The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[Gakken85]

Wow. Have you guys seen how awesome this is?

Edited August 21, 2014 by Gakken85

[CoreyD]

Oh yeah, a while back I was split between getting that set and the Perfect Effect Scouting Force. I went with the Scouting Force because the colors were closer to the cartoon.

[Hikuro]

The Dino's never could go toe to toe with Devastator in the show. Every time they tried they got their butts kicked. Constructicons yes, Devastator no. Dinobots need to combine to destroy Devastator.

lol what episodes were you watching? Season 1 finale' Heavy Metal Wars the Dinobots masacared the Constucticons. In fact I believe Megatron was terrified of the Dinobots everytime he had to face them he had to resort to insults only to get his ass handed to him by Grimlock (2 part atlantica episodes are a good example of that)

I hate the idea of a Dinobots gestalt, it's completely un-neccessary in every way shape and form. If the Dinobots had simple brains, and even the most intellectual transformers turning into a gestalt body became stupid and slow what in the world do you think would happen to the Dinobots? Oh wait.....now that I think about it Grimlock fixed that with the Technobots, the only Gestalt unit to be smart and devestating. ....Simple Brains.

[Gakken85]

Scouting force looks cool too. I like how photon looks like a real camera though.

[Dangard Ace]

lol what episodes were you watching? Season 1 finale' Heavy Metal Wars the Dinobots masacared the Constucticons. In fact I believe Megatron was terrified of the Dinobots everytime he had to face them he had to resort to insults only to get his ass handed to him by Grimlock (2 part atlantica episodes are a good example of that)

Reading comprehension needed here. DEVASTATOR was rarely beaten by the Dinobots. Constructicons often were. Heavy Metal Wars: Dinobots kicked Constructicons ass out of the Ark. Constructicons formed Devastator. Devastator devastated dinobots. Ass whipped them until Hound and Prime saved their dino doodoo. The only time dinobots "beat" Devastator was when they prevented Constructicons from fully forming Devastator,one armed, and then they just ran past him into the space bridge. TFTM: Grimlock got belly kicked, sludge got body slammed, slag knocked Dev down, Swoop got taken out by debris, Snarl stayed at home.

[Mechapilot77]

finally a megatron and a motormaster for the mp10

the proportions look good. hopefully this is just a proof of concept prototype, not anything close to final. needs a lot more molded detail

[valhary]

http://boldforms.com/nd.jsp?id=9&_np=2_324

[vlenhoff]

Why did they split the lens in half, it doesn't seem to transform...

[JB0]

TFTM: Grimlock got belly kicked, sludge got body slammed, slag knocked Dev down, Swoop got taken out by debris, Snarl stayed at home.

"Dinobots, destroy Devastator!"

"Me Grimlock love challenge."

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

I'm not familiar with Quickswitch or Sixknight, but the idea of Fansproject doing a six-changer does sound enticing. I love the third photo of it wielding two guns while doing a sexy walk.

[RD Blade]

That's the best Quickswitch has ever looked. Ever.

[JB0]

That's the best Quickswitch has ever looked. Ever.

You say that like it's a hard record to set.

[RD Blade]

LOL!

[Valkyrie2008]

Updated pics from tfw2005.com, looking really nice. I was hoping they would go with the 25th Anniversary Countach, but at least the front end is.

[RD Blade]

That Sunstreaker looks amazing. What's the target price for it?

I performed a little surgery on my Impossible Toys Nightbird.

For some reason, I.T. gave her no bicep swivel.

I cut the arms off at the shoulders and replaced the two hinge joints with ball joints.

None of those poses was possible before the mod.

[slaginpit]

On some of the other boards its mind boggling how little taste there is. So much hate for the 3rd party Superion over Hasbro new stilt former Jeez How can you call this garbage???

[slaginpit]

Wow. Have you guys seen how awesome this is?

I have it its awesome !

[Valkyrie2008]

On some of the other boards its mind boggling how little taste there is. So much hate for the 3rd party Superion over Hasbro new stilt former Jeez How can you call this garbage???

I would pick up the 3P Superion over that Hasbro Craperion in a heart beat! The reason I haven't picked up TFC Superion is because I'm not too fond of the F-16's butt and they're using the Blackbird instead of the Concord. Don't get me wrong, I love the Blackbird, but not for Superion. I'm hoping other 3P will do their version of Superion.

[mikeszekely]

Well, nearly three months after I ordered them, I finally have my first 3P toys. (Excuse crappy cellphone pics of toys my my bedroom dresser.)

First up is Mania King. Hugely impressed with the box! It's made from a hard cardboard, like a hardback book cover, and seems like the kind of box you'd expect boutique electronics in, not a toy. Inside, there's a layer of cushioning foam at the bottom, with a second layer of foam with a Mania King-shaped hole in it. Mania King is packaged snugly inside that foam layer.

I know that some people didn't like the colors, and I respect that (that's probably why Unique Toys is doing a second "Vintage Colors" run, but I actually like the darker purple (it's almost identical to the purple Hasbro used for Generations Galvatron). The white could stand to be a light gray, though.

Transformation is fairly simple once you figure it out, but the included instructions aren't much help. Essentially, his legs go to a sitting pose, the lower legs open up, rotate around, then cover the thighs. The front part of his arm cannon pegs into slots between his legs. Then, his back opens up, the cannons treads and rear support unfold from inside while his actual back pegs onto his waist. The bit on his back that looks like it could be the rear support (and was on the G1 toy) is actually the part that stands up on the top of the cannon , with some flaps that cover some gaps in the top. His arms fold up a bit to fold up a bit, and the back of the arm cannon pegs in above them to form the rear of the cannon. Everything pegs together pretty tightly, too, which is nice. The cannon mode seems a tad short, but still manages to show off most of the G1 cartoon's elements while having a totally different transformation. My only real complaint is that he way his chest and head fold up leaves his face still obviously visible.

As for bot mode, I was one of the people who didn't think a rotating wrist was necessary for a great toy, but at the same time, I'm not sure that a rotating wrist would have impeded his transformation in anyway. Still, it's hard to complain too much. He's got really good articulation, especially in the ankles. One thing I like is that, due to his transformation, his knee armor is on the thigh. On a Hasbro toy, it wouldn't bend at all, but UT put a joint on the armor, so after you bend Mania King's knee you can move the knee armor to match. He's got a few ratchets, but some of the joints that aren't ratchets feel a little loose. Despite feeling a little loose, though, he's remained in any position I put him in, so they're not so loose that they sag under the toys weight. But best of all, the sculpt is fantastic. He's tall and looks buff, but not too buff. He fits in best with the CHUGs... he's about the same height as Evasion Mode Optimus Prime (Generations Galvatron, BTW, comes up to about the top of the red on Mania King's abdomen). All of the Galvatron details are there, his arm cannon is just the right size, and his head looks perfect. Amazingly, there's almost no kibble. Even from the back, he looks fantastic.

In short, he's pretty much the perfect Galvatron. He's so good that I'm almost regretting my decision to stop collecting Transformers. What's most impressive, though, is that it's mostly careful choices in the plastic color and some very clever engineering. I don't see any reason Hasbro couldn't have made this exact toy, mass-produced, at a Voyager price point. But, therein lies the rub. Hasbro's toys, which were getting better for awhile, have turned to crap lately, getting smaller with more hollow parts and fewer paint apps to save a buck, but also more simply engineered. If other 3P toys are even half as good as Mania King, then they're clearly a much better alternative. But, while I'm willing to spend a bit of money to get really good versions of my favorite or important characters, I don't want to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on combiner teams I don't have shelf space for. But I digress.

Next up will be Hegemon, aka the reason I didn't get Mania King back in June when I ordered them.

Edited August 28, 2014 by mikeszekely

[Gakken85]

Stilt former.

Accurate.

They look like happy meals toys.

[mikeszekely]

Ok, Hegemon.

Well, for starters, like Mania King he's a good size for a CHUG. The sculpt is pretty good. I mean, he's clearly Megatron, and unlike the MP or original G1 toy, it does a good job of giving him bulk. The face is a little muddy, though, and he's really lacking in color on his abdomen.

He's also a good size match with Mania King, being ever-so-slightly taller for those of us who like to think of them as separate characters, but close enough in size for the Galvatron-is-Megatron crowd. (Oh, when taking this photo, I noticed pins in Mania King's hands. I discovered that his fists can't rotate, but his hands open and close).

The plastic Toy World uses is a little funky, though. In fact, there's what looks to be a scratch across the side of his chest (his right, our left), but it's actually a swirl in the paint. Joints, especially his ankles, seem a little loose. If he were to hold his arms out to the sides, the weight of his Fusion Cannon would cause his right arm to droop. He's got pretty good posability as far as his joints go, but they're sometimes hindered by other parts. For example, the gun barrel on his back gets in the way of his shoulder. Some fiddling will get him in the pose that you want, though, and he looks solid from the front.

The back is a different story. He's got kibble bits on his butt and a giant trigger in addition to his gun barrel. Also not sure why the backs of his legs are clear red plastic. You can improve things a little by removing the trigger, which pops off a peg. His Fusion Cannon and gun barrel are also pegged on, although he's designed so he can transform without removing any parts.

Speaking of, transformation is a tad involved. It reminds me of a mix of MP Megatron and Classics Megatron. It's not particularly fun, but it's not too bad. I had a tougher time getting parts to fit where they should and pegging into place than I did with Mania King. And the result is... mixed. The top looks about right, but the grip is huge! And, some of his robot abs are showing.

The version I got is the re-release (labeled TW-01b). The big difference seems to be that you don't get the silencer and stock (bummer) or the sword (meh). Instead, you get a second head with yellow light piping and a black helmet, like his Marvel Comics look (kinda cool). He does still come with his Energon morning star (cool).

Hegemon is tough to judge. Objectively, he's not as good as Mania King, who I will highly recommend. He's definitely got his faults. Likewise, the CHUG he replaces wasn't as bad as Generations Galvatron (especially if you have the Henkei version without the Lex Luthor paint job). That being said, Hegemon is still probably the best toy of Megatron, with a bulkier bot mode and better balance than the MP, a more G1 look with better articulation than the Classics/Henkei, a better sculpt than the upcoming Leader-class Generations, and a better size than the Deluxe Generations. I'd say get him if you're not satisfied with the three CHUG versions for your CHUG collection, but pass otherwise.

[Gakken85]

I like Hege except for the legs.

[anime52k8]

I like Hege except for the legs.

They could easily have made the pistol grip better proportioned and more like a proper pistol grip and it would have probably made the legs look better and more like G1 Megatron's legs.

[mikeszekely]

They could easily have made the pistol grip better proportioned and more like a proper pistol grip and it would have probably made the legs look better and more like G1 Megatron's legs.

I think that's the crux with Hegemon. He's better than every other Megatron toy out there, pretty much, but still not good enough.

[Gakken85]

Still the big foot of modern transformers toy design.

Megatron!

[mikeszekely]

Sadly, now I really want a new 3P voyager-sized Prime. Toyworld's Orion is a little off, though. Maybe someone will do a scaled-down MP-10, like they did with MP-01 back in the day.

[technoblue]

Mania King looks good. And I like these proportions since I still buy the odd Voyager now and then. Does the first edition come with the lighting effect or is that limited to the v2 original color release? I think I could go either way with the colors on this one. I also wonder why Unique Toys moved away from the nice foam packaging going from v1 to v2?

Hegemon looks like a decent Megatron stand-in for robot mode. The Walther P38 in alternate mode looks really funky. The barrel looks chubby and squished and there's a lot of 'bot business showing around the trigger. It makes me wonder how Takara would downsize the original Masterpiece version of Megatron to MP-10's scale. It seems like a smaller version may require some sacrifices.

Edited August 29, 2014 by technoblue

[mikeszekely]

There's no lighting effect on Mania King. Between that and the more accurate color scheme, there's really no reason not to get the v2 version (unless you can find v1 for a good price, or prefer the darker purple). When I ordered, though, the v2 version had yet to be announced, and it's not that huge of a difference to me.

Either way, I do strongly recommend Mania King. Solid toy, solid construction, looks good in alt mode and fantastic in bot mode, right size for CHUGs.

[Mechapilot77]

They could easily have made the pistol grip better proportioned and more like a proper pistol grip and it would have probably made the legs look better and more like G1 Megatron's legs.

nope, you dont know how hegemon transforms then. hint: take a look at the shape fo the bottom of the grip once again.

[anime52k8]

nope, you dont know how hegemon transforms then. hint: take a look at the shape fo the bottom of the grip once again.

I know exactly how the legs transform, the sculpt is still ugly in both modes for no reason. They don't look like megatons legs in bot mode and they don't look like a pistol grip in gun mode. Yes they wanted to keep the legs symmetrical, but they could have at least sculpted the legs to look correct in robot mode from the front and outer sides and just live with how the pistol grip turns out. It wouldn't look any worse than what they went with.

[mikeszekely]

I know exactly how the legs transform, the sculpt is still ugly in both modes for no reason. They don't look like megatons legs in bot mode and they don't look like a pistol grip in gun mode. Yes they wanted to keep the legs symmetrical, but they could have at least sculpted the legs to look correct in robot mode from the front and outer sides and just live with how the pistol grip turns out. It wouldn't look any worse than what they went with.

I think they were going for something more like the IDW Megatron at the time. Not saying they pulled it off...

[mikeszekely]

Has anybody tried the faction stickers from TF Kingdom (or TF Kingdom at all?)?

I know Reprolabels is good, but I don't want to entirely sticker up Mania King or Hegemon. I really just want a pair of Decepticon faction symbols; one small enough to go on the silver area of Mania King's chest, and one large enough for the flat area on Hegemon's chest. Likewise, Reprolabels faction sheets are $7+$3 for shipping, and I'm not sure how big they are. I'd hate to be out $10 for two stickers and not have one small enough for Mania King.

TF Kingdom has this set for $3.19 with free shipping. They describe the smallest as being "about 0.25 inches by 0.25 inches" and the largest as "2 inches by 2 inches." From the picture, though, the smallest looks more like an eighth of an inch, and the largest closer to 3". I think the smallest will fit Mania King, with the plenty of sizes to try to match to Hegemon. Even if none of them fit Mania King, I'm certain one of them would fit Hegemon, and it'd run me a third of the Reprolabels.

[RD Blade]

I just ordered a bunch more stuff from TFKingdom. Their faction stickers are good. Maybe a little too much outline, but with clear backgrounds you can't even tell.

[David Hingtgen]

I found them to be quite poor, honestly. Poor adhesion, transparent ink. I'd use them as literal stickers, like on a 3rd-grader's paper instead of a gold star, but little more.

[Major Focker]

is Mania King MP-sized? ie. how does it look next to MP-10 Prime?