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.

[David Hingtgen]

If you got it shipped from ShowZ on May 14th, then wouldn't it be the revised "Macross-free" version that is even closer to the G1 markings?  

[tekering]

A nineteen-year journey finally came to an end today.

It began back in 2006, when Shoji Kawamori decided MP-3 Starscream should be a 1:72 F-15 Eagle.  That established a robot height later matched by MP-9 Rodimus and MP-10 Convoy, and set the consistent Masterpiece scale we've been using ever since.  TakaraTomy's glacial release schedule created a massive third-party market for MP-scaled figures, and almost every onscreen G1 character has seen multiple toy versions released in the last two decades... and, three years after "Medicus" was released, MMC has finally completed their Masterpiece Protectobots with "Ventus."

 Despite rising costs, fluctuating exchange rates, tariffs, and the global pandemic, they're the first to complete this iconic combiner team, and by extension, my Masterpiece collection... up to Season 2, at least. ☺️

Now if only MakeToys or FansToys or whoever would finish the Headmasters line... 🤨

On 5/24/2025 at 1:32 PM, M'Kyuun said:

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 admire your restraint. 😛

I've long since filled whatever display space I could create, but that wasn't gonna stop me from buying MMC's best figures! 😅

Of course, I might not be as quick to pre-order a set of MP Technobots or Terrorcons going forward... 🤔

[M'Kyuun]

10 hours ago, tekering said:

A nineteen-year journey finally came to an end today.

It began back in 2006, when Shoji Kawamori decided MP-3 Starscream should be a 1:72 F-15 Eagle.  That established a robot height later matched by MP-9 Rodimus and MP-10 Convoy, and set the consistent Masterpiece scale we've been using ever since.  TakaraTomy's glacial release schedule created a massive third-party market for MP-scaled figures, and almost every onscreen G1 character has seen multiple toy versions released in the last two decades... and, three years after "Medicus" was released, MMC has finally completed their Masterpiece Protectobots with "Ventus."

 Despite rising costs, fluctuating exchange rates, tariffs, and the global pandemic, they're the first to complete this iconic combiner team, and by extension, my Masterpiece collection... up to Season 2, at least. ☺️

Now if only MakeToys or FansToys or whoever would finish the Headmasters line... 🤨

I admire your restraint. 😛

I've long since filled whatever display space I could create, but that wasn't gonna stop me from buying MMC's best figures! 😅

Of course, I might not be as quick to pre-order a set of MP Technobots or Terrorcons going forward... 🤔

Congrats on a happy ending to your long journey! They look fantastic!

😄 Regarding restraint, it probably helps that I've very little attachment to characters beyond the first season, as I lost interest in the show once S2 devolved into whim and frivolity, losing the more focused story arc and slightly more mature tone of first season. To this day, the first is the only season of the Sunbow toon that I own or have seen in its entirety. In Bruticus' case, I always liked the alt modes the best of any of the other combiners, with Devy a close second (b/c who doesn't dig construction vehicles?!) Ha, no pun intended! The ep that introduced Devastator was kiddie crack to me: robot dinosaurs❤️ And construction vehicles❤️ AND the construction vehicle dudes can combine into a bigger more badass robot!!!!❤️❤️❤️ We take the pure awesomeness of that moment for granted now, but back then, it was mindblowing. Anyway, I can't honestly remember watching any eps featuring Bruticus (From S2 onward I'd watch an ep of Transformers occasionally just for something to do, so I'd catch S2 or 3 eps here or there. Most S3 eps were so bad I'd get up and change the channel (back before we had remotes). Had Takara done a better job with the Aerialbots' alts, I probably would have favored those guys above the rest (always did like jets), but they sucked big time, as has pretty much every incarnation since due to everybody's trying to capture the blocky-bot-under-a-plane look instead of taking a more Macross approach or just working some engineering magic to create a svelte accurate jet that somehow unfurls into a blocky bot. They manage it with just about any other vehicle alt, but for some inexplicable reason, never planes, the coolest alts of all in my heavily biased opinion. On that note, I'd like to see what MMC would do with a team of Aerialbots given their penchant towards believable alt modes. If done well, I'd maybe have to reconsider.

[David Hingtgen]

Early morning valk delivery!   

[Chronocidal]

Nice!  Mine have been sitting in customs since last week, and they're finally in the hands of the postal service, so hopefully they get here by the weekend.

Let us know how fit and finish are on this version.  I'm hoping they fixed the arm issues on the first release, but not counting on it, since they weren't deal breakers.

I do wish the missiles fit on the official Yamato releases though, since it would be nice to have some fully painted clusters of TV missiles.  They do seem to fit on the ThreeZero VF-1s though. which is a huge upgrade to their terrible missiles.

I'm debating on whether I want to find some stickers for this one, or try my hand at making some autobot stencils, and painting the logos on the boosters.

[David Hingtgen]

I plan to totally take it apart and fix every little bit of flash and burring, based on this vid I found:

(the auto-translate subtitles work pretty well)

What specifically were the arm issues? I don't recall seeing anything from the first release. 

[Chronocidal]

40 minutes ago, David Hingtgen said:

What specifically were the arm issues?  I don't recall seeing anything from the first release.

I wrote a little about the issues I found in one of the other topics, and in the review I posted on ShowZ.  They were nothing major, just some little assembly and tolerance issues that can probably be fixed by a disassembly and cleanup, or at worst, replacing a couple of parts with official Yamato ones.

Biggest ones were these:

1. Squeaky/overly tight shoulder balljoint friction pads (fixed by loosening shoulder screws, or lubrication)

2. Right elbow double joint wasn't quite assembled properly, leaving it bulging and very stiff to move (probably needs disassembly/reassembly, but it doesn't prevent transformation or posing)

3. Overly large chest-plate locking ridges make it really difficult to detach the chest from the backplate while going to battroid (easy fix, file down the locking ridges inside the chest by ~25% or so)

No real showstoppers, just little KO idiosynchrasies.  The elbow is probably the most significant issue, since it makes clipping the arms under the back in fighter a little tricky since it's wider than it should be.  Worst case, I would just swap in actual Yamato arms and add the stripes.  I imagine the tolerances are close enough that you could swap everything below the ball joint, or maybe up to the swingbars.

Edited Thursday at 03:50 PM by Chronocidal

[David Hingtgen]

Ok, almost all of those things are covered in the video I linked above.  I think only the "right elbow" thing is something additional to look out for.  

It's so refreshing to own a valk that is simply SCREWED together, and not GLUED together. So easy to open it up to work on.  

[sh9000]

DK-38A.

[Chronocidal]

Update on the Fugu Jetfire, my pair just arrived, and I think the only way I'd be happier is if I hadn't exerted the effort to try and strip/repaint a set of leg packs from the original release.

I'm happy to report that the rumors of them leaving out the canopy cover were incorrect, and slipped neatly inside the packaging I also found a couple of surprises I didn't expect to get.  (No fancy photography here.. maybe someday I'll make room for a proper photo booth.)

Also, after the feedback they received from the first release, I'm just going to say they went even further beyond this time around.  Not only did they remove the Macross logos (kites, skulls, and UN SPACY are all gone), but they added several new markings directly from the Jetfire art, including detailed prints on the fronts of his feet, a pair of warning labels on the underside of the fronts of the backpack boosters (amusingly, these are barely large enough to make out some lettering that says "UN SPACY" so I'm guessing they repurposed an existing tampo pattern), and the striping on his gunpod in red and white like the box art, rather than the chrome foil in the original stickers. 

Oddly, they left the small white arrow on the front of the leg packs (best not to try and remove this, or you'll damage the overall paint on the packs, as I found out), and they didn't change the red printing on the tails, so I might still repaint or strip one set to get a more classic stripe on one side.

They didn't change the stock black stripes and red circles on the legs, but I know the original stickers for Jetfire had a much more convoluted paneling sticker for those surfaces.   They also didn't touch the intake warnings, but I'm sure they would be easy to strip if someone wanted them gone, since there's nothing around them.

Otherwise, I'm happy to say I found these tucked into the extra parts box, along with the transparent pack covers, and extra hands.

I'm not familiar with what defines "quality" for repro transformers stickers, but these look very "okay."  Silver and not chrome foil for one set, and what looks like dull paper for the pack markings, but I'm just happy they got included.  I'm sure anyone who knows where to look could come up with some fancier vinyl and foil versions.

As for the quality of the figure though, I can happily say the elbow issue I had was entirely resolved, and both sets of arms bend and pose easily, though one of mine has a rather sloppy bicep twist which should be easy enough to fix, but I'll probably just leave him in jet mode. 

The shoulder ball joints still were tight, and needed a little loosening, and the hands were a little tricky to get out, but I think the black wrist covers were a little oversized, and filing the edges helped.  Still needed to file down the chest locking nubs.  I also had to add a layer of tape to both swing wing pivots to get some stiffness, since they were very sloppy.

I did see a little variability with tightness in the wing hardpoints, mostly with the missile clusters and box launchers being easy to spin on the hardpoints, but they didn't fall off.  The reaction missiles fit more snugly, to the point you may want to mount the pylons bare and then add the missiles, to make them easier to twist into place so you don't wear down the nubs, and lead to the other missiles being able to fall off freely.

The overall quality of the figure feels higher this time around, mostly owing to the better arms, but it's still not quite up to a standard Yamato/Arcadia release.  There's still a little slop in the transformation, the main gear doors don't quite fit, and there's just little niggling things like the hardpoints being loose that might annoy you.

Overall, I'd recommend this one even more highly than the original release, depending on whether you want it closer to Jetfire, or closer to a unique VF-1.  I've got a pair of each release, and I don't regret it.

What I might wind up doing with the fast packs I started to strip?  I've always wanted a matched set for a VF-1D in tan and orange, like that 1/100 Toynami exclusive.  If I can find a good color match, I might try it.  

Edited 11 hours ago by Chronocidal