The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[Kurisama]

1 hour ago, nhyone said:

I'm thinking more of a freelance designer, where the price is agreed upfront.

I'm guessing low-thousands for the prototype. It need not be fully functional.

As a designer of a couple of 3rd part TFs myself and a few other toys, I don't know any other fellow designers who have charged by the hour - in my experience it is an agreed upon total.

How chunks of $$$ that get to you and by what stage is per the initial agreement. As you work with a client more, it gets easier and less negotiation.

Edited May 12, 2019 by Kurisama

[JetJockey]

On 4/28/2019 at 2:03 AM, mikeszekely said:

Twinsies!

(That's Transform Element's TE-01 Op Leader, an MP-44 alternative apparently designed by the same guy who did DX9's Mightron, for anyone who wasn't sure.)

Back when it came out, MP-10 blew me away with how much more dynamic it was over MP-01, but I think even before the Prime Wars of 2019 most of us were longing for something that was a bit more cartoon-accurate.  Magic Square already did that with their MS-01.  MS-01 has better proportions than MP-10, he's got less surface greebles, straighter thighs, and he doesn't have the bump outs on the sides of his legs for wheels.  But Magic Square didn't exactly throw out the baby with the bathwater, and some of MP-10's style did carry over.  He's still got the beveled shin vents, even if they are blue now.  He's still got the yellow paint on his wrist markings.  He's still got indents on the tops of his feet, and visible windshield wipers on his chest.  His thighs and pelvis are still a light gray.  He's still got a seam on his lats where they flare back out before reaching his pelvis.  And even with the simpler details, the head sculpt is still similar to MP-10's.

That's a lot of talk about MS-01 in a TE-01 review, but the point I'm trying to make is that MS-01 is, aesthetically, a very refined take on MP-10, which is going to be very appealing to some people, but still not cartoon accurate enough for others.  For those others, TE-01 definitely skews closer to the upcoming MP-44 than MP-10.  His chest is taller, with windows that are more squares than rectangles.  His pelvis is taller, too, leaving his midriff significantly shorter.  His arms are thinner, with smaller shoulders and longer biceps.  His hands are more rounded, and the markings on his wrists are left red.  His pelvis and thighs are pearl white.  His legs, like his arms, are thinner.  And there's basically no greebles on him that aren't on the animation model.  Even the vents are his shins are just molded lines.

The gray plastic on the hinges at the top of and sides of his pelvis are a little unsightly, but they bother me less in hand than they did in photos.

I don't usually talk about the backs of figures, because I don't think a little kibble in the backpack is necessarily the worst thing in the world (although MP-44 does look like he's all set for a week of camping with his).  I didn't have a problem with MP-10's, and MS-01's slightly smaller backpack is also fine.  But holy cow, that's some sorcery Transform Element did to clean up TE-01's back.  It's impressively cartoon-accurate, right down to the way his legs just run all the way to the ground with no heel spurs sticking out the back.

Another thing that I personally don't think should matter, but for some people it does seem to, is that TE-01 is noticeably heavier than the others.  TE-01's got some diecast in him.  If empirical data is more your thing, MS-01 clocks in around 13.7 ounces (390 grams), MP-10 at 14.5 ounces (412 grams), while TE-01 weighs a hefty 18.7 ounces (528 grams).  It's not a huge difference... similar-sized figure from Fans Toys like Sovereign or Dracula are even heavier, but the difference is unmistakable nevertheless, and gives TE-01 a sort of brickish solidness.

And yet, for all the praise I'd been hearing about about TE-01, it's not like TE-01 is sporting a ton more paint than MS-01.  I've also noticed a ton of sprue marks on him.  It's a solid, well-made toy, don't get me wrong, but in the way a lot of 3P figures are these days, not in the 2016/2017 Fans Toys worship kind of way you might think if you've been hanging out at TFW2005.

Oh, and I think the head is trash.

Fortunately, my copy (and pretty much any copy you'd buy going forward) is a slightly revised version that comes with an alternate head and screwdriver to install it with.  Moment of truth time, I still prefer MS-01's head, but this new head is a vast improvement over the other with an aesthetic that's very close to the '86 movie.  It's going on my copy before the next photo.

Whether you wind up with a revised TE-01 or one from the original batch, you'll get a Matrix of Leadership, an energon axe, a fifth wheel, and Prime's signature ion rifle.  All of these things also look fine, especially the axe.  It's done in a more solid, more translucent plastic than MP-10's, and it's looking sharp.  But it's a shame Transform Element cast the rifle in a dark gray plastic and left it unpainted.  Oh, and you'll probably get a small strip of Autobot insignia stickers.  I say probably because mine were actually inside the figure's box, not just tossed in the shipping box, so it seems like something TE is doing at the factory, but I've heard some people saying that they didn't get any. 

Something that comes up in some discussions is that TE-01's articulation is inferior to MS-01's.  This is technically true, but I think the challenge in getting him to look dynamic in poses is more to do with his cartoonish proportions than a fault of his articulation, which beats MP-10's.  His head is on a hinged swivel with good up range but a more limited downward tilt (especially if you're using the newer head).  His shoulders rotate on ratchets and can extend 90 degrees laterally.  His biceps swivel.  He's got a single-hinged elbow, but it's still good for around 140-150 degrees of curl.  His wrists swivel.  His hands are a little weird.  The index finger is separate from the others, with a hinge at the base and a hinge at the middle knuckle.  The other three are hinged at the same spots, but molded together.  And his thumb is also hinged at the base and middle knuckles, but it's molded so that the hinge folds it over the palm at an angle.  His waist can swivel.  His hip skirts are a little unusual, with the ones in the front on hinges that move them forward, the ones on the sides on swivels that kind of move them out and up a bit, and the back not moving at all.  That gives him enough clearance to move his hips 90 degrees forward in five ratcheted clicks, 60-ish degrees backward in three clicks, and 90 degrees laterally on a friction hinge.  His thighs, due to the way this figure is engineered, don't really swivel, but his lower legs can swivel just above the knee.  It doesn't look as pretty, but it gets the job done.  The knees themselves can bend about 120 degrees on a ratcheted hinge.  His feet can bend down, but the toes can at least bend upward, and he's got about 45 degrees of ankle pivot.

His rifle plugs into his hand just fine using the now-standard method of plugging tabs on the handle into slots on his palms.  Unlike the other Primes I have, TE-01's rifle has an LED in the barrel, and refreshingly enough the batteries are already installed.  As for the axe, you have to fold his hand into his forearm like you would for transformation.  The other side has a rounded bit, and you attach the axe using what's essentially an oversized c-clip.

When you try to remove the axe, the translucent part is going to slide right off the gray c-clip part.  I personally didn't have much trouble getting the clip back off, but some people have, and at least one person wound up with stress marks on the clip.  If you're really worried about it, MP-10's axe does fit over TE-01's right hand.  Or you could use both if you want him dual-wielding axes.

The Matrix is diecast, hard to remove even with a spudger, and similar is sculpt and size to MP-10's.  It's a little thinner, though, so while MP-10's seems like it might fit you won't be able to close things up.  And speaking of closing things up, it seems like most of TE-01's paint budget went to what is very likely the most '86-movie accurate inside of Prime's chest ever done on a toy.  While the Matrix can be hard to remove from it's compartment, the cover has two little notches near the bottom you can use to pull it up and open.

A lot of modern Optimus Prime toys, from the ancient Classics Deluxe-class to MP-10 to MS-01 have all had engineering that's somewhat similar to MP-01.  Now, while I think a lot of refinement has gone into making a good-looking cab, they all seem to have the same issue with the rear of the truck still being kind of obvious robot legs (and sometimes pelvis) that don't really look like a truck.  TE tried something very different, and it's kind of a double-edged sword.  Basically he sits down, his lower legs turn inside out, his torso turns inside out with various sections spinning around 180 degrees and his arms tucking in halfway through the process, then his pelvis splits in half rolls up 180 degrees.  Sometimes it comes across as absolutely brilliant.  I love the way his lower legs work.  I love the way his pelvis splits- the blue chunk under his crotch turns out to be the wheel wells for his front tires, and that's genius.  However, at other times it can be a bit frustrating as it's not always clear what you're supposed to be moving, and even when you do know what you're supposed to be doing limited clearance (especially for lining up the bumper at the end) can make it more of a chore than I'd like.  Plus, while everything is extremely solid once you're entirely in robot or truck mode, when you're halfway through with his torso exploded some of the parts can be a little floppy, forcing you to check and re-check that everything is lined up right before pushing tabs in.

The results do kind of speak for themselves, though.  TE-01 transforms from a clean, nearly backpack-less robot to a truck whose transformative ability isn't quite as obvious as some of his competitors.  His feet are still kind of just chilling back there and the back isn't as bare-bones machinery as a real truck would be, but it's flatter than MS-01 and lower than both MS-01 and MP-10.  He's got some molded truck details, movable windshield wipers, and rubbery tires.

That said, the details are a little flatter and less refined than MS-01 or even MP-10.  Combined with the more squarish windows TE-01's cab has a more cartoonish appearance.  While that's arguably what they're going for, I find it to be a tad drab, especially without the stripe* that pretty much every other toy of Optimus has ever had and the animators always drew but for whatever reason colored the same red as the rest of the cab most of the time in the cartoon.  I find myself kind of preferring MS-01, even with it's trash rear.  Oh, if only I could have a prime with MS-01's cab and TE-01's rear. 

*I'm debating on whether or not to try to paint the stripe myself.  It'd put a little silver on the backs of his arms, same as MS-01, but most of it would actually be hidden in robot mode.  I guess I'm just worried that my ability to paint isn't so hot, and that I'll either screw it up or it won't look good.

Well, TE-01 does have one big advantage over MS-01.  Remember that fifth wheel piece back when we were talking about the accessories.  It plugs into the rear of the truck, and just that by itself makes things a little more convincing as a truck.  But it's not just cosmetic- it allows you to attach MP-10's trailer.  Now, I think most of us are displaying our Primes in robot mode.  For most MP-10 owners that trailer is probably sitting in a closet.  I'm glad that MS-01 and TE-01 don't come with trailers and a ton of other accessories I'll never use that'd probably jack the price up to some obscene number in the $400+ range.  But the fact remains, a lot of people who buy MS-01 or TE-01 are likely doing so to replace MP-10, and already have that trailer.  Even if the only time I ever use it is for this photo, I still think compatibility with that trailer is a smart move on TE-01's part.

So, having purchased and reviewed both MS-01 and TE-01 I feel qualified to say that both are excellent figures that really make MP-10 look and feel like a relic.  If MP-10 is current Masterpiece Optimus Prime then either figure is a huge upgrade that I'd strongly recommend picking up.  Even MP-44 would have to do something pretty special to get me interested in it at even half the price at this point.  I can tell you right now I have no plans to pick one up.  YMMV, but based on looks alone I think MS-01 and TE-01 look like better choices.

Still, I get the feeling that people aren't really interested in comparing TE-01 and MS-01 to MP-10 (who most people will find to be inferior) or MP-44 (which people are alternately either writing off as too expensive or biting the bullet on because it's an official Takara toy).  People want a winner crowned just between TE-01 and MS-01, but that's a lot tougher to do.  MS-01 has better articulation and is easier to transform, TE-01 has more diecast and works with MP-10's trailer.  But none of that really overshadows the aesthetic differences between them, and that's why  I don't think either is definitively better than the other.  Just look at them, and buy whichever you think looks better.  Do you want an Optimus Prime that looks just like he stepped off the screen?  TE-01 is what you want.  Do you prefer a more refined aesthetic that looks like the real robot the often-poor animation was trying to emulate?  Pick yourself up an MS-01.  You really can't lose either way.

 

 

...that said, while I can't say one is definitively better, my personal preference is for MS-01.  I like his cab better, and that's the more important part of the truck.  I like his robot proportions and details better.  And I prefer Prime to have gray/silver thighs and hips.  To my mind the only reason they were white in the cartoon was because white was often used for shiny metal in old cartoons... same reason the grill, smokestacks, fuel tanks, and bumper were white in the cartoon, too.  I still (obviously) like TE-01 a lot, and I plan on keeping him.  MS-01 is going to go in my main display with my other MP Autobots, while TE-01 is going to represent G1 cartoon Prime in my smaller display of various Optimuses.  (And maybe, with his whiter face, I can paint the blue eyes yellow on the other head and display the head alone as G1 Marvel Prime.)  So, yeah, I guess my ultimate recommendation is to buy both MS-01 and TE-01 if you can afford it.

Thanks for the detailed review. Both of these are really good looking toys.

[M'Kyuun]

So, it looks like Bobby Skullface was the first of the more popular reviewers to get an MMC Ocular Max Saltus review up. I've been waiting for Peaugh's review, as he's had it in hand since last week, and mentioned posting a review over the weekend, but for whatever reason it never materialized. For what it's worth, I hope that's b/c he's busy and that all's well with him and his family. Anyway, I've been waiting for a good review, and as I happen to like Skullface's approach, minus his obsession with paint, the verdict was far more good than bad. It's solid, well-painted, even by Bobby's standards, fun to transform, has good materials throughout, and chock full of all the articulation that we've come to expect in the more recent MP figures. Negatives for Bobby were lack of knee ratchets, lack of a more 'v' shaped abdomen, weak car mode in his opinion, fidgety feet, esp the heels which are hinged and can become unflushed from the toe, and the backs of the shoulder guards, for lack of a better term, which are multi-hinged and a bit unsightly on the backside.

For my taste, I actually prefer Saltus' car mode, as I've never much cared for the skinny rear end of Springer's canon car mode, which, to me, has always looked like an afterthought thrown in there to make him a triple changer. Saltus' wider rear fenders make his car mode look more aggressive, and more like an actual car. It is really the deciding factor for me. I'll agree with the necessity of more ratchets, especially with the die-cast content comprising the chest and thighs, giving him a high and heavy CG. IMHO, ratchets on a large figure, regardless of die-cast, should be the rule, anyway, as joints wear over time, and gravity is a harsh mistress. As to the body shape, he does look a bit blocky, and a gentle taper would have helped his look a bit, but in light of all the other stuff they got right, it's easily forgivable. Moreover, Springer was always depicted as chunky in the toon, so while it would look better with more taper, the blockiness suits the character. For my tastes, I 'll add that the forward fenders look a bit messy to me in car mode, what with the helo gear folded up. As much as they tried to make it look contiguous, it doesn't come off that way to me, making it look a bit panel-y. However, it's a minor nitpick, and after looking at three different vids of this guy, I'm pretty well sold. 

For those who don't like MMC's approach to the car, and haven't picked up any of the other 3P Springers, XTB's Virtus looks pretty amazing thus far. I'm immediately struck by how clean everything looks on it, especially in contrast to Saltus's front fenders. Both car and helo modes are closer to the toon, and look good, as well as the bot mode. While I'm pretty much sold on Saltus, I'll be keeping an eye out for reviews on Virtus. I hope it turns out to be a solid entry.

[Kuma Style]

[mikeszekely]

I picked up and reviewed Maketoys' Striker Manus a few years back (which I reviewed here), and although I liked it I sold it because I was moving away from smaller figures and going all-in on MP stuff.  And now that I have a display of just Primes I figured I'd buy him back for that display.  Happily, Maketoys announced around that time that they were going to do a new "premium" version with metallic paint.  This version also comes with the runner of build-a-weapons that Striker Noir came with, so even more bonus.  I'm not going to do another review, but I do want to highlight some differences.

So the good?  Obviously, I appreciate the extra weapons.  And yeah, that metallic paint looks gorgeous.  Pictures don't do it justice.

But unfortunately, there's bad news too.  I don't know if it's mold fatigue or what, but his wrist and bicep swivels are a bit on the loose side, and he holds his accessories a bit more loosely.  Which would bug me, but they're not necessarily deal breakers.  Unfortunately, the ball joints in his shoulders and neck are even worse, and they very well could be.  I'll see if I can get some floor polish in there, but for now I'll say if you already have the original run your figure might not be as shiny, but it's probably got better QC.  As for mine, I'll toss him in my Prime display and if I feel like messing with the mold I have Noir on my desk.

[mikeszekely]

I think I've said this before, but as a kid I loved Motormaster.  It wasn't that he was a compelling character or anything, but he was a Decepticon, and he was black tractor trailer, which made him kind of like an evil counterpart to Optimus Prime years before RiD Scourge/Car Robots Black Convoy and long before Nemesis Prime became a regular thing.  So despite having already gone two in on X-Transbots' Stunticons I was still paying attention to what Fans Toys and DX9 were working on.  And despite some misgivings I've had with Fans Toys lately I ultimately decided to pick up Roadking, their MP Motormaster.

Road King is certainly a big boy, standing a head taller than TFM's IDW Motormaster (and, by extension, MP-10/MS-01/TE-01 Optimus), but that makes him comfortably similar to Zeta's Silverbolt.  I put this same picture up on TFW2005 and right away there was a comment about how Roadking makes Zeta's Silverbolt look kind of cheap.  I can't really argue with that, FT definitely used quality materials to create a solid, hefty bot.

For all my complaints about FT, one thing they almost always get right is the aesthetics of the character, and that's definitely the case here.  Motormaster presents something of an extra challenge, because people want a cartoon-accurate robot with truck cab feet, but they also want that truck to scale with MP-10's.  FT handled the challenge somewhat cleverly by making Roadking's feet out of only the upper front quarter of the cab.  However, they included little round faux lights, tiny fake wheels (plastic, but they do spin), some silver paint where the bumper was on the Sunbow model, and just enough of the grill to evoke said grill.  His arms, thighs, and torso all have molded detail appropriate for the linework on the Sunbow design, and translucent purple windows cover most of his shins.  His head is appropriately boxy, and metallic paint on his face has just a touch of purple.  Really, the only thing I can complain about aesthetically is that the entirety of his shins aren't black, but I suppose some concessions have to be made for his alt mode.  

Even his backpack, which a bit of fuss has been made over, really isn't that bad.  While bigger than what you'd see in the cartoon FT did take pains to make the paneling look like the animation.  Heck, they even put extra fake wheels on a panel just so he'd have the three-wheels-to-a-foot look of the cartoon.

Roadking comes with a very G1-cartoon sword and gun, plus a second yelling face.  The sword and gun are definitely accessories you'd expect a Motormaster to have... but what he doesn't come with is equally interesting.  He doesn't come with any parts for combined mode.  The instructions don't mention his combined mode.  The only hint of it that I can find are what appears to be Roadking's forearms peeking up next to Menasor's head in the renders and some diecast bits on what look like hinges in his waist.

Roadking's articulation is... alright.  I feel like, as a side effect of going for that perfect robot aesthetic or their often questionable engineering, articulation is often lacking in FT figures.  While I think that's still true if you compare Roadking to contemporary MP-style figures from rival companies I also think that Roadking isn't as bad as something like Apache or Lupus.  His head is on a hinged swivel.  He can look up a little and he can't really look down at all, but I think that's kind of forgivable what with his box head.  His shoulders rotate on a soft ratchet and extend laterally just over 90 degrees on a harder ratchet.  Due to his transformation you can pull out the shoulders and give him a butterfly, but it doesn't look great as it's not intentional.  His biceps swivel, but weirdly at the bottom of the bicep, just above the elbow.  Which leaves the elbow only enough room for a single hinge, good for about 120 degrees.  His wrists swivel.  Each finger is individually articulated, with a pin at the base knuckles and an additional pinned hinge at the mid-knuckles.  The thumb has a ball joint at the base for turning and folding over the palm, and pinned hinge just above that.  His waist can swivel, but only about 30 degrees in either direction.  He's got an ab crunch with two fixed stopping points.  It's not a huge crunch, but unlike a lot of other figures there's plastic that doesn't move behind the plastic that does, so he can crunch away without the sculpt suffering.  Hinges on his hip skirts allow them to move out the way so his hips can ratchet forward over 90 degrees and backward about 45.  His hips can move laterally slightly over 90 as well, but that joint is just friction.  While it doesn't feel loose when you manipulate it it's really not strong enough to support the weight of his legs.  They're not going to give out while his feet are planted or anything, but Roadking's not going to be doing any side kicks.  His thighs cans swivel about 30 degrees around the hip joints, which is a little limited.  His knees are double-jointed, both ratcheted, and combined allow you to bend his knees until his calves start banging into his thighs.  Just be advised, the upper joint is much tighter than the lower, but it's there.  It's actually the one you need for transformation.  He's got a second swivel below the knee, which I'm not really a fan of.  And then, despite being blocks of truck, his feet actually have a little bit of up/down tilt and about 45 degrees of ankle tilt.

He holds his weapons fine, using the fairly standard method of fitting tabs on the handles into slots on his palms.  There doesn't seem to be any storage for them in robot mode, which is kind of a shame.  You'd think they could have worked a peg hole or two onto his backpack somewhere.

So Fans Toys has done what no one else has done at any scale since the G1 toy... Roadking turns into the cab and the entire trailer.  I'm not sure what DX9's plans are, but apparently XTB's will be just the cab, the Combiner Wars toy was just the cab, and TFM's was the cab and like a third of the trailer.  FansProject used half the trailer, although they let you put doors on that half for a sort of complete truck.  Even Bold Forms, who made a Leader-class-sized Motormaster that turned into a truck that might work with Legends-class figures still only used most of the trailer.  But here we go, a cab that's very close to TFM's in size, with a complete trailer.

Impressively, the trailer is actually longer than TFM's, although slightly shorter and narrower.  And it's a bit smaller than MP-10's, but I don't think it looks bad.

Now, if Fans Toys has had one major flaw, something I've taken them to task for time and again, it's their engineering.  Their worst stuff has been nightmare-inducing, and even their "easier" figures like their Mindwipe feel over-engineered and aren't particularly fun to transform.  Roadking is definitely a step up from that.  Most of it is fairly easy, some of it is really clever, none of it feels like you're doing more than you have to, and can almost always figure out what you're supposed to do intuitively and without the so-so instructions.  It's not entirely sunshine and roses, though.  Transforming his legs does involve basically exploding them and then collapsing them back up in a different way than they were, so at times you've got big chunks of filleted robot dangling in your way.  And while you always seem to know how the panels that make up much of the trailer are supposed to unfold and move getting everything lined up and tabbed in just right can be a little frustrating going into truck mode.  It's the kind of scenario where you finally get one thing lined up and tabbed in and something you already had done pops back out of place.  There are two other issues at play that don't help matters.  One is something I've come to expect from FT- tolerances.  Some fittings are just too tight.  There are a few spots where, no matter how hard I push, some tabs and pegs just don't seem to want to go in the whole way.  Or going the other way, there are a few spots that, once they're tabbed/pegged in, they're afraid-you're-going-to-break-something tight.  The worst might be these tabs on these diecast pistons near the trailer hitch.  They were so tight I broke a nylon spudger, so I had to use a metal one meant for cell phone repair to force that tab back out (fortunately, while the tab itself is plastic, the tab is on the end of a diecast part and the slot is on a diecast part).  The other issue is one I've encountered plenty of times, but never on a FT figure- mold flash.  It only seemed to be on the gray trailer pieces, but it'd always be in spots near hinges where you have to fold a panel over and it'd make folding that panel harder than it needed to be.  In fact, I wound up with stress marks near the hinge on one of the smaller panels, and I could only get the panel to finally move all the way after I filed down the the flashing.

A few hiccups aside, I really can't complain about the truck mode.  The fake wheels and fake headlights fold up and away, and what you're left with is a fairly toy/real-life accurate Kentworth K100 Aerodyne cab, with translucent purple windows, translucent red marker lights, chrome on (most of) the bumper and grill, and diecast horns.  The tires are rubber with silver-painted rims, they roll well, and there's actually eighteen of them (most of the COE truck Transformers I have only have six wheels on the cab... GT's IDW Optimus is the only one I can think of off hand that has ten on the cab, but he only works with MP-10's trailer, and that only has four wheels instead of eight).  The trailer is a little panel-y, which I can forgive, and the stripe is broke up by those panels, but that was true for the G1 toy and a detail that carried over into the cartoon, so I'll let it slide.  Much like the TFM Motormaster, Roadking's got silver-painted smokestacks and fuel tanks.  This might be a problem for some, since in both the cartoon and the toy G1 Motormaster had no smokestacks and purple fuel tanks.  Frankly, I'm totally fine with Roadking's as they are.  I appreciate the more realistic detail.  Really, I think my only real complaints with the alt mode are unpainted gray plastic hinges in the front bumper don't match the chrome FT used for the bulk of it, and that the rear bumper on the trailer is white and doesn't aesthetically match any of the rest of the truck.  That rear bumper should have been silver.  As for the front, well, those are hinges.  I get why FT did it that way.  Still, I might run over those hinges with a Molotow chrome pen and see how that goes.

The truck mode does have storage on the underside for Roadking's weapons.  Each one has a peg that fits into a hole on Roadking's butt.  The sword is totally hidden under the trailer.  The gun does stick out a little, but not as bad as you might think.  The rear of the trailer can open up and fold down, although you have to lift the top of the trailer a bit to free the tabs on the door.  And I'm not sure what you'd stick in there.  There's not a ton of room, so you can't fit a car in there or anything.  All you can really do is peak at Roadking's head.

I'm going to come out and say this right away... while Roadking does have a few minor flaws, overall I think this is the best figure FansToys has released since Phoenix.  He feels like the kind of figure that earned FT all those rabid fans in the first place.  And while I know that there are some people out there (like Bobby "Ham Hands" Skullface) who seem to think that making a Motormaster out of just the cab the way XTB is doing is the better way to go, I personally love that Fans Toys built a Motormaster that goes from an MP-10-sized cab and slightly smaller trailer to a robot only a head or so taller than MP-10 without losing any of that trailer.  As a standalone MP Motormaster this is a fantastic figure, and one I'd highly recommend.

However, the thing with combiners is that a lot of you might not be interested in a standalone Motormaster.  You might be planning on buying just once set of Stunticons, and you need them to work in combined mode as well as robot and alt mode.  Ironically, the sturdy construction and diecast heft that makes Roadking feel like a premium figure on his own actually makes me more concerned about how well FT will pull off the combined mode.  FT seems to be going in a Zeta-ish direction, with much of the torso being a separate piece, and Roadking's heft becoming a backpack is going to make for a combined mode with a lot of weight in the torso, and if the hips, knees, and ankles aren't extremely strong the combined mode could be unstable.  So while I definitely recommend Roadking as a fantastic Motormaster figure I'm afraid we still have to wait and see which Menasor is the one to get.

[M'Kyuun]

I mentioned before how I love the full truck and trailer transformation of Motormaster from the G1 toy, and I think FT simply nailed it with this figure.  That truck mode is just amazing- even dual wheels in the hitch section like a real truck, something very few OP toys have pulled off. I have no plans to get this guy, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted; it's really a rare and remarkable bit of engineering, and I totally dig it. I wish Takara would follow suit at some point.

Curious to see how FT handle the combining situation- have the other Stunticons form the limbs directly, or have them basically worn on structural members emanating from Road King? For what it's worth, I hope the former, as I view the latter method as rather pointless in a proper combiner.

[mikeszekely]

20 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

I have no plans to get this guy, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted

Roadking's selling out fast; if you think you might want one I'd say get it while you still can.  You can always sell it later if you change your mind... it might even go up in value, like Phoenix or the Insecticons.

23 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

Curious to see how FT handle the combining situation- have the other Stunticons form the limbs directly, or have them basically worn on structural members emanating from Road King?

It's hard to say for sure until FT releases members that come with actual combiner parts, but it looks like they're doing the same as DX9 and XTB... Menasor looks like a mostly-complete robot with room to plug in the Stunticons.

I mean, you can see from this prototype (render?) how the cars are just kind of tacked onto the shins/calves, the shoulders, and the forearms.  And if you look carefully at the cartoon version, you can see those boxes next to Menasor's head are Roadking's forearms, and under his Dragstrip armpit you can see part of Roadking's leg; the smokestacks are on the edge of his calves, and that hollowish bump at the back of his waist is clearly his knee.

[Scyla]

Looking at the arms in combined mode it seems like they are comprised of one half arm bot and one half parts forming piece.

Guess the combined mode will have next to none tarnsforming pieces.

 

[Kuma Style]

 

[Sildani]

What the...

 

[Chronocidal]

Ok, I just about snorted coffee all over my keyboard.  Is that actually a serious thing?  It's a little past April...  

[Sildani]

Serious as a heart attack, apparently. Prototype pics:

Edited May 22, 2019 by Sildani

[technoblue]

Even though I am quite content with Azalea on my MP shelf, this new Arcee doesn't bother me at all.

I could see adding this figure to a stylized collection of Transformers. The alt mode is especially spiffy. Hopefully, the reviews are positive.

[Xigfrid]

I don’t collect TF, but my kids have a few MP and I really see me buying this Arcee for my girl 

[M'Kyuun]

Aside from the overt sexualization, Nicee has merit as an interestingly stylized Arcee. From the first couple pics, I thought she was just a statue, so I'm pretty impressed that she transforms, albeit with a parts-forming shield that forms the 'boot' of her car mode. The car mode is better defined and detailed than Azalea's.  Looks like she pays for that nice car mode with a fair bit of back kibble, though; par for the course for a transforming Arcee figure I guess. Overall, I think the sculpt work is beautiful, especially the face, and I dig how they broke up her car kibble into more stylish robot kibble that compliments the bot mode rather than being a big chunk of car on her back like Generations Arcee. I love Azalea, but this has my interest. Curious to see how she , ahem, stacks up.

[anime52k8]

I like sexy robot girls, the only thing I don't like is the head sculpt. It looks like an Arcee head, and I've always hated how her head looks.

[Scyla]

I have a question. There has been a big kerfuffle about posting pictures of this figure over at TFW.

Can someone please explain to me what the difference is between this sculpt and the one from MP Black Arachnia.

[JB0]

25 minutes ago, Scyla said:

I have a question. There has been a big kerfuffle about posting pictures of this figure over at TFW.

Can someone please explain to me what the difference is between this sculpt and the one from MP Black Arachnia.

I think it is mostly that Blackarachnia was ALWAYS designed to be sexy, and Arcee wasn't.

This take on Arcee is neither toon nor comic accurate. It is what I'm going to call "deviantart accurate".

[sh9000]

[JetJockey]

Is this the same hot girl Transformer that was previewed some pages back?

[M'Kyuun]

4 hours ago, JB0 said:

I think it is mostly that Blackarachnia was ALWAYS designed to be sexy, and Arcee wasn't.

This take on Arcee is neither toon nor comic accurate. It is what I'm going to call "deviantart accurate".

Perfect assessment.  There are myriad sexualized images of Arcee on all levels on the net, but it's rare to see any of those concepts in plastic. I'm typically not a fan of the gynoid look for Transformer fembots, but sometimes the design just appeals for whatever reason. Such is the case here for me. As always, mileage varies.

[Chronocidal]

Honestly, I think the curves work in her favor for the most part, since the sculpted hips actually make for a really nicely blended car body.  

I think the execution of the details cross the line a bit though, and don't actually help the look.  I get what they're going for, but really, giving a robot a navel?  

Also, I might be weird, but while giving her a shaped chestplate doesn't really bother me, the actual shape of it does.  They did a really nice job with the curvy hips and torso, but the chest just looks literally slapped on, and way too stark for the upper body.  I think it would look a lot better if it was shrunken down, and better blended into her shoulders/neck.

[David Hingtgen]

On ‎5‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 12:40 AM, mikeszekely said:

 Still, I might run over those hinges with a Molotow chrome pen and see how that goes.

 

Very curious to see how that works/holds up.   Gonna chrome the rear bumper, too? 

[M'Kyuun]

8 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Honestly, I think the curves work in her favor for the most part, since the sculpted hips actually make for a really nicely blended car body.  

I think the execution of the details cross the line a bit though, and don't actually help the look.  I get what they're going for, but really, giving a robot a navel?  

Also, I might be weird, but while giving her a shaped chestplate doesn't really bother me, the actual shape of it does.  They did a really nice job with the curvy hips and torso, but the chest just looks literally slapped on, and way too stark for the upper body.  I think it would look a lot better if it was shrunken down, and better blended into her shoulders/neck.

Well, that's part of the problem of making her look buxom in an undersized bikini top. It's ridiculously gratuitous, serves no practical purpose on a robot (same with navel), hinders engineering the car mode (more to try and hide), and pretty much serves to fill that weird sexy robot fetish for fans who are into that sort of thing.  It reminds me of stereotypical big-breasted anime girls. I'm not a fan of large chests on real women, so it certainly does nothing for me on a robot. What does intrigue me is the overall styling and the engineering brought to bear to give her a nice car mode, although, all things being equal, I wish they'd made the front ends of her front fenders curve back, like the original design, instead of forward. I still think she's an interesting figure, as,  if for no other reason, she's a unique take on the character done well as a functional transforming toy.

 

[mikeszekely]

 

On 5/23/2019 at 8:03 PM, David Hingtgen said:

Very curious to see how that works/holds up.   Gonna chrome the rear bumper, too? 

I'll probably leave the rear bumper alone.

EDIT: Actually, I'm too chicken to use the Molotow pen on the painted silver section of the front bumper.  Tried it on the unpainted plastic, though.  I think it's an improvement.  It's hard to see under the harsh light at my workspace, but the under normal lighting the silver paint isn't so washed out and whitish, but the unpainted section is still super obvious.  With the chrome paint it definitely blends better, but time will tell how well it actually holds up.  Molotows take a long time to cure, I'm told, so I probably won't touch it for a few weeks.

Edited May 25, 2019 by mikeszekely

[mikeszekely]

Things have been kind of slow, at least for me, for big 3P figures.  So how about something smaller... DNA Studio's DK-10 upgrade kit for Studio Series Ironhide.

The kit comes with a pair of new feet for Ironhide, a new bumper, and two new guns with detachable knives.  I think movie Ironhide is better know for the pair of cannons he had on his forearms, but as near as I can tell he did briefly use these guns in Dark of the Moon.

Installing the feet is pretty easy.  You have to remove two screws on each leg, pull the inside of the leg off, then work the old foot off.  Just reverse the process to get the new foot on.  In terms of sculpt I think the DNA feet are fairly close to the old feet, but right away you'll notice that there's some silver paint on the toes and the cables that the originals don't have.  I couldn't tell you for sure if that paint is movie-accurate, but the Masterpiece Movie Ironhide seems to have those paint apps.  But, their real contribution to robot mode is that they add the ankle pivots the figure originally lacked.

Installing the new bumper is a bit more involved than other upgrade kits I've messed with.  First, you have to pull off the front tires, which is a little scary because it takes a bit of force.  Then, also scary and also requiring a bit of force, you have to use a small tool (included with the kit) to push this pin out.  Once the pin is out, you can remove the bumper.  Then you put the replacement bumper in, and instead of the pin you removed you use a different pin that came with the kit to secure it back in place.

Now, despite the bent-up faux bumper on his chest, SS Ironhide had his bumper splayed across the front of his waist.  This new bumper seeks to remedy that by having the ends bend backward and fill in his waist.  It's an immediate and noticeable improvement.

Then there are the weapons.  Well, he can hold the guns, as the handles are 5mm pegs.  But the fit is pretty tight.  The knives can stay under the gun barrels, like bayonets, or they also have 5mm handles.  Cleverly, DNA sized the tabs that hold the sides of the bumper to the front to also fit into slots on the knives, allowing him to carry the knives on his waist.  Unfortunately, they come off pretty easily.

The new guns also have storage.  There's angled clips on the sides of the guns, they're meant to grab onto the door kibble on Ironhide's back.  They're not very secure, though.

There's one more thing you can do with the weapons in robot mode.  The slot on the knives that lets them fit under the gun barrels can also fit onto tabs on Ironhide's original cannons.  That said, they look kind of dumb there.

The kit does offer some benefits for truck mode, too.  This one's kind of minor, but the new bumper is kind of matte black instead of the gray plastic of the original.  Despite the MPM also using gray for the front bumper I'm 99% sure the GMC Topkick used in at least the first film had a black bumper, so the new bumper looks more accurate to me.

As for the feet, the outer and middle toes have hinges now.  This allows them to fold up, so you the robot toe kibble under the truck is a little less obvious.  I should note here, though, that after installing the new feet the back halves of the truck don't seem to sit as flush.  I always have a tiny gap.  I don't know if that's a widespread issue with this kit or something I goofed on during installation.  Honestly, I can't recall if the gap was there or not when he was stock, so YMMV.

The new guns have tabs on one side to peg into Ironhide's bed, just like the original weapons did.  You just have to turn the knives around backward first.  The other side has slots, so you can still attach the original cannons.  And the resulting pile of guns is kind of a mess, but to be totally fair it's not like the cannons alone didn't look like crap back there.

Alright, I'm going to lay this out there... do you have, or do you want to have, Studio Series Ironhide?  Then you should definitely get this upgrade kit.  The new feet adding ankle pivots and the new bumper folding into the waist fixes the two biggest issues SS Ironhide had, and elevates him from being one of the middle-of-the-pack figures in the line to one of the absolute best.  The extra paint on the feet and changing the bumper to black is really just icing on the cake for me.  As for the guns, I don't really care to use them with Ironhide, and I'd have been just as happy if DNA hadn't included them, but there are always other figures (especially CHUG) that can use them.  

[Dobber]

I’m just waiting/wanting a 3rd party company to make an accurate or at least good F-22 transformer. Either as an accurate Starscream or just make a “what-if” seeker out of it. The F-22 is a perfect jet to use for a transformer with it’s large boxy body.

Chris

[mikeszekely]

Ironhide's wasn't the only upgrade kit I picked up.  While I was at it, I also grabbed DNA's DKA-09 upgrade kit for Studio Series Megatron.

In the box we find a replacement arm and cannon-claw and some winglets.  Seems the main aim of this kit is to give Megatron's tank the little wings that he used to fly around with in Revenge of the Fallen.  There's also a battle-damaged head, which I suppose is cool if you don't want to try to hunt down the Target-exclusive Studio Series 31 Battle-damaged Megatron (that I've never seen in either of the two Target stores I frequent), although I'm told it's only supposed to come with the first run*.

*Oddly enough, DNA is releasing a second version of this kit as DK-09EX with a paint job that more closely matches SS-31's, and it too is offering a battle-damaged head as a first-run bonus.  Except SS-31's head is already battle-damaged, making it a totally redundant bonus that's only worth it if you don't care for Hasbro's sculpt.  And I kind of prefer Hasbro's sculpt, so...

So, the arm is the main thing I bought this kit for.  It's been awhile since I watched the movie, but I remember Megatron with two arms more than I remember him running around with his claw, so this is kind of the look I wanted.  And you can get this by pushing the old arm off at the mushroom-pegged bicep, and then pushing this new arm into the socket.  The fingers are hinged and allow for some hand articulation, although there's no wrist swivel.

If you do still want the claw-cannon look, DNA's still got you covered.  Their included version fits over the smaller arm, tabbing in on the forearm.  I should point out, though, that it's kind of a pain to get on.

DNA's cannon does have molded detail that's pretty similar to what Hasbro offered, and it even has some extra paint.  That said, the extending blade on DNA's slides inward to retract instead of folding backward like Hasbro's.  That means that the blade itself is much shorter when extended, and always pointing out a little when retracted (which, near as I can tell, is less screen-accurate).  There's also a very noticeable peg on the underside.  The intention seems to be so that you can jam it into some of the hole-shaped molded detail on Megatron's back for storage when he's not clawing it up.

Then we come to the winglets.  The smaller ones wedge into the kibble on the sides of Megatron's feet.  There's not a ton of clearance there, so the winglets actually push the kibble out a bit from the sides of Megatron's feet.  And since Hasbro didn't actually design those parts for anything to be plugged into them they're really just wedged in place and can come loose fairly easily.  As for the the large ones, they grab onto the sides of Megatron's back, much more securely than the smaller ones.

Once they're attached, they fold up and tuck inside Megatron's torso for robot mode.  And, despite not really showing, they do fill in the hollow gaps on Megatron's sides, especially if you take DNA's advice and bend the cannons on Megatron's back down so they're in his armpits (which I don't like to do, as you kind of have to bend them and force them in ways they weren't meant to be bent and forced).

Transformation is only slightly affected by the new parts.  The new arm wearing the claw still stuffs in the way the old claw arm did.  The winglets on his feet kibble slide out, no biggie.  The larger wings unfurl and lay over Megatron's hips in a way that looks very natural, but they can get in the way of stuffing his arms into their alt-mode positions.  And the payoff is that he now has the wings you see him flying with briefly in the movie.

This kit is definitely something of a mixed bag.  It gives you a "normal" arm if that's your thing, but if the cannon-claw look is what you want Hasbro already gave you a better one.  And I'd be a little more forgiving of the downgrade, since I like the normal option, if the cannon-claw wasn't such a pain to attach to the normal one.  It's almost easier to yank it off the mushroom peg and swap the old one back on.  The winglets do fill in the torso in robot mode, which is kind of nice, but ultimately they recreate a look that I'm not sure I needed and add a few new headaches along the way.  So I can't really recommend this kit.  The problems it solves are trivial in the first place, and the biggest benefits bring their own new headaches.

[David Hingtgen]

18 hours ago, Dobber said:

I’m just waiting/wanting a 3rd party company to make an accurate or at least good F-22 transformer. Either as an accurate Starscream or just make a “what-if” seeker out of it. The F-22 is a perfect jet to use for a transformer with it’s large boxy body.

Chris

Nope, they're gonna keep doing skinny-bodied Harriers. 

[Chronocidal]

So, part of me thinks Hasbro themselves are contractually forbidden from making anything that looks too much like a real aircraft, so they don't have to pay licensing fees for the designs.

No excuse for 3rd party groups.. but yeah.  There's a part of me that would love to join one of these groups, just so we could, for once in a great long while, get a transformer that turns into a respectably aerodynamic aircraft alt mode. 

We've all been spoiled rotten by Macross.  

[M'Kyuun]

15 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

So, part of me thinks Hasbro themselves are contractually forbidden from making anything that looks too much like a real aircraft, so they don't have to pay licensing fees for the designs.

No excuse for 3rd party groups.. but yeah.  There's a part of me that would love to join one of these groups, just so we could, for once in a great long while, get a transformer that turns into a respectably aerodynamic aircraft alt mode. 

We've all been spoiled rotten by Macross.  

Yep. I think it comes down to design philosophy: Kawamori designs a sleek aircraft and then figures out how to make it transform, whereas Takara designs a robot and then slaps wings, a tail, and a nose on it in a good-enough gesture. Personally, I disagree with the licensing argument, as I would think it much more expensive to pay for licenses for sports car likenesses, especially 'super cars'. Companies like Lockheed, Grumman, Northrop, Boeing, etc have been giving rights to all sorts of toy and model companies for years, and quite honestly, I don't think they express anywhere near the same level of concern about the final product's accuracy as do some of the car companies. I think it's pure laziness and lack of care on Has/Tak's part. They can cram a robot into a Volkswagon Beetle, and even fit two into an old ice cream truck, so fitting a bot into most fighters' profiles is simply a matter of applying the same engineering approach. Even small fighters, like the F-16, are still larger than most modern cars. Moreover, I look at the engineering applied to Dropkick from the Bumblebee Movie- the Bell AH-1 Cobra, an aircraft with a very narrow fuselage, and they made it work with an interesting bit of engineering, and made it look pretty accurate. As it happens, I visited the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in Oregon back in March, and they had a Cobra on display, so it was a cool experience to see the real thing so soon after getting Dropkick. Digression aside, unless Takara hires a designer who, like Kawamori, really loves aircraft and is invested enough to try to make more accurate alt modes for those TFs so affected, I think we're stuck, for the most part, with boxes with wings, planes with robots strapped to their bellies, or planes with robot arms hanging out along the sides.

[JB0]

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

So, part of me thinks Hasbro themselves are contractually forbidden from making anything that looks too much like a real aircraft, so they don't have to pay licensing fees for the designs.

Not contractually. They haven't signed a document that says "We're never going to use another company's designs without written legal permission". But their own legal department would definitely discourage them using any vehicle they don't have a license for, be it car, boat, or plane. The halcyon days of the 80s where you could make a toy Porsche with a sticker that said "PORCHE", or a video game about an F-14 blowing seven kinds of hell out of everything and never naming it anything other than "jet", and still be totally legit are long gone.  Vehicle companies file copyright and trademark claims on the look of their "things that go" nowadays, and it is a bit of a crapshoot if a real vehicle is going to evade any legal challenges. 

 

The unlicensed companies already give no craps about any "look and feel" threats, but the standard for airplanes in the converting robots market is so abysmally low(read as "almost exclusively hang-gliding robots") that there's little need to expend the effort as long as the head hides away.

[M'Kyuun]

6 hours ago, JB0 said:

The unlicensed companies already give no craps about any "look and feel" threats, but the standard for airplanes in the converting robots market is so abysmally low(read as "almost exclusively hang-gliding robots") that there's little need to expend the effort as long as the head hides away.

QFT. Ironically, as much as Gobots get lambasted as the second-class citizens of the converting robot toys, Bandai's Machine Robo aircraft were all generally produced to a much higher standard of accuracy than Takara's Diaclone, even the F-15 'Seekers', which were designed, at least in part, by Kawamori. It's an observation that's not lost on me.

But it does beg the question of why so much attention to detail is afforded to ground vehicles, and yet only a fraction of that attention is given to aircraft. For me, aircraft are so very much cooler than anything that rolls, so it's rather disappointing when nearly every aircraft alt looks like an afterthought, or worse. That's definitely the appeal for me with Macross: Kawamori loves aircraft, and that passion carries through in his designs. I wish he'd teach a masterclass on transforming aircraft design; a bit of his design philosophy informing the next generation of toy designers would hopefully see an improvement in the future products.

[Chronocidal]

Heheh, I actually was being mostly sarcastic about them being forbidden from making anything too close to a real aircraft.  I just can't think of any better excuse for why no one seems to try any harder.  

It really is sad, but I figure it's basically the state of affairs with Transformers in general.  I know I'm over-generalizing (and it definitely does not apply to the population here), but I feel like the larger fanbase couldn't give two craps about how accurate an alt mode is, just so long as the robots look like the characters they know and love.  Very very rarely do I ever see anyone displaying any Transformers in their alt modes, unless they bought duplicates for that explicit purpose.