Transformers

[DConnell Member]

10 hours ago, sc302 said:

Prime is the best next to g1. The tv adaption of g1 ended horribly, imo....no closure.  But then again, it was horribly written in comparison to prime. You ever go back to the old voltron?  It is painful to sit through. 

 

 

I ignore "Rebirth" in favor of the three Japanese G1 shows, Headmasters, Masterforce and Victory.

 

G1 may not have aged well, but it was very good compared to its contemporaries. It was one of the first American cartoons in which the bad guys were actually allowed to be halfway competent and not comic relief. It was an early step away from the whimsical shows we'd had in the 60s and 70s and the solid rich storytelling we get in many cartoons today. (Compare Super Friends to Justice League to see what I mean.)

[DConnell Member]

 

Bumblebees.

 

In the middle is G2 Bumblebee, a metallic redeco of the original Microman-based G1 Bumblebee. Little posability, but still a nice figure, and remarkably good shape for a figure from the early 90s.

 

On the left is the brand-new Titans Return Bumblebee, which manages to look like a mini version of the Classics toy. The arms are a bit weird, but he's decent. And he has room in his car mode for a Titanmaster figure, which might finally convince me to get TM Fort Max, so I can have a Spike to ride in him.

 

On the right is Legends Bumblebee, which is an odd mix of homages. The robot mode is patterned after War For Cybertron Bumblebee (making it an Aligned/WFC/Prime homage) while the car mode is kind of a compact sportscar - almost a blend of classic and modern Bees.

[sc302 Veteran]

3 hours ago, DConnell said:

I ignore "Rebirth" in favor of the three Japanese G1 shows, Headmasters, Masterforce and Victory.

 

G1 may not have aged well, but it was very good compared to its contemporaries. It was one of the first American cartoons in which the bad guys were actually allowed to be halfway competent and not comic relief. It was an early step away from the whimsical shows we'd had in the 60s and 70s and the solid rich storytelling we get in many cartoons today. (Compare Super Friends to Justice League to see what I mean.)

If they only took a better look at robotics/macross. The series looks dated but the storyline is still enjoyable...I occasionally put it on and complete the first series. 

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1 hour ago, sc302 said:

If they only took a better look at robotics/macross. The series looks dated but the storyline is still enjoyable...I occasionally put it on and complete the first series. 

Macross is in a class of its own.

 

The Transformers cartoon was made quickly and cheaply - the main point was toy promotion rather than art. Sunbow just managed to create something amazing despite themselves. Probably the characters developed for the toys by Bob Budiansky had a lot to do with it. While his frustration was evident in the quality of the storylines at the end of his comic run, he was responsible for the first few years of character profiles and the first few years of comics. His "Warrior School" storyline is one of the best, easily standing up to anything Simon Furman wrote.

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Same three `Bees in car mode.

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Insecticons! Shrapnel, Bombshell and Kickback.

 

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3 trucks with a bit of transition. Trailbreaker, then Movie Ironhide, who has a vaguely similar colorscheme. Finally, CW Ironhide, who shares the name with the movie character, but is an update of the G1 character.

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The mix doesn't work as well in robot modes - you've got 2 traditional-looking Autobots and a pile of truck parts with legs.

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In the end, there can be only one!

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Bumblebee with Brawn Blaster (Titan Master Brawn set in gun mode)

 

Wheelie with Clobber Cannon (Titan Master Clobber in gun mode). Or, since Clobber is actually supposed to be Grimlock, maybe Grimgun?

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A couple movie `bots. Jazz is a repaint of the 2007 figure in a deco homaging the G1 character. It added some much needed visual interest to the mold - the solid silver of the first release was very dull.

 

Bumblebee is a Dark of the Moon release. Good posability, with a simpler transformation compared to other versions.

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Okay, this is a big one. 6 toys, 3 characters and 3 basic molds between them. G1 toys paired with their recent updates. I'd have G1 Magnus in there if he weren't in storage, so Classics UM is filling in.

 

Legends Super Ginrai      G1 Powermaster Optimus Prime

G1 Super Ginrai                Titans Return Powermaster Optimus Prime

Legends Ultra Magnus     Classics Ultra Magnus (with City Protector trailer/armor)

 

 

The top left, middle right and bottom left figures are all the same design, with Legends Magnus as the original and the other two are extensive remolds. In fact, they're almost brand new figures who just share a transformation scheme with Magnus. Hasbro and Takara used to try to resell Leader class figures just by repainting them - they were even the same character. I never bothered with those. But change up the design to make it a different character? That's a different story, apparenty.

 

G1 Ginrai is a remold of G1 PMOP, nearly identical apart from the metal cab. But again, different characters.

 

Classics Ultra Magnus is really just the cab - the trailer is a 3rd party addon which becomes armor and a BFG.

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Generations Blitzwing with my latest figure, Titans Return Megatron. Megatron is actually a "pretool" of the upcoming TR Blitzwing. So Blitzy gets to see what his next upgrade will look like!

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Tank modes. Megatron's Titan Master Doomshot is manning his turret, while Blitzwing beings up the rear.

 

Both have about the same amount of jet kibble, but handle it differently. Blitzwing has blatant stabilizer wings on the back of the tank, while Megatron uses his main wings as armor. If you look closely you can see the rear stabilizers slotted neatly in the front of the tank.

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Finally, jet modes. Again, they have different strengths and weaknesses.

 

Megatron looks better overall (and is more stable) but rests awkwardly on his tank turret. (On the bright side, the swiveling turret gives him a bad@** undercarriage gun.) He also has the tank treads obviously on the side of the jet. And the factory-applied stickers don't stick well.

 

Blitzwing integrates the tank parts better overall, but doesn't peg together quite as easily. And the soft nosecone doesn't stay in place very well.

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A bit of touch-up done to Galvatron. Originally, the entire Titan Master face was unpainted except for the eyes. I took a silver Sharpie and painted the face with it. As you can see, it makes his facial features stand out nicely even behind the mask.

 

 

I have a helmet coming from Toyhax which will further improve Galvatron's look. I'll post a picture once it comes in.

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Some awesome news for Ginrai fans yesterday. The first images of Perfect Effect's upgrade to Takara's Super Ginrai were released. The upgrade is basically a small Optimus/Ginrai figure that replaces the integrated cab of the figure. So with this set, you'll have a transforming cab bot that can become the core of the big robot, just like on the original G1 figure. No pictures of the combined form or cab mode yet, but I love the look of the robot. Even if I don't upgrade the offical figure with the PE kit, it still looks like a worthwhile buy.

 

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Bumblebee playing squire to Optimus

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Bringing this thread back from life support ...

 

Here we have 4 different Brawns.

The three green ones are all takes on G1 Brawn. Titans Return Brawn is holding Titan Master Brawn in gun mode, effectively wielding HIMSELF! On the left is an earlier Legends class Brawn, nicely detailed but not a lot of posability. On the right is X-Brawn from 2001's Robots in Disguise line. He's a Spychanger figure, which turns into a Matchbox set compatible vehicle.

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Same four in vehicle mode. X-Brawn may not be the same guy as the others, but he's tough enough to fit in.

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Bringing this thread back to life ...

 

Titans Return is doing some amazing things with remolds and shared engineering. Take a look at Broadside and Alpha Trion.

 

Here they are in aircraft carrier (Broadside) and starship modes (Alpha Trion). The similarity is pretty evident.

 

Next up, robot modes. There's more differentiation but the general profiles are similar.

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Finally, their third modes ... What madness is THIS?!? These are the same figures as before - Broadside is the jet, Alpha Trion is the lion.

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My Christmas display

Front row - Thor, Quasar, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Ginrai

Back row (roughly) - Optimus Prime, the Flash, the Doctor, Jazz, Batman, Shadowcat, Godzilla, Starman

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