mikeszekely Posted July 22, 2022 Author Posted July 22, 2022 Flamewar is up for preorder on Pulse. Dunno why she's part of Shattered Glass, but whatever. Quote
Scyla Posted July 23, 2022 Posted July 23, 2022 18 hours ago, lechuck said: Wow... that review was terrible and I am not talking about MP Shouki. Absolutely zero homework done prior to shooting that. Wish I could quantum leap back into myself to get those 20 minutes back. It is amazing that a wotafa toy review done in a language I don't speak will provide me much better insight and allow me to evaluate if the pros outweigh the cons. It is unbelievable that a BSF toy review done in a language I do understand will not help at all at assessing if a toy is good or bad. Ok I’ll bite. What makes you feel that way? Quote
lechuck Posted July 23, 2022 Posted July 23, 2022 (edited) Sure, why not. Some examples first: Couldn't be bothered to research the proper pronunciation of Shouki -> Viewer left with wrong naming Can't explain what the secondary flap is for on the seats, absolutely no mention that the MP human or Diaclone figures can sit in them. -> Viewer inadequately informed about playability option Misses to transform the rear neck/vent piece, push the back-plate in and tidy up the back section properly, but starts to complain that Shouki looks all bad and messy. -> Viewer only given an unfinished and incorrect presentation of the toy. Complains about foot movement not being good, but has not extended and transformed them out properly. The foot base actually wraps around and tabs and you will have ample degrees of pivoting. And one can not tilt the foot up unless you want to break that joint! -> Viewer given false information. Doesn't close the forearm covers properly after pulling out the hands, leaving an impression that things are gappy. -> Viewer given false impressions. Criticizes the looks of the lower legs for being absurd, why are they absurd? He just doesn't like the appearance or is there an actual implementation issue with it? -> Instead of giving context that the lower legs actually follows Shouki's original G1 toy and eventual Headmaster cartoon design, it is insinuated to the viewer that Takara designed the legs half-heartedly. There is NO redundant abdomen swivel to be used in robot mode if you actually tab in the rear neck piece and push in the back-plate toward the main body again. -> Viewer is once again provided with wrong information. Criticizes Shouki's cape as just being a messy design, but can't bothered to properly show all the options like fold it in or hinge each of those components away from the body. -> Again the viewer is left with a one-sided negatively infused impression. From these examples alone you can see it's a lousily researched and prepared review and in sum will leave those that are watching it with an inaccurate narrative of information and impressions. Contrast that with wotafa, were I may not be able to catch his pros and cons impressions, but due to the much more detailed and precise presentation of what the toy is capable of (or not) and how to work it, I find this to be more usable to the viewer in gauging if a toy is to one's liking. Edited July 24, 2022 by lechuck Quote
mikeszekely Posted July 24, 2022 Author Posted July 24, 2022 At the must fundamental level, a review is just someone's opinion on a product, right? I try to make the ones I write here informative enough that they help you come up with your own opinion, but the gist is ultimately, "Hey, I got this Transformer, and this is what I think of it." Well, hey, I got this Transformer. And oh boy, do I have opinions. Tonight we've got Studio Series 86 Deluxe-class Arcee. So Thrilling 30 Arcee (and the more cartoon-accurate Takara Legends version I happen to own, left) was actually released a whopping eight years ago, before the Prime Wars Trilogy let alone the War for Cybertron Trilogy. With the new standards in scale and articulation that Hasbro ushered in with the WFC Trilogy I think we, as a fandom, were kind of open to the idea of literally every Classics/Henkei/Universe/Reveal the Shield/Generations/Thrilling 30/Prime Wars figure we owned being replaced by something with more articulation, more 5mm ports, and more cartoon accuracy. And, yeah, that's kind of what we got with Earthrise Arcee. I mean, her feet are pink and the ankle guards are white, but unless you had the Takara version of the T30 toy she was definitely colored more accurately. Plus she had a waist swivel and ankles that the T30 toy didn't, and better proportions in the hips. Despite the visual and articulation improvements not everyone was satisfied, due to her somewhat halfhearted engineering. Her entire alt mode was on her backpack, a large portion of which was removable. Indeed, some fans went the extra step of replacing her backpack with a smaller, cartoonier one, creating a non-transforming robot and a separate, non-transforming car. And whatever ire Earthrise Arcee was drawing wasn't enough to stop Hasbro from repainting it as the Paradron Medic (named Lifeline) and retooling it as Netflix Elita-1, then repacking it and selling it again as part of Kingdom just last year. Still, it seems someone at Hasbro wasn't satisfied. Because here we are again with Arcee in the Studio Series, and this time it looks like they're splitting the difference. In fact, a good bit of Studio Series Arcee comes directly from T30 Arcee. Parts of her backpack, which we'll cover when we get to car mode, her arms from shoulder to wrist, her chest, and (I think) her head are all reused. Meanwhile, the rest of the figure consists of newly-designed parts keeping with the design philosophy of her Earthrise counterpart- cartoon-accurate coloring out of the box (I didn't even have to paint her lips myself this time!) and improved articulation, with more proportional hips than the T30 figure to boot. I think, especially if you're still rocking the funky-colored Hasbro version, that Studio Series Arcee is a clear winner over that figure. But, there's clearly a lot of car wadded up onto her back, still, and the result is a bigger backpack somehow than Earthrise Arcee, plus ER Arcee's is removable if you do want something a bit cleaner. When it comes to accessories the extra detail and the lack of translucent plastic does make SS Arcee's pistol an improvement over Earthrise. I can't really say it's an improvement over T30, though, because it actually is the smaller pistol that came with that figure. And, as it's SS Arcee's sole accessory, T30 has the advantage of a second gun and two translucent swords. SS Arcee's articulation is, as I mentioned, an improvement over T30's, but kind of a wash over ER's. Her head is on a ball joint that can look up a ton, but it can't really tilt (save for the slight tilt to her left that my copy seems to be stuck with). And, at least on my copy, while you can bend her head down it springs immediately back into a straight-on position. Her arms are on ball joints so you get rotation and just a little under 90 degrees of lateral movement. Her elbows are single-jointed, but the still bend nearly 180 degrees. No wrist articulation. Like ER, but improved from T30, SS Arcee does have a waist swivel. Plus, this time she has a bit of an ab crunch, though it's a touch too loose and pushing it too far starts to pop her apart for transformation. Her hips can go 90 degrees forward, but not much backward due to her backpack being in the way, and only about 60 degrees laterally. Her thighs do swivel, just above her knees, and said knees bend a bit over 90 degrees on a single hinge. Her feet have great up/down tilt, plus they can pivot up to 90 degrees. Although her gun retains the rectangular peg from the T30 release her hands have been remolded to accommodate any accessory with a 5mm peg for a handle. This does have the unfortunately side effect of making it a tad easy to knock the gun out of her hand. Likewise, although her gun has a rectangular tab on either side SS Arcee actually has 5mm ports on her thighs for them to plug into instead of the original toy's slots. However, she does still have the rectangular storage slots on her backpack, as that part is carried over from the T30 release. So, if you do decide to replace the T30 toy SS Arcee can still use all of her accessories, plus newer ones from WFC. If you were one of the ones that hated ER Arcee's lack of transformation and shellformery alt mode, well, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that her transformation is far more involved than ER Arcee's. Indeed, I'd say it's actually got a few more steps than T30 Arcee. That said... she's still pretty shellformery. The bottom of her chest does form the nose of the car, and there's plenty of hinges and armatures to get it there. And in the process you'll find you have to stow her arms and hide her head. But, her thighs do not make up any of the car this time, so 99% of the car (of which everything from the seats back is brand new) is still backpack. I'll say this, though... the alt mode looks good! The front is sleeker and more flared, and the rear is curvier, improving the overall proportions from the ER toy. Plus, with pink all the way down the side (save for the gray stripe in the middle that the ER toy was lacking), makes it more accurate and cohesive than the T30 toy, especially if you have the Hasbro version with it's inexplicable use of black around the hood and as a stripe along the back. While her crotch and hips are dangling from the rear, it's still more finished than the ER toy and even has molded taillights. My only real complaint is that her seats and the grill on her nose isn't also painted gray. However her robot mode was often animated without the gray on her chest (the pink on the T30 and ER's abs was also often left uncolored). Oh, and if we're getting technical I think she should have a bit more white on her rear, similar to the Takara version of the T30 toy. Peaking at her underside, you can see how SS Arcee is actually transformed, and not hiding underneath with her legs bent funny. While we're under there, there's a gap in the armature that stretches so much of her body away from her waist. That gap is just the right shape for the handle on her gun, allowing you to store it between her legs with the barrel pointed at her feet. She should have just enough clearance to roll. You could, in theory, plug the gun into the slots in front of her front wheels, but then she won't have the clearance to roll. There's nowhere else to store the gun; it looks like there's a slot cut into the top of her rear, but maybe that's just to save plastic. Studio Series is a major improvement over T30 Arcee, Hasbro or Takara, and if that's what you're rocking in your collection then I'd definitely recommend upgrading. If you have ER Arcee, though, that's where things get a bit murkier. I mean, yes, there's definite improvements in the transformation and alt mode over ER Arcee, plus you get a bit more screen-accuracy with pink on her forearms and face, white feet with gray ankle guards, and lipstick pre-applied. However, those are pretty minor improvements, especially when you consider that even WFC wasn't perfectly cartoon-accurate with things like Springer having green hands, Optimus missing the yellow on his crotch, etc, and with the ability to detach half her backpack ER Arcee arguably still has the cleaner robot mode. But, what I think I'm really struggling with is that I can't think of a recent figure that's been so thoroughly replaced already as ER Arcee. I mean, yeah, over half of the figures in Siege later wound up with Earth-mode retools, but you could justify that as precisely because one was the earth mode, one was the Cybertronian mode. Earthrise Starscream got a released again in the Studio Series, but that was really the same figure with some new accessories, and if you didn't need the accessories you weren't missing anything by skipping it. Kup and Cliffjumper got more cartoon-accurate repaints in Buzzworthy, plus a number of characters had slightly different paint jobs as part of Walmart's Netflix line, but they were minor store-exclusives that were, ultimately, the same toy. This is the first time it really feels like Hasbro is saying, "hey, you know that figure we really wanted you to buy just last year? It's no good, upgrade to this one." And yeah, while Hasbro has been trying to get me to replace my whole collection since WFC the turnaround on ER Arcee was so quick that it's leaving a sour taste in my mouth. Ultimately, I like Studio Series Arcee better than Earthrise, and I think I'll give ER Arcee away to my friend who's gotten quite a few hand-me-downs from my collection (I'll still have Lifeline if I want to enjoy the ER mold). SS Arcee is the G1 CHUG Arcee to beat, really. But as much as I like her, I can't help resenting her a bit for not being the figure Hasbro released in Earthrise in the first place. Quote
M'Kyuun Posted July 24, 2022 Posted July 24, 2022 I don't resent Hasbro for these multiple releases, but I get where you're coming from. I wish they'd combined the ER and SS budgets to make one perfect Arcee with a well-engineered and very compact backpack. I would have happily paid a voyager price point for that, even at deluxe scale, with her T30 rifle thrown in. However, I'm glad they made this fig, as it's a marked improvement over the primary shortfall of ER, i.e. lack of transformation, and an improvement of the T30, utilizing its strongest engineering points for the torso while redesigning the lower body to improve the look of her hips and the rear section of her car mode, all the while improving her articulation. I still wish they could have compacted that backpack better, but as its greatest concession, it's forgivable. G1 Arcee is a tough bot to do well; I still hold the T30 in high regard as the first G1 Arcee fig ever released. That they got so much right w/ that fig is impressive. Moreover, since they had a limited budget for this fig, I support the direction they took creating a hybrid fig with an end goal of improving her accuracy and articulation. I think they succeeded. Although SS Arcee has more natural looking hips and a more accurate car mode, I still love the fact that T30's legs formed the rear fenders and sides of her car mode. I can live with the inaccurate car mode for the amount of her bot mode involved in its formation. I think she's well done given the animation model Takara had to work with. Floro Dery did toymakers no favors with her meager design, and yet we've still managed to get a few decently realized Arcee figs, both official and non. Quote
M'Kyuun Posted July 24, 2022 Posted July 24, 2022 22 hours ago, lechuck said: Sure, why not. Some examples first: Couldn't be bothered to research the proper pronunciation of Shouki -> Viewer left with wrong naming Can't explain what the secondary flap is for on the seats, absolutely no mention that the MP human or Diaclone figures can sit in them. -> Viewer inadequately informed about playability option Misses to transform the rear neck/vent piece, push the back-plate in and tidy up the back section properly, but starts to complain that Shouki looks all bad and messy. -> Viewer only given an unfinished and incorrect presentation of the toy. Complains about foot movement not being good, but has not extended and transformed them out properly. The foot base actually wraps around and tabs and you will have ample degrees of pivoting. And one can not tilt the foot up unless you want to break that joint! -> Viewer given false information. Doesn't close the forearm covers properly after pulling out the hands, leaving an impression that things are gappy. -> Viewer given false impressions. Criticizes the looks of the lower legs for being absurd, why are they absurd? He just doesn't like the appearance or is there an actual implementation issue with it? -> Instead of giving context that the lower legs actually follows Shouki's original G1 toy and eventual Headmaster cartoon design, it is insinuated to the viewer that Takara designed the legs half-heartedly. There is NO redundant abdomen swivel to be used in robot mode if you actually tab in the rear neck piece and push in the back-plate toward the main body again. -> Viewer is once again provided with wrong information. Criticizes Shouki's cape as just being a messy design, but can't bothered to properly show all the options like fold it in or hinge each of those components away from the body. -> Again the viewer is left with a one-sided negatively infused impression. From these examples alone you can see it's a lousily researched and prepared review and in sum will leave those that are watching it with an inaccurate narrative of information and impressions. Contrast that with wotafa, were I may not be able to catch his pros and cons impressions, but due to the much more detailed and precise presentation of what the toy is capable of (or not) and how to work it, I find this to be more usable to the viewer in gauging if a toy is to one's liking. That's a very well-elucidated critique, Lechuck. I like Skullface, but even by his own admission, transforming stuff isn't his forte, and I've watched any number of vids where he missed things on a review that earned his ire, and were later pointed out in the comments or by people he knows. He's generally good about admitting mistakes, though, which speaks to his character. However, your point that he's often overly critical and misses salient features of a toy he's reviewing is certainly valid. Bobby has his particular standards and opinions, so one must go into his reviews knowing that. Again, I appreciate your point-by-point critique- clear, concise, with well-stated counterarguments. Excellent. For transformations, EmGo is generally my go-to. Some may not care for his brand of humor (sometimes it's a bit much for me, too), but so far as skill in handling and explaining the toys he reviews, he's thorough, positive, and also willing to admit when he makes a mistake, which in my experience, isn't too often. Em comes prepared to his reviews, having handled the toy a fair bit prior to going on-camera. He's also not shy about pointing out the things that are wonky, tricky, or just unpleasant in handling a particular toy, which makes for a fair and balanced review regardless of his personal opinion towards the toy in question. I also enjoy Wotafa's reviews. Wotafa always offers a cheerful, exuberant presentation of the toy he's reviewing, and regardless of whether or not I care about the toy, Wotafa's performance alone is worth the watch even though I don't understand Japanese. He, too, always comes prepared, demonstrating the features and transformation with great skill and attention to detail. Always a fun watch that gives me a chuckle or three by the time I'm done watching. Love his positive and enthusiastic approach. Quote
mikeszekely Posted July 25, 2022 Author Posted July 25, 2022 I hope you guys liked my review of Studio Series Deluxe-class Arcee! Because I also got Studio Series Deluxe-class Arcee, ready to review! Yep, two Arcees this past week, and three this summer. I guess if 2013 was the Year of Luigi (good grief, was that really almost a decade ago already?!), then 2022 is the Year of Arcee. But today, instead of a G1-ified Prime Arcee or the '86 movie in Studio Series fashion, this entry in the Studio Series is the blink-and-you'll-miss-her appearance of Arcee in 2018's Bumblebee film. Like the bulk of the non-86 Studio Series releases, Arcee has pretty accurate sculpt that falls victim to Hasbro's Deluxe-class budget. The head sculpt is, honestly, kind of hideous, but I think that's actually screen accurate. Her wrist guards are molded flat against her forearms, but otherwise she's got a lot of the right molded details on her body. Of course, she missing lots of little paint apps, like the gunmetal on the inside of her thighs, the outside of her lower legs, in the seams in her legs and the mechanical detail in her knees, and some white on the edges of her shoulders and elbows. The pods on her backpack have the correct shape from some angles, but they're super hollow from other angles and the CGI model simply didn't have a lot of the rest of the backpack. And, although I might be getting nitpicky, I think her hips are a bit too wide and her thighs a bit chunky. So, you know, it's par for the course- mostly fine, not exactly a mini-MP. Arcee comes with a pair of pistols. The sculpt is a tad muted due to their small size, but they do seem to be close to what she had in her literal two seconds of screen time. Arcee's head is on a ball joint with a good downward tilt, excellent upward tilt, and some sideways tilt. Her shoulders are pinned hinges (like I wish her '86 cousin's were), for rotation and 90 degrees of lateral movement. Her biceps swivel, and her double-jointed elbows bend 180 degrees. Her wrists can bend inward, but they don't swivel. Her waist does, though. Her hips, which are ball joints, can move forward, backward, and laterally 90 degrees. Her thighs swivel around the joints, and her knees bend 90 degrees. Her feet don't have any downward tilt, but you can kind of get some upward tilt by pulling her entire calf back, away from her leg. She does have ankle pivots, though, and they'll do 90 degrees. Her backpack pods are on ball joints, which allow you a fairly large range of poses on their own, but there's also a swivel between the gray part and the pink. Her pistols plug into either fist using the bog-standard 5mm peg into 5mm hole-shaped hands. The pistols also have little slots on the backs, so you can store them by plugging them onto little tabs on her backpack mods. Which looks kind of weird for storage... why they didn't put tabs on the guns instead when there's already a slot molded into the outside of her thighs is beyond me. Anywho... Arcee's transformation is a bit less complex than Arcee's, but a bit more complicated than Arcee's. That is, it's a bit more involved than SS86 Arcee, but far simpler than the Legacy one. Like the SS86 version, a lot of the transformation is unfurling the backpack and using it to cover her head and legs. Of course, Arcee didn't actually transform in the movie and I'm not sure an alt mode was planned beyond some sketches Hasbro did use those sketches as a guide, but they clearly faces some challenges. The front half isn't too bad, it's just missing some paint again (and in the sketches it looks like the white stripe on the side under the windshield was pink, and the rest of that panel was white, but I might be splitting hairs. Oh, and for whatever reason the wheels do not want to stay tabbed together like they should. The back has issues, though. The concept art was pretty smooth, but the you has a lump of unpaintable gray plastic connecting her backpack pods to her backpack, with another lump formed by her shoulder where her taillights should be. Then instead of the pods on the sides flowing to a white exhaust we've got her forearms poking out, complete with hands that are just hanging out there. In fact, from the rear you can plainly see that you're looking at her headless torso with her arms in front of her like she's carrying a box. Still, despite the half-hearted attempt to finish off the back end, I kind of dig this alt mode. Replace the weird feet with normal ones and the ugly head with something more G1 cartoon-ish and I wouldn't mind seeing a design like this used for something like a Legacy Greenlight or Moonracer. Arcee does have some weapon storage... and it's really just to leave her guns in her hands. Maybe pretend they're exhaust pipes? I'm not sure if having her hold the guns in alt mode hides her hands or actually calls more attention to them. So there you have it, folks. Arcee's a decent figure, all things considered. She's not the best of the Studio Series figures they're milking out of the first two tacked-on minutes of the Bumblebee movie, but she's not the best, either. She my least-favorite of the Arcee's I got this summer, and I'm not sure I'd call any of the Bumblebee Studio Series toys essential, but if you are collecting them I don't think you'll be disappointed with this one. Quote
tekering Posted July 25, 2022 Posted July 25, 2022 8 hours ago, mikeszekely said: I'm not sure if having her hold the guns in alt mode hides her hands or actually calls more attention to them. Less, I'd say... although it's unacceptably ridiculous, regardless. 🙄 Is that some sort of car? Or a motorcycle? I see nothing that indicates where a driver would sit, nor any suggestion of handlebars, a steering wheel, or any control mechanism whatsoever. 🤨 Quote
mikeszekely Posted July 25, 2022 Author Posted July 25, 2022 1 hour ago, tekering said: Is that some sort of car? Or a motorcycle? I see nothing that indicates where a driver would sit, nor any suggestion of handlebars, a steering wheel, or any control mechanism whatsoever. 🤨 On a planet where the inhabitants turn into their own vehicles I think a better question is why do the others have the appearance of cockpits it driver's compartments when no one is actually driving them? Quote
mark-1s Posted July 25, 2022 Posted July 25, 2022 I really like her bot mode, but that alt mode is just wierd - I cant even tell which end is the front. Quote
M'Kyuun Posted July 25, 2022 Posted July 25, 2022 2 hours ago, mikeszekely said: On a planet where the inhabitants turn into their own vehicles I think a better question is why do the others have the appearance of cockpits it driver's compartments when no one is actually driving them? That's a really fair point- why even have the semblance of a cockpit or cabin if you're autonomous? But of course, the answer is that the engineering is going backwards, starting with Earth alts and projecting those vehicular characteristics onto their Cybertronian alts as a way of making them relatable. Hey Mike, where'd you see sketches of Arcee's proposed bike mode? I've expended the limits of my Google-Fu to no avail. TFW2005 has a whole thread on Bee Movie concept art, and after perusing every page of the thread, I didn't see it there either. If you have it saved, and you don't mind, please post it for reference. Thanks. Your review is the first where I really saw those arms and chest forming the back of the bike, and yeah, the arms are woefully obvious. Woulda made a difference if the hands weren't just hanging out there obviously. But then again, being a Cybertronian alt, like the cockpit question, would all bot bits really need to be hidden away in an alt mode? Maybe they transform as much for rapid locomotion as for disguise where having obvious bot bits wouldn't make a difference. I'm playing devil's advocate, of course. I'd prefer all obvious traces of the bot be hidden or disguised believably as part of the alt, but the practicality of hiding everything beggars questioning on a world of bots that can transform into this or that and not every bot is involved in fighting or requires a disguise, but where the alt is a practical extension of their occupation, perhaps. I dig this version of Arcee. Mine's allegedly in the mail and should reach me soon, and I'm anticipating her arrival. That said, I'm not at all crazy about the face design, which looks to me like a cross between a marionette with the chin cutout and Sil the Alien from Species. She's actually kinda creepy looking, IMHO. But, I do think the alt they designed for her ultimately fits her body design better than her traditional car alt. It's a shame they couldn't find a way to streamline her and hide more of her bot bits away in bike mode, but IIWII, and I still think she's a nice addition to the Bee Movie crew. Quote
mikeszekely Posted July 25, 2022 Author Posted July 25, 2022 2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said: Hey Mike, where'd you see sketches of Arcee's proposed bike mode? I've expended the limits of my Google-Fu to no avail. TFW2005 has a whole thread on Bee Movie concept art, and after perusing every page of the thread, I didn't see it there either. If you have it saved, and you don't mind, please post it for reference. Thanks. From the livestream where they revealed her. And to be clear, I don't know if this was concept art for the Bumblebee movie, or concept art for the toy because no alt mode was ever designed for the movie. Quote
JB0 Posted July 25, 2022 Posted July 25, 2022 8 hours ago, tekering said: Less, I'd say... although it's unacceptably ridiculous, regardless. 🙄 I think it is a shame. Just a LITTLE more plastic overhanging the hands and the back would look like exhaust pipes instead of obviously-guns in undisguised-hands. Quote
Hikuro Posted July 26, 2022 Posted July 26, 2022 She's Thicc.....what? Don't look at me like that, we're all thinking it I just have the ball bearings to say it openly! Quote
JB0 Posted July 26, 2022 Posted July 26, 2022 44 minutes ago, Hikuro said: She's Thicc.....what? Don't look at me like that, we're all thinking it I just have the ball bearings to say it openly! Personally, I find her support struts to be excessively reinforced. But different bots like different plans. Quote
tekering Posted July 26, 2022 Posted July 26, 2022 11 hours ago, mikeszekely said: On a planet where the inhabitants turn into their own vehicles I think a better question is why do the others have the appearance of cockpits it driver's compartments when no one is actually driving them? Of course, the whole idea behind Transformers was a half-assed compromise at best, a broken concept at worst. Microchange made sense, Diaclone made sense, even Beetras sort-of made sense... but they were never going to work as a single, cohesive toyline without reconceptualizing the core ideas into something ultimately nonsensical. Nearly four decades later, we have a pretty standard set of expectations of the brand, regardless of the mythology built around it. We expect the alt. modes to have recognizable shapes with discernible purposes, be they vehicles, animals, or devices; terrestrial or non-terrestrial, we've learned to expect a cohesive alt. mode and a humanoid robot mode, and as the brand has evolved, we've come to expect increasingly greater degrees of articulation, complexity, and accuracy to source material. This new Studio Series Arcee is a perfect representation of the brand, I feel, given its scale consistency, engineering, paint app's... and of course, its frustrating little design flaws that piss us off. 😅 Quote
M'Kyuun Posted July 27, 2022 Posted July 27, 2022 On 7/25/2022 at 1:06 PM, mikeszekely said: From the livestream where they revealed her. And to be clear, I don't know if this was concept art for the Bumblebee movie, or concept art for the toy because no alt mode was ever designed for the movie. Thanks, Mike! I vaguely remember seeing this, so I was likely watching the livestream. I have a goldfish memory, so stuff just sieves right on through to oblivion. anyway, my copies of Bee Movie Arcee and Ironhide showed up today and I've already been transforming them and putting them through their posability paces. My Ironhide, like my copy of Ratchet, barely has any friction at the hips or waist- it can hold a pose, but those things are way too loose for a new toy straight out of a sealed box. Very cool mold though- love the transformation, the sculpt work, and the overall chunky look of the fig. Even after perusing your review, @mikeszekely, I was pleasantly surprised by the intricacy of the transformation, although I find the tabbing friction of her torso a bit reduced after the initial transformation. I made sure both the internal tab and the two tabs that actually go from the backplate into the chest piece are all tabbed, but it takes very little effort to separate them. It's a shame they didn't copy Animated Prowl's arm design with the moveable arm guards that cover the hands- would've made a difference, methinks. Too, some sort of flap to fill in her neck hole would have helped disguise the fact that the back of her bike mode is her chest. but, FWIW, I still dig her quite a bit. I love the separating calf bits to which her feet are attached- the whole thing can pivot about 10 degrees toes up, which gives a nice range for posing, not to mention a cooler silhouette to the lower legs. She does have noticeably chunkier thighs than the CG concept art, and I have to wonder why when they were able to give Prime First Addition Arcee much thinner thighs in a taller heavier fig with comparable articulation. Who knows? In bike mode, I have the same complaints as Mike- the front wheels barely stay tabbed, and the obviousness of the shoulders and hands spoils the illusion a bit. It would have been nice had they adhered to the concept art for the bike a bit more, or instituted a few additional gimmicks to help disguise the obvious bot bits. I don't mind seeing alt mode parts on the bot mode as much as seeing bot bits on an alt mode. With the negatives out of the way, I think Has/Tak did a decent job of taking something that had no definitive alt mode and creating a really suitable and nice-looking one for her. I can best describe her body proportions as those of an Olympic gymnast- short stature with well-defined musculature, especially the legs, and I'm fine with it. The sculpt work is well-done, especially the mechanical details on her shoulder pods, her little exposed belly section above the waist, and on her arms and knee areas. It's a good reimagination of G1 Arcee, one that arguably works better than her original human-doll- with-shoulder-pods look that lacks the necessary mass to assume a car mode without a bit of animation magic or some very clever engineering (looking at you MMC Azalea). Quote
mikeszekely Posted July 28, 2022 Author Posted July 28, 2022 Originally all listed for November, Amazon has started shipping their store-exclusive "Wreck 'N Rule" repaints. Not sure now when the duo of two-packs are coming, but here's what we got for now... First up we have Twin Twist. Twin Twist is a straight repaint of Titans Return Twin Twist down to the disappointing "guns combine to make a seat for Titan Masters!" gimmick, but instead of his Transformers colors he's sporting one of the two known decos of the Diaclone Bakuten Attack Robo Drill Type. I don't really have strong feelings about Twin Twist, perhaps because of the Jumpstarters' absence from the G1 cartoon. While the Titans Return figures were some of the best of the Prime Wars Trilogy and the Jumperstarters' engineering was quite clever at the time, the ball joints in the shoulders and hips, lack of ankle pivots, and looser tolerances in most of his joints make him seem a bit dated in the War for Cybertron/Legacy era. Still, with Silverstreak, Deep Cover, Tigertrack, Guard, Lift Ticket, Exhaust, Cordon, Spinout, and Road Rage in my collection already and Shattered Glass Magnus/Delta Magnus, Breaker, Clampdown, and Burn Out preordered you could say I'm a sucker for Diaclone repaints. In that sense, perhaps my biggest complaint about Wreck 'N Rule Twin Twist is that he didn't come in a two back with Topspin in his Diaclone colors. Next up we have Springer. As with Twin Twist, there's no mold changes here, but replacing his "almost-but-not-quite" cartoon colors with something clearly inspired by the G1 toy, with gray shoulder pads, gray forearms, and a yellow chest. He's even got the G1 toy's green face! It's a shame that they couldn't have given him gray hands, but it likely has to do with how the parts for the original toy were arranged on the sprues. I may also put a standard Autobot insignia onto his chest to cover the blue Wreckers one- the blue just looks out of place. Springer's accessories are the same as the Siege version, just molded in different colors. Y'know, when Siege Springer came out I was so happy to get a good cartoon Springer that I kind of gave them a pass then, but with some time and a few other Springer toys in my collection I have to say I'm not a fan of these. The guns aren't accurate to anything, the swords are warped, and I hate how you have to have two swords and a third bit with no other purpose to form the rotors instead of just one G1-accurate rifle and one sword that that splits in half to make the rotors without the need for more pieces. Car mode. Because the Siege mold hasn't been altered we've got the cartoon-style of having the shoulder pads farther forward than the nose, and I'd argue a bit too much green showing around the cockpit. There's no chrome or green on the engines, either. Copter mode has the same color issues, plus green "wings" that I wish were gray. But I think overall the helicopter mode feels the most toy-accurate. I may find myself painting some parts to get him a little closer to toy accuracy, but ultimately if I enjoy Diaclone repaints I really enjoy toy repaints, at least on stuff like this where the toy and the Sunbow art were so different. Finally, we have Bulkhead. Again, there's no changes to the mold, just changes to his colors. The blue translucent plastic is black, the silver thighs, hands, biceps, and pelvis are black, the green parts are more of an olive color now, the silver paint on his knees has been replaced with black on his shins, the blue lights on the bumper are copper, and he's got some camo patterns painted on. And... yeah, I'm not sure where they got the deco idea. I don't think Bulkhead was ever done in camo before; green and orange for Beast Hunters, sure, and I seem to recall a gray "Battle Tactics" Bulkhead, but not a camo one. Unlike Springer and Twin Twist, Bulkhead actually does have one new accessory. He comes with a hammer, the symbol of the Wreckers! Or... wait. Is that hammer really for Bulkhead? It looks an awful lot like it belongs with a certain Pulse-exclusive reissue. Dang, now I want a G1-ified Legacy Prime Universe Breakdown. The rest of Bulkhead's accessories (wrecking ball, tarp shield/cape, and gun) are straight from the Legacy release. Truck mode. Not a lot to say that I didn't cover in bot mode, except to say that I'm not loving the black fuel tanks. Once again, though, it probably has to do with how parts are laid out on the sprues. Oh, I do like how the camo blotches give a reason why part of Bulkhead's roof is black, though. Bulkhead's instructions show you how to store the hammer and gun under his tarp in alt mode. That's cool and all... I don't even mind that the gun is poking out a bit... except that there isn't room to store the wrecking ball, too. All the more reason to give the hammer to Breakdown, eh? I don't know about this one. I mean, I like Bulkhead, and I like the idea of a retroactively G1 Bulkhead to pal around with my other heavily G1 War for Cybertron figures... but I already got that, in colors that are more accurate, with the Legacy figure. While I know Bulkhead's past as a Wrecker was a thing in Prime I can't help but feel like Bulkhead's slot in Wreck N' Rule wouldn't have been better off going to another Wrecker, like Topspin from TR Topspin, Ironfist from Siege Hound, maybe even this very mold as Pyro. Likewise, I feel like reusing the Bulkhead mold on another Bulkhead is a waste when it could have been Pyro, Beast Hunters Optimus, or even something out there like Toxitron. Unless you're committed to the whole Wreck 'N Rule line, this is definitely one to skip. Oh, but each set is advertised to come with part of the Wreckers' hammer! You might be thinking, "I have to get all five, or else I won't be able to build the hammer!" Yeah... here's the parts I got so far. They're just cardboard, my peeps. Nothing exciting, although I suppose I'll show off the complete hammer when the other two sets arrive. Quote
JB0 Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 4 hours ago, mikeszekely said: I don't really have strong feelings about Twin Twist, perhaps because of the Jumpstarters' absence from the G1 cartoon. I, on the other hand, have adored Twin Twist since I first saw him. Him and Topspin resonated with me for some reason. I never owned either one until Titans, but they've always lived in my heart. In any case, I love this repaint and have ordered it. I wouldn't have known about it without this post. Quote
mikeszekely Posted July 28, 2022 Author Posted July 28, 2022 12 hours ago, JB0 said: I love this repaint and have ordered it. I wouldn't have known about it without this post. This is the highest compliment anyone could give. Quote
M'Kyuun Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 11 hours ago, JB0 said: I, on the other hand, have adored Twin Twist since I first saw him. Him and Topspin resonated with me for some reason. I never owned either one until Titans, but they've always lived in my heart. In any case, I love this repaint and have ordered it. I wouldn't have known about it without this post. Yeah, that's not a half-bad repaint of a pretty solid fig. Both of the TR Jumpstarters were well-executed- the OG toys were terrible, IMHO. I liked the direction Has/Tak took in just making them straightforward TF figs, eschewing the old pull-back, pop-up gimmick that made them crappy Transformer toys. I'm not a big fan of single-step transformations; misses the point of the toyline entirely, IMHO. But then, I've never been much of a fan of electronics or motorized gimmicks in most toys, especially something like Transformers where it's more of a hand-puzzle. The combination of tactile and cerebral puzzle-solving is at the core of what makes transforming toys so intriguing and enjoyable. Anyway, I'm passing on this personally (I have TR Twin Twist & Top Spin, so I'm good), but for folks who like a particular character or mold, repaints are a great way to enjoy it in a different sense. In my case, although I already have the awesome Kingdom Cyclonus figure, I just couldn't pass up the Generations Selects version with all the G1 toy deco. Although I've been resisting, part of me still wants the Generations Selects G1 toy colored Galvatron, one of the few '86 Movie toys I actually owned as a kid. Just a lot of nostalgia with that color scheme. Quote
M'Kyuun Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 5 minutes ago, mikeszekely said: This is the highest compliment anyone could give. Not for this toy in particular, but for general Transformers and my Macross collecting, this site has proven both essential and invaluable over the years. Forever grateful to all who share info, links, reviews, and all manner of heads-ups, and personal passions for these glorious lumps of plastic. 🙏 Quote
JB0 Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 5 hours ago, M'Kyuun said: Both of the TR Jumpstarters were well-executed- the OG toys were terrible, IMHO. You know, if I'd actually HAD them as a kid, I probably wouldn't be that enamored with them. But since I didn't, they remained idealized visions of what they could be, untarnished by the reality of their existence. Quote
M'Kyuun Posted July 29, 2022 Posted July 29, 2022 2 hours ago, JB0 said: You know, if I'd actually HAD them as a kid, I probably wouldn't be that enamored with them. But since I didn't, they remained idealized visions of what they could be, untarnished by the reality of their existence. I didn't want the original Jumpstarters. I probably saw commercials for them, but whether or not I did, I knew what they were and what they did- and what they didn't do- and readily passed on them. Even as a teen, I thought they were crap, essentially Transformers in name only. I guess I've always been a transforming robot snob. 😁 The TR toys were the worthy updates I would have wished for had I been wishing for updated Jumpstarters. 😊 I wasn't.....but, that didn't stop me from checking out early reviews and eventually picking up a copy of each, which I found pleasantly well-done both in how well they captured the look of the original toys (with a little license), and the simple yet satisfying transformation. Just transformed Topspin while writing this- couldn't help myself. Man, I wish Hasbro had put some sort of paint apps on his thrusters- a little too plain back there. Love his alt mode, though. Quote
JB0 Posted July 29, 2022 Posted July 29, 2022 2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said: I didn't want the original Jumpstarters. I probably saw commercials for them, but whether or not I did, I knew what they were and what they did- and what they didn't do- and readily passed on them. Even as a teen, I thought they were crap, essentially Transformers in name only. I guess I've always been a transforming robot snob. 😁 I was single-digit years, and I only remember seeing still photos. I just thought they looked like awesome sci-fi vehicles. Especially Twin Twist. Quote
sh9000 Posted July 29, 2022 Posted July 29, 2022 I had G1 Twin Twist when I was a kid so that's why I like him. These days I only have a MISB Twin Twist. He's on the right. I also have Robot-Man X MOSC. Quote
M'Kyuun Posted July 29, 2022 Posted July 29, 2022 1 hour ago, JB0 said: I was single-digit years, and I only remember seeing still photos. I just thought they looked like awesome sci-fi vehicles. Especially Twin Twist. Nothing wrong with that; you like what you like. I've liked robot & mecha related stuff as far back as I can remember. And building toys. Forty+ years later, nothing's changed except I'm fatter and balder. 1 hour ago, sh9000 said: I had G1 Twin Twist when I was a kid so that's why I like him. These days I only have a MISB Twin Twist. He's on the right. I also have Robot-Man X MOSC. Impressive collection. Nothing today, not even Transformers themselves, have the presentation value of those old boxes. That box art was a huge draw- it's the reason I bought Prowl as my first TF toy. I still love the box art for Prowl to this day. Quote
JB0 Posted July 29, 2022 Posted July 29, 2022 42 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said: Forty+ years later, nothing's changed except I'm fatter and balder. I can relate. Not as light or as nimble as I once was, but darn if a toy sci-fi robot ain't still the coolest thing. I'm SLIGHTLY more discerning now than I used to be. But not so much so that I don't have a Big Mac Bot standing beside a Soul of Chogokin. Quote
JB0 Posted July 29, 2022 Posted July 29, 2022 (edited) You know, having thought about it, I have one VERY pressing question about "Diaclone Universe Twin Twist". The robots in Diaclone are piloted by ordinary humans from an ordinary cockpit. Diaclone Universe Twin Twist(hereafter referred to as DUTT) is a headmaster. This is ... odd, obviously. But what does it mean for the lore?!?! Is DUTT evidence of experimental cybernetics projects within the Diaclone universe(which are clearly part of first Waruder invasion and will be abandoned by the time of Diaclone Reboot and the second Waruder invasion)? Is DUTT from a DIFFERENT "Diaclone universe" than the other diaclone homages(and thus from a different universe than the Diaclone toylines)? Did I misunderstand and rather than being FROM the Diaclone universe, he's a cybertronian who was transported TO the Diaclone universe, and is disguised as a Diaclone vehicle? Or did Hasbro make a neat repaint without considering the effect DUTT would have on the lore at all(nah, there's no way that's actually the answer)? INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW. Edited July 29, 2022 by JB0 Quote
mikeszekely Posted July 30, 2022 Author Posted July 30, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, JB0 said: Is DUTT evidence of experimental cybernetics projects within the Diaclone universe(which are clearly part of first Waruder invasion and will be abandoned by the time of Diaclone Reboot and the second Waruder invasion)? This 2 hours ago, JB0 said: Is DUTT from a DIFFERENT "Diaclone universe" than the other diaclone homages(and thus from a different universe than the Diaclone toylines)? Plus this. OK, imagine if you will that the Transformers plays out pretty much exactly like the Sunbow cartoon. The Decepticons are defeated, Cybertron's entering a new golden age, yadda yadda yadda. But, just as Optimus sent the Headmasters and Targetmasters to guard Nebulos, Optimus also sends a team to Earth. After all, while the Decepticons seem beaten Galvatron and Scorponok are still out there, right? But it's not Decepticons that show up, it's the Waruders. The initial battles go badly, as the small team of Autobots Prime sent to Earth are badly outnumbered, and the EDC doesn't have effective weapons of their own. But then the EDC and the Autobots use Nebulon technology to develop a new method for human drivers to merge with non-living clones* of Cybertronian called the Direct Interface for Autobot Clones (DIAClone). *The clones are from a protoform and get their individual form from their pilot. So DUTT isn't a clone of the regular blue and white Twin Twist, in this universe there was no living Autobot Twin Twist. Twin Twist is the code name of the EDC DIAClone pilot Corporal Vittorio Twisterelli. ...dang it. Now I made myself want a whole line of Diaclone Headmasters. 2 hours ago, JB0 said: Or did Hasbro make a neat repaint without considering the effect DUTT would have on the lore at all(nah, there's no way that's actually the answer)? But if that were true, then I would have had to have made up all that stuff I just wrote.😮 Edited July 30, 2022 by mikeszekely Quote
JB0 Posted July 30, 2022 Posted July 30, 2022 2 hours ago, mikeszekely said: This Plus this. OK, imagine if you will that the Transformers plays out pretty much exactly like the Sunbow cartoon. The Decepticons are defeated, Cybertron's entering a new golden age, yadda yadda yadda. But, just as Optimus sent the Headmasters and Targetmasters to guard Nebulos, Optimus also sends a team to Earth. After all, while the Decepticons seem beaten Galvatron and Scorponok are still out there, right? But it's not Decepticons that show up, it's the Waruders. The initial battles go badly, as the small team of Autobots Prime sent to Earth are badly outnumbered, and the EDC doesn't have effective weapons of their own. But then the EDC and the Autobots use Nebulon technology to develop a new method for human drivers to merge with non-living clones* of Cybertronian called the Direct Interface for Autobot Clones (DIAClone). *The clones are from a protoform and get their individual form from their pilot. So DUTT isn't a clone of the regular blue and white Twin Twist, in this universe there was no living Autobot Twin Twist. Twin Twist is the code name of the EDC DIAClone pilot Corporal Vittorio Twisterelli. ...dang it. Now I made myself want a whole line of Diaclone Headmasters. That is a MUCH better headcanon than mine, and I genuinely want to see some fiction in this setting now. "DUTT accidentally got warped to Diaclone World and has repainted himself as a Diaclone Corps vehicle to avoid notice while he and his unnamed head help defend the Earth they're on while looking for a way back to their home dimension" is low effort and boring by comparison. Quote
M'Kyuun Posted July 30, 2022 Posted July 30, 2022 Regarding your Diaclone conversation, beyond the rebranding of the same toys by Hasbro, I didn't think there was any connection between the two lines at all. I wasn't aware of Diaclone until probably my late twenties-early thirties when I started getting on the internet and discovering Transformers forums. Diaclone never interested me beyond the shared toys and the history of how Transformers came about. I can understand if Takara tried marrying the two brands for their domestic market- makes sense, but outside of Japan, not so much. 21 hours ago, JB0 said: I can relate. Not as light or as nimble as I once was, but darn if a toy sci-fi robot ain't still the coolest thing. Indeed they are! 21 hours ago, JB0 said: II'm SLIGHTLY more discerning now than I used to be. But not so much so that I don't have a Big Mac Bot standing beside a Soul of Chogokin. As am I if only b/c I have no space for anything anymore. And though I say that, I still buy a fair bit of the Hasbro mainline, the occasional legends fig, the occasional MP scaled fig (official or 3P, generally the latter), the rare Macross release (got the anniversary VF-25 coming as we speak, although I have no idea where I'm going to put it), a fair bit of LEGO, and other assorted toys. Toys are my life; it's a hard thing to give up, but I have tried to make more discerning purchases over the last couple of years. As for display- most of my TFs are together on an overcrowded set of shelves, on my desk, on my coffee table, in a couple Detolfs in my dining room. My 3P legends stuff, and other assorted bots are just kinda grouped together in a mish-mash on one part of my desk (I have a huge semi-circular desk with lots of shelf space that's very nearly full at this point). Doesn't stop me from buying the figs that stand out to me, though. This robot collecting business is a sickness....but I can quit anytime I want.😇 Quote
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