OFFICIAL TRANSFORMERS TOYS NEWS

[Warcry]

Cheetor = yay, if it's true. His original body has never had a really good toy.

As it stands I'm sticking with the MMC version. If needs be one of them can always get moved across to a shelf with Spartan and the Generations Wreckers.

As unfair as it is to compare an unpainted prototype to a final product, yeah...at first glance both the MMC and Maketoys Infernos are more appealing. This is just so bland. The legs look flat-out unfinished. And if he's going to be in the same size/cost bracket as Ironhide or Primal, there's not going to be a huge price difference between this and the 3P versions.

[Hound]

http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/03/24/hasb ... ers-311872

Hasbro release of deluxe class Groove, y'all.

So are BBTS and TFSource not getting this toy?

[Knightdramon]

They probably will, did they get Slingshot and Wildrider last year? Can't remember.

Give me a shout if you want me to get one for you from a UK retailer, but the added costs of shipping to me and then shipping to you + customs may make this more trouble than it's worth.

[Brendocon 2.0]

This is just so bland. The legs look flat-out unfinished.

I think this is a similar issue to Ironhide and Ratchet, in that the main problem there is that that's how the legs look on the animation model.

Take a toy, design a simplified version of it that you can use in a cheap 1980s cel-animated cartoon, then create a new toy based on that simplified version. A copy of a copy of a copy. It's part of why I think trying to slavishly recreate the animation model isn't always the best plan.

Takara have done the best job of reducing the gap between whatever you call those panels either side of his head, though.

[Warcry]

I think this is a similar issue to Ironhide and Ratchet, in that the main problem there is that that's how the legs look on the animation model.

I see where it's coming from, I just think it's a terrible idea. The cartoon more often than not made the characters look boring and flat. I get why they did it, because hand-drawn animation was expensive and they needed to make the character models as simple as possible so they could be drawn quickly, and in that medium it's an acceptable trade-off. But it doesn't work for toys.

When the new-style MPs first came out (starting with MP-10, Soundwave and Sideswipe) I avoided them for a long time because people were raving about how awesome it was that they looked like the cartoon, and why the heck would I want that when the cartoon was so ugly? It wasn't until I actually handled a few that I realized that they didn't really look all that much like the cartoon after all. They used the cartoon as a starting point, but the designers layered extra detail from the toys and from the real-world alt-modes on top of that to make something that was still reminiscent of the cartoon, but actually good-looking. That nice balance seems to have been lost on some of the newer molds, though, and it seems to have been a deliberate choice. Magnus, Ironhide, Ratchet and now Inferno lack a lot of the added detail that the previous batch of molds were given, and without that I can't see how they'd be appealing in the slightest.

I guess I can see how this will appeal more to a subset of 80s kids who are super-nostalgic about the cartoon above all else, but considering the fandom's changing demographics you'd think they'd lose more sales than they'd gain from going super, hardcore, 100% show-accurate. I mean, heck, a lot of the people buying TF toys these days haven't even seen the G1 cartoon.

But who knows what the fandom in Japan is like? Maybe they haven't gotten the influx of new people that the Western fandom has, and nobody over there is buying the stuff aside from 30somethings who still pine for the 80s?

[Tetsuro]

You call it flat and boring, I call 3P toys a greeble-covered mess.

Can't win 'em all!

[Warcry]

Oh, absolutely, a lot of 3P figures are just ruined by overdetailing them. But I think there's a sweet spot between "bland cartoon model" and "every square millimetre has five panel lines and two greebles" that the older MPs mostly managed to find and a lot of the newer ones are missing.

[Denyer]

Never been this tempted to get cases before, despite having representations of 6/8 in hand or on order. The aesthetic is very appealing.

http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/05/10/tita ... tos-315315

[Denyer]

http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/04/27/tita ... ges-314730

Liking Doublecross and Triggerhappy.

[numbat]

Give me a shout if you want me to get one for you from a UK retailer, but the added costs of shipping to me and then shipping to you + customs may make this more trouble than it's worth.

Which UK retailers have Deluxe Groove? I'm struggling to find one, but if I did I would seriously consider getting a CW Defensor. (So I'm a bit of a G1 purist on the combiner team members... Although I'd also get Rook for fun, like I did Off-Road.)

I think I understand better now, even if I still disagree. I just don't personally see new Generations figures as completely overriding previous stuff; I see it as purely additive. As such, I'm just not concerned with details getting fudged or rearranged with new iterations of old characters if the new stuff looks nice in its own right. But if you're wanting new figures to adhere more closely to the old G1 designs, I can see that being defensible as probably 80% of Classics 2006-2016 stays reasonably close to the mark.

Like Clay, I just view these figures as additive and pick up the ones I like, which go alongside my various CHUG fellows - the aesthetics seem close enough for me.

From what I've seen so far the HM gimmick does not seem to hinder any of the figures and does offer interchangeability, although let's be honest, besides trying it once for giggles, is anybody really going to display say, Galvatron with Sentinel Prime's head?

Personally, I am irritated by the Headmaster gimmick being applied to say Galvatron or Megatron (or even Triggerhappy for that matter). I get what people are saying - who's going to swap the heads out for fun after the first try? But, I'm guessing you have to take the heads off to transform them, and that would annoy me every time. I'm not saying that means Hasbro shouldn't have done it - I'm just a grumpy old man and I'm sure lots of collectors and kids will love it.

[numbat]

I think this is a similar issue to Ironhide and Ratchet, in that the main problem there is that that's how the legs look on the animation model.

No longer a problem on my MP Ironhide - my cat randomly bit his foot really hard so there is no 'moulded detail'.

Anyone want a cat?

[Knightdramon]

Masterforce is accepting Preorders for wave 2 in June. Kapow has sold out.

[Denyer]

Which UK retailers have Deluxe Groove?

Morg's got a limited further pre-order up;

http://masterforce.co.uk/product_info.p ... ts_id/2363

[Brendocon 2.0]

Who wants a cat? The Masterpiece audience, according to Takara!

(see that? ****ing seamless)

MP Cheetor basically confirmed
https://twitter.com/genteiichiba/status ... 00?lang=en

Would take it as a given that we'll get a Tigatron reworking at some point, and probably Shadow Panther or whatever they called the Ravage version of the original toy.

[numbat]

That is spooky.

[Knightdramon]

Looking forward to the reveal next month.

I am wondering what the chances of an entire Maximal S1 cast are in MP form; they are already down to do 2, Rattrap is rumoured, Tigatron can be heavily remoulded...that leaves 3 to go.

Cheetor should be carbot-priced.

[Warcry]

I doubt they'll do them all in one go, but if Primal and Cheetor sell as well as the G1 stuff has been, I'm sure they'll do more. Maybe a couple per year, something like that. Personally I hope they dip into the Predacon side of things too, but if I was a betting man I'd say that only Megatron and Waspinator have much chance of getting made while there's still Maximals to go. I hope I'm wrong, but a lack of bad guys has always been an issue in the Takara-led lines.

[Brendocon 2.0]

I'm sure I've seen Takara using the Generations versions of Rhinox and Rattrap in the promo stuff for Primal, so I wouldn't be surprised if Dinobot's the next up, as that'll round the group out across two lines.

Similarly I'd think BW Megatron's a dead cert, but probably not Waspinator as we've got a Gens version of him.

But then I'm occasionally wrong. I just think it's far more likely they'll prioritise the unrepresented characters first.

[Knightdramon]

Oh yes I definitely mean spreading them out---best case scenario it would take over two years to make that team a reality.

For Predacons I agree---very best case scenario would be Megatron, Waspinator and maybe Blackarachnia.

The japanese audience has a tendency to favour heroes instead of villains across the toylines, and the current MP line supports that.

Would not count anybody with a Generations version out. I still remember MP01L [last stand] being the last chance you'll have to buy this mould, get it now...and a month or so after it's release, BAM, MP10 announced.

If anything, a last ditch option to get a quick repaint out of a mould before announcing a relatively superior version is indeed a staple these days.

[Skyquake87]

Yay Beast Wars!




That is all