The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[mikeszekely]

26 minutes ago, Kuma Style said:

That's unfortunate as Drift was a real highlight of the classics line for me. I appreciate the explanation,  though. 

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Going back and forth about Sunstreaker... looks nice, great feedback,  but something is keeping me from jumping that I can't put a finger on.

Yeah, he was a good toy.  He released (in the States, anyway) before he'd even shown up in the comics, though, so I guess people were passing on him because no one knew who he was.  Hasbro should try doing a new version of Peg now, since people actually know him now (and he was pretty cool in More Than Meets The Eye and Empire of Stone).

[Kuma Style]

I think an updated version would be neat but unfortunately Hasbro "Classics" have taken such a nosedive that I'm not sure it'd be an actual upgrade at all minus possibly a more current look.

 

I'm just going to go ahead and call him Drift and give thoughts on the piece to keep with the thread matter.

Right off the bat, it's got a great feel and finish, tight joints, the diecast is too slick and the lights are jjust insane. I don't really like the cape much because it's not as cool and rugged looking as the one in the promo pics but it's not the worst add-on by any means. The additional faces are awesome and I like that it comes with a MG 1/100 type of stand.

 

[JB0]

2 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Years ago, when the Hasbro Drift was in stores, there was some discussion of Drift shelfwarming. Someone said something about there being pegs full of him, and another board member, in a moment of confusion, thought we were saying that Drift's name was Peg. I gleefully latched onto that, swearing that Drift would be known as Peg forever more at Macrossworld. And thanks to a few people like JB0 who seemed as amused as I was, the name's stuck.

It didn't hurt that we made up an entire parody character, at a time when actual Drift's portrayal was "bad fanfic character". 

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

11 minutes ago, JB0 said:

It didn't hurt that we made up an entire parody character, at a time when actual Drift's portrayal was "bad fanfic character". 

Whose battle cry was "V-Tech just kicked in yo!"

[mikeszekely]

15 minutes ago, JB0 said:

It didn't hurt that we made up an entire parody character, at a time when actual Drift's portrayal was "bad fanfic character". 

This is true.  At the time, Peg was a better character to have a toy of than Drift.

[Kuma Style]

One of "those" forums.

[JB0]

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

This is true.  At the time, Peg was a better character to have a toy of than Drift.

I know Peg is the only reason I bought the toy, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one.

 

3 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

One of "those" forums.

Every forum is one of those forums.

Edited December 31, 2017 by JB0

[Kuma Style]

7 minutes ago, JB0 said:

I know Peg is the only reason I bought the toy, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one.

 

Every forum is one of those forums.

Not at all. If every forum had members go out of their way to subjugate people coming from outside for the sake of it (which is what was blatabtly referenced,) it's be hard for most to find success/traffic.

But... sure.

Edited December 31, 2017 by Kuma Style

[Kuma Style]

So for anyone looking to potentially buy the ft ver. of Drift the instructions point to the front of the shin for what to remove and turn on the lights, but the pieces are acrually on the sides of the leg. 

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Comicave ok replacement came the other day broken in the box. The seller was open to a return/exchange but at this point I'm two for two with this piece being a beautiful dud. I don't know what to do. I'm admittedly over it.

Edited December 31, 2017 by Kuma Style

[JB0]

1 hour ago, Kuma Style said:

Not at all. If every forum had members go out of their way to subjugate people coming from outside for the sake of it (which is what was blatabtly referenced,) it's be hard for most to find success/traffic.

But... sure.

No one's trying to subjugate anyone. It is merely a long-running joke, and any community that doesn't have a few in-jokes is probably fairly unhealthy.  

There's no scorn for calling the character Drift. And we'll give IDW a lot of credit for making Drift into a genuinely interesting character, regardless of how rocky his start was. But some of us old folks are gonna reminisce about our favorite fanfic-writing, pocky-powered Transformer. Not out of judgement or exclusion, but because he brings us joy.

I'm sorry you took it as an attempt to put you down. It was merely an attempt to share the joy of Peg.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

48 minutes ago, JB0 said:

No one's trying to subjugate anyone. It is merely a long-running joke, and any community that doesn't have a few in-jokes is probably fairly unhealthy.  

There's no scorn for calling the character Drift. And we'll give IDW a lot of credit for making Drift into a genuinely interesting character, regardless of how rocky his start was. But some of us old folks are gonna reminisce about our favorite fanfic-writing, pocky-powered Transformer. Not out of judgement or exclusion, but because he brings us joy.

I'm sorry you took it as an attempt to put you down. It was merely an attempt to share the joy of Peg.

I totally echo JBO's sentiments here, I couldn't have phrased it any better.   I meant no offense to you or your work, nor did I mean to alienate you.

And for the record, I liked Peg so much that I even bought his Henkei release to put that Tokyo Drift flavor my TF lineup was sorely lacking.  

[mikeszekely]

Who's being subjugated? This isn't TFW; Macrossworld is a much smaller community, and a lot of the regulars have been posting for 10+ years. Like any little group, we have our in-jokes. We were pretty open about it; we're not trying to be exclusive. By the same token, no one is forcing you to call Drift Peg, either.

[M'Kyuun]

"Peg" still makes me smile. I agree with Mike, JBO, and Valkyrie Hunter- it's an old running joke here, and no offense was meant by calling him that in reference to your Drift review. Take it with a grain of salt; I still think of Drift as Peg- it's just something that stuck in the grey matter and won't go away. 

That said, I passed on the Classics Drift version of the toy in lieu of the Blurr recolor, as I usually just buy one version of a mold unless I really like it or there's enough difference between the toys to justify it. I have no formal connection to Drift, as I don't read the comics. That said, Kuma's pics of Drift look amazing; I dig the look of the character. It's a shame that figure doesn't transform, but I get that his bot mode is the focus. He looks good.

[Kuma Style]

9 hours ago, JB0 said:

No one's trying to subjugate anyone. It is merely a long-running joke, and any community that doesn't have a few in-jokes is probably fairly unhealthy.  

There's no scorn for calling the character Drift. And we'll give IDW a lot of credit for making Drift into a genuinely interesting character, regardless of how rocky his start was. But some of us old folks are gonna reminisce about our favorite fanfic-writing, pocky-powered Transformer. Not out of judgement or exclusion, but because he brings us joy.

I'm sorry you took it as an attempt to put you down. It was merely an attempt to share the joy of Peg.

 

8 hours ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

I totally echo JBO's sentiments here, I couldn't have phrased it any better.   I meant no offense to you or your work, nor did I mean to alienate you.

And for the record, I liked Peg so much that I even bought his Henkei release to put that Tokyo Drift flavor my TF lineup was sorely lacking.  

 

11 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

"Peg" still makes me smile. I agree with Mike, JBO, and Valkyrie Hunter- it's an old running joke here, and no offense was meant by calling him that in reference to your Drift review. Take it with a grain of salt; I still think of Drift as Peg- it's just something that stuck in the grey matter and won't go away. 

That said, I passed on the Classics Drift version of the toy in lieu of the Blurr recolor, as I usually just buy one version of a mold unless I really like it or there's enough difference between the toys to justify it. I have no formal connection to Drift, as I don't read the comics. That said, Kuma's pics of Drift look amazing; I dig the look of the character. It's a shame that figure doesn't transform, but I get that his bot mode is the focus. He looks good.

Hey, thank you guys for the further explanation, and I especially appreciate your candor in delivery. Admittedly this has been one of those weeks and between Xmas, work, this photo "work" etc. it's just been a lot and a lot of my browsing has been rushed and more than likely I completely misread it all. I'm not perfect and I apologize for not taking the time to read and take it correctly.

With that... more "Peg." Even otuside of the explanation of the joke it's kind of cool to have learned a bit about how the toy sold and was received. For me, this was all around the time that I started collecting in general so I wasn't in tune with how things were doing nationally or whatever yet but moreso just excited to see them on my shelves. Drift was actually the toy that made me get into the comics more since it was the way to find out his backstory. 

and @M'Kyuun yea; I know this is one that's going to get stones thrown at me, but I kind of prefer non-transforming homages just because they're able to attain things like insane accuracy, diecast, advanced articulation, etc. etc. that would really drive transforming versions through the roof. 

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Also, until a review is actually DONE I tend to trickle pics out one or two at a time as I'm working on the galleries, if that ever seems like spam just lmk and I'll only post in bulk.

Edited December 31, 2017 by Kuma Style

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, Kuma Style said:

I know this is one that's going to get stones thrown at me, but I kind of prefer non-transforming homages just because they're able to attain things like insane accuracy, diecast, advanced articulation, etc. etc. that would really drive transforming versions through the roof. 

No stones here. You like what you like; no judgment, no need to apologize.

Personally, Transformers that don't transform aren't really my thing because I got into Transformers as a 4 year old whose dad bought him Sideswipe because a cool cat that turned into a robot was mind-blowing to 4 year old me. But I can rationally appreciate the additionally articulation and stylization to can get in a toy that doesn't have to make any concessions to turn into a car.

[Kuma Style]

36 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

No stones here. You like what you like; no judgment, no need to apologize.

I wasn't being serious at all, man.

And yea, with the articulation portion, a lot of that appreciation developed more from the photography end as it's a lot more easy to give "life" into these things with more options in that aspect. There's always going to be a certain nostalgia factor and general impression with the engineering aspect that will always draw me into transforming mecha in  general (I say that because I'm a Super Robot collector moreso than Transformers stuff.)

[M'Kyuun]

4 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

I wasn't being serious at all, man.

And yea, with the articulation portion, a lot of that appreciation developed more from the photography end as it's a lot more easy to give "life" into these things with more options in that aspect. There's always going to be a certain nostalgia factor and general impression with the engineering aspect that will always draw me into transforming mecha in  general (I say that because I'm a Super Robot collector moreso than Transformers stuff.)

To that end, it's understandable why the transformation aspect isn't as important as the overall look, and articulation by extension, of the figure are important to you. Certainly, from a photography standpoint, the old 80's toys had to be a bit of a challenge to photograph while trying to impart any sense of dynamism, hence the more dynamic boxart. It worked; I bought Prowl, my first TF, despite the pics on the box of the actual toy, hoping that it could achieve a little of that look. Of course, he was a brick from the waist down, like the majority. Anyway, judging from your Drift pics, eschewing the tell-tale mechanics necessary to effect transformation has allowed for a stunning looking bot. Def getting  a Chogokin vibe. Love those shoulders.

For me, Transformers have always been about the transformation gimmick, although from the start, I always wanted and expected better articulation from the robot modes. Beast Wars was my first experience with decent articulation, and when Classics, TF:A, and the Bayformers came along, along with MP, I felt my vision for what TFs should be had come to pass. Now with articulation having become almost as important as the transformation itself in most TF toys, at least Generations and up, I'm glad my interest in transforming toys never waned, or I'd have missed out on a lot of really cool figures. Despite my bias, I have to say that some of the non-transforming statues and figures are brilliant objets d'art.

[tekering]

[JB0]

14 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

I wasn't being serious at all, man.

And yea, with the articulation portion, a lot of that appreciation developed more from the photography end as it's a lot more easy to give "life" into these things with more options in that aspect. There's always going to be a certain nostalgia factor and general impression with the engineering aspect that will always draw me into transforming mecha in  general (I say that because I'm a Super Robot collector moreso than Transformers stuff.)

Honestly, how I feel about single-mode robots depends a lot on the design and the character.

Like Drift here. I think he works REALLY well as an action figure. His humanoid form isn't exactly evocative of his vehicle form, and his character begs for stylish and dynamic poses that can be more readily achieved without having to make concessions to transformation. 

In something like Optimus, where he basically wears half a truck like a shirt and the other half like a pair of jeans, I am a lot less forgiving of non-transformation. His design begs for it on a fundamental level.  I'm not saying a Prime HAS to change into a truck, just that it is harder to convince me a single-mode Prime is a good idea.

...

Never mind that the general attitude these days seems to be that Prime needs to wear a FAKE truck-front on his chest because the actual front of a truck doesn't look Prime enough, which results in a lot of complex engineering to basically remove the essence of the transformation from the toy, making them somehow less authentic than one that doesn't transform. *sigh*

[Kuma Style]

14 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

To that end, it's understandable why the transformation aspect isn't as important as the overall look, and articulation by extension, of the figure are important to you. Certainly, from a photography standpoint, the old 80's toys had to be a bit of a challenge to photograph while trying to impart any sense of dynamism, hence the more dynamic boxart. It worked; I bought Prowl, my first TF, despite the pics on the box of the actual toy, hoping that it could achieve a little of that look. Of course, he was a brick from the waist down, like the majority. Anyway, judging from your Drift pics, eschewing the tell-tale mechanics necessary to effect transformation has allowed for a stunning looking bot. Def getting  a Chogokin vibe. Love those shoulders.

For me, Transformers have always been about the transformation gimmick, although from the start, I always wanted and expected better articulation from the robot modes. Beast Wars was my first experience with decent articulation, and when Classics, TF:A, and the Bayformers came along, along with MP, I felt my vision for what TFs should be had come to pass. Now with articulation having become almost as important as the transformation itself in most TF toys, at least Generations and up, I'm glad my interest in transforming toys never waned, or I'd have missed out on a lot of really cool figures. Despite my bias, I have to say that some of the non-transforming statues and figures are brilliant objets d'art.

Yea. I think it'd be a little hard (or at least extremely limiting) to go without collecting transforming toys at all. 

4 hours ago, JB0 said:

Honestly, how I feel about single-mode robots depends a lot on the design and the character.

Like Drift here. I think he works REALLY well as an action figure. His humanoid form isn't exactly evocative of his vehicle form, and his character begs for stylish and dynamic poses that can be more readily achieved without having to make concessions to transformation. 

In something like Optimus, where he basically wears half a truck like a shirt and the other half like a pair of jeans, I am a lot less forgiving of non-transformation. His design begs for it on a fundamental level.  I'm not saying a Prime HAS to change into a truck, just that it is harder to convince me a single-mode Prime is a good idea.

...

Never mind that the general attitude these days seems to be that Prime needs to wear a FAKE truck-front on his chest because the actual front of a truck doesn't look Prime enough, which results in a lot of complex engineering to basically remove the essence of the transformation from the toy, making them somehow less authentic than one that doesn't transform. *sigh*

For me, even with Prime as long as it LOOKS like Prime with all of the parts present, it generally works for me. When you look at something like the Ultimetal Optimus it's able to maintain a generally "better" silhouette compared to transforming versions . Overall, things like articulation and look in bot mode are more key factors for me so it's nice to have both MP-10 as my "nice" transforming G1 prime iteration but then have something like the Ori Toy Optimus as well for a more artistic take with the more advanced articulation and the like. 

I agree on the real vs. fake chest deal but I think when you move down to stuff like classics scale in particular that's just a lot of added parts and engineering in the waist area in particular for products at that size and price point. 

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Another thing I think plays into me caring about the transforming gimmick less is my connection being more towards the comics (since I'm not watching any televised fiction for it) where the tranformations are "present" but really not a focal point at all, IMO. I know that it literally "happens" in them but I don't read the average comic and leave even a remembering a time when it did.

[danth]

19 hours ago, tekering said:

This pic is awesome, Tekering! Are those all Hasbro or are some third party? 

EDIT: That Mirage looks like the third party MMC Sphinx. So I guess some or all of these are third party. 

Edited January 2, 2018 by danth

[JB0]

The Slag and Skyfire are definitely unofficial toys. Pretty sure that's true on all the dinobots and most of the mini-cars.

[mikeszekely]

Top to bottom:

FansToys Phoenix

FansToys Soar, FansToys Scoria, FansToys Grinder, FansToys Stomp, FansToys Sever

Takara MP Ironhide, MMC Occular Max Terraegis, Takara MP Optimus Prime, Takara MP Ratchet

Takara MP Bluestreak, Takara MP Sideswipe, Takara MP Sunstreaker, Takara MP Prowl, Maketoys Downbeat, Takara MP Wheeljack, MMC Occular Max Sphinx

X-Transbots Boost, Cubex Huff, BadCube Grump, Takara MP Bumblebee, BadCube Brawny.

EDIT: Almost missed what looks like FansToys Willis peaking between Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.

Edited January 2, 2018 by mikeszekely

[JB0]

4 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Terraegis

Still love this name. Just sayin'.

[M'Kyuun]

Still love the figure. name's cool, too.

Great photo, Tekering. Thanks for sharing.  Hopefully I'll live long enough to see that entire lineup, with maybe the exception of Skyfire, as official figures. However, at the pace Takara's releasing them, probably not. For reference, I'm 46.

[Kuma Style]

 

[Kuma Style]

Recently reviewed Drift from FlameToys. The one I purchased was from D4Toys and cam with the preorder exclusive Battle Mask. http://kumastyledesigns.com/flame-toys-drift-review/

For me, this is an all-around fantastic piece. Non-transforming Transformers are a pretty polarizing topic but on a personal level I enjoy that they give the robot mode (which I primarily utilize and display on them) an opportunity to truly shine in terms of aesthetic and engineering feats like advanced articulation, lights, etc. etc. which this truly excels in. It's a mixture of strong plastics and diecast, and is full of fine detailing topped off by an absolutely fantastic paint job. Overall it's a nice piece and I look forward to really reading about others' thoughts on it.

[M'Kyuun]

"Indeed. Very pleasing to my optic sensors" - Optimus Prime 

Really, a beautiful figure. Lovely photography, as always, Kuma.

I'm guessing this is an newer iteration of Drift, as Classics Drift had a different look in bot mode and a completely different car mode (I looked at MMC's transformable version for comparison- nice toy, too, BTW). As JBO mentioned, and I agree, this version's bot mode doesn't really scream 'Transformer" as much as many other TF's, which boast their Earth vehicle parts rather obviously in their bot modes. This figure could be put in a lineup with Full Metal Panic, or some other similar mecha and fit right in. Nice design- I like it quite a bit.

[JB0]

This is Drift's original cybertronic body, if I recall.

[mikeszekely]

10 minutes ago, JB0 said:

This is Drift's original cybertronic body, if I recall.

Well, not his "original" body (that'd be his Deception "Deadlock" body), but it's the body he has when he first appears in All Hail Megatron and Spotlight: Drift, yes.

EDIT: Oh yeah, if you want a transforming version of this Drift MMC is supposed to be doing one.

Edited January 5, 2018 by mikeszekely

[Kuma Style]

11 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

"Indeed. Very pleasing to my optic sensors" - Optimus Prime 

Really, a beautiful figure. Lovely photography, as always, Kuma.

I'm guessing this is an newer iteration of Drift, as Classics Drift had a different look in bot mode and a completely different car mode (I looked at MMC's transformable version for comparison- nice toy, too, BTW). As JBO mentioned, and I agree, this version's bot mode doesn't really scream 'Transformer" as much as many other TF's, which boast their Earth vehicle parts rather obviously in their bot modes. This figure could be put in a lineup with Full Metal Panic, or some other similar mecha and fit right in. Nice design- I like it quite a bit.

Thank you. And it's accurate to at least some comic iterations of Drift.



More peggity peg.

[JB0]

2 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

More peggity peg.

ONE OF US!

 

Seriously, though... this guy is awesome, and your photos really bring out the toy's dynamic nature.

[Kuma Style]

9 hours ago, JB0 said:

ONE OF US!

 

Seriously, though... this guy is awesome, and your photos really bring out the toy's dynamic nature.

Thanks so much, man and yea the price point is pretty damned hefty considering you can buy two or three actual MPs for it  but if it fits your collecting style/preferences (for weirdos like me,) then it's well worth it, haha.

And believe it or not, I actually told my own collector friends about the Peg thing (giving credit where due, of course) and they love it. So kudos to you guys for a good call and apologies again for reading into it so awfully before.

 

[no3Ljm]

Good thing I preordered two Takara version. This Rodimus looks awesome.  

 

Edited January 5, 2018 by no3Ljm

[Kuma Style]

So are the Takara versions of POTP actually different? I'd read that they were 1 for 1 same.