Unicron Trilogy toy discussion

Figures, collectables, customs and collecting.
User avatar
kupimus aka(clocker)
Protoform
Posts: 296
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 12:26 pm
Location: Essex,England

Unicron Trilogy toy discussion

Post by kupimus aka(clocker) »

I wanted to talk about the unicron trilogy toys(TOYS NOT CARTOON), so i thought id recycle this old thread(recycling has been drilled into me by my wife).

How many of you still like(and havent sold) your armada, energon and cybertron toys. I think their great. Obviously not better than classics/universe from a technical or nostalgic point of view or the movie toys from just a technical point of view, but I do think by the time cybertron came around the toys had improved. compare armada hot shot to cybertron hot shot or armada hoist to cybertron landmine.

favs from cybertron for me include scrapmetal who is the first i would recommend to anyone. hes really cool looking and posable and the giant gun doesnt weigh him down at all. he looks good in both modes, id love to get an army of them.

cd hot shot is one of my favs too for one reason and thats the amout of hidden weapons on him, and downshift is great too, the energon one appealing to my sense of g1 nostalgia and the cybertron ones car modes colors are so bad it actually looks good(if that makes sense).
all three primes are great as toys, if not display pieces.
the line was worth it just for unicron alone.

In alot of ways thats why i think the lines are better than the movie toys, especially for kids, because they are easy to transform and theres just so much more to play with on each transformer. as adult collecters we may hate the gimmicks, but the kids must love it. If you just want a transformer toy rather than a transformer piece i heartily recommend this series

who knows, maybe there are kids out there who grew up with the unicron trilogy and will look back with nostalgia on it, the same way i look back on the g1 scorponok or pm prime toys.

so tell us your favs from the trilogy(toyline only) and please no negative comments on this thread as whats bad about the lines has been extremly well documented on here already. just mention the ones you have liked and actually kept. discuss.
Let this be thy final lesson monster, no man is e'er defeated till his last breath is drawn! And e'en THEN, 'tis most unwise for the victor to assume the battle is ended, for with god and man, a war is ne'er over till the ultimate wrong is set aright and the final villain is DONE!
Cliffjumper
Posts: 32206
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2001 5:00 am

Post by Cliffjumper »

kupimus aka(clocker) wrote:(TOYS NOT CARTOON)
I'm fairly certain we have a toy forum.

Some of the moulds had promise, and might have been alright if they weren't coloured with all the skill and subtlety of Crayola Yomtov. Armada Wheeljack would have been a pretty good figure if they hadn't doubled the size of the thing at the last minute. I'm fairly sure I no longer have a single Unicron Trilogy figure in the house, and unlike some of the stuff I've shipped out over the years, I've never missed a single one.

That's it for positives, though FYI this is a discussion board and relative to Transformers people can say pretty much what they like.
User avatar
Ackula
Posts: 3679
Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:34 am
Location: CA
Contact:

Post by Ackula »

Moved to the proper place.....

Personally I can't stand the Armada toys in general. I do own Starscream and Rampage (Japanese) however. I think those were two of the best molds from the entire line though, unless we count repaints. I also have Unicron, but I tend to not think of it as an Armada toy.

Energon toys, I have only ever owned 2 figures. I own Arcee and both versions of Starscream. The Starscream is one of my favorite figures of all time really, but I can't comment on the rest of the line to be perfectly honest. Nothing has ever really caught my eye as something I had to own though.

Cybertron, I actually have a soft spot for. The cartoon was the first one me and my stepson watched together all the way through, so its got that going for it, in my case anyway. I owned quite a lot of Cybertron toys at one time, but now only have a few left, but the ones I have I am really fond of. Sideways, Soundwave, Cryo Scourge, Unicron, and a few of the scouts...are about all I have left.

I'd agree though for sure, that there was a huge improvement between Armada and Cybertron, and most people overlook the Cybertron toys. There were some awesome molds to come out of that line, at least in my opinion.
Image
User avatar
Warcry
Posts: 13934
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 4:10 am
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Post by Warcry »

Cliffjumper wrote:Some of the moulds had promise, and might have been alright if they weren't coloured with all the skill and subtlety of Crayola Yomtov. Armada Wheeljack would have been a pretty good figure if they hadn't doubled the size of the thing at the last minute.
Can't disagree here. Most of the toys were very garishly coloured, and a good chunk of them were one or two size classes bigger than they needed to be. Wheeljack, like you say, would have made a good scout-class toy, and Vector Prime would have been a fantastic deluxe-sized figure (sans electronics, naturally) but at their existing price point they're just mediocre.

There are a few toys from these lines that I still like on their own merits, though. From Armada, the deluxe-sized Optimus Prime toy is one of my favourite Prime figures. The fact that they managed to take the chunky larger toy, downsize it, add in a lot of posability and still make the toy look better in the process was pretty impressive. He manages to make me kind of sad, though, because he demonstrates that the Armada line could have been good if the designers had bothered to put this much effort into the other toys as they did into him. They didn't, though, and at the end of the day he's the only new mold from the entire line who is even comparable to the toys that are coming out nowadays in the Movie and Classics lines.

I also liked some of the gestalt team members from Energon (even if the combined forms were pretty disappointing). The stealth jet, helicopter, tank and front-end loader limb molds were all very nice, and the pseudo-Combaticons' team leader (Barricade, I think?) was a nice toy, too. Starscream wasn't bad either, I guess. There were a few other nice molds in the line, but a combination of garish colour schemes and ugly translucent-plastic weapons ruin them for me.

I don't think I'm really a big fan of any toys from Cybertron. A few of the redecos from the Universe and Movie lines were nice, though. Ratbat (Sideways redeco), Crankcase (Red Alert redeco) and Breakaway (Hot Shot redeco) were all nice toys, even if the last two could probably have gotten away with being scouts.

Overall, in my books Armada and Cybertron tally up as abject failures. Energon was the best of the three but even then I'd say it was just a passable line rather than genuinely good.
Cliffjumper
Posts: 32206
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2001 5:00 am

Post by Cliffjumper »

Yeh on the repaints here - I recently got Movie Crankcase, and he's alright - though the sober colour scheme and the weird way it fits the G1 character so well helps a lot. Also got Superion, and he's... alright. The limb units aren't bad, if a little unimaginative (the F-22ish one especially feels a bit like a hybrid of previous small jets, especially the G2 Hooligan mould), but the 'leader' 'Bot is rubbish, and the combined form would have been improved so much if they'd bit the bullet and given it proper hands (especially) and feet. Again, though, it's better in slightly more subtle colours.

I remember picking up... Dirtboss, I think (purple and green 4x4) at a car boot sale a couple of years ago, having paid little attention to recent releases, and just being mildly stunned by how tasteless and inept the thing was.

That said, Energon and Cybertron did both seem to crank back the size of the figures a bit. I'm pretty sure Armada would have been more palatable if the moulds had been half the size, and the drop in sophistication after RiD was absurd at the time. Plus there were all those stupid gimmicks, like that massive shoulder/back/ruff thing Starscream had going on just so a Minicon could activate his missiles and some rubbish sound effects...

In fact, I think a big factor in the success of the Classics and Movie lines has been the relative lack of gimmicks (Automorph and Mech Alive are generally part of the transformation rather than some additional function that has to be worked in; plus in both cases they seem to just leave it off if there's no real place for it... Automorph can also basically mean anything) is what's helped the figures be relatively compact and dynamic.
User avatar
Sunstreaker2
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2007 11:16 pm
Location: Trumbauersville, PA

Post by Sunstreaker2 »

Energon Tow-Line is a very underappreciated mold.

Thanks to the 5mm pegs all round, I've loaded him up with every weapon I could find that had a 5mm peg.
No longer looking for RID Dreadwind, but I still need Smokejumper. I'm also in need of Mammoth Nemesis Prime's tail piece, as my figure lacks it. Send me a PM.
User avatar
Blackjack
Posts: 9112
Joined: Sat May 03, 2008 1:04 pm

Post by Blackjack »

Hmmm... I have a couple of Cybertron toys. Metroplex, golden Vector Prime, Crumplezone and Cryotek Scourge. Mostly decent toys, they've got articulation and weaponry, but the Cyber Key gimmick is annoying.

Don't have any Armada toys or repaints, so I don't know anything about the line.

I have some Energon repaints, and they're nice, especially the Scouts class toys. The Omnicons and the small Combiner Limbs are wonderfully engineered toys which put their movieverse counterparts to shame. Energon Arcee is much better than ROTF Knockout. Both has the same transformation scheme, but Arcee has a big weapon.

Cybertron repaints, however, I've gotten a lot. Mostly from Movie and the second Universe line. There are some decent toys, like Ratbat (Sideways), Getaway (Hot Shot) and Dropshot (Voyager Scattorshot), although the rest are mostly sub-par. The Scouts I have are okay, but not as good as the Energon guys.
User avatar
Sunstreaker2
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2007 11:16 pm
Location: Trumbauersville, PA

Post by Sunstreaker2 »

I think the Armada Starscream design would work wonderfully as a Deluxe, especially if the Mini-Con gimmick was reworked or abandoned entirely.

Maybe Universe 3.0.
No longer looking for RID Dreadwind, but I still need Smokejumper. I'm also in need of Mammoth Nemesis Prime's tail piece, as my figure lacks it. Send me a PM.
User avatar
Knightdramon
Protoform
Posts: 3621
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: York, UK

Post by Knightdramon »

I really did like all the cybertron figures I had. Well, almost all.

The helicopter mould [which I got as Blades, from Universe 2.0] is AWESOME. Ratchet joints all over, everything locks together in both modes...all that's missing is some die-cast metal and it's almost a SOC.

The tank\turret mould [Dropshot, Universe 2.0] also fits that description perfectly. The entire joint that allows the turret to swivel around in vehicle mode is intuitive at best.

The deluxe Hot Shot mould [regular version] is also very fun and imposing, if not a bit "wooden" when it comes to posing.

Soundwave was pure garbage in the way those spindly legs had to hold his entire body up, and whomever thought it was a feasible design point to introduce a sideways joint on his calf that made him even more unstable has to get shot.

Most Superlink\energon toys were pure crap. I only liked Starscream and Mirage\Shockfleet [lots of articulation points], Prowl [the blue formula one] and the smaller Galvatron mould.

Armada has no good toys from what I can remember, besides Unicron. Oh, and Primus from Cybertron...he's awesome. You know he is.
User avatar
Savannahtron
Posts: 3308
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2001 5:00 am

Post by Savannahtron »

I have a T-total ton of Armada figures and had a few Energon figures. My two favorite have to be Unicron and Primus (Cybetron series), but I was on hiatus for several years after my dad passed.

Recently sold a bunch of Armada figures on auction, still had a lot left. Tidal Wave is pretty decent, but other than that I cannot say I really love too many of the figs.
User avatar
Treadshot A1
Posts: 2411
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2007 8:49 am
Contact:

Post by Treadshot A1 »

Hmm... Most of the Armada toys sucked, and i honestly can't remember one off the top of my head that was any good. Blurr's minicon was about the only half decent thing to come out of Armada, too bad Blurr himself was a brick. Well, maybe some other minicons were okay as well. That's it.

Energon... practically every Powerlinx limb bot aside from Duststorm and his repaint were pretty good. Treadshot and Windrazor being the best. Actually,ost of the scouts were pretty good. And Tow-Line.

Cybertron... ...Primus. Nuff' said.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
User avatar
borg72
Posts: 639
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 3:22 pm
Location: Cleveland
Contact:

Post by borg72 »

in terms of being a kids toy i think armada and energon were great. big, smash-worthy toys that could transform, fire weapons, and survive most mishandling. plus a lot of them could combine in a frankly very nifty way; there were no particular right' or 'wrong' combinations, as with the scramble city* combiner limbs that were theortically interchangeable but dammit, you just wanted them to combine exactly as the cartoon/comic. dragstrip must a right arm, arrgghh GEEWUN RAGE. ahem.

(*yes, i recognise that in scramble city they actually did all swap about, but thats hardly the point)

and you had energon's opti-zord, which i still really should get rid of (moving, weight/space restrictions, etc) but can't quite bear to stop playing with every time i pick him up to swap limbs about.

as an adult collector, i wouldn't go near them; essentially, they are disproportionate bricks. but still, i can certainly see them as great toys. just not for me.

as for cybertron, i was never impressed with the general 'cheap' feel i got from many of them. I do have a ransack GTS (and it tickles me that his colours were lifted for animated prowl). and the cyberplanet key was such a crow-barred in gimmick, you could tell even the designers were finding ways to keep it out of the way of the actual toy. still, there were a few nifty molds in there. override always appealed, i just never got round to getting him/her. and there was the downshift/wheeljack, who had a neat alt-mode. plus they started the legends class, which just go from strength to strength in my own view.

i'd love a unicron, for the sheer fun of a light-up hand with full articulation in the fingers (because we all know what gang signs we'd have him throw up). but with the money i'd save for him, there are other things that would take priority, unless i just happened across an astoundingly cheap one somewhere.

also, i too must show some love to energon towline. if you have any other energon powerlinking autobots, he is a must. for a deluxe, there is an amazing amount of playability in having a van, that essentially makes two seperate lightweight deluxes; a robot that still does the top-half, and a tank that can serve as a bottom half. don't have him anymore, as i've cleared out my few energon figs, but yeah, he was the shiner.
User avatar
blastoff
Protoform
Posts: 172
Joined: Sun Aug 27, 2006 8:51 pm
Location: BOSTON

Post by blastoff »

i have cybertron scattorshot which isnt my favorite because the hood and head part wont stay down

and i have reformatted cybertron hotshot
thats one of my favorite transformers
You've got the wrong bunch
User avatar
Clogs
Posts: 4278
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 10:00 pm
Location: Leicester, where King Dick is buried

Post by Clogs »

borg72 wrote:in terms of being a kids toy i think armada and energon were great. big, smash-worthy toys that could transform, fire weapons, and survive most mishandling.
I totally agree.

My Scraplets simply adore the Armada line and have managed to get a pretty good collection together (but the Seekers are mine...!). Sadly, Minicon Jolt fell apart in Scraplet1's hands despite his care and we've not been able to find a replacement.

There are also plenty of Energon and Cybertron figures about the house, some theirs and some mine.

Scraplet2 reckons the latest movie lines are cool, posable and 'real'. However, he finds there are too many parts to get just right and says he prefers the older, simpler ones.
User avatar
Ackula
Posts: 3679
Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:34 am
Location: CA
Contact:

Post by Ackula »

Yeah, my 10 year old's first Transformers were from the Cybertron line as well. He shares a similar view that they are much better than the movie toys, which break way too easily, and are too hard to fit back together properly.
User avatar
Heinrad
Posts: 6281
Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2001 5:00 am
Location: Riskin' it all on my Russian Roulette!

Post by Heinrad »

The only Armada figure I've still got is Unicron. At one point I had him crushing Dai Atlas' micromaster in one hand and a Kurita Hatchetman(from Mechwarrior) in the other.

And yes, out of the Energon line, Tow-Line is probably the best Deluxe, if not the best figure out of the whole line. My only complaint about him is that the tampographing for his Autobot emblem didn't seem that good because it smudged. Don't have him anymore, sadly. But I do have the BotCon Ironhide version, who is currently wielding RiD Prime's small handgun as a pistol. I wonder what other 5mm peg weapons I can arm him with...... I've also got the Energon Ironhide figure(who I like, but it's not a mold I'm in love with), and Optimus Prime.

For Cybertron, I've managed to hang onto Downshift. I love the figure. I also like the Cybertron Soundwave for some reason. He looks cool.
As a professional tanuki (I'm a Japanese mythological animal, and a good luck charm), I have an alarm clock built into me somewhere. I also look like a stuffed animal. And you thought your life was tough......

3DS Friend Code: 1092-1274-7642
User avatar
Clay
Posts: 7209
Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 2:19 am
Location: Murray, KY

Post by Clay »

Clogs wrote:My Scraplets simply adore the Armada line and have managed to get a pretty good collection together (but the Seekers are mine...!). Sadly, Minicon Jolt fell apart in Scraplet1's hands despite his care and we've not been able to find a replacement.
Jolt = little helicopter that comes with Hotshot, yeah? I actually have that without a Hotshot to go with it. Do you need the red or yellow one?
User avatar
Clay
Posts: 7209
Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 2:19 am
Location: Murray, KY

Post by Clay »

RE: the whole thread

I think the big plan for the three sequential lines was to 'grow' another generation of fans among kids. Armada consisting of lots of simple, slightly oversized toys makes lots of sense given that it was followed by a line with slightly more intricate toys, and again after that. A kid of six years at the time of Armada's debut would be ten by the time Cybertron ended, and the toys' gradually increasing level of complexity and detail reflects that pretty well, I think.

I don't know how much it was considered a success internally, though. Both the movie lines and Animated have had 'standard' figures sold along side the likes of Fast-Action Battlers, Legends, Gravity Bots, and the larger robot dolls that simply make sounds.

As for the toys themselves, I like a lot of them just fine. The fact that nearly every figure in a line had to incorporate a gimmick resulted in lots of duds, but there are plenty of gems, too. I still adore the Superlink gestalts even today.
Cliffjumper
Posts: 32206
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2001 5:00 am

Post by Cliffjumper »

You adore that Mustang even today. Your opinion on anything is void.

I fully understand the commercial reasoning behind the Unicron Trilogy largely being a crapfest. I just don't like it one bit. At least three of you need extremities broken for the narrow terms in judging these figures (terms like "best Energon whatever"... the correct phrasing is "least shit"). That any passable design was, seemingly intentionally, coloured the most horrible colours imaginable was was the crowning turd in the sewer main for me.

The whole thing is probably best forgotten now we're getting proper Transformers again...
User avatar
Clogs
Posts: 4278
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 10:00 pm
Location: Leicester, where King Dick is buried

Post by Clogs »

Clay wrote:Jolt = little helicopter that comes with Hotshot, yeah? I actually have that without a Hotshot to go with it. Do you need the red or yellow one?
That's the one... Our de-parted one was red. Can you help? :clap:
Post Reply