The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[JB0]

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Hasbro also did their own version of Starscream from the video games.  I think they did repaint him as Skywarp and Thundercracker.  They're small, Deluxes.

Can confirm, I own the Skywarp of that mold. 

[anime52k8]

and I have the Thundercracker version. It's an okay toy.

[M'Kyuun]

I vaguely remember that Impossible Toys version; they did an outstanding job capturing the Tetrajet as it looked in the first ep of First Season, but that bot mode is a bit yikes. Since Hasbro's on a sudden kick making Figs with their G1 Cybertronian alts, my hope is that they'll do a new 'origins' Seeker with a good balance between bot and Tetrajet. It's pretty obvious that the artists never thought these designs would be translated into toys, so a great deal of license was employed. Moreover, curiously, Bee, Wheeljack, and the Seekers all have their Earth vehicle bits in bot mode millions of years before humans came along- I guess they didn't think kids would be smart enough to figure that out, or they just couldn't be bothered coming up with bot modes that reflected the Cybertronian alts for essentially a single ep. Regardless, they did toy designers no favors.

[tekering]

3 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Bee, Wheeljack, and the Seekers all have their Earth vehicle bits in bot mode millions of years before humans came along- I guess they didn't think kids would be smart enough to figure that out, or they just couldn't be bothered coming up with bot modes that reflected the Cybertronian alts for essentially a single ep. Regardless, they did toy designers no favors.

Nor did they impress Michael Bay, who specifically references the incongruity of those Cybertronian robot modes in Transformers DVD supplementals ("Prime walking around Cybertron with truck bits" is more-or-less a direct quote).  As a result, he quickly decided to ignore Sunbow entirely and do his own thing.

Thankfully, Travis Knight showed a little more respect for G1 in the Bumblebee prologue, but he was still saddled with Bay's design legacy. 😒

[derex3592]

Ok, thanks for the clarification guys!  I'll just be patient and maybe one of the 3rd party vendors will make that dream happen some day in smaller scale! I'm looking at you NewAge or Magic Square! 

[sh9000]

 

 

[mikeszekely]

It's an impressive feat of engineering that's just too far from the Predaking mark for my tastes.

[tekering]

6 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

too far from the Predaking mark for my tastes

Yeah, I kinda lost the plot after Optimus Primal joined. 😅

[M'Kyuun]

On 2/10/2023 at 1:38 AM, tekering said:

Nor did they impress Michael Bay, who specifically references the incongruity of those Cybertronian robot modes in Transformers DVD supplementals ("Prime walking around Cybertron with truck bits" is more-or-less a direct quote).  As a result, he quickly decided to ignore Sunbow entirely and do his own thing.

Thankfully, Travis Knight showed a little more respect for G1 in the Bumblebee prologue, but he was still saddled with Bay's design legacy. 😒

I knew Bay didn't like the G1 designs, but I didn't know why. From a newcomer's perspective untainted by nostalgia or really any knowledge at all about the subject matter, his point is well-taken. That's probably the only thing about Transformers that I'll agree on with Mr. Bay. The Sunbow toon is rife with inconsistencies, errors, weird stuff like the aforementioned Earthy bot modes millions of years before even leaving Cybertron, on and on, ad nauseum. If I came into some new property with no foreknowledge and saw all that, I'd be like "it's total shite!" too.  😄 But I think he went in a completely extreme opposite direction in that the ILM designs' fragmentation and illogical placement of car parts, essentially 'design by whim' approach worked against the believability of his bots. I never cared for the designs and the movies were made unsalvageable by everything else, especially Bay's vision and direction. Each is a greater affront to everything I love about Transformers, and I purely despise them.

I too lament the continued appearance of Bay's influence polluting successive live-action films. A new, more believable aesthetic would be much appreciated. Moreover, give Bee a proper face and a voice FFS! How about design the toys first and then base the CG models off of them, keeping transformation sequences consistent and practical without car bits shredding, folding, and doing whatever they will in violation of physics and mechanical reality. It'd be cool to have a live action toy that actually transforms like its on-screen counterpart without a lot of fudging involved. Say what you will about the old Hanna-Barbera Gobots show, but one of the salient features that stood out and remains with me to this day was the mirroring of the characters' transformations to the actual toys. I always thought that was cool and preferrable to Sunbow's oft fudged transformations.

[Convectuoso]

Coming from Magic Square

[M'Kyuun]

That's a pretty creative way to use the oversized head of a super-deformed bot to achieve a decent transformation without removing the head all together, as is usually the case. Not really grabbing me personally, but I appreciate the thought that went into it. I think Big Firebird did it better with their Magic Henshin line; not only did they have better bike modes, but they also combined. Granted, they weren't super-deformed with giant heads, but still in the realm of kawaii.

So, I recently added Magic Square's Ken (Ironhide) to my reluctantly ever-growing menagerie of legends scaled figures, and while the transformation does have a slightly fiddly nature to it, once accomplished a couple of times, it's relatively straightforward once you have in mind where everything needs to go, especially compressing so much of the van into his torso. There's a way to go about it, and once you've got it, it goes along well. Once you've got the conversion process sorted, you can get down to admiring the fig purely for what it brings to the table: IMHO, it's the most accurate transformable representation of G1 toon Ironhide yet made by any company.  Add to that articulation on the high range of modern standards, and you've got a pretty impressive toy at a rather diminutive scale. It's toys like this that make me vehemently wish these legends makers would consider upscaling their figs to both CHUG and MP scales, as they outshine virtually everything else including official figs. 

I took some comparison shots to illuminate the differences in design and sculpt. L-R:  MS Ken, Hasbro's SS86 Ironhide, and Takara's MP-27 Ironhide

Apologies, as I forgot to fold down the little silver bit below MP Ironhide's bumper. Too, my MP Ironhide is equipped with an upgrade which removes his door panels from his hips and uses them to fill in his torso.

Of the three, the MP is the least well-executed, and while it's not a bad toy in-hand, IMO, aesthetically it's bested increasingly left by its neighbors. I'd love to have Magic Square's fig upscaled to MP size, as it it's so incredibly well executed. And to be clear, I'm not a fan of the ultra-slavish toon design direction; I like my bots to have details and textures, but since Floro Dery conjured up his toon bot mode, giving him and his mold partner Ratchet more filled out bodies apart from their G1 toys, I find it easier to forgive the plain smooth limbs on toys of these characters. Going forward, IMHO, Ken is now the Ironhide toy to better. That comparison was the impetus for this post. I find it ironic that the appearance gets better as the figs get smaller, as the opposite was true only a decade or so ago.

Here they are in their van modes, and they all accomplish the Nissan Cherry-Vannette mode pretty faithfully, albeit by different transformation schemes. of course, The SS86 version is a little compromised by the obnoxiously large hinges marring his otherwise smooth hull. I really wish they'd used double hinges to allow them to sit flush in vehicle mode, but they didn't, more's the pity. The other features missing from the stock version are the painted black square representing a sunroof and his trademark yellow stripes running the lengths of his sides. Too, the stock version's bumper area was over sprayed with silver, covering a portion that should have been red. I painted both the bumper area and his stripes on my copy. For whatever reason, both the MP and Ken have half of the back window painted red, but in all other respects both Ken and the MP, especially the MP, which of course is licensed, hew very closely to the real vehicle. Ken, due to his heavy reliance on numerous folding panels to fill out his van form, has greater breakup on close inspection, especially the windows, which are all painted. However, at such a small scale, it still presents well, and is certainly recognizable. He even has rubber tires, a highly desirable feature that both Hasbro and Takara abandoned years ago to the chagrin of many a fan including yours truly. I continue to be impressed by what these legends Transformers toy makers are cranking out, as they're outdoing, in many respects, their larger competition. I also picked up Ryu, magic Square's take on Ratchet, which was on sale on TF Safari. having handled ken, I have no regrets adding that fig to my legends collection.  I didn't take pics (there are numerous reviews of these guys on YT for a more in-depth look), but both Ken and Ryu (gotta love the Streetfighter references) come with a plethora of accessories allowing you to reenact many scenes from the G1 toon as well as giving these figs a host of expressive poses and expressions. Although many take issue with the plastics they use, as for a toy experience, Magic Square delivers in spades. 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by M'Kyuun

[Convectuoso]

Does this count as "third party transformers"?

 

 

[JB0]

5 hours ago, Convectuoso said:

Does this count as "third party transformers"?

 

 

That's cool as hell. Animating an abandoned storyboard scene, I assume?

[Convectuoso]

8 hours ago, JB0 said:

That's cool as hell. Animating an abandoned storyboard scene, I assume?

Exactly 

[Convectuoso]

Slag prototype by Magic Square

[technoblue]

Sweet! Pretty cool that MS is starting off with a different Dinobot too.

[M'Kyuun]

5 hours ago, Convectuoso said:

Slag prototype by Magic Square

Looks like they're taking a similar design direction with the legs as Has/Tak leader Slag's. Not crazy about the ultra-toon smoothness, though, but that's the popular direction. Can't wait til it's not. 

[sh9000]

Is this a good deal for each of them?  I might order all 3.

[mikeszekely]

24 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

Is this a good deal for each of them?  I might order all 3.

It's not bad.  I think they originally went for $120/each a few years ago.  In TFSource fashion, they marked it up before they marked it down so it looks like a better deal that it actually is, but yeah, it's still a pretty decent deal.  The only thing I'd caution is that I think the DS Seekers are probably better figures at this point, especially if the robot mode is your main concern.  They're just a pain to transform.  That said, I bought the MT Seekers when they first came out, and while I definitely think the DS ones were better I didn't think they were so much better that it was worth replacing the MTs.

[sh9000]

Thanks @mikeszekely.

[Convectuoso]

Some  NewAge announcements from TFCon

 

Plus a video preview of Powerglide

 

 

 

 

[mikeszekely]

I don't know if it's because I never felt like starting a Legends collection on top of my mainline Hasbro collection an my MP-scale stuff,  the fact that my MP-scaled stuff is getting pretty close to complete, or the that I just don't feel like spending $150-$200 a pop on the MP stuff in this economy, but I found it hard to get too excited over the TFCon stuff.  The only things that really caught my attention are MMC showing off their Hot Spot and finally admitting that they're doing Devastator after Defensor.  Here's hoping they do Abominus, Predaking, Computron, Superion, Menasor, Piranacon, Raiden, Liokaiser, Road Caesar, and Landcross, too.  Preferably in that order.

[sh9000]

Yeah I'll probably collect their Defensor and Devastator.

[technoblue]

10 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

I don't know if it's because I never felt like starting a Legends collection on top of my mainline Hasbro collection an my MP-scale stuff,  the fact that my MP-scaled stuff is getting pretty close to complete, or the that I just don't feel like spending $150-$200 a pop on the MP stuff in this economy, but I found it hard to get too excited over the TFCon stuff.  The only things that really caught my attention are MMC showing off their Hot Spot and finally admitting that they're doing Devastator after Defensor.  Here's hoping they do Abominus, Predaking, Computron, Superion, Menasor, Piranacon, Raiden, Liokaiser, Road Caesar, and Landcross, too.  Preferably in that order.

I’m the opposite. It feels like I’m out of almost all third-party lines except Legends these days. The size makes it easy to collect the bots I want and even some bots I would skip at the larger scales, like combiners.

MMC’s current fondness for MP-scale combiners, means I’ll buy less and appreciate more of their pictures from afar. I just don’t have the space for anything larger than an MP Magnus or Skyfire.

Speaking of which, X-Transbots did pique my interest with their new Ultra Magnus, but it’s hard to buy in because of my experiences with XTB releases in the past. I’m still looking at reviews and mulling it over. But that’s the only 3P MP-scale bot on my radar right now.

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, technoblue said:

I’m the opposite. It feels like I’m out of almost all third-party lines except Legends these days. The size makes it easy to collect the bots I want and even some bots I would skip at the larger scales, like combiners.

If Legends would have been more of a thing when I really started collecting I'd have gone all-in and never thought twice about MP. There's definitely an advantage to the smaller figures, but I think the aesthetics of the current NewAge and Magic Square offerings are already ahead of early MP offerings. But I think I already had maybe 60-70% of the G1 cartoon cast before Legends was more than just Iron Factory, and I just didn't bring myself to start over.

[M'Kyuun]

6 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

If Legends would have been more of a thing when I really started collecting I'd have gone all-in and never thought twice about MP. There's definitely an advantage to the smaller figures, but I think the aesthetics of the current NewAge and Magic Square offerings are already ahead of early MP offerings. But I think I already had maybe 60-70% of the G1 cartoon cast before Legends was more than just Iron Factory, and I just didn't bring myself to start over.

Likewise, with a few exceptions. But with space at a premium, and the engineering and aesthetics rivaling or exceeding that of many of the official MP figs, a legends scale collection would have been preferable over the long run. Alas, I don't think anyone, especially me, back in the early days of legends scale ever thought they'd reach the state of sophistication and polish that they have, primarily because of Magic Square and New Age. That bit of competition, too, ensures that they continue to innovate and bring interesting figs to market. Too, in almost every case, there's one company's version that I prefer over the other's, so having that choice is fantastic. I tried avoiding collecting legends, but in spite of my reluctance, I've amassed a tidy little collection of them from various companies including the aforementioned MS, NA, as well as Iron Factory and MFT's Blitzwing. Some of these characters are so well-realized that I just want to have them for how good they are. Fortunately, I've never been a completionist, and I have self-control sufficient to still limit what I buy otherwise there'd be no room in my house left and I'd need an intervention and an ebay account to pare down. That said, I preordered New Age's Powerglide yesterday and I just had MP Skyfire delivered today, so maybe the problem's worse than I thought. 😇

[Scyla]

Bombusbee has put up a preorder for FansToys Bandit on their site: https://www.bombusbee.net/fanstoys-ft-31e-bandit-menasor-p5422.html

Why am I writing this? Because for the longest time they didn't had a preorder, while other stores, like ShowZ, had them. So I would assume that the FansToys distributors put  forward a message that Bandit is scheduled for production at some point in the future.

Could it be all a hoax? For sure since Bombusbee also has preorders for the remaining two Aerialbots. I want to be optimistic though.

[Black Valkyrie]

 

Planning to this item but not sure of its QC : 

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/199918?o=1 

 

 

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, Black Valkyrie said:

 

Planning to this item but not sure of its QC : 

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/199918?o=1 

 

 

I have the original. It's quite good, although getting the cab situated in super robot mode is a bit fiddly. The only other issue I had was that after Fans Hobby released their Godbomber the hip joints on Power Baser were a little too weak to support anything but a basic, stoic pose. Fans Hobby addressed that with the version 2 release, though, so you should be set.

[M'Kyuun]

This guy came yesterday, and what a looker! Admittedly, I'm not a fan of the ultra-toon detail-less bot modes which have become vogue both officially and unofficially, but regardless, I still find this fig quite appealing. I'm sure Toyhax will have some solutions to the lack of detail in the near future; Jazz is a perennial favorite, so I'm sure they're expediting a set even as I type.  Jive's poseability is pretty standard for both MPs and even many official Generations figs these days. Notably, his head is mounted on both a swivel and an internal hinge allowing him to look up at about an 80 degree angle. He has both a waist swivel and an ab crunch that allows for about 30 degrees of arc, but only when the waist is neutrally forward; twisting the waist obstructs the upper torso limiting the ab crunch. Digression- I hate the term 'ab crunch', but since it has become the parlance of reviewers to describe the waist bend, I use it too, although I cringe internally as I type it. Moving on, the elbows are single-hinged and only bend about 95 degrees. The ankles have a rocker of about 20 degrees and no real fore or aft pivot although you can unlink the toe from the heel plate which will allow the toe to bend about 10 degrees up and about 3 degrees down relative to the heel which stays parallel to the ground.  As poseability standards continue to progress, I hope a fore and aft ankle pivot becomes the next big push, as I think that omission is more limiting than ankle rocker in terms of trying to achieve dynamic poses. I found the transformation a wee bit on the unpleasant side for the extreme tightness of some parts that make you feel like you may break something in the effort to manipulate or separate them, and for the tight quarters and fiddly nature of the leg transformation which essentially has you turn the back end of his car mode inside out. The transformation itself isn't difficult so far as understanding what needs to go where; the agony comes in the form of all the resistance in carrying it out. However while the journey to either mode is fraught with frustration, the end result in either direction manifests itself in the beautiful bot you see in the pic, or an equally lovely Porche 935 sans the more involved racing livery of either the G1 toy or the real car for toon's sake, of course. (Sorry, I neglected to take a pic of him in his car mode this morning before transforming him back to bot mode. At the moment, I just don't feel like converting him back for the sake of a couple photos. My apologies for being the laziest of reviewers). Here's a pic I liberated from Bing images:

The car doors are mounted on an extremely tight double hinge ensconced behind the very narrow bit of fender behind the front wheel and it's a nail-biting exercise to extend them.  Why that joint is so tight when it only supports the doors is beyond me. It certainly didn't need to be, as the doors are only plastic and quite lightweight. Tabbing and untabbing the roof from the legs is another too-tight situation that warrants fear of breakage. There are also several panels throughout that warrant the use of a spudger, a tool I have yet to procure; I used a pair of tweezers, being careful not to scratch anything.  While it's a fiddly bit of labor to achieve, the car mode is rather lovely to behold; I wish it had more of the actual livery with sponsors and such, but as I mentioned, Toyhax will no doubt have us covered. I'll feel a bit of regret if in fact Fans Toys releases a toy version later on, but for now I'm quite pleased with this fig, transformation woes notwithstanding.

Edited April 2, 2023 by M'Kyuun

[Scyla]

Fans Hobby made their Power Master Dreadwind available for preorder.

While I’m usually super iffy on their proportions, sculpt and build I’m really looking forward to this release.

[derex3592]

Due to the sheer SIZE of Masterpiece Skyfire I bailed on my pre-order and after watching some YT comparisons I went the newage route. NOT disappointed in any way so far!!! Great size and very premium feel to this guy! I've wanted this toy since 1985!!!! 😁 

[sh9000]

Vladivostok looks like it will go well with Titan Class Trypticon but it's kind of pricey.

[mikeszekely]

19 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Vladivostok looks like it will go well with Titan Class Trypticon

Yeah, I'm not sure where I'm landing on this one. It's more G1 than T30 Metroplex, but still borrows some of T30’s design cues. And it's going to be smaller than T30. From the pictures they put up of the prototype with Magic Square's Devastator it doesn't look much bigger than Maketoys Utopia. Can't really say I need another Utopia-sized Metroplex, but if it's at least as big as the Titan Ark I might bite.

19 hours ago, sh9000 said:

but it's kind of pricey

I think they were saying 789 yuan, a little under $110 before retailer markups and international shipping. TFSource has it up for preorder at $220, which already didn't strike me as too bad considering it's cheaper than most Fans Toys releases, but the final price from a store line ShowZ could be closer to $150-180. Now, sure, $200 is still $200, and depending on their financial situation that might be a significant amount to spend on a toy robot for some people. But it's pretty close to what Hasbro charges for their Titans. For a 3P figure that size that's relatively cheap.

[mikeszekely]

I think this was probably inevitable after Evolution Prowl...

Prowl's not one of my favorite Legacy/Evolution figures (and Legacy/Evolution has usually been less appealing to me than Earthrise and Kingdom), but yeah, I'm in.