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Skyquake87
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Post by Skyquake87 »

Generations 'Thrilling 30' Sky Byte

Having been suitably impressed by Rhinox, I'd thought I'd have a look at how the update of Sky Byte turned out. As there's no Beast Wars Preadcons in the line, this fella from RiD will have to do.

I'm not sure quite what I make of him. He seems an improvement, structurally, over the original toy, but he's very odd looking. You'd be forgiven for thinking that he's quite a bulky looking fellow, looking at pictures of him, but he's actually extremely skeletal. His legs and torso are good, but the shoulders are set far too back and this ends up making him look hunchbacked. The headsculpt is pretty ugly, mainly due to the mouth, with its orthodontists nightmare of jaggedy teeth.

What is good about him is he's much easier to handle, is better proportioned and isn't weighted down by his spinning claw gimmick. The right arm repeates the sin of the orginal toy by not having a wrist which it really could use. The fishy kibble on his back can be pretty much tucked out the way, but it does clash with arms most of the time when you're moving them about.

Transformation does pretty much the same as the original toy, but thanks to a lot of tabs, the alt mode is a lot more secure and the legs/ lower jaw aren't likely to flop away from the body of the shark mode.

The alt mode itself is fantastic...in the way it looks and its colours. You can't do anything with it except coo at how pretty it looks and waggle the mouth a bit.

I've come away from him thinking, yes it is an improvement, but there's just a couple of niggles that stop him being great. and it is due to that shoulder assembly.
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Tetsuro
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Post by Tetsuro »

Forgive me father, for I have sinned;

KO G1 Shockwave

Unlike every youtube review of this thing, mine doesn't have the floppy arms so the barrel doesn't sloop in gun mode, which is nice, but he still suffers the usual issue with the legs (loose right foot, left leg won't stay fully extended). Along with some minor faults, all of which I'm ultimately gonna overlook on the account of this being a KO, I knew what I was getting into.
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Brendocon 2.0
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Post by Brendocon 2.0 »

Yay MP Ratchet.

Refer to previous comments about Ironhide, except this time with exciting new joint tolerance and clip clearance issues, resulting in flecks of white plastic everywhere.

Some sloppy paint apps too, which obviously show up far more on white. Plus some chips/dings to the finish on the feet even before I started having to force things in order to transform him.
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numbat
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Post by numbat »

Brendocon 2.0 wrote:Plus some chips/dings to the finish on the feet even before I started having to force things in order to transform him.
My cat randomly attacked MP Ironhide, and now he has a small but irritating dent in his foot thanks to the cat's tooth. Cats. :rant:

New sale thread added with a range of Transformers including Masterpiece, Botcon, CHUG, RID, Movies etc.

Looking for MP-11T Thundercracker and MP-9 Rodimus v2 (Takara version with as few QC issues as possible).


Check out my new sale thread now!

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Knightdramon
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Post by Knightdramon »

I think Skyquake slowly but steadily sold me on Skybyte. Perhaps if one can be sourced for cheap at TFnation...

Read about the paint flakes on Ratchet at tfw as well. I've passed on him for now hoping that either Hasbro or takara will do a red helmet variety at some point. With better clearance, one can hope :lol:
Few stuff in the UK to trade/sell. Measly sales thread.
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Skyquake87
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Post by Skyquake87 »

Sky Byte's worth a punt if you can find him for £15 or less, certainly. I do like him, but he's just...odd, y'know. Not quite the improvement I was hoping for, but I can see myself playing with this a lot more than the original toy :)

NEXT : More lukewarm recommendations for toys I have bought without much thought. Stay tuned!
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numbat
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Post by numbat »

Knightdramon wrote:I think Skyquake slowly but steadily sold me on Skybyte. Perhaps if one can be sourced for cheap at TFnation...
Generations Skybyte was kicking about shops in Stirling a few weeks ago, reduced. DM me if you want me to pick one up for you if they're still around, and let me know your price limit (excluding postage).

Incidentally, I really like him too. But I absolutely love his character in RID (he's also interesting in IDW, but a bit crap...).

New sale thread added with a range of Transformers including Masterpiece, Botcon, CHUG, RID, Movies etc.

Looking for MP-11T Thundercracker and MP-9 Rodimus v2 (Takara version with as few QC issues as possible).


Check out my new sale thread now!

Also items on eBay.
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Ryan F
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Post by Ryan F »

Some more Botcon stuff!

Image

Image

I also have the Predacus Combiner and custom class Ratchet en route direct from the TFCC - this was an expensive month to be a Combiner War Whore.

By the way, my contact who got me these also sent me the Botcon Megatron and Airazor (which I have no interest in, as they are not CW moulds). They are on eBay at the moment (shipping from UK), just search for my username, which is discopilchard.
Transform And Roll-Out
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Available now from Telos Publishing
https://telos.co.uk/shop/cult-tv/transf ... -roll-out/
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Paul053
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Post by Paul053 »

I'm holding back very hard on not getting any (more recent) MP figures until there is a MP Jazz. Well, found a good deal on eBay for a MP Sideswipe for $39. The seller is from Hong Kong and claimed it's brand new and 100% authentic. So I decided to get it a try.

After over a week of wait, I got the package today. Still kind of fearing it would be a KO, I found some comparison pictures online and compared with mine. Yep, it's authentic. :clap:

Haven't got a chance to mess with it. I just hope this won't be a floodgate. :)
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inflatable dalek
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Post by inflatable dalek »

The Japanese repaint of Drift in his Decepticon colours!

Mainly because he was a lot cheaper than getting regular Drift (at the time of purchase anyway, no doubt thousands of cheap ones will now appear).

What has happened to me?

Still, a surprisingly fab toy, fun transformation and the various sword and guns combinations makes for a lot of fun variations.

The problem is, every time someone buys a Drif based toy, Shane McCarthy has a wank.

MP Ratchet!:

First experience with this mold, and not had chance for a huge fiddle so only first impressions so far:

Much better looking robot mode than I was expecting, and it's only the armpits rather than the expected hip panels that don't really work for me.

The chest transformation is odd though, I spent ten minutes trying to get things in place and failing (with the armpits not going in the right place at all) and then suddenly everything slides into place even though I didn't do anything different.
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
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Brendocon 2.0
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Post by Brendocon 2.0 »

inflatable dalek wrote:Drift
You disgust me.
The chest transformation is odd though, I spent ten minutes trying to get things in place and failing (with the armpits not going in the right place at all) and then suddenly everything slides into place even though I didn't do anything different.
I struggled with Ratchet's chest and I've already got Ironhide. Given the issues with joint tolerances in the legs and arms, I wouldn't be surprised if something's changed somewhere in the plastic thickness. I seem to remember Ironhide's all slotting together with no trouble at all.
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inflatable dalek
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Yeah, it was the sort of "Well he's staying in robot mode forever" frustration you (or at least I) get sometimes.

A shame as the transformation was otherwise actually a lot of fun.
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
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Knightdramon
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Post by Knightdramon »

So...

Unite Warriors Galvatronus: My first and sadly last CW figure.

He has a lot of good things going for him. The packaging is impressive, the figures are neatly arranged and it evokes memories of my childhood with similar combiner giftsets.

Each figure is very nicely painted and the character selection is nice. Roller and Thrust in particular are both stellar.

Breakdown is...standard, has nothing special going for him TF or articulation wise.

Cyclonus is not what I expected him to be [more...wooden than I though, despite all the joints] and Starscream does not hold together terribly well but looks good.

Roller is surprisingly solid and fun [a bit funny given some of the hatred Rook has generated for not being...a G1 bot] and probably the best of the bunch.

Thrust might be the second favourite, very solid, nicely painted [he has a lot of paint on].

The combined mode is nothing to write home about. He has a lot of joints but is not very stable, probably due to the lack of any ankle tilts.

So all in all I can't justify paying for 5 figures when I only like three. :down:
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numbat
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Post by numbat »

Knightdramon wrote:So...

Unite Warriors Galvatronus: My first and sadly last CW figure.
First and last?

Shame. I found the Stunticons to be great fun, despite their obvious flaws. I also really enjoy UW Devastator but he's really a bespoke figure given he doesn't follow the standard CW template. I'm very tempted by more CW figures for the fun factor...

...however 'more' would not include Galvatronus. I really really like that he exists. It's quite out there, and I have no idea why Takara decided to do this random gestalt when there are plenty of existing characters they could do instead. I really like the individual 'bots - especially evil zombie Roller. Indeed, I would buy several as stand alone figures if they sold them individually. As a set though, it's just too weird for me.

New sale thread added with a range of Transformers including Masterpiece, Botcon, CHUG, RID, Movies etc.

Looking for MP-11T Thundercracker and MP-9 Rodimus v2 (Takara version with as few QC issues as possible).


Check out my new sale thread now!

Also items on eBay.
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Denyer
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Post by Denyer »

I think the trick with CW is knowing when to stop -- not Hastak, as collectors. I like having got a couple of sets as the back row of a display, and having a small number of extras for specific characters or hell of it works. It's been a good staple line.
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Paul053
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Post by Paul053 »

numbat wrote:I found the Stunticons to be great fun, despite their obvious flaws.
I would say individually they are fun. Menasor? Meh
Denyer wrote:I think the trick with CW is knowing when to stop -- not Hastak, as collectors. I like having got a couple of sets as the back row of a display, and having a small number of extras for specific characters or hell of it works. It's been a good staple line.
Agree, I have CW Smokescreen and Sky Lynx and never bother finding other limbs to combine them. For me, they are just individual figures to fill the gap.
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Clay
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Post by Clay »

Knightdramon wrote:So...

Unite Warriors Galvatronus: My first and sadly last CW figure.
I might be interested. It'd be a minute before I can afford it, but if you're not in a rush...
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numbat
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Post by numbat »

Paul053 wrote:I would say individually they are fun. Menasor? Meh
Undoubtedly Menasor is a mess, but I find him to be an inordinate amount of fun.

:swirly:
Paul053 wrote:I have CW Smokescreen and Sky Lynx and never bother finding other limbs to combine them. For me, they are just individual figures to fill the gap.
I dunno... The combining gimmick and cost savings mean the individual figures are quite basic and have a lot of compromises. They are fun as individuals, but I think if they weren't also part of a gestalt I liked then I'd feel they were a bit crap for the price...

And that is why I still only have Menasor... But Bruticus and Computron both appeal.

New sale thread added with a range of Transformers including Masterpiece, Botcon, CHUG, RID, Movies etc.

Looking for MP-11T Thundercracker and MP-9 Rodimus v2 (Takara version with as few QC issues as possible).


Check out my new sale thread now!

Also items on eBay.
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Knightdramon
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Post by Knightdramon »

numbat wrote:First and last?

Shame. I found the Stunticons to be great fun, despite their obvious flaws. I also really enjoy UW Devastator but he's really a bespoke figure given he doesn't follow the standard CW template. I'm very tempted by more CW figures for the fun factor...

...however 'more' would not include Galvatronus. I really really like that he exists. It's quite out there, and I have no idea why Takara decided to do this random gestalt when there are plenty of existing characters they could do instead. I really like the individual 'bots - especially evil zombie Roller. Indeed, I would buy several as stand alone figures if they sold them individually. As a set though, it's just too weird for me.
It's a shame as Roller was/is a very good figure. I like it when Takara acknowledges there's more than G1 in their "collector" lines. MP Star Saber, United Skids, this UW set, MP Primal all have me hopeful that other lines might be given some attention in the future.

Don't get me wrong, it's a good and indeed very playable figure, but there are many shortcomings as a type of collectible that I'm after that he sadly didn't make the cut.
Clay wrote:I might be interested. It'd be a minute before I can afford it, but if you're not in a rush...
Ah damn, sorry, guy on a FB sales group bought him already.
Few stuff in the UK to trade/sell. Measly sales thread.
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Brendocon 2.0
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Post by Brendocon 2.0 »

Knightdramon wrote:Unite Warriors Galvatronus: My first and sadly last CW figure.
Genuinely curious as to why you've foregone all the previous sets but taken the plunge on this grab-bag of "oh, Takara, you so crazy".
Denyer wrote:I think the trick with CW is knowing when to stop -- not Hastak, as collectors. I like having got a couple of sets as the back row of a display, and having a small number of extras for specific characters or hell of it works. It's been a good staple line.
I think this applies to all lines, tbh. Accepting that completism isn't compulsory and just picking the designs that you like is the key to a far happier collecting experience.
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