The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[technoblue]

22 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

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**Finally** re-bought a Downbeat as well. It should be here before week's end. Really excited to have that one back.

I’ve been going through the same thing with two Maketoys figures that I sold, myself, some time ago: Cupola and Ironwill. I ended up re-purchasing them both through Maketoys’ shop. Looking forward to getting my MT Headmasters going again, especially with the recent MTRM-14 not Highbrow announcement.

[mikeszekely]

This is a long time coming, as he was sold basically sold out when I wanted to buy him.  I preordered for the second run, but apparently the second run was held up by Gabriel.  So here he is, eight months late: DX9's Richthofen, an MP take on Powerglide.

Out of the box, I'm very impressed with how cartoon accurate Richthofen is.  The face is spot on, he's got his blue, yellow, and red crotch details, and his forearms overhang his hands.  DX9 not only managed to get the shape of the feet and shins cartoon accurate, with minimal engines on the sides of his legs, they even managed to mimic the cartoon's broader chest despite the fact that his alt mode fuselage actually tapers where his chest gets wider.  And yet, despite being extremely cartoon accurate he's not taking that accuracy into the same bland territory that MP Inferno did, as he's sporting numerous panel lines on most flat surfaces.  Really, the only negative I can come up with for his looks is that his feet are maybe too big, but that's a pretty minor negative.

Size may or may not be a negative, depending on your sensibilities.  For a mini-bot he's definitely a bigger fellow, as he's a significantly taller than MP Bumblebee and only slightly shorter than an MP car to the top of their heads (although his face is low enough that he sort of looks like he's a head shorter).  Compared with some other mini-bots in my collection he's half a head taller than Brawny or Huff, a full head taller than Spindrift, and roughly the same height as Klaatu or Wavebreak.  I guess some people will say Richthofen is too tall for a mini-bot, but judging by the way people talk about Aerialbots I'm sure there's at least a few people who'd argue that he turns into a jet and therefore should be Seeker-sized.  Me personally, I think he's fine.

Richthofen comes with a few accessories.  We've got the parts to build a display stand, which is always nice when the alt mode is an aircraft.  You've got yet another alien mask from "Hoist Goes Hollywood," so that's helpful if you've got a couple other characters from that episode with alien masks and you want to recreate a scene.  You've got a tiny figure of Astoria from "The Girl Who Loved Powerglide," which does nothing for me, and his gun.  I can't really recall if he used a gun in the cartoon or not, but I'm glad DX9 gave him one regardless.  It's curious, though, how much it looks like the guns that came with MP Ironhide and Ratchet (and I definitely remember Ratchet using those guns in the movie).  And, for that matter, MP Bumblebee's.  Maybe that design is the sort of generic, standard-issue blaster on Cybertron...

Richthofen's articulation is pretty good.  His head is on a hinged swivel, so he can look down a little, up a little bit more, and turn his head.  His shoulders can rotate, and the round part of his shoulder is on it's own hinge so it can move up 90 degrees and leave enough clearance for the joint inside to move laterally over 90 degrees.  His biceps swivel, and his double-jointed elbows can curl the full 180 degrees.  His wrists swivel.  His thumb is fixed and his four fingers are hinged at the base and molded in a curl, with the index finger being an individual piece and the other three fingers molded together.  His waist can swivel.  His hip skirts are hinged at the front, on the side, and on his butt, allowing him to kick forward, backward, and laterally just a little under 90 degrees.  His thighs can swivel just below the hip, and he's got an additional swivel just below his knees.  Speaking of knees, they can bend 90 degrees.  His feet can tilt down about 45 degrees and his ankles can pivot a little less than that.

DX9 skips the whole tab/slot thing found on most MP-style toys.  Instead, the shape of his thumb and palm create a natural groove for the handle, and the tension in his fingers secures the gun in place.  Honestly, he holds is gun better than a lot of fingers I own, 3P and official alike, that do use the tab/slot method.

As for his other accessories, spinning his face around as if for transformation reveals a slot on the other side.  His alien mask can tab right into it.  He can't seem to use the stand in robot mode, which is fine.  And since she's not articulated in any way you can't really do much with Astoria besides pose Richthofen with her.  You can open Richthofen's chest, though, revealing a red heart within.

Richthofen's alt mode is also pretty close to the cartoon, but not as close as the robot mode.  Some of the changes aren't unwelcome; both the cartoon and G1 toy had the engines as solid red chunks, but DX9 painted the edges silver (although it's a little sloppy on his right engine), they put the fans inside and either made them out of a gunmetal-looking plastic or painted them gunmetal, and they made the exhausts black with some silver paint, plus they put vertical silver stripes on his tail.  Some of the changes may be out of necessity; some of the silvery color on his thighs shows on the side of the plane because they were trying to keep the (inaccurate) red on his thighs to a minimum, he's got little bumps on each wing where hooks that hold the wings in place for robot mode store, and his arms curl up under the wings but his forearms don't encapsulate his upper arms to make a solitary pod under each wing.  And still others are just confusing; he's missing the point on the leading edge of his wings seen on both the cartoon model and the G1 toy, where a real A-10's landing gear protrudes forward from the wings.  Overall, though, he's proportionally closer to the animation model than an actual A-10, so I guess that's a win.  And I've gone on record as saying that I usually prefer sacrifices in alt mode (if necessary) to really nail the robot mode, so there's that, too.

As for the engineering, a lot of it is basically a twist on the G1 toy.  The back half of the plane does (mostly) become the legs, but the engines split and wrap around his calves and the stabilizers wrap around the ends of the tail to form his feet.  For better robot and plane proportions his legs don't collapse, instead a small backpack slides down, with half wrapping between his legs, to cover his thighs.  The front of his torso pulls out and spins 180 degrees so the plane tapers to the nose, and rather than tab onto his torso clips on his wings latch onto his backpack to hold everything in place.  It's a fairly simple and effective transformation for the most part, although I do wish DX9 could have done a little more with the arms under the wings.

You may notice that there's a pretty big split in the tail.  Apparently when the first batch of Richthofens went out last year there was some complaints that the peg that holds the halves of the tail together was perhaps a little too tight.  DX9 tried to correct that for the second batch, but I guess they over-corrected and now the peg doesn't really work.  DX9 is aware of the problem and will supposedly be sending out replacement parts to retailers soon.

On the underside you can see the tab we used to plug in the alien mask.  You can also see Richthofen's landing gear, which is kind of useless as landing gear.  You see, for whatever reason DX9 put one in the front, which seems about right, but instead of a pair in the back (whether they're on the wings or arms or not) they put just one in the back.  So, Richthofen can't really sit on his landing gear.  The wheels do actually roll, so it's effectively impossible to balance him on just the two wheels without him tipping over to one side or another.

That said, there is a use for the landing gear, at least the one in the back.  Rather than have a peg or tab or something on the stand, the end of the arm is a box.  The rear landing gear fits into the box, and the weight in front of it pulls it against the back of the box, holding it in place.  And that slot we tabbed the alien mask into?  There's a tab on the side of his gun, too, allowing you to tab the gun into the same slot for some alt-mode weapon storage.  Alas, the cockpit doesn't open so Astoria can't ride in him.

By the way, the stand itself isn't bad, but it's one of those ones where if you want to change the angle at a joint you have to pull the arm off, re-position it, and then push it back into palace.  I suppose this does make for sturdier joints, but I'd prefer ratchets.

$80* might seem a little steep for a mini-bot, since official MP cars used to be around $70 and guys like Grump, Klaatu, Boost, Arkose, and Spindrift all ranged from slightly to significantly less expensive, and that's probably why I didn't buy Richthofen right away when he first came out (although it's worth pointing out that the price is the same as Brawny and Huff).  But don't let the price put you off of this guy.  The materials feel good, his joints are all well-toleranced so he's not at all loose or floppy, he looks so spot-on in robot mode you'd almost mistake him for a FansToys figure (or not, given how off Spindrift was), and unlike so many of FansToys releases (especially recently) he's simple and fun to transform.  Powerglide might not have been my favorite mini-bot in the show, but Richthofen is possibly the best-executed MP mini-bot on my shelf.  Strong recommend from me.

[technoblue]

Good review!

Richthofen was just okay for me. I got in on DX9’s first release and my copy had QC issues which did sour my overall taste for him, although the tight/sticking tail peg was not one of them. In my case these two things left me scratching my head: 1) The way the tail fin transforms in bot mode and becomes the sole of each foot. Time will tell, but I’m concerned that the silver paint details will start to rub in this configuration. The good news is that there is an alternate transformation available that puts those tail pieces somewhere else. 2) The tiny clips on the wings. These clips are a real weak point IMO. My copy arrived with one of those clip misshapen/broken out of the box. I was able to work with it all the same, but ugh... that tempered my enthusiasm for him.

Anyway, I definitely see how this little guy can be a fun figure if you got a good copy. Me, I’m still waiting for other options.

[M'Kyuun]

Had my eye on this guy for awhile. I wish they'd figured out a way to make the arms fold into a single pod like the real plane (and incorporate landing gear into those arms). I really liked the Jizai version, but I've passed on all the third party takes on it. This takes some cues, esp the way the engines fold up so brilliantly. If he eventually goes on sale somewhere, I'll probably score a copy, as most reviews I've seen, while not glowing, are still mostly positive, and I'll agree that his bot mode is spot-on. And like Mike, I've always subscribed to the idea that these are robots in disguise, and sometimes the disguise need take the hit for a better bot mode.

Thanks for the review, Mike.

[Kuma Style]

On 5/16/2018 at 8:14 AM, technoblue said:

I’ve been going through the same thing with two Maketoys figures that I sold, myself, some time ago: Cupola and Ironwill. I ended up re-purchasing them both through Maketoys’ shop. Looking forward to getting my MT Headmasters going again, especially with the recent MTRM-14 not Highbrow announcement.

Nice! I actually bought Cupola and sold it twice and don't quite miss it enough to buy it a third time... but we'llllll see!

Their High Brow, particularly in alt. mode just looks fantastic. I can definitely see it urging people to buy or repurchase the others as well. Honestly the Fansproject Function(x) one was one of my favorites of that line but it got crapped on quite a bit by people.

[nhyone]

Finally received my FT-24 Rouge. Was tempted to buy two to display in bot and alt mode together. But that's a Pandora box I do not wish to open!

So ended up preordering Blurr and Cyclonus instead. 

While I mostly display in bot mode, the Dinobots, Arcee (finally a good one after 30 years!), Blurr and Hot Rod are exceptions. The futuristic car modes look good. I didn't get FT-22 Koots (Kup). 

Edited May 18, 2018 by nhyone

[M'Kyuun]

So, I'm seriously thinking about getting Maketoys Meteor, or their Skywarp (b/c I  his color scheme), but beyond the hollow wings, the one other feature I find bothersome about the toy is the lack of shin vents. In an otherwise nigh perfect representation of the character, those always seemed iconic to the Seekers. I get that flat shins is toon accurate, but this is an instance where toon be damned- I want my shin vents. I vehemently wish Maketoys had made a removable set that just snap on, for those of us who prefer that look. So, I'm curious if anyone knows if there are any aftermarket shin vents for this figure (I'm thinking along the lines of Shapeway). 

Regardless, this figure is so on point with what I want in a MP Seeker- kinda curious why they didn't make a couple extra panels to fill in the bottoms of the wings- it's really the only thing that makes it feel unfinished, well, that and the all important shin vents. In all other respects, just a great toy from what I've seen in vids and stills, not to mention a number of reviewers' comments.

Edit: I answered my own question after some further searching. For anyone else interested in shin vents for Meteor and the upcoming not-Skywarp and not-Thundercracker releases, jream on the TFW boards makes painted resin versions that look good and match the toy's aesthetic. He's also planning to make them for the upcoming releases. He charges about $9 for a set- little steep for a couple of small parts, though, and there's no built in attachment method- you glue or blue tack them on at your own risk. http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/pd-23-maketoys-meteor-shin-thruster-vents.1136473/

Edited May 18, 2018 by M'Kyuun

[Tking22]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

So, I'm seriously thinking about getting Maketoys Meteor, or their Skywarp (b/c I  his color scheme), but beyond the hollow wings, the one other feature I find bothersome about the toy is the lack of shin vents. In an otherwise nigh perfect representation of the character, those always seemed iconic to the Seekers. I get that flat shins is toon accurate, but this is an instance where toon be damned- I want my shin vents. I vehemently wish Maketoys had made a removable set that just snap on, for those of us who prefer that look. So, I'm curious if anyone knows if there are any aftermarket shin vents for this figure (I'm thinking along the lines of Shapeway). 

Regardless, this figure is so on point with what I want in a MP Seeker- kinda curious why they didn't make a couple extra panels to fill in the bottoms of the wings- it's really the only thing that makes it feel unfinished, well, that and the all important shin vents. In all other respects, just a great toy from what I've seen in vids and stills, not to mention a number of reviewers' comments.

Edit: I answered my own question after some further searching. For anyone else interested in shin vents for Meteor and the upcoming not-Skywarp and not-Thundercracker releases, jream on the TFW boards makes painted resin versions that look good and match the toy's aesthetic. He's also planning to make them for the upcoming releases. He charges about $9 for a set- little steep for a couple of small parts, though, and there's no built in attachment method- you glue or blue tack them on at your own risk. http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/pd-23-maketoys-meteor-shin-thruster-vents.1136473/

Buy Meteor and Jream's add-ons, he also has black intake fans that go in the intake boob sections of the MakeToys seekers, another bit MakeToys left out but Jream made parts for. Price is fine IMO, he nailed the color, it is a perfect match, I glued those down and put two black intakes in Meteor's chest and he is now, undoubtedly, the finest MP representation of Starscream money can buy. I loved the figure before, he's even better now. I bought two extra sets of the chest fans, they're for SW and TC, and as soon as he works his magic and color matches shin vents for those guys I will be ordering them as well. Funny enough I JUST bought these bits and got them delivered Tuesday afternoon, and I seriously contemplated taking photos and sharing them on here for those on the fence about the greatness that is Meteor with these updated bits. Buy Meteor, buy Jream's stuff, you won't regret it.

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Regardless, this figure is so on point with what I want in a MP Seeker- kinda curious why they didn't make a couple extra panels to fill in the bottoms of the wings- it's really the only thing that makes it feel unfinished,

Well, I've been told that making the whole wing in one part without the gaps caused them to warp. Now, the rest of this is speculation, but if suppose they need another mold to make parts to fit in the gaps. The molds are expensive enough to have made that it probably would have raised the cost enough that they have to raise the price of each figure. And I think pricing Meteor was already tricky (especially for people thinking long term about getting 3-6 versions). For every one person who says "I'd rather they just charged $20 more and filled in the wings" there's probably two more who'd  decide that's too expensive and they're going to stick with MP-11.

For what it's worth, I didn't find the gaps to be much of an issue in hand anyway.

[Silverstreak]

On 19/05/2018 at 3:47 AM, mikeszekely said:

Well, I've been told that making the whole wing in one part without the gaps caused them to warp. Now, the rest of this is speculation, but if suppose they need another mold to make parts to fit in the gaps. The molds are expensive enough to have made that it probably would have raised the cost enough that they have to raise the price of each figure. And I think pricing Meteor was already tricky (especially for people thinking long term about getting 3-6 versions). For every one person who says "I'd rather they just charged $20 more and filled in the wings" there's probably two more who'd  decide that's too expensive and they're going to stick with MP-11.

For what it's worth, I didn't find the gaps to be much of an issue in hand anyway.

The thing that killed my interest in Meteor was the face. If I'm going to replace 6 TFs in my MP collection, the figure I'm replacing them with better be damn near perfect. And I really like Meteor, except for the face sculpt. It just looks horrible. It ruins the figure for me. Conversely, I can find many faults with the official MP seekers, I could rant all day about them in fact. But they did an awesome job on the faces.

[technoblue]

@Silverstreak brings up a good point. I think more fans are opting out of this due to the head/face sculpt.

I like Meteor's face. I would rank it between MP-3 and MP-11 based on sculpt alone. With the head offering a face changing gimmick, I think Meteor has the edge in play-ability too. 

The unfinished wing look was my biggest nitpick at first, especially when comparing the original prototype pictures to the final pictures. Would I have paid more to get a pair of finished wings? Most assuredly, yes. If Maketoys or some modder ever decides to release an upgrade kit then I'll pick it up. I'll take options whenever they are available.

[HoveringCheesecake]

Meteor's head looks fine, the entire thing is being blown out of proportion (get it?). I love mine and I have the other 2 on pre-order. I've always preferred Skywarp and Thundercracker, anyway.

But seriously, what is wrong with the face? I am the exact opposite and I can't stand the MP-3/11 faces. Are we looking at toy vs cartoon accuracy here?

[mikeszekely]

People think Meteor's smirking face looks goofy, even though it's the spitting image of the "wanna bet?" face Starscream makes when he tosses Megatron out of Astrotrain in the movie.

[technoblue]

Huh. I thought people didn't like the face because the paint Maketoys used for it was hard to photograph well. It isn't forgiving poor lighting conditions at all, but it does shine with excellent lighting and presentation. I'm not saying that I would be able to pull off the latter, mind you. I don't even own a proper camera at the moment. 

[Kuma Style]

 

 

[M'Kyuun]

Sorry Kuma, not even your skills with the camera can make this look better than Toy World's Coolsville's car mode, which cleans up better than Downbeat, and even from underneath, betrays little of its transforming nature. As far as Downbeat goes, usually, it's the visible bot mode fender parts showing that I remember; I'd forgotten how chunky the rear end of their car mode is. Not much ground clearance anywhere on this guy. It's really a shame they couldn't clean it up more, as they really crafted a beautiful Jazz in bot mode. That face sculpt is amazing.

Alas, the toy homages of Coolsville/Jazzy have won me over, and I think he also has a better car mode with less bot stuff showing. Moreover, his paint job with racing livery just looks sharp. I wish he had a better face, that he had blue paint on his hip skirts, and that the flap behind his head could fold away, but for everything the figure does right, IMHO, these are concessions I'm willing to live with if I commit.

As always, Kuma, thanks for the lovely pics.

[Kuma Style]

As someone who displays his bots as bots, I admittedly don't even care. The only part about this one in alt that bugs me is those... things? hanging down in the back and the bot mode is personally a no-contest aesthetically. If I wanted a second to display in alt. mode I know I'd definitely go with another company's though; particularly with the rising secondhand prices on Downbeat.

[JB0]

He looks like his rear bumper fell off, and he's dragging it on the ground now.

[Kuma Style]

3 minutes ago, JB0 said:

He looks like his rear bumper fell off, and he's dragging it on the ground now.

Can't disagree at all.

[mikeszekely]

Downbeat's alt mode isn't perfect, but he's a good example of what I mean when I say I generally prefer sacrifices in alt mode for a better bot mode. Downbeat nails the robot mode for me, enough that the issues with his car mode are worthwhile sacrifices. Coolsville/Jazzy has a gorgeous car mode, but the robot mode isn't working for me.

[Mechapilot77]

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Downbeat's alt mode isn't perfect, but he's a good example of what I mean when I say I generally prefer sacrifices in alt mode for a better bot mode. Downbeat nails the robot mode for me, enough that the issues with his car mode are worthwhile sacrifices. Coolsville/Jazzy has a gorgeous car mode, but the robot mode isn't working for me.

 

for real world cars, i'm the other way - slight sacrifices in bot mode for a cleaner alt mode....granted THERE ARE LIMITS when you can go too far.  I think my preference comes from teh original G1 toys whose alt modes while not super accurate were at least fairly clean.  like i love downbeat (and hate it too lol) but the stripe below the sidesill near the rear fender kill the alt mode for me...like i don't think i'll ever have it in alt mode again.  the sloppy rear/bottom i can rationalize it as as some kind of shitty looking rear "diffuser" or some such thing.  if they lef the stripes off that section or made it dark..the alt mode would be "OK". 

its too bad takara never put out an mp jazz/meister...although no guarantee they will get it right either.  also TnR HoVa never materialized either...i can't get past the shins that got turned into ankles (actually not too far off from g1 toy but cmon we need to do better now!) and the flap behind the head on coolsville.jazzy.

....so downbeat remains the best option overall IMO. 

[Tking22]

Love Downbeat to death! So glad I nabbed one when he was available, best MP Jazz on the market IMO. Good thing I never display my bots in alt mode with the rear facing to the front, the messy back end is a complete non-issue for me. With Downbeat, I feel it is another third party figure I like so much Takara would have to do something really special with an official MP Jazz to get me to bite, like aside from just being official.

[mikeszekely]

4 hours ago, Mechapilot77 said:

for real world cars, i'm the other way - slight sacrifices in bot mode for a cleaner alt mode

I mean, I can understand and respect that position, but while I do transform my toys from time to time they're primarily displayed in bot mode in my house. The only exceptions are dinobots and insecticons.

[M'Kyuun]

Kinda figured I'd be in the minority for preferring Coolsville over Downbeat.  I like the toy touches, like the silver part under his chest with the mechanical details and vents, and the markings on his knees which homage stickers on the G1 figure. The shin-ankles, I can live with. This is why options are great.

I also keep the vast majority of my TFs, and valks for that matter, in bot mode. They take up less room on the shelf, and generally that's the mode I prefer anyway, so win-win. Although, in the case of Dinos, and yea, sometimes Insecticons, and my BW figs, the beastie modes make an appearance from time to time.

 

[Kuma Style]

10 hours ago, Tking22 said:

Love Downbeat to death! So glad I nabbed one when he was available, best MP Jazz on the market IMO. Good thing I never display my bots in alt mode with the rear facing to the front, the messy back end is a complete non-issue for me. With Downbeat, I feel it is another third party figure I like so much Takara would have to do something really special with an official MP Jazz to get me to bite, like aside from just being official.

All of this.

[JB0]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Kinda figured I'd be in the minority for preferring Coolsville over Downbeat.  I like the toy touches, like the silver part under his chest with the mechanical details and vents, and the markings on his knees which homage stickers on the G1 figure. The shin-ankles, I can live with. This is why options are great.

I also keep the vast majority of my TFs, and valks for that matter, in bot mode. They take up less room on the shelf, and generally that's the mode I prefer anyway, so win-win. Although, in the case of Dinos, and yea, sometimes Insecticons, and my BW figs, the beastie modes make an appearance from time to time.

 

I tend to prefer OG toy styling over OG cartoon styling, and I think part of that is because the toys definitely looked like they turned into things.

I like door wings and wheels hanging off feet and all those other pieces of "kibble" that don't make for a clean humanoid robot, but DO make for a robot that used to be a car before it stood up.

 

My converting robots are usually displayed in humanoid mode, but I have a bit of an aversion to action-master-esque "non-transformers" because the fact that they CAN transform is one of the major draws. I like them to LOOK like they can, and I want both modes to have effort expended. And I'll accept compromises in the robot mode for the sake of the "in disguise" part. No robutts staring at you from the back of the windshield because the car cabin is just wasted space* to be filled with robot parts, and no bumpers dragging on the ground(I mean, unless it is SUPPOSED to be a dilapidated heap car).

 

*I prefer what looks like a usable car cabin, but will settle for a robutt crammed up against an opaque windshield.

[Kuma Style]

[M'Kyuun]

17 hours ago, JB0 said:

I tend to prefer OG toy styling over OG cartoon styling, and I think part of that is because the toys definitely looked like they turned into things.

I like door wings and wheels hanging off feet and all those other pieces of "kibble" that don't make for a clean humanoid robot, but DO make for a robot that used to be a car before it stood up.

 

My converting robots are usually displayed in humanoid mode, but I have a bit of an aversion to action-master-esque "non-transformers" because the fact that they CAN transform is one of the major draws. I like them to LOOK like they can, and I want both modes to have effort expended. And I'll accept compromises in the robot mode for the sake of the "in disguise" part. No robutts staring at you from the back of the windshield because the car cabin is just wasted space* to be filled with robot parts, and no bumpers dragging on the ground(I mean, unless it is SUPPOSED to be a dilapidated heap car).

 

*I prefer what looks like a usable car cabin, but will settle for a robutt crammed up against an opaque windshield.

I don't mind robutts ( the crap we talk about on this forum) mooning through the windshield, or arms, heads, etc  as long as the glass is tinted or painted. If the glass is clear, then, yea, it looks much better if the bot parts aren't visible. Of course, like most things, I'll make exceptions. I thought the Alternators/Binaltech were quite brilliant for preserving most of the interior cabin- the bot modes often suffered for it, though. The Mazda RX-8, the Mustang, and the Suburu WRX molds were all really well done though- my three faves from that line. Gotta agree with you on the door wings- always really liked that look, and so long as they're not obtrusive, other vehicle parts clearly visible in bot mode. I think that was a huge part of the appeal of Transformers when they first came out- that you could make out what they turned into even in bot mode, but most of the bot stuff was pretty well hidden in alt mode. The other part of that was that the alts were real world vehicles, which upped the toys' appeal even more. Probably why to this day I have a bias against most Cybertronian alts- I've seen too many that looked like a folded up robot, or the alt didn't look like anything relatable. 

That shark dude is rocking some super-robot colors.

[Kuma Style]

It **is** a super robot; Captain Shark from goldran. The one behind it is skybite.

[JB0]

8 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I don't mind robutts ( the crap we talk about on this forum) mooning through the windshield, or arms, heads, etc  as long as the glass is tinted or painted. If the glass is clear, then, yea, it looks much better if the bot parts aren't visible.

That's kinda my take on it. If I can't see the robutt, I don't care where it is.

But if they're gonna fill the car cabin with body parts, they shouldn't use clear windows. No one needs to see that.

[M'Kyuun]

7 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

It **is** a super robot; Captain Shark from goldran. The one behind it is skybite.

I recognized Skybite, but I couldn't remember his name, and I figured the figure in the foreground was a repaint or a custom job. I really have no familiarity with Skybite's character (IIRC, he came out in the 90's as part of the extended Beast Wars, or Beast machines line, as I remember buying one back in the day). Never heard of Brave of Gold Goldran. Google knows all. So I'm guessing the character was brought over to the BW Universe from Goldran, as both shows came out in '95. Anything to sell more toys.

I just wanna say robutt again. You need a copyright on that JBO.

[tekering]

24 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

I really have no familiarity with Skybite's character (IIRC, he came out in the 90's as part of the extended Beast Wars, or Beast machines line, as I remember buying one back in the day).

Actually, he was a prominent Predacon from Car Robots (2000), later dubbed into English under the oft-used title Robots in Disguise...

[anime52k8]

Skybite was the single best thing about Car Robots IMO.

[Kuma Style]

Skybite was great in RID but IDW made him a damned favorite.

[Kuma Style]

8 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

So I'm guessing the character was brought over to the BW Universe from Goldran, as both shows came out in '95. Anything to sell more toys.

 

No... SkyBite is a car robots (Japan)/ Robots in disguise (U.S.) character. The toy is blatantly more designed towards Captain Shark than Skybite (particularaly the alt. mode) so I'm guessing the company (KFC) just designed a cool Captain toy and retooled it into Skybite and a Sharkticon style to sell it to their primary niche.