Official Transformers Super Thread 3

[HoveringCheesecake]

I'm going to ask again since no one answered my question last time.

For the people who own the Takara MP-01 - are the smokestacks easy to break? Should I be extra careful or worried about breaking them?

[zeo-mare]

you should be careful with all toys, but they did not seem prone to easy breakage when i had mine, but like anything in life if you are careful you should have no problem.

chris

[Fit For Natalie]

I like Takara and Hasbro both, I don't really get the desire some people have to rail either one of them or to put one above the other.  They both make toys, we buy them, that's it.  Why make it anymore complicated?  Who cares if one of them comes up with a "crazy scheme"?  If you don't like it, don't buy it.  I'm happy both companies exists and offer different choices for people.

391365[/snapback]

You are quite possibly short-sighted, especially going by your reasoning.

The problem you don't seem to see is that Takara cannot (or will not) sucessfully promote Transformers within its own home market. This isn't about barracking for one company or the other.

While the failure or sucess of Transformers ultimately affects Hasbro's Transformers little (Takara will engineer Transformers so long as Hasbro pays them), it is distressing to see a brand that was once sucessful in Japan treated with such incompetance from the company who invented the original toys that made up the early G1 line in the first place.

Who cares if one of them comes up with a "crazy scheme"?  If you don't like it, don't buy it.

That is really short sighted - If they continue to come up with ultimately unsucessful, unpopular 'crazy schemes' (even unpopular among japanese fans and consumers), then Takara will eventually wind down the line, or even cancel it on their side of the pond if it comes to to an extreme.

Then there will be less, or just no choices for anybody.

I'm going to ask again since no one answered my question last time.

For the people who own the Takara MP-01 - are the smokestacks easy to break? Should I be extra careful or worried about breaking them?

391376[/snapback]

And people wonder why Hasbro made the stacks short

Vacuum-metalised plastic is generally more brittle than regular plastic, so it is more likely to snap, especially because they are long and thin. The broken shards will be extremely sharp, which was Hasbros safety concern for their version.

While they aren't very fragile, you should be careful either way.

Edited April 15, 2006 by Fit For Natalie

[eriku]

I like Takara and Hasbro both, I don't really get the desire some people have to rail either one of them or to put one above the other.  They both make toys, we buy them, that's it.  Why make it anymore complicated?  Who cares if one of them comes up with a "crazy scheme"?  If you don't like it, don't buy it.  I'm happy both companies exists and offer different choices for people.

391365[/snapback]

You are quite possibly short-sighted, especially going by your reasoning.

The problem you don't seem to see is that Takara cannot (or will not) sucessfully promote Transformers within its own home market. This isn't about barracking for one company or the other.

While the failure or sucess of Transformers ultimately affects Hasbro's Transformers little (Takara will engineer Transformers so long as Hasbro pays them), it is distressing to see a brand that was once sucessful in Japan treated with such incompetance from the company who invented the original toys that made up the early G1 line in the first place.

Who cares if one of them comes up with a "crazy scheme"?  If you don't like it, don't buy it.

That is really short sighted - If they continue to come up with ultimately unsucessful, unpopular 'crazy schemes' (even unpopular among japanese fans and consumers), then Takara will eventually wind down the line, or even cancel it on their side of the pond if it comes to to an extreme.

Then there will be less, or just no choices for anybody.

I'm going to ask again since no one answered my question last time.

For the people who own the Takara MP-01 - are the smokestacks easy to break? Should I be extra careful or worried about breaking them?

391376[/snapback]

And people wonder why Hasbro made the stacks short

Vacuum-metalised plastic is generally more brittle than regular plastic, so it is more likely to snap, especially because they are long and thin. The broken shards will be extremely sharp, which was Hasbros safety concern for their version.

While they aren't very fragile, you should be careful either way.

391386[/snapback]

There is also the thought that just because you see a problem doesn't neccessarily mean there is one. I'm also not going to argue with you or anyone that there is or isn't a problem or that Takara is or is not being incompetant with the TF line. All companies try new ideas, make bad decisions, make good decisions, go through slumps and have streaks of prosperty. It's not like Hasbro hasn't made any bad decisions or showed their incompetancey with the TF line, and most of their other lines at some point throughout the years.

People have been freaking out since the merger of Takara and Tomy that Takara is going to cancel the TF line altogether, and I've never really seen a reason for it. And if they do drop it, so what? Another company could pick up the license and maybe even do it better. Or worse. All we can really do is buy the toys we like and not buy the toys we don't like and just see what happens. I think the real problem is that no matter what TF just doesn't seem to be very popular in Japan, and you can't really MAKE people like something. Even toylines that were great (in my opinion) ideas seemed to do poorly, like the WST and Robotmasters lines. It seems like they failed not because Takara handled them poorly, but because there just wasn't enough fan-support in Japan.

Continually posting as if you are an authority on what will or will not happen if companies do this or that really doesn't get anyone anywhere. Regardless of how much you think you know, it's all just a guess. A guess you are certainly entitled to make, but arguing a point which is in essence a guess is rather fruitless.

And, no hard feelings man, I just tend to be pretty casual with this hobby since it's a form a relaxation and simple happiness for me. I always tend to see the sun rise after it goes down, too. A few years ago I had pretty much pegged the TF line for nothing but garbage. Until RID was released, TF held virtually no interest for me. But then it just started getting better from there. The reissues came out, Takara started doing cool stuff, Hasbro started bringing better lines out. It's still seems to be getting better to me. Takara is doing really cool off-shoots like the Hybrid line and the MP line, Hasbro is coming out with the Classics line, figures are going to be made of characters that were up to this point only fan-dream figures (War Within Prime, Jetfire). And there are some real stink-bombs on the horizen, too, like the 3" Titanium figures. Those I'll cast my vote against by not buying them.

My point is - shortsighted as it may be - that things go downhill sometimes and then they pick up again.

As for the tall stacks on the MP-01 Prime, I haven't read of that many breaking. I read reports that the reason Hasbro shortened them is because they were too long for US toy standards, not because they were easy to break. The stack on mine broke very clean, right where it narrows. It's such a clean break that when glued back together it hardly looks broken. I still bought the replacement stacks just because knowing it was broken bothered me more than how it actually looked.

[Fit For Natalie]

There is also the thought that just because you see a problem doesn't neccessarily mean there is one.  I'm also not going to argue with you or anyone that there is or isn't a problem or that Takara is or is not being incompetant with the TF line.  All companies try new ideas, make bad decisions, make good decisions, go through slumps and have streaks of prosperty.  It's not like Hasbro hasn't made any bad decisions or showed their incompetancey with the TF line, and most of their other lines at some point throughout the years.

Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the sordid Transformers history for the past decade.

NOTE: Just in case people get confused, when I talk of failure, it means Takara, as they have had difficulty with TF for the past decade. Hasbro is usually sucessful with TF.

At the beginning of this period, both Hasbro and Takara embarked upon the then-ambitious project called Beast Wars. The initial line, backed up by the American/Canadian Beast Wars CGI series was a sucess in both markets. Beast Wars initially raised controversy among the established transformers fans because the the change in direction for the line, but over time, most detractors came to see the high quality of the cartoon and toyline.

At this point, Takara developed Beast Wars the Second, a traditionally animated anime. It is said Mainframe, the Canadian studio responble for the US Beast Wars series, was unable to fulfill the number of episodes Takara would require for their usual 52-episodes per year anime. So it is theorisedTakara developed BW2 as a means of keeping momentum in the line whilst providing the output of episodes their market required, at a much lower cost than waiting for CGI. The line was followed up by Beast Wars Neo, another traditionally animated series. Unfortunately, neither BW2 or BW Neo were ever as popular among fans or consumers as the original US Beast Wars. BW Neo in particulalr was considered a failure.

Meanwhile, Hasbro was enjoying great sucess with their Beast Wars Transmetals and Transmetal 2 lines (Beast Wars Season 2 and 3).

Unfortunately, when Takara imported the Transmetals era US Beast Wars cartoon as Beast Wars Metals, they SIGNIFICANTLY changed the characterisations and tone of the series to fit in with the light-hearted slapstick established in BW2 and BWNeo. Eg, Rattrap was a young kid instead of a veteran wise guy, and Megatron screamed like woman. The series, with its extreme changes from the american original series, was hated by japanese fans.

In 2000, came Beast Machines for Hasbro - due to the changes in characterisation and tone from Beast Wars, as well as the extreme differences in design of the toys, the series was not as sucessful as Beast Wars and was controversial.

For Takara, they developed the Car Robots series, a sort of return to their roots with cars and trucks turning into robots. Unfortunately, the line was unsucessful enough that Takara alledgedly almost cancelled their TF line altogether. In 2001, Hasbro and Takara jointly worked on the Armada line. Hasbro needed a line to fill the void, so they imported Car Robots as Robots in Disguise, and it was a huge hit.

In 2002, Hasbro released Transformers: Armada - it go on to become one of the most sucessful Transformers lines ever released. Takara released the line as Micron Densetsu in late 2002/early 2003, where it enjoyed some sucess.

Woo its late so I'll summarise

2004 - Energon: After a slow start, sucessful in US

Superlink: Issues with Takara gutting the electronics from the larger Autobots as a means of cost-cutting. Less sucessful than Micron Densetsu.

2005 - Cybertron: Due to improved Hasbro case assortments (Staggered waves means less shelf-warmers), line has been doing well for Hasbro thus far.

Galaxy Force: Unsuccessful in Japan despite being a well-made toyline. Dark Ligerjack originally a mass-release figure, but dwindling sales shifted him into a limited-production Toys R Us exclusive. Armbullet, Blender and Moledive figures cancelled (would go on to become US Cybertron exclusives). Primus cancelled from line, eventually released as a G1 toy. Many toolings not featured in the show would become US Cybertron exclusives.

Alternators: Though with little, if any advertising or promotion from Hasbro in non-toy markets (a major oversight), the line does relatively well despite being collector-oriented.

Binaltech: Due to the high price, yet regular release schedule of BTs, the line has difficulty achieving mainstream popularity in Japan despite strong sales of the intial Smokescreen and Lambor releases. In 2005, Takara attempts to revitalise the struggling line with a sub-line called Binaltech Asterisk, BT repaints partnered with theme-specific pvc anime girls. One some of the releases, quality standards were lower than previous versions of the tooling. The line was unsucessful and ended up on clearance.

People have been freaking out since the merger of Takara and Tomy that Takara is going to cancel the TF line altogether, and I've never really seen a reason for it.  And if they do drop it, so what?  Another company could pick up the license and maybe even do it better.  Or worse.  All we can really do is buy the toys we like and not buy the toys we don't like and just see what happens.

While it is unclear how much of Transformers as a brand Takara owns, it is Hasbro who (still) licenses the concept from Takara, because they imported the Diaclone and Microman toys to make up the bulk of the early G1 toys. Takara reimported them in 1985 as Transformers, and was a smash hit.

So erm, its not going to any other company unless Takara folds.

I think the real problem is that no matter what TF just doesn't seem to be very popular in Japan, and you can't really MAKE people like something.  Even toylines that were great (in my opinion) ideas seemed to do poorly, like the WST and Robotmasters lines.  It seems like they failed not because Takara handled them poorly, but because there just wasn't enough fan-support in Japan.

I believe that generally, the US created/US written Transformers cartoons (and thus accompanying toylines), assuming they are relatively unmolested in translation and dubbing, are the most popular Transformers series in Japan. After all, G1 Convoy and Beast Convoy, originally US characters, are more popular than their japanese sucessors.

Eg, popularity for G1 Transformers in Japan dropped off when the series switched to the Japanese-written Headmasters series, with its more japanese-oriented themes.

Hell, it was the [uS-created theme of] Transformers that made Takara's toys Diaclone and Microman molds popular in the first place, the reason being Transformers, as a concept of living human-like personality alien robots, is very different from every other mecha or super robot series at the time in Japan. Its very difference is what made it, and makes it popular.

Continually posting as if you are an authority on what will or will not happen if companies do this or that really doesn't get anyone anywhere.  Regardless of how much you think you know, it's all just a guess.  A guess you are certainly entitled to make, but arguing a point which is in essence a guess is rather fruitless.

What I go by is what is more or less well known among the fandom, and is based upon past evidence of Takara's difficulties with Transformers, and their odd attempts to promote the line.

And, no hard feelings man, I just tend to be pretty casual with this hobby since it's a form a relaxation and simple happiness for me.  I always tend to see the sun rise after it goes down, too.  A few years ago I had pretty much pegged the TF line for nothing but garbage.  Until RID was released, TF held virtually no interest for me.  But then it just started getting better from there.  The reissues came out, Takara started doing cool stuff, Hasbro started bringing better lines out.  It's still seems to be getting better to me.  Takara is doing really cool off-shoots like the Hybrid line and the MP line, Hasbro is coming out with the Classics line, figures are going to be made of characters that were up to this point only fan-dream figures (War Within Prime, Jetfire).  And there are some real stink-bombs on the horizen, too, like the 3" Titanium figures.  Those I'll cast my vote against by not buying them.

My point is - shortsighted as it may be - that things go downhill sometimes and then they pick up again. 

No hard feelings.

I just fear for the line in Japan - TF is riding on a high wave (and has been for 10 years) for Hasbro, but for Takara, it is probably at its lowest point since 2000. At Botcon Hasbro said Takara were taking a break from mainline Transformers in 2006.

As for the tall stacks on the MP-01 Prime, I haven't read of that many breaking.  I read reports that the reason Hasbro shortened them is because they were too long for US toy standards, not because they were easy to break.  The stack on mine broke very clean, right where it narrows.  It's such a clean break that when glued back together it hardly looks broken.  I still bought the replacement stacks  just because knowing it was broken bothered me more than how it actually looked.

391389[/snapback]

Hasbro shortened the smokestacks for the same reasons they shortened them on their reissue G1 Prime. Because of the nature of vaccum metalised plastic, they could not control the manner in which the smokestacks would break, and being long, thin pieces made of brittle plastic, they could break into very sharp pieces. TF Head Aaron Archer said he tried to keep them long, but it just didn't pass safety.

With G1 Prime reissue, they toyed with the idea of making the stacks in normal silver plastic, but decided that would look like crap. However, they did do this for their Grapple reissue : /

Edited April 17, 2006 by Fit For Natalie

[cube]

anyone checked out the predaking boots that are popping up on ebay?

found the link from tbdx...they look pretty decent apart from the colore...nothing a quick repaint couldn't fix.

link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Predaking-D-78-Clone-T...1QQcmdZViewItem

Edited April 16, 2006 by cube

[obakesan]

anyone checked out the predaking boots that are popping up on ebay?

found the link from tbdx...they look pretty decent apart from the colore...nothing a quick repaint couldn't fix.

link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Predaking-D-78-Clone-T...1QQcmdZViewItem

391482[/snapback]

Haven't seen those, but just found a Lego Predaking which looks pretty cool. Always impressed but these creations. check it out.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Custom-LEGO-Transfor...1QQcmdZViewItem

Edited April 16, 2006 by obakesan

[cube]

Wow! that is impressive!. there are some amazing legoers out there...make my dig dug stuff look like ass

[Black Valkyrie]

So overall TF-G1 and TF-Armada are the only successful shows. BTW did TF-G2 had a show or just comics ? Now if TF-WWI had its show would become a successes.

[Veritas]

BTW did TF-G2 had a show or just comics ?  Now if TF-WWI had its show would become a successes.

391558[/snapback]

Gen. 2 never had an official cartoon per se, but there was a Transformers cartoon that ran here called Transformers Generation 2 around the time the toys were still in production. All it really was though was the same original Transformers episodes dolled up with computer graphics in between sequences. There were some other minor changes if i remember but no new storyline or anything like that, just pretty much the same old shows with back then cutting edge computer graphics to break up the switching sequences from autobots to decipticons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers:_Generation_2

[chowyunskinny]

The Real Reason Takara is pairing Girls with Transformers:

Prime's observation

another

[Fit For Natalie]

So overall TF-G1 and TF-Armada are the only successful shows. BTW did TF-G2 had a show or just comics ?  Now if TF-WWI had its show would become a successes.

391558[/snapback]

No, I have no idea how you got that. Hasbro's American/Canadian Beast Wars show was a huge sucess - Transformers wouldn't be where it is now without the sucessful foundation Beast Wars established. In fact, Hasbro hasn't had failure (at least not on the level of Takara) since Beast Wars. Beast Machines, was still a sucessful, profitable line.

Without a doubt, Beast Wars is the single finest Transformers cartoon ever made, and probably will stay that way for years to some.

I think you confused Takara's difficulties with Transformers with Hasbro.

[Kin]

I'd bet if hasbro would remake G1 series with better animation and storyline, a total improvement of the G1 toys, they still got a big chance to pull off a huge success.

Ohh.. btw I noticed some new mixed crappy sound effects from the G1 dvd?

For example, during the "return after these messages" sequence of prime, when he shoots.. you hear a loud bang and at the end... a click.

That was awfully cheesy and it sounded like artillery fire and the click was like reloading the shell. It sounds very similar to a panzertank game, could be ripped from it.

Edited April 17, 2006 by Kin

[Black Valkyrie]

Oh I forgot to add TF-BW. If Takara isn`t doing well, then I don`t think will see any new TF Jap show cuz its unsuccessful in Japan.

[Black Valkyrie]

Yes a better G1 toy line. I bet I`m not the only back in the 80s who didn`t most the TF toys.

[Fit For Natalie]

I'd bet if hasbro would remake G1 series with better animation and storyline, a total improvement of the G1 toys, they still got a big chance to pull off a huge success.

391710[/snapback]

Transformers: Classics coming in October-November (unsure if there will be any animation) will fulfill that for you. From what has been gathered, the line will be updated versions of classic G1 characters including Bumblebee and Grimlock.

Here is a gallery of Classics' prototype for Astrotrain

Convention goers at Botcon 2005's Hasbro Panel said the reps unvieled photos of a gun Megatron and an F-15 Starscream.

Oh I forgot to add TF-BW.  If Takara isn`t doing well, then I don`t think will see any new TF Jap show cuz its unsuccessful in Japan.

391711[/snapback]

Well, Hasbro said Takara was taking a break from mainline Transformers in 2006. Galaxy Force didn't do well for them which is why the line ended abruptly at the end of September 2005.

[Twoducks]

After Beast Wars third season they changed the name to Transmetals something, right?

Is that series decent? I read the plot and some of the character seamed wrong (and I also read the series wasn't a fit continuation of BW).

I'm rewatching BW (had forgotten how good the character development was). I only saw the first season when it first aired but it seams that the other two seasons where even better (from what I hear).

Edited April 17, 2006 by Twoducks

[Hoptimus]

After Beast Wars third season they changed the name to Transmetals something, right?

Is that series decent? I read the plot and some of the character seamed wrong (and I also read the series wasn't a fit continuation of BW).

I'm rewatching BW (had forgotten how good the character development was). I only saw the first season when it first aired but it seams that the other two seasons where even better (from what I hear).

391747[/snapback]

Oh man. Season 2 and 3 of BeastWars are awesome. Great storyline that cements it with G1. Simon Furman even writes a few episodes!!

[Kin]

Wow! I thought those beta models are just special edition toys.. I didn't knew they were planning to make animated series. Thnx for the news.

[Dangard Ace]

After BW-3rd season it became Beast Machines. Prime became an eco-terrorist, Megs becomes....well, many things....and it sucked.

[F360°]

Yeah,, "Beast Machines" sucks.. Everything is messed up,, and that "We are Transformed" phrase? Sigh....

[eugimon]

I dug beast machines, I thought it was pretty cool... they took the story and the characters farther in that run than most TF shows ever do and really explored cybertron myth lore. good stuff.

[Radd]

I thought what I saw of the story to Beast Machines was alright, however I could not forgive the complete personality changes many of the characters recieved , the questionable themes (Good guys don't use guns?), and the fact that I love Transformers as giant, mechanical war machines. Smaller, biomechanical creatures is not what I want to see in the franchise, I had a hard enough time swallowing that for Beast Wars, and didn't really care for any of the designs until the Transmetals.

[LORD KUNGFU]

I dug beast machines, I thought it was pretty cool... they took the story and the characters farther in that run than most TF shows ever do and really explored cybertron myth lore. good stuff.

391830[/snapback]

wow, I can't believe I actually agree with eugimon on this. Cuz normally he's a punk.

-Lord K.

[promethuem5]

I love Transformers as giant, mechanical war machines. Smaller, biomechanical creatures is not what I want to see in the franchise, I had a hard enough time swallowing that for Beast Wars, and didn't really care for any of the designs until the Transmetals.

Exactly. This is why I too, hated BW and BW:TM and BM.... ugh... scuh utter garbage designs.

[Fit For Natalie]

After Beast Wars third season they changed the name to Transmetals something, right?

Is that series decent? I read the plot and some of the character seamed wrong (and I also read the series wasn't a fit continuation of BW).

I'm rewatching BW (had forgotten how good the character development was). I only saw the first season when it first aired but it seams that the other two seasons where even better (from what I hear).

391747[/snapback]

Nope - just Beast Wars Seasons 2 and 3. Transmetals refers to the theme that the new toys were made in, that is mechanical beasts with a semi-organic robot mode. Transmetals 2, which featured in Season 3, was kind of a fusion between the mechanical and techno-organic.

Beast Wars' strength was its character development, and ironically this was brought about by the cost limitations of the CGI animation - they could only do so many character models on the budget they had. This forced the writers to focus on a small cast of characters who would appear in most episodes, as opposed to G1 where dozens characters drop in and out of episodes at random.

Wow! I thought those beta models are just special edition toys.. I didn't knew they were planning to make animated series. Thnx for the news.

391773[/snapback]

Erm, I said I didn't know if there was going to be a cartoon. Classics is intended to be a filler line, and a line to get people reaquainted with characters of G1 before the movie.

I love Transformers as giant, mechanical war machines. Smaller, biomechanical creatures is not what I want to see in the franchise, I had a hard enough time swallowing that for Beast Wars, and didn't really care for any of the designs until the Transmetals.

Exactly. This is why I too, hated BW and BW:TM and BM.... ugh... scuh utter garbage designs.

392032[/snapback]

*points and laughs* Your losses.

Beast Wars shall always remain the best Transformers television series, and the series that is responsible for the true rebirth of the Transformers franchise.

[promethuem5]

Haha, I'll agree with you that as a series it's really pretty good, but as Transformers designs, it blows.

[Twoducks]

Thanks for the clarifications regarding BW guys.

Personally the only thing that bothered me a bit about the designs was the heavy cartoon magic in some of the transformations (but G1 had even more and I didn't notice it as a kid). I dug the hole animal disguises when I saw the first toy commercial (where Optimus was a bat).

And speaking of toys I just got my THS-02 Prime. Even after seeing all the pics I was surprised by the small size. At first I didn't care at all for the trailer but once I had it in my hands I was blown away. It's so small and has such good gimmicks...

The bad thing was that the toys left arm could not transform because the plastic was fused. After using a hobby knife I fixed it but couldn't prevent stress marks appearing on the plastic

As others have said, truck mode isn't easy to secure and once you get it to look good turning back to robot means you have to apply force on some delicate parts.

But anyways this thing looks great in robot mode and truck mode is just so cute.

[Fit For Natalie]

Haha, I'll agree with you that as a series it's really pretty good, but as Transformers designs, it blows.

392118[/snapback]

*shrugs* I respectfully disagree. Beast Wars was a breath of fresh air in a stale house. When people tire of vehicular Transformers again, they'll return to beasts. Keep the line fresh and it won't die off like G1.

Alot of design elements and engineering advances made during late G2 and Beast Wars are improved upond and carried over to today.

[eriku]

Just to add my 2 cents to the discussion at hand, I'm one of those trans-fans who is pretty much only in it for the toys. I haven't liked ANY of the TF series (I loved G1 as a kid but can't stand it now), and even though I think the TF Movie is enjoyable, the non-orchestrated music is like ice-picks in my ears. I gave RID, Armada, Superlink and Cybertron a try and found them all rather tiresome. I haven't checked out any of the Japanese-only series, but I might get around to it someday.

While I can see where many people like the Beast Wars series, I still find it relatively unwatchable. The storylines aren't as weak as most TF series, but they're still fairly uninteresting. Add to that a lot of undesireable character designs fleshed out with widely undetailed CG animation and that makes for a show I just can't be happy with.

That's fine though, I can enjoy the toys on their own.

[Black Valkyrie]

Yep THS-2 Convoy is truly a mini MP or a mini SOC. As for TF-BW I used to watch a couple of episodes overall I found it boring.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Hey guys, I picked up cybertron optimus over the weekend, and for those of you who have been itching for a good mainline prime since RID prime, BUY CYBERTRON PRIME NOW!!

This is honestly the best Prime I have bought since fire convoy and scourge. Holy hell is he awesome....a removable MATRIX....ratchets up the wazoo....HUGE FRIGGIN WEAPONRY!!...an opening matrix chamber...holy crap this is the futuristic prime articulated to hell that I have been waiting for ever since watching g1 reruns in the 3rd grade. Now as a college student my wish finally comes true!

God man this blows armada and energon prime AWAY. As a matter of fact, if you need only one forget the other 2, buy THIS guy! This is the best mainline prime incarnation yet...edging out my love for scourge and my old laser convoy. Those were my faves for so long...till now.

And GOD this guy is HUGE! Not just his combined mode but his regular mode! If anything this is what a modernized prime with a futuristic look would look like to me. Yessur! Hell I haven't even bought most of cybertron, a leobreaker(waiting for dark one), or wing saber yet and I already think this prime is awesome.

I assume megatron is just as awesome.

[Myriad]

Although I did not care for the "animal" concept, I did enjoy the Beast Wars show. Few characters with lots of focus. The tie with the original series was a nice touch. Of course, there really is no official timelime so take it or leave it.

Great thing about Beast Wars toyline was that there was not 80 fricking characters at the store. Kids could save there cash and buy the figs. Newer TF lines are just wave after wave. Kids can't keep up with it. I thought some of the toys were okay but alot were kibble monsters.

I liked the animation style of Beast machines, but did not care for the organic concept. We finally get a show on Cybertron and they turn the planet into a ..... What kind of hippie crap are they trying to push my way.... The toys were also just kind of meh. There were a few good ones but most were just nothing fantastic.

[promethuem5]

Hey guys, I picked up cybertron optimus over the weekend, and for those of you who have been itching for a good mainline prime since RID prime, BUY CYBERTRON PRIME NOW!!

Lol, I'm kinda hoping so, and I've been debating it for a while now. Funny thing, I actually got my Super Fire Convoy and God Magnus out of storage the other day after having a huge itching to play wtih Super Fire Convoy. They, while I was looking at stuff online, I saw that a guy had figured out how to use all teh Super Fire Convoy armor parts on God Fire Convoy, so I did that and now I have huge friggen God Fire Confoy even bigger and meaner looking than eveyone else's on my shelves...

[Dangard Ace]

You mean this?

http://dave.ajmedia.ltd.uk/ebay06/rid_combined.jpg