Takara Transformers

[G.I.*EDDIE]

yeah, I too am not a fan of fighting games like Mortal Kombat. Way too repetitive and boring. I prefer open world with lots to do besides just jamming buttons to hit another character.

Limited cast is a bummer, but i suspect/hope that there'll be some DLC characters.

Another awesome thing to go with the returning voice cast will be the highly likely return of the classic theme, the sound effects! I DL'd some cheesy free Voltron game on my PS3. Its awesome for the incredibly awesome theme that plays on loop. Its one of, if not my most favorite toon themes ever. So triumphant!

 

[Mandingo Rex]

"Did that Prime boy knock you down again, son?"

I've got to paint quite a bit on Optimus. There's very little on the D-Style Megatron that needs painting, except for some black on the "mini" version of himself that comes with it, and his black unibrow. Otherwise, he's pretty much all the colors he should be, and he comes in a nice metallic silver.

Prime, on the other hand, was intended to look more cartoon like, but I don't like how cheap it looks next to Megatron. I don't particularly want to repaint the figure either, so I don't know if I'll wind up painting anything chrome or silver, but he looks a little bit bland right now. Prime's mini-trailer version of himself needs extensive painting, which is annoying. Also, his blaster is fucking light gray! Blarg.

Likely I'll never get around to painting the parts, but it's something to do one day I suppose. Prime definitely needs some chrome or silver at the very least.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

:lmao:

So what you have there is how they came?

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Yeah. All the promo shots show them fully painted and detailed, and they're not. Which I expected from a review or 2, but it's really annoying that his gun isn't cast in black, since tolerances are tight and there's no way that gun won't have paint scrape off.

I'd never put together a snap kit model before, but unlike a model car, tolerances are insanely tight. And even as careful and OCD as I am, I still knicked a few bits of plastic with my Xacto cutting off the sprues to make sure all corresponding parts fit flush. I like them, I just feel like for $35 and 2 hours to put together, it'd have been nice if his gun was cast in black and his "metal" parts were at least silver like Megatron. Prime feels cheap next to Megs, who doesn't really need any paint unless you're OCD about his brows, which are sculpted but mostly hidden by his helmet. Megs also has 2 other facial expressions, and one is an open mouth that needs painting, too. I'm not a huge fan of either alt face though, so I doubt I'll bother.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

Don't paint the handle?

So excite!

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rSESEZdGmUQ[/ame]

Optimistic review.

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/t...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

[Goldbug]

It is for PC!
I really don't care for this mostly hand combat style.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Best one so far. I don't think a single company has made a competing product with FT that was actually better. Theirs aren't perfect, but are about as close to the official thing right after Takara.

FansToys FT-15 Willy (Masterpiece Hound) - TFW2005.com

 

[nacho]

Yeah, I like MT's Gundog quite a bit, but I really did not like the TFC Detective. That thing had duck feet and looked nothing like Hound. FT's does look really good, and it's already up for preorder.

It's crazy how these come in waves. Two companies do Devastator, three do Predakings, three do Dinobots, two do Mirage, three do Hound... and then there are obvious characters that get no love at all. But I assume that next year there will be three doing the same figure. Don't get me wrong, I like choices, but it feels like there is so much overlap that part of it feels like redundant effort. Hopefully the money-pie is large enough for all these good 3P companies to coexist competing with the same characters.

GB, glad to hear the PC version is included. I have a good PC, so maybe I won't need a console...

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Yeah, I honestly wish that they'd divide their efforts, but unless it's BadCube or maybe KFC/XTB/Omnigonix, I haven't been impressed by any "other" versions besides FT's in the first place. I'm no FT fanboy by any stretch, but they're by far the best versions out there, if you ask me. Their aesthetic is spot-on.

Doesn't mean I won't buy a few outliers, but I have yet to skip an FT MP yet, and I've already skipped Star Saber from Takara (along with the various repaints that I don't really count as G1 figures like G2 Sideswipe, etc).

I have 3x as much FT items on preorder as any other companies combined, including Takara. That's embarrassing for TakTomy.

 

[nacho]

I'm in the same boat. I don't have any affinity towards FT inherently, but when I look at my preorder list, there is more FT than any other single make. But I have stuff preordered from Badcube, XTB, Omni, KFC, DX9, UT, Warbo, Iron Factory, Voodoo, T&R.... So I'm definitely not excluding anyone at this point I have a single Takara product on order, so I'm not excluding them either, but at this stage, 90% of my toy budget goes to 3P TFs.

I'd say my fav behind FT would be DX9. I love their little legends figures, and they have some interesting MP scale stuff too. While not slavishly G1 per se, Invisible is a great figure, and I'm all in on Carry. He looks all kinds of badass.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Has anyone shown a comparison between Hercules and Combiner Wars Devy?

 

[nacho]

Titan Devy is supposed to be 2-3 inches taller than Herc, but I don't think I've seen any actual comparison pics. I'm sure that's a popular question, as I'd like the taller Devy for the MP shelf, even if he's not "official" MP.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

As much as I liked Hercules when he came out, he doesn't really fit in with my collection.

CW Devy looks pretty damn good, at a fraction of the price. And he's bigger? Not sure I'll get him and bother with selling off Hercules at a loss, but Hercules has lost some love over the years since I've owned him. Doesn't seem to have aged well...

 

[nacho]

Agreed, and I just unboxed my herc last week (yeah, he'd just been in storage for 2-3 years). He's a nice big figure, but compared to the stuff that's coming out now, the original TFC releases do seem a bit dated.

I have decided that I'll likely display Herc and Uranos fighting each other separately from my main MP display, and Titan Devy will take Herc's place. And while I will likely keep him in Devy form nearly all the time, the HasTak bots actually look like the G1 characters far more than herc's bots, and my inner G1 nostalgia wank likes that.

 

[nacho]

Has anyone shown a comparison between Hercules and Combiner Wars Devy?

Saw this pic tonight:

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

I love that Warbotron Devy...but man, do I need another $600 Devastator?

Id get rid of Herc, but I spent so much time fixing him.

CW Devy looks pretty damn good

I'm unfriending you poor taste weirdos for thinking that that CW garbage looks even the slightest bit good.

MR, don't sext me anymore.

... but Hercules has lost some love over the years since I've owned him. Doesn't seem to have aged well...

He was dated the day he came out. TFCs designs seem like 10yrs ago stuff.

 

[nacho]

Again, I'm not over-the-moon about CW Devy, but the individual bots look like they stepped straight out of the toon -- I'd have trouble identifying half the Herc bots, and CWD's got the height to not look silly on the MP shelf. All for $150-ish. But no question, there are compromises.

None of them are perfect. That new one isn't Warbo but a new company, right? The gestalt looks good but the bots look nothing like they're supposed to. No way I'm spending that kind of money on another not-quite-right Devy. Besides, I'm still trying to talk myself into getting the two current Warbo combiners.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

Supposedly WB and GT are one in the same admitted by WB to Chinese fans somewhere. So is it true? No idea. But the design cues between the two companies look ridiculously similar.

As for the set...robot modes looking like their G1 toon or toy counterparts matters not to me. The set would be combined 99% of the time anyway.

I also haven't caved on WBs stuff. I don't like how insanely massive their Computrons limbs are. I picked up MTs offering. And I like their Brute, but he's so over detailed and kinda too large.



.

 

[nacho]

I couldn't get past MT Computron's scale. I was not happy with tiny FP Menasor, and I can't be bothered with more tiny combiners, not counting the upcoming Legends scale offerings.

Warbo Bruticus and Computron look great to me, but those two together cost a grand. That hurts when I don't have much place to put them.

I'm all over MP stuff and legends stuff. Huge or tiny, but nothing in between...

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

I was trying for a larger combiner scale too, but I couldn't pass up green Giant in that beautiful packaging. Then Intimidator came along, and I thought he looked really cool. All the while TFC kept putting out crap in a slightly bigger scale. Then Quantron came out in more of MTs gorgeous packaging. And now MT is releasing their insanely awesome Defensor.

Basically, I've backed myself into a smaller scale. But since I don't need or want my combiners to all be exactly the same height, it works out. I'll have Intimidator as the smallest (Stupid tiny Motormaster). Then Throttletron, made up of SUVs bigger then the car combiner. Quantron, cybertronian vehicles but the car bots between it and Intimidator scale, so whatever. Then Uranos (until a suitable replacement comes along) still not being nearly big enough being made up of jets, is bigger. Then GTs Devy being the biggest.

That leaves a Bruticus sized whole in my collection. WBs is too big, and the Hasbro garbage is just garbage.

 

[nacho]

Getting DX9's legends Hulkie? I simply can't resist. Dx9 and iron factory are putting out a steam of tiny awesomeness!

 

[Goldbug]

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Yeah, that ARNHAAAIDE is awesome. Crotch looks weird at first glance, but it's accurate. Could've done alright if they'd modified that slightly, but it's not a big deal. I'd just never realized how prominently angular it was.

Can't wait to get him and Ratchet!

 

[nacho]

Not keen on the weird hip flaps, but otherwise, it looks good. I might still consider getting the voodoo ratchet.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

I'll choose official over 3P anytime, unless they completely botch the fuck out of it... I feel like Ironhide looks like a success.

So the sled is a separate piece, I guess... Is it part of the vehicle/transformation? Like, you snap it onto the back of him, or does Ironhide completely transform on his own, and it's an extra piece as an extra accessory? I kind of hope the latter, because I'll put it the fuck away if it's not needed to transform him into a bot. I always hoped they wouldn't include that silly thing.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Also,

The Takara version will have fully-articulated elbows and knees and what appears to be a better paint job (no shocker there), which I'm assuming means that I damn well may get this gigantic fucker after all, albeit the Japanese release, which should be a pretty penny. Look at that scale!

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

That diaper crotch and hip flaps...not liking the look of that. Aside from that, looks great!

 

[nacho]

Wow, glad I was quick on the trigger. I was eyeing some confederate decals on ebay for my General Lee transformers customs (I'm planning a couple of different scales). After I heard yesterday that Amazon and WM were pulling products, I decided I'd better jump on them, only to learn hours later that ebay was pulling listings too. I Indiana Jones'd just under the wire.

Civil War buffs are going to have to go underground, as the revisionist history police are going to erase everything.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

I love how we over react on an insane level. Letting the few ruin it for the many. Brilliant.

 

[nacho]

Like Adam Carolla says, "In 50 years, we'll all be chics"...

But yeah, if you'd told me a week ago that some pimple-faced moron was going to shoot up a church and a week later the battle flag would be history, including the General Lee, and I'd have laughed at you. But in this PC retarded world, I should have seen it coming. At least I got my decals, and I've collected all the GLs I need (and my kids, and maybe their kids). By then, no one will care.

 

[XOC2008]

I'll choose official over 3P anytime, unless they completely botch the fuck out of it... I feel like Ironhide looks like a success.

So the sled is a separate piece, I guess... Is it part of the vehicle/transformation? Like, you snap it onto the back of him, or does Ironhide completely transform on his own, and it's an extra piece as an extra accessory? I kind of hope the latter, because I'll put it the fuck away if it's not needed to transform him into a bot. I always hoped they wouldn't include that silly thing.

From what I read the sled is separate and not part of the vehicle mode.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

I'm not sure any other toys we own could possibly have any more potential to be valuable than ones with a symbol that's essentially been banned.

Wonder if Hobby Lobby will still be carrying the GL models.

Man, when I think about it, how stupid this over reaction is, it really p!sses me off. Cow towing to this nonsense.

 

[nacho]

Warner Bros has said they will not license any more GL toys, so once current stock runs out, nobody will carry them, even if they wanted to.

Actually, I'm going to Gatlinburg this weekend, and I'd be stunned if I don't stop by Cooter's. He should be well stocked, and I might have to grab a few items.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

now thats a collectable.

Also, WB (and everyone else taking this anti confed flag stance) is a pussy.

 

[nacho]

You know, because those Duke boys were huge racists...

 

[Mandingo Rex]

From what I read the sled is separate and not part of the vehicle mode.

Yeah, I'd posted that before reading the bazillion pages over at the TF sites. I think they made a smart decision to include the sled as an accessory mount, but not making it part of the transformation.

 

[nacho]

Yeah, that seems best-of-both-worlds. G1 toy people get a sled, toon fans get an all-in-one transformation. I would have been bummed if the sled was required for alt mode, even though I rarely, if ever, transform my MPs.

My biggest gripes are the huge size - he should be about halfway between Prime and a car bot in height, not 1/4" from looking Prime in the eye. The other thing is a face. It's not terrible, but it looks like a weak 3P attempt rather than an official HasTak design. I'm hoping that it's far from finished and they still have time to do some serious tweaking. I like him overall, but it just doesn't seem to be up to TT's typical standards.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

Maybe his height was a necessity to scale the alt modes.

 

[nacho]

I'll be anxious to see comparisons with the Voodoo vans, as those are known to be shorter in bot mode. All other things equal, I naturally default to bot scale because that's how my collection lives.

So far both TT and Voodoo look good but neither is perfect. I do hope that the TT announcement doesn't kill the Voodoo efforts, as I feel this is one case where I could easily see myself opting for a 3P over official if the TT version doesn't get tweaked quite a bit. Or I might opt for one van from each of them just to make them feel less like straight repaints.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

Yeah, neither version is perfect. And choices are never bad.

I like your idea of mixing and matching to avoid repainted clones.