The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[Scyla]

I would be interested in a ML Grimlock. But that means I would want the rest of the G1 Dinobots too and I don’t think this will happen.

[JB0]

Personally, I'd like a Missing Link Tracks, as he's one of my few childhood Transformers that didn't survive and also one that turns into an awesome flying car.

[Black Valkyrie]

 

Just waiting if they ever produce the ML Seekers. 

 

[M'Kyuun]

6 hours ago, Black Valkyrie said:

 

Just waiting if they ever produce the ML Seekers. 

 

The ML Seeker would pose a little challenge, as the arms were a bit short and the hands were separate bits that had to be "partsformed". I love the transformation of the arms, though, and the only other Seeker toy to fold the arms into the F-15's spine was part of the Robot Masters line. albeit done much better. If Takara simply followed that toy's solution with a ML design, I think it'd work well. Honestly, I wish every Seeker toy followed that design, as well as more jetformers in general to reduce the number of jets with robot arms just hanging off their sides.

[Black Valkyrie]

 

@M'Kyuun You might be right about the arms, if it happens the arms would be very little, especially for the fists.  

 

[pengbuzz]

3 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

The ML Seeker would pose a little challenge, as the arms were a bit short and the hands were separate bits that had to be "partsformed". I love the transformation of the arms, though, and the only other Seeker toy to fold the arms into the F-15's spine was part of the Robot Masters line. albeit done much better. If Takara simply followed that toy's solution with a ML design, I think it'd work well. Honestly, I wish every Seeker toy followed that design, as well as more jetformers in general to reduce the number of jets with robot arms just hanging off their sides.

I imagine they would have to modify the main body to "take" some material from it to make up for the forearms. As for the knees: that's a bit more simple.

[M'Kyuun]

17 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

I imagine they would have to modify the main body to "take" some material from it to make up for the forearms. As for the knees: that's a bit more simple.

The issue, since the goal is to approximate the OG toy, warts and all, would be to reproduce the added fist without partsforming, meaning they'll have to figure a point to insert elbows and then figure a way to create that oversized fist and make each fold into a wafer the same width as the upper arm to fill in the belly of the jet as unobtrusively as possible since the OG toy didn't have anything in that space. Much like slavish devotion to toon accuracy has affected certain figs, the most recent MP Starscream's ghastly alt mode comes to mind, the Missing Link's slavish devotion to preserving the look of the original toys, many of which suffered poor proportions and other shortcomings, will prove to be the line's Achille's Heel, IMHO. The OG Seeker design hasn't aged well and most toys now emulate a cross between toon and toy or straight toon, which benefitted from some of the toy's proportions being adjusted to look better, especially the arms and legs. Unfortunately, Takara can't incorporate any toon magic to spruce up the look of these figs, so for a number of them those poor proportions and partsforming bits are going challenge the designers while also somewhat hindering the toys themselves. The old adage, "You can't polish a turd' comes to mind, and while that may sound harsh and disrespectful, that's not the spirit in which I mention it; I mean it more from a practical design perspective. Theses shape-shifting toys represented an interesting new play pattern with a lot of thought and craftsmanship put into them (the prototypes were often carved out of wood!); however, ultimately so much more focus was placed on the puzzle aspect and creating realistic believable alt modes while the robot modes remained secondary considerations, which is generally where we see the greatest weaknesses of the Diaclone and Micochange and hence G1 toys. Those weaknesses are going to carry over by dint of preserving the look of the toys in both modes and many are going to fare poorer than others. If indeed they do the Seeker, or Megatron, both are going to suffer from carrying over the minuses of those early toys. That said, I'd still pick up a Missing Link Megatron having never owned the OG toy but still finding it pretty darn cool in its own way.

To that end, I favor what Has/Tak did with the Legacy United deluxe class Optimus Prime where they closely approximated the look of the G1 toy, but made little improvements i.e. different shaped, better proportioned forearms with integrated fists and a nicely hinged cover for his back (no gaping hole like the OG). I think a furtherance of this line would be interesting, as, lacking that imperative to mirror the OG toy exactingly, they could introduce more "fixes" to correct the odd proportion or hindrance of the OG toy while still skewing very closely towards how it looked. I like that approach, and it would make for an interesting third option for folks like me who aren't really all-in on the Missing Link line and who aren't interested in collecting the G1 toys, either, due to their shortcomings. My feeling is that LU deluxe Prime is probably a one-and-done sort of figure, but I wouldn't object to more characters getting the treatment, especially at the more affordable price range compared to ML.

Edited 21 hours ago by M'Kyuun

[JB0]

Yeah, I don't see Starscream et al getting the Missing Link treatment, because as much as they'd love to(one mold with six color schemes is WAY more profitable than six molds) it just doesn't seem possible to do the arms.

But I've been wrong before, and TT has a financial interest in making it work.

[Scyla]

I wonder if the ML Ultra Magnus will be a white repaint of ML Prime, without the car carrier.

[mikeszekely]

45 minutes ago, Scyla said:

I wonder if the ML Ultra Magnus will be a white repaint of ML Prime, without the car carrier.

That, unfortunately, is an exceedingly likely possibility. 

On the plus side for you, if that turns out to be the case an ML Nemesis Prime would pretty much be a guarantee after that.

[M'Kyuun]

2 hours ago, Scyla said:

I wonder if the ML Ultra Magnus will be a white repaint of ML Prime, without the car carrier.

 

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

That, unfortunately, is an exceedingly likely possibility. 

I hope not; I hope Takara's more committed than that. While they've pushed some white Optimi toys as UM over the decades, G1 UM is synonymous with his armored look and I would hope that if they indeed choose to do him as a Missing Link entry, they go all-in and figure out a way to make the trailer work as his armor, even if it means a bit of partsforming to achieve the trailer and the armor. I think that'd be more acceptable in most fans' eyes than just a naked white Optimus clone. I believe they're up to the challenge; after 40+ years of making these things, they certainly should be.

Edited 22 hours ago by M'Kyuun

[Scyla]

16 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

 

I hope not; I hope Takara's more committed than that. While they've pushed some white Optimi toys as UM over the decades, G1 UM is synonymous with his armored look and I would hope that if they indeed choose to do him as a Missing Link entry, they go all-in and figure out a way to make the trailer work as his armor, even if it means a bit of partsforming to achieve the trailer and the armor. I think that'd be more acceptable in most fans' eyes than just a naked white Optimus clone. I believe they're up to the challenge; after 40+ years of making these things, they certainly should be.

I think the challenge is in the placement of the white Prime in the G1 toy:

The waist of Ultra Magnus is not where the waist of the Prime is. Likewise, the knees of Prime are at the waist of Ultra Magnus.

I don’t think those are insurmountable odds but I feel they would have to change ML Convoy to give Ultra Magnus more articulation.

I think they could skip the waist joint but I don’t see them skipping knee. I also think as a fan of the Missing Link line you would like Takara to stay as close to the original as possible. 

That cloud potentially look very weird so my train of thought was just a white Convoy would be much more likely. And Takara already released a repaint of ML Convoy with Sentinel Prime.

[M'Kyuun]

Well, I didn't say it'd be easy! 😄 The OG definitely presents some challenges. Ultimately, they may just opt to fold prime up into a cube and keep him isolated in the top half while trying to work in the cuts and articulation of the armor without having to work around the core bot. However, as you say, that moves away from toy accuracy by a fair amount. In the end, a white Optimus may be all fans get. In cases like this, where the OG toy was nigh impossible to translate to a workable standard, either fans should be prepared for shortcuts, bad takes, or Takara should just leave them be.

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

 

I hope not; I hope Takara's more committed than that. While they've pushed some white Optimi toys as UM over the decades, G1 UM is synonymous with his armored look and I would hope that if they indeed choose to do him as a Missing Link entry, they go all-in and figure out a way to make the trailer work as his armor, even if it means a bit of partsforming to achieve the trailer and the armor. I think that'd be more acceptable in most fans' eyes than just a naked white Optimus clone. I believe they're up to the challenge; after 40+ years of making these things, they certainly should be.

It's not that I disagree, I just don't know how much faith I have in them not to go for the easy cash grab.

And it's not just the fact that the joints for Magnus don't line up with the cab. The cab used the fist holes to connect, and ML Convoy doesn't have those fist holes. I think it's probably pretty trivial to find a way to transform Magnus' fists, but what about the chest, waist, and head? How many changes do we tolerate before it's less G1 toy with articulation and more new toy? I'm just feeling a bit pessimistic about this one. 

Fortunately Grimlock should be much  easier for Takara to pull off.

[JB0]

18 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Ultimately, they may just opt to fold prime up into a cube and keep him isolated in the top half while trying to work in the cuts and articulation of the armor without having to work around the core bot. However, as you say, that moves away from toy accuracy by a fair amount. In the end, a white Optimus may be all fans get.

I feel like making Magnus work more like Powermaster Prime, with a truck-lump core, is a better compromise than just throwing an Albino Prime out there because engineering is hard and repaints are cheap. Minimus Ambus isn't Ultra Magnus.

I guess we'll see how TakaraTomy feels about it.