The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[valhary]

Probably still not the perfect toy of Ginrai but is the best option made so far

[mikeszekely]

8 hours ago, valhary said:

Probably still not the perfect toy of Ginrai but is the best option made so far

For something that even remotely scale with MP, yeah. I like Maketoys' Cross Dimension one a lot, but it's too small, and the can way too small.

Speaking of MP scale vs not... I've covered both ToyWorld and GCreations' Dinobots, but I think it's pretty accepted that they are too small to be MP. Since I'm switching focus from combiners to MP, I figure it's time to get me some more Dinobots. And despite telling @M'Kyuun to go with FansToys I've been less a little underwhelmed with the FT figures I bought, so I'm going with Gigapower.

[Silverstreak]

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

For something that even remotely scale with MP, yeah. I like Maketoys' Cross Dimension one a lot, but it's too small, and the can way too small.

Speaking of MP scale vs not... I've covered both ToyWorld and GCreations' Dinobots, but I think it's pretty accepted that they are too small to be MP. Since I'm switching focus from combiners to MP, I figure it's time to get me some more Dinobots. And despite telling @M'Kyuun to go with FansToys I've been less a little underwhelmed with the FT figures I bought, so I'm going with Gigapower.

I don't think you can go wrong either way. Both have some amazing Dinobots. 

[mikeszekely]

7 hours ago, Silverstreak said:

I don't think you can go wrong either way. Both have some amazing Dinobots. 

Absolutely.  If I could ever get my hands on them I'd still love to look at and review the FT Dinobots. On some boards I know there's some bad blood between the FT and Giga supporters, but the truth is they're both excellent options. I think what it really boils down to is if you want total carton accuracy (FT) or if you want some G1 toy mixed in (Giga). I think I like a little toy in my Dinobots so I went Giga, but I don't think @M'Kyuun is having second thoughts about going with FT.

[kanedaestes]

I’ll say this. Giga looks cool but I’m perfectly happy with all my FT Dino’s including Cesium. However I do still need Grinder and my current quest in life is to get one soon. 

[M'Kyuun]

On ‎1‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 7:53 AM, mikeszekely said:

Absolutely.  If I could ever get my hands on them I'd still love to look at and review the FT Dinobots. On some boards I know there's some bad blood between the FT and Giga supporters, but the truth is they're both excellent options. I think what it really boils down to is if you want total carton accuracy (FT) or if you want some G1 toy mixed in (Giga). I think I like a little toy in my Dinobots so I went Giga, but I don't think @M'Kyuun is having second thoughts about going with FT.

I don't; I love them. That said, I've never handled any of Giga's, but I'm not opposed to them either. Options are good. And, I think Giga's versions are pretty nice looking G1 Dinos- there were just things about FT's that I liked a little more. It's purely subjective. Anyway, for those who chose Giga, great! I hope you love them, and that they fulfill your wishes for MP styled Dinobots. It's a great time to be a TF collector.

[Kuma Style]

About to pull the trigger on that GCreations Prowl. It looks WAY too good not to.

[mikeszekely]

27 minutes ago, Kuma Style said:

About to pull the trigger on that GCreations Prowl. It looks WAY too good not to.

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts. It looks good in robot mode, but I'm not sold on the alt mode and I haven't really enjoyed the GC stuff I have bought.

Now if someone would please do SUV Prowl from a little later in TF ongoing, I'd probably be all over that.

[M'Kyuun]

GCC did an admirable job with the IDW design for Prowl.  Not really a fan of the design myself, at least not as Prowl, but I can appreciate it purely as a transforming figure. As far as Cybertronian modes go, at least this one looks believable and relatable.

Over on TFW, some in-hand photos of Giga's Sludge (Graviter) have been posted. Gotta say, it looks lovely. http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/01/18/hand-images-gigapower-graviter-masterpiece-sludge-356871    If I was more financially inclined, I'd spring for a set of these, too.

[Tking22]

When I first decided I wanted MP Dinobots I was right at the opportune time to go either Fans Toys or Giga, I went Fans Toys and haven't looked back. Not that I think the Giga Dinos are bad or anything mind you, I've handled Snarl and Slag and they are definitely quality figures, it just comes down to aesthetics. I prefer the toon look of the Fans Toys Dinos over the bulky, stung by a bee G1 toy look of Giga. Once again, I'm not trying to knock the aesthetic, it's just clear Giga went for a G1 toy homage over toon accuracy. QC seems mostly fine either way you go, some have had issues with both Giga and Fans Toys Dinos, but it seems like fairly rare cases for both companies. Good time to be collector either way, there's a set of MP Dinos for everybody, toon or toy, whichever you may prefer.

[Kuma Style]

On 1/18/2018 at 10:55 AM, M'Kyuun said:

GCC did an admirable job with the IDW design for Prowl.  Not really a fan of the design myself, at least not as Prowl, but I can appreciate it purely as a transforming figure. As far as Cybertronian modes go, at least this one looks believable and relatable.

 

Honestly, it's my favorite iteration of prowl moreso than anything because it screams mecha vs. Just a Transformer and I feel lile the look of this toy does it even more than the comics.  It should be in tomorrow so we'll see.

[Kuma Style]

[David Hingtgen]

I'm a huge Stegosaurus fan, and yet I still haven't REALLY liked any of the 3P Snarls.  They all seem to have something that irks the heck out of me in Stego mode. 

I think it comes down to "I want either a totally G1 toy-based dino mode, or I want it to be made a bit more accurate based on newer research".  And most seem to be like "well, we'll take the G1 toy, then 'stylize' it"---which starts putting it into the made-up/monster/fantasy category with all sorts of weird/ugly proportions.  It's little different than making a "fake" car for a character who had a clear specific alt-mode.   "Well, it looks MOSTLY like a Countach, but with fenders like a Civic..."   

[JB0]

Triceratops was my jam, and not a lot's changed there. Lucky me.

Do they still not really know how the stegosaurus plates go on or what they're for?

[M'Kyuun]

Having only fossils to examine, it's a difficult, nigh impossible, task for paleontologists to form any definitive conclusions as to the purpose of anomalous structures. The theory that seems fitting to me is that they perhaps aided in regulating body heat. just as well, they could have simply been for mating- maybe they changed colors. Who knows. They look cool, though, especially on robotic versions with all that yummy chrome.

I'm just a general fan of dinos, so all the various iterations of them from all the various parties strike me as cool. I like the Exo Realm version of Snarl (thanks, Kuma!)- I think their Swoop looks awesome, too. I'm not overly critical on most things- I grew up with G1 TFs, and those things had virtually no playability outside of the transformation, so all these recent versions offer nice articulation, and even combining functions. All good things.

[David Hingtgen]

Raw head-size/neck-length/leg proportions are 100% known, as they are skeletal.   Smaller details tend to be newer, but are certainly "forgivable" when wrong/missing.   But getting head/neck/ legs/feet utterly wrong (in a way that doesn't match G1) just makes me go WTF.   

[JB0]

30 minutes ago, David Hingtgen said:

Raw head-size/neck-length/leg proportions are 100% known, as they are skeletal.   Smaller details tend to be newer, but are certainly "forgivable" when wrong/missing.   But getting head/neck/ legs/feet utterly wrong (in a way that doesn't match G1) just makes me go WTF.   

One can only assume Wheeljack's paleontology credentials were, shall we say, exaggerated. 

[M'Kyuun]

Since these are robotic versions of dinosaurs, with a lot of stylistic license thrown in, plus a necessity for transformation, I'm willing to overlook certain inaccuracies. Unless they're really wonky, or start looking like Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, I'm not too bothered by license. The G1 dinos themselves weren't exactly accurate, and the toys used cheats (looking a Sludge's forearms tucked neatly under his chest in dino mode). Of course, with standards and expectations being what they are, nobody'd buy a modern toy that employed such lazy engineering. But we sure gobbled them up back in the 80's. 

Which makes me wonder why folks still shell for those old toys. Nostalgia didn't improve their engineering. Thirteen year old me was envisioning toys akin to what we have now back in the 80's, as just about every TF purchase was an exercise in disappointment, esp when the boxart sold a far more dynamic picture of the enclosed toy. So as a fan of the G1 look, but not the G1 toys, the buffet of G1 inspired toys being offered is a long-held wish come true. I wish I could afford more of them, but I get more meaning from the ones I do buy b/c I have to be choosy. My FT dinos and Phoenix are hands down some of the coolest TF toys I own, and I keep them where I can see them all the time, as they never fail to delight me. 

[JB0]

59 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

Of course, with standards and expectations being what they are, nobody'd buy a modern toy that employed such lazy engineering. But we sure gobbled them up back in the 80's. 

At the time, it wasn't really lazy engineering. I think it is forgotten that having toys that undergo major structural changes was an innovation in and of itself. That was CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY.

...

Except Starscream and his cousins. THAT was lazy engineering.

[M'Kyuun]

9 hours ago, JB0 said:

At the time, it wasn't really lazy engineering. I think it is forgotten that having toys that undergo major structural changes was an innovation in and of itself. That was CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY.

...

Except Starscream and his cousins. THAT was lazy engineering.

Well, I agree that Takara, as well as other makers of transforming toys in the 80's, were operating on the cusp of what was possible with given technology, materials, affordability, etc. But I think the toys also need to be taken on a case by case basis; as you pointed out some toys, like the F-15s with their separate hands, and any number of other figures exhibited cheats that perhaps could have, and have been since, designed to eliminate the need for those cheats. However, the innovative nature of the toys' transformation gimmick can't be ignored, and since it formed the focus, license was taken to that end. Moreover, I can also point out examples of transforming toys from that period that in fact did have decent articulation  ( Shockwave most certainly, 1/55 VF-1 (Jetfire), Megatron could swing his legs fore and aft as well as position his hips due to the transformation linkages, I owned a few non-Transformer bots that turned into insects that generally had articulated legs that could rotate fore and aft, as well as Bandai's Scramble Egg SD F-15 which, despite it's unconventional robot mode, had a lot of ratcheted articulation). I'm sure there are more examples. However, for the Diaclone/TF toys, since transformation was the gimmick, all other considerations were secondary, and I think they were designed to be solid from the waist down to simplify manufacturing and ease transformation for little kids.  So yeah, I think some designs were lazier than others, but within the grand scheme of TF toys, most shared the same shortcomings where articulation is concerned, and a few where cheats were employed to achieve transformation, and that was just the standard. It's also important to remember that these were solely targeted at kids without consideration of an adult collector consumer base who critique every little thing about every release, so shortcuts could be taken without fear of  scathing YouTube reviews and angry fanrants on numerous blogs. It's an interesting time we live in, in which toys are now the playthings of adults as well as kids ( I didn't know of any adults growing up who collected toys), and with that adult sensibilities are brought to bear, which I believe, has had to have had some influence on how these things are designed. Maybe.  I still wonder sometimes.

As far as laziness being carried forward, IMHO, most jet TF designs today are still extremely lazy, as the bot just lays strapped under the jet fuselage, or the arms are just folded alongside the body with little attempt to incorporate them into the transformation. To that end, I actually like the transformation of the arms on the old G1 F-15, as they were at least incorporated into the fuselage. Granted the hands were a cheat- yeah, pretty sh!tty, but it is what it is. There was a G1 inspired Starscream in the Robot Masters line http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Starscream_(G1)/toys#Robotmasters   in which the arms transformed in a similar manner to the original toy, which I thought was pretty awesome, and I wish was employed in a modern toy. CW Jetfire stands as one of the best official jet designs in recent years, although he suffers from a lot of backpack-it is. But his arms are integrated! And, though he's technically more spaceship than jet, I feel compelled to point out how well Fans Toys' Phoenix integrates those huge arms into his alt mode- warm fuzzies when I transform him. Anyway, I've blabbered enough. Interesting turn of the topic, though.

[JB0]

I've honestly never figured out why so little effort is expended to hide the robot in jet mode. Particularly as the effort usually IS expended in toys that turn into land vehicles where no one is looking at the bottom.

[David Hingtgen]

"Transforming jet engineering skill" is zero-sum, and Kawamori has 90% of it.  

[Kuma Style]

I honestly really like this forum and getting more insight into not just the toys but the things that they're modeled after as well.  It's honestly really cool to see.

 

[Kuma Style]

 

[M'Kyuun]

Some great ankle articulation they pulled off with this figure. It's a shortcoming of the FT figures.  Guess that's the tradeoff between taking license and keeping faithful to the 80's designs. This looks like a fun bot to play with, while the FT's dinos are  better for display. It's why options are great - sometimes it's just fun to play, and to me, it makes a nice looking robo-stegosaur to boot. Thanks for sharing, Kuma. If you end up getting the rest of the team, I look forward to your exposes on those as well.

[Kuma Style]

10 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Some great ankle articulation they pulled off with this figure. It's a shortcoming of the FT figures.  Guess that's the tradeoff between taking license and keeping faithful to the 80's designs. This looks like a fun bot to play with, while the FT's dinos are  better for display. It's why options are great - sometimes it's just fun to play, and to me, it makes a nice looking robo-stegosaur to boot. Thanks for sharing, Kuma. If you end up getting the rest of the team, I look forward to your exposes on those as well.

Oh yea, dude. I have the complete teams in both regular and diaclone colors so I'll be throwing up some group shots as well. Unfortunately Pinchar is the one where it seems like they "finally got it together" in terms of articulation, things clipping in place correctly, weapon holding, etc. etc.. Up until now the line has really been trading out frakk up for another in between releases and it's part of why the wait for this just to be done has been so exhausting for many. And in terms of faithfullness, I agree; it's part of why I'll probably never just fully give up classics-scaled TF stuff.

This piece came in yesterday and I have to admit I'm really digging it thus far.

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

3 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

Oh yea, dude. I have the complete teams in both regular and diaclone colors so I'll be throwing up some group shots as well. Unfortunately Pinchar is the one where it seems like they "finally got it together" in terms of articulation, things clipping in place correctly, weapon holding, etc. etc.. Up until now the line has really been trading out frakk up for another in between releases and it's part of why the wait for this just to be done has been so exhausting for many. And in terms of faithfullness, I agree; it's part of why I'll probably never just fully give up classics-scaled TF stuff.

This piece came in yesterday and I have to admit I'm really digging it thus far.

That prowl looks great and the pictures do him justice.

[Kuma Style]

Thank you, man. I appreciate it and yea; it kicks a lot of butt.

[valhary]

Added to my fans hobby Ginrai a red eyes like the original toy 

unfortunately with the LED ON looks like purple however OFF mode looks good

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, valhary said:

Added to my fans hobby Ginrai a red eyes like the original toy 

unfortunately with the LED ON looks like purple however OFF mode looks good

That's pretty cool. I've seen some people paint their translucent eyes red, but it looks like you actually made new translucent eyes. 3D printed?

[valhary]

Its a resin copy send me a PM if you are interested

[mikeszekely]

Look who showed up today.

Unfortunately, with a two year old underfoot I could barely take them out of the box, so reviews will have to wait until the weekend when my wife gets back from her trip and I can get a little time to myself.

[technoblue]

Those are massive. And I see you decided to go chrome. 

I find myself missing that copy of Guttur I sold way back. I'm happy with my FansToys dinos, for sure, but I was thinking of supplementing them with these as well. They are both so unique and I'm really into GP's metallic paint job. The problem is I waited too long, I think. Metallic Grassor is sold out everywhere. I can't even find him on eBay, so hopefully they will reissue him when it's time to release their metallic Graviter.

Edited January 31, 2018 by technoblue
it's...

[mikeszekely]

21 minutes ago, technoblue said:

Those are massive. And I see you decided to go chrome. 

I find myself missing that copy of Guttur I sold way back. I'm happy with my FansToys dinos, for sure, but I was thinking of supplementing them with these as well. They are both so unique and I'm really into GP's metallic paint job. The problem is I waited too long, I think. Metallic Grassor is sold out everywhere. I can't even find him on eBay, so hopefully they will reissue him when it's time to release their metallic Graviter.

I thought I'd seen a US retailer that still had some Metallic Grassors. If I see one I'll pm you.

Edited January 31, 2018 by mikeszekely

[technoblue]

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

I thought I'd seen a US retailer that still had some Metallic Grassors. If I see one I'll pm you.

Thank you @mikeszekely. I appreciate it.

Update: I just checked Toy Dojo and Grassor is back in stock! 

Edited January 31, 2018 by technoblue