ALL THINGS TRANSFORMERS!!!!

[BurningRage]

Ordered Ultimetal Optimus Prime.

 

[soundwave]

Really liking those Windcharger & Tailgate pics, shall have both of those me thinks.

Red Bumble?
No thanks again another reason Takara are dropping in my expectations.
Please don't get me wrong I am pleased they are doing what they are doing but when 3P's are doing what they are, then it makes Takara's approach seem more than a little lackluster & like they have lost interest somewhat so are happy to just pump out a few recolours with a new figure here & there to keep us involved.

As it stand though after Tracks they aren't getting any of my money until Ironhide is in hand as I'm still not 100% on him
All recolours are happily skipped in favour of the 3P stuff.

I still feel Takara are relevant...just far less than they were before.

Neil

 

[Spanbauer]

Ironhide's looking fantastic. That mid-transformation pic is mind-boggling.

 

[thecorsair]

Thanks for the explanation thecorsair, I never knew there was a red version of Bumblebee That does make it a bit less random than it seemed to me at first but I'll still be skipping this release.

No problem, glad to help!

Here's the Bumblebee variants from the pre-Transformers Diaclone/Micro Change era, through to G1 & G2 and the key chain variants that were released in the modern era,


One of the blue ones was released as a Botcon 2002 Exclusive called Glyph, who was a fembot.

There was also a white e-hobby Exclusive that was a Decepticon named Bug Bite.

There's also a different G1 version with a cartoon accurate face that came in the Encore Minibots set that was released a few years ago and various KO's including a green one.

It's a dream mold for Takara as they can milk it for years.

soundwave,
Here's another pic of Windcharger & Tailgate,


I won't shut the door on Takara completely but the number of characters I'm after that they could tempt me with is getting smaller all the time as the majority are being done to an acceptable standard elsewhere.

 

[karamazov80]

So is Ironhide going to go up for sale soon or what??? Seems like previous figures have gone up when their silhouettes are shown.

 

[koolkollectibleskhai]

Ironhide's looking fantastic. That mid-transformation pic is mind-boggling.

The only thing I hate are the hip flaps. Just ruins the look of the torso area for me.

 

[soundwave]

soundwave,
Here's another pic of Windcharger & Tailgate,


I won't shut the door on Takara completely but the number of characters I'm after that they could tempt me with is getting smaller all the time as the majority are being done to an acceptable standard elsewhere.

Thanks for that man.
They are looking seriously awesome.

As you said I'm not ruling out Takara for future releases just I'm less excited when they make announcements & 3P's seem to cater much more for my needs now than Takara do.

The only thing I hate are the hip flaps. Just ruins the look of the torso area for me.

Exactly my problem, that gaping space is really putting me off him & the more I look at him the worse it is, shocking that with the skill they've shown on other figures they make such a glaring error with this one.

Neil

 

[MagpieMad]

Wow, coneheads announced now! At this rate my MP Transformers collection will be done in no time







They look pretty good, and they'll be a lot cheaper than Igear. Think I'll wait and see the new Make Toys seeker mould before buying though.

 

[Spanbauer]

They look pretty good, and they'll be a lot cheaper than Igear. Think I'll wait and see the new Make Toys seeker mould before buying though.

Those are some pretty shameless knockoffs of Takara/Hasbro's MP-11 mold.

 

[karamazov80]

Yeah, that's the same thing Igear did years back, more or less ripping off the MP-03 mold, with a couple of minor improvements.

 

[thecorsair]

Thanks for that man.
They are looking seriously awesome.

As you said I'm not ruling out Takara for future releases just I'm less excited when they make announcements & 3P's seem to cater much more for my needs now than Takara do.



Exactly my problem, that gaping space is really putting me off him & the more I look at him the worse it is, shocking that with the skill they've shown on other figures they make such a glaring error with this one.

Neil

The realistic alt mode was my initial concern for Windcharger but it looks excellent and the robot mode isn't too shabby either. We're only Gears and Cliffjumper away from a complete series 1 Minibot lineup

I think those two are more problematic than the others because their alt modes are very tricky. Cliffjumper was so Chibified it barely resembled a Porsche 924 and Gears resembled no real world truck in existence.

A realistic Porsche for Cliffjumper should look fine as we know they work now, I think the best approach for Gears is to do what Badcube did with Huffer and go for a hybrid of G1 toy and real world detailing.

Takara's recent character choices just don't give me the same buzz that I had during the run from MP10-21 and I'm not spending my money of stuff I don't like/want just to keep supporting the official line.

Magpie Mad,
Not a big Conehead fan myself but it's nice to see there's another option as the iGear ones are increasingly rare and expensive.

Whether the company got access to the actual MP11 molds or reverse engineered a Seeker they bought and made their own is irrelevant, there was a demand for MP Coneheads and they're getting it done instead of burying their heads in the sand.

Fair play to 'em.

 

[Spanbauer]

Yeah, that's the same thing Igear did years back, more or less ripping off the MP-03 mold, with a couple of minor improvements.

Which seems silly given that the MP-11 mold leaves a LOT of room for improvements.

 

[karamazov80]

I'm pretty dang satisfied with the 11, personally. But I don't doubt that it could be improved on.

 

[soundwave]

The realistic alt mode was my initial concern for Windcharger but it looks excellent and the robot mode isn't too shabby either. We're only Gears and Cliffjumper away from a complete series 1 Minibot lineup

I think those two are more problematic than the others because their alt modes are very tricky. Cliffjumper was so Chibified it barely resembled a Porsche 924 and Gears resembled no real world truck in existence.

A realistic Porsche for Cliffjumper should look fine as we know they work now, I think the best approach for Gears is to do what Badcube did with Huffer and go for a hybrid of G1 toy and real world detailing.

Takara's recent character choices just don't give me the same buzz that I had during the run from MP10-21 and I'm not spending my money of stuff I don't like/want just to keep supporting the official line.

That's my feeling entirely, I want to support them but won't just buy whatever they put out because I feel like I have too.

I seriously want a proper Gears, he was one of my fave minibots & I definitely feel he needs to be in the collection.
Still never got round to getting Brawn, hoping the re-issue Huffer does come too as his aftermarket price isn't worth entertaining now.

In other news Kapow Toys have just tweeted that Bluestreak (MP-18B) will be in stock tomorrow so I'll have mine some time next week now

Can't wait to have him

Neil

 

[thecorsair]

That's my feeling entirely, I want to support them but won't just buy whatever they put out because I feel like I have too.

I seriously want a proper Gears, he was one of my fave minibots & I definitely feel he needs to be in the collection.
Still never got round to getting Brawn, hoping the re-issue Huffer does come too as his aftermarket price isn't worth entertaining now.

In other news Kapow Toys have just tweeted that Bluestreak (MP-18B) will be in stock tomorrow so I'll have mine some time next week now

Can't wait to have him

Neil

With 3rd parties it feels like anything is possible, Fans Toys have already confirmed they're working on Omega Supreme. After that combiners, Metroplex and Trypticon don't seem out of the question.

With Takara, there's the odd suprise such as Star Saber or next year's Optimus Primal which're nice if you like those but I question why they're making those characters before certain other heavy hitters from the main G1 era.....MP10 is almost 4 years old now and still doesn't have an official Megatron that's scaled to it.

It doesn't matter to me, because I have Apollyon, but those that don't like that figure or that don't buy 3rd party figures at all deserve an option for their displays....it doesn't look like it's happening any time soon, even the "he tell me" rumors about Megatron V2 have dried up in recent months.

Gears was one of the first Minibots I had as a kid so there's lots of nostalgic appeal, I would like Badcube to make him first, maybe XTB as a second option as the reports about the Beachcomber test shot suggest they're improving their build quality.

Badcube get asked about the Huffer reissue a lot on their FB and their answer is always "It's coming in a few releases". They've hinted that more Minibots are in their plans but haven't yet revealed what's after Sunstreaker.

Ideally I'd like to see them do Gears/Swerve, Huffer 2.0/Pipes and then Cliffjumper/Hubcap.

With Swerve I'd like the option of an alternate IDW head and the drinks tray. The character was by far the only redeeming quality of what I read of More Than Meets The Eye.

Nice hear that blue Bluestreak is almost here although my feelings are somewhat mixed as it could be my last Takara Autobot.

 

[soundwave]

With 3rd parties it feels like anything is possible, Fans Toys have already confirmed they're working on Omega Supreme. After that combiners, Metroplex and Trypticon don't seem out of the question.

With Takara, there's the odd suprise such as Star Saber or next year's Optimus Primal which're nice if you like those but I question why they're making those characters before certain other heavy hitters from the main G1 era.....MP10 is almost 4 years old now and still doesn't have an official Megatron that's scaled to it.

It doesn't matter to me, because I have Apollyon, but those that don't like that figure or that don't buy 3rd party figures at all deserve an option for their displays....it doesn't look like it's happening any time soon, even the "he tell me" rumors about Megatron V2 have dried up in recent months.

Gears was one of the first Minibots I had as a kid so there's lots of nostalgic appeal, I would like Badcube to make him first, maybe XTB as a second option as the reports about the Beachcomber test shot suggest they're improving their build quality.

Badcube get asked about the Huffer reissue a lot on their FB and their answer is always "It's coming in a few releases". They've hinted that more Minibots are in their plans but haven't yet revealed what's after Sunstreaker.

Ideally I'd like to see them do Gears/Swerve, Huffer 2.0/Pipes and then Cliffjumper/Hubcap.

With Swerve I'd like the option of an alternate IDW head and the drinks tray. The character was by far the only redeeming quality of what I read of More Than Meets The Eye.

Nice hear that blue Bluestreak is almost here although my feelings are somewhat mixed as it could be my last Takara Autobot.

That's just it the 3P's are happy to have a go at anything where as Takara are much more selective & as shown lately more selective in the wrong areas instead of focusing on what the fans really want they seem to be trying to tell us this is what we want.

I seem to think Bumblebee was my first minibot (in fact even have been my first TF full stop) but I soon got more into Gears as my fave with Windcharger close behind.
I'd love to see Fans Toys or Badcube take him on.

Going to ask a question here guys...

Who is going for what Hound?

I'm really torn between the Fans Toys Willy & Maketoys Gundog.
Both look really good in the Proto's but not sure which I'm leaning towards more.

Was there a comparison pic somewhere with them both side by side?

Thanks in advance

Neil

 

[karamazov80]

I like the Fanstoys design better, but love that Maketoys are providing the two color options. I have Fanstoys on order, and will likely stick with that.

 

[dedguy]

On the subject of Seekers I'm really looking forward to see what MakeToys does.

 

[thecorsair]

That's just it the 3P's are happy to have a go at anything where as Takara are much more selective & as shown lately more selective in the wrong areas instead of focusing on what the fans really want they seem to be trying to tell us this is what we want.

I seem to think Bumblebee was my first minibot (in fact even have been my first TF full stop) but I soon got more into Gears as my fave with Windcharger close behind.
I'd love to see Fans Toys or Badcube take him on.

Going to ask a question here guys...

Who is going for what Hound?

I'm really torn between the Fans Toys Willy & Maketoys Gundog.
Both look really good in the Proto's but not sure which I'm leaning towards more.

Was there a comparison pic somewhere with them both side by side?

Thanks in advance

Neil

Here's a comparison of the grey prototypes,


FT Hound looks like a Shogo Hasui design, perfect aesthetic in both modes and some added G1 nostalgia in the form of rubber tyres, chrome detailing and some diecast bits. I don't expect anybody to improve on it.

They haven't shown a color prototype yet but I'm guessing they'll do the same options as Make Toys, I'll be going for the darker green of the G1 toy as I prefer that to the lighter green of the animation model.

The Make Toys one is alright but looks a bit too busy in terms of sculpted detailing and the forearm design looks a bit crappy.

The one on the far right is from TFC and I'm assuming it's based on some modern comic art as it's nowhere near MP style.

Make Toys have gotten a LOT closer to FT's standard with their Reflector, which might even be slightly better.

 

[GeneralZodLives]

FT Hound is freaking amazing.