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knoted

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Everything posted by knoted

  1. knoted
    Blake's 7 classic stuff : Blakes 7
  2. knoted
    From the looks of it, the parts CAN still sit flush, but he posed it in such a way to get the maximum dynamic pose out of it. He's given him shoulder joints but I think those panels don't have enough depth to them, to allow room for full range ball joint articulation. Anyway, it's not really the customizer's fault ; it's inherent to Hasbro's use of those big ol' swivel hinges to get the arms to the side of the torso. Sure, I think he could have photographed it with those parts sitting flush.I think the result looks mighty fine. It emphasizes the difference between default mode little Prime and Powermaster Prime perfectly. Personally, I'd like the Hasbro Generation line to continue with characters from the 87/88 line up. And then I mean, a proper revisiting of those characters...not some cheap repaint of Universe Silverbolt, tagging it 'Darkwing'. Same goes for that Jetfire repaint, dubbed 'Dreadwind'. Lame. Give 'em proper newly engineered molds with the original altmodes they had ; Tornado & F16, respectively. Targetmasters such as Needlenose & Quake too. Would be fun to exchange Mech Tech weapons and new Targetmaster weapons between lines.
  3. knoted
    There's quite some differences between worldwide releases ; the chromed up versions being the better ones. The little Prime mold certainly had potential, just see this custom : custom articulated little Powermaster Optimus Prime
  4. knoted
    No. Apart from the Pretenders, most of the characters like Ginrai, got nothing on characters like Optimus Prime. It's just a guy with a soulless mecha suit which happens to resemble Prime a bit. Really, even the G1 Marvel comics pwn this poo.
  5. knoted
    Masterforce toys are cool. The cartoon sucks. Kinda.
  6. knoted
    No indeed it doesn't, but nowhere did I claim to have the ultimate solution. Just suggesting something he'd might enjoy in an 'unfair' world. Better to accept a half full glass of beer than to complain about a half empty glass of beer.
  7. knoted
    Get the Cyberverse Roadbuster. He's superior to the deluxe version :
  8. knoted
    That's what I thought too...hence I posted the pic of the prototype earlier on.
  9. knoted
    Well, some did (not too long after my post with the link to a video review of the deluxe version & pic gallery)... do I need to quote them to prove it ? oh well, people should enjoy the toys they enjoy. I'm just here to say they might enjoy some other toys too, even if they think they wouldn't, based on just one sucky Leader class version. About the Rodimus : The Takara colours are so much better & movie accurate. Still, he's too pricey imo WITH the trailer. MP10's the one to get instead.
  10. knoted
    No no and no.You plain refuse to merely take a proper look at the arguments I bring to the table about what makes those mentioned TF toys, still worthwhile - since some people were bashing them. I just post about these TF's so people might enjoy them when they thought they wouldn't. It seems you just reply me, to try make me feel bad. But if you want to be RIGHT, so be it and enjoy whatever toys you have. Good day. @ Mike ; I already stated the electro gizmo's is one major factor which made the final Leader class toys less than great. The VF examples were just there to illustrate and emphasize the constraints Hasbro has to work with. Very different development cycles. One can't just bash a movie toy with that in mind.
  11. knoted
    You say tomatoes I say tomatoes. The ahhum, 'terminology' discussion is pretty irrelevant.It's all about some people being hardheaded and not showing ANY acknowledgement of constraints, the Hasbro people have to work with and consequently they make an apples to oranges comparison by saying 'VF designs are superior'. I have said Leader class Jetfire and Starscream are compromised & fugly solutions, as toy interpretations of complex CGi designs. Voyager class ROTF Starscream and deluxe class DOTM Starscream are both fantastic toy jet Transformers. Heck, the former even features the sleek cap to hide robot parts (and the hands folded up in the original design, alas budget cuts cut that feature). People often just bash these movie TF toys, only for disliking the cgi robot mode design, plain and simple. And that's a crooked way to judge a toy on its own merits. On a sidenote : The beams on Masterpiece Starscream's hips ; now THAT is what people call 'kibble'. And that's why this prototype version is superior to the final product. Igear's KO's are employing the solution right now btw :
  12. knoted
    Yep...and "Could the transformation have been a bit more creative ? ( e.g. not just straightened out legs beneath jet )" Answer : "Probably" ( see Deluxe version ) I'll raise the same questions for Jetfire though. Probably a bit trickier to answer.
  13. knoted
    Jet designs such as the F22, the F35 and even the good old F117 are very unforgiving jet designs. Any deviation to their very typical and exact shape, will stand out as inaccurate.So, when we put aside the fact there's going to be robo kibble no matter what ; it comes down to HOW elegant they can tuck away that kibble and extra-mass. As such, the consensus is that the new Deluxe and Voyager do a better job of handling that kibble/mass, than the Leader version. This is where the complexities of a CGi transformation simply cannot be replicated exactly into a 15 dollar toy. With that in mind I think the endresult is quite the accomplishement (speaking about the new deluxe mold), even if one doesn't like the style of the robot design. None, I still think most of them are friggin' awesome...however, it shouldn't mean I should label them as realistically superior in these apples & oranges comparisons to cheaper jet TF's. Well, their structural designs are in fact skewed realism, no ? Just like many jet Transformers which Hasbro didn't get a toy license for ( your Breakaway & Stratosphere examples as well as ROTF Mindwipe, ROTF Dirge, Universe Powerglide etc. ), many of thoe VF's feature questionably elongated canopies, questionable placement & surface volume of stabilizers and winglets, canopy bubble upon canopy (VF22) and all sorts of extra jet engines like Classics Ramjet has them, worked into thin wings which I doubt would be able to retain structural intergrity.It's like a longsleeve t-shirt with a tuxedo print ; just because it's tuxedo styled, doesn't mean it's a real tuxedo. I think modern market working has proven they address a smaller niche market, even if they do provide some cheaper alternatives ( still not really within the $10 - $25 range though ) Not really. It's moreso about coming to understanding about the constraints, the Hasbro toy designers have to work with. In case of the movie TF designs, the Hasbro guys often got incomplete Cgi source material to work with, then having to work that into a $15 toy mold. Hence, it's an apples/oranges comparison between a high end VF product and a mass market TF jet-former.
  14. knoted
    True, but Kanedaestes and VF5SS chimed in, implying something with "Hmm much like oh I don't know, the original designs of Transformers." and quite the bold statement of "We're over 25 years into this gig and most jet TFs haven't risen above a G1 Aerialbot." respectively.Sure, I can understand some people disliking the movie designs. That's their personal right and choice. But I think it's just not right to pass off all the TF movie character iterations as crap, just because of a compromised Leader class toy. Especially if we're comparing him to a high end Valk which isn't hindered by realism, nor electro gizmo's and which sits at about double the price point and development time.
  15. knoted
    Ehm, how can my post be anti G1 if you claim none of them have improved in one way or another in the past 25 years ? ...When can you finally see that the mold is a good and fun toy solution considering its contextual constraints.- From a number of angles it does the F22 justice. In its distribution of mass, I'd say it does a better job than the Leader class mold. - It enables a robot design aesthetic very different than anime mecha /TF G1/MP or Classics. - Nice articulation coupled with a yet again a very different and fun transformation schematic. - It does all this at mass market price point approx. $10 to $15. I'd say that's a major toy design accomplishment....imo, moreso than some of the VF designs; which may "seem" realistic to some people just because of its panel lining aesthetic; While they are in fact highly skewed jets, in order to enable a typical anime robot design at 1/60 or 1/48 scale and $100 price point.
  16. knoted
    That could work maybe. But using this method in context of toy engineering, you're going to limit the robot design to blocky chunks for limbs, which either slide in and out or fold up in a straight manner. His endresults are still fantasy jets which give him a lot of leeway to get away with robotlimbs hanging under and sitting ontop of a basic fuselage. The styling of the outer casing and panels completes the illusion of some sort of styled unity. The fantasy design basically IS the excuse for being non-realistic.The basic principle is like this : designer A : gets to design a jetformer toy which isn't constricted to a real F22 and he gets years to refine one single basic design without cost/size constraints. designer B : gets to design a jetformer toy which has to come as close as possible to a real F22 and he needs to do this within strict cost/size constraints for a wide array of size/budget classes. Now, I think we can all agree designer A has the easier job here. Most of the VF's are simply an evolution of one single fantasy design. Of course, that's going to be the easier job. Also, most of his recent VF designs are, imo, looking less and less realistic. You have to give the Hasbro toy designers some credit here. They don't design the character, ILM did.ILM stated the complex CGi transformations only cheat a little, but their designs do work with a believable transformation layout. However, Hasbro can't possibly translate such complex Cgi engineering 1 on 1 into toys. Certainly not within size/budget constraints which many high end VF toys do not have. Remember, we're talking all mass market Transformers toys here, not just TF Masterpiece class and high end Yamato/Bandai VF's. That said, the Hasbro toy designers did some fantastic work to emulate both the TF movie Cgi botmodes and the real life F22 within constraints ; resulting into fantastic enjoyable TF toys within the $ 10 to $ 25 range (deluxe and voyager class respectively). Anyone should be able to acknowledge that, regardless of personal aesthetics preferences. Let's keep it all G1 ! Yeah, sure that's THE solution. Oh please. Yeah, Universe Silverbolt is still one of the worst robots-with-a-jet for-backpack TF. But that's what you get for hanging on to blocky-formers.Instead, take a look at this video and see why even a G1 purist like Thew, likes the new movieverse mold : For anyone interested : Finally, the movieverse seeker trio is now complete : Skywarp, Thundercracker and Starscream gallery
  17. knoted
    Ok, but the overal design style & layout was the original Diaclone mold and the schematics of the G1 cartoon.Screwing up the movie figs ? Really...I think it'll be a tougher feat to engineer a perfect F22 TF, than we think. Certainly, if said Hasbro designer has to work within constraints, Shoji doesn't have to worry about.
  18. knoted
    That Batwing simply rocks my socks. Love the looks of it. It evokes the same feeling of oddly beauty awe, when I saw first pics of the fantastic F117 stealth bomber.
  19. knoted
    Correct me if I'm mistaken - but didn't he merely make small adjustments to a prototype MP Starscream design which was already there ? In fact, Shoji's adjustments lead to the dreaded hip kibble.And that's just one single jet design. In VF design, a lot of the transformation schemes remain very similar with similar robot modes, with increasingly less realistic jetmodes. TF designers have to create a lot of heavily varying robot modes with very different transformation schemes for a line up of realistic jetmodes within all kinds of size/budget classes. I didn't get Leader Starscream nor Jetfire ; because imo, Hasbro dropped the ball there ; both their Deluxe and voyager Starscream are imo, better.
  20. knoted
    As long as people keep bashing TF's for that reason... Point is ; the VF fighter design is non realistic in the FIRST place. They don't have to adhere a strict, realistic jet shape like a Transformer has to. Let's have Yamato try to engineer a VF which transforms into any realistic jet (F22, F35, F16 etc.) and I bet you, they will have to make the same compromises as Hasbro has to.The fandom has gotten so used to VF's fantasy jet design, that they even try to defend these fanta shapes as 'realistic' jet. heavily infleunced by realword jets ? Yeah... lots of margin for trying to blend in robot parts as long as they look like jet panels. With TF jets it's like the computer graphics' uncanny valley effect, when it comes to realistic styled human characters ; even the smallest difference will stick out like a sore thumb, because we know the real thing so well.
  21. knoted
    NONE of the VF jets are realistic real life jets. None of them have to emulate the shape of a real life jet like Starscream's F22 or heck, even G1 Starscream's F15. This fact alone, already makes a big difference. All of a VF battroid's limbs are robot kibble in plain sight just as much as Leader class Starscream's / Jetfire's. ( The difference is that a VF's legs & arms are styled in similar style to the panel lines of the fantasy jet, thus fandom has accepted this as 'realistic' / non-kibble. So, the supposed argument a VF toy does it 'better' than a TF toy, is a falacy. ) That said, although I really like the movie Starscream design ... I dislike the Leader class Starscream ( a lot of undercarriage mass at the rear, beneath thrust nozzles ). Indeed, due to electronic gizmo's, his engineering was compromised. However, ROTF voyager Starscream and DOTM deluxe Starscream do feature quite brilliant mold engineering and fun transformation schemes. Considering the constraints of their size class and budget - especially the new DOTM deluxe mold - , they strike a good balance between design of the CGi robot mode and the shape of the actual F22 jet. Leader class Jetfire is a similar but slightly different story. His jet mode is pretty tricky to work with when it comes to transforming it into a robot. Also, the mold had to cater for combining with Optimus Prime.
  22. knoted
    I hope you can see for yourself, you made a pretty big generalization here. The movie designs of which the fragmented aesthetic detracts from its silhouette are few : - movie 1 Megatron - movie 1 Scorponok | minor character - movie 2 Ravage | minor character All other movie designs are not that difficult to visually 'read'. What a lot of them DO share however, is a variety of not-exactly-humanoid proportions : imo, that's rather a good point. So, I can easily shoot down the argument of supposedly fragment/granulated designs being too messy to visually interpret. The problem here is that some people want all TF's to stick to the exact humanoid proportion template. Which is even more odd here, since so many mecha do have those out-there proportions too, and then they accept it in anime but not in TF. Heck, even movie 1 Megatron developed into DOTM Megatron who finally looks right, with a fitting earth altmode in a time when he cannot be a Walther P38 anymore. Insectoid faces ? Well, some but so do many other previous TF lines and characters like Sentinel Prime, Jetfire couldn't have more humanoid faces. Really ? Well, toyreviews are just opinions as well, but if you take a look at them with a less hateful pov : These TF movie toys are relatively inexpensive and Hasbro managed to interpret the CGi designs into practical and innovative toy engineering. These toys have fantastic unique silhouettes and they're easy to read.
  23. knoted
    Ahhh...with TF4 talks the discussions about the designs, oh the designs, flare up again. I don't think we can credit/blame Bay himself for the TF movie designs. He just greenlit or disapproved what the designers & ILM came up with. Personally, I love most movie TF designs, as well as G1 with which I grew up in the early 80's ( myself being from '78 ). But since this trilogy established a visual standard already, I don't think a design reboot would be a good idea. Especially the variety of proportions of botmodes, is an enrichment to the franchise. Sure, fewer 'exposed internals' and fewer 'redundant wiring' could evolve the botmode silhouettes to be a bit more of a tight aesthetic, but let's not lose the overall richness of shapes like movie 1 Bonecrusher, Starscream, Mixmaster, Sideways, Blackout, Dino, Sideswipe, Jetfire etc. Sure, Bay's direction is full of awful flaws, but his tools - the design teams, ILM and Hasbro - are not to blame. No reboot necessary. Just insert a new Director, new screenplay and a new cast - lots of TF characters left to use.
  24. knoted
    I saw it this week in IMAX 3D. First half was OK, Chicago part & deaths of major characters were portrayed in ABSURD & dumb manner. So....DOTM's only marginally better than ROTF, and that doesn't say much at all. The 2007 TF movie is still the best out of the 3.
  25. knoted
    DOTM Thundercracker review : Awesome mold, awesome repaint
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