Fake Kibble

[jaydisc]

What is fake kibble?

Fake kibble is when you think you see part of a bot's alt mode in bot mode, but that part doesn't actually form the part of the alt mode it appears to.

Great examples:

Classics Voyager Prime - his grill in robot mode DOES NOT become the grill in alt mode.
Universe Silverbolt - On his shoulders there are little wings that aren't wings in alt mode.
Sentinel Prime - I'm pretty sure his chest is to become the front end of the car. It doesn't.
Animated Deluxe Bumblebee - his chest in robot mode is meant to look like the roof of his alt mode. It isn't. (just pointed out to me by Stompy)

I think it's most pervasive in situations where a toy is meant to match a fictional representation. It's also pervasive in Animated due to the extreme rounded styling of the robot modes.

Is it a cheap tactic?
Does it bother you?
Can you point out any others?

[Golden Phoenix]

I think it is a case by case judgement.
Universe Silverbolt is just sheer laziness, but that is true of the whole figure.
Sentinal Prime on the otherhand had to be because of the completely different shapes his chest and the hood of the plough have. It would have been a nightmare, especially for a deluxe size.

[Eruntalon]

McDonalds Animated Ratchet - his feet and chest are both windshields. I'm sure there are other examples of this especially in cheaper made toys such as these and other lines, but I'm not as privy with Animated as other series'.

[TheDirtyDigger]

"Anti-kibble"

There is a related phenomenon with no generally accepted name, in which a toy's robot mode has obvious elements of its alternate mode showing (usually in the chest area), which are not in fact part of its altmode. The original example of this is Powermaster Optimus Prime, who had the front windshield and grill of a semi-cab on his chest...which had no relation at all to his semi-cab mode. The false truck windows on the chest also showed up on Laser Optimus Prime and his redeco, Scourge, whose chests are on the underside of the truck in vehicle mode. Another example is the T-rex face on the chest of Transmetal Megatron from Beast Wars, which is not the same part as his actual T-rex face. A particularly inelegant example would be the Legends-class toy for Jazz from the 2007 movie, whose robot mode "bumper" chest ends up on his roof in vehicle mode.

Its use is even seen in Transformers Animated: Bumblebee has a false roof on his chest. A more notable case is Ratchet: He has false ambulance sides on his shoulder kibble (kibble AND anti-kibble). Sentinel Prime has an even more confusing example. His robot mode chest is a flat, round structure designed to be evocative of his much squarer alt-mode hood (which is his robot mode back).

[lcz128]

It's also present in the Superlink/Energon Wheeljack/Downshift mold. Specifically used to emulate G1 Wheeljack's chest (there's a blue painted 'window' which is meant to be the glass for the windscreen)

Personally if it evokes a particular character and it's IMPOSSIBLE (not lazy, but rather impossible) to have it work out, I'm all for it-
Otherwise, I would personally prefer for kibble to be real kibble as opposed to antikibble. That said, it sometimes works out really well...others.. not so!

[Paulbot]

Fake kibble doesn't bother me. For the Animated toys I think it's a very clever way to capture the look of the cartoon robots.

A classic example of fake kibble is Powermaster Optimus: for his regular robot mode is whole torso is a fake truck front.

Masterpiece Prime did the realistic truck grill vs cartoon-like robot grill quite nicely.

[Pulse]

Would you classify Jazz's 2nd front-end as fake kibble?

[jaydisc]

Absolutely!

[kup]

I can be tolerant of fake kibble but only if it is used in moderation or as a compromise to maintain the character tribute in the design.

For example, Classics Prime maintains that little grill only to maintain the classic look. It is also small and feels more as a 'deco' than molded kibble.

In turn, MP Prime is similar but it bothers me more than Classics Prime because unlike Classics Prime, its not just 'familiar' robot mode detailing its actually mascarading as truckmode kibble with the chrome and size. This feels more like a cheat than Classic Prime's grill.

Another example of tolerable fake kibble is deluxe 08 Movie Bumblebee. He has a number plate molded into his crotch but its not part of the alt mode. It is annoying but I can understand it since they are trying to resemble the Movie character model.

An example awful fake kibble due to lazy design is deluxe Animated Bumblebee. He didn't have to have the fake kibble chest and the stylized proportions are too extreme even by the cartoon standards. The Activator has a more faithful Transformation sequence , is more true to the show character model and doesn't have any cheating! (no fake kibble)

[Gutsman Heavy]

The Activator has a more faithful Transformation sequence

Apparently not

Bumblebee appears to have a fake car roof on his chest in both his toy and on his character model. Not only does Bumblebee transform like his toy in his drawn-out animated transformation sequences, with his legs forming the top of the vehicle and the rest forming the underside, but his "real" windshield is drawn on the back of his legs, just like the toy. Plus the headlights on Bumblebee's feet are upside-down, just like the toy's. However, Bumblebee's vehicle mode stripe doesn't change sides like on the toy. Cheatsy!

is more true to the show character model

I'm not seeing that at all



Looks like the deluxe is much more faithful IMO