Revoltech

[Hot Rodimus]

Thanks for the opinions.... I was mostly concerned about the quality which from your comments seems to vary but is usualy of a good standard.

I can see the arguement of it not transforming (I have quite a few action masters that I bought as a kid and for the most part like) but who here hasn't spent countless hours arranging and posing their collection just so it looks more dynamic or cooler? These things while not being able to transform seem to provide the possiblilty of some really cool displays and I am sure I will waste time with them just trying to 'capture the essence' of the charater

Thanks Guys

[griffin]

Yeah, not every Transformers-branded product has to have the gimmick/feature of conversion, some have the feature of articulation or detailed sculpting to reflect their form in fiction. When these elements conflict, you end up with one toy that transforms and one toy that is poseable or visually accurate to fiction. The Revoltech line caters for those collectors wanting a 'character toy' that is more poseable than the 'convertable toy', in a slightly different stylisation.

[Hot Rodimus]

I agree Griffin, to me they are visualy appealing though one dimensional. Mind you this is something I am kinda used to since as a kid TF's back then were more than likely only accurate in one mode and not bot and alt so one tended to display the figure predominantly in one mode ( or maybe this was just me?) . This has changed dramatically and maybe a major contributing factor as to why I have once again 'returned to the fold'.

I think statues can illustrate this aswell. There are some awesome statues out there from what I have seen in members collections and in the Queen Street Mall Toyworld (man i could drop a few grand in there in 5 minutes easy). They do even less than an action master or revoltech figure but visualy they are striking and manage to capture a character in a dynamic or striking pose that appeals to a large section of collectors. Eventualy when I have gotten back on top of my collecting I hope to purchase a few of these too.

[GoktimusPrime]

Mind you this is something I am kinda used to since as a kid TF's back then were more than likely only accurate in one mode and not bot and alt so one tended to display the figure predominantly in one mode ( or maybe this was just me?) . This has changed dramatically and maybe a major contributing factor as to why I have once again 'returned to the fold'.

Keep in mind that the majority of Transformers were created as toys first. The cartoon, comics etc. were created afterwards pretty much as a means of advertising the toys. So really, the toys are completely accurate to themselves and if there are differences between the way that the toys look compared to the show or comics it's because the show or comic artists have chosen to make those differences and not because the toy designers were somehow inadequate in mimicking the show/comic models.

That's why I personally avoid using the term "show-accuracy" with most TFs as, to me, it falsely implies that the show is more visually accurate than the toys (and thus implying that the toys are by default "inaccurate") which, for the majority of Transformers, just isn't true. There are exceptions to this (e.g.: live action movie, Animated etc), but for the most part the toys were created first.

Having said that, there's no denying the massive appeal that show-likeness has over TF collectors - it's absolutely a very strong and appealing factor. And unlike Action Masters, Revoltech aren't intended to be part of the mainstream line of Transformers and never dominated the TF toy line like Action Masters did. They're just a quiet side-line that some collectors can buy if they want, whereas Action Master's dominance in the 1990-91 lines is seen by many fans as being G1's death knell.

[Golden Phoenix]

That's why I personally avoid using the term "show-accuracy" with most TFs as, to me, it falsely implies that the show is more visually accurate than the toys (and thus implying that the toys are by default "inaccurate") which, for the majority of Transformers, just isn't true. There are exceptions to this (e.g.: live action movie, Animated etc), but for the most part the toys were created first.

If only the shows were more toy accurate.
Hot shot would really have reasons to complain about his shoulders

[GoktimusPrime]

Lol... absolutely. Some of the early G1 comics had better toy accuracy though.

Examples:
Optimus Prime & Soundwave
Mirage, Jazz & Hound
Thundercracker
Jazz
Mirage
Here
Megatron - colours aside the drawing is fairly toy-accurate
Ironhide
Ratchet

The BotCon Japan 2000 exclusive comic "Cybertron Chronicles" (by Ichikawa Hirofumi) also featured several G1 and G2 characters all drawn toy-accurately, like good ol' Ironhide...




Mind you, some of the Revoltechs are more comic-accurate (re: Dreamwave) than they are comic-accurate, e.g.: Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Megatron and Starscream seem to be more based on their Dreamwave comic models rather than their G1 cartoon models.

[griffin]

It's obvious why the toys couldn't be drawn in the cartoon and comic exactly like their toys - many toys, especially in Gen1, didn't look very 'biped' (humanoid) with their engineering and kibble. Toys that later reflected that more humanoid look were bound to occur, without all the kibble the convertable toys were burdened with.
Same with the issue of colour, sometimes it is more visually markettable to adjust the colour of cartoon or comic characters in a certain way to match or contrast with other particular characters, and we then have toys occasionaly released in an 'anime' colour scheme, like 'Bookstyle' reissue Starscream or Henkei Cyclonus.

[STL]

I have all five and love Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus of them all the most. The QC is very good across the board and the only one I have that is problematic is Prime whose head falls off way too easily for my liking. I'd highly recommend them they are great and full of personality. The range of poseability is amazing and you get a bundle of extra hands and gear to add to them. Truly astounding non-TFing pieces.

And I agree w/ your sentiments completely on the Statues/Non-TFing memorabilia. I think though you have to be a very strong lover of the art aspect of TFs as well as the character to like a piece. In my collection I have several busts and Statues which are among the most adored aspects of my collection.

I have a Hard Hero Optimus Prime statue that is the eptiome of G1 Prime to me. Commanding, resourceful, positive and calming. Rhinox is another that I adore to bits b/c of the personality and show accuracy of the statute. I have the toy but it just pales in comparison to the statue in bringing out the life of the character. The only statue that I do not have that I hope to get this year as you can tell by my signature is Hardhero Megatron. Its very high on my want list as a display piece albiet very pricey. But again, it comes from the fact I'm not solely a technical collector, I love the fiction and the characters too.

[Hot Rodimus]

[QUOTE=GoktimusPrime;75191]Keep in mind that the majority of Transformers were created as toys first. The cartoon, comics etc. were created afterwards pretty much as a means of advertising the toys. So really, the toys are completely accurate to themselves and if there are differences between the way that the toys look compared to the show or comics it's because the show or comic artists have chosen to make those differences and not because the toy designers were somehow inadequate in mimicking the show/comic models.QUOTE]

I am aware of this but the comics and cartoons being such an effective way to market the toys kind of flipped this around for me and others too I am sure. Instead of saying " Geez I wish Ironhide had all that crap around his feet and a poorly drawn head behind a windshield" we where more likely to say" Damn why doesn't ironhide look more like his cartoon character?" This was the reason that I didn't get him as a kid as Mum and I went to the toy store to buy him (thanks Mum) but once I saw what he looked like I chose something else (can't remember what now though). Maybe I haven't expressed this very well in words but I think most people would identify with the comic or cartoon rendition of their favourite transformers and not the toy as it is these forms of media which breathe life into them..

I would love to have a few statues STL and I am envious of the ones you mention, and I also agree with the points you raise regarding them. I guess some of them just hit a special note with certain people which make them appealing.

Eitherway this turned into more of a discussion than I intended which is pretty cool too see ( and says volumes about the participation of the members here!) and I will definately be getting some revoltech when the funds permit it.

[GoktimusPrime]

Maybe I haven't expressed this very well in words but I think most people would identify with the comic or cartoon rendition of their favourite transformers and not the toy as it is these forms of media which breathe life into them..

Well, as I said before, there can be no denying the appeal of show-like characters in the fandom. One thing that really made me aware of this was the surprising demand for e-Hobby Astrotrain! I pre-ordered that toy and got it from e-Hobby when it came out, as I usually do - because I thought that having an Astrotrain toy in the same colours as in the 1985 catalogue was novel. By default it was also a more show-like colour scheme too, since the cartoon model based its colours off the prototype shown in the catalogue. I paid 3000JPY for this toy... probably around $40 at the time. This eBay auction has it going for 500USD! (O_o)

So yeah... while I'm not particularly a huge stickler for show-likeness, I cannot deny that it does have a powerful appeal factor to fans. I'm glad I got that e-Hobby Astrotrain nice and early while it was cheap.