Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Gustavo mutters about Fansproject Insecticons
16 views
Skip to first unread message
Gustavo Wombat
Dec 30, 2011, 5:03:15 AM12/30/11
to
While having a traditional Jewish Christmas of Chinese food, I noticed
that the import shop in the International District (Seattle is too
multicultural to have a Chinatown) was open, so clearly I needed
Devastator. Alas, they did not have Devastator, but they did have all
three of the Fansproject Causality Insecticons.
I’ve bought a few Fansproject toys in the past -- armor for my Hot Rod
and my Nemesis Prime, and Warbot Defender. I quite liked the armors,
and Warbot Defender had a lot of interesting bits, even if it didn’t
work as a whole.
And, I always loved the Insecticons. Part of it was that they were
effectively a different faction in the G1 cartoon -- nominally
Decepticons, but not part of Megatron’s command (until the Movie, at
least). And they were color coordinated. I’m a sucker for color
coordinated teams, and the black, purple, yellow and silver of the
Insecticons is quite striking.
The Insecticons were some of the first toys I bought off eBay, when I
started getting into Transformers again. And, I have the nice new
Hasbro reissues, which are pretty nice.
Hasbro has not, however, seen fit to give us any Insecticons in the
various nostalgia lines we’ve been getting since Classics (with the
exception of cute little Robot Heroes versions!). I understand that
the Insecticons aren’t as iconic as some of the other characters they
have updated, but now that they are getting to Skullgrin and
Thunderwing, they really should go back to S1-2 and do some
Insecticons and Dinobots. Combaticons too, I suppose, but non-
combining Combaticons might be disappointing, and they don’t seem to
have the knack for combiners any more.
But, lacking official updates, the third parties have come through for
us.
All of them are packaged in robot mode, in boxes that are
significantly larger than they need to be. I’m reminded of the
packaging of some of the Japanese import deluxes from the BW era (when
did they switch over to blister cards? There were some United and
Animated toys on blister cards...). The Fansproject boxes are not as
nice as the Japanese boxes were, but they give a bit of volume to the
purchase, and make it slightly easier to justify the expense at the
moment. Paying over $50 for a deluxe on a blister card would have been
hard.
There are bios for the three of them on included cards, as well as
blurbs that were apparently on the Fansproject website, but can only
be found quoted elsewhere now.
I don’t envy the person who has to write the bios for these toys -- no
one, but no one, is buying these toys for the characters they created.
The bios and the story behind them are an exercise in futility. So,
obviously, we need to cover them.
First, the website blurbs:
“A wounded outer space warrior, Thundershred was recovered and
converted into his current form by the powerful Skycrow. Learning the
ancient art of Ninjutsu and the philosophy of Godai, he has harnessed
his power of control over the element "Sky". Using his refined skills
and weaponry, Thundershred has vowed to seek revenge on all who have
wronged him.”
“Descending from outer space, Stormbomb was recovered and converted
into his current form by the powerful Skycrow. Learning the ancient
art of Ninjutsu and the philosophy of Godai, he has harnessed his
power of control over the element "Wind". Creating havoc everywhere he
goes, Stormbomb uses his ability to create flash storms and special
elemental aerial attacks such as whirlwinds to over power his
opponents. Like his brothers, he is stealthy and can attack when least
expected to catch his enemies in his wrath before they can react.”
“The quickest of his brothers, Backfiery was recovered and converted
by the powerful Skycrow. Like his brothers, Thundershred and
Stormbomb, he acquired the art of Ninjutsu and adopted the philosophy
of Godai to harness the power of "Fire". With his speed, weaponry and
ability to bring the heat to any battle, Backfiery poses a serious
threat to all of his enemies. Driven also by revenge, Backfiery has a
fiery temper that makes him unpredictable and highly volatile - an
adversary that can really catch his opposition off-guard.”
I assume that Skycrow is Crow, from the Satellite of Love in Mystery
Science Theater 3000. Either that, or some kind of Unicron standin.
One might question why Skycrow would take wounded warriors in outer
space, and then mold and shape them into homages to the Insecticons.
It’s a mystery that we will probably never have a good answer to.
Perhaps Skycrow just likes the Transformers. Our wounded warriors from
outer space might have been rebuilt into Beau, Luke and Daisy Duke if
Skycrow were more of a “Dukes of Hazard” fan.
And then, there are the bio cards themselves:
* * * * * Thundershred * * * * *
Shred-125 Data Entry #103
Today I was Reborn,
After months of training, We passed the last of the tests given by
MASTER. He looked so pleased. he gave us new identities, along with
the power to control the basic elements. Master bestowed upon me the
ability to control lightning and thunder, and gave me the name
“ThunderShred”. we were now ready to execute the last part of the
mission given by our Master.
Yes, we were finally ready to carry out the mission given by the Dark
Lord, Our True Master!, the three of us have followed the plan as
instructed from the start. fFom the day I met Bomb-271, and received
the mission from the dark lord, everything has proceeded as the dark
lord expected, the only thing left to do. Extinguish master’s ember
and retrieve “the object”. Then we can finally get what we want.
I cannot forget the eyes of Master, as we watched his ember
extinguish, after piercing it with an energy blade from his back, he
never expected this, right until the end. i felt sorry, but this was
our mission. Now we have “the object”, and Master is finally
eliminated. now with our new received powers and identities, we have
everything in our hand.
Today, I was Reborn..
* * * * * * Stormbomb * * * * * *
Skycrow Diary Entry # 14502
After several months of training, all three of my apprentices are
performing very well. Each one of them has shown to carry different
talents. The natural leader, Back-105, can always give precise and
correct orders to his peers.
Shred-125, a silent warrior, can execute whatever mission is given by
the leader, and his combat skills are very impressive.
However, among the three, Bomb-271, is different. He is a born
tactician. He can always come up with plans and strategies, which I
would never expect. I know he has certain level of telepath ability. I
believe under proper training, he can learn to control that power and
become a more powerful ninja master than myself, one day.
The time has finally come! Tomorrow I will give them a final trial. If
they are successful, they will be able to weld the power of the
elemental forces, which will make them a true ninjutsu warrior.
My revenge on that traitor Stardust can finally begin soon.......
* * * * * Backfiery * * * * *
Back-105's Diary Entry # 152
How long as it been ?
Since the day I was created in PIT facility, I knew I was different.
Every other Proto-Insectclone back there has no desire of their own;
they follow orders, do training and kill each other every day. They
don't even want their own name.
But I want to be different. I want to have a name, I want to be
unique, and I want..........to be free.
Today I finally acquired my own name – Backfiery. I am no longer
Back-105...I AM BACKFIERY! Yet, I still do not feel unique. With these
new powers, I can proceed, and when the “Object” is retrieved, I can
finally make myself unique, very soon.....
I can't wait for that day to come.
* * * * * And We’re Back! * * * * * *
Oh. Wow. That’s kind of terrible. Backfiery, especially. Also, there’s
the question of whether they were warriors found in outer space, or
whether they bred in giant vats and then winnowed down to the best and
brightest. We’ve got masters, true masters, Stardust, the object...
eesh.
Anyway, on to the toys.
The Fansproject Causality Insecticons are slightly shorter tha
deluxes, but very, very stocky. Probably a greater amount of plastic
than goes into a Hasbro deluxe. Actually, they might be the height of
the current slightly smaller deluxes Hasbro has been putting out.
CA-03, Thundershred, the Shrapnel homage, is hands down the best of
the three.
The G1 Shrapnel homage is unmistakable, except for the most obvious
attribute. He is missing the giant mandible things on his shoulders.
He is packaged with his swordy things on his arms, but they can also
be positioned on either side of his head. Unfortunately, they look
like antlers there.
However, other than that one little thing, he is spot on Shrapnel.
Black body, yellow thingy on his chest, purple arms, bulblous
shoulders, red visor... There are three little indentations on the
shoulders to suggest Shrapnel’s stickers. He’s Shrapnel. And the
antlers actually don’t look so bad.
The head sculpt replaces Shrapnel’s mouth with a faceplate and a
little beard. He still has the helmet with the crest, and the red
visor, and all the colors are in the right spots, so it doesn’t look
out of place.
The sculpt is a bit stockier than Shrapnel usually is depicted. Not
quite Energon Insecticon stocky, but that’s mostly just because the
arms aren’t as bulked up.
There’s a lightning symbol on his chest/stomach which I wish was a
little smaller so a Decepticon symbol would cover it completely.
Articulation is excellent. If articulation is your thing, he’s got it.
On the arms, he has a full range of motion in the shoulders (rotate
about the shoulder and raise arm to side), a rotation in the upper
arm, as well as a hinge and ball joint at the elbow. No wrist
movement. The head is on a ball joint, so lots of movement there. The
waist rotates. Very stiff and fairly restricted ball joints at the
hips, so he cannot to splits (he can achieve a roughly 60 degree angle
between his legs), but there is full motion forward and back. Decent
knees, an upper thigh swivel, and very adjustable feet (they can be
flat when he does the 60 degree split pose).
Some of the joints are very stiff -- I had to doublecheck that there
were rotators in the upper arms before forcing it, for instance.
His antlers can be attached to his arms as giant swordy things. The c-
clip they attach with is slightly stronger than the c-clip that
attaches the c-clip to the swordy thing, though, so you can sometimes
leave the connector behind.
Backpack kibble is four insect legs, which drape nicely, and a cockpit
for insect mode. So they kept that to a minimum.
He comes with a little round thing with a handle, and some extra
swords so you can make a giant shuriken thing for him. I’d rather have
a gun. Alas, the hands take a roughly 4mm peg, not a 5mm.
I like the hands. They are molded partially open, but there is still
enough of a peg hole to fit weapons into. I wish more of the open-
handed Hasbro/Takara toys did that.
Transformation:
- Rotate the outer chest back, which better exposes some hinges for
swinging the arms back. (If you’re ok with a plainer chest (not
ridges), and slightly floppy shoulders, you can get a more G1 position
for the antlers by doing this)
- Rotate the cockpit on a tiny ball joint, and fit it over his head
(this actually makes a cute Omega Supremey style head, if you like)
- Grab his hips and push firmly on the crotch (this pushes the hips
forward)
- Swing the robot feet out, clearing way for the calves to fold over
the thighs.
- Rotate the feet 180 on their ankle joint. This is pretty hard
because the swivel joint is tight, and on a ball joint that can pop
out.
- Rotate waist 180
- Swing the shoulder struts down and position the arms along the
backs of the thighs.
- Swing the knee closed, so it covers the arm and the thigh. This can
be obnoxiously fiddly. Note that the hands stick out from behind.
- Using modestly excessive force, push the legs together until they
snap into place. There will be a gap between them, but they peg into
place on the crotch piece.
- Position the robot feet along the side of the insect, and peg into
place.
- Position insect legs
The resulting Insecticon is big, stocky, and stands firmly on his
insect legs. He has the vicious mandible claw things, and a patch of
yellow on his back, and the general colors and shape of Shrapnel.
The insect legs are on ball joints, and the mandibles have two hinge
joints each, one mostly redundant, but it allows lots of good poses.
There’s a red cockpit between the two mandibles.
There are no wheels, he prefers to walk from place to place, rather
than drive.
Overall, it’s an excellent mold, and really evokes the G1 character is
so obviously violates the copyrights of. It’s like some company
putting out a Superman toy with the spit curl going the wrong way, and
a slightly different font for the “S” -- sure there are differences,
but it’s pretty clear who he is supposed to be, and Fansproject is
just milking the character someone else made.
At $50, he’s quite pricey, but it’s not $50 and then disappointment.
* * * * *
CA-04, Stormbomb, the Bombshell homage, is a bit less successful.
When I picture Bombshell, the details that leap out to me are his head
cannon, the grilled face plate, his bright yellow bug eyes on his
shoulders, vertical yellow chest stripe, and generally being a lot
more purple than the other Insecticons. His purple is often depicted
as a gray in the animation. He’s more of a plotter than a warrior.
Stormbomb has a giant bladed weapon over his head, a grilled face
plate, black boxes on his shoulders, the yellow chest plate, and a
fair amount of purple. He also has scythes on his shoulder, and an
optional chain to connect the scythes together, which seems entirely
inappropriate for someone who’s idea of warfare is to control someone
else and make them fight. There are shoulder pads with circular
details that look like they belong on a seeker. Stormbomb is a robot
of direct action.
It just doesn’t capture the character of the character that he’s an
homage to.
It’s not a bad robot mode, it’s just not the Bombshell we know and
love. I can forgive changes like the bug eye shoulders being gone, but
the melee weapons and the chain just don’t work for the character.
And the shoulder things -- they really, really bring Seekers to mind.
He’s got the same short, stocky, powerful look that Thundershred has,
and the same articulation. He actually has better, less restricted
hips.
The scythes are held in place by a square clip -- think of a c-clip,
but square, so it doesn’t wrap around the object, it just squeezes it
and holds on with pressure. This means that they can pop out very
easily. This becomes more of a problem in insect mode, but it is
annoying in this mode as well, and it means that the best place to
store them is in his hands.
I could probably get used to Bombshell having scythes, but not using
them. And just tossing them into the big box of accessories isn’t an
option, since they are integral to his insect mode.
The blade that sticks over his head can split into two blades, which
(if he didn’t have scythes in his hands) he could hold. The half a
weapon look doesn’t really work for it though, and he cannot hold them
connected. The blade is held in with the same square clip as the
scythes, but it holds in a lot better -- different plastics, and the
blade is held on by the two halves being held together.
The large black shoulder casings are not pegged into anything, so they
tend to move around a lot. Similarly, his gray underpants are made of
three parts that just sort of hang in the right spots, often.
Transformation:
- Put the scythes somewhere safe. They’ll just pop off if you don’t.
- Slide the big bladey head thing up, and guide it over the head like
a helmet.
- Push the underpants parts up as far as they will go.
- Fold the toes and heels in.
- Rotate the calves, and then shove them up -- the thighs slide down,
into the calves.
- Push the calves together so the tabs and slots fit together
- Swing the robot legs out to the side, so they aren’t in the way.
- Push the shoulder casings up, and spin them 180 degrees and put
them down again. The scythe holders will now be on the front of the
arms.
- Push the shoulders back, so the arms are now on the beetle’s
underside
- Peg the forearms into place.
- Adjust insect legs, and put the scythes back in their holders --
they become the front legs.
- Set him down very gently.
The result is a purple mechanical rhinoceros beetle of some form.
There is a black patch on the back, and the yellow bit of the chest
plate. There are no visible eyes, or cockpit, or anything like that.
Again, he does not particularly resemble Shrapnel. The lack of big
yellow eyes, the wrong shape of the rhinoceros weapon, and the way too
much purple really make this toy look like someone other than
Shrapnel.
It’s not a bad beetle mode -- he rests on his tiny legs, he’s got a
nice, boxy, mechanical look and lots of nice detailing. The only
obvious robot kibble is the arms, which are tucked along the
underside. The gray underpants are visible, but they are well
integrated into the beetle mode.
The front legs are rather larger than the back four, and don’t have as
much articulation.
Overall, I’m going to say that the square clips holding the scythes in
place (or, often, not holding the scythes in place) is a pretty fatal
flaw for this toy. The fact that the scythes don’t match the character
is unfortunate, the fact that the scythes are needed for the
transformation is worse, and the fact that they don’t hold in place
well is unforgivable.
It goes from questionable characterization, to just poorly designed
toy. For $50, they should get it right. Or at least plausibly right. A
c-clip would have worked a lot better, and Fansproject does have c-
clip technology. $50 is real money to a lot of people.
On reflection, the scythe’s square clips aren’t so bad -- there is a
tiny notch in the scythes, and a tiny bump in the clip, which keeps
them in place more often than not. They are definitely the weak part
of the toy, though.
* * * * *
CA-05, Backfiery, the Kickback homage, is a pretty good homage. He’s
also by far the most complicated of the three toys.
The head sculpt is a bit off -- there are the yellow antenna we all
expect and love, red eyes rather than a visor, a silver brow that
borrows more from the toy design than the animation model, and a black
facemask rather than the silver face.
I’m not sure why they would do such a different head when the rest of
the toy is so clearly Kickback.
Black body, purple forearms, purple feet, yellow chest plate, silver
around the arms, and silver wings -- that’s Kickback. The wings are
designed to be positioned down, rather than up, and although they are
on ball joints, there is enough kibble on his back that they cannot be
swung up. The hands are black rather than purple.
There are some black shoulder cowlings, which suggest the design of
the G1 toy.
Like the rest of the Fansproject Insecticons, he is armed with melee
weapons rather than a gun. In Backfiery’s case is it a bunch of
incredibly sharp daggers. Really, really sharp. Possibly the sharpest
piece of plastic I have encountered. And possibly small enough for a
child to swallow -- let’s not think about that.
The daggers attach to pegs along his robot legs, which hurts the
homage a bit. You’re also likely to hurt your fingers putting them on,
because they are really sharp.
He has similar articulation to the other two robots -- he drops the
rotating waist, but he does have rotating wrists.
Because of the wing placement and the different head design, he’s not
as exact an homage as I would like, but if he was an official Hasbro/
Takara product, the differences would be considered a minor detail in
an update that is true to the character.
Transformation:
- turn the robot head 180 degrees, so he is looking backwards.
- swing the locust head over the robot head.
- Bring the wings around to the front of the robot mode -- they are
on a hinged stalk that slides into a notch in the side of the chest.
- Pop apart the hips, and swing the legs out to the side.
- Pop the arms out of their sockets in the chest, and then swing the
arms over the legs on the little stalks. The arms will become the
insect’s abdomen.
- Form the insect abdomen by folding every joint of the arms, and
rotating every part as well. The instructions say things like “rotate
this 180 degrees, that 90 degrees.” It’s really a nuisance and hard to
describe.
- Peg the hip halves onto the robot’s forearms -- which are now on
the side of the abdomen.
- Swing the boxes the insect forelegs are attached to into the
sockets where the robot arms were.
- Fold the heels into the robot feet.
- Bend the robot knees about 90 degrees.
- On either side of the robot calves, there is a panel with a ball
joint and a slot/peg -- detach the peg/slot side on the bottom, and
then rotate the panel and peg it on the robot thigh. This makes the
insect’s thighs thicker than the calves.
- The inside of the remaining robot calves can spin, moving the feet
up to the underside of the insect thighs.
- Fold out the insect toes.
- Enjoy
The inect mode is a very nice robotic locust/cricket/grasshopper. It
actually looks like a cross between G1 Kickback and G1 Ransack. The
bright red eyes and the yellow antenna give a more Ransacky look. The
rest of the coloration matches Kickback. The fact that there is an
abdomen suggests Ransack. The wings are positioned like Kickbacks, but
the legs resemble Ransack’s. The rear legs are outside the wings, like
Ransack.
A lot of these Ransacky elements are because the designers tried to
make Backfiery resemble an actual locust, rather than the weird
anatomical mess that is G1 Kickback’s insect mode. I suspect the red
eyes are just an accident, rather than a deliberate effort to homage
Ransack.
It’s not a great homage in insect mode, because of this. It’s a very
good update, however, and is pretty much what I would expect from a
modern design of Kickback.
Some of the pegs and slots are not as tight of a fit as they need to
be, so the panels on the thighs can pop out of position, and the hips
can pop out of place slightly.
The robot kibble is minimal. You can see the back of the robot head
(this is why it needs to be rotated 180 degrees, so you don’t see the
robot face), and the robot hands are on the top of the insect abdomen
hidden behind the wings.
* * * * *
Overall, the quality of the toys shows how much experience Takara has
with this thing -- some joints are a little too tight, others a little
too loose, and some pegs don’t set nicely into their holes. It’s not
that they are bad toys -- there’s just a lot of little things that are
off with the engineering. That’s not to say that all Hasbro/Takara
toys have had better engineering, but they would be a bit below
average for Hasbro/Takara main line toys (way better than Titanium,
and moderately better than the Legion Commanders).
There are some odd engineering choices -- Stormbomb’s scythes being
held by pressure with a very square c-clip, for instance, which makes
them prone to popping out. I worry that the toys won’t hold up to
years of sitting on a shelf, with plastics aging.
The designs and sculpts are top notch, and the decos are excellent.
They are good toys, and Thundershred is nearly a great toy. Stormbomb
is the least successful of the bunch, but he fills out the set -- you
cannot have just two Insecticons.
They wouldn’t look out of place in a collection of figures from the
various Hasbro nostalgia lines. I still hold out hope for official
updates to these characters though. I can’t really recommend them for
$55 a pop, however, at least not if you’re on any sort of budget.
Also, I want a pony. A pony that transforms into a killer robot! Not a
toy killer robot, a real killer robot. And I’ve got a list of people
this pony should kill.
that the import shop in the International District (Seattle is too
multicultural to have a Chinatown) was open, so clearly I needed
Devastator. Alas, they did not have Devastator, but they did have all
three of the Fansproject Causality Insecticons.
I’ve bought a few Fansproject toys in the past -- armor for my Hot Rod
and my Nemesis Prime, and Warbot Defender. I quite liked the armors,
and Warbot Defender had a lot of interesting bits, even if it didn’t
work as a whole.
And, I always loved the Insecticons. Part of it was that they were
effectively a different faction in the G1 cartoon -- nominally
Decepticons, but not part of Megatron’s command (until the Movie, at
least). And they were color coordinated. I’m a sucker for color
coordinated teams, and the black, purple, yellow and silver of the
Insecticons is quite striking.
The Insecticons were some of the first toys I bought off eBay, when I
started getting into Transformers again. And, I have the nice new
Hasbro reissues, which are pretty nice.
Hasbro has not, however, seen fit to give us any Insecticons in the
various nostalgia lines we’ve been getting since Classics (with the
exception of cute little Robot Heroes versions!). I understand that
the Insecticons aren’t as iconic as some of the other characters they
have updated, but now that they are getting to Skullgrin and
Thunderwing, they really should go back to S1-2 and do some
Insecticons and Dinobots. Combaticons too, I suppose, but non-
combining Combaticons might be disappointing, and they don’t seem to
have the knack for combiners any more.
But, lacking official updates, the third parties have come through for
us.
All of them are packaged in robot mode, in boxes that are
significantly larger than they need to be. I’m reminded of the
packaging of some of the Japanese import deluxes from the BW era (when
did they switch over to blister cards? There were some United and
Animated toys on blister cards...). The Fansproject boxes are not as
nice as the Japanese boxes were, but they give a bit of volume to the
purchase, and make it slightly easier to justify the expense at the
moment. Paying over $50 for a deluxe on a blister card would have been
hard.
There are bios for the three of them on included cards, as well as
blurbs that were apparently on the Fansproject website, but can only
be found quoted elsewhere now.
I don’t envy the person who has to write the bios for these toys -- no
one, but no one, is buying these toys for the characters they created.
The bios and the story behind them are an exercise in futility. So,
obviously, we need to cover them.
First, the website blurbs:
“A wounded outer space warrior, Thundershred was recovered and
converted into his current form by the powerful Skycrow. Learning the
ancient art of Ninjutsu and the philosophy of Godai, he has harnessed
his power of control over the element "Sky". Using his refined skills
and weaponry, Thundershred has vowed to seek revenge on all who have
wronged him.”
“Descending from outer space, Stormbomb was recovered and converted
into his current form by the powerful Skycrow. Learning the ancient
art of Ninjutsu and the philosophy of Godai, he has harnessed his
power of control over the element "Wind". Creating havoc everywhere he
goes, Stormbomb uses his ability to create flash storms and special
elemental aerial attacks such as whirlwinds to over power his
opponents. Like his brothers, he is stealthy and can attack when least
expected to catch his enemies in his wrath before they can react.”
“The quickest of his brothers, Backfiery was recovered and converted
by the powerful Skycrow. Like his brothers, Thundershred and
Stormbomb, he acquired the art of Ninjutsu and adopted the philosophy
of Godai to harness the power of "Fire". With his speed, weaponry and
ability to bring the heat to any battle, Backfiery poses a serious
threat to all of his enemies. Driven also by revenge, Backfiery has a
fiery temper that makes him unpredictable and highly volatile - an
adversary that can really catch his opposition off-guard.”
I assume that Skycrow is Crow, from the Satellite of Love in Mystery
Science Theater 3000. Either that, or some kind of Unicron standin.
One might question why Skycrow would take wounded warriors in outer
space, and then mold and shape them into homages to the Insecticons.
It’s a mystery that we will probably never have a good answer to.
Perhaps Skycrow just likes the Transformers. Our wounded warriors from
outer space might have been rebuilt into Beau, Luke and Daisy Duke if
Skycrow were more of a “Dukes of Hazard” fan.
And then, there are the bio cards themselves:
* * * * * Thundershred * * * * *
Shred-125 Data Entry #103
Today I was Reborn,
After months of training, We passed the last of the tests given by
MASTER. He looked so pleased. he gave us new identities, along with
the power to control the basic elements. Master bestowed upon me the
ability to control lightning and thunder, and gave me the name
“ThunderShred”. we were now ready to execute the last part of the
mission given by our Master.
Yes, we were finally ready to carry out the mission given by the Dark
Lord, Our True Master!, the three of us have followed the plan as
instructed from the start. fFom the day I met Bomb-271, and received
the mission from the dark lord, everything has proceeded as the dark
lord expected, the only thing left to do. Extinguish master’s ember
and retrieve “the object”. Then we can finally get what we want.
I cannot forget the eyes of Master, as we watched his ember
extinguish, after piercing it with an energy blade from his back, he
never expected this, right until the end. i felt sorry, but this was
our mission. Now we have “the object”, and Master is finally
eliminated. now with our new received powers and identities, we have
everything in our hand.
Today, I was Reborn..
* * * * * * Stormbomb * * * * * *
Skycrow Diary Entry # 14502
After several months of training, all three of my apprentices are
performing very well. Each one of them has shown to carry different
talents. The natural leader, Back-105, can always give precise and
correct orders to his peers.
Shred-125, a silent warrior, can execute whatever mission is given by
the leader, and his combat skills are very impressive.
However, among the three, Bomb-271, is different. He is a born
tactician. He can always come up with plans and strategies, which I
would never expect. I know he has certain level of telepath ability. I
believe under proper training, he can learn to control that power and
become a more powerful ninja master than myself, one day.
The time has finally come! Tomorrow I will give them a final trial. If
they are successful, they will be able to weld the power of the
elemental forces, which will make them a true ninjutsu warrior.
My revenge on that traitor Stardust can finally begin soon.......
* * * * * Backfiery * * * * *
Back-105's Diary Entry # 152
How long as it been ?
Since the day I was created in PIT facility, I knew I was different.
Every other Proto-Insectclone back there has no desire of their own;
they follow orders, do training and kill each other every day. They
don't even want their own name.
But I want to be different. I want to have a name, I want to be
unique, and I want..........to be free.
Today I finally acquired my own name – Backfiery. I am no longer
Back-105...I AM BACKFIERY! Yet, I still do not feel unique. With these
new powers, I can proceed, and when the “Object” is retrieved, I can
finally make myself unique, very soon.....
I can't wait for that day to come.
* * * * * And We’re Back! * * * * * *
Oh. Wow. That’s kind of terrible. Backfiery, especially. Also, there’s
the question of whether they were warriors found in outer space, or
whether they bred in giant vats and then winnowed down to the best and
brightest. We’ve got masters, true masters, Stardust, the object...
eesh.
Anyway, on to the toys.
The Fansproject Causality Insecticons are slightly shorter tha
deluxes, but very, very stocky. Probably a greater amount of plastic
than goes into a Hasbro deluxe. Actually, they might be the height of
the current slightly smaller deluxes Hasbro has been putting out.
CA-03, Thundershred, the Shrapnel homage, is hands down the best of
the three.
The G1 Shrapnel homage is unmistakable, except for the most obvious
attribute. He is missing the giant mandible things on his shoulders.
He is packaged with his swordy things on his arms, but they can also
be positioned on either side of his head. Unfortunately, they look
like antlers there.
However, other than that one little thing, he is spot on Shrapnel.
Black body, yellow thingy on his chest, purple arms, bulblous
shoulders, red visor... There are three little indentations on the
shoulders to suggest Shrapnel’s stickers. He’s Shrapnel. And the
antlers actually don’t look so bad.
The head sculpt replaces Shrapnel’s mouth with a faceplate and a
little beard. He still has the helmet with the crest, and the red
visor, and all the colors are in the right spots, so it doesn’t look
out of place.
The sculpt is a bit stockier than Shrapnel usually is depicted. Not
quite Energon Insecticon stocky, but that’s mostly just because the
arms aren’t as bulked up.
There’s a lightning symbol on his chest/stomach which I wish was a
little smaller so a Decepticon symbol would cover it completely.
Articulation is excellent. If articulation is your thing, he’s got it.
On the arms, he has a full range of motion in the shoulders (rotate
about the shoulder and raise arm to side), a rotation in the upper
arm, as well as a hinge and ball joint at the elbow. No wrist
movement. The head is on a ball joint, so lots of movement there. The
waist rotates. Very stiff and fairly restricted ball joints at the
hips, so he cannot to splits (he can achieve a roughly 60 degree angle
between his legs), but there is full motion forward and back. Decent
knees, an upper thigh swivel, and very adjustable feet (they can be
flat when he does the 60 degree split pose).
Some of the joints are very stiff -- I had to doublecheck that there
were rotators in the upper arms before forcing it, for instance.
His antlers can be attached to his arms as giant swordy things. The c-
clip they attach with is slightly stronger than the c-clip that
attaches the c-clip to the swordy thing, though, so you can sometimes
leave the connector behind.
Backpack kibble is four insect legs, which drape nicely, and a cockpit
for insect mode. So they kept that to a minimum.
He comes with a little round thing with a handle, and some extra
swords so you can make a giant shuriken thing for him. I’d rather have
a gun. Alas, the hands take a roughly 4mm peg, not a 5mm.
I like the hands. They are molded partially open, but there is still
enough of a peg hole to fit weapons into. I wish more of the open-
handed Hasbro/Takara toys did that.
Transformation:
- Rotate the outer chest back, which better exposes some hinges for
swinging the arms back. (If you’re ok with a plainer chest (not
ridges), and slightly floppy shoulders, you can get a more G1 position
for the antlers by doing this)
- Rotate the cockpit on a tiny ball joint, and fit it over his head
(this actually makes a cute Omega Supremey style head, if you like)
- Grab his hips and push firmly on the crotch (this pushes the hips
forward)
- Swing the robot feet out, clearing way for the calves to fold over
the thighs.
- Rotate the feet 180 on their ankle joint. This is pretty hard
because the swivel joint is tight, and on a ball joint that can pop
out.
- Rotate waist 180
- Swing the shoulder struts down and position the arms along the
backs of the thighs.
- Swing the knee closed, so it covers the arm and the thigh. This can
be obnoxiously fiddly. Note that the hands stick out from behind.
- Using modestly excessive force, push the legs together until they
snap into place. There will be a gap between them, but they peg into
place on the crotch piece.
- Position the robot feet along the side of the insect, and peg into
place.
- Position insect legs
The resulting Insecticon is big, stocky, and stands firmly on his
insect legs. He has the vicious mandible claw things, and a patch of
yellow on his back, and the general colors and shape of Shrapnel.
The insect legs are on ball joints, and the mandibles have two hinge
joints each, one mostly redundant, but it allows lots of good poses.
There’s a red cockpit between the two mandibles.
There are no wheels, he prefers to walk from place to place, rather
than drive.
Overall, it’s an excellent mold, and really evokes the G1 character is
so obviously violates the copyrights of. It’s like some company
putting out a Superman toy with the spit curl going the wrong way, and
a slightly different font for the “S” -- sure there are differences,
but it’s pretty clear who he is supposed to be, and Fansproject is
just milking the character someone else made.
At $50, he’s quite pricey, but it’s not $50 and then disappointment.
* * * * *
CA-04, Stormbomb, the Bombshell homage, is a bit less successful.
When I picture Bombshell, the details that leap out to me are his head
cannon, the grilled face plate, his bright yellow bug eyes on his
shoulders, vertical yellow chest stripe, and generally being a lot
more purple than the other Insecticons. His purple is often depicted
as a gray in the animation. He’s more of a plotter than a warrior.
Stormbomb has a giant bladed weapon over his head, a grilled face
plate, black boxes on his shoulders, the yellow chest plate, and a
fair amount of purple. He also has scythes on his shoulder, and an
optional chain to connect the scythes together, which seems entirely
inappropriate for someone who’s idea of warfare is to control someone
else and make them fight. There are shoulder pads with circular
details that look like they belong on a seeker. Stormbomb is a robot
of direct action.
It just doesn’t capture the character of the character that he’s an
homage to.
It’s not a bad robot mode, it’s just not the Bombshell we know and
love. I can forgive changes like the bug eye shoulders being gone, but
the melee weapons and the chain just don’t work for the character.
And the shoulder things -- they really, really bring Seekers to mind.
He’s got the same short, stocky, powerful look that Thundershred has,
and the same articulation. He actually has better, less restricted
hips.
The scythes are held in place by a square clip -- think of a c-clip,
but square, so it doesn’t wrap around the object, it just squeezes it
and holds on with pressure. This means that they can pop out very
easily. This becomes more of a problem in insect mode, but it is
annoying in this mode as well, and it means that the best place to
store them is in his hands.
I could probably get used to Bombshell having scythes, but not using
them. And just tossing them into the big box of accessories isn’t an
option, since they are integral to his insect mode.
The blade that sticks over his head can split into two blades, which
(if he didn’t have scythes in his hands) he could hold. The half a
weapon look doesn’t really work for it though, and he cannot hold them
connected. The blade is held in with the same square clip as the
scythes, but it holds in a lot better -- different plastics, and the
blade is held on by the two halves being held together.
The large black shoulder casings are not pegged into anything, so they
tend to move around a lot. Similarly, his gray underpants are made of
three parts that just sort of hang in the right spots, often.
Transformation:
- Put the scythes somewhere safe. They’ll just pop off if you don’t.
- Slide the big bladey head thing up, and guide it over the head like
a helmet.
- Push the underpants parts up as far as they will go.
- Fold the toes and heels in.
- Rotate the calves, and then shove them up -- the thighs slide down,
into the calves.
- Push the calves together so the tabs and slots fit together
- Swing the robot legs out to the side, so they aren’t in the way.
- Push the shoulder casings up, and spin them 180 degrees and put
them down again. The scythe holders will now be on the front of the
arms.
- Push the shoulders back, so the arms are now on the beetle’s
underside
- Peg the forearms into place.
- Adjust insect legs, and put the scythes back in their holders --
they become the front legs.
- Set him down very gently.
The result is a purple mechanical rhinoceros beetle of some form.
There is a black patch on the back, and the yellow bit of the chest
plate. There are no visible eyes, or cockpit, or anything like that.
Again, he does not particularly resemble Shrapnel. The lack of big
yellow eyes, the wrong shape of the rhinoceros weapon, and the way too
much purple really make this toy look like someone other than
Shrapnel.
It’s not a bad beetle mode -- he rests on his tiny legs, he’s got a
nice, boxy, mechanical look and lots of nice detailing. The only
obvious robot kibble is the arms, which are tucked along the
underside. The gray underpants are visible, but they are well
integrated into the beetle mode.
The front legs are rather larger than the back four, and don’t have as
much articulation.
Overall, I’m going to say that the square clips holding the scythes in
place (or, often, not holding the scythes in place) is a pretty fatal
flaw for this toy. The fact that the scythes don’t match the character
is unfortunate, the fact that the scythes are needed for the
transformation is worse, and the fact that they don’t hold in place
well is unforgivable.
It goes from questionable characterization, to just poorly designed
toy. For $50, they should get it right. Or at least plausibly right. A
c-clip would have worked a lot better, and Fansproject does have c-
clip technology. $50 is real money to a lot of people.
On reflection, the scythe’s square clips aren’t so bad -- there is a
tiny notch in the scythes, and a tiny bump in the clip, which keeps
them in place more often than not. They are definitely the weak part
of the toy, though.
* * * * *
CA-05, Backfiery, the Kickback homage, is a pretty good homage. He’s
also by far the most complicated of the three toys.
The head sculpt is a bit off -- there are the yellow antenna we all
expect and love, red eyes rather than a visor, a silver brow that
borrows more from the toy design than the animation model, and a black
facemask rather than the silver face.
I’m not sure why they would do such a different head when the rest of
the toy is so clearly Kickback.
Black body, purple forearms, purple feet, yellow chest plate, silver
around the arms, and silver wings -- that’s Kickback. The wings are
designed to be positioned down, rather than up, and although they are
on ball joints, there is enough kibble on his back that they cannot be
swung up. The hands are black rather than purple.
There are some black shoulder cowlings, which suggest the design of
the G1 toy.
Like the rest of the Fansproject Insecticons, he is armed with melee
weapons rather than a gun. In Backfiery’s case is it a bunch of
incredibly sharp daggers. Really, really sharp. Possibly the sharpest
piece of plastic I have encountered. And possibly small enough for a
child to swallow -- let’s not think about that.
The daggers attach to pegs along his robot legs, which hurts the
homage a bit. You’re also likely to hurt your fingers putting them on,
because they are really sharp.
He has similar articulation to the other two robots -- he drops the
rotating waist, but he does have rotating wrists.
Because of the wing placement and the different head design, he’s not
as exact an homage as I would like, but if he was an official Hasbro/
Takara product, the differences would be considered a minor detail in
an update that is true to the character.
Transformation:
- turn the robot head 180 degrees, so he is looking backwards.
- swing the locust head over the robot head.
- Bring the wings around to the front of the robot mode -- they are
on a hinged stalk that slides into a notch in the side of the chest.
- Pop apart the hips, and swing the legs out to the side.
- Pop the arms out of their sockets in the chest, and then swing the
arms over the legs on the little stalks. The arms will become the
insect’s abdomen.
- Form the insect abdomen by folding every joint of the arms, and
rotating every part as well. The instructions say things like “rotate
this 180 degrees, that 90 degrees.” It’s really a nuisance and hard to
describe.
- Peg the hip halves onto the robot’s forearms -- which are now on
the side of the abdomen.
- Swing the boxes the insect forelegs are attached to into the
sockets where the robot arms were.
- Fold the heels into the robot feet.
- Bend the robot knees about 90 degrees.
- On either side of the robot calves, there is a panel with a ball
joint and a slot/peg -- detach the peg/slot side on the bottom, and
then rotate the panel and peg it on the robot thigh. This makes the
insect’s thighs thicker than the calves.
- The inside of the remaining robot calves can spin, moving the feet
up to the underside of the insect thighs.
- Fold out the insect toes.
- Enjoy
The inect mode is a very nice robotic locust/cricket/grasshopper. It
actually looks like a cross between G1 Kickback and G1 Ransack. The
bright red eyes and the yellow antenna give a more Ransacky look. The
rest of the coloration matches Kickback. The fact that there is an
abdomen suggests Ransack. The wings are positioned like Kickbacks, but
the legs resemble Ransack’s. The rear legs are outside the wings, like
Ransack.
A lot of these Ransacky elements are because the designers tried to
make Backfiery resemble an actual locust, rather than the weird
anatomical mess that is G1 Kickback’s insect mode. I suspect the red
eyes are just an accident, rather than a deliberate effort to homage
Ransack.
It’s not a great homage in insect mode, because of this. It’s a very
good update, however, and is pretty much what I would expect from a
modern design of Kickback.
Some of the pegs and slots are not as tight of a fit as they need to
be, so the panels on the thighs can pop out of position, and the hips
can pop out of place slightly.
The robot kibble is minimal. You can see the back of the robot head
(this is why it needs to be rotated 180 degrees, so you don’t see the
robot face), and the robot hands are on the top of the insect abdomen
hidden behind the wings.
* * * * *
Overall, the quality of the toys shows how much experience Takara has
with this thing -- some joints are a little too tight, others a little
too loose, and some pegs don’t set nicely into their holes. It’s not
that they are bad toys -- there’s just a lot of little things that are
off with the engineering. That’s not to say that all Hasbro/Takara
toys have had better engineering, but they would be a bit below
average for Hasbro/Takara main line toys (way better than Titanium,
and moderately better than the Legion Commanders).
There are some odd engineering choices -- Stormbomb’s scythes being
held by pressure with a very square c-clip, for instance, which makes
them prone to popping out. I worry that the toys won’t hold up to
years of sitting on a shelf, with plastics aging.
The designs and sculpts are top notch, and the decos are excellent.
They are good toys, and Thundershred is nearly a great toy. Stormbomb
is the least successful of the bunch, but he fills out the set -- you
cannot have just two Insecticons.
They wouldn’t look out of place in a collection of figures from the
various Hasbro nostalgia lines. I still hold out hope for official
updates to these characters though. I can’t really recommend them for
$55 a pop, however, at least not if you’re on any sort of budget.
Also, I want a pony. A pony that transforms into a killer robot! Not a
toy killer robot, a real killer robot. And I’ve got a list of people
this pony should kill.
Zobovor
Dec 31, 2011, 12:03:32 AM12/31/11
to
On Dec 30, 3:03 am, Gustavo Wombat <GustavoWom...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hasbro has not, however, seen fit to give us any Insecticons in the
> various nostalgia lines we’ve been getting since Classics (with the
> exception of cute little Robot Heroes versions!). I understand that
> the Insecticons aren’t as iconic as some of the other characters they
> have updated, but now that they are getting to Skullgrin and
> Thunderwing, they really should go back to S1-2 and do some
> Insecticons and Dinobots. Combaticons too, I suppose, but non-
> combining Combaticons might be disappointing, and they don’t seem to
> have the knack for combiners any more.
The Combaticons are all interesting enough as individual characters
> Hasbro has not, however, seen fit to give us any Insecticons in the
> various nostalgia lines we’ve been getting since Classics (with the
> exception of cute little Robot Heroes versions!). I understand that
> the Insecticons aren’t as iconic as some of the other characters they
> have updated, but now that they are getting to Skullgrin and
> Thunderwing, they really should go back to S1-2 and do some
> Insecticons and Dinobots. Combaticons too, I suppose, but non-
> combining Combaticons might be disappointing, and they don’t seem to
> have the knack for combiners any more.
that they would still make pretty neat Classics-style toys even if
there was no Bruticus. I would love, love, LOVE a Classics Swindle
that transformed like his cartoon self, with a windshield for a chest
and whatnot. I agree, though, we need some official Insecticons and
Dinobots. Maybe a new Grimlock, even, since the first one was kind
of, uh, suckish.
(It occured to me earlier that when I was a kid, the only reason I was
buying some of the Scramble City toys was to complete the combiner
teams. I mean, yeah, I would have bought Swindle and First Aid and
Slingshot regardless, due to their strong portrayals on TV, but
Groove? I never would have touched Groove if he hadn't been integral
to Defensor. He was a horrible toy and I knew it, even back in 1986.)
> There are no wheels, he prefers to walk from place to place, rather
> than drive.
the wheels were there on the original Insecticons (and Swoop!) because
the Diaclone toys were all vehicles for drivers, but still.
> It goes from questionable characterization, to just poorly designed
> toy. For $50, they should get it right. Or at least plausibly right. A
> c-clip would have worked a lot better, and Fansproject does have c-
> clip technology. $50 is real money to a lot of people.
there's some kind of formula (charge x amount times y number of units
produced minus z production costs and hopefully you arrive at a
marginal, but not obscene, profit) but you've also got to balance
consumer demand with what the market will bear. I bet if they dropped
the price even to $30 or $40 they would be selling a lot more of these
things. It's like the Hasbro reissues at Toys "R" Us. If they'd been
charging more sensible prices, they would have actually made a lot
more money off them in the long run.
On the other hand, people tend to value what they spend money on. If
we could get these things for ten bucks a pop, we'd all complain that
they were cheap junk. Make them fifty dollars each and suddenly
they're high-end collectibles!
> A lot of these Ransacky elements are because the designers tried to
> make Backfiery resemble an actual locust, rather than the weird
> anatomical mess that is G1 Kickback’s insect mode. I suspect the red
> eyes are just an accident, rather than a deliberate effort to homage
> Ransack.
the Deluxe Insecticons were, in fact, just the Cybertronic versions of
the regular Insecticons. 'Swhy they were never in the cartoon, you
see.
> There are some odd engineering choices -- Stormbomb’s scythes being
> held by pressure with a very square c-clip, for instance, which makes
> them prone to popping out. I worry that the toys won’t hold up to
> years of sitting on a shelf, with plastics aging.
perceived by the collecting community years down the road. Unofficial
stuff tends to go very black-and-white—either it becomes totally
worthless and fades completely into obscurity or it becomes rare and
wonderful and commands supremely high dollar amounts on the secondary
market. There were some fake Star Wars toys produced years ago in
Mexico by a company called Lily Ledy, and for some reason they go for
ridiculous amounts of money. I'm not sure I understand it. Some
knockoff toys based on Transformers, like the "Prehistory Animal"
assortment (Grimlock with brown, organic styling, Slag with eleventy-
thousand horns, Sludge with giant angel wings, etc.) are also worth
hundreds of dollars apiece.
> The designs and sculpts are top notch, and the decos are excellent.
> They are good toys, and Thundershred is nearly a great toy. Stormbomb
> is the least successful of the bunch, but he fills out the set -- you
> cannot have just two Insecticons.
teams. You never saw Sludge or Kickback or Tantrum on a solo
adventure...it was pretty much always with the rest of the group. (It
did happen rarely, admittedly, but as I used to say, mainly to tease
Túrin, that's just the exception that proves the rule.)
> They wouldn’t look out of place in a collection of figures from the
> various Hasbro nostalgia lines. I still hold out hope for official
> updates to these characters though. I can’t really recommend them for
> $55 a pop, however, at least not if you’re on any sort of budget.
homage toys. There are so many great characters that they've
addressed already that, unless they want to start over and do new G1
versions of Optimus Prime, Megatron, etc. all over again, they're
almost going to have to address characters we haven't seen yet. I'm
really, really hoping there are Constructicons coming. Aside from a
handful of 1984-85 characters likeTrailbreaker, Gears, Huffer, Hoist,
and Blitzwing, the most important characters who haven't been
addressed yet are, indeed, the Insecticons and Dinobots. Next year
just might be their year.
I also want to see TakaraTomy do a Reflector reissue where all three
robots are colored purple instead of that silly blue/red/dark blue
nonsense.
> Also, I want a pony. A pony that transforms into a killer robot! Not a
> toy killer robot, a real killer robot. And I’ve got a list of people
> this pony should kill.
back, there was this one character named Triple Treat, but for some
reason I had learned the character's name as Triple Threat. We
decided that if there was a pony with this name, instead of cupcakes
and ice cream tatooed on her butt, she'd have pictures of grenades and
guns and things. It's sort of become a running gag, now.
(Sorry. You mentioned ponies, and that's what my brain came up with.)
Zob
Irrellius Spamticon king of the Potato people
Dec 31, 2011, 1:31:49 AM12/31/11
to
On Dec 30, 11:03 pm, Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
> Something tells me that 2012 is going to be a really good year for G1
> homage toys. There are so many great characters that they've
> addressed already that, unless they want to start over and do new G1
> versions of Optimus Prime, Megatron, etc. all over again, they're
> almost going to have to address characters we haven't seen yet. I'm
> really, really hoping there are Constructicons coming. Aside from a
> handful of 1984-85 characters likeTrailbreaker, Gears, Huffer, Hoist,
> and Blitzwing, the most important characters who haven't been
> addressed yet are, indeed, the Insecticons and Dinobots. Next year
> just might be their year.
Am I the only one who wants to see a new Shockwave? I mean with new
> Something tells me that 2012 is going to be a really good year for G1
> homage toys. There are so many great characters that they've
> addressed already that, unless they want to start over and do new G1
> versions of Optimus Prime, Megatron, etc. all over again, they're
> almost going to have to address characters we haven't seen yet. I'm
> really, really hoping there are Constructicons coming. Aside from a
> handful of 1984-85 characters likeTrailbreaker, Gears, Huffer, Hoist,
> and Blitzwing, the most important characters who haven't been
> addressed yet are, indeed, the Insecticons and Dinobots. Next year
> just might be their year.
Dinobots there needs to be a new Shockwave. no, I won't count that
DOTM pile of something unidentifiable. I want to be able to re-enact
the comics at the beginning.
>
> I also want to see TakaraTomy do a Reflector reissue where all three
> robots are colored purple instead of that silly blue/red/dark blue
> nonsense.
>
their phone, or on a handycam!
> Back when my teenaged daughter was into My Little Pony a few years
> back, there was this one character named Triple Treat, but for some
> reason I had learned the character's name as Triple Threat. We
> decided that if there was a pony with this name, instead of cupcakes
> and ice cream tatooed on her butt, she'd have pictures of grenades and
> guns and things. It's sort of become a running gag, now.
>
> (Sorry. You mentioned ponies, and that's what my brain came up with.)
>
> Zob
doubt the new my little pony did this.
Zobovor
Dec 31, 2011, 1:07:13 PM12/31/11
to
On Dec 30, 11:31 pm, Irrellius Spamticon king of the Potato people
Not at all. I think that would be great. I'm just horrified at the
notion of yet another Transformer that turns into a half-track.
> But kids won't know what a camera like that is, it's not built into
> their phone, or on a handycam!
Silly robot, reissues aren't for kids!
Zob
Not at all. I think that would be great. I'm just horrified at the
notion of yet another Transformer that turns into a half-track.
> But kids won't know what a camera like that is, it's not built into
> their phone, or on a handycam!
Zob
William Rendfeld
Dec 31, 2011, 10:56:06 PM12/31/11
to
On Dec 30, 5:03 am, Gustavo Wombat <GustavoWom...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> All of them are packaged in robot mode, in boxes that are
> significantly larger than they need to be. I’m reminded of the
> packaging of some of the Japanese import deluxes from the BW era (when
> did they switch over to blister cards? There were some United and
> Animated toys on blister cards...). The Fansproject boxes are not as
> nice as the Japanese boxes were, but they give a bit of volume to the
> purchase, and make it slightly easier to justify the expense at the
> moment. Paying over $50 for a deluxe on a blister card would have been
> hard.
It's my understanding that Takara started using blister cards
> All of them are packaged in robot mode, in boxes that are
> significantly larger than they need to be. I’m reminded of the
> packaging of some of the Japanese import deluxes from the BW era (when
> did they switch over to blister cards? There were some United and
> Animated toys on blister cards...). The Fansproject boxes are not as
> nice as the Japanese boxes were, but they give a bit of volume to the
> purchase, and make it slightly easier to justify the expense at the
> moment. Paying over $50 for a deluxe on a blister card would have been
> hard.
somewhere around the time Micron Legend/Armada was released. It was
definitely as early as Superlink/Energon, however; I've got three of
'em to prove it.
I echo the desire for new, official Insecticons however, if only so
that Hasbro can maintain the copyright for Kickback. Seriously, using
it for a tank was kinda amusing, but I want it back on a bug.
Gustavo Wombat
Jan 1, 2012, 5:02:55 PM1/1/12
to
On Dec 30 2011, 10:31 pm, Irrellius Spamticon king of the Potato
blaster that you can hold and shoot, which then transforms (perhaps
rather simply) into our lovable one-eyed friend.
people <Ob1ken...@att.net> wrote:
> On Dec 30, 11:03 pm, Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > Something tells me that 2012 is going to be a really good year for G1
> > homage toys. There are so many great characters that they've
> > addressed already that, unless they want to start over and do new G1
> > versions of Optimus Prime, Megatron, etc. all over again, they're
> > almost going to have to address characters we haven't seen yet. I'm
> > really, really hoping there are Constructicons coming. Aside from a
> > handful of 1984-85 characters likeTrailbreaker, Gears, Huffer, Hoist,
> > and Blitzwing, the most important characters who haven't been
> > addressed yet are, indeed, the Insecticons and Dinobots. Next year
> > just might be their year.
>
> Am I the only one who wants to see a new Shockwave? I mean with new
> Dinobots there needs to be a new Shockwave. no, I won't count that
> DOTM pile of something unidentifiable. I want to be able to re-enact
> the comics at the beginning.
I still want a Role Play Shockwave -- a big electronics-packed purple
> On Dec 30, 11:03 pm, Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > Something tells me that 2012 is going to be a really good year for G1
> > homage toys. There are so many great characters that they've
> > addressed already that, unless they want to start over and do new G1
> > versions of Optimus Prime, Megatron, etc. all over again, they're
> > almost going to have to address characters we haven't seen yet. I'm
> > really, really hoping there are Constructicons coming. Aside from a
> > handful of 1984-85 characters likeTrailbreaker, Gears, Huffer, Hoist,
> > and Blitzwing, the most important characters who haven't been
> > addressed yet are, indeed, the Insecticons and Dinobots. Next year
> > just might be their year.
>
> Am I the only one who wants to see a new Shockwave? I mean with new
> Dinobots there needs to be a new Shockwave. no, I won't count that
> DOTM pile of something unidentifiable. I want to be able to re-enact
> the comics at the beginning.
blaster that you can hold and shoot, which then transforms (perhaps
rather simply) into our lovable one-eyed friend.
Gustavo Wombat
Jan 1, 2012, 4:59:23 PM1/1/12
to
On Dec 30 2011, 9:03 pm, Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
> On Dec 30, 3:03 am, Gustavo Wombat <GustavoWom...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Hasbro has not, however, seen fit to give us any Insecticons in the
> > various nostalgia lines we’ve been getting since Classics (with the
> > exception of cute little Robot Heroes versions!). I understand that
> > the Insecticons aren’t as iconic as some of the other characters they
> > have updated, but now that they are getting to Skullgrin and
> > Thunderwing, they really should go back to S1-2 and do some
> > Insecticons and Dinobots. Combaticons too, I suppose, but non-
> > combining Combaticons might be disappointing, and they don’t seem to
> > have the knack for combiners any more.
>
> The Combaticons are all interesting enough as individual characters
> that they would still make pretty neat Classics-style toys even if
> there was no Bruticus. I would love, love, LOVE a Classics Swindle
> that transformed like his cartoon self, with a windshield for a chest
> and whatnot. I agree, though, we need some official Insecticons and
> Dinobots. Maybe a new Grimlock, even, since the first one was kind
> of, uh, suckish.
Ok, you're right about the Constructicons. They are generally pretty
> On Dec 30, 3:03 am, Gustavo Wombat <GustavoWom...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Hasbro has not, however, seen fit to give us any Insecticons in the
> > various nostalgia lines we’ve been getting since Classics (with the
> > exception of cute little Robot Heroes versions!). I understand that
> > the Insecticons aren’t as iconic as some of the other characters they
> > have updated, but now that they are getting to Skullgrin and
> > Thunderwing, they really should go back to S1-2 and do some
> > Insecticons and Dinobots. Combaticons too, I suppose, but non-
> > combining Combaticons might be disappointing, and they don’t seem to
> > have the knack for combiners any more.
>
> The Combaticons are all interesting enough as individual characters
> that they would still make pretty neat Classics-style toys even if
> there was no Bruticus. I would love, love, LOVE a Classics Swindle
> that transformed like his cartoon self, with a windshield for a chest
> and whatnot. I agree, though, we need some official Insecticons and
> Dinobots. Maybe a new Grimlock, even, since the first one was kind
> of, uh, suckish.
awesome, and a new Swindle would be great, even if he didn't combine
(there is every chance he would be a redeco of Classics hound, though,
which would kind of suck). The others didn't get spotlight episodes in
the G1 cartoon, but they had interesting characterization elsewhere.
I kind of like the Classics Grimlock toy. It's not great, but it's not
terrible. But my Grimlock needs are really satisfied by Masterpiece
Grimlock.
> (It occured to me earlier that when I was a kid, the only reason I was
> buying some of the Scramble City toys was to complete the combiner
> teams. I mean, yeah, I would have bought Swindle and First Aid and
> Slingshot regardless, due to their strong portrayals on TV, but
> Groove? I never would have touched Groove if he hadn't been integral
> to Defensor. He was a horrible toy and I knew it, even back in 1986.)
every time they combine into Defensor, they're going to be used to
commit acts of violence that neither would particularly approve of,
and yet time after time they combine.
> > There are no wheels, he prefers to walk from place to place, rather
> > than drive.
>
> Insecticons having wheels is just a silly prospect anyway. I get that
> the wheels were there on the original Insecticons (and Swoop!) because
> the Diaclone toys were all vehicles for drivers, but still.
>
> > It goes from questionable characterization, to just poorly designed
> > toy. For $50, they should get it right. Or at least plausibly right. A
> > c-clip would have worked a lot better, and Fansproject does have c-
> > clip technology. $50 is real money to a lot of people.
>
> I wonder how they arrived at that price point, anyway? I'm sure
> there's some kind of formula (charge x amount times y number of units
> produced minus z production costs and hopefully you arrive at a
> marginal, but not obscene, profit) but you've also got to balance
> consumer demand with what the market will bear. I bet if they dropped
> the price even to $30 or $40 they would be selling a lot more of these
> things. It's like the Hasbro reissues at Toys "R" Us. If they'd been
> charging more sensible prices, they would have actually made a lot
> more money off them in the long run.
volume. And if they did, I think Hasbro would be trying to smack them
down.
So, charge what they can get away with, I guess.
> On the other hand, people tend to value what they spend money on. If
> we could get these things for ten bucks a pop, we'd all complain that
> they were cheap junk. Make them fifty dollars each and suddenly
> they're high-end collectibles!
>
> > A lot of these Ransacky elements are because the designers tried to
> > make Backfiery resemble an actual locust, rather than the weird
> > anatomical mess that is G1 Kickback’s insect mode. I suspect the red
> > eyes are just an accident, rather than a deliberate effort to homage
> > Ransack.
>
> I wrote a very short fanfic once in which I postulated that three of
> the Deluxe Insecticons were, in fact, just the Cybertronic versions of
> the regular Insecticons. 'Swhy they were never in the cartoon, you
> see.
> > There are some odd engineering choices -- Stormbomb’s scythes being
> > held by pressure with a very square c-clip, for instance, which makes
> > them prone to popping out. I worry that the toys won’t hold up to
> > years of sitting on a shelf, with plastics aging.
>
> I think it will be very interesting to see how items like these are
> perceived by the collecting community years down the road. Unofficial
> stuff tends to go very black-and-white—either it becomes totally
> worthless and fades completely into obscurity or it becomes rare and
> wonderful and commands supremely high dollar amounts on the secondary
> market. There were some fake Star Wars toys produced years ago in
> Mexico by a company called Lily Ledy, and for some reason they go for
> ridiculous amounts of money. I'm not sure I understand it. Some
> knockoff toys based on Transformers, like the "Prehistory Animal"
> assortment (Grimlock with brown, organic styling, Slag with eleventy-
> thousand horns, Sludge with giant angel wings, etc.) are also worth
> hundreds of dollars apiece.
Insecticons.
> > The designs and sculpts are top notch, and the decos are excellent.
> > They are good toys, and Thundershred is nearly a great toy. Stormbomb
> > is the least successful of the bunch, but he fills out the set -- you
> > cannot have just two Insecticons.
>
> Hasbro was pretty market-savvy to depict so many toys together in
> teams. You never saw Sludge or Kickback or Tantrum on a solo
> adventure...it was pretty much always with the rest of the group. (It
> did happen rarely, admittedly, but as I used to say, mainly to tease
> Túrin, that's just the exception that proves the rule.)
After about the fifth exception, one must concede that the rule is
more of a guideline.
> > They wouldn’t look out of place in a collection of figures from the
> > various Hasbro nostalgia lines. I still hold out hope for official
> > updates to these characters though. I can’t really recommend them for
> > $55 a pop, however, at least not if you’re on any sort of budget.
>
> Something tells me that 2012 is going to be a really good year for G1
> homage toys. There are so many great characters that they've
> addressed already that, unless they want to start over and do new G1
> versions of Optimus Prime, Megatron, etc. all over again, they're
> almost going to have to address characters we haven't seen yet. I'm
> really, really hoping there are Constructicons coming. Aside from a
> handful of 1984-85 characters likeTrailbreaker, Gears, Huffer, Hoist,
> and Blitzwing, the most important characters who haven't been
> addressed yet are, indeed, the Insecticons and Dinobots. Next year
> just might be their year.
next few years. Not because the old Classics toys are bad, but just
because they are the big names.
Or perhaps try their hand at Galvatron again, since that one really
did suck.
Gustavo!
No One in Particular
Jan 1, 2012, 9:36:10 PM1/1/12
to
"Zobovor" <zm...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:2be8b575-5abd-417a...@u10g2000prl.googlegroups.com...
until I read the next part of the sentance, then went back and read the
first part, and saw I was totally wrong. It's amazing how our minds work;
they just sort of fill in the blaks with whatever crap they want to, you
know?
Brian
--- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to ne...@netfront.net ---
Chad Rushing
Jan 1, 2012, 9:37:40 PM1/1/12
to
On Dec 31 2011, 9:56 pm, William Rendfeld <WARendf...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> It's my understanding that Takara started using blister cards
> somewhere around the time Micron Legend/Armada was released. It was
> definitely as early as Superlink/Energon, however; I've got three of
> 'em to prove it.
Takara was still using boxes for its Deluxe-sized figures by Galaxy
>
> It's my understanding that Takara started using blister cards
> somewhere around the time Micron Legend/Armada was released. It was
> definitely as early as Superlink/Energon, however; I've got three of
> 'em to prove it.
Force (Cybertron). They would use cardbacks totally wrapped in
plastic for anything smaller. After GF, I think they dropped the
boxes for the Deluxe-sized figures, too, and started mounting them on
cardbacks.
- Chad
...Also Known As Thunder
Jan 1, 2012, 10:48:01 PM1/1/12
to
No One in Particular wrote:
> I read the pony's name as Triple Threat, and was thinking how odd that was,
> until I read the next part of the sentance, then went back and read the
> first part, and saw I was totally wrong. It's amazing how our minds work;
> they just sort of fill in the blaks with whatever crap they want to, you
> know?
I did the exact same thing. :)
> I read the pony's name as Triple Threat, and was thinking how odd that was,
> until I read the next part of the sentance, then went back and read the
> first part, and saw I was totally wrong. It's amazing how our minds work;
> they just sort of fill in the blaks with whatever crap they want to, you
> know?
t.k.
Zobovor
Jan 2, 2012, 12:22:04 AM1/2/12
to
On Jan 1, 2:59 pm, Gustavo Wombat <GustavoWom...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Ok, you're right about the Constructicons. They are generally pretty
> awesome, and a new Swindle would be great, even if he didn't combine
Wait, are we talking about Combaticons, or Constructicons? (I heard
> Ok, you're right about the Constructicons. They are generally pretty
> awesome, and a new Swindle would be great, even if he didn't combine
"okay, you're right" and then I just sort of stopped paying
attention.)
> I kind of like the Classics Grimlock toy. It's not great, but it's not
> terrible. But my Grimlock needs are really satisfied by Masterpiece
> Grimlock.
with Classics toys. I'd say that Classics Grimlock was a very good
early attempt, but back in 2006 they were more of an experimental
thing. Hasbro's really gotten the feel for proper G1 tribute toys
now, and I'd like to see Grimlock redone now with a more traditional
transformation.
> You really have to wonder about Groove and First Aid. They know that
> every time they combine into Defensor, they're going to be used to
> commit acts of violence that neither would particularly approve of,
> and yet time after time they combine.
less destructive solutions to problems than somebody like, say,
Superion would. The Autobots in general seem to have more a
successful fusion of combiner minds than the Decepticons, if their
Marvel Comics profiles are any indication.
> I expect them to go back to Optimus and Megatron sometime over the
> next few years. Not because the old Classics toys are bad, but just
> because they are the big names.
like Yet Another Optimus Toy to me, more of a reimagining of the
character than a G1 tribute—which is fine, since there have been
plenty of Prime redesigns over the years. Classics Prime is in the
same vein as Combat Hero Prime (yes, I still call him that) or Laser
Tanker Prime (I don't really call him that), but he's not really the
proper update to the G1 toy that I never knew I always wanted, like so
many other Classics-era toys have become. Also, those flappy things
on his arms really, really bother me. Everything else about the toy
is designed really well, but those arm flaps just hang uselessly and
that annoys me.
Megatron isn't a bad toy, all things considered, and while he's
ambitiously elaborate, he's still a fairly intuitive toy that doesn't
cause much frustration. (He's also the reason there are two Nerf
Maverick foam dart guns in my house now.) He's still a little off,
though. Surely there was something else they could have done with the
halves of the weapon mode besides giving him gigantic wings? Even the
itty bitty Legends version seems to work better, on some levels.
So, yeah, I will welcome a new attempt at Prime and Megatron, perhaps
a bit more Geewunnified this time. Because, y'know, that's just how I
roll.
Zob
No One in Particular
Jan 2, 2012, 12:41:55 AM1/2/12
to
"...Also Known As Thunder" <dece...@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:RN9Mq.24753$aW6....@newsfe09.iad...
of -osis. : )
Gustavo Wombat
Jan 2, 2012, 12:57:42 AM1/2/12
to
On Jan 1, 9:41 pm, "No One in Particular" <briancanad...@yahoo.com>
wrote:
> "...Also Known As Thunder" <decep...@shaw.ca> wrote in messagenews:RN9Mq.24753$aW6....@newsfe09.iad...
wrote:
> "...Also Known As Thunder" <decep...@shaw.ca> wrote in messagenews:RN9Mq.24753$aW6....@newsfe09.iad...
>
> > No One in Particular wrote:
> >> I read the pony's name as Triple Threat, and was thinking how odd that
> >> was,
> >> until I read the next part of the sentance, then went back and read the
> >> first part, and saw I was totally wrong. It's amazing how our minds
> >> work;
> >> they just sort of fill in the blaks with whatever crap they want to, you
> >> know?
>
> > I did the exact same thing. :)
>
> > t.k.
>
> Glad to see I'm not alone in my psychosis. Or neurosis. Or some other kind
> of -osis. : )
Halitosis?
> > No One in Particular wrote:
> >> I read the pony's name as Triple Threat, and was thinking how odd that
> >> was,
> >> until I read the next part of the sentance, then went back and read the
> >> first part, and saw I was totally wrong. It's amazing how our minds
> >> work;
> >> they just sort of fill in the blaks with whatever crap they want to, you
> >> know?
>
> > I did the exact same thing. :)
>
> > t.k.
>
> Glad to see I'm not alone in my psychosis. Or neurosis. Or some other kind
> of -osis. : )
Gustavo Wombat
Jan 2, 2012, 12:56:47 AM1/2/12
to
On Jan 1, 9:22 pm, Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
> On Jan 1, 2:59 pm, Gustavo Wombat <GustavoWom...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Ok, you're right about the Constructicons. They are generally pretty
> > awesome, and a new Swindle would be great, even if he didn't combine
>
> Wait, are we talking about Combaticons, or Constructicons? (I heard
> "okay, you're right" and then I just sort of stopped paying
> attention.)
Competence is not my strong suit. I meant Combaticons.
> On Jan 1, 2:59 pm, Gustavo Wombat <GustavoWom...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Ok, you're right about the Constructicons. They are generally pretty
> > awesome, and a new Swindle would be great, even if he didn't combine
>
> Wait, are we talking about Combaticons, or Constructicons? (I heard
> "okay, you're right" and then I just sort of stopped paying
> attention.)
Non-combining Constructicons would just kind of suck and all look
alike because of their identical color schemes. Constructicons bore me
these days.
> > I kind of like the Classics Grimlock toy. It's not great, but it's not
> > terrible. But my Grimlock needs are really satisfied by Masterpiece
> > Grimlock.
>
> Yeah, but Masterpiece Grimlock is much too large to properly interact
> with Classics toys. I'd say that Classics Grimlock was a very good
> early attempt, but back in 2006 they were more of an experimental
> thing. Hasbro's really gotten the feel for proper G1 tribute toys
> now, and I'd like to see Grimlock redone now with a more traditional
> transformation.
character.
> > I expect them to go back to Optimus and Megatron sometime over the
> > next few years. Not because the old Classics toys are bad, but just
> > because they are the big names.
>
> Well, again, they were early attempts. Classics Optimus Prime feels
> like Yet Another Optimus Toy to me, more of a reimagining of the
> character than a G1 tribute—which is fine, since there have been
> plenty of Prime redesigns over the years. Classics Prime is in the
> same vein as Combat Hero Prime (yes, I still call him that) or Laser
> Tanker Prime (I don't really call him that), but he's not really the
> proper update to the G1 toy that I never knew I always wanted, like so
> many other Classics-era toys have become. Also, those flappy things
> on his arms really, really bother me. Everything else about the toy
> is designed really well, but those arm flaps just hang uselessly and
> that annoys me.
>
> Megatron isn't a bad toy, all things considered, and while he's
> ambitiously elaborate, he's still a fairly intuitive toy that doesn't
> cause much frustration. (He's also the reason there are two Nerf
> Maverick foam dart guns in my house now.) He's still a little off,
> though. Surely there was something else they could have done with the
> halves of the weapon mode besides giving him gigantic wings? Even the
> itty bitty Legends version seems to work better, on some levels.
more awesome than a giant monkey with a gun?
> So, yeah, I will welcome a new attempt at Prime and Megatron, perhaps
> a bit more Geewunnified this time. Because, y'know, that's just how I
> roll.
and Megatron as his G2 tank form. You might have forgotten them
because they sucked.
I might be becoming a bit more of a Geewunner myself -- I just don't
see the point in the latest reboot (Prime), despite it being well
done. I just don't find myself interested in it, but new bits of G1...
I'm there.
Gustavo!
No One in Particular
Jan 2, 2012, 1:13:32 AM1/2/12
to
"Gustavo Wombat" <Gustav...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:b54ea936-e2e3-48d3...@n13g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
...Also Known As Thunder
Jan 2, 2012, 5:53:46 AM1/2/12
to
Zobovor wrote:
> Well, again, they were early attempts. Classics Optimus Prime feels
> like Yet Another Optimus Toy to me, more of a reimagining of the
> character than a G1 tribute—which is fine, since there have been
> plenty of Prime redesigns over the years.
I like the re-imaginings myself. As long as it's still recognizably
> Well, again, they were early attempts. Classics Optimus Prime feels
> like Yet Another Optimus Toy to me, more of a reimagining of the
> character than a G1 tribute—which is fine, since there have been
> plenty of Prime redesigns over the years.
Prime (or whoever) and not totally screwed up. I don't think Perceptor
should be a half-track, for example, nor should Galvatron be a tank (and
what's wrong with a cannon, anyway?) But a new Prime, who is still a
truck of some sort, is fine with me. The classic design is never going
away (people will never let it).
Despite what I just said, I don't care for the IDW redesigns. Some of
them are just too much of a change. I hate Hot Rod/Rodimus new look in
particular.
t.k.
Argus
Jan 2, 2012, 8:45:13 AM1/2/12
to
On 1 jan, 04:56, William Rendfeld <WARendf...@aol.com> wrote:
> On Dec 30, 5:03 am, Gustavo Wombat <GustavoWom...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> It's my understanding that Takara started using blister cards
> somewhere around the time Micron Legend/Armada was released. It was
> definitely as early as Superlink/Energon, however; I've got three of
> 'em to prove it.
G1 had them, BW had them.... Never not been there. They are 'mor
> On Dec 30, 5:03 am, Gustavo Wombat <GustavoWom...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> It's my understanding that Takara started using blister cards
> somewhere around the time Micron Legend/Armada was released. It was
> definitely as early as Superlink/Energon, however; I've got three of
> 'em to prove it.
common' now as opposed to the times of BW where it was pretty much
just the VS-S1 set in the main line.
No One in Particular
Jan 2, 2012, 9:27:44 AM1/2/12
to
news:11gMq.2847$Ik5....@newsfe03.iad...
I don't mind a redesign, as long as it's something reasonable. I'm actually
not overfond of the half-track craze myself, but I don't think we would have
ever seen Perceptor again otherwise. I don't know how well Scalpel from
DOTM sold, but he was certainly warming the pegs around here for wuite a
while.
Having said that, other than a strange vehicle mode, Classic Perceptor works
faily well. Can't say about Rumble or Frenzy, don't have 'em.
As far as Galvatron, well, I would have said they would never have sold a
gun Transfermer ever again; a least, until I saw Classics Megatron that is.
And I only ever saw maybe two of them, one of which I bought. I don't have
a clue if he was short packed or just a good seller, but he seemed kinda
scarce either way. So yeah, I'd like a new Classic/Generation/Whatever
Galvatron. I'd love a cannon, but I'm not opposed to other things. My big
request is the robot mode not be a floppy mess.
Brian
not overfond of the half-track craze myself, but I don't think we would have
ever seen Perceptor again otherwise. I don't know how well Scalpel from
DOTM sold, but he was certainly warming the pegs around here for wuite a
while.
Having said that, other than a strange vehicle mode, Classic Perceptor works
faily well. Can't say about Rumble or Frenzy, don't have 'em.
As far as Galvatron, well, I would have said they would never have sold a
gun Transfermer ever again; a least, until I saw Classics Megatron that is.
And I only ever saw maybe two of them, one of which I bought. I don't have
a clue if he was short packed or just a good seller, but he seemed kinda
scarce either way. So yeah, I'd like a new Classic/Generation/Whatever
Galvatron. I'd love a cannon, but I'm not opposed to other things. My big
request is the robot mode not be a floppy mess.
Brian
Irrellius Spamticon king of the Potato people
Jan 2, 2012, 5:51:29 PM1/2/12
to
On Jan 2, 8:27 am, "No One in Particular" <briancanad...@yahoo.com>
wrote:
> "...Also Known As Thunder" <decep...@shaw.ca> wrote in messagenews:11gMq.2847$Ik5....@newsfe03.iad...
was declared "still too close to a real gun" and now they couldn't
sell that same mold in the US again.
As for Classics Galvatron, I don't mind the tank so much. I mind all
the extra kibble that had no use. He ended up with wheels on his
backpack, and a clip on his shoulder, and his arms always fell off.
And he was tiny. If he were larger, and all his extra kibble actually
functioned, I would have loved it. Perhaps if he had a tank and cannon
mode.
As for Perceptor, I broke mine on accident, theres a tiny clip under
his hood that broke off, so now his arms dont stay near the torso. I
dont like his vehicle mode that much, but his robot mode is nice. I
love hos he still has the window, and the rubsign is behind the
window.
wrote:
> "...Also Known As Thunder" <decep...@shaw.ca> wrote in messagenews:11gMq.2847$Ik5....@newsfe03.iad...
> > I like the re-imaginings myself. As long as it's still recognizably Prime
> > (or whoever) and not totally screwed up. I don't think Perceptor should be
> > a half-track, for example, nor should Galvatron be a tank (and what's
> > wrong with a cannon, anyway?) But a new Prime, who is still a truck of
> > some sort, is fine with me. The classic design is never going away (people
> > will never let it).
> > (or whoever) and not totally screwed up. I don't think Perceptor should be
> > a half-track, for example, nor should Galvatron be a tank (and what's
> > wrong with a cannon, anyway?) But a new Prime, who is still a truck of
> > some sort, is fine with me. The classic design is never going away (people
> > will never let it).
> > t.k.
>
> I don't mind a redesign, as long as it's something reasonable. I'm actually
> not overfond of the half-track craze myself, but I don't think we would have
> ever seen Perceptor again otherwise. I don't know how well Scalpel from
> DOTM sold, but he was certainly warming the pegs around here for wuite a
> while.
>
> Having said that, other than a strange vehicle mode, Classic Perceptor works
> faily well. Can't say about Rumble or Frenzy, don't have 'em.
>
> As far as Galvatron, well, I would have said they would never have sold a
> gun Transfermer ever again; a least, until I saw Classics Megatron that is.
> And I only ever saw maybe two of them, one of which I bought. I don't have
> a clue if he was short packed or just a good seller, but he seemed kinda
> scarce either way. So yeah, I'd like a new Classic/Generation/Whatever
> Galvatron. I'd love a cannon, but I'm not opposed to other things. My big
> request is the robot mode not be a floppy mess.
>
> Brian
Apparently, Classics Megatron, somewhere midway through his sales run,
>
> I don't mind a redesign, as long as it's something reasonable. I'm actually
> not overfond of the half-track craze myself, but I don't think we would have
> ever seen Perceptor again otherwise. I don't know how well Scalpel from
> DOTM sold, but he was certainly warming the pegs around here for wuite a
> while.
>
> Having said that, other than a strange vehicle mode, Classic Perceptor works
> faily well. Can't say about Rumble or Frenzy, don't have 'em.
>
> As far as Galvatron, well, I would have said they would never have sold a
> gun Transfermer ever again; a least, until I saw Classics Megatron that is.
> And I only ever saw maybe two of them, one of which I bought. I don't have
> a clue if he was short packed or just a good seller, but he seemed kinda
> scarce either way. So yeah, I'd like a new Classic/Generation/Whatever
> Galvatron. I'd love a cannon, but I'm not opposed to other things. My big
> request is the robot mode not be a floppy mess.
>
> Brian
was declared "still too close to a real gun" and now they couldn't
sell that same mold in the US again.
As for Classics Galvatron, I don't mind the tank so much. I mind all
the extra kibble that had no use. He ended up with wheels on his
backpack, and a clip on his shoulder, and his arms always fell off.
And he was tiny. If he were larger, and all his extra kibble actually
functioned, I would have loved it. Perhaps if he had a tank and cannon
mode.
As for Perceptor, I broke mine on accident, theres a tiny clip under
his hood that broke off, so now his arms dont stay near the torso. I
dont like his vehicle mode that much, but his robot mode is nice. I
love hos he still has the window, and the rubsign is behind the
window.
No One in Particular
Jan 2, 2012, 7:39:15 PM1/2/12
to
"Irrellius Spamticon king of the Potato people" <Ob1k...@att.net> wrote in
message
news:5b041a3d-8196-4334...@v24g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...
>Apparently, Classics Megatron, somewhere midway through his sales run,
>was declared "still too close to a real gun" and now they couldn't
>sell that same mold in the US again.
Which just makes it even less likely we'll ever see cannon Galvatron on the
>was declared "still too close to a real gun" and now they couldn't
>sell that same mold in the US again.
shelves ever again, I guess.
Brian. No big surprise I suppose...
Thunder Magnificent!
Jan 2, 2012, 10:31:15 PM1/2/12
to
No One in Particular wrote:
> Which just makes it even less likely we'll ever see cannon Galvatron on the
> shelves ever again, I guess.
I can't see why a cannon would be illegal. If they could make it in
> shelves ever again, I guess.
such a way that it can't be shaped into a gun it should be okay,
shouldn't it?
t.k.
Gustavo Wombat
Jan 2, 2012, 10:23:01 PM1/2/12
to
On Jan 2, 4:39 pm, "No One in Particular" <briancanad...@yahoo.com>
wrote:
> "Irrellius Spamticon king of the Potato people" <Ob1ken...@att.net> wrote in
> messagenews:5b041a3d-8196-4334...@v24g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...
find this hard to believe. He might need a bit more bright paint in
gun mode, but that would end up on the back of his wings in robot
mode, so it wouldn't be so bad.
Look at these:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dtoys-and-games&field-keywords=star+wars+blaster&x=0&y=0
Do they look significantly less real than Classics Megatron? He might
need to have his legs and scope change color (a nice Decepticon
purple?), but he could definitely be made to look no more real than
those.
> Which just makes it even less likely we'll ever see cannon Galvatron on the
> shelves ever again, I guess.
>
> Brian. No big surprise I suppose...
A cannon really isn't the same thing as a handgun, so I don't see why
that would be an issue.
Gustavo!
wrote:
> "Irrellius Spamticon king of the Potato people" <Ob1ken...@att.net> wrote in
> messagenews:5b041a3d-8196-4334...@v24g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...
> On Jan 2, 8:27 am, "No One in Particular" <briancanad...@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> >Apparently, Classics Megatron, somewhere midway through his sales run,
> >was declared "still too close to a real gun" and now they couldn't
> >sell that same mold in the US again.
Given that Hasbro also sells toy guns for the Star Wars line, I really
> wrote:
>
> >Apparently, Classics Megatron, somewhere midway through his sales run,
> >was declared "still too close to a real gun" and now they couldn't
> >sell that same mold in the US again.
find this hard to believe. He might need a bit more bright paint in
gun mode, but that would end up on the back of his wings in robot
mode, so it wouldn't be so bad.
Look at these:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dtoys-and-games&field-keywords=star+wars+blaster&x=0&y=0
Do they look significantly less real than Classics Megatron? He might
need to have his legs and scope change color (a nice Decepticon
purple?), but he could definitely be made to look no more real than
those.
> Which just makes it even less likely we'll ever see cannon Galvatron on the
> shelves ever again, I guess.
>
> Brian. No big surprise I suppose...
that would be an issue.
Gustavo!
...Also Known As Thunder
Jan 2, 2012, 10:27:50 PM1/2/12
to
No One in Particular wrote:
> Which just makes it even less likely we'll ever see cannon Galvatron on the
> shelves ever again, I guess.
I can't see why a cannon would be illegal. If they make it in such a way
> shelves ever again, I guess.
...Also Known As Thunder
Jan 2, 2012, 10:28:40 PM1/2/12
to
No One in Particular wrote:
> Which just makes it even less likely we'll ever see cannon Galvatron
on the
> shelves ever again, I guess.
on the
> shelves ever again, I guess.
...Also Known As Thunder
Jan 2, 2012, 10:28:04 PM1/2/12
to
No One in Particular wrote:
> Which just makes it even less likely we'll ever see cannon Galvatron on the
> shelves ever again, I guess.
> shelves ever again, I guess.
...Also Known As Thunder
Jan 2, 2012, 11:06:15 PM1/2/12
to
Sorry about the multiple posts... the ISP was giving me error messages
when I tried posting.
t.k.
when I tried posting.
t.k.
Irrellius Spamticon king of the Potato people
Jan 3, 2012, 12:02:54 AM1/3/12
to
On Jan 2, 9:23 pm, Gustavo Wombat <GustavoWom...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Jan 2, 4:39 pm, "No One in Particular" <briancanad...@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> > "Irrellius Spamticon king of the Potato people" <Ob1ken...@att.net> wrote in
> > messagenews:5b041a3d-8196-4334...@v24g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...
> > On Jan 2, 8:27 am, "No One in Particular" <briancanad...@yahoo.com>
> > wrote:
>
> > >Apparently, Classics Megatron, somewhere midway through his sales run,
> > >was declared "still too close to a real gun" and now they couldn't
> > >sell that same mold in the US again.
>
> Given that Hasbro also sells toy guns for the Star Wars line, I really
> find this hard to believe. He might need a bit more bright paint in
> gun mode, but that would end up on the back of his wings in robot
> mode, so it wouldn't be so bad.
>
> Look at these:http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dtoys-and-ga...
> On Jan 2, 4:39 pm, "No One in Particular" <briancanad...@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> > "Irrellius Spamticon king of the Potato people" <Ob1ken...@att.net> wrote in
> > messagenews:5b041a3d-8196-4334...@v24g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...
> > On Jan 2, 8:27 am, "No One in Particular" <briancanad...@yahoo.com>
> > wrote:
>
> > >Apparently, Classics Megatron, somewhere midway through his sales run,
> > >was declared "still too close to a real gun" and now they couldn't
> > >sell that same mold in the US again.
>
> Given that Hasbro also sells toy guns for the Star Wars line, I really
> find this hard to believe. He might need a bit more bright paint in
> gun mode, but that would end up on the back of his wings in robot
> mode, so it wouldn't be so bad.
>
>
> Do they look significantly less real than Classics Megatron? He might
> need to have his legs and scope change color (a nice Decepticon
> purple?), but he could definitely be made to look no more real than
> those.
>
> > Which just makes it even less likely we'll ever see cannon Galvatron on the
> > shelves ever again, I guess.
>
> > Brian. No big surprise I suppose...
>
> A cannon really isn't the same thing as a handgun, so I don't see why
> that would be an issue.
>
> Gustavo!
Apparently someone decided Megatron could be repainted to look enough
> Do they look significantly less real than Classics Megatron? He might
> need to have his legs and scope change color (a nice Decepticon
> purple?), but he could definitely be made to look no more real than
> those.
>
> > Which just makes it even less likely we'll ever see cannon Galvatron on the
> > shelves ever again, I guess.
>
> > Brian. No big surprise I suppose...
>
> A cannon really isn't the same thing as a handgun, so I don't see why
> that would be an issue.
>
> Gustavo!
like a real gun, and Hasbro pulled the mold as opposed to risk a
lawsuit.
No One in Particular
Jan 5, 2012, 10:21:33 PM1/5/12
to
news:006013f0-4e41-4c9b...@r16g2000prr.googlegroups.com...
Cannonotron; the ancient collectors (us, in other words) have been wanting
cannon Galvy for years, and the new kids won't have any strong feelings one
way or t'other.
So if not the association of cannon=gun/Galvatron=Megatron, then I don't
really see a reason at all.
Brian. And I guess there may really not be any good reason, come to that.
>A cannon really isn't the same thing as a handgun, so I don't see why
>that would be an issue.
>Gustavo!
Fair point. But I don't really see any other reason not to sell
>that would be an issue.
>Gustavo!
Cannonotron; the ancient collectors (us, in other words) have been wanting
cannon Galvy for years, and the new kids won't have any strong feelings one
way or t'other.
So if not the association of cannon=gun/Galvatron=Megatron, then I don't
really see a reason at all.
Brian. And I guess there may really not be any good reason, come to that.
SteveD
Jan 12, 2012, 5:31:44 AM1/12/12
to
On Mon, 2 Jan 2012 21:02:54 -0800 (PST), Irrellius Spamticon king of the
Potato people <Ob1k...@att.net> wrote:
>Apparently someone decided Megatron could be repainted to look enough
>like a real gun, and Hasbro pulled the mold as opposed to risk a
>lawsuit.
Next week: all paper, cardboard, canvas, wood pulled from shelves.
Potato people <Ob1k...@att.net> wrote:
>Apparently someone decided Megatron could be repainted to look enough
>like a real gun, and Hasbro pulled the mold as opposed to risk a
>lawsuit.
0 new messages