The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[sh9000]

All five Protectobots.

 

[26662]

Introducing Lewin's take on Metroplex.  I don't have space for it so it's going directly into storage as is.  Shipping label said it was just over 100 lbs. but it sure felt a lot lighter than that.  The shipping estimate was 40-70 days by boat, and it took 43 days from date of purchase to delivery.

[Hikuro]

Wow geeze, what would have possessed you to of bought it? I mean.....I guess it makes for a neat conversation piece 😛

[26662]

1 hour ago, Hikuro said:

Wow geeze, what would have possessed you to of bought it?

A promising future.  We’ve got a 1,000 sq. ft. house now but we’ll upgrade eventually to a place where I can celebrate my hobby properly.  The Lewin Metroplex is a work of passion and art IMHO, but it has some design deficits that I intend to correct via CNC and metal casting.

[M'Kyuun]

On 4/28/2025 at 10:55 PM, sh9000 said:

All five Protectobots.

 

MMC are the undisputed masters of all-in-one engineering. This thing is a triumph of form and function. 

I've always liked emergency vehicle Transformers, but for some reason, the Protectobots have never really been on my radar. I don't believe I own any versions of them at all in my collection, which is rather ironic considering I now own two versions of the Combaticons with plans to buy all the upcoming Hasbro Legacy figures for a third Bruticus. Granted, Bruticus is my favorite combiner, but given my aforementioned interest in emergency vehicles, I find it odd myself that I don't own some version of the Protectobots at this point.

In the interest of trying to preserve what little space I have left for display, I passed, oh so reluctantly, on MMC's Bruticus as I'll now pass on these. I appreciate the achievement they represent, however, and I vehemently wish one of the 3P legends makers would take so ambitious a course with their versions. I recently bought Magic Square's Combaticon Team and they didn't disappoint, although they rely, as most TF combiners do, on a handful of partsforming bits to complete the gestalt. Perhaps I'll invest in their Protectobots, should they get around to producing them. Too, I'll likely get the Legacy versions as well, again, should Hasbro choose to do them.

MMC have long been my favorite 3P company, as I own more toys from them than any other third party, at least in the MP scale. I haven't counted, but it's a toss-up between Magic Square and Newage for most 3P toys in my collection at this point, but I digress. Anyway, MMC have been bringing an interesting approach to Transformers for years and they just continue to raise the bar with their engineering and thoughtful approach to both form and function. They make beautiful toys, including what is IMHO the best take on Arcee yet rendered in plastic. Even though I pass on many of their products, having largely stopped collecting MP scale (always room for more cassettes though!), I continue to be amazed at their output. 

[M'Kyuun]

So, I've got this guy coming.

 

It shipped on 14 May and it has been sitting in customs for four days now pending delivery sometime between the 27th and the 2nd, a bit longer than usual for Showz products, especially given my geographical proximity to LAX here in WA. I'm guessing, given the trade war and subsequent difficulties placed on ports, with shipments being more sporadic, these sorts of delays are going to become commonplace. Logistics notwithstanding, this is an exciting piece for any G1 fan, as due to HG's stranglehold on the sales of VF-1 toys and likenesses here in the West, it presents a rare ability to get a modernized VF-1 Jetfire toy via a KO of Yamato's 1/60 VF-1 w/ FAST Packs. It's not 100% accurate, as the leg and FAST pack deco reflect the Macross livery rather than Jetfire's custom deco. I figured by now, with this having been announced last year, that Toyhax would have a sticker sheet to remedy those shortcomings ready to go by release, but not yet apparently. I've little doubt, however, that they'll come out with a set to address the issue. Anyway, this is a nice middle finger to HG, of which I'm always a champion, and the scale of the 1/60 works pretty well with CHUG or MP, if one considers the vast scale differences between the G1 carbots and the old 1/55 Chunky Monkey. Actually, realistically, in jet mode it scales pretty well with CHUG carbots and I wish from the very beginning that the toys had all been in RW alt mode scale, for the most part, rather than scaling everything to bot modes. I realize that's a big ask, as the toys would be more expensive and take up more shelf space by din of their larger sizes, and bigger would not necessarily equate to better engineering or adherence to RW jet aesthetics, which is what I would both hope for and expect. The argument is moot, however, and I celebrate Jetfire as a bit of an anomoly amidst the G1 toy releases and this modern equivalent. After a long wait, I'm looking forward to finally having him in hand.