The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[Kuma Style]

 

[Chronocidal]

18 hours ago, Tking22 said:

Yup, DX9 slightly up scaled KO. Quick and dirty with MS Swipe and Trailbreaker, also Hot Soldiers Soundwave. I'll be getting MFT shiny Megatron soon and he'll be my legends Megs, Newage looks good, but they're a bit small for my taste, except their Bee, he was spot on for me.

I remember watching reviews of the DX9 Seekers and Coneheads, and not necessarily liking the way they relocated the arms, but I wish more Seeker molds used the system they use to clean up the legs.  Folding up both the stabs and vertical tails, and then twisting them to lay flat against the wings gives those some of the cleanest legs of pretty much any Seeker in any scale.

[Swoosh]

Guys, there is a fund raising for a IDW Fortress Maximus:

REFORMATTED R-50 SUPERMAX CROWDFUND

Only 2 weeks left, please help to make it happened.

Moderator, please delete this if this against forum rule, thx.

 

[mikeszekely]

Another day, another Dinobot.  This time it's Sonarl, MFT's version of DX9's Thorner, aka Snarl.

I feel like I'm starting to sound like a broken record when I tell you that he looks good, that he's pretty cartoon accurate, and that he makes his similarly-sized Power of the Primes counterpart look like atrophied or malformed, but it is what it is.  He even hides his dino legs, which is more than Gigapower managed.  Maybe his biceps could have been silver, maybe the visible hinges in his wrists are a little unsightly, maybe his head sculpt isn't the best, but I kind of feel like this is is fine for a Legends (or Deluxe) figure.

After the last three, Sonarl's accessories are a bit odd.  I mean, sure, he's still got his gun and his translucent red sword, so no worries there.  And he's got a little black part that apparently is a display stand connector for Swooper (but I have no idea what display stand it's supposed to connect to).  But instead of a silver sword he's got a gold one.  And, while I don't usually talk about things like collectors cards that figures may or may not come with, I want to point that Sonarl comes with a card with some artwork of Volcanicus ripped off from Matt Moylan (of Lil'formers).  And it's not the ripping off of artists that I find unusual (these are KOs, after all), it's that the card is for Volcanicus even though these Dinobots don't combine, that there's no card for Snarl or any other individual Dinobot, and that Sonarl is the only one to come with any card.

Anyway, articulation isn't too dissimilar to Slurdge or Slagus.  The head seems to be on a swivel, but the transformation hinge gives him a little up/down tilt.  Shoulders swivel and extend laterally about 90 degrees.  His biceps swivel, his elbows bend 90 degrees, and although his wrists don't swivel they can bend up and down due to transformation, and that does help with sword poses.  In a first for this set he's also got a waist swivel.  Hips are ball joints that get about 60 degrees forward, 60 degrees backward, and just under 90 degrees laterally.  His thighs have dedicated swivels and his knees bend 90 degrees.  He doesn't have any actual foot or ankle articulation, but due to his transformation you can keep his feet flat by bowing his legs out at the knees a little.  Generally speaking the joint tolerances, at least for robot mode, are also much better, as nothing felt too snug or too loose.

And just like the others his weapons fit into his hands just fine.

Now this is the point in the review where I start complaining about some odd decision DX9 made in the engineering that either limited the robot articulation (Slagus, Slurdge), made the transformation kind of a pain (Slagus), or left some really awkward kibble in one of the modes (Slurdge, Swooper).  Except that's really not the case here.  Things are actually pretty familiar and reminded me so much of Gigapower's Snarl that I had to grab Gutter off the shelf and play with him to remind me how they're actually different.  In the end the only thing that really seemed new were some red panels that are folded up on his robot back at the base of the tail haves that unfold and fill in some of the space between his butt and his tail.  And the result looks good.

Much like the others, though, he doesn't have a ton of dino articulation.  His mouth can open and close, but there's really no other articulation of the head.  The front shoulder/hips are ball joints that can rotate and wiggle out a little bit laterally.  His front dino elbow/knees can bend from a little under 90 degrees forward to about 45 degrees backward, and his paw can also tilt up and down but not pivot.  His rear hips work the same as his robot shoulders (because that's what they are).   The rear knees (where the gold meets the silver) can bend backward about 90 degrees, and the back paws can also move up and down but not pivot.  No tail articulation.  And in this mode we're back to having some tolerances that are a little too tight, namely his jaw and his front leg knee/elbows.

Up to this point I think I've been a little cool on this set.  I mean, I liked Swooper but he definitely had issues in dino mode.  Slagus looked good but the engineering wasn't particularly fun.  And Slurdge was flat out disappointing.  So it kind of surprises me to say it, but I really like Sonarl.  He brings the same sort of good that the others do, namely that he looks great in both modes, but he missed out on DX9's detrimental need to come up with crazy new ways to transform a dinobot and escaped with better articulation and the kind of no-nonsense transformation that makes him easy to pick up and mess around with.  Solid recommend from me.

[tekering]

Oh wow, KFC's "Ditka" is gorgeous!

Look at all the Japanese Type-74 tank detailing!

Look how cartoon-accurate his jet mode is!

Look how well he scales with Masterpiece figures!

Look how good the toy looks from these same few angles!

If only the quality control was better than the usual KFC crap-show, he'd actually be a great figure...  

[RavenHawk]

4 minutes ago, tekering said:

Oh wow, KFC's "Ditka" is gorgeous!

 

 

 

If only the quality control was better than the usual KFC crap-show, he'd actually be a great figure...  

Looks really impressive. Would love to see a side shot and get an idea of the under-the-fusselage kibble.

[tekering]

Be careful what you wish for...  

[M'Kyuun]

Of all the 3P MP scaled Blitzwing options (I believe there were three on offer), IMO this one takes the prize for coming closest to the source. I wonder why they didn't make the intake ramps accurate to the MiG-25? It's really the major glaring deficiency to its fighter mode, other than having a tank turret hanging off the bottom (but that's canon to the original toy).

But yeah, overall KFC did a nice job. As it happens, Blitzwing is my favorite triple-changer, but at the time these were all hitting retailers, none of them seemed definitive to me, so I passed on all of them. Moreover, KFC's track record for QC seems questionable, so I've always been leery to invest in any of their stuff. However, I hope your experience is a positive one, Tekering, and thanks for sharing photos. 

My hope is that maybe MMC/Ocular Max will try their hand- I'm a fan of their engineering, and of their stuff in general. There was a time when I would have loved an official version, but the design direction Takara have taken of late leaves me more with a sense of dread rather than anticipation. So, I hold out hope that more third parties will approach the figure bringing innovative techniques to the fore. 

Again, cheers for sharing!

[tekering]

11 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

I wonder why they didn't make the intake ramps accurate to the MiG-25?

'Cause Blitzwing would end up with shoulders like the Seekers have, that's why.

I think we're lucky they chose robot-mode accuracy over real-world accuracy.  Trying to make an accurate MiG from Blitzwing would be a fool's errand.  

16 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

I hope your experience is a positive one, Tekering, and thanks for sharing photos. 

Well, I haven't broken anything crucial yet, all the parts that have fallen off have been reattached, and -- after a great deal of frustration -- I've finally found that sweet spot where the legs will support the weight of the figure standing.  I expect a positive experience going forward...

...provided I don't try and change the pose, of course.  

[M'Kyuun]

Eek, not a very positive endorsement. Well, enjoy it for what it is.

As I said, I'll remain patient and hope a really good version comes along. Given his prominence in the show and '86 Movie, and the use of his name in the recent Bumblebee Movie, I think he'll always remain a popular character so long as there is a fandom base (doesn't seem to be slowing down any, and the desire for G1 accurate toys of these characters continues to be a driving force behind the brand). I'm content to wait and see.

[mikeszekely]

Yeah, I got Ditka at a discount, I posed him with the football, and I'm not touching him. He's a definite placeholder until something better comes along.

[mikeszekely]

Last one.  This is MechFansToys' Grmlock, an OS KO of DX9's Rager, and a Deluxe/Legends-scale Grimlock.  Not that you'd ever guess from MFT's oh-so-clever name.

At least I don't have to say that he makes his Power of the Primes counterpart look scrawny for a change, right?  Grmlock is much more proportional with a broad chest but a narrower waist and arms that don't come down to his knees... and in that sense, he might not be the most cartoon accurate of the five.  The Sunbow model actually has a barrel chest and long, almost thin arms, while Grmlock looks like someone took the Sunbow model and changed the proportions to make it more heroic.  Honestly, I think Grmlock is all the better for it.  That's not to say he looks perfect, though.

For whatever reason, DX9 decided to eschew the more traditional Grimlock transformation, where the dinosaur head lies on his robot back, for one that stuffs the dinosaur head into his torso.  And from some angles that looks fine, but if his neck is below your eyeline you start to see how far back his "wings" are and how gappy the torso is between his chest and his wings.

Grmlock doesn't have any cards like Sonarl, or the Diaclone guys that came with the first three, but he still manages to have the most accessories.  There's his gun, which is looking appropriately G1, his translucent red sword, and a silver-painted sword.  He's also got his crown, technically from the Marvel comics but more likely copied from one of the MP-08 releases.  There's the cap he used to transfer his intelligence to the Technobots and the fish he caught at the end of "Grimlock's New Brain."  And there's a second set of dinosaur arms.  Technically, the ones in this picture are the ones he came with.  They have no articulation aside from the ball joint at the base.  The second set, which I've already attached, have some added articulation that I'll cover when we get to dino mode.

But first, robot articulation.  His head can swivel, and while it can't really look up or tilt sideways he can look down a bit.  Shoulders rotate and extend just about 90 degrees laterally.  His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend just under 90 degrees.  No articulation in the hands, no waist swivel, no ab crunch.  His hips are ball joints that can go 90 degrees forward, backward, or laterally.  He's got thigh swivels, 90 degrees of knee bend, and although is feet can't tilt up or down he does have 90 degrees of ankle pivots.  His weapons fit into his hands with no problems, and his crown has notches on the inside to fit around his ears.  It's pretty secure on his head, but I do think it should have come down a little lower.  His joint tolerances are pretty good on the whole.

Grmlock's alt mode does a pretty good job of evoking the tail-dragging, upright version of a T-Rex that Grimlock was apparently based off of.  Aesthetically I don't have a lot to complain about, aside from maybe pointing out that in the cartoon Grimlock's tail, arms, and teeth were a little lighter in the cartoon than the rest of his body, but MFT used the same silver paint for everything that isn't gold paint, red paint, or blue paint, but that's a pretty small complaint.

In dino mode Grmlock can look up a little and down a fair amount, but he can't turn his head.  His jaws do open and close.  There's what appears to be a tab slot inside his mouth, but none of his accessories seem to fit in there.  His arms can move around in the ball sockets, and if you put the articulated arms on him his elbows can bend from nearly 90 degrees the wrong way to nearly 90 degrees the right way, plus his wrists can swivel.  The very tip of his tail can move up and down, and one other part of his tail can move down but it badly breaks the sculpt.  Then there's his legs.  So they're technically his arms, and you'd think they'd have all the articulation that his arms do, which is technically correct... except we have to remember that his elbow bend is now his dino knee, and it bends the wrong way.  No big deal if you could also bend his elbow the wrong way (or the right way for his dino knee)... but it can't.  The joint is shaped with a rounded edge on one side so he's got clearance to bend his elbow, but the other corner is hard and unyielding.  

As far as accessories for this mode goes, the cap fits pretty snugly onto his dino head (enough that I was worried about scratching paint)... and that's about it.  I posed him holding the fish, and you can make him bite it, but jaws nor hands are holding the fish very securely.  He can't wear the crown in this mode- not that I expected him to.  And there's no place to store his weapons.  About that, you might have noticed in the second picture that he does have a peg hole on his back, and apparently it is possible to plug his gun into that peg hole in dino mode on the DX9 version.  But when MFT was rescaling things for this size they apparently didn't do it right, because the handle on Grmlock's gun is far too large for the hole on his back.

If I were an emotionless, totally objective computer I might make an argument that, while Grmlock is definitely better than Swooper, Slagus, and Slurdge, Sonarl is perhaps the best of MFT/DX9's Dinobots.  And I'm going to tell you that it's partly because DX9 was reinventing the wheel again, needlessly spinning and flipping the chest and arms in a way that kept his back hinged to his butt and negated the possibility of a waist swivel and left some pretty unsightly gaps in his robot torso.  But the fact is, for his size I think he actually looks pretty good.  And I don't know if I'm just not as attached to Snarl or what, but I have more fun transforming and posing Grmlock in both modes.  Push comes to shove, Grmlock is my favorite of the set.  He's not perfect, but he's a fun tiny Tyrano, and I'm giving him a recommend.

[Dangard Ace]

23 hours ago, tekering said:

'Cause Blitzwing would end up with shoulders like the Seekers have, that's why.

I think we're lucky they chose robot-mode accuracy over real-world accuracy.  Trying to make an accurate MiG from Blitzwing would be a fool's errand.  

Well, I haven't broken anything crucial yet, all the parts that have fallen off have been reattached, and -- after a great deal of frustration -- I've finally found that sweet spot where the legs will support the weight of the figure standing.  I expect a positive experience going forward...

...provided I don't try and change the pose, of course.  

 

Use the high heel or "gundam" method for the feet and it'll always stand.

[vlenhoff]

Please play this while you read my post. 

 

I remember when i got my first transformer ever. It was Grimlock, and it was Christmas morning. I carefully opened the box and got it out of the package. I followed the instructions, and as I was transforming him, the chest hinge broke. My Dad was not very happy and said he would never get me another figure, if i was just going to break them that quickly. I tried to tell him that it broke very easily, but he dismissed me on the spot. My Dad grew up in a very poor household, and never really got any toys. It was the first time ever i had broken a toy so quickly in my life, and i was saddened, thinking i wasn't careful enough. I tried to fix Grimlock the best i could, but it was never perfect, and it always broke at that hinge. I kept it's box as i always used to do with all my other toys. One day i found another Grimlock at a store, and it was then I realized the box was slightly different. My box was missing the Autobot symbol, and its place there was a tiny picture of Grimlock's face. It was then i realized my Dad had bought a KO instead of the original. My Grimlock didnt have the rub/heat autobot symbol either. I am pretty sure he didn't know it was a knock off when he bought it. It was a very loyal knock off, but i suspect the QC was poor, as many knock offs were back then. Ever since i developed this secret hate for Grimlock, and knock offs.  I tried to tell my Dad, but he just dismissed me, as if i was making it up, or perhaps he wasn't interested in my realization. I did get many transformers after this bad experience, and i am very grateful to my parents for them.

Sadly, lol, this is what i think about, every time i see any Grimlock figure.

Burn after reading!

[M'Kyuun]

23 hours ago, tekering said:

'Cause Blitzwing would end up with shoulders like the Seekers have, that's why.

I think we're lucky they chose robot-mode accuracy over real-world accuracy.  Trying to make an accurate MiG from Blitzwing would be a fool's errand.  

 

Looking at the original and comparing to Ditka, the transformation follows the original as far as the purple and tan halves of his body, and flipping one way or the other depending on which alt mode is preferred. To that end, the openings of the intakes would face backwards in bot mode as they did on the original toy, so he wouldn't have a Seeker look. They could have given him the intakes, and with some additional folding panels, made them fold out to taper and close up as they do on the production model. In my mind, it's an opportunity wasted. Alas, water under the bridge.  And I concur, because of the thick fuselage section that forms the wing area, which also follows the G1 toy, for better or worse, arriving at an accurate MiG-25 is a foregone conclusion. Fanstoys and DX9's versions succeeded far better in that respect, although DX9's tank mode pays a heavy penalty in terms of mottled colors and a really boxy, non-accurate tank. FT did a nice job on all three modes, although they and DX9 apparently couldn't find a way to integrate the arms in fighter, and so they hang under the wings as huge boxes, albeit snugged up against the fuselage. I'm not sure about the DX9, but FT were able to eliminate the tank turret in fighter mode as well. Not sure if it was absorbed into the transformation, which would be the ideal, or just removed as a partsforming compromise, but admittedly it looks pretty nice.

Vlenhoff, sad story indeed. Your dad's background is similar to mine, as he comes from a farming family of six, and while my grandfather died well before I was born, my grandmother was a very stoic woman who never bought toys for her grandchildren. She made us little stuffed dolls when we were very little, but that's about the extent of playthings we ever got from her, and I think my dad espoused that sort of thinking. Fortunately, my mom was more nurturing and enjoyed buying us toys, and over time my dad softened in this regard. He even made me wooden toys of a tractor trailer  transport with a working bulldozer (he 'borrowed' the rubber treads off another dozer toy I owned to complete the effect- it rolled really well and I loved it). Anyway, it is indeed sad that you've developed such a a bitter association with Grimlock, especially given his prominence in TF history, not to mention the fact that he becomes a T-Rex. I hope it's something you learn to move past over time. I must commend your choice of music to accompany your story- a lovely and fitting marriage of beauty and melancholy.

[mikeszekely]

30 minutes ago, vlenhoff said:

Please play this while you read my post. 

 

I remember when i got my first transformer ever. It was Grimlock, and it was Christmas morning. I carefully opened the box and got it out of the package. I followed the instructions, and as I was transforming him, the chest hinge broke. My Dad was not very happy and said he would never get me another figure, if i was just going to break them that quickly. I tried to tell him that it broke very easily, but he dismissed me on the spot. My Dad grew up in a very poor household, and never really got any toys. It was the first time ever i had broken a toy so quickly in my life, and i was saddened, thinking i wasn't careful enough. I tried to fix Grimlock the best i could, but it was never perfect, and it always broke at that hinge. I kept it's box as i always used to do with all my other toys. One day i found another Grimlock at a store, and it was then I realized the box was slightly different. My box was missing the Autobot symbol, and its place there was a tiny picture of Grimlock's face. It was then i realized my Dad had bought a KO instead of the original. My Grimlock didnt have the rub/heat autobot symbol either. I am pretty sure he didn't know it was a knock off when he bought it. It was a very loyal knock off, but i suspect the QC was poor, as many knock offs were back then. Ever since i developed this secret hate for Grimlock, and knock offs.  I tried to tell my Dad, but he just dismissed me, as if i was making it up, or perhaps he wasn't interested in my realization. I did get many transformers after this bad experience, and i am very grateful to my parents for them.

Sadly, lol, this is what i think about, every time i see any Grimlock figure.

Burn after reading!

So you've never owned or even wanted another Grimlock since? 

Edited February 16, 2019 by mikeszekely

[vlenhoff]

49 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

Vlenhoff, sad story indeed. Your dad's background is similar to mine, as he comes from a farming family of six, and while my grandfather died well before I was born, my grandmother was a very stoic woman who never bought toys for her grandchildren. She made us little stuffed dolls when we were very little, but that's about the extent of playthings we ever got from her, and I think my dad espoused that sort of thinking. Fortunately, my mom was more nurturing and enjoyed buying us toys, and over time my dad softened in this regard. He even made me wooden toys of a tractor trailer  transport with a working bulldozer (he 'borrowed' the rubber treads off another dozer toy I owned to complete the effect- it rolled really well and I loved it). Anyway, it is indeed sad that you've developed such a a bitter association with Grimlock, especially given his prominence in TF history, not to mention the fact that he becomes a T-Rex. I hope it's something you learn to move past over time. I must commend your choice of music to accompany your story- a lovely and fitting marriage of beauty and melancholy.

Yeap, that's how things were back then. Wow, amazing craftsmanship from your dad! That is very sweet, and very touching from your Dad and your Grandma. We need to recognize we are very lucky to have the things we have.

Yeah, this is my mental handicap, I was never ever able to enjoy the dinobots ever since. Plus it didn't help I always preferred Cars and planes vs animal transforming bots. It is too late now, it is like that scar you get from a bad fight. It will always be there, and sometimes it reminds you of the pain. Thanks for the nice words, but it was just a memory, triggered again by Mr Grimlock, lol. All is well! I really enjoy the pics you guys post, and i am really thankful!

48 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

So you've never owned or even wanted another Grimlock since? 

Nope, not any of the dinobots. Oh, i did try a while back Mikeszekely, and I bought a CHUGS Grimlock, but after a few weeks I gave it away to a co-worker's son. She visited us, and her son liked it so much, I immediately gave it away. I figured it would build good memories for him. It is funny how your mind can build these colossal traps. Yup, I still can't forget the debilitating feeling of saying the truth, and being looked at as if you were lying. My dad was perhaps the most noble man i will ever meet, and i will never be the son he wanted me to be. All things considered, he is no longer with us, and we are only human. Nothing we can do but to look forward and enjoy the rest of our lives. Sorry for the sad story, but I felt I had to share this with you all, for some reason. Please disregard

Oh, and if you have someone you love, please tell them you love them. It may sound cheesy, but life changes quickly, and sometimes we wish we could manifest our love before it is too late.

Edited February 16, 2019 by vlenhoff

[derex3592]

Ok, Paypal settled my dispute, so I'm going through proper channels this time for TF- Element 01! I just happened to check again today and lo and behold,  seems to be back in stock at TFDirect with free shipping! So I went for it! 

https://tf-direct.com/transform-element-te-01-op-p2616.html

[vlenhoff]

Sorry everyone, i didn't mean to kill the mood. It was a difficult day, and i overflowed. Thanks for reading, lets carry on with the conversation.

I guess the only Third party/ improved KO i own is the MPP-10. I know i may eventually get a third party something, but I am not there yet. The jimbao oversized devastator is atractive, but massive. The other i like is the Zeta toys Aerialbots, or whatever they are called. The Magic square optimus looks like a proper MP-44 replacement.

Edited February 17, 2019 by vlenhoff
MPP-10 pictured

[M'Kyuun]

Vlenhoff, as for family, I'm sorry to hear about your loss, and I hope your relationship was on good grounds before his passing. As for my own relationship, my father and I are very different people, although at the core, we both have a strong moral foundation, and I owe that to him. Moreover, we have a good relationship despite our differences, and we always exchange an 'I love you' when we speak. I cherish the respect that lies between us. I wish we all had at least that. I must confess, though, that I'm envious of folks who have a great deal in common with their parent(s), as I think there's a greater fulfillment there when you share what you enjoy, especially as you get older. That'll never happen in my case, but the love remains, and it's enough.

As for replacing your MPP-10, I feel quite comfortable recommending MS-01- it's pretty much everything I wanted in an MP-10 update. The only flaw, if you consider it as such, is that there's no cover for his Matrix, which can be seen through his windshields in bot mode. For everything it does right and well, I can overlook it. As always, in a subjective world, YMMV.

[Negotiator]

2 hours ago, derex3592 said:

Ok, Paypal settled my dispute, so I'm going through proper channels this time for TF- Element 01! I just happened to check again today and lo and behold,  seems to be back in stock at TFDirect with free shipping! So I went for it! 

https://tf-direct.com/transform-element-te-01-op-p2616.html

congrats. It says available but you might have to wait till March for stock and ship out.

Edited February 17, 2019 by Negotiator

[vlenhoff]

39 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

Vlenhoff, as for family, I'm sorry to hear about your loss, and I hope your relationship was on good grounds before his passing. As for my own relationship, my father and I are very different people, although at the core, we both have a strong moral foundation, and I owe that to him. Moreover, we have a good relationship despite our differences, and we always exchange an 'I love you' when we speak. I cherish the respect that lies between us. I wish we all had at least that. I must confess, though, that I'm envious of folks who have a great deal in common with their parent(s), as I think there's a greater fulfillment there when you share what you enjoy, especially as you get older. That'll never happen in my case, but the love remains, and it's enough.

As for replacing your MPP-10, I feel quite comfortable recommending MS-01- it's pretty much everything I wanted in an MP-10 update. The only flaw, if you consider it as such, is that there's no cover for his Matrix, which can be seen through his windshields in bot mode. For everything it does right and well, I can overlook it. As always, in a subjective world, YMMV.

Thanks for the kind words M'Kyuun, but our relationship was not in great standing when everything happened. It was a period of 6 years where I lost friends and direct family, including my ex-wife. We were still good friends, and then she was gone. The only person left is y brother, and we can't even speak. We have had this eternal fight, and there is no end to it. Those years were very tough, and i guess i am still healing, by the state of my earlier note/post. I would not wish this to my worst enemy, if i had any enemies. All i can say is thanks for reading my note, and thanks for the kind words. My original intention was to make a joke about my Grimlock situation(hence the music), and i ended up in a very dark tunnel. I don't know what happened. I triggered other memories and I spun out of control. I am sorry to everyone for the dark tone, as this was not my original intention. I have no problems making fun of myself regularly  but memories got the best of me today. I guess i can say i kicked my own ass.

Back on subject, i am not really trying to replace my MPP-10, but the MS optimus does look like a good alternative to MP-44. I saw a guy on youtube, cut little reflective tape rectangles and fitted them behind the MS Optimus windows. Here is the video of the transform element Optimus, but half way, you can see the comparison with the MS Optimus. I think that "window fix" makes it look great, since you can't see the matrix inside. 

 

Edited February 17, 2019 by vlenhoff

[M'Kyuun]

Vlenhoff, to have suffered such personal losses over six years would burden all but the most cold hearted among us, and I am sincerely sorry. I can only wish you well, and hope for your sake that time will facilitate some merciful bit of healing. To this end I hope you find solace, peace. and hopefully, over time, reconciliation with your brother. 

On topic, I'm not sure I care for the look of the reflective tape, even if it does obscure his Matrix. I tried turning his Matrix chamber, a la bumper, 180 degrees, but unfortunately it only fits in the chest one way. Shame, as that would have been a very quick and easy fix. Alas, it is what it is, and, for me at least, the pros so far outweigh the cons on MS-01 that I can overlook the visible Matrix. Watching the vid, I had to chuckle when he mentioned his dread at transforming TE-01- it's a pretty involved process. MS-01, which I think was probably modeled off of MP-10, shares some similarities with its transformation, especially in the torso and waist areas. It very much feels like an MP-10 update that fixes the proportion issues as well as the lower legs. I'm very pleased with him, and for a company who had heretofore focused primarily on legends sized figs, I think Magic Square's first foray into MP scale was an overall success. And mentioning legends, I was feeling the need for an updated Huffer for my CHUG shelf, so I bought MS' Strongman- for it's size it has come nice engineering, die-cast (feet), good range of articulation throughout, and spot-on toon accuracy. I haven't fallen into the legends collector honeytrap just yet, but handling a figure like this, I understand the appeal. 

Edited February 17, 2019 by M'Kyuun

[Negotiator]

 

[M'Kyuun]

Zeta's take on Movie Bee looks better to me than any of the official toys. Purty nice.

[Tking22]

Got my MFT legends, er, uh legends+ I guess, technically, G1 Megatron in. I love it, it's a fun and beautiful little figure, this is the newest shiny silver version, plus it's the newest model with the little KO MP-36 faces instead of the head and faces DX9 usually used.

Not flawless, unfortunately it seems to have the same issue MP-36 had, I scratched the poor, beautiful little face during transformation, there's just not enough clearance. He comes with a second maniacal laughing face, but after an hour of work I can't get the stock neutral face off, and I don't want to break it so I'm stuck with my little Megs having a scratch on his nose and the crest of his helmet :(.

[tekering]

Oh, I much prefer the proportions on Iron Factory's Megatron, "The Tyrant."

He scales better with all the other Iron Factory / Magic Square / NewAge / Sentinel / Generation Toy / DX9 Legends figures, too.  

Mech Fans Toys are always awkwardly big, I think.  

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, tekering said:

Mech Fans Toys are always awkwardly big, I think.

I think maybe so are Magic Square.  If that's how big Tyrant is with Dutch, I think he's going to be too short to go with Magic Square's Legends-scale Optimus.

[tekering]

42 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

I think maybe so are Magic Square.

Well, that's problematic.  It would upset the delicate balance that DX9, Iron Factory, Generation Toy, NewAge, et al. have maintained up to now.

If Prime were any bigger, he'd be as tall as Grimlock or Ultra Magnus, and taller than Megatron (or even other iterations of himself...)!  

[Kuma Style]

 

[Kuma Style]

 

[Tking22]

18 hours ago, tekering said:

Oh, I much prefer the proportions on Iron Factory's Megatron, "The Tyrant."

 

He scales better with all the other Iron Factory / Magic Square / NewAge / Sentinel / Generation Toy / DX9 Legends figures, too.  

 

Mech Fans Toys are always awkwardly big, I think.  

Too stylized for me personally, he looks like a really good legends Megs, just not for me. MFT Megatron scales pretty perfectly IMO with Hot Soldiers Prime, which is my legends scale Prime. That's also why I'm a fan of MFT, DX9 stuff is usually too small IMO, but the sculpts are usually there, MFT scales them up to pretty much right where I like them.

[mikeszekely]

I'm finally nearing the end of this voyage.  This is Zeta Toys Downthrust, their take on Skydive.

I mean, I think I'm inclined to be more forgiving of this guy than the other Zeta Aerialbots just because his arms and legs are black and gray instead of white and silver.  Zeta gave him a fairly cartoon-accurate head, which is fine, and cartoon-style black feet, but from the neck down he's still more toy-inspired.  He's got none of the gray the cartoon had on his arms, the black on his chest doesn't come all the way down to his pelvis, he's got smoked translucent plastic on his chest and hips where the G1 toy had stickers, and his kneepads are clear translucent over a yellow field with a red stripe that's very in keeping with the yellow and red stickers on the G1 toy's knees.  Ultimately I don't think this is my ideal Skydive, but he's definitely a step up from the Combiner Wars or TFC versions.

As far as accessories go, just like the other Aerialbots he's got his gun and a pair of c-clipped racks for holding his four missiles.  He also comes with a new cartoon-style head for Zeta's Air Raid.  The sculpt is kind of so-so, and it could use some blue paint on top of the head, but I like it a lot better than the default head.  So I guess my Aerialbot limbs are going three cartoon, and one toy.

Downthrust uses the same basic engineering as their Air Raid.  Head is on a ball joint that can only look up and down a little without pushing his chest compartment open, but he's got more than enough sideways tilt to go with his neck rotation.  His shoulders rotate and extend laterally 90 degrees.  His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend 90 degrees.  His wrists swivel.  Each finger is a separate piece, with a ball joint at the base of the thumb, pin hinges at the base of the fingers, and friction hinges at the mid-knuckle.  His waist can swivel.  His hip skirts can swing up so his hips can move just under 90 degrees forward, 90 degrees backward if you move his back kibble out of the way, and a little over 90 degrees sideways.  Sideways movement is on a soft ratchet.  Knees bend 90 degrees on a ratchet.  His ankles are ball joints so his feet can tilt up, down, pivot a little under 45 degrees, and swivel.

His gun handle has slots in it that fit on tabs in his palms.  The peg holes under his wings are kind of obscured due to how they fold, but you can stick them into holes on top of his shoulder pads if you like (I like to toss them back in the box).

Downthrust turns into an F-16, of course.  And... I think this is probably the worst of the jets.  Like, due to being proportionally thicker in the first place Zeta had an easier time pulling off the F-4 and Harrier, and while their Air Raid couldn't hide his block of robot as well he still looked pretty good from the top.  But this...  I don't know.  I mean, I know there's been a lot of versions and revisions to the F-16 over the years, and it looks like Zeta hodge-podged features from a couple of different ones to come up with one that just looks wrong to me.  And I'm not sure what's going on with those ridges on the nose.  Plus, of all the jets so far, this is one that hides the robot kibble the worst.

But hey, he's still got working landing gear.  And like his mold mate, the front landing gear is spring loaded, super annoying, and requires half untransforming the nose of the jet to access.  The canopy opens.  And they did do a pretty nice job painting the afterburner.

There's two peg holes on the underside of either wing that you can use to plug in his gun or the missile racks.  Curiously, though, there's no missiles for the hardpoints on the wing tips.  An F-16 just looks naked without them.  There's also the peg holes on his robot shoulders, in front of the wings.  And he's got a spring loaded point on his crotch that's compatible with the ToyWorld/Zeta bases.

With Zeta's Aerialbots it seems like you have two choices.  You can either favor the arm-bots for having the better plane modes, or you can favor the leg bots for having better feet and a smoother transformation.  And while I tend to think Zeta did better with their Aerialbots than they did their Combaticons I'm still not convinced Zeta's designers have what it takes to make an individual toy that's on the same level as MMC, FansToys, DX9, X-Transbots, etc.  They make robots that are bricks that convert into alt modes that are bricks.  However, it could be argued that this is to the benefit of their combined modes.  While that might be the case here, taken only as an MP Skydive I don't think Downthrust quite makes the cut.

[tekering]

Can't wait to see what you think of Zeta's Superion, Mike!

3 hours ago, Tking22 said:

MFT Megatron scales pretty perfectly IMO with Hot Soldiers Prime, which is my legends scale Prime.

So DX9, Iron Factory, Generation Toy, NewAge et al. are actual Legends-scale, Mech Fans Toys and Hot Soldiers are almost Deluxes, and Magic Square lands somewhere in the middle...?

Primus, what a mess.  

[mikeszekely]

38 minutes ago, tekering said:

NewAge et al. are actual Legends-scale

Actually, I caught Skully's review of New Age's Prowl, and he's thinking that NA might be in a smaller scale than IF/DX9.

40 minutes ago, tekering said:

Primus, what a mess.  

Yeah, it's definitely made getting into the Legends stuff sort of a challenge. There's just no clear MP-10 benchmark to measure against like there is for MP.