The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[tekering]

Mike, did you happen to notice the swing-out hinges on the back cannons?

Also, you neglected to mention the sides of his arms, which are a solid olive color just like the animation model...

...something no Onslaught toy has ever managed to replicate before.  

[mikeszekely]

54 minutes ago, tekering said:

Mike, did you happen to notice the swing-out hinges on the back cannons?

Yep.  I don't really think of it as part of Incursus' articulation, though, since you can swing the cannons over his shoulders without using those hinges, but as I'm sure you're aware (but I'm mentioning for the rest of the class) is that those hinges are necessary to spread the cannons further apart for combined mode.  After the last two are out and reviewed I'll post a review of the combined mode, and I'm sure I'll talk about it more then.

58 minutes ago, tekering said:

Also, you neglected to mention the sides of his arms, which are a solid olive color just like the animation model...

 

...something no Onslaught toy has ever managed to replicate before.  

Somehow that detail escaped me, but you're totally right.  Hmm, that's not normally like me.  In my defense, though, I was touring kindergartens today, plus after a post-holiday lull I'm suddenly bombarded with new stuff.  Incursus and the DNA upgrade kits came in a box with one more figure, I got another box today with two more figures, and after 68 days the Capone I ordered around Thanksgiving from ShowZ made it to Pittsburgh and should arrive Monday or Tuesday.  As long as it doesn't sit there for over three weeks like it did in NY.

[mikeszekely]

It finally came!  So I guess everything else I got this past weekend will have to keep a little longer, because today we're looking at DX9's Capone, their MP Motormaster.

When I picked up the other two released DX9 Stunticons I was pleasantly surprised to find that while their alt modes were a little large I preferred them to XTB's.  Well, that's not really the case this time.  Aesthetically Capone is the weakest of the three.  His thighs and arms are too thin, his arms are too long, and his pinched face is the worst of the three.  His fake truck feet have the least blocky shape, with bumpers that extend well beyond the cab and the fuel tanks jutting off the sides, and large hinges cutting into the fake grill.

There is some stuff here to like, though.  Capone is the only Motormaster that isn't taller than the various options for MP Optimus or MP Megatron.  And the shortest Motormaster with Seeker-sized cars means that DX9's Stunticons are the closest in size to each other, which I kind of like.  His shins are straight black, unlike FT's, and all of his shin windows are purple, unlike XTB's.  Indeed, I rather like that they used the actual cab windows for the largest of the shin windows.  Capone is the only one of the three to use a more cartoon-accurate gunmetal color for the fake grill and bumper.

Capone is also the only option with all-white/light gray arms, and he's the only one without a backpack.

While FT and XT both came with a sword, a gun, and a replacement face, Capone comes with a few more accessories (although, sadly, he's lacking a replacement face).  He does have a gun and sword for Capone, and and the sword's got a nice metallic gray paint.  In addition to Capone's sword you get a second sword for Menasor mode.  Speaking of Menasor mode, you'll get a little whitish part that helps secure Breakdown in leg mode.  Lastly, you get "that thing from that episode," the Lightning Bug from "Cosmic Rust."  Its wings can open and close, its mouth parts can open and close, its legs can swivel forward and backward at the base and they each have two hinges.  It's more than just an easter egg-style pack-in, though.  It'll have another use we'll talk about when we get to combined mode.

After handling XTB's Motormaster recently I can't help but be a little disappointed by Capone's articulation.  His head can swivel, and he can look up and down a bit.  His shoulders rotate on ratchets, and they can extend laterally 90 degrees.  His biceps swivel.  His elbows are single-jointed and can't quite get 90 degree of bend before the block of his shoulder and the block of his forearm collide and prevent them from bending further.  His wrists can swivel, and his hands can bend inward.  Unlike XTB and FT, Capone does not have fully articulated hands.  His thumb is hinged at the base so it can open and closed, as are his fingers, and his index finger is a separate piece while the other three are a single chunk.  Since none of his fingers have any other knuckle joints are are molded into a curl he can't point.  His waist has a soft ratchet for rotation, and he's got about 45 degrees of ab crunch.  The front of his pelvis is hinged to move out of the way of his hips, but it's a single solid piece instead of individual flaps over each hip.  The hips can move 90 degrees forward, 45 degrees backward, and about 75 degrees laterally, all on ratchets.  His thighs swivel around the joints.  He's knees are a single friction joint, but they do have very good range (between 120-140 degrees, I'd guess).  His feet don't tilt up or down, but he does have 90 degrees of ankle pivot.

He can hold his sword and gun just fine, using the standard MP method of pushing tabs on the handles into slots in his palms.

If you're a fan of the simplified Sunbow look you might really like Capone's truck mode.  Of the three, it's the only one with the cartoon's darker bumper and grill.  Personally, I prefer the more realistic details of XTB's and FT's.

Another look at the cabs, this time from the side.  DX9 went for the purple fuel tank, like XTB, but silver smokestacks like FT (AFAIK, both the cartoon and G1 toy didn't have smokestacks).  Once again, I prefer the more realistic details on XTB's and FT's.

If we pan out a bit, we can compare the trailer to FT's (but we're still waiting on XTB's).  And the most immediate thing you're going to notice is that it's pretty huge.  I don't want to say with absolute certainty that it's too long, since truck trailers can vary in length.  It's definitely longer than MP-10's, though, and long enough that you can park FT's Motormaster, cab and trailer, on top of it with room to spare.

The doors on the rear of the trailer are detailed in a pretty realistic manner, and they even open.  You're not going to be able to put anything inside, though, as it's already full of parts.  Parts that we'll get into shortly.

Capone rolls on rubber tires, and the cab can turn at the hitch.  Unlike FT and XTB, the doors on Capone's cab can open.

Capone's gun uses peg holes to attach to pegs on the upper corner on either side of the trailer.  His sword can tab in between the cab's wheels.  While you're down there you can kind of store the larger Menasor sword, although it doesn't tab in.  It's relying on friction from the purple parts on the blade and the trailers wheels on the base of the hilt.  Unfortunately I couldn't find anywhere to store the lightning bug or the extra part for Breakdown.

XTB's Motormaster turned into just the cab, with the trailer to be sold later.  FT's Motormaster turned into the entire cab and trailer, just like the G1 toy.  Capone takes an approach more like Fansproject and TFM, where the cab and a portion of the trailer form Motormaster, while the rest of the trailer becomes parts for combined mode.

"Parts" might be an understatement, though.  What you see here is just the transformed trailer, no Stunticons attached, and as you can see it's more or less a 90% complete Attila (DX9's Menasor).  Normally I wouldn't cover the combined mode until the whole set is complete, but Atilla is close enough that there's little point in waiting.  I have to admit that a part of me finds this level of partsforming to be ludicrously excessive, and I do hope one day MMC tries their all-in-one gimmick on a Studio OX-style Menasor.  But I have to concede this is pretty much the only way to get a Sunbow-accurate Menasor, and it does make for a very sturdy, stable body.  I'd argue that this makes a case for doing combiners as five/six team members with great robot and alt modes that don't transform into body parts, and a combined mode that's an entirely separate figure. 

For those curious about the size he's right in line with the ToyWorld/Zeta combiners.

DX9 gave Attila's eyes a light-up gimmick.  Sure, they look good lit up, but like so many other figures with light-up eyes they look lifeless and black when they're turned off... which is 99% of the time the figure is posed on a shelf.  Fortunately it's fairly easy to take the head apart to paint the eyes, which I did.

Attila can look up and down a little bit, and his head can swivel.  His shoulders rotate on ratchets.  They can extend over 90 degrees laterally on a ratchet, plus a little more on a friction hinge meant for transformation (although having a car attached will definitely create some clearance issues with the boxes on his collar; I'll be sure to update when Dragstrip and Dead End come out).  He's got a ratcheted bicep swivel, and double-jointed ratcheted elbows that curl 180 degrees (again, we'll see if having cars attached hinders the range).  His wrists can swivel.  The bases of his fingers and thumb are ball joints for bend and spread, plus all his digits have two additional pin hinge knuckles.  He has a ratcheted waist swivel, but no ab crunch.  His hips are extremely stiff ratchets (if you have DX9's Omega Supreme, you'll know what I'm talking about).  They go just under 90 degrees forward, just under 45 degrees backward, and just over 90 degrees laterally.  Just like with Capone the front of Atilla's pelvis will hinge up and out of the way, but as one solid piece instead of individual skirts.  He's got ratcheted thigh swivels, and ratcheted knees that bend 90 degrees.  His feet have no up/down tilts, but they have ratcheted ankle pivots good for over 90 degrees

IMPORTANT NOTE: DX9 mirrored the hip parts.  Examine yours carefully, if you see two screw heads the same side one hip is backward.  There have been reports of people breaking the ratchet because they think it's simply stiff and force it into a straight-standing position.  If one leg won't straighten all the way manipulate the leg until the him has turned 180 degrees, then rotate the thigh 180 degrees.

Attila's sword works much the same as Capone's, only it has two tabs and his palms have two slots.  Attila can't hold Capone's gun- the tab on the handle is too wide.  But you can still arm Attila with a gun.  That's where the lightning bug comes in- it transforms!  It's kind of an odd-looking gun, though.

If you do want to attach the Stunticons to Attila's body you can, of course.  But while the instructions tell you how to turn the front of the truck into Capone and the bulk of the trailer into Attila, it doesn't tell you how to turn Capone into a part of Attila.  Fortunately it's not too difficult.  Start but folding and twisting the rear wheels and swinging the fuel tanks forward like you would for robot mode (1).  Remember to fold in the bars that lock the wheels in place in truck mode.  Spin the trailer 180 degrees so that the open side is facing the cab, and split it open (2).  Fold the cab down against Capone's chest (3), then close it up so the sides of the trailer lock over the side view mirrors (4).  It should look like this when you're done.

Put the block of Capone into Attila's back, then close his sides so that the same pegs you used to stick Capone's gun to the trailer fit into the peg indicated peg holes, then finish transforming Attila according to his regular instructions.

For Henry (Wildrider), you need to flip out the part of his chest that clipped to his butt in car mode.  Feed it through the slot on the hinged panel, then push the rear of the car in so that the peg at the top of Attila's calf fits into the peg hole on Henry.

Unfortunately the weight of the car pulls on the hinged panels on Attila's calf, causing it to bow outward.  Which, it turn, starts to pull the rear off the peg.  In short, the connection isn't very secure.

On the flip side, that hollow space inside the leg might be a good place to store the individual Stunticon weapons when they're combined, as long as you don't mind them rattling around in there.

Montana (Breakdown) connects a little more solidly.  A peg flips out of his chest (that you unfortunately have to half undo the car mode to get to).  It plugs into the hinged panel on the back of Attila's other half.  There's a tab near the base of Attila's leg (that I unfortunately didn't get in the frame as I was trying to take the picture with just my left hand as I held up Montana with my right), and it fits into a gap between the Montana's arms at the front of the car.  Lastly, there's that part we mentioned way back with the accessories.  It just uses friction, but it wedges in between Montana's legs at the back of the car, with a peg facing outward.  That peg fits into a peg hole on Attila's leg.  It's still not the best, but it's better than Henry's connection.

Honestly, though, I kind of hope someone makes some lightweight fake cars to plug in place instead.  Then you could have a complete Menasor and a complete set of Stunticons without buying multiple sets like I am.

It's always tougher to recommend a combiner team members than other figures, because I think most people aren't interested in buying multiple versions or mixing and matching sets.  I have to stress that if Capone were the only Motormaster on the market I'd recommend him, because I think he's a fine figure and the DX9 Stunticons work well as a cohesive team.  If they're going to do this level of partsforming I like that Attila's body is the trailer and not just something you set aside for anything but combined mode.  Attila is sturdy and stable, and seems to be a fine Menasor body, although the connection for the leg cars is a bit of a disappointment and we don't know how the arms will fit yet.

Ultimately, it's still too soon to pick a winner in the Menasor wars.  I'll say I very much like how Attila looks and feels, but I do prefer a toy/OX-style for Menasor.  I'm hoping that XTB will do a "Youth" version trailer for their Motormaster that turns into a toy-style Menasor, and we know that Fans Toys planned to give owners the option for an OX-style Menasor.  There's still a chance that I'll like them better than Attila, or that one of them will be a toy/OX-style Menasor to go with Attila as a Sunbow Menasor.

As for Motormasters, if you're in on the DX9 Stunticons I think you'll be happy with Capone.  But, if you're looking for one best standalone MP Motormaster I'd suggest XTB's or FT's instead.

[tekering]

Another detailed, informative, and well-photographed review!  

Much appreciated, as always.

7 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

But while the instructions tell you how to turn the front of the truck into Capone and the bulk of the trailer into Attila, it doesn't tell you how to turn Capone into a part of Attila.

That seems like a pretty major oversight...!  

Mind you, folding up "Capone" and hiding him in behind "Attila" hardly seems necessary, any more than it was for Zeta's "Kronos" Superion (whose "Silver Arrow," of course, is completely superfluous).  

7 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

I think most people aren't interested in buying multiple versions or mixing and matching sets.

I don't follow the fandom as closely as I used to, so I can't comment on the majority... but personally, I've fallen headlong into both patterns:

• I bought ToyWorld's "Constructor" for a large, solid Devastator that looks the part, and the Unite Warriors Constructicons for their more accurate individual 'bots.
• I bought Zeta's "Kronos" for a large, solid Superion that looks the part, and I'm buying FansToys' Aerialbots for their more accurate individual 'bots.
• I bought Zeta's "Bruticon" for a large, solid Bruticus that looks the part, and I'm buying MMC's Combaticons for their more accurate individual 'bots.
• I bought FansToys' "Roadking" for a standalone Motormaster with a complete trailer, and X-Transbots' Stunticons for their accurately-sized individual 'bots.

So I'm buying multiple versions AND mixing and matching sets.  

7 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Ultimately, it's still too soon to pick a winner in the Menasor wars.

Yeah, I'm gonna sit this one out and wait for your recommendation when the dust settles.  

It's not like I have the space for another 'bot as it is, much less a Masterpiece combiner...!  

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, tekering said:

Another detailed, informative, and well-photographed review!  

Much appreciated, as always.

Thanks for reading, as always!

2 hours ago, tekering said:

Mind you, folding up "Capone" and hiding him in behind "Attila" hardly seems necessary, any more than it was for Zeta's "Kronos" Superion (whose "Silver Arrow," of course, is completely superfluous).  

Honestly Capone is even less necessary, as Attila is more solid even without him than Kronos is without Silver Arrow.

2 hours ago, tekering said:

I don't follow the fandom as closely as I used to, so I can't comment on the majority... but personally, I've fallen headlong into both patterns:

• I bought ToyWorld's "Constructor" for a large, solid Devastator that looks the part, and the Unite Warriors Constructicons for their more accurate individual 'bots.
• I bought Zeta's "Kronos" for a large, solid Superion that looks the part, and I'm buying FansToys' Aerialbots for their more accurate individual 'bots.
• I bought Zeta's "Bruticon" for a large, solid Bruticus that looks the part, and I'm buying MMC's Combaticons for their more accurate individual 'bots.
• I bought FansToys' "Roadking" for a standalone Motormaster with a complete trailer, and X-Transbots' Stunticons for their accurately-sized individual 'bots.

So I'm buying multiple versions AND mixing and matching sets.  

I don't think we're the majority, but we're definitely not the only one buying multiples, especially people who bought Zeta combiners, as their individual team members leave a bit to be desired.  And there are definitely people who want to display combiners with the team members that make them up.  It's why I'm thinking it'd almost be better to make robots that didn't combine and a separate robot for the combined mode that doesn't come apart.  That said, I'm really liking what MMC is doing with their Bruticus, and I'm not married to the idea that an MP combiner needs to be 20"/50cm.  If their Defensor turns out as good as their Bruticus I'll be on board with MMC doing all the combiners... even if it means buying yet another Menasor.

[M'Kyuun]

I was fairly proud of my four shelves of CHUG, with a bit of Prime and Bayverse thrown in, but Tekering's collection is more like a well curated museum. Most impressive. 

That's a collection that would be fun to wander through, just marveling.

[mikeszekely]

Probably not as interesting as Stunticons and Combaticons, but tonight we have God Armour, Fans Hobby's take on Godbomber.

I'd say my initial reaction was that God Armor looks a little bland.  When I put him next to the Takara Legends version you can see that it has some red on its crotch, yellow tips on the arm wings, a larger swath of black on its chest, blue thighs, and black feet, and you might be inclined to think that Fans Hobby's deco is wrong.  You might even find yourself some screencaps of Godbomber in the Super God Masterforce show with coloring right in line with what you see on the Takara Legends version to back up that notion.  And yet, if you go back to the actual toy and boxart of Godbomber you'll see it had a solid gray torso, with the only black being the hinge that the head sat on.  It sports gray nubs between its hips and legs that could be interpreted as thighs.  Its arms and feet were solid blue, although I think there were stickers with yellow stripes for the wings.  And Godbomber's legs were blue on the outer half and gray on the inner half, with molded but unpainted vents near the bottoms and stickers similar to the details on God Armor's knees.  Blue on his left breast, solid blue lower legs, and red paint on the shin vents seem to be the only concessions to Masterforce, otherwise God Armor is fairly toy-accurate with a few extra red details and the tampos Fans Hobby loves so much.

There is actually one other change.  Instead of having his wings sticking straight out behind him between his arms and his torso, God Armor's are actually attached near his waist.  They go backward behind him a but, but then they bend upward and tab into his back.  Not super accurate, I know, but it secures them out of the way, and I kind of like it.  If I'm being totally honest, though, I do kind of wish that Fans Hobby had given him blue thighs and red on pelvis like Masterforce.

Oh, and by the way, God Armor is a pretty big fellow.  It stands to reason, since he was about the same size as Super Ginrai in the show, but God Armor is actually half a head taller than Power Baser.

God Armor comes with quite a few accessories.  He comes with his God Cannon, and two missiles.  Like the original toy, you can load missiles into the cannon and fire them using a button on top of the cannon.  However, if you just want to load a missile and leave it there for the look, Fans Hobby did something I'm surprised no one else has thought of before; they put a safety on it.  With the safety engaged, the button can't be pressed and the missile won't fire.

You also get a pair of swords.  When, exactly, did swords become a Godbomber/God Ginrai thing?  I don't believe the original G1 toys had swords, and I don't recall them having swords in Masterforce, but Takara Legends Godbomber came with a sword, one of the Perfect Effect upgrade kits for God Ginrai had an even bigger sword, Maketoys Cross Dimension God Ginrai came with a sword, and their Cross Dimension version of Godbomber came with a second sword.  In any case, the blade on either sword can be extended, and the sides of the hilt can spread open.

Lastly, you get a new head for Power Baser, and three heads that, at the moment, don't fit any bodies.  They are, of course, the Headmaster Juniors, and you can see how they stack up to Powerbaser's Powermaster.  The transformation on the Juniors is similar to Maketoys' Headmasters, except the foreheads come off and are set aside while the heads are in humanoid mode.

At first glance the new head for Powerbaser is very similar to the original one; just some extra silver on the bottom of the helmet and slightly different molded details on the brow.  The new head has a gimmick, though.  The forehead crest can slide up, and the ears can slide out, revealing a little more red.  I'm not sure I'm totally loving the red- maybe silver or a lighter shade of blue would have worked better.  But I do love the idea that Super Ginrai's head transforms a little for God Ginrai mode.

God Armour's head is technically on a ball joint, but due to the fact that his head splits for transformation the range is necessarily restricted.  He can look up and down a little, his head can tilt sideways a little, and his head can swivel, but only about 35-45 degrees.  His shoulders rotate on ratchets, and they can extend laterally a hair over 90 degrees, also on a ratchet.  It's kind of neat, there are flaps on the tops of his shoulders that open to allow the lateral range, and the flaps slide into his torso as he moves.  He's got bicep swivels, and his elbows can bend well over 90 degrees on a single hinge.  His wrists are actually large ball joints, so they can swivel but they can also bend in/out/up/down.  Each finger is individually articulated, with a pin hinge at the base and two additional pin hinged knuckles, while his thumb has a ball joint at the base and one additional knuckle hinge.  His waist can swivel, but only about 45 degrees in either direction.  He's got the slightest hint of an ab crunch, and he can arch his back.  His hips can bend forward a little under 90 degrees, backward 90 degrees, and laterally about 60 degrees, all on ratchets.  The lateral ratchets are strong enough to support the figure, but if you pose him trying to high kick they might give under the weight of his lower legs.  His thighs can swivel.  His knees are double-jointed and bend well over 90 degrees.  His feet can bend up and down a little, and his ankles can pivot under 45 degrees plus they can swivel.

The swords slide into God Armour's hands using the same rail system as other Fans Hobby and many Maketoys figures.  For God Armour I like to keep the hilt closed and only extend one segment of the blade.

Like the G1 toy, the God Cannon can be removed from his shoulder.  A handle can unfold from the rear, allowing God Armor to carry it in his hand.  And if your wondering, yes, God Armour can hold Power Baser's rifles just fine.

It's funny, while Takara used a ton of hinges to make it possible to transform Godbomber from robot to vehicle without coming apart like the G1 toy Fans Hobby has largely embraced it.  His legs come off, with his thighs sinking into the shins, wheels outstretch, and panels unfurl to form the base of the vehicle.  His back locks on to form the front of the vehicle.  His forearms come off, attach to each other, then slide in at the top behind the front of the vehicle.  The rest of his body splits in half down the middle, with the back of his head on one side and the front on the other.  His biceps collapse, then his shoulders and the halves of his pelvis tuck in before reconnecting to make the top and rear of the vehicle.  Again, it's very similar to the G1 toy in terms of design and proportions.  In other words, it's not quite as long as it was drawn in Masterforce, but not quite as stumpy and empty in the rear as the newer Takara figure.  Like the G1 toy the God Cannon plugs into what was the hole on his left breast, but the chest is rotated 180 degrees on God Armour so the cannon plugs in on the right side instead of the left.  Still, that's better that sandwiched in the middle like the Takara Legends version, and on the whole I'm very pleased with God Armour's alt mode.

Folding down the black bumper will give you the clearance you need to open the front of the vehicle.  Inside you'll find some tabs on the back wall that you can use to clip in the forehead parts from the Headmaster Juniors.  The Juniors themselves have spaces to ride as well, although it's standing room only.  The Junior's and their forehead parts can stay inside in every mode, so you don't have to worry about loosing them.

Speaking of storage, you may have noticed a pair of rectangular holes on the blades of the swords.  They fit around clips on the underside of God Armour's alt mode.  There are even cutouts in the panels on the back of God Armour for the pommels of the swords to peak out.

While I think God Armour looks fine on his own, there's a fold out hitch on the front of his bumper.  Faced one way, with the open side down, you can trap nubs on the sides between the legs of Power Baser's cab.  Or, if you turn it so the open side is up, it'll clip onto the back of Power Baser's trailer.

Power Baser, fully linked with his trailer and God Armour, is a little longer than DX9's Motormaster.  In other words, long.

One of the sad facts about Godbomber is that he exists really as an upgrade for Super Ginrai, and I imagine that most people interested in God Armour are interested in ripping him apart and sticking him on their Power Baser.  So here he is, fully armed up and still a tad shorter than Double Evil (Fans Hobby's Overlord).  He looks pretty good, I think, although Power Baser already had kind of a belly on him, and the armor that fits over it (while still having space inside for the Headmaster Juniors) exacerbates that.  I'm also not crazy about the fact that the God Cannon attaches to the same hole for this mode as it does for God Armour's robot mode, as it looks like it's sitting too far forward to me.

Power Baser's rifles can be stored on the tips of God Armour's wings.  Alternatively, they have spots they can plug into on his backpack, which I personally think looks better.  The swords also have spots on his back that they can store on.  While you're looking back there, notice how God Armour's torso is split in half, with half connecting to each side of Power Baser's own backpack.  By connecting to the sides I think they look fairly integrated and don't add more bulk sticking out from his back.

Aside from using God Armour's hands, all the joints and articulation come from and are technically equal to Power Baser on his own.  And I'm pleased to report that the connections, especially between the soles of Power Baser's feet and God Armour's legs and God Armour's arms over Power Baser's, are all pretty secure.  The only part that kept popping off is the chest armor, although I did knock a wing off trying to pose the cannon.  The bigger problem, though, is that the ratchets in Power Baser's hips (and possibly his knees) are simply too weak for the extra weight.  I had to take extra care while posing him, and the more dynamic the pose the greater the risk that he was going to start doing the splits and fall over.  I can't guarantee that this is universally the case; my copy of Power Baser is from the original run, and Fans Hobby has reissued Power Baser once or twice with some improvements.  I don't know if one of those improvements is better ratchets or not.  I can only offer an opinion based on my own copies of these figures.

And with that in mind, my recommendation on buying God Armour comes entirely down to how you feel about Godbomber.  Do you like Godbomber, as an individual, on his own merits?  Because God Armor is a fantastic Godbomber toy.  Yes, he's a little light, especially in his upper body, due to having a mostly-hollow torso and forearms, but unlike both the original G1 toy and the newer Takara Legends Godbombers God Armour is solid, especially in the forearms with no visible gaps.  He's got good articulation, his joints aren't floppy, and nothing feels like it's going to fall off (unless you're trying to take him apart).  In alt mode everything fits together into a satisfyingly solid truck that might actually be my favorite of his modes.  If you want an MP Godbomber then God Armour will definitely do.

However, if you want an MP God Ginrai then I don't think Power Baser + God Armour are really cutting it, as the combined experience is decidedly less solid, and the proportions don't really capture the heroic appearance he had in Masterforce.  I might have been ok rolling with it anyway, but I just can't count on the ratchets in Power Baser's hips holding up the weight of their combined mode.  I think you might be better off ordering the Marvel Comics-style head and solid red hands from Fans Hobby and displaying Power Baser on his own as the Marvel Comics Powermaster Optimus instead using him to make God Ginrai.

[anime52k8]

Well, this is unfortunate.

[sqidd]

I have a couple of suppliers in China. I haven't heard anything yet. Fingers crossed my big 300 unit order gets made/shipped and is delivered without creepy crawlies. 

[M'Kyuun]

Considering the rate at which this disease is spreading, it's not surprising that it's affecting all areas of Chinese society, to include manufacturing. My perspective is that I've waited this long for my third party toys, and I can continue to wait. I'd rather see progress in controlling or eradicating the disease to restore wellness to these people. For their sakes, and for the rest of the world, I hope there's some solace soon.

[mikeszekely]

Ok, this one's not a newer figure, nor does it exactly fit into my collection these days.  However, due to sale/clearance prices at BBTS this one was too interesting to pass up.  Tonight it's Planet-X's Pluto, their take on Fall of Cybertron Megatron.

Pluto is significantly taller and bulkier than the War For Cybertron Deluxe-class Megatron from Hasbro (which is still a pretty good figure!), and similar in height to Maketoy's Rioter Despotron.  That's roughly a head taller than Siege Voyager-class Megatron, but that wouldn't bother me personally if I were to display Pluto with Siege figures.

Aesthetically I'm not a huge fan of the design.  It's bulky, even compared to other High Moon designs, it's pointy, and (excluding the overabundance of purple) the colors are a tad bland.  However, none of that is Planet-X's fault, and the toy is actually extremely faithful to the game, down to details like the placement of the wings on his back, the spikes on his thighs, the protruding knees, and the location of the purple.  Most of it is translucent to try to mimic the glow of the game, but some of it is metallic paint.  Ultimately, I might say that I wish Planet X had used more paint (like a metallic gunmetal on all the gray parts), but the only real fault I can find is the visible screw holes on his right shoulder due to the use of mirrored parts.

Then again, Planet-X did include a baggie of screw hole covers.  He also comes with a sword with a large translucent purple blade.  I'm not sure if every retail has them, but BBTS put inside the shipping box but not in Pluto's box a replacement hip joint.  And I suppose his Fusion Riot Cannon counts as an accessory.

It's not in the instructions, but the placement of the screw hole covers is pretty easy to figure out.  Three go in the front of his right shoulder, right away addressing one of my primary complaints, and since the part is mirrored three will go on the back of his left shoulder.  Two go on the outside of his right leg, one in the red space between the purple lines and one in the middle of the gray molded detail.  Those holes are duplicated on the inside of his left leg.  Finally, the last four fit into the red band around the top of his forearms, one in the back and one in the front of the inside edge of both arms.

The covers do help immensely.

I didn't include them with the accessories, as I'd already attached them, but the silver and purple spikes on Pluto's back aren't attached out the box, and like the screw covers they come in a little baggie.  They plug in fairly securely, but I've knocked a few back out while handling him.  You might want to use some glue.

Pluto's head is on a ball joint.  Due to the angle of his collar and how his head sits he can look up a fair amount, he can tilt his head sideways a little, he can swivel his head 90 degrees to either side, but he can't look down.  His shoulders rotate on some mushy ratchets, and for lateral movement he's got mush ratchets where the shoulders connect to the torso plus a double friction hinge.  In addition to getting his shoulders out well over 90 degrees to the hinges can be used to bring his arm across his torso, and I like that.  His biceps can swivel.  His ratcheted elbows bend 90 degrees.  His wrists can swivel, and his fingers (which are all one piece) are hinged at the base so his hands can open and close.  He does have a waist swivel.  It gets caught up on the armatures connecting his wings to his body, so you might have to unplug and move a wing, but the molded detail on his crotch is actually on a hinge and can fold down out of the way. His hips can move forward and backward 90 degrees, and just a little shy of it laterally, with the same kind of mushy ratchets used in the shoulders.  His thighs swivel around the hip joint, and his knees bend 90 degrees on a ratchet.  His ankles are big ball joints at the end of a hinge, so his feet can bend up, swivel, and bend at the ankle.  His toes can bend down; his whole foot could if not for a heel piece that gets in the way.  On my copy, the ball joints are a little looser than I'd like, but the aforementioned heel pieces can act like a support against him leaning too far backward.

Pluto's Riot Cannon has a peg inside that fits into a hole on either arm.  It can be a bit of a pain to go in, though, since the peg is on a hinge, and the peg wants to fold in as you're trying to get it into the hole.  He holds his sword just fine, but you'll note the spikey pommel.  You can't slide it down into the 5mm hole that his fist makes (although, in hindsight, you could have him hold the Riot Cannon like a gun by doing just that) because of that pommel.  So instead you kind of have to force the handle into the open grip, like his hand and thumb are making a C-clip.  It works, but it doesn't feel comfortable.

Pluto's alt mode is large and definitely has the correct silhouette, but this is definitely where the sacrifices were made to get the spot-on robot mode.  There are gaps between his arms and his legs that are only really filled by the armatures that the wings are on.  The horns on the front are dark gray instead of light gray, and a lot more red is showing on Pluto than on either the in-game model or the concept art, plus there's the row of spikes behind the cannon that aren't on the in-game model.  I'd chalk all that down to the fact that Megatron's transformation in the game seems to be about as well thought about and nearly as much CGI bull as the flying Transformium cubes KSI's bots used in Age of Extinction.  Honestly, I'm impressed that Planet-X got as close they did.

Planet-X even worked in some little details like thrusters that were in the concept art/CGI for the game.  They even gave Pluto a detailed spark chamber under his chest armor that's exposed in alt mode.  Although, his head is similarly exposed.

The barrel of the Riot Cannon extends, and the whole thing tabs in place to form an integral part of the alt mode.  His sword isn't so integral, but Planet-X did include a way to store it by plugging in into a peg hole under the nose, with part of the sword's hilt sitting between the notches.

Without any wheels or anything, I'm afraid his alt mode doesn't do anything else but sit there and look pretty cool.

I kind of hinted at it when I kept referring to some of his ratchets as "mushy," but the QC on Pluto feels like a bit of a step back from figures like their Grimlock (which I love) or their Optimus (which I had, sold, and now have a preorder on an upcoming reissue).  It's not just the joints; something feels a little off about the plastic.  I think my initial impression of him out the box was that I understood why he might not have sold so well.  Indeed, I'm still not sure if he's worth the $115 list price.

After messing with him for a bit, though, I have to admit that I do rather like him.  He does capture the look of Megatron in the game very well, and he's reasonably well-articulated for all of his bulk.  Transforming him is much easier than their Grimlock or Prime, with the lion's share of the work being done in his lower legs.  If you're into Megatron, Fall of Cybertron, or just like collecting CHUG-style figures in general he's well worth the $69 BBTS is currently asking for him.

[sh9000]

Wow.

[anime52k8]

So KOs of Flame toy's stupid expensive figures is now a thing:

https://showzstore.com/qianshang-model-qs02-djd-tarn_p2003.html

I'm curious to see what the price ends up being.

[sqidd]

10 minutes ago, anime52k8 said:

So KOs of Flame toy's stupid expensive figures is now a thing:

https://showzstore.com/qianshang-model-qs02-djd-tarn_p2003.html

I'm curious to see what the price ends up being.

I'm curious too. I bought the stupid expensive Flame Toys Prime. I'm not willing to drop that kind of money on the others. I would mabe get a few KO's though.

[Kuma Style]

[Kuma Style]

Wroooooong thread!

Edited February 20, 2020 by Kuma Style

[Atheonyirh]

6 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

Wrong picture, I suspect.

[tekering]

34 minutes ago, Atheonyirh said:

Wrong picture, I suspect.

Wrong thread, I suspect.  

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

You guys are both wrong. That's Maketoys' rendition of Starsaber and Windblade's love child. 

[JB0]

1 hour ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

You guys are both wrong. That's Maketoys' rendition of Starsaber and Windblade's love child. 

Makes sense.

[Valverde]

Now that JuJiang Jet Commander (Combiner Wars over sized Superion) is on discount again, I think is a good opportunity, it's a great over sized set from the original with some improvements. Easy to play with, looks good and have good plastic.

Here is mine with some customs, some paint here and there, cut the big gun into two smaller for been used as double guns that stills can combine into the big one for Superion and give the hands and feet an aerial assault/support mode by giving them a combining mode.

 

 

[M'Kyuun]

I'm more impressed by how they used the feet and hands to make a drone. However, this is a nice upgrade to the rather lackluster CW figs. 

[Kuma Style]

11 hours ago, Atheonyirh said:

Wrong picture, I suspect.

@tekering was right on and the winner of a shiny blue heart.

Edited February 20, 2020 by Kuma Style

[mikeszekely]

While the official thread is bumping with all the Toy Fair reveals, I'm going to sneak in another "I bought it on clearance" Planet-X review.  This time we're looking at Mors, their version of War for Cybertron/Fall of Cybertron Starscream.

Speaking of War for Cybertron, Mors is a bit bigger than Siege Starscream, and maybe even a hair taller than Siege Megatron or Optimus, so even though most people would say that Planet-X's Fall of Cybertron figures are CHUG-scaled they're still probably a little big for use with your Siege/Earthrise stuff.  However, he's roughly a head shorter than Pluto so you're fine keeping him with other Planet-X figures.

Aesthetically he's pretty accurate to the game's design.  He's missing some blue on the sides of his legs, some of the gray and red on his chest should be flipped, and the backs of his hands should be the same light gray as his lower legs/shoulder pads, but I had to Google game images and play "spot the difference" to find those things to nitpick over, and it's still a step up from the old Hasbro Deluxe version of the character.

It's not a huge deal to me, but it's worth pointing out that most of what you see is seems to be plastic.  All that red is plastic, and the shinier blue on his arms, hands, head, and toes all seems to be plastic.  It's a shiny plastic that almost looks like metallic paint, but still plastic.

Mors comes with a handful of accessories.  You've got pair of guns that I believe are based on the Nucleon Charge Rifle from Fall of Cybertron (the sniper rifle).  You've got a game-accurate mace with a translucent purple and very spiky core.  And you've got a crown that does seem to be painted gold with a red deco on the crest, very reminiscent of the one from the '86 movie (and a secret from the game).

Mors' head is on a ball joint for a little up/down/sideways tilt and swivel.  His shoulders can rotate and extend to the side 90 degrees.  His biceps can swivel, and his elbows are double-jointed and can curl all the way up.  His wrists swivel, and they're hinged for transformation with enough of the hinge still clear that he's got some up/down tilt.  His fingers are molded as one piece pinned at the base so his hands can open but he can't point.  His waist can swivel; it can't do so 360 degrees due to the alt-mode nose getting caught on his waist, but he can turn almost 90 degrees to either side.  His hips can bend forward and backward over 90 degrees, but he can't quite do the full splits.  His thighs swivel around the joint, and his knee is a single hinge that gets over 90 degrees of bend.  His feet are on ball joints, so they can tilt up and down a little, swivel, and his ankle can pivot although only about 30 degrees.  Plus, if you need it, his heel can fold up, and his front toe can tilt up or down.

As for the accessories, in the game their hands turned into their weapons, but concept art still had the cannon on Megatron's arm, so that's how Planet-X did it.  But I couldn't find any artwork of Starscream using his guns in any way but as his hands, which you just can't do with Mors.  So, you can plug them into the 5mm peg holes on the backs of his forearms.

Or you can plug it into his fists like he's holding an actual rifle.

At least the other accessories are pretty straight forward.  You can either take the top of the mace off and slide it into his hand, although that will only let him hold the top half of the handle, or you can just open his and and push the handle in.  As for the crown it fits fairly snugly onto his head.  Not so snug that it's hard to get on and off or you're going to worry about scratches, but snugly enough that you can turn him upside down and even give him a little shake without it falling off.

I have to give Planet-X a lot of cred, because they're clearly paying attention to little details.  The flaps at the top of Mors chest can bend forward or back a bit, and the edges of his wings slide in and out, allowing you to replicate the idle movement of the in-game characters.  And, if you recall from staring at him in the game while playing as him or from concept artwork, even Mors' back is game-accurate.

Which brings us to his alt mode, which is, well, a little less accurate.  The in-game version is wider, especially at the back, has more white showing, and a second set of vents where Mors' arms are peaking out.  In the interest of fairness, though, Mors is a toy that actually transforms, not just some polygons that magically flip into a different model.  I think Planet-X did a pretty good job with what they had to work with, and they did get a lot of details right like the stumpy, forward-swept wings, the the open tail, one set of blue vents, and even the lines in the off-white part of his back.

The engineering here is good, too, once you figure out how everything is supposed to move.  He doesn't have any of the clearance issues that Vulcan or Jupiter had, and comes together better than Pluto.

As with the robot mode, you have some moving parts on the fuselage and wings.  There's a landing skid under the nose, but you really need to decide if you're going to display him with it during the transformation because you'll have to undo a bit of it if you change your mind.  There's no other landing gear; in the rear you fold his toes up 90 degrees and he rests on them.  The canopy can be tough to get at, but it does open revealing a little painted seat inside.

The rifles can peg into peg holes on the underside of his wings.  It almost looks like you could use the peg holes on his arms, but there's not quite enough clearance in jet mode.  The rear of jet, under his feet, has some translucent red plastic for boosters.  All-in-all I think it's close enough to the game's model, although if you look at the underside his head's not totally hidden.

It's kind of funny, I really wanted the Hasbro figure when it came out, but that was in those days when Hasbro's distribution was so poor that even shopping between Target, Walmart, K-Mart, and Toys R Us entire waves of figures just never showed up, and I never got found it.  Fast forward to today and I don't really need a Fall of Cybertron Starscream in my life.  But I have one, because it's a well done figure that's going for just $35 or so at BBTS right now, and if you've got room in your collection for Mors he's definitely worth picking up at that price.

[Valverde]

And you can easily make null rays for seekers and paint the eyes to make it full live spark. 

 

[technoblue]

Nice review. The Planet-X and Hasbro Siege seekers are my favorite versions of those characters in toy form.

[mikeszekely]

I mentioned in another thread that I recently discovered a store called TF Safari, based out of China.  They tend to have a smaller selection than many other stores, but their prices are comparable to ShowZ, and like ShowZ they offer free shipping to several countries.  What sets TF Safari apart though is the number of add-on kits you can buy that I haven't seen anywhere else but ebay.  Unlike kits from companies like Perfect Effect or DNA Designs most of these ones are 3D-printed.  Out of curiosity, both for the kits and to see how reliable TF Safari is, I decided to order some stuff and check them out.

First up, we have Matrix Workshop.  Most of what they make seems to be weapons, and I decided to buy their M-13 Ion Rifle.  It comes in a small plastic bag, and the bag is tucke into a small cardboard box with a Matrix Workshop sticker on it.  As you can see, it's a more cartoon-accurate ion rifle, and it seems to have been printed on white plastic and painted a metallic gunmetal color, which is a nice touch.  It's available in three different sizes.  The smallest size is meant for Deluxe figures, like the Classics Prime that came in the two-pack with tank Megatron, WFC and FoC Prime, or Generations Orion Pax.  The largest one is meant for Power of the Primes Leader-class Optimus.  The middle one is for Voyagers like Classics Prime, Combiner Wars Prime, or Siege Prime.  I grabbed two of the middle-sized one; as you can see, it lacks the hollow gaps that Siege Prime's gun has, or the short and overly wide barrel that Earthrise Prime's gun has.

I mention those two specifically, because those are the figures I actually bought them for.  Both figures look great with them.  Despite being 3D printed I found that the handles were just the right size, not too loose and not too tight in their fists.   I think they're a little pricey for what you get ($9 for the Deluxe, $10 for the Voyager, $11 for the Leader), but frankly not much different in price and of better quality than you'd get off of Shapeways.  Unless you have your own 3D printer it's probably worth picking up one for at least Earthrise Prime, and I'd consider looking at some of their other weapon kits.

The other company I looked at is Ratchet Studios.  Their MO seems to be gap fillers, something I'm disappointed to say there's still a market for despite Hasbro's improvements in quality of late.  I decided to just check out the kits for what I consider to be the most egregiously hollow Siege mold, the Ironhide/Ratchet mold (the kit for Ironhide can also be used for Siege Crosshairs).  They two came packaged in baggies tucked inside boxes, although their little boxes just had an item number hand-written in marker on one side.  They do not come with instructions, although they're not too difficult to figure out.  These kits are unpainted, although the parts for Ratchet are printed in white and the parts for Ironhide are printed in gray so they don't look too off.  Most of the parts are basically the same for both kits (I'll highlight the differences when we get to them), so going forward I'll show the parts installed on Ratchet next to the base Ironhide figure so you can see the improvement.

You get fillers for the bottom of the foot.  Since the bottom of the foot is the back of the alt mode, I'm especially glad this space got filled.

Moving up the leg, there's a part to fill in the space on the inside of the lower leg, below the knee.  Before you stick it on, though, you'll notice pair of caramel-colored boxes.  They slide in first, and prevent you from pushing in the filler too deep.

There are a pair of parts that side into the gap on the back of the thigh, above the knee joint.

There's a similar pair of parts for the inside of the bicep, below the mushroom swivel, and filler for the back of the forearm.

Here's where things get a little different.  They both have two pieces that fit around the 5mm peg in the middle of their back and help cover up the empty space around it.  Ironhide's have a different shape, though, and even add two additional 5mm peg holes.  Ironhide also has two more filler parts that fit into the bottom of his bumper.  Ratchet doesn't need them, because he doesn't have those spaces.

While the gray plastic Ratchet Studios used matches the grays on Ironhide fairly well, you'll probably notice that many of the parts actually fill gaps in the red plastic.  Luckily, I had a paint on hand that's a bit glossy, but a fair color match for Ironhide's red plastic.

After installing all of these parts you'll find that you actually have two leftover in each kit.  These last parts are meant to be thigh extensions, because I guess Ratchet Studios thinks their legs are too short or they don't like the proportions or something.  To install them you'd pull the legs off of the hip at the mushroom swivel, then slide the extensions onto the top of the thigh before putting the whole thing back onto the mushroom swivel.  Now, I tried to pull one of Ratchet's legs off, and honestly it's on there pretty good, and I don't want to force it.  Besides, all the gap filler parts you see above can stay on forever, as they don't affect the transformation in any way.  The thigh extensions, though, have to be removed every time you want to transform the figure.  So, while it's a nice little option, especially for people who are just posing these guys on a shelf and never messing with them again, I personally won't be using them on my figures.

I don't see myself spending the money to buy filler kits for every Siege/Earthrise figure with a hollow inner thigh or something, because I just don't think it's economical.  However, for $13/each these kits for Ratchet and Ironhide work pretty well on two especially hollow figures.  No glue or anything is necessary- they use friction to stay in place, and they fit quite snugly.  I actually had to file the feet parts down a little.  And should I get another Siege/Earthrise figure that's as hollow as these guys (*cough Impactor cough*) I'd definitely consider using a Ratchet Studios kit.

[Kuma Style]

[sh9000]

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Looks nice, but I wouldn't expect it to hit the production line in less than  four years.  Which would still be better than any attempt from TakaTomy. 

[M'Kyuun]

Not a bad looking Jazz, but I wish it had a few more toy details, especially the details on the chrome bit below his car chest. That and the G1 toy knee sticker details are what persuaded me to go with Zeta's Jazz. Well, that and I preferred the overall foot transformation which skewed towards the toy and eschewed the faux fender bits of the Maketoy design. Anyway, as you say, given FT's proclivity towards projected releases, it will likely not see a prompt release, and will likely undergo several changes before then. Kudos to FT for shrinking the fenders in bot mode, not that I really mind them being their normal size, but for toon enthusiasts, it fits the aesthetic better. Just the same , I'm not a fan of accurate highly detailed cars turning into bland flat detail-less robots just to match a poorly animated show. I want those details to cross over between modes and incorporate, when possible, details from the G1 toys as well. But let's be frank, both toys, and the toon which followed, were rather poor, but each made up for shortcomings of the other: the toys had nicer details, but the bot modes were sadly devoid of articulation, whereas the toon gave them more humanoid proportions and demonstrated the articulation we wish the toys had.  I'm all for a balanced marriage of both in my Transformers.  Anyway, I digress.

Where is Chosen Prime posting these TFCon pics? I've been searching for them, without avail. I saw any number of FT's projected releases on Tyderium Hangar's Youtube, and went in fruitless search. I will say, if they release their Soundwave and cassette bots, I hope, as well as with Soundwave, as they should, that they also make them available separately, as I'd love to pick up their Ravage, which looks much better than the official MP. Thanks in advance to anyone who can point the way to Chosen Prime's TFCon pics.

 

[mikeszekely]

Yeah, the TFCon presentation was a lot of people doing Bumblebee movie figures, a little bit of stuff we already knew Fans Hobby was doing (that I'm in for), and Fans Toys heaping more stuff into their backlog. That's enough to bring out the FT fans, but I like to actually handle my figures and FT hasn't had the best track record with me. Right now I'm interested in their Skullcruncher, Astrotrain, and Warpath, the rest of their Menasor and Superion, possibly their V2 Preceptor, and that's about it. FT hasn't convinced me to replace what I've already got for Brawn, Huffer, Beachcomber, Soundwave, Mirage, Jazz, Cliffjumper, or Prime.

[M'Kyuun]

I'm in for their Astrotrain and Blitzwing if it continues as is, or improves further. Their first take on Blitzwing wasn't the best, so I'm glad they redesigned it, as the newest version looks much better, especially in jet mode. However, there's still no release date in sight, so, not holding my breath for it. Out of all the third party contenders, I think theirs looks the best across modes, so I'm willing to wait. Their Astrotrain, Thomas, looks amazing right out of the gate, although AFAIK, all they've released thus far are renders, which can be  fudged towards the positive compared to a fully transformable prototype which has a tendency to show the rough spots in a mold. I hope it turns out well- I want a decent Astrotrain, especially since the Hasbro WFC version was a huge letdown.

I'm waiting to see how FT's Warpath turns out. TBH, I think Badcube's had much better presence, as they took some stylistic license, but my understanding is that it wasn't the funnest thing to transform. I'm surprised that Takara haven't shown any interest in doing more of the minibots beyond Bee. I have MP Bee V1, BC's Huff v2, and MMC's Cliffjumper thus far filling out my minibot ranks, but it'd be nice to have some official versions of these guys to at least contemplate. Then again, I'm not crazy about the toon emphasis informing the bot designs, so perhaps, for me, third party is the way to go. I'm also considering FT's Brawn, but so far I haven't PO'd any of these guys yet. I'm a terrible fence-sitter, but I've found that it's sometimes beneficial to wait for a review or two to see how a figure actually turns out. FT's Arcee is a good example- looks great, ostensibly, but I wasn't crazy about the transformation mechanics; I went with MMC's Azalea, and never looked back. Likewise with FT's Scoria vs Cesium; I held out for Cesium, and after watching vids for Scoria, I'm glad I did.

I, too, have no interest in replacing my MP Soundwave; even with a few years under its belt, it still holds up just fine, and really garners no replacement in my mind. But, I love the cassettes, and while takara's condors were , and still are, impressively done, and Rumble/Frenzy were done well, Ravage, my favorite of the cassettes, stands out as needing improvement, so I welcome Fans Toy's take, which captures the jaguar mode much better than the official, and as I mentioned previously, I hope they sell these guys separately so I can get my hands on a copy without shelling for a new Soundwave I really don't want or need.

[mikeszekely]

4 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

Ravage, my favorite of the cassettes, stands out as needing improvement, so I welcome Fans Toy's take, which captures the jaguar mode much better than the official,

You never picked up MMC's? For some reason I liked Takara's size for the birds, but I felt Rumble/Frenzy/Ravage/Ratbat were too small. I picked up MMC's Rumble, Frenzy, and Ravage and I love them. Hope they eventually do Ratbat.

[M'Kyuun]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

You never picked up MMC's? For some reason I liked Takara's size for the birds, but I felt Rumble/Frenzy/Ravage/Ratbat were too small. I picked up MMC's Rumble, Frenzy, and Ravage and I love them. Hope they eventually do Ratbat.

Oh yes, I have them- I didn't pick up Frenzy, but I have the rest. Their condors weren't as well done as I would have expected, but Jaguar and Furor are just excellent-really well done. I, too, wouldn't mind Ratbat, or any of the other cassettes, especially the dino cassettes, at that scale and to that degree of engineering. Like you, I don't mind the scale of MP Laserbeak or Ratbat as mini-cassettes. I think it works, as relative to real-world size, they fit.  Jaguar and Furor, ie. Ravage and Rumble, look much better scale-wise in their bot modes next to the rest of the MP figs. I think Ratbat would be cool at full sized cassette scale just due to the potential engineering that could be brought to bear. I'm rather surprised that they didn't go ahead with more cassettes; IIRC, they showed off protos for the Autobot cassettes- Ramhorn, Steeljaw, Eject, and Rewind at some convention, but there's been little ado about them since. I would have welcomed them with open arms and wallet. All the others, too.

It does suck that they have no compatibility in their cassette modes, but unless they made a grotesquely oversized Soundwave, the feasibility just isn't there. But, mine are displayed in their bot modes, as I'm sure most are- cassettes aren't the most exciting of alt modes, but the gimmick remains one of my favorite 80's anachronisms in the toyline, and shall forever be cherished. I find it somewhat sad that a similar analog doesn't really exist today, with the advancement of electronics, to continue the tradition with a modern take on Soundwave. I liked the drone with a drone idea for Prime, but it still wasn't quite the same, was it? There just isn't much that functions the same way as the cassette player/cassette relationship post-nineties, at least in a form that can be turned into a decent robot. Maybe, with extraordinary advancements in micro-joint tech, we'll see CDs/ DVDs that can transform, but I don't think we're there yet. And by the time that tech arrives, CD and DVD tech will likely be obsolete in lieu of something even smaller, thus the quandary persists. Poor Soundwave.