STL]

Played w/ Henkeis tonight instead of Lego while watching Scrubs,



Between Henkei and Hasbro Octane there really isn't much difference. I think both colour schemes work very well. Both alt modes aren't different in any material way in their alt modes except for when it comes to robot mode. The key differences are the navy blue used on the lower torso and the the grays used in the place of Hasbro's black on the legs and wheels. I really like the Henkei because it has stronger robot mode colours. The chrome guns look great as smoke stacks in truck mode it stands out too much in plane mode so the black guns are more preferrable.



I haven't opened my Hasbro Bluestreak and won't at all now. After playing w/ lcz128's I thought the red/crimson was just too dark and sapped life from the figure. Having opened my Henkei, I'm very satisfied w/ the lighter tone of red which gives it a far more G1 feel as well as life. The lighter red as the horns also gives the face a lively look whereas the dark red on the Hasbro just drains the life out of the Hasbro one.

That's not to say that the Hasbro Bluestreak was poorly coloured. I think its an exceptional paintjob by Hasbro and really appreciate it. There's so many great details such as the red of the inside rim of the wheels, the launchers are red and so on. I wish some of those were on the Henkei but I still prefer the Henkei b/c the chrome and the choice of red trumps Hasbro's.

Henkei Sideswipe is the biggest disappointment. I recommend sticking to the Hasbro one. You're probably all aware of my annoyance at Henkei's chrome spoiler so I won't labour that point. The new points of frustration for me were the yellowy cream of his white which is quite stark when you compare it to the Hasbro version. There's still a differential in reds though it's slighter but I think Hasbro's versions is sufficiently close and not that bad. The rest of the paintjob is completely identical which disappoints me as I've become so used to some nice differences between decos on Henkei ones. The chrome gun is nice when you give it to Sideswipe as his hand gun and use the Hasbro half-white, half-black as a launcher. That's about it for that figure and not much to care about in terms of differences unless you like me want a bio-card.

[k.wong23]

Nice comments STL glad I did pick up Sideswipe

However one of his arms is not tight on the ball joint and look at this paint app! Totally missing!

Too bad I have already opened it Don't think I can refund!