Takara Transformers

[XOC2008]

I'd rather just pay $30 for the inevitable KO ratbat. I'm just not into the japanese-only stuff from back in the day, so black-soundwave-repaint is just not something I can justify spending money on. I didn't even know there was a US version.

He meant the US TRU Soundwave.

Oh yeah, sorry. US Soundwave with the yellow eyes. And while I regret spending as much as I did on a black Soundwave, that IS what I put that money in my account for, if I felt the inevitable urge to click 'add to cart' and 'checkout'. I don't feel stupid for buying, but I know it's wasted money.

I just got tired of seeing that gorgeous ratbat and knowing I'd have to bite the bullet or wait. And, I'm notoriously impatient.

 

[nacho]

Oh, I see. You're ganking the visor off the soundblaster b/c the US soundwave came with the weird yellow one, right? Ok, forgive me, I'm slow today.

 

[XOC2008]

Oh, I see. You're ganking the visor off the soundblaster b/c the US soundwave came with the weird yellow one, right? Ok, forgive me, I'm slow today.

Exactly!

 

[nacho]

That's an expensive visor!

 

[XOC2008]

Like Eddie said, I'm a sucker. But what the hell. lol

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

I would LOVE a legends class MP line!

Ark Studio VIP 01 Spook (not Smokescreen) - TFW2005 - The 2005 Boards

 

[Mandingo Rex]

What do you guys think about this?

Seems too toyish. And I feel like Takara may tackle Blaster after releasing Soundwave…

A-01 Soundmixer - Third Party Transforming Toys & Accessories Unique Toys

*EDIT*

Silly me, just realized it said 16cm, which is roughly just 6".

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

Seems kinda cheap looking to put next to MPs...and forgive my ignorance, but what are all those black pieces out front?

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Woohoo! Dinobot "Soar" (Swoop) from FT!

Fans Toys FT-05 & FT-05T Soar (Not Swoop) - TFW2005 - The 2005 Boards

AND Ultra Magnus prototype finally!

Figure King 195 Scans: Takara Transformers Masterpiece MP-22 Ultra Magnus Prototype

 

[XOC2008]

As a last minute present my wife let me order the two available TFC Ares releases, Nemean and Phlogeus.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

Why do you prefer TFCs over MMCs?

 

[XOC2008]

Why do you prefer TFCs over MMCs?

I think it looks meaner overall, to me. More "Predaking" in my eyes.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

Ah...okay...didn't know if it was anything specific...but it's more just a general appreciation...I'm the opposite...it's usually TFCs wacky color apps EVERYWHERE that turn me off...

 

[XOC2008]

Nemean and Phlogeus are here. I've watched some reviews, and for some reason it just didn't occur to me how big Nemean was till right now. (eddieism) O_O Predaking is gonna be a monster.

 

[Goldbug]

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Yeah, he looks good. Maybe a tad small for what I hoped (at least in car mode) but I like it. I read the translated interview with the designer, and it sounds like they had the issue of either making the stunted "chibi-fied" car mode, or a smaller car mode that wasn't in scale with the cars, so they opted for the smaller scale accurate car model. I'd have been okay with Bee being a tad larger, to be honest, but I still think he looks great.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

Is his not mode accurately cartoon scaled to OP?...he seems waaaaay smaller than I recall...

 

[Vindicare86]

It does seem a little small, but the scale always changed in the cartoon, maybe it's closer to the comic scale? I never read the comic really, so I couldn't tell you.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

He was always pretty damn tiny. If you watch Season 1, he's not much bigger than Spike in some scenes, but never much more than twice his height. The movie made him seem a bit bigger, though.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

His alt mode is gonna look like a go-kart next to Primes...

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Well the cartoon and toy version of the car had more Smartcar or Fiat proportions than a Beetle. I'm assuming due to licensing they had to make it a normal VW to make the automaker happy (and approve the licensing) so we got a 2/3 size proportional Beetle instead.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Just got my BBTS shipment in, with Cubex Huff and Fans Toys Scoria.

Scoria is awesome! I think he's got a few semi-loose joints, but I'll have to transform him over the weekend and check out the QC to make sure he's all intact.

Cubex Huff, on the other hand, came out of the box with about 80% of his chest paint flaked off. It's like they didn't wash off the release agent from the mold before painting it, because the paint would all flake off if I picked at it with my fingernails enough. So I've got to deal with sending that little fucker back… Sigh.

The Grimlock boots aren't perfect, but I appreciate them a lot more in person. FT has knocked 2 out of the park so far with Scoria and Quakewave, and I can't wait for the rest of the Dinobots.

Also, this guy looks pretty awesome:

Omnigonix V-01 Spinout - MP Scaled Sunstreaker - TFW2005 - The 2005 Boards

I have no idea how I keep missing these 3rd party MPs.

And last but not least, I was looking at Ratbat prices on eBay… $65 shipped from China, but without the instructions/card. Which kind of sucks… I almost pulled the trigger on a Soundblaster set on BBTS for $120, and that evening went back and the fucker bumped back up to $160. No thank you, BBTS. I would've probably bought it at $120, but not for another $40 for a fucking extra figure I don't need.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

Yeah, lots of Scorias are turning up with loose issues...jaws and arms IIRC...

Have you seen the "Rambo" kit for G2 Sideswipe?...it's hilarious and awesome at the same time...

 

[XOC2008]

Anyone see the new Hasbro Combiners? I'm unimpressed. I think they're a good effort, and capture the nostalgia of the scramble city vibe, but they look.. proportionally.. way off. I think they did some half-assed designs to try and compete with the third party stunticons/aerialbots, and they didn't follow through all the way.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

Good gawd do they look like a$$!! I mean, they are meant for kids, soooooo...

 

[XOC2008]

Sad part is, individually, the robots and vehicles look halfway decent. But that combined mode is horrible.

 

[nacho]

That's what I was thinking. A few of them look ok by themselves, but those gestalts are hysterically bad. Say what you will about the 3rd party offerings (as FP & TFC take a lot of heat on the TF boards), but those guys' worst effort absolutely destroys these hastak abortions.

 

[XOC2008]

Yeah. Honestly, I'd rather Hastak concentrate on single bots and leave combiners to the third party companies. We're not going to see a GOOD combiner from hastak without it costing just as much, or more, as a third party version anyway, so might as well leave the engineering to them.

OR fucking hire these people and put them to work designing well made, well thought out transformers.

 

[nacho]

Nothing short of a series of official MP combiners will have the detail or engineering to rival what we're getting from the 3P's right now.

Comically, these new ones look worse than the G1 originals! Yet a few of the bots look pretty cool on their own...

 

[Dr Syn]

Wait these look bad for the price of 4 Deluxes, a voyager and optional Legends figure (Chest plate car guy for Menasor and Powerglide can turn into a gun)?



Don't get me wrong, the 3rd party stuff is extremely well done. But I'm not a fan of Transformers at that price (on top of the importing to my country).

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

That's what I was thinking. A few of them look ok by themselves, but those gestalts are hysterically bad. Say what you will about the 3rd party offerings (as FP & TFC take a lot of heat on the TF boards), but those guys' worst effort absolutely destroys these hastak abortions.

Yeah, it's certainly nice to get some perspective...thanks Hasbro, for showing me what real garbage looks like...

 

[XOC2008]

TFC Toys Unofficial Divebomb color images - Transformers News - TFW2005

Finally, some pics of the TFC not-Divebomb.

 

[XOC2008]

And since I ordered the other 4, I preordered the TFC Not-Divebomb.

 

[nacho]

As much as I really enjoy 3P products and MP-scaled bots, I have all but given up on the various lines of Predacons and Dinobots. They never fit the "robots in disguise" model that the franchise was based on, and I never cared for the animal characters, except the tapes that had a real "disguise" mode. And there are so many 3P choices that all seem to have significan flaws or QC issues in one way or another, I think I'll just be saving my money and shelf space.

I'm getting far pickier with my TF purchases (and all other lines too) than I used to be. I used to be all-in on virtually any good 3P items, but I'm just reaching the point of having to pick and choose. I just don't know what to do with them all. I just finished building my house, and I feel like I need to build a bigger one.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

I finally got BBTS to replace my Cubex Huff, and even the replacement has a few scrapes on his legs. I'm assuming the paint will flake off over time, but at least it didn't come straight from the warehouse missing half the paint like the first one I got. Otherwise, I really like Huff's engineering, and he's close enough to official MP for me to like him as an MP for the time being.

Anyone seen that new Cubex rebrand (Bad Cube? Really? You have bad QC and the rebrand includes the name "bad"?) of Brawn? Looks good, but he comes packaged with Outback for almost $200. Fuck that.

 

[nacho]

Yeah, I'd be all over that Brawn, but that overpriced two-pack really kills it. Not a chance. I think enough etailers will be sitting on those that they'll eventually have to break them up or clearance them for what Brawn alone should have cost.

While trans-fans are known to pay some crazy prices, I don't see that set (at that price) being overly popular given some of the better 3P offerings/values vying for people's money. I'll certainly be in the crowd waiting for a deal or individual Brawn... or willing to do without.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Welp, FT's MP Snarl looks amazing:

FansToys Sever FT-06 (Masterpiece Snarl) - TFW2005 - The 2005 Boards

 

[nacho]

That does look good. As much as I don't want to care about MP dinos, that is impressive.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

I'm likely buying all the FT Dibots. I really dug Scoria.

 

[nacho]

I originally held off because they had said there would be a toy deco version of scoria (i.e. black head). Since then they have announced the swoop toy version but not scoria. That kinda turned me off, and since then, I've just decided that the money, space, and interest for MP dinos wasn't there. But once they all come out, I might be sorry... but for the moment, I'm sticking to my 3P-dino-free collection.