This is a copy of a thread I made on the 2005 boards, I wanted to get your guys opinions too.


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It’s pretty clear that this year’s Botcon set has not been a smash hit (in terms of popularity) like the 2006/2007 set was. Of course we haven’t seen the fiction yet and that can change people’s minds, but to me at least, it’s a big dissapointment. Some of the choices have made my head explode, simply unable to comprehend the decisions made. But rather than sit back and critisize (which is so easy to do) I thought – could I do any better? And I don’t mean the typical HEY GUYS YOU SHOULD REPAINT UNIVERSE 2.0 TOYS AND GIVE EVERYONE A NEW HEAD AND COMPLETELY IGNORE THE WAY THE MOLD SPRUES AND PLASTIC COLOURS WORK. I’m testing a theory:

Even a fat neckbeard like me can dream up a better Botcon set in a few days.

The rules that I stuck to: Only me. I didn’t consult anyone. All came out of my head. I limited my choice of molds to what they would have had available – in essence everything from Armada / Energon / Cybertron, minus anything that has previously been used as an exclusive. I stuck to realistic colourings – by realistic I mean paying attention to what part of the mold each colour belongs to, you know, how particular parts belong to a certain part of the mold that is a certain colour and you can’t just pick and choose colours willy nilly. Realistic amount of paints apps. Realistic amount of new parts (based off previous years). I put together my set of toys and then went about throwing together some “mock concepts” – cheap and dirty digibashes. They’re just done to convey the idea and make it more tangible. Obviously some things could be changed. Keep in mind that my photoshop skills are weak at best, for new molds I just copy/pasted an old head on top that was the rough look I was going for.

Now, I restricted myself even further to stay within their basic premise. That is a young Kup joining the Elite Guard back in the early days. And I tried to make sure I used molds that they are using in the set already.

I’ve slapped a poll up so that you can be the judge. The question is simple – would you rather have the official Botcon set or my half-assed effort?

Now, I have a rough fiction planned out for all of this, but it’s not fair for me to put that out when the official Botcon hasn’t put out theres. I’ll just line out the very basic tease which is kind of what they’ve given us.

It’s Kup, in his old age, telling a war story. A story about how he started off in the Elite Guard and how he came to get his trusty laser musket rifle. Of course, Kup is pretty old and his brain ain’t all there, so his memory might be a little flakey…

PRIMUS PACKAGE BOXED SET


Elite Guard Commander THUNDERCLASH






Elite Guard Intelligence Officer CHROMEDOME





(note that the grey crap is supposed to be chrome. As an added bonus the Cybertron Downshift toy can actual hold G1 Chromedome's guns perfectly)


Elite Guard Rookie KUP






Autobot Informant COSMOS






Decepticon Grunt BLITZ






Decepticon Fighter WING






The idea with this set is to try and give a “shout-out” as such to as many different aspects of Transformers as possible. Euro G1, Headmasters, ’86 movie, diaclone, triple changers, clones, minibots, etc. Personally, I cannot figure out why on Earth FP did not use the Landmine mold to make Thunderclash. Seriously. I cannot figure it out. It’s a perfect match. Oh well. It should be noted that only Kup has a new head in this set, but he also has a new rifle, based off his G1 gun. I’m guessing that if they could give Thrust new wings in ’07, then they could make a new gun and I think that would be a nice way to mix things up a bit.


ATTENDANCE FREEBIE

Decepticon Swordsman LEOZACK

You know what? I really like what they did with this guy. Credit where credit is due. He can stay.

SOUVENIR PACK 1

Elite Guard Warrior SONIC BOMBER with micromaster SONIC





(I ain’t gonna lie, I think Sonic Bomber looks pretty terrible. BUT the toy is a really good match for him, perhaps with a bit of a tweaked colourscheme and paint apps he could come out pretty decent)


Decepticon Weapons Researcher APEFACE with prototype SPASMA unit









SOUVINER PACK 2

Decepticon Infiltrator MEGAPLEX






Decepticon Crystalocution Master BANZAI-TRON







So there it is. Ten figures I just kind of crapped out. Are they any good? Do they suck? It’s kind of hard to be impartial, but I am extremely fond of the Thunderclash and Banzai-tron. Well, Thunderclash makes me sad because it’s what we should have gotten. Oh well.

Anyway, thoughts and feedback and comments and all that are welcome. Feel free to rip me a new one, because I’ve been fairly harsh on the official set. I still think it’s a poor effort, but maybe it’s just me.