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Zob's Thoughts on Age of Extinction Wave 2: Autobot Drift, Dinobot Slash, Lockdown, Strafe
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Zobovor
Sep 2, 2014, 12:00:18 AM9/2/14
to
Shockingly got some new product in at my OWN STORE of all places. (Maybe it was a mis-ship meant for another store.) Prices for the Generations Deluxe toys went back up to $14.96 today, but I snagged these at the Rollback price beforehand.
I don't know exactly why I'm still buying these toys. I guess I'm still committed to buying one each of the on-screen characters (don't own a Grimlock yet, though). Guess that means I'm almost done, since there are virtually no characters left to buy.
STRAFE
I've got Strafe in dino mode so I'll start there. He's really satisfyingly big for a Deluxe, with a large wingspan (over 13 inches) and some decent articulation and posing options. His twin tails are rubbery, like Rattrap's tail, but no wires inside so cannot be posed like Rattrap's. His wings can move in a wide variety of ways, his twin beaks can open generously wide, and he makes sense standing upright or leaning over. The only really bad things that can be said of his dino mode (besides the fact that he has two heads and therefore does not look like Swoop) is that his robot arms are pretty obviously tucked under his wings and his robot head is pretty obviously tucked between his dino heads. You can attach his swords to his wings, which looks silly, but most of the Dinobotz look silly with weapons attached.
Had I gotten this toy before viewing Age of Extinction I would have been more convinced than ever that Hasbro invented the transformations for these toys and that Strafe did not have a robot mode in the movie. My theory was wrong, as it turned out, but this toy *still* feels like Hasbro just made up a robot mode for the on-screen dino. The transformation for the toy is super simple, far moreso than I've come to expect for movie toys. He's kind of like G1 Divebomb, actually. Basically, the dino legs get a little taller and the wings fold up and the robot head pops up that's more or less it.
Strafe's actually mistransformed in the package, since he's wearing his dino legs in robot mode. The official robot configuration is to have the wings tucked in as much as possible, overlapping each other so they form a sort of cape, and the dino heads folded up and resting over each breast, but it's kind of a silly look, like the dino heads are watching Strafe's every move and secretly judging him. The robot is customizable to some degree, and I think he looks better with his wings spread and the dino heads over each shoulder like armor. He has two swords and a crossbow that shoots a ball-missile but cannot equip all three at once; there are options to store the swords under his wings. He's got the same medieval knight helmet design and the same pointy elf shoes as the other Dinobotz.
He's a little weirdly designed. His upper legs pivot inwards at an angle for robot mode and there's no way to straighten them. Also, his elbows are on a single-direction hinge and his fists cannot swivel with respect to his forearms, so there's no way for him to raise his crossbow and point it at a foe without holding it sideways. It's almost geewun-style limited.
Strafe isn't remarkable, but he also isn't terrible. He's arguably a cooler toy than G1 Swoop, who was extremely limited regarding what he could do in dino mode (basically nothing).
LOCKDOWN
Every time I see that picture of Lockdown's face on the Hasbro toy packaging, I can't help but think he looks like Beast Machines Optimus Primal.
So, the problem with Lockdown, as I see it, is that his CGI model really doesn't offer the vaguest hint of what he transforms into. Seriously, I don't see any car parts on him at all. The toy is, in some ways, extraordinarily cheatsy. You basically fold it inside-out. Even with this approach, the robot mode just isn't very good. It's hindered with visible wheels that aren't present for his on-screen design, and the general feel I get is that he's a humanoid RPM toy; i.e., flat panels with the details sculpted on top. His forearms, for example, are just the car doors with the suggestion of robot arms and hands tacked to the inside of the door. Just about the only thing they got right was his legs, from the knees down, and that's because these are the only parts that don't have vehicle chunks attached and can just stow away in vehicle mode.
So, let's look at the transformation more in-depth. He's basically a Panelmaster, with all these flat surfaces attached with hinges. As a robot, they're more or less collapsed and a lot of them end up on his back. His entire robot body is just a hollow box, with only the front headlight chunks adding some illusion that he's solid. So, G1 Hot Rod, in a lot of ways. He's only five inches in height, in robot mode, but it's possible to explode him into a ten-inch long mess of panels without disassembling him. He's that panely.
The car mode, though, is really sexy. It's nice. You can attach his gun to the roof, or (undocumented feature) you can hook it over his robot head to reenact the scene where his face transforms into his weapon. Ironically, I had trouble getting mine to lock down in place, but it's obvious how it's designed to be attached.
I can appreciate what they were trying to do, but there's just no saving this toy. It's a hopeless failure, and one of the most truly disappointing movie toys ever. As a G1 toy, this would have been phenomenal, but it's been a long time since then and the standards have changed. This isn't just some random background Decepticon, this was the film's primary villain. I feel like they just phoned this one in, and Lockdown deserves better.
DINOBOT SLASH
Slash is technically an off-screen character, so I'm breaking my own rules in buying him, but I'm not about to let arbitrary collecting guidelines stop me from purchasing a toy that looks really cool. (Ironically, he is nearly the same shade of teal as the TMNT toy also named Slash.)
Used to be that all velociraptor toys were naked and lizardy, but since the discovery that they were more birdlike and feathery, the public perception of the dinosaur has changed. Slash here is one of the first toys I've seen with the new feathery version of the raptor in mind. He's entirely mechanical, of course, with the feathers rendered as spikes and prongs and such.
He's made of lots of light green rubbery plastic, which may have been still hot from molding when he was stuffed into the package. Mine is slightly deformed with a few feathers curled into themselves or pointing in the wrong direction. I think a bath in hot water later will probably do the trick.
Good things about raptor mode: Highly poseable, jaw opens big and wide, no overt robot kibble in evidence. Bad things: His leg joints are a little wobbly and his legs don't support very many poses. His feathers get in the way of some poses, particularly the feather-swords hanging off his dino forearms.
Transforming him takes some cues from Classics Grimlock from 2006, wherein the dino head forms the robot feet, the dino legs form the robot arms, and the robot head is hidden underneath the tail. The "ribs" which hang under his belly split apart to form some really massive claw-like shoulder pads. Overall he is very dynamic and very imposing, though he does have quite a bit of junk hanging off him.
It bugs me a little that he walks around on the lower dino jaws like stilts, and it really, really bothers me the way those frills end up on the fronts of his upper legs for robot mode. They're just always in the way, no matter what. Despite this, in a lot of ways he's got a good, strong Dinobot Slug vibe goin' on, and that's a good thing. He's got massive, beefy forearms and serviceably cool feather hatchets. (I would call him Captain Feathersword but I don't know how many people would get the reference. Hell, even I don't get that reference.)
AUTOBOT DRIFT
Given the Transformers' origins as a Japanese toy, I'm surprised it took this long for them to come up with a toy that was overtly inspired by feudal samurai. I like the fact that they packaged him in robot mode carrying his swords to really play up the warrior aspect of the character.
Drift might be another character where they just designed the robot mode without bothering to figure out how it might actually transform into a vehicle. There's virtually no vehicle parts in evidence in Drift's CGI design, but I think they did a pretty good job of capturing the general look of the character while coming up with a toy that can actually transform.
His robot mode has some of the same problems as Lockdown... they had to put the vehicle parts *somewhere,* which clashes with his on-screen design (in the movie, he had wheels on the insides of his knees; on the toy, they're on the outsides of his shins). He's certainly chunkier than the movie character, that's for sure. Also, I was all set to complain about the extremely limited range of his knee joints, until I realized I didn't have his leg kibble swung back all the way and that his knee joints were being limited because of that. His elbows have friction ratchets in them, perhaps to help maintain poses where he holds his swords, and his wrists pivot just slightly, which also helps with convincing sword-toting poses.
I love how the front grill on his chest becomes the actual front grill for the car mode. That's so cool and unexpected. I love how there's a little flip-down piece on his backpack whose sole purpose is to lock his backpack in place so it doesn't wiggle around.
I think perhaps Drift was the one toy out of this batch I was looking forward to the most, and he's reasonably satisfying. (I would not be at all surprised to see a redeco of this toy named Decepticon Bludgeon.)
Zob
I don't know exactly why I'm still buying these toys. I guess I'm still committed to buying one each of the on-screen characters (don't own a Grimlock yet, though). Guess that means I'm almost done, since there are virtually no characters left to buy.
STRAFE
I've got Strafe in dino mode so I'll start there. He's really satisfyingly big for a Deluxe, with a large wingspan (over 13 inches) and some decent articulation and posing options. His twin tails are rubbery, like Rattrap's tail, but no wires inside so cannot be posed like Rattrap's. His wings can move in a wide variety of ways, his twin beaks can open generously wide, and he makes sense standing upright or leaning over. The only really bad things that can be said of his dino mode (besides the fact that he has two heads and therefore does not look like Swoop) is that his robot arms are pretty obviously tucked under his wings and his robot head is pretty obviously tucked between his dino heads. You can attach his swords to his wings, which looks silly, but most of the Dinobotz look silly with weapons attached.
Had I gotten this toy before viewing Age of Extinction I would have been more convinced than ever that Hasbro invented the transformations for these toys and that Strafe did not have a robot mode in the movie. My theory was wrong, as it turned out, but this toy *still* feels like Hasbro just made up a robot mode for the on-screen dino. The transformation for the toy is super simple, far moreso than I've come to expect for movie toys. He's kind of like G1 Divebomb, actually. Basically, the dino legs get a little taller and the wings fold up and the robot head pops up that's more or less it.
Strafe's actually mistransformed in the package, since he's wearing his dino legs in robot mode. The official robot configuration is to have the wings tucked in as much as possible, overlapping each other so they form a sort of cape, and the dino heads folded up and resting over each breast, but it's kind of a silly look, like the dino heads are watching Strafe's every move and secretly judging him. The robot is customizable to some degree, and I think he looks better with his wings spread and the dino heads over each shoulder like armor. He has two swords and a crossbow that shoots a ball-missile but cannot equip all three at once; there are options to store the swords under his wings. He's got the same medieval knight helmet design and the same pointy elf shoes as the other Dinobotz.
He's a little weirdly designed. His upper legs pivot inwards at an angle for robot mode and there's no way to straighten them. Also, his elbows are on a single-direction hinge and his fists cannot swivel with respect to his forearms, so there's no way for him to raise his crossbow and point it at a foe without holding it sideways. It's almost geewun-style limited.
Strafe isn't remarkable, but he also isn't terrible. He's arguably a cooler toy than G1 Swoop, who was extremely limited regarding what he could do in dino mode (basically nothing).
LOCKDOWN
Every time I see that picture of Lockdown's face on the Hasbro toy packaging, I can't help but think he looks like Beast Machines Optimus Primal.
So, the problem with Lockdown, as I see it, is that his CGI model really doesn't offer the vaguest hint of what he transforms into. Seriously, I don't see any car parts on him at all. The toy is, in some ways, extraordinarily cheatsy. You basically fold it inside-out. Even with this approach, the robot mode just isn't very good. It's hindered with visible wheels that aren't present for his on-screen design, and the general feel I get is that he's a humanoid RPM toy; i.e., flat panels with the details sculpted on top. His forearms, for example, are just the car doors with the suggestion of robot arms and hands tacked to the inside of the door. Just about the only thing they got right was his legs, from the knees down, and that's because these are the only parts that don't have vehicle chunks attached and can just stow away in vehicle mode.
So, let's look at the transformation more in-depth. He's basically a Panelmaster, with all these flat surfaces attached with hinges. As a robot, they're more or less collapsed and a lot of them end up on his back. His entire robot body is just a hollow box, with only the front headlight chunks adding some illusion that he's solid. So, G1 Hot Rod, in a lot of ways. He's only five inches in height, in robot mode, but it's possible to explode him into a ten-inch long mess of panels without disassembling him. He's that panely.
The car mode, though, is really sexy. It's nice. You can attach his gun to the roof, or (undocumented feature) you can hook it over his robot head to reenact the scene where his face transforms into his weapon. Ironically, I had trouble getting mine to lock down in place, but it's obvious how it's designed to be attached.
I can appreciate what they were trying to do, but there's just no saving this toy. It's a hopeless failure, and one of the most truly disappointing movie toys ever. As a G1 toy, this would have been phenomenal, but it's been a long time since then and the standards have changed. This isn't just some random background Decepticon, this was the film's primary villain. I feel like they just phoned this one in, and Lockdown deserves better.
DINOBOT SLASH
Slash is technically an off-screen character, so I'm breaking my own rules in buying him, but I'm not about to let arbitrary collecting guidelines stop me from purchasing a toy that looks really cool. (Ironically, he is nearly the same shade of teal as the TMNT toy also named Slash.)
Used to be that all velociraptor toys were naked and lizardy, but since the discovery that they were more birdlike and feathery, the public perception of the dinosaur has changed. Slash here is one of the first toys I've seen with the new feathery version of the raptor in mind. He's entirely mechanical, of course, with the feathers rendered as spikes and prongs and such.
He's made of lots of light green rubbery plastic, which may have been still hot from molding when he was stuffed into the package. Mine is slightly deformed with a few feathers curled into themselves or pointing in the wrong direction. I think a bath in hot water later will probably do the trick.
Good things about raptor mode: Highly poseable, jaw opens big and wide, no overt robot kibble in evidence. Bad things: His leg joints are a little wobbly and his legs don't support very many poses. His feathers get in the way of some poses, particularly the feather-swords hanging off his dino forearms.
Transforming him takes some cues from Classics Grimlock from 2006, wherein the dino head forms the robot feet, the dino legs form the robot arms, and the robot head is hidden underneath the tail. The "ribs" which hang under his belly split apart to form some really massive claw-like shoulder pads. Overall he is very dynamic and very imposing, though he does have quite a bit of junk hanging off him.
It bugs me a little that he walks around on the lower dino jaws like stilts, and it really, really bothers me the way those frills end up on the fronts of his upper legs for robot mode. They're just always in the way, no matter what. Despite this, in a lot of ways he's got a good, strong Dinobot Slug vibe goin' on, and that's a good thing. He's got massive, beefy forearms and serviceably cool feather hatchets. (I would call him Captain Feathersword but I don't know how many people would get the reference. Hell, even I don't get that reference.)
AUTOBOT DRIFT
Given the Transformers' origins as a Japanese toy, I'm surprised it took this long for them to come up with a toy that was overtly inspired by feudal samurai. I like the fact that they packaged him in robot mode carrying his swords to really play up the warrior aspect of the character.
Drift might be another character where they just designed the robot mode without bothering to figure out how it might actually transform into a vehicle. There's virtually no vehicle parts in evidence in Drift's CGI design, but I think they did a pretty good job of capturing the general look of the character while coming up with a toy that can actually transform.
His robot mode has some of the same problems as Lockdown... they had to put the vehicle parts *somewhere,* which clashes with his on-screen design (in the movie, he had wheels on the insides of his knees; on the toy, they're on the outsides of his shins). He's certainly chunkier than the movie character, that's for sure. Also, I was all set to complain about the extremely limited range of his knee joints, until I realized I didn't have his leg kibble swung back all the way and that his knee joints were being limited because of that. His elbows have friction ratchets in them, perhaps to help maintain poses where he holds his swords, and his wrists pivot just slightly, which also helps with convincing sword-toting poses.
I love how the front grill on his chest becomes the actual front grill for the car mode. That's so cool and unexpected. I love how there's a little flip-down piece on his backpack whose sole purpose is to lock his backpack in place so it doesn't wiggle around.
I think perhaps Drift was the one toy out of this batch I was looking forward to the most, and he's reasonably satisfying. (I would not be at all surprised to see a redeco of this toy named Decepticon Bludgeon.)
Zob
Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.
Sep 2, 2014, 1:52:38 AM9/2/14
to
On Monday, September 1, 2014 11:00:18 PM UTC-5, Zobovor wrote:
> Given the Transformers' origins as a Japanese toy, I'm surprised it took this long for them to come up with a toy that was overtly inspired by feudal samurai.
>
>
snip
> Given the Transformers' origins as a Japanese toy, I'm surprised it took this long for them to come up with a toy that was overtly inspired by feudal samurai.
>
>
>
> (I would not be at all surprised to see a redeco of this toy named Decepticon Bludgeon.)
>
>
>
>
>
> Zob
Apparently have mostly the same feelings about the rest of the toys. I still don't know if I want to bother with barrel-chested Drift or not.
gustavowombat
Sep 3, 2014, 1:53:35 AM9/3/14
to
Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
> Shockingly got some new product in at my OWN STORE of all places. (Maybe
> it was a mis-ship meant for another store.) Prices for the Generations
> Deluxe toys went back up to $14.96 today, but I snagged these at the
> Rollback price beforehand.
Aha! Grab them before the customers!
> Shockingly got some new product in at my OWN STORE of all places. (Maybe
> it was a mis-ship meant for another store.) Prices for the Generations
> Deluxe toys went back up to $14.96 today, but I snagged these at the
> Rollback price beforehand.
> I don't know exactly why I'm still buying these toys. I guess I'm still
> committed to buying one each of the on-screen characters (don't own a
> Grimlock yet, though). Guess that means I'm almost done, since there are
> virtually no characters left to buy.
line, like DOTM, which would then linger for a year or so, stinking up the
place.
> STRAFE
it.
>
> Strafe's actually mistransformed in the package, since he's wearing his
> dino legs in robot mode. The official robot configuration is to have the
> wings tucked in as much as possible, overlapping each other so they form
> a sort of cape, and the dino heads folded up and resting over each
> breast, but it's kind of a silly look, like the dino heads are watching
> Strafe's every move and secretly judging him. The robot is customizable
> to some degree, and I think he looks better with his wings spread and the
> dino heads over each shoulder like armor.
I haven't found any configuration that actually looks good. The only really
>
> Strafe's actually mistransformed in the package, since he's wearing his
> dino legs in robot mode. The official robot configuration is to have the
> wings tucked in as much as possible, overlapping each other so they form
> a sort of cape, and the dino heads folded up and resting over each
> breast, but it's kind of a silly look, like the dino heads are watching
> Strafe's every move and secretly judging him. The robot is customizable
> to some degree, and I think he looks better with his wings spread and the
> dino heads over each shoulder like armor.
good Pterosaur I think we ever got was TF:Animated's Swoop. TM Terrorsaur
dodged the whole "where do the wings go?" Problem by making them weapons,
which seems like a cop out, but might be the second best.
> LOCKDOWN
>
> Every time I see that picture of Lockdown's face on the Hasbro toy
> packaging, I can't help but think he looks like Beast Machines Optimus Primal.
> DINOBOT SLASH
>
> Slash is technically an off-screen character, so I'm breaking my own
> rules in buying him, but I'm not about to let arbitrary collecting
> guidelines stop me from purchasing a toy that looks really cool.
> (Ironically, he is nearly the same shade of teal as the TMNT toy also named Slash.)
etc.
> It bugs me a little that he walks around on the lower dino jaws like
> stilts, and it really, really bothers me the way those frills end up on
> the fronts of his upper legs for robot mode. They're just always in the
> way, no matter what.
> AUTOBOT DRIFT
>
> Given the Transformers' origins as a Japanese toy, I'm surprised it took
> this long for them to come up with a toy that was overtly inspired by
> feudal samurai. I like the fact that they packaged him in robot mode
> carrying his swords to really play up the warrior aspect of the character.
> Drift might be another character where they just designed the robot mode
> without bothering to figure out how it might actually transform into a
> vehicle. There's virtually no vehicle parts in evidence in Drift's CGI
> design, but I think they did a pretty good job of capturing the general
> look of the character while coming up with a toy that can actually transform.
> I love how the front grill on his chest becomes the actual front grill
> for the car mode. That's so cool and unexpected. I love how there's a
> little flip-down piece on his backpack whose sole purpose is to lock his
> backpack in place so it doesn't wiggle around.
Drift ends up being a reasonably good toy. I'm not crazy about the
> for the car mode. That's so cool and unexpected. I love how there's a
> little flip-down piece on his backpack whose sole purpose is to lock his
> backpack in place so it doesn't wiggle around.
character (he's a walking, talking ethnic stereotype, just not as negative
as the Negrobot Twins), and the head sculpt is weird (but accurate), but
the toy itself is quite nice.
> I think perhaps Drift was the one toy out of this batch I was looking
> forward to the most, and he's reasonably satisfying. (I would not be at
> all surprised to see a redeco of this toy named Decepticon Bludgeon.)
might be another case of homaging a much better toy which just makes
everyone sad.
Fine, give him guns and make him into Blurr.
Zobovor
Sep 3, 2014, 2:16:46 AM9/3/14
to
On Tuesday, September 2, 2014 11:53:35 PM UTC-6, nor...@googlegroups.com wrote:
> Aha! Grab them before the customers!
Now, now. There were two of each toy in a case of eight. I left one each for somebody else to buy. And, really, I manage a damn toy department. There had better be a few perks here and there. (Ask me who helped me do the department reset last week. No, go ahead, ask me. I'll tell you who. NOBODY. That's right, I did the entire department on my own. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but the labor forecast was something like 78 hours' worth of work, nearly two 40-hour work weeks, and I got it done in eight days.)
> Aha! Grab them before the customers!
> Are there more things scheduled? I sort of assumed this would be a small
> line, like DOTM, which would then linger for a year or so, stinking up the
> place.
> I haven't found any configuration that actually looks good. The only really
> good Pterosaur I think we ever got was TF:Animated's Swoop.
> I think G1 Galvatron has some elements.
> Fine, give him guns and make him into Blurr.
Zob
Zobovor
Sep 3, 2014, 2:21:12 AM9/3/14
to
On Monday, September 1, 2014 11:52:38 PM UTC-6, Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People. wrote:
> These 2 sentences kind of contradict each other.
I see no contradiction. Pretender shells don't transform into anything.
> These 2 sentences kind of contradict each other.
Zob
Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.
Sep 3, 2014, 7:03:44 PM9/3/14
to
Zobovor
Sep 3, 2014, 8:28:34 PM9/3/14
to
On Wednesday, September 3, 2014 5:03:44 PM UTC-6, Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People. wrote:
> BludgeonVoyager.jpg
Okay, fair enough. Drift clearly isn't the first samurai Transformer, but it's still a comparative rarity. There are so many toys whose helmet designs seem to take inspiration from Roman soldiers or motorcycle cops or Boba Fett, but very few samurai. Which seems weird to me.
Zob
> BludgeonVoyager.jpg
Okay, fair enough. Drift clearly isn't the first samurai Transformer, but it's still a comparative rarity. There are so many toys whose helmet designs seem to take inspiration from Roman soldiers or motorcycle cops or Boba Fett, but very few samurai. Which seems weird to me.
Zob
Shin Hibiki
Sep 4, 2014, 1:16:07 AM9/4/14
to
Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
>Aside from Stinger, I can't really think of anybody else we really need.
That little Legion-class figure is proving ridiculously hard
>Aside from Stinger, I can't really think of anybody else we really need.
to find. While traveling out of town this past weekend, I saw the
other three (BB, OP, Grim) at various locations, but Stinger was
consistently sold out. I opted not to buy the one in the three-pack.
- Shin Hibiki
----
The race ain't over yet, baby
It's only just begun
They thought they had it won, baby
But soon we'll have 'em on the run
Cappeca
Sep 4, 2014, 9:36:03 AM9/4/14
to
Em quarta-feira, 3 de setembro de 2014 21h28min34s UTC-3, Zobovor escreveu:
>
> > BludgeonVoyager.jpg
>
> Okay, fair enough. Drift clearly isn't the first samurai Transformer, but it's still a comparative rarity. There are so many toys whose helmet designs seem to take inspiration from Roman soldiers or motorcycle cops or Boba Fett, but very few samurai. Which seems weird to me.
>
I can only think of Bludgeon and Black Zarak. Galvatron may even be a stretch, but I can see the similarities in the animation model as well (especially when they're overdone like some popular renditions (Studio Ox maybe?)). Recently the Transformers GO! line had a pretty obvious samurai thing going on, visually and storywise.
>
> > BludgeonVoyager.jpg
>
> Okay, fair enough. Drift clearly isn't the first samurai Transformer, but it's still a comparative rarity. There are so many toys whose helmet designs seem to take inspiration from Roman soldiers or motorcycle cops or Boba Fett, but very few samurai. Which seems weird to me.
>
Zobovor
Sep 8, 2014, 9:08:15 PM9/8/14
to
On Wednesday, September 3, 2014 11:16:07 PM UTC-6, Shin Hibiki wrote:
> That little Legion-class figure is proving ridiculously hard
> to find. While traveling out of town this past weekend, I saw the
> other three (BB, OP, Grim) at various locations, but Stinger was
> consistently sold out.
Do you still need him? My store has, like, four of them.
> That little Legion-class figure is proving ridiculously hard
> to find. While traveling out of town this past weekend, I saw the
> other three (BB, OP, Grim) at various locations, but Stinger was
> consistently sold out.
Zob
gustavowombat
Sep 9, 2014, 7:39:38 PM9/9/14
to
Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
> LOCKDOWN
>
> Every time I see that picture of Lockdown's face on the Hasbro toy
> packaging, I can't help but think he looks like Beast Machines Optimus Primal.
Lamborghini, not monkey!
> LOCKDOWN
>
> Every time I see that picture of Lockdown's face on the Hasbro toy
> packaging, I can't help but think he looks like Beast Machines Optimus Primal.
> So, the problem with Lockdown, as I see it, is that his CGI model really
> doesn't offer the vaguest hint of what he transforms into. Seriously, I
> don't see any car parts on him at all. The toy is, in some ways,
> extraordinarily cheatsy. You basically fold it inside-out. Even with
> this approach, the robot mode just isn't very good. It's hindered with
> visible wheels that aren't present for his on-screen design, and the
> general feel I get is that he's a humanoid RPM toy; i.e., flat panels
> with the details sculpted on top. His forearms, for example, are just
> the car doors with the suggestion of robot arms and hands tacked to the
> inside of the door. Just about the only thing they got right was his
> legs, from the knees down, and that's because these are the only parts
> that don't have vehicle chunks attached and can just stow away in vehicle mode.
not creating plausible transformations, rather than blaming the toys for
not matching the movies. It's really kind of half-assed that the character
models are so far from plausible.
> So, let's look at the transformation more in-depth. He's basically a
> Panelmaster, with all these flat surfaces attached with hinges. As a
> robot, they're more or less collapsed and a lot of them end up on his
> back. His entire robot body is just a hollow box, with only the front
> headlight chunks adding some illusion that he's solid. So, G1 Hot Rod,
> in a lot of ways. He's only five inches in height, in robot mode, but
> it's possible to explode him into a ten-inch long mess of panels without
> disassembling him. He's that panely.
from. Hot Rod was a good solid toy with every part used in both modes.
But Lockdown is just a big mess of panels.
> The car mode, though, is really sexy. It's nice. You can attach his gun
> to the roof, or (undocumented feature) you can hook it over his robot
> head to reenact the scene where his face transforms into his weapon.
> Ironically, I had trouble getting mine to lock down in place, but it's
> obvious how it's designed to be attached.
think I could forgive this toy all of its flaws if it had side windows.
There is also orange paint on the inside of his wheel wells -- brake pads,
maybe? -- which just seems like a paint operation that could have been put
to better use elsewhere.
> I can appreciate what they were trying to do, but there's just no saving
> this toy. It's a hopeless failure, and one of the most truly
> disappointing movie toys ever. As a G1 toy, this would have been
> phenomenal, but it's been a long time since then and the standards have
> changed. This isn't just some random background Decepticon, this was the
> film's primary villain. I feel like they just phoned this one in, and
> Lockdown deserves better.
(not great, and not matching the cgi model, but decent) and he has a
reasonably straightforward and unique transformation. I mostly like it.
He has none of the grandeur that I would expect for the main villain, but
it is a reasonably ok mold. He would have made a fine Third Decepticon On
The Right.
I could probably made a list of more disappointing movie toys, but that
doesnt seem like a fun use of my time. Devastator. 2007 Leader Megatron.
2007 Voyager Megatron. 2007 Legends Megatron. ROTF Leader Megatron. ROTF
voyager Megatron, ROTF Dead End. Human Alliance Leadfoot. Big Fucking
Bumblebee... See, not fun.
Gustavo
Zobovor
Sep 9, 2014, 9:25:00 PM9/9/14
to
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 5:39:38 PM UTC-6, nor...@googlegroups.com wrote:
> Since the movies are tied to a toyline, I think I will blame the movies for
> not creating plausible transformations, rather than blaming the toys for
> not matching the movies. It's really kind of half-assed that the character
> models are so far from plausible.
I have a theory that the guys who created the original, plausible transformations didn't work on Age of Extinction. That's why we got Dinobotz with such simple transformations, that's why Galvatron and Stinger are so immensely cheatsy, and that's why we got a very slightly tweaked version of Optimus Prime (so they could use most of the work that the other guys had previously put into him).
> Since the movies are tied to a toyline, I think I will blame the movies for
> not creating plausible transformations, rather than blaming the toys for
> not matching the movies. It's really kind of half-assed that the character
> models are so far from plausible.
I could be totally off on this one, but I don't think so. Movie characters like Jazz or Ironhide or Long Haul have obvious, visible vehicle parts on them and there's a certain logic to the way they're built. Lockdown does sort of follow the general aesthetic of the previous movie characters, but there are no vehicle parts in evidence. Drift is just a robot samurai with a car grill on his chest. He doesn't even look like he's from the same movie.
> Hot Rod wasn't really a Panelmaster. Not sure where you're getting that
> from. Hot Rod was a good solid toy with every part used in both modes.
> I could probably made a list of more disappointing movie toys, but that
> doesnt seem like a fun use of my time. Devastator.
> ROTF Leader Megatron.
I will admit to being a little disappointed in this one, especially considering the amount of money I paid for him. $44, I think? That's, like, five M.O.U.S.E.R. 7-packs. (I don't even know how many M.O.U.S.E.R.S. I own now, but I'm sure whatever the number is, it's not healthy.)
> Big Fucking Bumblebee.
I own this one but I never opened it. It just seems so much easier to store in its box than as a loose toy. I always pictured myself finally opening it one day, but at this point, maybe not. (I could sell it for $100ish, it looks like. Wow, that's 11 more M.O.U.S.E.R. 7-packs. Yes, this is how I think.)
Zob
Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.
Sep 11, 2014, 11:05:35 AM9/11/14
to
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 8:25:00 PM UTC-5, Zobovor wrote:
> On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 5:39:38 PM UTC-6, nor...@googlegroups.com wrote:
> > Since the movies are tied to a toyline, I think I will blame the movies for
> > not creating plausible transformations, rather than blaming the toys for
> > not matching the movies. It's really kind of half-assed that the character
> > models are so far from plausible.
>
> I have a theory that the guys who created the original, plausible transformations didn't work on Age of Extinction. That's why we got Dinobotz with such simple transformations, that's why Galvatron and Stinger are so immensely cheatsy, and that's why we got a very slightly tweaked version of Optimus Prime (so they could use most of the work that the other guys had previously put into him).
>
I think the writers told the design teams to find a car, make it a dark color, make a robot, make it a dark color, and we have a villain. I don't see any evidence of helicopter parts on Drift, we get nothing but a single car part.
> On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 5:39:38 PM UTC-6, nor...@googlegroups.com wrote:
> > Since the movies are tied to a toyline, I think I will blame the movies for
> > not creating plausible transformations, rather than blaming the toys for
> > not matching the movies. It's really kind of half-assed that the character
> > models are so far from plausible.
>
> I have a theory that the guys who created the original, plausible transformations didn't work on Age of Extinction. That's why we got Dinobotz with such simple transformations, that's why Galvatron and Stinger are so immensely cheatsy, and that's why we got a very slightly tweaked version of Optimus Prime (so they could use most of the work that the other guys had previously put into him).
>
>
> I could be totally off on this one, but I don't think so. Movie characters like Jazz or Ironhide or Long Haul have obvious, visible vehicle parts on them and there's a certain logic to the way they're built. Lockdown does sort of follow the general aesthetic of the previous movie characters, but there are no vehicle parts in evidence. Drift is just a robot samurai with a car grill on his chest. He doesn't even look like he's from the same movie.
>
>
> > Hot Rod wasn't really a Panelmaster. Not sure where you're getting that
>
> > from. Hot Rod was a good solid toy with every part used in both modes.
>
> Hot Rod's chest is empty in robot mode. When you look at him from the side, he's totally hollow. His head is on one panel and the front of his chest is another panel. Then there's the rotaty panel that is his pelvis.
>
>
> > I could probably made a list of more disappointing movie toys, but that
> > doesnt seem like a fun use of my time. Devastator.
>
> You're crazy. Devastator was a serviceably cool toy.
> > Big Fucking Bumblebee.
>
> I own this one but I never opened it. It just seems so much easier to store in its box than as a loose toy. I always pictured myself finally opening it one day, but at this point, maybe not. (I could sell it for $100ish, it looks like. Wow, that's 11 more M.O.U.S.E.R. 7-packs. Yes, this is how I think.)
>
>
>
>
> Zob
>>ROTF Dead End
ROTF Dead end was just fine, in fact I rate it slightly above Lockdown. it hadd a complicated enough while still easy to do transformation, it used car parts in both modes, it looked like a car.
ROTF Scavenger was terrible. Couldn't even bother to make the shovels look sort of hands-ish.
Shin Hibiki
Sep 12, 2014, 12:24:47 AM9/12/14
to
Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
>> That little Legion-class figure is proving ridiculously hard
>> to find. While traveling out of town this past weekend, I saw the
>> other three (BB, OP, Grim) at various locations, but Stinger was
>> consistently sold out.
>
>Do you still need him? My store has, like, four of them.
Thanks, but no. As usual, I got tired of waiting around for
>> That little Legion-class figure is proving ridiculously hard
>> to find. While traveling out of town this past weekend, I saw the
>> other three (BB, OP, Grim) at various locations, but Stinger was
>> consistently sold out.
>
>Do you still need him? My store has, like, four of them.
one, ordered one from eBay, and then finally saw some in-store about
two days later. :/ However, if I hadn't ordered one, I would never
have seen any in the store, and somehow, neither would you. It's
quantum physics or something. :P
Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.
Sep 12, 2014, 2:07:05 AM9/12/14
to
On Thursday, September 11, 2014 11:24:47 PM UTC-5, Shin Hibiki wrote:
> Thanks, but no. As usual, I got tired of waiting around for
> one, ordered one from eBay, and then finally saw some in-store about
> two days later. :/ However, if I hadn't ordered one, I would never
> have seen any in the store, and somehow, neither would you. It's
> quantum physics or something. :P
>
> - Shin Hibiki
I think the same thing is happening here with Voyager Hound, as soon as I order one they will return to stores. None here for over 2 months now.
> Thanks, but no. As usual, I got tired of waiting around for
> one, ordered one from eBay, and then finally saw some in-store about
> two days later. :/ However, if I hadn't ordered one, I would never
> have seen any in the store, and somehow, neither would you. It's
> quantum physics or something. :P
>
> - Shin Hibiki
Shin Hibiki
Sep 13, 2014, 1:35:40 AM9/13/14
to
"Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People." <Ob1k...@att.net> wrote:
>I think the same thing is happening here with Voyager Hound, as soon as I order one they will return to stores. None here for over 2 months now.
Yep. Actually, I have never seen Hound or Galvatron in a
>I think the same thing is happening here with Voyager Hound, as soon as I order one they will return to stores. None here for over 2 months now.
store. However, given the excess of Voyager OP and Grim on the
shelves around here, it's not hard to understand why.
- Shin Hibiki, has gotten nearly every AoE figure through HTS
Neo Thunder
Sep 13, 2014, 4:33:04 PM9/13/14
to
Shin Hibiki wrote:
> Yep. Actually, I have never seen Hound or Galvatron in a
> store. However, given the excess of Voyager OP and Grim on the
> shelves around here, it's not hard to understand why.
Hound is a bit of a shelf warmer where I live. I've seen several
> Yep. Actually, I have never seen Hound or Galvatron in a
> store. However, given the excess of Voyager OP and Grim on the
> shelves around here, it's not hard to understand why.
Galvatrons too but he's not quite as common.
t.k.
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