The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[Gakken85]

I love the metal color (diecast) on the thrusters. Such an awesome mix of Chogokin, Transformer, and Gundam.

Tracks looks great. So much love and fun in this toy.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Gakken85

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Great stuff david.

If I ever had a bunch of spare money and nothing to buy I'd go back and buy boxed G1's. They worked so well as art on their own.

thanks. i lucked out with this guy. usually 60-80 but got him for 16 misb. grabbed him fast!

I love the metal color (diecast) on the thrusters. Such an awesome mix of Chogokin, Transformer, and Gundam.

Tracks looks great. So much love and fun in this toy.

when does star saber ship?

[abbadon]

I love the metal color (diecast) on the thrusters. Such an awesome mix of Chogokin, Transformer, and Gundam.

Tracks looks great. So much love and fun in this toy.

Yeah looks like Yuki really had a blast designing Star Saber. Labor of love, and it shows!

[Gakken85]

Probably late march with Exhaust.

[lechuck]

Looking at Star Saber and Tracks just makes you realize what a sad affair of a toy MP Ultra Magnus really is.

[Scyla]

You mean the sticker is on the actual nice box with the pictures and logos and stuff? Or is it on a brown shipping box? Got a picture? I'm pretty good at removing that stuff but it depends. Sometimes it can be a lot of work...

It is the regular black Masterpiece box with a huge white sticker slapped across the half of back and the side. It is a paper sticker. I assume the box is from a Chinese re-release of Frumble and Jaguar so they need to put some special warnings onto it so that the can sell it in mainland China.

I think the bet option is to use warm temperature to make the glue softer and rub it away with my finger. Any kind of fluid will damage the box I assume.

[edit:] Sometimes I think that Takara doesn't understand collectors. Like slapping big labels all over a collector toy or changing the biocard art/style after 22 Masterpiece releases. I mean this is not a jar of imported peanut-butter. It the same kind of sticker that a publisher but on adult mangas where you would rather rip the cover apart than removing the sticker.

[edit2:] Some images. Slowly I get it off without damaging the box. I probably got already half of it off without any dents. There is also a second sticker on the box. I have the same stickers on my MP-11SW so it must be a Chinese release thing. However the Skywarp box is big enough so that the sticker has no impact on the box art.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Scyla

[Gakken85]

Looking at Star Saber and Tracks just makes you realize what a sad affair of a toy MP Ultra Magnus really is.

That's what I've been saying! haha

It is the regular black Masterpiece box with a huge white sticker slapped across the half of back and the side. It is a paper sticker. I assume the box is from a Chinese re-release of Frumble and Jaguar so they need to put some special warnings onto it so that the can sell it in mainland China.

I think the bet option is to use warm temperature to make the glue softer and rub it away with my finger. Any kind of fluid will damage the box I assume.

[edit:] Sometimes I think that Takara doesn't understand collectors. Like slapping big labels all over a collector toy or changing the biocard art/style after 22 Masterpiece releases. I mean this is not a jar of imported peanut-butter. It the same kind of sticker that a publisher but on adult mangas where you would rather rip the cover apart than removing the sticker.

[edit2:] Some images. Slowly I get it off without damaging the box. I probably got already half of it off without any dents. There is also a second sticker on the box. I have the same stickers on my MP-11SW so it must be a Chinese release thing. However the Skywarp box is big enough so that the sticker has no impact on the box art.

mp_15_sticker.jpg mp_15_sticker_small.jpg

Hairdryer - should loosen the glue enough to pull it off.

[xrentonx]

Aw, man. It's one of them white paper stickers that rip easy. Notoriously hard to get off. I've done it successfully quite a few times but it's a time consuming bitch. You're right though. I've neatly removed about 99% of all stickers (vinyl and paper), tape, adhesives etc by taking my time and slowly pulling (and I mean very slowly pulling) the sticker tape back. Glue-B-Gone and stuff like that is reserved for plastic surfaces only (like on some blister card packages). If you were to look at my boxes and inspected them closely, you wouldn't even be able to tell that there was ever any tape on them at all. I hate tape/stickers. That stuff ages badly and ruins your boxes over time.

For those white paper stickers, sometimes it can't be helped that they rip like that. You have the right idea that you slowly pick away at it though. Be careful with your fingernails though. I don't have long nails but try not to make scratches on the surface of the box. Once you have one corner up enough to grasp and pull, you start pulling slow. Sometimes I use the tackiness of the sticker/tape and dab the flap down to adhere any remaining glue residue back to the sticker/tape then I continue to keep pulling.

For any additional adhesive tackiness, take the tacky back of the sticker (or other tape sometimes) and slowly dab at the remaining adhesive until the box is clean. Again, there's an art to doing this and if you take a lot of time and go slow, you'll be able to remove everything.

Now the important thing is to avoid ripping the box. If you start to see the box rip at all or even feel that it is, stop and try and come in at it by pulling from the opposite direction. It's best to work in sections on the bigger stickers.

It's not impossible and even that white paper sticker can come off easy as long as you take your time. The only times I've been unsuccessful and ripped stuff was when I was impatient. Did I mention go slow? If you think you're going slow, you probably aren't pulling at the sticker slow enough.

Edited February 28, 2015 by xrentonx

[technoblue]

Looking at Star Saber and Tracks just makes you realize what a sad affair of a toy MP Ultra Magnus really is.

That's what I've been saying! haha

I wanted to believe, but Magnus was my first disappointment. On to better things, though, I just paid for my N-Y Star Saber order.

[Gakken85]

Haha. Got a lot of hate for my position, but I stand by it. Def. one of the worst MPs released thus far.

[JB0]

But he's STILL a better Magnus than the first MP Magnus was! Perhaps damning with faint praise, but...

[mikeszekely]

Haha. Got a lot of hate for my position, but I stand by it. Def. one of the worst MPs released thus far.

No arguments from me. I even dared to say that Citizen Stack was better.

[treatment]

Meh.

You guys are talking nonsense.

MP-22 is very accurate to the cartoon and the movie. In both truck-mode and bot-mode.

If anything, he's maybe even too accurate.

The only issue I really had with him was the buttflap, which turned out to be quite minor as it can be flipped up.

[technoblue]

Meh.

You guys are talking nonsense.

MP-22 is very accurate to the cartoon and the movie. In both truck-mode and bot-mode.

If anything, he's maybe even too accurate.

The only issue I really had with him was the buttflap, which turned out to be quite minor as it can be flipped up.

That's cool. It is what it is, and it's great that MP-22 has fans too.

Maybe Takara will revisit Ultra Magnus in a few years and make a better Masterpiece?

Because that's my sticking point. Magnus could have been a better right out of the gate. Especially, if Takara gave the engineers the time and money to work through certain constraints. MP-22 feels rushed with its flat folding parts. Mm, I guess all I'm saying is that I would have waited and paid the price to see the version Takara left on the cutting room floor.

You know, the one that has a waist like Stack.

Edited March 1, 2015 by technoblue

[Scyla]

I think the problem with MP-22 is that he is so close to perfect. He just needed a few more refinement steps and maybe 5000 Yen more budget. Stuff like a sliding panel that covers the thighs in truck mode that slide down to cover the gaps in the thighs, a better leg transformation to remove the hollowness, a mechanism to collapse the buttflap and covers that hide the fists in trailermode. Those improvements would make this a better toy for me.

With a bigger budget they could have improved also the range of movement in all his joints.

All the other problems like bot-mode size and the chubbyness stem from the greatest fail in the Masterpiece line. That is the fact that the Autobot cars have to interact with each other in alt-mode. The the Masterpiece cars are a head to small in bot-mode so that they can fit in the trailer and Ultra Magnus is to big so that four cars can fit in his trailer. To me this play pattern does nothing for the line but that is something that shouldn't be changed down the line imho. I guess a UM cab that is smaller than Convoy would look weird if it is noticeable smaller. Maybe a quarter inch would do much for bot-mode and might still look consistent in alt-mode.

I'm happy with MP-22 because it is the UM Masterpiece I always wanted. However it is sad to see how much better it could have been. Overall I'm glad we have a somewhat consistent Masterpiece toy line.

[mikeszekely]

So... I guess Hasbro's Greek site has some product photos of some of the new Combiner Wars figures. Some initial thoughts:

While Cyclonus is, in some ways, a pretty impressive retool, he look so much worse than the CHUG version. Easy pass for me.

Why are they making another Warpath? Just to reuse the Legends Megatron mold? Given that there's a much better Deluxe CHUG version, another easy pass.

I'm kind of digging the combiner thing, so I'm cool with Hot Spot, but I'm also sort of thinking that Robots In Disguise (the first one, er, Car Robots) Optimus Prime would be a cool repaint.

[David Hingtgen]

MP-22 is very accurate to the cartoon and the movie. In both truck-mode and bot-mode.

If anything, he's maybe even too accurate.

Except for, his lower legs being so huge and blocky, they touch each other in a normal standing/walking pose. He only has "clearance" in the "half-squat" pose a lot of people use.

These aren't legs, that's not a torso:

"Looks sorta decent from front-view only" doesn't fly for an MP. Look at MP-10 from the back.

[treatment]

Except for, his lower legs being so huge and blocky, they touch each other in a normal standing/walking pose. He only has "clearance" in the "half-squat" pose a lot of people use.

These aren't legs, that's not a torso:

http://decepticlone.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/magnus-back.jpg

"Looks sorta decent from front-view only" doesn't fly for an MP. Look at MP-10 from the back.

He ain't MP-10, so why would anyone bother?

Besides, I don't understand why anyone would display MP-22 with his buttflap down, let alone facing backwards on the shelf.

The only figures I'll most likely display facing backwards are my bishoujo figures to show off their magnificently sculpted butts!

Also, I don't see his lower legs touching each other in my walking pose of him:

btw, is the pic below consider a "half-squat" stance?

Edited March 2, 2015 by treatment

[technoblue]

It's not cartoon accurate. In the cartoon, Ultra Magnus could hang and fight with both Primes. He was not arthritic in his joints or forced to wear a kilt/apron that he had to flap out of the way when it got annoying. The thing is MP-22 was not made to be toon accurate. Compromises were made, and most of those were made for the trailer gimmick: to fit four masterpiece cars. I would gladly have had Takara dump that gimmick or reduce the number of cars that fit the trailer to give us a more posable and accurate robot mode.

This is Masterpiece, after all. I'm more forgiving of the new Generations Leader Ultra Magnus, for example, because it does not try to set a high standard.

Edited March 2, 2015 by technoblue

[treatment]

Geezus.

UM is a bricky dork in the cartoon. He's a bricky dork in all his official toy incarnations, including MP-22.

At least in MP-22, he's not the even-more-dorky white-Prime.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

he doesn't have a waist in the anime he's stiff as a block:

every animation of ultra magnus.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

based on that this looks spectacular:

[technoblue]

he doesn't have a waist in the anime he's stiff as a block:

every animation of ultra magnus.

All G1 Transformers are blocky, that's an aesthetic. This doesn't mean that they have zero articulation.

I'm not sure what you see in this, david, but I see waist articulation throughout. Here are a few scenes:

• The stance Ultra Magnus is taking at 0:23 when firing his weapon
• The step and turn toward spike at 0:25
• Magnus at the door with Rodimus, which shows him bending at the waist 0:32

And let's skip ahead some:

• The wrestling match with Rodimus at 1:17
• Ultra Magnus turning to shoot at Cyclonus and Galvatron: 3:00
• Ultra Magnus tackling/grappling/fighting with Galvatron: 3:47
• Ultra Magnus and Springer (obvious waist angle): 5:44

Edited March 2, 2015 by technoblue

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

lol we're watching the same clip right? are you referring to the micro seconds of static stances? there might be one or two place his waist turns for a micro seconds among the whole entire season 3 but look at the rest of the clip.

generally when he turns, his whole body has to move because he has no waist. i'm sure there's one or two exceptions in animation but it's pretty clear he's a block in the cartoon. i'm referring to ultra magus' waist section.

Edited March 2, 2015 by davidwhangchoi

[technoblue]

As am I. It looks like we will have to agree to disagree on this point. Oh well. I won't laugh at you for being unable to see what I see. And the fact remains that a Masterpiece Ultra Magnus with poor articulation, for me, was a poor investment. I guess I've said enough, so I'll stop my bitching. There's no use going on about it and turning this into another debate thread.

I'd rather talk about something else.

Edited March 2, 2015 by technoblue

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

It's not cartoon accurate. In the cartoon, Ultra Magnus could hang and fight with both Primes. He was not arthritic in his joints or forced to wear a kilt/apron that he had to flap out of the way when it got annoying.

You know, the one that has a waist like Stack.

you're saying mp-22 it's not cartoon accurate and should be more articulate and have a waist like citizen stack.

i posted a clip of all his scenes saying he generally has no waist and stiff

at this point it's clear you're trying to disprove that. but you're wrong about mp-22 being not cartoon accurate. you may not like him and have valid points on wanting more articulation but mp-22 is more cartoon accurate than citizen stack. esp at the waist proportion. while i agree more articulation is better, i don't think it's a deal breaker for Mp-22. and no, not every transformer is blocky in the cartoon. galvatron is clearly not. Prime, i would say no either. Fort Max, yes, Ultramagnus has always been blocky and stiff in the cartoon.

but it doesn't mean i disagree with you on you not liking the mp-22 toy. but i think that was reaching to say he's not like the cartoon. in the show his character was represented as an old man(senior) he looked and acted like it.

Edited March 2, 2015 by davidwhangchoi

[technoblue]

LoL. Okay. You are changing your tune, but only because I caught you.

he doesn't have a waist in the anime he's stiff as a block:

you're saying mp-22 it's not cartoon accurate and should be more articulate and have a waist like citizen stack.

i posted a clip of all his scenes saying he generally has no waist and stiff

Actually, David H. brought up the topic. FYI, in case you missed it above:

Except for, his lower legs being so huge and blocky, they touch each other in a normal standing/walking pose. He only has "clearance" in the "half-squat" pose a lot of people use.

These aren't legs, that's not a torso:

<snip>

"Looks sorta decent from front-view only" doesn't fly for an MP. Look at MP-10 from the back.

I'm not the only one criticizing the cartoon accuracy. You may want to think that I am, but others have been commenting on it all along and a mod responded to treatment's cartoon accuracy comment first. My response was a follow up to his.

Sorry, bud. I'm not buying it. Not one iota. Back off.

The pictures speak for themselves. There are enough of them that I don't really need to say anything more.

[treatment]

Oh, yeah?

Tell us which one is more cartoon accurate between these two?

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

LoL. Okay. You are changing your tune, but only because I caught you.

Sorry, bud. I'm not buying it. Not one iota. Back off.

The pictures speak for themselves. There are enough of them that I don't really need to say anything more.

i thought you were going to drop this?

[technoblue]

i thought you were going to drop this?

Edit: Yeah. Sorry about the drama, David.

I get what you're saying. I just see it differently.

Edited March 3, 2015 by technoblue

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

(deleted wisecrack) my bad.

Edited March 2, 2015 by davidwhangchoi

[mikeszekely]

Alright, let's all just agree that MP-22 is a crappy toy that looks more like the cartoon and that Stack is less 'toon accurate, but better overall.

[JB0]

Toys: serious business

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

yeah, i'm sure it was the heat of the moment. technoblue is cool and passionate about TF's. i take back that last comment... that's too mean. heated debate is cool. rubbing it in is going too far.

my bad techno, whatever reaction you had, i shouldn't respond like that.

Edited March 2, 2015 by davidwhangchoi

[treatment]

lol!

Actually, I think this whole shenanigan is not really about cartoon-accuracy, but rather a toy-feature want instead.

Stacks got a waist-swivel and that's fine. But he just do not look anything like the UM we saw when were kids.

In contrast, MP-22 looks almost exactly like the UM we saw in the cartoon. The MP-22 toy sure got compromises all over, but that seems to be par for the course for the whole Masterpiece line. We got an official MP-3 that was green and other shenanigans in the MP-line, ffs!

Fwiw, I got a bunch of SOCs that were damn accurate to their respective shows that either has no waist-swivel and/or other compromises. That still does not change the fact that when I see them, they're the ones I remember looking like the bots I watched when I was a kid. Regardless of waist-swivel and other toy-feature wants.