Fit For Natalie

Well, there was a rumour/news? piece about some corporate buyers' event where Hasbro talked about 1:72 scale alternators planes with a wing span/rotor span of roughly 9-10 inches. A red pickup truck was seen, as well as a blue Honda S2000. And Barricade has limited posability? He appears to have the most joints that can be implemented in most TFs, especially TFs of this size - neck swivel, universal shoulders, above elbow swivel, elbow joint, waist swivel, universal hips, mid-theigh swivels and knee joints. Even BT Smokescreen/Streak lack mid-bicep swivels and universal hips.

No new pics of Masterpiece UM have shown up, to my knowledge, and it appears, not too many fans want it given Takara didn't even bother making a new rifle/accessory set for him. He comes with a cardboard trailer, hopefully his actual trailer design and not a recoloured Convoy trailer. 'The next line being another Autobot?' Do you mean Binaltech/Alternators or the Masterpiece series? As for a possible Masterpiece Megatron - most likely not a gun and probably not until 2006. Hasbro wouldn't be able to sell it (and thus have no reason to fund it) and Takara couldn't afford a project that large on their own.

Possibly due to design problems (parts coming into contact with each other during transformation, or just plain budget), Grimlock has the least die cast metal of all the BTs - only the front bumper, doors and the rear bumper section of the car are metal. The paint holds onto plastic better than it does to die cast for some reason - probably why I prefer Alts - I like TFs I can play with. Btw, hcan you even tell it looks 'plasticky'? The body panels are fully painted. Perhaps you mean it feels plastic?

Yeah, mine was like that too. Did yours come from Singapore? The Predaking packaging is of poor quality - notice how the sides seem to flare out, or bulge out. I would have vastly preferred it if Takara had released it under the regular Collection reissues - superior cardboard quality.

I stand corrected! yea i saw the cover for the HK version and saw the battle beast on it I think they are called Beast Formers in japan. actually i used to love them when they were first released in the usa, and they seemed quite popular some even today still fetch good money on ebay, was the episode any good? I wonder if the beast formers had any influence later down the line on the transformers Beast Wars series and all of its spinoffs. I doubt it - Beast transformers have always been in TF - just that G1 beasts were generally mechanical looking, like the Dinobots or the Insecticons, while the earlier BW toys were organics. And even so, later Beast Wars toys went almost totally mechanical (the Transmetals era).

US TF cartoons ended on the two-part episode 'The Rebirth', which introduced Headmasters and Targetmasters (human/alien guys in suits), because Transformers was slowly but surely dying in popularity. Hasbro didn't do itself any favours by killing off Optimus Prime in the movie (which is why they don't dare kill off characters, at least not for long, in today's shows). TF these days have actually been going on for longer than G1 (Bw in 1995 to now), and have apparently passed G1 in terms of sales. The japanese aim TFs at an even younger age group than Hasbro does. More violence in jap TF (like all those deaths or Soundwave and Blaster tearing each other apart in HM) unfortunately doesn't cover all the weird humour and kiddiness. Anyway, the Seacons were a Targetmaster combiner. Five of the six members became Piranacon (or King Poseidon), with the odd man out becoming the gun. Any of the limbs can become the gun. In typical japanese can't-be-bothered-writing-for-combiners fashion, on Masterforce (one of the most popular japanese TF series because they had human pilots, I guess), only Snaptrap, the leader of the Seacons, had intelligence - his limb troopers were all mindless drones. None of them transformed into robot mode. This tradition has been maintained by tv show Superlink's combiners, whose leaders are the only bots that matter, with the limbs being drones.

The Seacons (with all of their G1 parts, including the weapon stands) are not in the show - Hasbro dug out their molds to use as filler in the Energon line. Those colours you saw (purple, black orange) are more or less the final colours that were shown at OTFCC 2004. Hasbro lost the name for the combined mode, so now its called Pirahnaking. It possible Takara will release it as a TF USA exclusive, like they did with other Armada/Energon-only items such as Energon Megatron, E-Sharkticon, Towline ect. Generally, there are no differences between the standard US release and the TF USA exclusives release. Anyway - the Autobots are really outnumbers in combiners in this series three against one isn't good odds.

Im not sure what it is you are talking about. when you say "robot panels" however if you mean the car then Dodge is all about performance. The PVO didge viper is what Dead end is all about. However if you look closely at Silverstreak vs Smokescreen there are ver sublt changes. like the groin and legs as well as teh torso. I dont know it these sublte changes are the same for Swindle and Hound (not talking about the obvious stuff) Robot panels - robot parts, like Streak's stomach plates and shoulders, or Dead End's chest. The retools should have more of that. As for Windcharger's head, its neither really Windcharger or Overdrive. G1 Windcharger's toy head was a visor with a faceplate, but his cartoon head was a rectangle with a generic face. In my mind his Alt face is kind of a compromise. And like I said above - both Windcharger and Overdrive were both red cars. You guys were unhappy that Tracks was yellow at first. APPARENTLY at a recent showcase for corporate buyers, there was a blue S2000 - does the Mugen version come in blue? As for why only half of the combiner limbs are out - something to do with Energon being an 18 month line as opposed to Superlink being a 12 month line - there isn't much new roduct left to fill 5-6 months left. Plus, stores would be kind of annoyed if cases have the repaints of the same toys in the same assortment. What we have left to look forward two is Roadblock (Inferno retool), Starscream repaint, Overcast (Jetfire repaint), Quickstrike (Bulkhead's excellent repaint), Sixshot (ugly Shockblast repaint), Alpha Q and the Seacons combiner team

It is an improvement in a way - his jet mode is a Cybertronian tetra fighter, also known as a Decepticon Pyrimid fighter. I'll explain - GF Starscream is based heavily upon fan-favourite artist Don Figueroa's Starscream design for the pre-G1 comic book 'Transformers: The War Within'. Don based this design on the Decepticon pyrimid fighters seen in the first episode of the G1 mini-series More Than Meets The Eye. The hallmark of Figueroa's character models is he designs them like a toy so that they can actually transform. In fact, he was the artist assigned to the early concepts for Masterpiece Convoy. Nobody, really, in their wildest dreams thought Hasbro/Takara would actually make a toy on an obscure design that mostly hard core fans would only recognise. That's abit unfair - part of the licensing deal means they can either only make a car in the colours that are OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE on the real car, or the colour the manufacturer requests. The exception to this is Meister, as I understand, the RX-8 doesn't come in white, but it appears Mazda was happy so long as they also made a red version as well. Besides, Windcharger (and Overdrive) were both red cars. As for the rifle barrel on the BT - nobody knows. Japan-side, Jaguar (Ravage) will be released before Overdrive (Windcharger). Note: In regards to retools of the vehicles - HasTak can only change the mold as far as the real car versions are different. Hence Alts/BTs like Swindle where the vehicle is hardly any different to Hound - because the real cars are like that. Of course, this doesn't explain why they can make changes to the robot panels on Streak and Dead End, but only change the heads for the rest of the retools.

I don't think scratches matter on BT Grimlock, as he is mostly plastic. He has metal in his front bumper, doors and rear bumper. Another difference is BT Grimlock's engines and wheel rims are vaccum metalised.

I'll break the head if the flaps and mouth plate are connected. I've seen pictures that suggest that moving one, makes the other move. If that's the case, I will remove or break whatever mechanism forces them to work together. And there you go, my friend - they are independant from each other. The faceplate moves up via a lever positioned on the back of Convoy's head like MP Convoy's mouth button. The head wings are just indepedently hinged, like Armada Supermode Prime's or Energon Prime's head wings/ear things. And there it is, the BWTF forums. Ben is great. A fantastic fan. Other people in there... not exactly the most enlightning tf fans from what I understand. I'm pretty bloody sure many people then and now in other forums know Hot Shot is crap, but at the same time a fair number of people (myself included) love the toy for its goofiness and its JaAm charm. Jetstorm - Crazy people. Its a good toy, but not better looking than a Yamato Macross plane. But I do think having such large screws visible on top looks pretty bad. I think they should have put something like a rubber cap made in the colour of the base plastic over them. I am thinking of the right plane... right? I've always wanted the more futuristic Yamato planes, but am scared to death of breaking them during transformation. Naturally - Sunrise.

Unfortunately, TF can't have an expensive OVA every few years - be hard to sell to kids without an ongoing cartoon. And ongoing cartoons of a low-budget nature don't tend to look very good compared to expensive series for more popular lines in Japan. Perhaps one day this will change if Hasbro takes control of future tv shows. Hey, US TF is getting a live-action movie. Takara appears to have very little to do with this movie. The thing is most of TF is aimed at a much younger market than that of Macross or Gundam - bound to me more immature in design. Lots of guns on TFs is nothing new. And I don't 'cling' to anything, thank you very much. I dislike Gundam Wing's designs, but I lack knowledge about Gundam. Can I say I think the Macross 7 Valks look tacky? Because I think they do, in my opinion, of course. Wasn't it also designed by what's his name? I have a hard time remembering japanese names. Sorry, I don't read comics Yep, because they're childrens toys. I have a hard time believing any serious TF fan that isn't a raving lunatic can claim Armada Hot Shot is more realistic than say X-Brawn or Prowl. Nobody can say that seriously. I have a similarly hard time believing serious long-time TF fans can claim BM Jetstorm (either version) can compare to the YF-19 in terms of looks. Though comparisons between the toys is unfair, given that one, well, two are relatively cheap kids toys made for a mass market and the other is a relatively expensive collector's item made for a rather small market with much, much, much higher expectations. I'll say it again - TF television media is marketed the way it is by Takara (who controls the shows nowadays). Its because in Japan, all TF is viewed as a wholly foriegn brand either for the VERY young or the otaku. Even a Takara designer/engineer has said he liked TF for its western ideals. Another reason is that TF is about sentient alien robots rather than the traditional japanese human piloted mecha. Even Takara's/Sunrise's Brave series, which is EXTREMELY close to TF in terms of robot design, is mostly human-piloted mecha, explaining its high popularity over TF. TF by far is sold to children and their parents. Older fans represent a small, though significant portion (20% at the most). Its unlikely we will ever get So far a large number of us older fans seems to like this 'GUNZ' business if the reaction to GF is any indication. TF has never really been ultra realistic anyway. True that, that really throws me off with these newer TF shows, having Prime sound almost like G1 Peter Cullen Prime, but not. Optimus Prime is nowadays played by Gary Chalk. Megatron is played by David Kaye - both are fan favourite actors because of their respective roles of Optimus Primal and Megatron on Beast Wars. Chalk's current voice is based upon his Optimal Optimus voice from Beast Wars season 3, where Primal was forced to contain the spark of G1 Optimus Prime within himself to preserve the life of the damaged Autobot leader, and thus preserve the timeline. That experience with the powerful spark transformed Primal's body into his Optimal Optimus incarnation. From then on, his voice had a slightly gruffer quality with *some* flanging. Armada outsold RID, and it appears so has Energon. As for the vehicle modes - they could 'identify' them, as you say, but kids had trouble transforming some of the complicated toys, such as Sideburn/Speedbreaker. RID was merely a filler line Hasbro imported while both companies worked on Armada. Takara won't touch Car Robots again - the line did so horribly in Japan that Takara nearly went bankrupt. Micron Densetsu (Armada) was their first relatively sucessful TF line in years, with Superlink also reasonably sucessful. Here's something funny, just over a year back somebody asked Aaron Archer, Hasbro's TF head, about the likelihood of the RID/CR Trainbots appearing in Universe as a repaints. He said it was highly unlikely because 'they were a pain in the ass'. He's supposed to be some sort of fire truck. Apparently. His weapons array is mounted on what would be the ladders. Why break the head??? If you don't like the mouth he has a slide up faceplate, and the head can still turn with it on. The 'ears' are just hinged so you can leave them folded against the head if you so choose. Its grey - those pictures were simply overexposed. Arms and upper legs are also dark blue, not black like some pictures. There was - it was called Beast Wars. Many fans loved it for its maturity, excellent characterisation, entertaining stories, great acting, its link to G1 and its darkness. At the same time, many (though its less nowadays) fans, particularly people who haven't been with TF in a long time, hated it because it was about animal-bots, not cars and trucks. Either way, the toy line was very sucessful. Beast Machines was in a similar vein, though it polarised the fandom because while it was a direct continuation of Beast Wars, the new writers drastically changed the premise and characterisations. Still, it was a dark, mature series, and the toy line did fairly well. We got two mature TF shows from the US side, and its unlikely we'll see the likes of them again.

I shall reserve judgement on the show until I have actually viewed it. I don't expect it to be spectacular in terms of storyline, but I won't dismiss it until it ruins a good storyline thread, like Superlink disregarding Starscream's previous storyline with a personality reboot. You're saying the GF designs would only appeal to '1337' kids? I think the people who are supporting GF in the main TF forums would disagree with you. Its your opinion, and you're entitled to it, of course, but its best not to insult the intelligence of people who disagree with you, or make backhanded comments about what they like. 'Cheap plastic crap' was uncalled for.

Blegh. You're not the only one who sees that Guyver-ism in there, and that annoys the hell out of me. In fact, this whole "show" is an affront to G1 fans everywhere. It puts the final nail in the coffin of the "how Gundam-y can we make the Transformers?" issue. These designs are total crap, suffering from extreme munchkinism in that the designers decided to throw as much garbage as possible onto these machines. I muchly prefer the simple, clean elegance of the G1 designs. Your comments insult me, as I am a G1 fan, sir. You used your own personal bias and claim it as what G1 fans 'everywhere' feel. As for why Snowstorm/Snow Cat yodels - japanese kids show comic relief. Takara evidently decided as the japanese view Transformers as a foriegn brand with foriegn values & sentient alien robots not piloted by humans, as well as a toyline and series for the very young or ultra otaku, Takara would sell these mainline Transformers to those markets instead of the more traditional human-piloted mecha market, such as those for Macross. At least Transformers does very well outside of Japan. Just don't think the show is written for japanese adult anime fans or the mainline toys made for the japanese adult mecha collector, and you won't get so worked up and have your patience tried.

Its not crazy - MP Convoy was made as the best representation of a toy that has been made before, and a very well known animation model. Its a collector's piece. Kids can't really be expected to play with it (or at least its not meant for them). GF Convoy was made from scratch - true, it is a homage to multiple earlier Convoys, but it is still an original design. Coupled with the fact its a mainline mass production toy designed to keep kids as well as collectors happy, I think GF Convoy is the greater achievement. Afterall, its easier to spend alot of money into designing an intricate collector's piece than to design a toy both children love and older fans approve of. Sorry if my explanation is hard to understand.

Galaxy Convoy gallery I'm told by my buddy in Japan is probably the best Convoy toy ever made (that includes MP Convoy).

Alt Shockblast - I call them by whatever official name they have, so I can differentiate them from other toys of the same name. No need to get irate about a name that Hasbro no longer owns. Either way his license plate says SHKWAV. Pics here

But he's not Jetfire - just a toy they made in the image of Jetfire years ago, that Hasbro took and repainted in the colours of a toy never released in Japan for obvious reasons. Additionally R-Blade/Hooligan is a basic, about 9cm tall, and only costs a few bucks. An excellent basic - unfair to compare him to Macross Valks. As for Jetfire - well, he was bigger and more expensive than most of the other first year G1s so he's bound to be 'better'. Packaged Shockblast Mazdaspeed RX-8 just popped up. He indeed has a spoiler. Hasbro hasn't even annouced him yet so nobody knows when he'll be released outside of China.

Eh? What do you mean? R-Blade, originally G2 Hooligan (and then repainted grey as G2 Jetfire) is a nine year old mold. So what's the eye rolling for?

I don't own him yet, but this thread might be of help to you Me Grimlock am car that falls apart!