The Random Transformers Thoughts Thread

[TaZZerath]

For pure wordplay and comedic value I always love Thew's reviews. They are a bit inconsistent in scheduling but are getting better now he's a full time YouTuber.

Thew's Awesome Transformers Reviews

Death Reviews are pretty good too and very frequent (with some 'gallows humour' thrown in) and is a mixed bag of TF's and other action figures

Death Reviews

[FatalityPitt]

This is typical with a lot of video reviewers. Many of them like everything, often without providing reasons or a balanced critique. You know, actually reviewing the toy. Too many videos that claim to review toys are little more than just boastful showcasing videos. This is why I generally avoid video reviews and much prefer text reviews. For whatever reason, I find that text reviewers are less likely to be so blindly boastful about a toy and actually give a proper review. I don't mind if a reviewer says that a toy is the bee's knees, but it all lies in the justification of their opinion.

You need to pick and choose reviewers. I generally find those that aren't racing to be the first to upload something can generally speak more frankly about a figure, and the reviews don't just amount to sticking the figure in front of a camera and going "yep the head turns, the arms swivel".

There seems to be a competition among YouTube reviewers on who can review new toys first. As a result they don't take enough time to properly explore and assess the toys' quality. One thing that is good though is that we get to see how they transform.

I definitely have FOMO. But I guess that my rationale is to get a toy first and then later if I regret it I can always sell it. And yeah, selling toys is usually at a loss, so it's a risk that I'm willing to accept. Unless you're willing to wait years and years and try to sell the toy off at as close to RRP as possible.

Admittedly I rarely feel that new toys supersede existing ones. e.g. Goldbug didn't supersede Bumblebee, and Pretender Bumblebee didn't supersede Goldbug etc. - they were just the latest version of that character and I was happy to have all of them. Siege Shockwave will fit into my CHUG universe, which is currently occupied by Generations FOC Shockwave (yeah, I know that it's officially Aligned, but in the Gokiverse FOC = Neo-G1). Siege Shockers won't supersede FOC Shockers, he'll just be the latest version. Both are very different toys with different alt modes, so I can enjoy both for different reasons.

I think a healthy way to respond to the inverted FOMO would be to do what you described where you'd buy the figure, and if you don't end up liking it (or if something better comes along); sell it. Problem with me is that I don't like selling toys. Mainly because when I sell them, I usually sell at a loss, and I find the activity of packing them away and looking for buyers to be a chore. I'm basically a lazy bean counter . My remedy against this has been to tell myself "Only buy the toy IF you like it 100%". This leads me to search for faults and heavily criticize figures I like before deciding whether to buy. I often end up skipping them for very superficial reasons only to regret it later, which isn't good.

I also usually assume that newer toys will be better than older ones, and I tell myself things like "This Hot Rod is good, but I'll wait for a better version". As you mentioned, the newer toys aren't always better (or more appropriate) than previous versions. My example earlier with the CW Starscream actually happened with me, where I saw it IRL and thought "It's good, but I'll wait the next G1 Starscream. Starscream's popular, so it shouldn't be long til the next one". Then surprise, the PotP Starscream released 2-3 years later turns out to be less appealing than the CW version

I'm down to my final Oxipay payment on Big Powered next week so once thats done I might weigh up my options but i DEFINITELY want Stege (not a typo ) Flywheels, Blowpipe for my Hasbro Triggerhappy, and 2/3 micromaster teams (the cars don't do anything for me, but I had the others as kids and they seem like awesome updates)

I think if you like Dai Altas and lesser known characters like that, it's good to get them now.

The nice thing about popular characters like G1 Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee is that you can almost count on HasTak to release new toys of those characters every 1 or 2 years. If you want a Neo-G1 Megatron but don't like the current one, you can maybe wait a year or two (if you're willing to play the long game) for the next one. The $30~$90 question is; "will the next one be better than the current one?" These things are hard to predict.

However, with lesser known characters like Dai Atlas, Flywheels and Triggerhappy, it's much harder to predict when we'll see these characters in toy form again. The previous toy released of Triggerhappy prior to Titans Return was the first release in 1987. That's a 30 year interval! Since G1 has gotten more popular in recent years, I don't think the intervals will be as wide, but it could still be many years until we see another Triggerhappy toy again, especially since there are still other G1 characters who still haven't gotten Neo-G1 (or CHUG) figures yet - like Piranacon, the Autobot Target Masters, Thunderclash, etc.

I think this is why there was so much FOMO in the air during the Titans Return days. Many people dislike the headmaster gimmick, and it's understandable - it sucks when you lose the head, and doesn't feel good to have to pull the head off during transformation. However at the same time, people who disliked headmasters still went bananas over the likes of TR Topspin, Twintwist, Quake, Repugnus, Misfire, etc. It's because they felt this could be the only opportunity they'll get in a long time to buy these characters at RRP. If they skip them now, they might have to wait like 9 years for newer versions of those characters (or pay secondary market prices for the toys they skipped or missed out on). It's very hard to predict when you'll be able to get a character like Dai Atlas again, so it's good to lock it in now.

[TaZZerath]

It's very hard to predict when you'll be able to get a character like Dai Atlas again, so it's good to lock it in now.

Not to mention the molds they decided to use are all really good ones and really evoke the original character iterations.

I never managed to get Misfire OR Twin Twist (much to my own disappointment really) so getting both the molds (despite some retooling) would fill that hole in my life to some degree.

Due to my space and budgetary limitations i always HEAVILY research a toy before I proceed. I pore over TFWiki details about the character, photos, see user impressions, reviews, all sorts. And even then sometimes I linger too long (or occasionally have the rug pulled out from under me)

[FatalityPitt]

I never managed to get Misfire OR Twin Twist (much to my own disappointment really) so getting both the molds (despite some retooling) would fill that hole in my life to some degree.

Twin Twist is a slight retool of Topspin, so if you'd like to know how Twin Twist moves and transforms, it's almost the same as Topspin. But yeah, it's not quite the same as owning the character. Misfire has gotten quite expensive, but Slugslinger is still selling on eBay for a fairly reasonable price, and he's gang-moulded with Misfire. So Slugslinger miiight be a decent substitute if you're just after Misfire for the transformation.

Cheapest eBay listing for Slugslinger: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Transfor...4K~T:rk:1:pf:0

[TaZZerath]

Twin Twist is a slight retool of Topspin, so if you'd like to know how Twin Twist moves and transforms, it's almost the same as Topspin. But yeah, it's not quite the same as owning the character. Misfire has gotten quite expensive, but Slugslinger is still selling on eBay for a fairly reasonable price, and he's gang-moulded with Misfire. So Slugslinger miiight be a decent substitute if you're just after Misfire for the transformation.

Cheapest eBay listing for Slugslinger: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Transfor...4K~T:rk:1:pf:0

Primarily I wanted Takara Legends Misfire for his Targetmaster and glorious pink colour scheme. I did have him on preorder but well that was just a big drama not to be re-discussed yet again

I was tempted to get Slugslinger I must admit but coming into christmas gotta tighten the reins on my expenditures where I can

[GoktimusPrime]

Another good way to decide whether to get a toy or not is to simply try before you buy. Meet up with other collectors and have a go with their toy. I got Shadow Raider just yesterday, but a week ago I already played with Tha_Phantom's Shadow Raider which confirmed my wanting of that toy. I also played with his Legendary Optimus Prime toy which, as lovely as it is, isn't something that particularly interests me so I'll pass on it.

And I always bring a toy with me to meets (well, I bring a toy with me everywhere*; even if I'm ducking out to grab a bottle of milk, gotta have a TF on me!) So yeah, if I meet up with other people then they can have a look at the toy. Just yesterday evening I took my daughter to swimming and I had RiD Spychanger Optimus Prime on me, and I bumped into Bladestorm and her daughter and they had a look at my toy.

*except funerals

[BigTransformerTrev]

With the new Cog coming out, I wonder if he will be redone into Fasttrack (G1 Scorponoks semi-drone)? Or perhaps that will be held off until we finally get a Titan-sized Scorpy

[FatalityPitt]

I was tempted to get Slugslinger I must admit but coming into christmas gotta tighten the reins on my expenditures where I can

Oh snap, I forgot Roadfire and Sonic Bomber are retools of Twin Twist and Misfire! In that case you can just ignore Slugslinger. You wouldn't miss out on much, unless of course you like Slugslinger's design and character.

Another good way to decide whether to get a toy or not is to simply try before you buy. Meet up with other collectors and have a go with their toy.

... And run the risk of revealing my secret identity to the world?? Never!!

Just kidding . I'm sure I'll turn up to one of those meet-ups someday, when I'm not too tied up and can muster the strength to get off my lazy butt and socialise.

With the new Cog coming out, I wonder if he will be redone into Fasttrack (G1 Scorponoks semi-drone)? Or perhaps that will be held off until we finally get a Titan-sized Scorpy

If I can make a speculation - I think Fasttrack could transform into Scorponok's head in a similar way to Cerebros when turning into Fort Max's head. Because if they make Scorponok into a Titan class figure, there's no way a small Titan Master-sized Zarak would be big enough to form Scorponok's head like the G1 toy (which was smaller than G1 Fort Max). So it would make some sense for Zarak to turn into Fasttrack's head, then Fasttrack turns into Scorponok's head. And of course, Fasttrack could be a triple-changer that transforms into a giant head and a tank. That would be the approach I'd take.

[BigTransformerTrev]

If I can make a speculation - I think Fasttrack could transform into Scorponok's head in a similar way to Cerebros when turning into Fort Max's head. Because if they make Scorponok into a Titan class figure, there's no way a small Titan Master-sized Zarak would be big enough to form Scorponok's head like the G1 toy (which was smaller than G1 Fort Max). So it would make some sense for Zarak to turn into Fasttrack's head, then Fasttrack turns into Scorponok's head. And of course, Fasttrack could be a triple-changer that transforms into a giant head and a tank. That would be the approach I'd take.

Could be. I was thinking that since the powers that be like to get at least two or more characters out of their moulds, Fasttrack might be an obvious reuse of the Cog figure, since both are multi-axle Cybertronian ground vehicles with weapons on top and both were partnered to Cityformers.

But yeah, if they wanted to make Scorpy a double-Headmaster like Fort Max, then Fasttrack might be an obvious choice. Otherwise I suppose they could make the bigger head 'Black Zarak'. Or Zarak could simply be near the size of Cerebros without any smaller head of his own required and a lot of the head bulk made up of a helmet built into Scorponok himself.

[SuspectimusPrime]

Or Zarak could simply be near the size of Cerebros without any smaller head of his own required and a lot of the head bulk made up of a helmet built into Scorponok himself.

I reckon this is a better option - there won't be unnecessary tank kibble or wheels hanging off the back of Scorponok's distinctively handsome head