The Random Transformers Thoughts Thread

[KELPIE]

Sure, I guess. Apparently Hasbro has a policy now where if they do one character in a group, they will do the whole group. So we're supposedly going to get all the SS86 Dinobots and Legacy should do all of the Insecticons; the name of the sub-line may change, but basically they should all get done in Generations in the same style. Cos yeah, having orphaned characters does suck.

I herd that as well. I really hope that it's actually a thing. Means we should be getting Venom, and with the rumoured Pointblank, means we should be getting a Sureshot (since it's basically what we're talking about here, I wouldn't begrudge a new faithful Crosshairs).

I really wish that the Micromaster patrols had been released in sets of four instead of two; even if it means sacrificing the tertiary weapon mode that nobody asked for. I don't need my CHUG Roadhandler and Swindler to be able to transform into a pair of guns that can combine into a larger gun; I'd gladly give up that feature to get Tailspin and Freewheeler in the same set.

So much this!!

The Siege/Earthrise Micromasters were pretty crummy value for money, which is kinda ironic considering that the entire reason why Micromasters existed in G1 was to make Transformers more affordable (re: 1989/90 global recession).

Super crummy value. I'm very careful with my figures and those tiny balljoints just couldn't handle transformation. Not arguing with you in terms of reasons, especially since I'm sure finance had some impact there along the way, however I'm pretty sure Micromasters came in to compete with Micromachines?

Considering that we're getting CHUG toys based on Diaclone variants that were never originally part of G1 (e.g. Lift-Ticket, Cordon, Spinout, Deep Cover, Tiger Track etc.), I think that CHUG could stand to include some G1.5ers in there. Besides, we do also have G2 CHUGs, so why not G1½? Not that I have anything against pre-TF CHUGs; I own heaps of them too! Gens Selects Galactic Man is my favourite since, like many Aussie kids growing up in the 80s, I had Astro Magnum from Tandy as the original G1 Shockwave toy was never released here. So Galactic Man has the greatest childhood nostalgia for me among all the pre-TF CHUGs. Second is Spinout because I knew a kid at school who had a red Diaclone Lamborghini Countach Super Tuning model kit (I think he got it from some Asian grocery store).

Where did the black Perceptor come from in Australia? I'm thinking it was an Easter Show thing? However that was my Perceptor.

Sure, but I'd still rather see those characters shoved down the CHUG priority list over toys that have never had a post-G1 toy made. If you look at the list of the last 3 years of G1, only one character has appeared in CHUG; Rotorstorm. Technically also Overlord, but that toy was really inspired by the 1988 Takara release rather than the 1991 Hasbro one (although IDW's Overlord was 100% based on the Hasbro toy's bio). Pyro and Clench only exist as BotCon exclusives. Heck, even Rotorstorm was a Gens Selects exclusive; not as hard to get as BotCon exclusives, but still not mass store release either. But that's fine... I'm happy for all of those later G1ers to come out as GS exclusives... just make them happen! CW Liokaiser was never repainted as the Autobot Rescue Force. If they're gonna do a better CHUG Liokaiser, then at least repaint them as Rescue Forcers. And yeah, my list only looked at Anglophone G1; I'll take Japanese G1, European G1, Latin American G1... any new G1 character in CHUG is an instant buy for me.

Well it sure looks like we're going to get a few now with a couple already shown and the assumption that Thunderclash is gong to come out of that Nemesis mould. That said, I'd still rather complete some of the 88/89/90 guys before the G1.5 guys... Not that there aren't plenty of awesome characters in that group... Stalker come on down!

Main reason being it won't be long before there's more AEC figures than G-anything and I honestly have very little care for that period of transformerdom. For the most part the figures were awful and the media was terrible.

[DELTAprime]

I received my Generations Astro Magnum on Wednesday

Ah damn. I totally forgot that figure exists. I better get him soon for my Diaclone/Pre-G1 Generations collection.

[JJJ]

Ah damn. I totally forgot that figure exists. I better get him soon for my Diaclone/Pre-G1 Generations collection.

So had I, until I read a thread about the oldest TF you have over on TFW2005. I put mine down as Soundwave, then stopped and thought for a moment, and dredged up the remembrance that Astro Magnum pre-dated Shockers. So then I remembered the Selects toy and thought hmmmm, what's that go for on E-bay these days? Turns out it can be had from China for the cost of a current leader (including postage), so that was a very easy choice to make

[GoktimusPrime]

Super crummy value. I'm very careful with my figures and those tiny balljoints just couldn't handle transformation. Not arguing with you in terms of reasons, especially since I'm sure finance had some impact there along the way, however I'm pretty sure Micromasters came in to compete with Micromachines?

Yeah, I believe so. Both Hasbro and Galoob were producing smaller and cheaper toys to make them more affordable during a global financial crisis. Micromaster Combiners were made to compete with Matchbox's Con-Nect-Ables.

Where did the black Perceptor come from in Australia? I'm thinking it was an Easter Show thing? However that was my Perceptor.

Yeah, mine came from the Easter Show too. Probably a counterfeit of the Microman toy though; don't think it was an officially licensed release like Astro Magnum. But that toy was also my childhood Perceptor, which is why Magnificus has a special place in my heart.

Old pics of my Astro Magnum and Easter Show Microscope Robo toys


When I first met Paul Eiding, I had him holding both my G1 Perceptor and eHobby Magnificus toys. Perceptor represents the character that Mr. Eiding voiced in the G1 cartoon, but Magnificus represents the toy that I actually grew up playing with as Perceptor (and imagining Eiding's voice coming through)

That said, I'd still rather complete some of the 88/89/90 guys before the G1.5 guys... Not that there aren't plenty of awesome characters in that group... Stalker come on down!

Stalker is pure G1, not "G1.5"
It's a very common misconception that 1991, 1992 and 1993 G1 = G1.5, but really it's only 1993 G1 = G1.5
Anything before 1993 is pure Generation 1. Or basically you could just say G1 = 1984-92 and G2 = 1993-95.
G1.5 are the Transformers toys released before the "Generation 2" rebranding came along. Kinda like how Legacy Blaster & Eject were released in Kingdom packaging first at the very tail end of Kingdom. These toys were released in G1 packaging at the very end of G1, but I guess you could just consider them to be G2 Transformers as much as Legacy Blaster is a Legacy TF. <shrugs> Yay, murky transitionary toys are fun to categorise!

Siegerise Astrotrain? Earthdom Arcee? Kingdacy Blaster?

Main reason being it won't be long before there's more AEC figures than G-anything and I honestly have very little care for that period of transformerdom. For the most part the figures were awful and the media was terrible.

Awww, the Mini-Cons were cool and Cybertron actually gave us some pretty decent toys. Cybertron toys were the least gimmick-compromised of the Unicron Trilogy line. Having said that, it could be argued that because so many UT toys were "WhY My sHoULd3Rs HuR7?" gimmick-compromised that they are in need of updated figures. It really depends on how much money the children of the noughties are willing to spend on CHUGgified versions of their childhood toys (just as we eighties kids are throwing money at G1 CHUG and MP). I hate pointing this out because it makes me feel old, but UT came out nearly 20 years ago... to put things in perspective, when G1 20 years old, we already had some collector-focused toylines like Binaltech, Smallest Transformer TFs, Japanese reissues (including eHobby exclusives), and of course... Masterpiece. So as the children of the noughties are entering the workforce and making disposable income, it will be their generation who may be interested in collecting UT CHUG and MP toys.

I personally have no problem with it. It's not something I would collect, but it's good for younger fans who grew up in that era, like Handsprime. He bought Combiner Wars Armada Megatron at the same time that I bought Combiner Wars G1 Megatron Two generations of TF fans enjoying two CHUG toys from different Transformers series. That's why it's called "Generations," plural. I see Legacy Bulkhead and Arcee in stores and I have zero interest in collecting these toys as I didn't grow up with Prime, but maybe the children of the Teens who would be in senior high school or uni now (i.e. the same age we G1ers were during Beast Wars and joining fan clubs like OTCA etc. ) might be into these toys. Plus just the chlidren of today who would like these toys. They have little to no emotional attachment to previous generations of Transformers and thus can see these toys through unbiased eyes... and it is these children who are the majority of people acquiring many of these toys. While we adult collectors are a significant minority of TF consumers, we are still exactly that; a minority.

My G1 Combiner Wars Megatron (left) and Handsprime's Armada CW Megatron (right)

[JJJ]

Visited my local JB today whilst on other errands, and found all the new stuff there (a day after my Sludge and Blitzwing arrived in the post, and with Elita-1 still en route and apparently somewhere in the vicinity of Bendigo).

Loved it. Looked amazing. Reminds me of how things looked when I was a kid (especially with all the Star Wars and Marvel dollies on the other side of the aisle).

But... am I the only one who finds it somewhat disconcerting to find, in a chain that started with music and has since branched into general electronic entertainment, and is now branching into specialist collector stuff, a much, much better stock of toys than has been found at shops with dedicated toy departments (Kmart, Target, Big W) or even actual specialty toy shops (thinking of the Toyworld in the Adelaide Myer centre here), for the past several years?

[Skyfire]

A wall of new TF toys? Yes, this is what I encounter when I go to Singapore department stores/Toys R Us. I'm heading there again soon and I expect to see all the current waves, plus the previous wave or two, plus exclusives... all on the same shelf, which is usually several metres in length. Asia takes (TF) toys really seriously. Our general retailers don't have that same level of customer interest. As for JB Hi-Fi, it's an interesting move what they are doing with TFs. They got into them not very long ago with a fairly small selection and were quite expensive, then stocked more types plus exclusive types, had occasional sales, and are now selling Legacy at very competitve prices to the general retailers. Given what one sales person said about buying a batch of stock but not restocking, I wonder if they are (still) testing the waters wth TFs. The have certainly positioned themselves as a popular culture brand and I hope they have success with TFs as that means more options for us down the track.

[JJJ]

Yes, that's the phrase that wanted to come out but my brain farted - wall of toys. That's exactly what JB has.

More please!

[GoktimusPrime]

But... am I the only one who finds it somewhat disconcerting to find, in a chain that started with music and has since branched into general electronic entertainment, and is now branching into specialist collector stuff, a much, much better stock of toys than has been found at shops with dedicated toy departments (Kmart, Target, Big W) or even actual specialty toy shops (thinking of the Toyworld in the Adelaide Myer centre here), for the past several years?

This is rather standard in Japan. A lot of my Japanese Transformers come from electronic speciality stores like Bic Camera etc. My I bought both my MP Grapple and MP-37 Megatron from Yodobashi Camera. It does seems to be more of a recent thing there, but I see no problem with it.

[GoktimusPrime]

Officially the "G" in MPG stands for: GATTAI (Gestalt), GIANT and GREAT.
So naturally it triggers me that it's not MPGGG.

[griffin]

Officially the "G" in MPG stands for: GATTAI (Gestalt), GIANT and GREAT.
So naturally it triggers me that it's not MPGGG.

I see it as an option for people to use the one that they prefer... and I use Gattai, because "great" is a matter of opinion (when have fans every agreed on anything being great?), and "giant" is not exactly accurate when applied to each toy (as it technically is, as they are MPG-1 to MPG-6, not MPG-1 to just Raiden)... and I don't think the combined form will be that "giant" anyway, now that we have Skyfire there (or any number of other regular Transformers toys that are much bigger).