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Piranacon Introspective
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M D
Jan 7, 2012, 11:49:57 AM1/7/12
to
ATT,
I just unboxed my BBTS Piranacon, and had a flood of memories,
thoughts and questions.
1.) Back in 87?, when I got my original one, I bought the giftset,
which to my horror later discovered that Nautilator was not included.
I had no idea if this was a goof, or if the toy really existed (there
was no interwebs to answer all questions). About a year later, I
spotted him at a KayBee toys on clearance. I almost started crying I
was so excited, it was tantamount to discovering the holy grail. I
never quite knew what to do with the extra appendage though...
2.) I never knew Snaptrap was a turtle!! All these years, and I
though he was just a generic sea monster. I don't recall this
information being in his original tech specs, but have not yet
verified this. Totally makes sense though with his two in speed
(remember when techs were not produced with random number generators?)
3.) It always bothered me that Piranicon was a wimp, relative to
other gestalts. In his tech, it says that Piranacon is more that the
sum of his parts, but mathematically, it is not true. He is just as
strong as Snaptrap by himself (9), and his endurance falls from 9 to 6
when in Gestalt mode!!! Skill also falls 2. FirePOWER (Fuk the
lawyers) goes up from 8 to 10. All in all, I think they would be
better off not combining. This got me thinking.... Since gestaults
always "die" by falling apart, maybe they should all have lower
endurance?
4.) Curious what the younger fans think of the mold. Yes, a two year
old could figure out all the transformations, there heads don't
swivel, and they have little to no articulation... but that made them
so much fun to play with. You could actually transform them. Also,
they came with more guns than a tea party convention in AZ.
5.) Next to Devastator, this was always my favorite gestault, with
predaking a close third.
6.) What's with the chromed out sword? Kinda ghetto. I prefer the
fish flesh colored one. I always imagined it smelled really bad,
making him that much more frightening.
-Banzai-Tron
I just unboxed my BBTS Piranacon, and had a flood of memories,
thoughts and questions.
1.) Back in 87?, when I got my original one, I bought the giftset,
which to my horror later discovered that Nautilator was not included.
I had no idea if this was a goof, or if the toy really existed (there
was no interwebs to answer all questions). About a year later, I
spotted him at a KayBee toys on clearance. I almost started crying I
was so excited, it was tantamount to discovering the holy grail. I
never quite knew what to do with the extra appendage though...
2.) I never knew Snaptrap was a turtle!! All these years, and I
though he was just a generic sea monster. I don't recall this
information being in his original tech specs, but have not yet
verified this. Totally makes sense though with his two in speed
(remember when techs were not produced with random number generators?)
3.) It always bothered me that Piranicon was a wimp, relative to
other gestalts. In his tech, it says that Piranacon is more that the
sum of his parts, but mathematically, it is not true. He is just as
strong as Snaptrap by himself (9), and his endurance falls from 9 to 6
when in Gestalt mode!!! Skill also falls 2. FirePOWER (Fuk the
lawyers) goes up from 8 to 10. All in all, I think they would be
better off not combining. This got me thinking.... Since gestaults
always "die" by falling apart, maybe they should all have lower
endurance?
4.) Curious what the younger fans think of the mold. Yes, a two year
old could figure out all the transformations, there heads don't
swivel, and they have little to no articulation... but that made them
so much fun to play with. You could actually transform them. Also,
they came with more guns than a tea party convention in AZ.
5.) Next to Devastator, this was always my favorite gestault, with
predaking a close third.
6.) What's with the chromed out sword? Kinda ghetto. I prefer the
fish flesh colored one. I always imagined it smelled really bad,
making him that much more frightening.
-Banzai-Tron
Zobovor
Jan 7, 2012, 2:05:36 PM1/7/12
to
On Jan 7, 9:49 am, M D <banzaitron....@gmail.com> wrote:
> 1.) Back in 87?, when I got my original one, I bought the giftset,
> which to my horror later discovered that Nautilator was not included.
> I had no idea if this was a goof, or if the toy really existed (there
> was no interwebs to answer all questions). About a year later, I
> spotted him at a KayBee toys on clearance. I almost started crying I
> was so excited, it was tantamount to discovering the holy grail. I
> never quite knew what to do with the extra appendage though...
Technically, Piranacon is a Targetmaster, and his fists are designed
> 1.) Back in 87?, when I got my original one, I bought the giftset,
> which to my horror later discovered that Nautilator was not included.
> I had no idea if this was a goof, or if the toy really existed (there
> was no interwebs to answer all questions). About a year later, I
> spotted him at a KayBee toys on clearance. I almost started crying I
> was so excited, it was tantamount to discovering the holy grail. I
> never quite knew what to do with the extra appendage though...
so that he can hold one of the Seacons in weapon mode as his handheld
gun. One supposes Hasbro left out the sixth Seacon for cost reasons,
though I think Seawing is the weakest of them and should have been the
one to get ejected from the team.
I got Skalor and Nautilator before I was aware of the existence of the
gift set, which my Dad got for me for Christmas in 1988. The head
broke off my original Skalor, so I was lucky that the gift set
included a replacement Skalor for me as well as leaving out
Nautilator, since I already had him.
> 2.) I never knew Snaptrap was a turtle!! All these years, and I
> though he was just a generic sea monster. I don't recall this
> information being in his original tech specs, but have not yet
> verified this. Totally makes sense though with his two in speed
> (remember when techs were not produced with random number generators?)
aquatic creature—Nautilator is a lobster; Tenta-Kil is a squid; Skalor
is a fish (I want to say a coelacanth); Overbite is a shark; and
Seawing is a manta. (Snaptrap reminds me of Gamera a little bit.)
> 3.) It always bothered me that Piranicon was a wimp, relative to
> other gestalts. In his tech, it says that Piranacon is more that the
> sum of his parts, but mathematically, it is not true. He is just as
> strong as Snaptrap by himself (9), and his endurance falls from 9 to 6
> when in Gestalt mode!
Snaptrap's Strength rating of 9 is probably compared to other normal-
sized Transformers, while Piranacon's Strength is probably in relation
to other combiner modes. (This is how I justify characters like
Blurr, Astrotrain, and Jetfire all having a Speed rating of 10, even
though they each have a very different maximum top speed.)
> 4.) Curious what the younger fans think of the mold. Yes, a two year
> old could figure out all the transformations, there heads don't
> swivel, and they have little to no articulation... but that made them
> so much fun to play with. You could actually transform them. Also,
> they came with more guns than a tea party convention in AZ.
here with a report of his opinion on them.
> 5.) Next to Devastator, this was always my favorite gestault, with
> predaking a close third.
always been immensely fond of him. I loved the fact that they finally
did a combiner team that turned into creatures instead of vehicles,
and each of the individual toys is really large and impressive (Skalor
could gobble up First Aid for breakfast).
> 6.) What's with the chromed out sword? Kinda ghetto. I prefer the
> fish flesh colored one. I always imagined it smelled really bad,
> making him that much more frightening.
Zob
Gustavo Wombat
Jan 7, 2012, 3:18:00 PM1/7/12
to
On Jan 7, 8:49 am, M D <banzaitron....@gmail.com> wrote:
> ATT,
>
> I just unboxed my BBTS Piranacon, and had a flood of memories,
> thoughts and questions.
Oooh. This really is one of the good toys. If anyone on ATT hasn't
> ATT,
>
> I just unboxed my BBTS Piranacon, and had a flood of memories,
> thoughts and questions.
gotten it, I really have to say just buy it already -- a gorgeous
sculpt, and still a fun toy despite being 25 years old.
> 2.) I never knew Snaptrap was a turtle!! All these years, and I
> though he was just a generic sea monster. I don't recall this
> information being in his original tech specs, but have not yet
> verified this. Totally makes sense though with his two in speed
> (remember when techs were not produced with random number generators?)
shark, who is based on a classic Saturday Night Live skit. So you were
half right.
> 4.) Curious what the younger fans think of the mold. Yes, a two year
> old could figure out all the transformations, there heads don't
> swivel, and they have little to no articulation... but that made them
> so much fun to play with. You could actually transform them. Also,
> they came with more guns than a tea party convention in AZ.
possibly for a younger target audience. The simplicity is also an
elegance.
> 5.) Next to Devastator, this was always my favorite gestault, with
> predaking a close third.
my favorites were Devastator, Predaking, and Menasaur. Probably just
who got the most air time.
I never knew the Seacons existed until I was much older, and beginning
to get back into the Transformers. But as soon as I saw them, I wanted
them. And, older still, they are my favorites right behind Predaking.
I'm bothered by the scale issues with some of the other combiners
(giant motorcycles, tiny shuttles, a jeep the size of a tank...), but
mechanical sea monsters have none of those issues.
The God Neptune color scheme is better, but it lacks the flare of the
originals. And by flare, I mean, ability to hang out with Barbie
(seriously, were the Seacons some bungled attempt to extend the market
to girls?)
> 6.) What's with the chromed out sword? Kinda ghetto. I prefer the
> fish flesh colored one. I always imagined it smelled really bad,
> making him that much more frightening.
original sword, so I can have a Salmon Saber.
Gustavo!
I. R. Caughn
Jan 11, 2012, 4:18:33 AM1/11/12
to
On Jan 7, 11:49 am, M D <banzaitron....@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 6.) What's with the chromed out sword? Kinda ghetto. I prefer the
> fish flesh colored one. I always imagined it smelled really bad,
> making him that much more frightening.
Oh, snap! I've had this guy sitting on my desk for, like, over a year
>
> 6.) What's with the chromed out sword? Kinda ghetto. I prefer the
> fish flesh colored one. I always imagined it smelled really bad,
> making him that much more frightening.
now and I totally never twigged to the fact that they changed the
sword colour!
Hm... I dunno, I see your point, but I kinda like the chrome. It
matches better with Menasor's. I kinda like the idea that 'Con
gestalts would tend to make their killin' blades out of the same
alloy... awesumium, perhaps.
J ('course, Predaking opted for the deluxe, ultra-spiffy model made
entirely of of beyitchdecapitatorium... that's tougher to come by...
you gotta raze at least twenty-three planets worth of Blue
Rastafarians to get enough to make a belt buckle...)
Blaster Master
Jan 11, 2012, 7:51:41 AM1/11/12
to
Those last couple paragraphs made me laugh so hard, I don't know if
I'll eat breakfast because my stomach hurts so bad!!!
--
Blaster Master
a.k.a.
Brad S. Russell
I'll eat breakfast because my stomach hurts so bad!!!
--
Blaster Master
a.k.a.
Brad S. Russell
I. R. Caughn
Jan 11, 2012, 7:09:57 PM1/11/12
to
On Jan 11, 7:51 am, Blaster Master <bsr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> Those last couple paragraphs made me laugh so hard, I don't know if
> I'll eat breakfast because my stomach hurts so bad!!!
Aw man, sorry t'hear it. Never meant to mess with nobody's gastro-
>
> Those last couple paragraphs made me laugh so hard, I don't know if
> I'll eat breakfast because my stomach hurts so bad!!!
intestinals... just thinkin' out loud...
J (wait, I totally typed "gestalt" this morning... where did *that*
come from?! 'Tis, like, my least favourite fan-term... other than "Sam
Witwicky", that is...)
G.B. Blackrock
Jan 13, 2012, 1:55:10 PM1/13/12
to
On Jan 7, 8:49 am, M D <banzaitron....@gmail.com> wrote:
> 4.) Curious what the younger fans think of the mold. Yes, a two year
> old could figure out all the transformations, there heads don't
> swivel, and they have little to no articulation... but that made them
> so much fun to play with. You could actually transform them. Also,
> they came with more guns than a tea party convention in AZ.
That last line was too good to pass up. I quoted it in my recent blog
> 4.) Curious what the younger fans think of the mold. Yes, a two year
> old could figure out all the transformations, there heads don't
> swivel, and they have little to no articulation... but that made them
> so much fun to play with. You could actually transform them. Also,
> they came with more guns than a tea party convention in AZ.
entry on the BBTS Seacons.
http://transformingseminarian.blogspot.com/2012/01/more-guns-than-tea-party-convention-in.html
G.B. Blackrock
Optim_1
Jan 14, 2012, 3:46:36 PM1/14/12
to
On 13 jan, 13:55, "G.B. Blackrock" <nicodemusleg...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> That last line was too good to pass up. I quoted it in my recent blog
> entry on the BBTS Seacons.
>
> http://transformingseminarian.blogspot.com/2012/01/more-guns-than-tea...
>
> That last line was too good to pass up. I quoted it in my recent blog
> entry on the BBTS Seacons.
>
>
> G.B. Blackrock
I disagree with you when you said the following statement in your
blog:
"I still believe that the reason that the Toys R Us reissues of the
early 2000's failed to sell better is because the prices were placed
too high. "
I think the reason they failed is because they were not really
faithful to the originals for various reasons. Optimus had short
smokestacks, the Seekers had ugly long missiles, Prowl had unchromed
accessories and so on. Hasbro says that it was because of child safety
laws, but these toys are supposed to be marketed to collectors ONLY,
not to kids. I was disappointed to find these changes to the toys and
decided to hunt down the Takara versions despite the higher prices. I
got a few back then and then got the rest during the Encore line.
Hasbro is doing the same thing to Piranacon. Their version is not
faithful to the original. The biggest cost-cutting move is Overbite
which is lacking his purple colour found in the original. So I didn't
buy the Hasbro version despite always wanting a version of Piranacon
which I never had as a kid. There are plenty of other reissues (from
Takara of course) or high-quality knock-offs (unlicenced reissues)
that I plan to buy before I even consider Piranacon. Hasbro has shown
that it would rather cut corners and not go the extra mile to have the
products that collectors like, so therefore collectors turn to other
companies like Takara to get what they want.
Irrellius Spamticon king of the Potato people
Jan 15, 2012, 2:18:50 AM1/15/12
to
stores they had to follow "toy" laws because being on a store shelf
next to toys, kids were likely to pick these up and possibly buy them.
Sometimes, toys back in the day were "dangerous", sometimes they were
changed because it had flaws that were only made obvious when
thousands of people broke this 1 joint that wasn't reinforced. But
these minor changes were not the reason the reissues line saw such
poor sales.
The reason I didn't buy the reissues isn't because they were expensive
(well, not only because) but mainly because I already had it. These
were marketed at collectors, but many collectors went out and found
the original release, even on the secondary market. Even though my
Seacons are incomplete (missing a few guns and weapon stands) I value
it more than I would the reissue. There is a certain history there
that I just don't feel with the reissues. I bought reissue Jazz and
Thundercracker, but they didn't impress me and I still have them, but
I also have their G1 counterpart. I spent more time tracking down the
G1 than I did the reissues too. I feel like I worked harder getting
those than I did the reissues.
Zobovor
Jan 15, 2012, 12:28:06 PM1/15/12
to
On Jan 14, 1:46 pm, Optim_1 <opti...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I disagree with you when you said the following statement in your
> blog:
>
> "I still believe that the reason that the Toys R Us reissues of the
> early 2000's failed to sell better is because the prices were placed
> too high. "
I disagree with your disagreement. Toys "R" Us could have charged
> I disagree with you when you said the following statement in your
> blog:
>
> "I still believe that the reason that the Toys R Us reissues of the
> early 2000's failed to sell better is because the prices were placed
> too high. "
more reasonable prices for the reissues and still turned a profit—
indeed, they probably would have made more money in the long run since
a lot more casual collectors would have been likely to drop $20.00 per
toy rather than $30.00 or $35.00. Given that Takara had already done
all the necessary tooling, Hasbro didn't have any development costs to
recoup, and they were selling the reissues to Toys "R" Us for
significantly less than what the stores turned around and charged
customers. Standard retail markup for toys (the amount the stores add
to the wholesale price they paid) is around twenty to twenty-five
percent, and the markup for the Toys "R" Us reissues was hovering
around 45% or so.
> I think the reason they failed is because they were not really
> faithful to the originals for various reasons. Optimus had short
> smokestacks, the Seekers had ugly long missiles, Prowl had unchromed
> accessories and so on. Hasbro says that it was because of child safety
> laws, but these toys are supposed to be marketed to collectors ONLY,
> not to kids.
collectibles or not, toys are still legally required to meet certain
safety standards in the U.S., and the standards have grown more
stringent since the original G1 toys were released. It was either
change the toys to meet modern safety regulations or not release them
at all. (They could have released long smokestacks for Prime if they
were soft and rubbery, but then they wouldn't have been chromed. They
could have chromed Prowl's missiles and made shorter missiles for
Starscream if the launchers didn't work, but then people would have
complained that the launchers got neutered. Given that we never had a
functional missile-launching G1 Starscream, you'd think people
wouldn't have minded the larger, more impressive, less fragile
weaponry. Both of my original G1 Starscream missiles broke within a
year of me owning them.)
> Hasbro is doing the same thing to Piranacon. Their version is not
> faithful to the original. The biggest cost-cutting move is Overbite
> which is lacking his purple colour found in the original.
unpainted head doesn't look right to me, either.
Zob
Optim_1
Jan 15, 2012, 6:05:09 PM1/15/12
to
On 15 jan, 12:28, Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> Like Irrellius said, regardless of whether they're marketed as
> collectibles or not, toys are still legally required to meet certain
> safety standards in the U.S., and the standards have grown more
> stringent since the original G1 toys were released. It was either
> change the toys to meet modern safety regulations or not release them
> at all.
These regulations apply only to kids under 16 years of age. Hasbro
>
> Like Irrellius said, regardless of whether they're marketed as
> collectibles or not, toys are still legally required to meet certain
> safety standards in the U.S., and the standards have grown more
> stringent since the original G1 toys were released. It was either
> change the toys to meet modern safety regulations or not release them
> at all.
just has to find a prominent place in the toy packaging stating that
these toys are for 16 year olds and older and must be kept away from
the reach of children. To ensure that the message comes across, the
first page of the toy instruction manuals should have the same
warnings along with a brief explanation on why. BBTS does this on
their website on toys that require these warnings.
Zobovor
Jan 15, 2012, 9:14:21 PM1/15/12
to
On Jan 15, 4:05 pm, Optim_1 <opti...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> These regulations apply only to kids under 16 years of age. Hasbro
> just has to find a prominent place in the toy packaging stating that
> these toys are for 16 year olds and older and must be kept away from
> the reach of children. To ensure that the message comes across, the
> first page of the toy instruction manuals should have the same
> warnings along with a brief explanation on why. BBTS does this on
> their website on toys that require these warnings.
My understanding of the law is that it just doesn't work that way.
> These regulations apply only to kids under 16 years of age. Hasbro
> just has to find a prominent place in the toy packaging stating that
> these toys are for 16 year olds and older and must be kept away from
> the reach of children. To ensure that the message comes across, the
> first page of the toy instruction manuals should have the same
> warnings along with a brief explanation on why. BBTS does this on
> their website on toys that require these warnings.
Either Transformers are toys or they're not. Unless you want Hasbro
to add key rings to every single one of them and market them as
novelty keychains, I don't see how they could be anything else but
toys. They're produced by a toy manufacturing company and sold in toy
stores. What would have been the point of Hasbro reissuing the G1
toys at all if nobody could find them? They can print hazard warnings
on every panel of the box, but the safety regulations are federal
laws. They don't get to sidestep them because of some disclaimers on
the packaging. Hasbro would face heavy fines and risk having their
product pulled from shelves if they intentionally released a product
that was unsafe.
BigBadToyStore's warning are for imported collectibles that weren't
produced for the U.S. market and aren't subject to domestic safety
laws. There's already a company that produces Transformers outside
the U.S. that can get away with less stringent safety regulations than
Hasbro—it's called TakaraTomy.
Zob
Irrellius Spamticon king of the Potato people
Jan 16, 2012, 3:09:47 AM1/16/12
to
marketed as collectibles, they would require absolutely no changes
from the original. The downside of this is that stores wouldn't be
able to merchandise them in toy sections or next to toys, so most
retailers would simply choose not to stock this product at all, and
Hasbro's entire market would consist of people who found the item and
ordered online, which is significantly a smaller crowd than would see
it in a store. Hasbro chose to make these changes so that stores would
have the option of putting these items on store shelves next to other
Transformers items.
Even with a big on-the-box disclaimer, if these were marketed in a
toys section of a store (which in toys r us is the whole store) they
would have to meet the safety standards. Many parents do not read
anything on a box their kid picks up in a toy store. A disclaimer
isn't helpful if the child cannot read it and the parent responsible
chooses not to.
Big Mcfarlane horror movie statuettes and Spawn figures all had to
follow the same safety standards, even though they were "rated M for
mature" and obviously not aimed at children under 14. they followed
all the safety guidelines so they could be carried in stores and
people would find them.
Onslaught Six
Jan 16, 2012, 8:34:27 AM1/16/12
to
On Jan 15, 12:28 pm, Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
> (They could have released long smokestacks for Prime if they
> were soft and rubbery, but then they wouldn't have been chromed. They
> could have chromed Prowl's missiles and made shorter missiles for
> Starscream if the launchers didn't work, but then people would have
> complained that the launchers got neutered. Given that we never had a
> functional missile-launching G1 Starscream, you'd think people
> wouldn't have minded the larger, more impressive, less fragile
> weaponry. Both of my original G1 Starscream missiles broke within a
> year of me owning them.)
I actually prefer the reissue Seeker robot mode missiles to the
> (They could have released long smokestacks for Prime if they
> were soft and rubbery, but then they wouldn't have been chromed. They
> could have chromed Prowl's missiles and made shorter missiles for
> Starscream if the launchers didn't work, but then people would have
> complained that the launchers got neutered. Given that we never had a
> functional missile-launching G1 Starscream, you'd think people
> wouldn't have minded the larger, more impressive, less fragile
> weaponry. Both of my original G1 Starscream missiles broke within a
> year of me owning them.)
originals. (Obviously I don't prefer the vehicle mode missiles, but
who does?) They resemble the cartoon guns more, and also the Classics
Seeker guns.
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